Lori C., RN, is from Oregon, and was one of forty finalists chosen out of the over 1,000 entries to our “What Advice Would You Give to a Fellow Caregiver?” Contest. You can find our grand prize and runner up winners here.
What advice would you give a fellow caregiver?
Sometimes the best thing you can do is to say nothing and be a good listener. Ask open-ended questions and encourage the habit of thankfulness for the good things a person has experienced in their life.
Give the person you are working with choices, “Would you like jam or butter on your toast?” rather than telling them to eat their toast.
If they need to walk or exercise ask them, “Do you think you could just walk to the mailbox, or just lift the hand weights five times?”
Often, if they get started with lower expectations they will end up doing more overall.
Set some realistic goals and praise them when they experience completion.
If a person says they have no purpose in life, find out if they have children or grandchildren. If they do, remind them that they have a unique opportunity in that they have the time to invest in these family members by praying for their health and well-being or in sending them letters of encouragement and pictures. Have them write down their memories for their family as a legacy. Everyone needs a purpose and rather than counting the days, remind them to make their days count.
Click here to head to the contest home page and read more advice.
Finalists were selected by the Marketing Team at Shield HealthCare. Those finalists were submitted to a panel of independent judges who picked three grand prize winners and five runners up. The judges included: Sandra Mitchell, Award-winning KCAL 9 news anchor and breast cancer survivor, and the Landers family: actor and comedian David Landers (“Laverne & Shirley”) who is living with MS, his wife Kathy and his daughter Natalie (“The Middle”). Click here to learn more.
