Happy Valentine's Day 2020 !

The sun finally came out today after a long absence.  It has been like gloom and doom for about the last six weeks.  Winter has finally showed its' ugly presence with snow and ice along with wind and single digit temperatures.  The countdown until spring is on and I have a feeling it is going to be late.  The seasons have shifted and the gray skies have left the mood here dismal.

January seemed to last forever and it was unkind to my husband and I.  We suffered through a bout of Norovirus that took the wind out of our sails.  As we grow older it gets a little harder to recover.  I have been hibernating and have been out only for groceries and one luncheon with friends.  The fear of getting another illness such as the flu haunts us.  The schools have closed a couple of times to try and slow the spread.  So much for our flu shots which seemed to be ineffective this year.

I was at the store today looking at flowers trying to imagine what summer feels like.  There were a lot people picking up Valentine gifts.  My gift is food for the soul.  It is always a pleasure to cook for my husband.  He enjoys the food and so do I.

This year has brought higher health insurance cost and medication prices still increasing.  I am hoping for the sake of all of us that the government will pass something to lower the cost.  My heart always aches when people can't afford their meds.

We attended a seminar last night about getting the most from social security and the new changes.  Overall consensus is high cost of healthcare and insurance if you retire before 65.  There are not many companies these days that will pay for insurance if you retire before 65.  We fall into that category.  Cobra is very expensive.  The advice to young people working is to plan not only for supplementing social security but start a fund for medical expenses if you want to retire early.  Hopefully by the time our children retire their will be a better system in place for affording healthcare.

I need to look at something beautiful to get through the rest of this gloomy weather.

Happy Valentine's Day !!

Life is beautiful !

Elizabeth

Thank You Caregivers 2019

The end of another year is here and I am very grateful that I am still living life and enjoying every minute.  It has been a sad year for a lot of people in our community still recovering from our fourteen tornadoes and our mass killings.  The sound of wind is now a haunting sound that hammers our home and reminds us of that terrifying Sunday eve in May that kept us hiding under our stairs.  The tornado sirens pierced the air and over a course of four hours places we once knew were destroyed.  We are so blessed that the two homes we owned at the time were left untouched and our family that is scattered in different areas were safe.  We pray everyday for all those who lost their homes and businesses.  Life is never to be taken for granted.

I have spent the year moving, selling a house and trying to get healthy.  My husband and I are happily enjoying our new home.  My B12 deficiency has been rearing its ugly head and trying to come up with a way to control the symptoms has been hit or miss.  The balance issues are the biggest problem and I had several bouts of vertigo that just about did me in.  I have studied every thing I can get my hands on  to understand this B12.

I have continued to take sublingual supplements of  methylcobalamin  daily and at times increased the dosage as was suggested by a doctor to control the symptoms.  I am crossing my fingers that I will not have anymore bouts like my last one.  My husband drove me to a nearby clinic to get help and for the first time a NP acknowledged my B12 deficiency and told me to keep taking the methylcobalamin.  I was so elated that she knew about B12 and the symptoms it caused as I have bad luck with doctors who don't believe we need to supplement.  I even had one tell me to eat lots of green vegetables???..... B12 comes from meat, fish, and dairy and is absorbed by the body with the help of intrinsic factor.  Some people don't produce enough intrinsic factor and have to take daily supplements.

For all the doctors out there that don't understand the role B12 plays in the body, look it up and study it.  The next time someone seems confused, trouble swallowing, short of breath,  or dizzy with tingling sensations check their B12.  The balance issue for me makes me feel awful.  It nauseates me and causes vomiting and at times I have been unable to stand up.  It explains so much of the health issues I have had over the years.

Since my visit with the NP my balance issue has improved with some helpful advice from her.  I took it upon myself to up the dose of sublingual B12 and I am keeping my fingers crossed that I will continue to feel well.

I want to thank my wonderful caregiver my husband who stayed home from work with me during my last vertigo attack.  He is paying it forward with me.  He always tells everyone I take good care of him and he is taking good care of me.

Thank you to all the caregivers out there.  You are wonderful people who have set aside your own needs at times and helped the people in your life that needed someone to care for them.  May you have a wonderful New Year filled with gratitude and love.

Life is beautiful !!
Elizabeth:)


           

Caregiving And Anticipatory Grief

It is the time of the year when things are suppose to be magical and filled with gratitude and love.  We see a lot of people giving to others with big hearts.  It is a shame that every day is not like the Christmas season.  We decorate our homes with beautiful lights, send cards to people we don't see all year, and gather with family to catch up on what is happening in life.  It is a magical time and one that makes us happy and sometimes sad.

The flip side of this season of  holiday and cheer is stress and sadness.  It reminds us of loved ones we lost and good times that we shared with them.  Most people reflect on some kind of memory from a past Christmas whether it is good or bad.  We spend time rushing to get the right gifts and hoping that everything is perfect for those around us.  It can be stressful for anyone and especially for caregivers who dealing with their own responsibilities and helping the person that they are caring for.

I saw an article today about anticipatory grief.  It is grief that happens when caring for someone that is still alive and the uncertainty of their time left with us.  I felt this grief with my mother and husband when they were ill.  It happens when we see our loved one ill and don't know how long they may be with us.  We all know that we are going to die some day, but caring for someone with illnesses that don't have good a prognosis leave us with a sense of uncertainty of the future.  We feel a loss of a life that was normal for us and the fear of losing someone that has shared our life is overwhelming to the mind.  It is something that is really normal and I feel that people should not try to stop someone from experiencing it.  Grief is a natural form of healing.

The anticipatory grief can happen also for elders who are experiencing empty nest and feelings of being a lone and separated from their grown children.  I wrote about  AG in my other blog a couple of years ago.  I have experienced it on and off through my adult life.  There is a saying that no matter how prepared we are for death or loneliness it hurts.

The best advice that I can give to others is to let caregivers talk about their fears and listen without judging them.    If you know someone that is a caregiver reach out to them and ask how you can help so they may feel less burdened during the holiday season. Sometimes it is hard for the caregiver to ask for help.  Sometimes we just have to jump in and remember this is the time of year to give to someone in need.

Visiting elders that live alone is a beautiful gift. The kindness of a hug, a warm plate of food, and talking is one of the greatest gifts for our soul.  If unable to visit them pick up the phone and call them.  Remember someday it may be you who is lonely.

Life is beautiful !

Elizabeth:)