Most of us are unprepared for medical crises. We go about our daily lives and dont give much thought to our ability to handle medical emergencies. Often we hear about afflictions that have affected people we know. Maybe we even have friends, family members and acquaintances that have had such experiences. However, never has the old adage, Out of sight, out of mind, had more relevance than it does when it comes to medical crises. All of this changed for my wife and me when she was diagnosed with an invasive bladder cancer in early 2010. We were hit between the eyes with the shocking news. There were decisions to be made, research that needed doing, and very little time in which to accomplish it all. She would need surgery. This book is a memoir of our experiences and the lessons that I learned through several surgeries and a prolonged hospital stay. It is written through my perspective as the primary caregiver. It will help you in your role as a caregiver. I am sure that my male perspective is apparent. However, regardless of your sex, there are lessons to be learned to help better prepare you. The timeline of the book begins with the day of the diagnosis and ends with the recovery once we were back home after a twenty seven day stay in the hospital. During this period, I learned to be an advocate. There are important lessons here for anyone who is facing a similar situation. I did not have any medical background prior to this experience. Both my wife and I were healthy 59 year olds. Nor did my professional life prepare me for the emotional and spiritual issues that are discus in the memoir. My sole purpose in publishing my thoughts, feelings, and actions throughout our crisis is to help others when they are facing similar situations. Our hospital stay was prolonged and we had to deal with several mistakes that were made. I discuss them candidly, not for the reason of pointing fingers or establishing blame, but instead, because I believe that they will better prepare you, as a caregiver, for dealing with your loved ones crisis. Like it or not, as a caregiver you have some awesome responsibilities that will definitely affect your loved ones recovery. The research you do, the connections that you make to help you advocate, the tactics you ploy to gain information, and the continual support and affection that you give, will make a difference. This book shares all of my personal experiences with you, the reader. As you read, try not to compare your situation or my personal life with yours. Instead, try to relate to my experiences. Look for commonalities rather than differences. By doing so, I believe that you will be better prepared for logically and emotionally helping your loved one achieve a full and healthy recovery. Although you are not the person who is ill, you will be challenged emotionally, physically, and even spiritually. The extent to which you are on guard and prepared to handle these challenges will affect the experience of your loved one. Again, this is the sole purpose of the book: to better prepare you to help you loved one get better. I wish you and your loved one the best. You become an advocate on the day of diagnosis. From that point on, its no longer about you, its about helping your loved one get better. Theres another old adage that says, This too shall pass. I, sincerely, wish that you crisis will pass uneventfully and successfully. Best Wishes, Peter G. Christie

Family caregiving affects millions of Americans every day, in all walks of life. At least 17.7 million individuals in the United States are caregivers of an older adult with a health or functional limitation. The nation's family caregivers provide the lion's share of long-term care for our older adult population. They are also central to older adults' access to and receipt of health care and community-based social services. Yet the need to recognize and support caregivers is among the least appreciated challenges facing the aging U.S. population. Families Caring for an Aging America examines the prevalence and nature of family caregiving of older adults and the available evidence on the effectiveness of programs, supports, and other interventions designed to support family caregivers. This report also assesses and recommends policies to address the needs of family caregivers and to minimize the barriers that they encounter in trying to meet the needs of older adults.

"Nurses play a vital role in improving the safety and quality of patient car -- not only in the hospital or ambulatory treatment facility, but also of community-based care and the care performed by family members. Nurses need know what proven techniques and interventions they can use to enhance patient outcomes. To address this need, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), with additional funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has prepared this comprehensive, 1,400-page, handbook for nurses on patient safety and quality -- Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses. (AHRQ Publication No. 08-0043)." - online AHRQ blurb, http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/nurseshdbk/

Caring for a parent whose health is in decline turns the world upside down. The emotional fallout can be devastating, but it doesn't have to be that way. Empathic guidance from an expert who's been there can help. Through an account of two sisters and their ailing mother--interwoven with no-nonsense advice--The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregivers helps family members navigate tough decisions and make the most of their time together as they care for an aging parent. The author urges readers to be honest about the level of commitment they're able to make and emphasizes the need for clear communication within the family. While acknowledging their guilt, stress, and fatigue, he helps caregivers reaffirm emotional connections worn thin by the routine of daily care. This compassionate book will help families everywhere avoid burnout and preserve bonds during one of life's most difficult passages.

The story of one woman’s struggle to care for her seriously ill husband—and a revealing look at the role unpaid family caregivers play in a society that fails to provide them with structural support. Already Toast shows how all-consuming caregiving can be, how difficult it is to find support, and how the social and literary narratives that have long locked women into providing emotional labor also keep them in unpaid caregiving roles. When Kate Washington and her husband, Brad, learned that he had cancer, they were a young couple: professionals with ascending careers, parents to two small children. Brad’s diagnosis stripped those identities away: he became a patient and she his caregiver. Brad’s cancer quickly turned aggressive, necessitating a stem-cell transplant that triggered a massive infection, robbing him of his eyesight and nearly of his life. Kate acted as his full-time aide to keep him alive, coordinating his treatments, making doctors’ appointments, calling insurance companies, filling dozens of prescriptions, cleaning commodes, administering IV drugs. She became so burned out that, when she took an online quiz on caregiver self-care, her result cheerily declared: “You’re already toast!” Through it all, she felt profoundly alone, but, as she later learned, she was in fact one of millions: an invisible army of family caregivers working every day in America, their unpaid labor keeping our troubled healthcare system afloat. Because our culture both romanticizes and erases the realities of care work, few caregivers have shared their stories publicly. As the baby-boom generation ages, the number of family caregivers will continue to grow. Readable, relatable, timely, and often raw, Already Toast—with its clear call for paying and supporting family caregivers—is a crucial intervention in that conversation, bringing together personal experience with deep research to give voice to those tasked with the overlooked, vital work of caring for the seriously ill.

Are you a sudden caregiver? When an unforeseen medical crisis robs someone you love of their health and wellbeing, do you feel caught off guard and ill-prepared for your role as caregiver? Plenty of research confirms what you may already know: caregiving is depleting, worrying, and exhausting, often leading to physical and emotional burnout, fear, and illness for the caregiver.Yet a growing body of evidence drawn from the field of positive psychology makes it clear that, while caregiving is depleting, it can also be a source of strength, well-being, meaning and purpose. And when caregivers reduce their own stress and increase their own well-being, they do a better job of improving the quality of life for the loved one in their care.Caregiving may be inevitable, but caregiver distress is not. You are not alone. Written by a family caregiver for family caregivers, The Sudden Caregiver, provides a roadmap for your unique caregiving journey helping you to:?Take control of the practical tasks and available resources your circumstances require.?Minimize unpleasant surprises and maximize well-being for you and your loved one.?Leverage "resilience builders" to protect yourself against stress and replenish your spirit. Karen Warner became a sudden caregiver when her late husband, Joel Kurtzman, was diagnosed out of the blue with stage IV cancer. In this book, she enters the complicated world of the informal, unpaid, sudden caregiver, offering guidance, resilience, and, yes, a playbook -- a rational approach for planning what is, essentially, unplannable. Here you will find a roadmap along with six pathways to well-being, designed to help you navigate your caregiving journey with grace and grit. Karen is an executive coach and President of Tangible Group, a coaching and consulting firm that focuses on leadership development and caregiver well-being. She received her Master's degree in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania.For more information, and to receive updates on the publication of The Sudden Caregiver, visit www.thesuddencaregiver.com.

An AARP book for caregivers combining day-to-day advice and uplifting guidance in a daily meditations format. Family care giving has its challenges: emotional overload, time constraints, anxiety, burnout, missed work, adult sibling conflicts, and marital issues. AARP Meditations for Caregivers blends emotional and spiritual motivation to minimize the strains while helping caregivers view their work as a mission from the heart. Chapters are organized by theme, including topics such as accepting your feelings, knowing your limits, seeking support, and managing stress. Each reading offers a poignant meditation, an anecdote drawn from the author's personal or clinical experience, and hands-on or psychological advice to foster coping skills and a sense of fulfillment. The meditations in this dispensable book will provide you with solutions to typical care giving challenges, offer relief and renewal through mindfulness, and inspire you to find meaning and value in the work you do. /DIV