Help! I'm a Caregiver

A Book of Helps, Comfort, Insights, and Encouragement

Ernest M. Tegeder

• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN:
  9781098086336
• eBook ISBN:
  9781098086343
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Caregiving

Have you recently become a caregiver, or perhaps are considering it as a profession? Or have you recently been one for a time and are experiencing the stress and anxiety that most often accompany it? Then you are in need of this book.

Caregiving is a very stressful role and occupation for many reasons. This book will acquaint you with the many aspects involved and will frankly deal with the areas as well that are often embarrassing to discuss.

It will offer help and guidance along with spiritual comfort to both caregiver and patient as both navigate these difficult waters. And it will offer practical suggestions to make this journey run smoother.

By the time you finish the book, you will come to see that caregiving is a calling and that caregivers should be thanked and celebrated for being willing to fulfill this vital role. And celebrate and thank them we will, as well as thanking God for giving the strength and support to be one.

Help! I'm a Caregiver

A Book of Helps, Comfort, Insights, and Encouragement

Ernest M. Tegeder

Copyright © 2021 by Ernest M. Tegeder

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Caregiving as a Profession

Doctors—The Caregiver’s Partner

Physical Therapists—Caregivers Also

First Responders and ER Personnel—The Ultimate Caregivers

Stages (Levels) of Caregiving

Devices and Apparatus Used in Caregiving

The Finances of Caregiving

The Emotional Aspects of Caregiving

Humor and Cheerfulness

Elder Caregiving

Listening—Being a Good Listener

Caring for One’s Spouse

The Mental/Spiritual Side

A Caregiver’s Demeanor and Attitude

Caring for Someone with Mental Issues

The Mind—Where Life’s Biggest Battles Take Place

Parkinson’s and Its Special Needs

Treatment and Managing of Parkinson’s

The Spiritual Side to Illness

Parkinson’s and Other Disabilities from the Patient’s Point of View

Caregiving—The Larger Picture

Communication Difficulties

Managing Medications

Dementia and Hallucinations

Maintaining One’s Own Well-Being as a Caregiver

Efficiency Tips

Memories Pleasant and Otherwise

The “Grouchy” Patient

The “Grouchy” Caregiver

The Dreaded “A” Word

Depression and Suicide

The Power of Music

The Self-Preservation Instinct

Eating Disorders and Nutrition

An Addendum on Vitamins

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Caregiving

Incontinence—Accidents and Cleanup

The “Placement” Separation

The Exhaustion Factor

Handling Guilt

Conclusion and Patient Release

So What Have We Learned?

I dedicate this book to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
and my dear wife, Barbara, the love of my life,
for whom it is now my privilege to be her caregiver.

Preface

This book has been written as a help, guide, encouragement, and hurrah for anyone who finds they have been assigned to care for a child, mate, elderly parent, or perhaps in a professional capacity.

You will discover very quickly that caregiving is no easy task, and it involves many facets. It will tax everything about you from your strength to your emotions, patience, spiritual strength, and right down to your very character.

This book will also not pull punches and will confront head-on all the issues you will face and encounter. In all likelihood, some of the issues you will or must confront you may find troublesome or embarrassing, in that certain thoughts and feelings may arise that you wish didn’t. Confronting them will help you deal with your state of mind.

Lastly, this book is written from a godly Christian perspective—which, if you are one, you will welcome. And if you are not, you may be led and drawn by it to a relationship with Jesus Christ, our loving God and Creator.

Introduction

It’s been said we come into this world needing lots of care and we generally leave it the same way. Therefore caregiving is a necessity, but it is something more. It is an expression of reality combined with love. The reality is that the human condition we pass through puts all of us in need of care at some point and the love part is how and who gives it and how it is given.

The chapters, and how they are presented, introduce one to the various aspects of caregiving plus, in some cases, present ...

Table of contents

• Caregiving as a Profession
• Doctors—The Caregiver’s Partner
• Physical Therapists—Caregivers Also
• First Responders and ER Personnel—The Ultimate Caregivers
• Stages (Levels) of Caregiving
• Devices and Apparatus Used in Caregiving
• The Finances of Caregiving
• The Emotional Aspects of Caregiving
• Humor and Cheerfulness
• Elder Caregiving
• Listening—Being a Good Listener
• Caring for One’s Spouse
• The Mental/Spiritual Side
• A Caregiver’s Demeanor and Attitude
• Caring for Someone with Mental Issues
• The Mind—Where Life’s Biggest Battles Take Place
• Parkinson’s and Its Special Needs
• Treatment and Managing of Parkinson’s
• The Spiritual Side to Illness
• Parkinson’s and Other Disabilities from the Patient’s Point of View
• Caregiving—The Larger Picture
• Communication Difficulties
• Managing Medications
• Dementia and Hallucinations
• Maintaining One’s Own Well-Being as a Caregiver
• Efficiency Tips
• Memories Pleasant and Otherwise
• The “Grouchy” Patient
• The “Grouchy” Caregiver
• The Dreaded “A” Word
• Depression and Suicide
• The Power of Music
• The Self-Preservation Instinct
• Eating Disorders and Nutrition
• An Addendum on Vitamins
• Alcohol, Tobacco, and Caregiving
• Incontinence—Accidents and Cleanup
• The “Placement” Separation
• The Exhaustion Factor
• Handling Guilt
• Conclusion and Patient Release
• So What Have We Learned?