~Introducing my special guest blogger today: Marianne Sciucco~
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~ 12 Ways to Reach Out to Caregivers During National
Caregivers Appreciation Month ~
by Marianne Sciucco, author of Blue Hydrangeas, an Alzheimer’s love story
Chances are you know someone caring for an ill or disabled loved one. This could be due to an illness such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Cancer, Stroke or a variety of other conditions. Some provide live-in care, others visit daily or weekly, and some oversee care from a distance or care provided by hired aides or a nursing facility.
No matter how the Caregiver performs his or her role, caregiving is a tough job, requiring resources that are often scarce: time, money, support, and assistance.
The CDC tells us that more than 34 million unpaid caregivers provide care to someone age 18 and older who is ill or has a disability, and an estimated 21 percent of US households are impacted by Caregiver responsibilities.
Almost all of this work is unpaid, typically provided by family members, and often performed around the clock with no breaks. In addition, many Caregivers juggle other responsibilities such as jobs, raising children, and managing their own households.
November is National Caregivers Appreciation Month, and a great time to reach out to those providing care and help lighten their load.
In recognition of those who work tirelessly and selflessly to care for a loved one, here are 12 ways to reach out to caregivers, to offer assistance and let them know you care. These people need support, and often that support doesn't cost much, if anything, and takes little time.
1. Ask if you can sit for them a little while so they can run errands, take a break, see the doctor, or attend church or a caregiver's support group, whatever they need to do to take care of themselves.
2. Going to the grocery store? Call and ask if there's anything you can pick up for them.
3. If your employer allows, donate paid sick time, vacation days, or personal time to a coworker caring for a relative who is hospitalized or needs post-hospital care.
4. Volunteer to mow the lawn, weed the garden, rake the leaves, or shovel the snow.
5. Share the bounty, whether from your vegetable or your flower garden. Fresh produce and fresh flowers are cheerful.
6. If you have the skills and tools, offer to change the oil in their car and rotate the tires.
7. Again, if you have the skills and tools, offer a free haircut to the caregiver and/or their loved one.
8. Walk their dog.
9. Ask if they'd like you to wash and clean out their car.
10. Volunteer to take out the trash and bring the barrels out to the curb on trash day.
11. Double cook a meal, preferably one of their favorites, and send over a dinner.
12. Include them in your prayers.
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For more information about caregiving and Caregivers please follow #AlzAuthors during
National Caregivers Appreciation Month, November 2015, or find us on Facebook.
I'm not a nurse who writes but a writer who happens to be a nurse. A lover of words and books, I dreamed of becoming an author when I grew up but became a nurse to avoid poverty. I later brought my two passions together and write about the intricate lives of people struggling with health and family issues. I grew up near Boston and earned my Bachelor's degree in English at the University of Massachusetts at Boston. I spend a lot of time on Cape Cod. When not writing I work as a campus nurse at a community college in New York’s Hudson Valley, where I live with my patient and reliable husband and beautiful, brainy daughter. We are ruled by Mr. Chance, a cat we rescued who believes he rescued us. I'm currently working on a YA novel, "Swim Season," about the new girl on the team who challenges a longstanding school record, to be released in 2016. A dedicated Swim Mom for ten years, you can find me during swim season at one of many Skyline Conference swim meets cheering for my daughter and her team.
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Thank you Marianne for sharing you insight and perspective and for being today's guest blogger.
Best Wishes,
Carole Brecht
~The Sandwich Woman, Caring For The Sandwich Generation~
~Your Caregiver Support Network: Where Words Soothe and Ideas & Art Delight~
