Hospice Care at Home: A Guide to Caring for Your Dying Loved One at Home (Alzheimers) - Softcover

Starr Calo-oy; Bob Calo-oy

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0975319515 ISBN 13: 9780975319512

Publisher: Orchard Publications, 2006

Synopsis

Chapter 1 The Diagnosis What Now? This chapter explains how the family caregiver is to change their own mental attitude to be of the utmost benefit to their loved one who has just gotten news from their doctor that they have a terminal illness. It also addresses how to listen effectively and how to talk about this highly sensitive issue. If the loved one has dementia, how to handle their grief is explained when they cannot share their feelings with them because they don t understand what is happening. Chapter 2 Interview with Your Loved One This chapter addresses the dying persons financial & legal matters in regard to how the family caregiver can help. It identifies the questions to ask him so to avoid last minute chaos. Fifteen questions are listed. It helps the family gather all of the vital information and develop a file system so they can reach for it at a moments notice. Chapter 3 Planning the Funeral Included in this chapter is how to select a funeral home and how to involve the loved one in planning their own funeral (if they care to participate). Every detail of the funeral is addressed with suggestions for the reader. It tells them what they will need to supply the funeral director with when the arrangements are made in advance, the day their loved one dies and the day of the funeral. Chapter 4 Preparing for Death at Home Easily applicable tips and suggestions on how the family caregiver can set their home and their loved ones room for complete care are covered in this helpful chapter. Included are the supplies and medical equipment s identification and purpose, fifteen tips for preparation to make their work easier and the house comfortable, warm and inviting for family and friends who come to visit. Chapter 5 Coping with the Flood of Mixed Emotions Identification of common emotions of the family caregiver, family and patient are addressed including denial, anger, guilt and fear. Suggestions for the reader and points to ponder are included to help put objectivity into focus. Chapter 6 Medical Problems of the Bed Bound Person The authors instruct the caregiver on what to do about common elderly medical problems and ailments that may arise when their loved one is confined to the bed. Chapter 7 Physical, Hands-on Care: Tips Many people who are not in the medical field, geriatric specific, have no idea how to change an adult diaper or how to give an adult a shower or bed bath. This chapter gives detailed instructions in a down-to-earth, common laypersons style, on how to do these procedures. In addition to this, they receive instructions and tips on how to do oral care, nail care, hair care shaving needs on another person. Chapter 8 The Role Hospice Plays Most people mistakenly believe that hospice is a place to go instead of a philosophy and service for end of life care. This chapter explains exactly what hospice is and identifies and explains in detail, the role of each member of the hospice team and how they care for their loved one in the home. Chapter 9 Ten Keys to Avoid Caregiver Burn-out This chapter focuses on the family caregiver and provides numerous suggestions they may have forgotten, being so intensely involved in the daily hands-on care of their loved one, so that they can remain objective regarding that care while eliminating frustration and fatigue. Chapter 10 Open House: A Joyful Farewell Three weeks before Starr s own mother, Gin, died in her home, the family held a living memorial for her by inviting all of her friends and relatives. There were 150 attendees who, over the course of 4 hours, told Gin the impact of her life in theirs. Starr details the planning of such an event for those who have prior notice of terminal illness and tells her mother's story.

About this title

About the Author:

Starr & Bob Calo-oy were both born and raised in San Antonio and have been joyfully married for twenty-eight years. From 1989 to 2006, they owned and operated a personal care home specializing in the care of terminally ill patients and people with Alzheimer s disease and other forms of dementia in their San Antonio home.

They also cared for the well-minded elderly who could no longer care for themselves at home. In addition to caring for the elderly in their home, they give in-service training for doctors, nurses, and the staffs of hospices and home health agencies, sharing tips and unique ideas for caring for people with dementia.

Starr & Bob host a one-hour radio talk show in San Antonio (KKYX-680 AM) called Caregiving 101. They have guests on the live show and take questions from callers. Those who want to access their past shows can do so by visiting their website, caregiversadvice.net.

They also do a segment by the same title on television every Sunday morning, which can be viewed on their website.

Starr gives private consultations to individuals on how to start and operate a successful personal care home, as well as helping family caregivers set up their home for care. She is a columnist for SAWorship.com as well as an occasional freelance writer for the San Antonio Express-News.

In April 2004, the Calo-oys released their first book, The Caring Caregivers Guide to Dealing with Guilt, about their experiences over eighteen years of operating their personal care home. That book is about the undeserved guilt families experience when they turn the care of their loved ones over to someone else. It also provides tips and suggestions to help the family if they desire to care for their loved one in their own home. It was written to benefit the medical field, but at the same time is easy for the non-medical professional to easily understand.

In November 2006, they released Hospice Care at Home: A Guide to Caring for Your Dying Loved One at Home. This book provides the family caregiver with all the information necessary to keep their loved one in their home through death, rather than sending them to a more institutional setting.

In January 2008, they released two books: Caregiving Tips A-Z: Alzheimer's & Other Dementias and Caregiving Tips A-Z which was written for the family caring for the well-minded elderly. All of their books will be available in Spanish by August 2008.

Starr and Bob have had a marriage ministry for nineteen years now and counsel couples to help them to develop a more meaningful relationship and better communication skills. They are available to speak at conventions, seminars, civic clubs, and health care facilities, do book signings at bookstores all over Texas, and regularly make television and radio appearances.

Review:

My husband, Bob, and I have taken care of the terminally ill and people with dementia, such as Alzheimer s patients, as well as the general elderly public, in our own home from 1989 through 2006. Hospice Care at Home takes the family caregiver through every hands-on procedure needed to caring for their dying loved one at home. It also helps the family understand the role that the hospice agency can play in their lives, explores financial and legal matters, caregiver burnout, how to plan a living memorial, the dying process and funeral planning. If you have an elderly loved one who is dying and want to care for them in your own home, this book will teach you to provide quality care, regardless of your education level. You will find that you are not alone in dealing with seemingly overwhelming emotions and fear of the unknown such as guilt, fear, denial and even anger. One chapter describes what you are feeling and gives you a resolution to apply immediately. Hospice Care at Home also gives you creative tips and practical suggestions on caring for your loved one and makes your job at home much easier. This book will also help medical professionals, hospice agencies and home health agencies by giving them an excellent and fresh resource to refer to their patients and their families. Coping with death, guilt, mental illness, violence, abuse, revenge, victory, tears and love are but a few of the tumultuous feelings and seemingly insurmountable situations that family caregivers find themselves in every day. The chapter on Ten Keys to Avoid Caregiver Burnout addresses these issues, identifies and then solves the problems they are having and gives the family caregivers permission to seek help and finally begin living again by caring for themselves. Baby boomers , the sandwich generation - you can label this group in a variety of ways, but the facts speak for themselves in regard to the increasing population of adult children of the elderly. Many of them are now electing to provide care in their own homes in lieu of a more institutional setting for their loved ones final days. If we take into consideration the fact that people are living longer (according to the Census Bureau, the average age at death in the year 2000 was 85), we can see that there are millions of Americans between the ages of 38 and 67 who out of necessity make decisions about arranging care for their elderly parents or grandparents. One of the main reasons that families don t care for their dying loved ones at home is because they are under the misconception that they must have a doctor or nurses degree in order to give care to someone who is dying. They don t feel qualified. This book hopes to give people the confidence they lack, dispel these myths and return to the days, not so long ago, when all people cared for their own dying in their home. --The Overview

About this edition

• Publisher: Orchard Publications
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0975319515
• ISBN 13: 9780975319512
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 176