The best advice on caregiving…

0 Comments

Growing up in a time when most parents were in their twenties when they had their children my mom and dad waited until their 30s. So, after 4 kids, Mom and Dad decided to have another and another. Yep, I was a fifth out of six children! 

And boy, my parents were like grandparents around all my friend’s parents….they were so OLD…

But, I was blessed to have had that older wiser mom. Yes, our family had their issues but to be honest – some of the wisdom she passed on to me I hold as true today and in the 60’s.

I’ll never forget asking her how she managed to live through the Spanish Flu, World War II and then the Great Recession, the starvation, the polio epidemic when her sister was struck down, dad going off to the Korean War, the drugs and Woodstock, and raising wild teenagers in the 60’s and one autistic son.

She told me that today’s generation (my generation of baby boomers) is like a dog with a bone. She said we just won’t let go of things and then she said that her generation learned to…

“Just let it go. Make the best of it and move on.”

I think this was an invaluable lesson to me. While it has been difficult at times (I do pick my battles), I have learned to let go of the things that could eat me up inside if I didn’t.

For example, having been married twice and divorced twice and having children in both marriages, I learned to be friends with my ex-husbands. They were genuinely nice men. And they were the father of my children. And my children had a right to know who their dads were and why I fell in love with them in the first place.  I couldn’t take that kind of love away from my kids.

So even though it was rough getting through the divorces and hurtful, it was one of the greatest pieces of advice I ever got. Just let it go. And once everything was done and the divorce was settled I rebuilt a relationship of grace and kindness so my children could see the human side of life.  

This allowed me to give them a choice as they grew up, how they wanted to see their Dads.  I passed this choice to them without bias.

So learning to Let It Go and learning to move on and rebuild is one of the greatest strengths I have because of my mom. If I can’t fix it, if I can’t change it, if I can’t modify it, I have to let it go.

So when your Mom says horrible things, or won’t eat, when Dad is up all night, when the very plans you look forward to, won’t work…can you rearrange, modify, change it or let it go?

And don’t forget….

Never be ashamed to vent. You’re going to vent. Everybody does.

(another piece of advice I learned from my mother…)

It’s a big part of the process, she said. It’s got to come out so we can let it go…

Find the 3-4 friends that you can trust so they can take turns hearing you vent and then let it go and get back to being the person you truly are…

A caring loving human being who is too busy looking for the next bright light in your own life to bother with the past we cannot change.

About the Author

Do you feel frustrated with your medical care? Do doctors spend 5 minutes with you, push you out of the office, with you wondering what's going to happen? Does your insurance deny paying? You're not alone. I'm frustrated, too. This is a growing trend in healthcare. Having seen pre-insurance medicine (yes, my dad was an old country doctor), I grew up watching him spend time with his patients, giving them the best care he had to offer. I saw families trust him to help them through hospitalizations and the next crisis. As a patient advocate, my job is to see that you get the right diagnosis, the right treatment plans, and the right supplies and education to make good decisions about your health. More importantly, I will teach you the tricks of the healthcare trade. We need more healthcare consumer protection, especially for chronic illnesses like diabetes. This is what I am passionate about. I make it happen every day with thousands of patients who now know what I know about beating the healthcare system and getting the best patient care...Patient Best.

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

HEALTH DISCLAIMER

This blog provides general information and discussions about health and related subjects. The information and other content provided in this blog, or in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical advice, nor is the information a substitute for professional medical expertise or treatment. If you or any other person has a medical concern, you should consult with your healthcare provider or seek other professional medical treatment. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something that has been read on this blog or in any linked materials. If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or emergency services immediately. The opinions and views expressed on this blog and website have no relation to those of any academic, hospital, health practice or other institution. Nor does this material constitute a provider-patient relationship between the reader and the author. 

>