Caregiver Support Ministry | Trietsch UMC

Caregivers

Caregivers are often so busy taking care of their loved one that they forget to care for themselves. Below we’ve provided some resources to help you take a step back and recenter. The more spiritually, emotionally, and spiritually healthy you are, the better care you can provide.

Prayers

  • Serenity Prayer- God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

  • Breath prayer- Here’s a short instructional video on a prayer that can help you experience God’s peace and presence. TMUMC.ORG/breath

If you miss a Sunday, visit TMUMC.ORG/watch to worship with us throughout the week

caregiver
caregiver support

Resources at Trietsch

  • Stretched to the Limit- A community support group for anyone in a caregiving situation. Meets 1st & 3rd Mondays at 7pm in room 160 (meets 2nd Monday only in January and September). Take the elevator down to the first floor and proceed down hallway. Room 160 is located on the right in between the two staircases. Contact Barbara Carruth at halfmoon3@verizon.net for more information.
     
  • Stephen Ministry is the one-to-one lay caring ministry.  Stephen Ministers are congregation members trained to offer high-quality, one-to-one Christian care to people going through tough times. A Stephen Minister usually meets with a care receiver once a week for about an hour. Doug Meyer at dougm@tmumc.org.
     
  • Homebound Ministry- Visits, phone calls and notes bring joy to those confined to their homes.  To sign up for homebound ministry or to be a volunteer, contact Sandy Lising at slising123@aol.com
     
  • The Grief Seminar, Coping with Loss, provides participants with opportunities to understand the emotional and physical dynamics of grief. Led by trained grief facilitators, you'll learn about the grief process, share with others, give and receive support and develop healthy coping skills and activities. This seminar happens at various times throughout the year and is 5 weeks in duration and is free of cost. Visit TMUMC.ORG/grief for upcoming dates. Doug Meyer at dougm@tmumc.org.
     
  • Fitness Classes - we want you to remember to take care of yourself. Some classes may have free childcare so you can stay focused on your physical health. If available, please make your childcare reservation at least 48 hours in advance by emailing childcare@tmumc.org. You can see all fitness classes at TMUMC.ORG/fitness

Websites for Caregivers

agingcare.com
“The Community for Caregivers” includes questions and discussions from caregivers covering every topic imaginable.  No question is out of bounds. Sign up for the Caregivers’ Newsletter.

mindingourelders.com
Information and Support for Caregivers and Seniors by Author Carol Bradley Bursack.  She strives to recognize the isolation often felt by caregivers, to give them a voice and to assure them that they aren’t alone.

webmd.com/healthy-aging/getting-started
A good article with concrete examples of behavior that indicates a need for care and ideas on how to do it. Includes distance care and in-town care examples.

caring.com
Look for local resources here and find many helpful articles.

Facebook – closed groups support caregivers by sharing information and understanding.

teepasnow.com
Through humorous but enlightening videos, this dementia-care education specialist demonstrates how to act or move to achieve positive results while explaining why brain changes cause the “problem” behavior.

alzheimersweekly.com
Informational website and weekly newsletters arm caregivers with knowledge and useful tips.

alzheimers.gov
The government's free information resource about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Find links to authoritative, up-to-date information from agencies and organizations with expertise in these areas.

health.usnews.com/best-nursing-homes
Nationwide rating of skilled nursing and nursing home facilities. Also includes help on choosing a facility.

caremanager.org
National Association of Geriatric Care Managers site. Includes helpful articles as well as ways to find care managers across the U.S.

care.com
Use this site to find an independent caregiver.

newlifestyles.com
Find senior living and care options as well as senior products and services in your area or wherever your loved one lives using this nationwide database.

Books for Caregivers

Creating Moments of Joy

By Jolene Brackey

Incredibly practical book about understanding the person with short term memory loss including specific suggestions for speaking with them, eliciting positive responses, specific s about moving them to a facility & what items to send with them, and how important it is to create moments of joy. Those moments will be forgotten within 5 minutes, but the good feeling will remain. She enables the reader to successfully connect with the person with memory loss and be comfortable with that, as opposed to feeling that you should always do more.
 

Elder Rage, or Take My Father... Please! How To Survive Caring For Aging Parents

By Jacqueline Marcell

Author chronicles her caregiving journey, much humor included. She includes answers to difficult caregiving questions such as how to get obstinate elders to: accept cleaning and caregiving help, see a different doctor, give up driving, attend adult day care, eat, take medication, sleep and bathe properly, move to a new residence, and much more.
 

Minding our Elders:  Caregivers share their personal stories

By Carol Bradley Bursack

A compilation of caregiver stories covering the gamut of situations.  Described as a “portable support group” it reminds us we are not alone.  One reviewer learned that there is no “right” way, as too many variables are at play, but you proceed through trial and error and do your best.   This book portrays many situations, so we can learn from others.
 

Passages in Caregiving

By Gail Sheehy

A comprehensive resource for cargivers, analytical and informative.  The author’s husband had cancer, so this shares what she learned through the years.

 

When Mom and Dad Grow Old: Step-by-Step Planning for Families and Caregivers

By Helen West-Rodriguez, PhD, and Carolyn King Dennis

A practical workbook for families and caregivers, addresses issues of aging from being healthy through decline and death.

 

Boundaries- When to Say Yes, How to Say No To Take Control of Your Life

By Henry Cloud and John Townsend

Two psychologists who’ve written a number of self-help guides offer a realistic, compassionate plan for setting healthy boundaries with family, friends, and co-workers.

Dementia: Loving Care with a Therapeutic Benefit

By Peggy Watson, M.S., CCC-SLP, and Nancy Shadowens, M.S., CCC-SLP 

A book for at-home caregivers, provides an understanding of the disease process and guidance for management of behaviors with appropriate expectations.

The 36-Hour Day

By Nancy L. Mace, M.A. and Peter V. Rabins, M.D., M.P.H.

The definitive guide and reference to Alzheimer ’s disease – the starting point for understanding dementia.

Alzheimer’s 911, Help, Hope and healing for the Caregiver

By Frena Gray-Davidson
 
Written from the perspective of a one-on-one caregiver. 
 

Alzheimer’s for Dummies

Helpful for keeping track of the stages of Alzheimer’s.  A surprisingly useful book.

Coach Broyles' Playbook for Alzheimer's Caregivers: A Practical Tips Guide

By Frank Broyles

A small, practical handbook for the caregiver.  He outlines the stages of Alzheimer’s, and passes along what he and his family learned as he cared for his wife who had AD.  Can be downloaded free off the Internet. 

I’m Still Here

By John Zeisel, PhD

Practical advice on finding ways to connect with the person with dimentia, both emotionally and through their environment.  Rather clinical, but still helpful.

Dancing with Rose, finding life in the land of Alzheimer’s

By Lauren Kessler

The writer’s mother had Alzheimer’s, but she did not do a lot of caregiving for her.  After her mother died, she felt guilty and curious, so she got a job working in an Alzheimer’s unit.  Interesting perspective, told from the moment training began to when she left.  We see how much responsibility is placed on low-paid workers, and how they handle it.  Not at all a sad book, there are many moments of humor and insight.

Living in the Labyrinth: Personal Journey Through the Maze of Alzheimer's

By Diana Friel McGowin

The writer chronicles her own progression through early onset AD.

Still Alice

By Lisa Genova (also a movie)

A story about a psychology professor at Harvard who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s. 

Losing my Mind:  An intimate Look at Life with Alzheimer’s

By Thomas DeBaggio

An ex-journalist turned herb-grower pens his personal account of early onset dementia.  He includes research about the disease, childhood memories soon to be lost and the negative effect his disease has on his wife and grown son.

Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying

by Maggie Callanan, Patricia Kelley

Two hospice nurses share their experiences with patients at the end of life. We come to appreciate the near-miraculous ways in which the dying communicate their needs, reveal their feelings, and even choreograph their own final moments; we also discover the gifts—of wisdom, faith, and love—that the dying leave for the living to share. Thus we learn to help our loved ones live fully to the very end.

Living with Purpose in a Worn-out Body

By Missy Buchanan

A collection of devotions for the frail elderly who struggle to find purpose at the end of their lives.  Helps caregivers to understand those whom they care for.

Happy Endings, Uplifting End-of-Life Stories, More Happy Endings, Uplifting End-of-Life Stories

by Lorna Bell, RN   (Coppell resident)

Caregivers and loved ones submit short stories of end-of-life observations and experiences.

Utilize Technology

  • Amazon Grocery, Instacart, and many local grocery stores offer grocery delivery.
  • Uber and Lyft are strong options to help relieve transportation burdens.  Explore gogograndparent.com for ways to utilize transportation services without a smartphone.
  • Worship - Join us for worship in person at 10 am or watch online at 9 or 11am at TMUMC.ORG/watch. You can also explore past worship services. 
  • Watch the below video for a good laugh, which is always needed. https://youtu.be/YvT_gqs5ETk

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