We all want the best treatment for our illness. Doctors are supposed to provide you with a thorough outline of the side effects of medications and the possible risks involved with any treatment plan. We hear a lot about rehab when discussing cardiac health or following a stroke. Do we need to extend our focus [...]
Archive for July, 2008
Side Effects? What About Rehab?
Posted in after the diagnosis, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, living with chronic illness, Living with Illness, tagged lymphedema, occupational therapy, physical therapy, professional organizer, rheumatoid arthritis on July 31, 2008 | 3 Comments »
Long Days and Longer Nights
Posted in after the diagnosis, Community, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, living with chronic illness, Living with Illness, Relationships, tagged care for the caregiver, caregiver stress, Caregiving, isolation, loneliness on July 30, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
One of the biggest challenges for those facing an illness either on the patient side or the caregiver side are the feelings of isolation. It’s difficult when most of your contacts, friends and family, have had no or very little experience with illness. You look for a sympathetic ear and although they mean well you [...]
Do We Need Pharmacists In Our Home?
Posted in Caregiving, In the Know, living with chronic illness, Living with Illness, tagged drug interactions, importance of pharmacists, medication overdose, pharmacists on July 29, 2008 | 1 Comment »
I was shocked yesterday when I read a report about the increase in deaths due to medication mistakes. The shocking thing is that these mistakes happened to people like you and me in their homes. Yesterday the statistics were presented in the Archives in Internal Medicine, Vol 168, #14. The journal states “Deaths from medication [...]
Your Circle of Influence
Posted in after the diagnosis, authenticity, Community, coping with life threatening illness, Having a Voice, Integrity, Living with Illness, Partnerships, Personal Conviction, Relationships, tagged creating a legacy, Making a Mark, Randy Pausch on July 28, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Ever wonder how many lives you touch? Many believe that only those of a certain status can influence the life another. This past Friday, Professor Randy Pausch lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. His “Last Lecture” became an Internet phenomenon. Then we had the opportunity to see him on Oprah. If that weren’t enough his [...]
Overcoming Caregiver Guilt
Posted in after the diagnosis, Caregiving, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, Emotional Health, living with chronic illness, tagged care for the caregiver, caregiver health, caregiver stress, caregiver support on July 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Welcome to Caregiver Friday! Guilt is a powerful emotion. It is probably one of the most difficult emotions to handle because it gets tied in to your self-worth and self-esteem. When I meet with caregivers I’m always amazed at how self-deprecating they can be. They feel that they aren’t doing a good enough job. If [...]
Getting a “Head” Start
Posted in after the diagnosis, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, Emotional Health, Having a Voice, living with chronic illness, tagged chemotherapy, hair loss, taking control on July 23, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We all know that many who go through chemotherapy will lose their hair. It’s one of the most if not the most recognizable event especially for women. For men the story is a bit different. These days being bald seems to be the “in” thing. Shaving your head is becoming a fashion statement so one [...]
Mind-Body-Spirit…Who’s In Control?
Posted in after the diagnosis, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, Emotional Health, living with chronic illness, Spirituality and Health, tagged health decisions, intuition on July 22, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
We all talk about the importance of a mind, body, spirit connection and the impact it has on healing and wellness. If you read the titles in the bookstores you’ll often see that there is a competition as to which of the three should take the lead. Don’t you think it’s a cultural thing? Depending [...]
Preparing for Surgery
Posted in after the diagnosis, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, living with chronic illness, tagged healing the body, hypnosis, meditation, partnership with doctors, visualization on July 21, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Many diagnosed with an illness will need to undergo surgery. It’s a scary ordeal and there is plenty to be anxious about. The goal is to prepare yourself to minimize both the trauma and maximize the healing. It’s important to understand why the body is traumatized in order to overcome the resistance. When we undergo [...]
Caregivers Sacrifice, But Shouldn’t Be Sacrificed
Posted in care for the caregiver, Caregiving, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, Living with Illness, Relationships, tagged caregiver needs, caregivers and doctors, caregivers health on July 18, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Welcome to Caregiver Friday! This week I’ve been talking to friends, family and colleagues about their caregiving experiences. Over the past twenty two years I’ve seen amazing caregivers who go through each day offering compassion and easing the suffering of those they care for on a daily basis. Some caregiving is temporary but more and [...]
Disappointing Looks
Posted in after the diagnosis, coping with chronic illness, coping with life threatening illness, living with chronic illness, Living with Illness, Relationships, tagged compassion, illness and friendship, suffering on July 17, 2008 | 1 Comment »
Having a chronic or life-threatening illness is difficult enough without feeling like you’re responsible for the world. It’s amazing how many people will get annoyed because health gets in the way of “having fun”. It doesn’t seem fair and yet I hear about it all the time. I was talking to a friend of mine [...]
