CAREGIVING:

Caregivers’ tips to meet daily challenges from Alzheimer’s Disease International per @Carebuzz.

MindingOurElders’, Carol Bursack, has a great review of two excellent books for Alzheimer’s Disease.

Husband cares for wife with Alzheimer’s at home. Such a bittersweet, loving story from @ALZHEIMERSread . He also has an interesting article, Five Ways to Keep Alzheimer’s Away.

@TinaFightsFire reminds us, “DO NOT smoke when on oxygen!” “An elderly woman and her 66-year-old daughter died in a trailer park fire in northwest Tucson late Friday after a lighted cigarette and medical oxygen combined to spark the blaze.”

Sudden behavioral changes in dementia patients could signify medical issues, such as urinary tract infection. Be sure to call the doctor in this situation. Per @BethPo

Important for ALL AGES: Make sure you read your own medical records and those of your family members you care for!  Per@ mike_gamble.

GRANDPARENTS:

A big thank you to @toothfairycyber for the cute, personalized pillowcase I won! What a  lovely gift for for my granddaughters. Since my east coast granddaughter got the Hannah Montana book I won a couple of months ago, my west coast granddaughters get to have fun with this. We are going to use it as a “special day” and/or “sick day” special pillowcase.    She also has sweet, personalized tooth fairy pillows, complete with pockets for the latest tooth! Very cute!

If you’d like a chance to try to win one of these cute pillows, visit My Household Junk to enter her contest.

Got a brand new grandbaby on the way? Here’s a great solution for the Baby Shower Gift Dilemma – a handmade quilt.

Don’t forget about Twinstock! There are lots of great giveaways going on there!!

SANDWICH GENERATION:

The England newspaper, Daily Mail, has an article about concerns over the medicine for Swine Flu!

It’s good for caregivers to know that patients don’t have to be elderly to qualify for hospice. They just need to be terminally ill and in need of comfort. It’s a great service! Per @ruthannhogue.

Are you feeling crushed by your circumstances? Lynn Mosher has a wonderful article of encouragement, The Sweet Aroma of Crushing.

Speaking of Encouragement – Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. Ps 27.14

Last, but not least, here’s an adorable penguin video.

Wasn’t that a cute “caregiving” story?

SandwichINK has a couple of interesting current events just for you! First, as members of the Baby Boomer Generation of caregivers, we need to stay as healthy as possible. When we get sick, who helps our aging parents and/or grandkids? For the most part, we still do, no matter how miserable we are. In worst case scenarios, we get so sick, we have the added headache of helping our beloveds get help. Neither option is fun.

If you’re like me, you do everything you can to stay healthy, and when you do get sick you work hard to get well. Some of you may have done this by using various Zicam nasal cold remedy products. I know I’ve seen them and considered them, though I haven’t yet tried them. Turns out my procrastination was a good thing! And if you didn’t procrastinate and have some in your cupboard, please check this list as soon as possible. If any of them are on it, you need to know that “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has advised consumers to stop using three products marketed over-the-counter as cold remedies because they are associated with the loss of sense of smell (anosmia). Anosmia may be long-lasting or permanent!” NOT GOOD!

Per the FDA,  the three products that have received over 130 reports of smell loss include:

• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel;
• Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs;
• Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, kids

That means we also need to let our kids and our grandkids know about this possible problem. WOW! The last medicine I used that had major problems was Entex. I had used it and loved it for years for congestion and sinus infection. Then they discovered it caused people to die! Losing your sense of smell is better than dying, but still. I’m glad I never gave it a try. This is definitely a good reminder to all of us to research the over the counter AND prescription medications we take, as well as those our aging parents have. And even then, there are no guarantees.

Another more personal piece of news is that SandwichINK is once again participating in the EldercareABC Blog Carnival. You can find a link to my article, Flying Practice for Baby Boomer Generation and Senior Citizens, in excellent company. They have some useful and interesting articles including:

• I Won a WalkerWonder – Yup, that’s by Mary, who won SandwichINK’s WalkerWonder contest 
• How to pick the best car for yourself and your aging parents
• Fixed annuities
• Easing caregiver stress
• And more…

I think you’ll find it to be an excellent resource for caregivers. I know I did. 

News of interest to you in the Sandwich Generation: Caregivers, Grandparents, Baby Boomer generation, and more. That’s what Thursday’s SandwichINK tends to focus on and this Thursday is no exception.

But today’s news is special. Rather than pulling a news story from the headlines, SandwichINK is making its own headlines. As you may recall, we had our first ever contest, featuring a WalkerWonder banner for aging parents and others who use walkers or rolling walkers. I want to thank everyone for participating! AND I want to thank Kathleen LeRoy and WalkerWonder for this high quality and special walker banner for dads! The contest is over and the winner has won!

And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for. Drum roll please!

The winner is:

Mary from EldercareABC

CONGRATULATIONS MARY!

I will be collecting contact information from Mary and mailing off her banner by this weekend. Once again, thank you to all who participated! We appreciate you ALL! 

When my dad’s Parkinson’s Disease started to progress more dramatically, his doctor finally told him he needed to use a walker rollator to protect him from falls. We were able to get him a very nice looking red walker on wheels and he continued to enjoy his mall walks pushing his walker ahead of him, and sitting on its little seat when he needed to rest. It was very practical and spiffy, though not necessarily the most stylish thing in the mall. When I broke a leg and was stuck on crutches for several weeks I bought a really cute little tote bag that stuck on to my crutches through the use of small patches of Velcro. The goal was to give me something to carry the different things I needed to tote around with me without having to use my hands, while looking at least a little stylish. It looked cute but, sadly, didn’t work very well. It just kept falling off, which drove me nuts, and eventually I gave up on it. WalkerWonder has come up with a stylish, practical product for a walker or walker rollator that takes the best of both those products and makes them much better. The company was founded with the desire to brighten the lives of those who depend on mobility aids, and from the looks of the sample they sent me, along with a close look at their website, I would say they are doing a great job at it.

When I opened their box, I discovered a well-made, sturdy, brightly colored, heavy fabric banner that is custom made to fit snugly on the front of a walker, whether the traditional lifting type, or the more contemporary rolling style (the walker rollator). In addition, there are four “bumpers” that fit on each of the legs of the traditional, non-wheeled walker to add even more color. All of these products use very secure Velcro to stay put. They even tuck in a sheet of cute stickers to add even more opportunity for your aging parent to customize their “wheels.” I asked if you could use these banners on walkers with baskets. Kathleen LeRoy, President of WalkerWonder, wrote, “if a person wants to use a basket in conjunction with the banner, it depends on the configuration of the walker or rollator.  Our website lists the brands of walkers and rollators that the banners will work with and it also provides diagrams to show how the banners fit.” Not only that, they also offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee if you find that you order a product that does not fit to your satisfaction. As a matter of fact, their goal is your 100% satisfaction.  “Within 30 days of your purchase you may return your WalkerWonder product for any reason whatsoever.  You can choose either a refund or a replacement.” In addition, their products also come with a one-year warranty. That’s better than half the products in my house!

The banners have all sorts of cute sayings, from Christian Bible verses, such as “With God, all things are possible,” to cute sayings like my dad and I always enjoyed, “The Cat’s Meow,” to special greetings for parents on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, to patriotic flag styles. That would have been my dad’s first choice! If your elderly parents love to show off photos of the grandkids, they have a banner for that. If they prefer a personalized one with their own name, they’ve got that too!

When I reviewed their website, I discovered that they’re not just good looking and sturdy, they are also practical. The banners and bumpers have been pre-treated for stain resistance. They are hand washable, and line dryable, though if your washer has a delicate setting, they say you can use that as well, though carefully and rarely. Walkers are wonderful blessings to our aging parents,when they need them, but they are not the most attractive items. Even my dad’s, which I thought looked quite spiffy, still looked like a walker. WalkerWonders gives them a nice sense of personality. As someone who loves the occasional bumper sticker to give my car that touch of personality, I really like that. Particularly with the more sterile-looking traditional silver walkers. These would make a terrific gift for grandma and grandpa on each of their birthdays, Mother’s and Father’s Day, or Christmas. At a base price of $59 (even less for the walker rollator cover as they don’t use the bumpers), they would make a great gift for all the grandkids to chip in on. If your senior parents are like mine, they are often saying, “I have no room for more presents.” These would not only not take up more room, they’d brighten your parents’ room! You can order the banners yourself or get a gift certificate so your elderly parent can pick out their own style. You can learn more about these spiffy looking walker banners at WalkerWonder . They have complete assembly directions for both walkers and rollators, and even an interesting blog. I think you’ll find them a delightful gift to share with an aging parent to help them enjoy their walker in a more personal way. Now I have a very fun announcement to make. WalkerWonder is sponsoring a fun giveaway for SandwichINK readers, offering one lucky reader a special "One in a Million" banner set for someone's special Senior Father! This is coming just in time for a special Father’s Day gift or as a delightful gift for any birthday.

It’s also a great way to inaugurate my brand new email service! I have just started using Feedblitz and, in exchange for celebrating that milestone with me, YOU get a chance to win this terrific gift for that special Senior in your life. In order to be entered in the random drawing, just sign up to receive SandwichINK free in your email each day. You can fill out the form below or up in the top right corner. They both work the same.    Then leave me a comment below and be sure to include your email or other contact information so I can notify you if your name is drawn. The recipient of this special giveaway will be picked in a random drawing. If you’d like more ways to enter to win this special Father’s WalkerWonder, in addition to signing up for the free email subscription to SandwichINK which must be the first step, they can include:

• Signing up for SandwichINK's RSS feed (in addition to the email subscription)
• Blogging about it on your blog
• Adding SandwichINK to your blogroll or linking to SandwichINK on your blog
• Tweeting about SandwichINK and the contest on Twitter
• Telling friends at Facebook

For each of the above items, you must leave a separate comment with the link to the item (a link is not necessary for the RSS feed). If you are already doing one or more of these, just leave a separate comment for each explaining that and leaving the link (again, a link is not necessary for the RSS feed). Each comment counts as one entry. Please note that you must continue the subscription for the entire length of the giveaway. Please see SandwichINK’s Policies Page for complete rules and more information. The giveway for this walker / walker rollator banner will end at midnight May 29, 2009 . Have fun

Fire News:

Both the East and the West coast are experiencing dryer than normal conditions. Fire warnings have popped up throughout the year without any apparent respites. Now Southern California has a major fire near Santa Barbara and it’s in the middle of spring! Fire awareness is always a necessity and it’s even more important with all these dangerous conditions.

As caregivers, we have a double duty to be careful ourselves as well as watching out for those we care for . We learned from close friends that all it takes is one cigarette in the wrong place to wipe out half an apartment complex. I found an article about two grandkids playing with matches they found at grandpa’s which started a fire causing major damages to the home. Fires happen! It’s so important to be prepared.

Use this article as your motivator to start a conversation with your aging parents, especially if one or both smoke or use candles . Remind them about important safety issues in a casual, non-confrontive, gentle manner and help them check to make sure their smoke alarms all have working batteries. If they can’t remember when the batteries were last changed, it’s probably time to change them.

Sit down with your grandkids and read a story or two or more about fire safety together . West Covina, CA has an excellent Fire Safety Coloring book you can print out and read to them, then let them color it. It looks especially good for younger toddlers. The New York City fire department  has an expanded 20-page FDNY Fire Safety Activity and Coloring book with some fun word games, more specific information, and even an honorary fire fighter certificate in the back. They offer you a choice of a PDF version or a lower quality non-PDF if you prefer. I’m looking forward to using both the West Covina and the New York City versions with my grandkids. They’ll really enjoy them. Many of our grandkids may already have heard this in school. That’s OK. The more they hear it, the more it will get deep inside them in case of an actual emergency.

Finally, don’t forget about yourself. You need to spend a few minutes thinking through what you need to do in case of a fire . I like to try to remember to keep my glasses, keys, and purse all together and in a place where they’re easy to grab. You also need to have a plan for any aging parent or grandkid who lives with you or visits often. Share with your family your ideas on good meeting places in case you get separated. Also, don’t forget about your computer. As I’ve mentioned before, if you have irreplaceable documents on your computer, such as photos, tax returns, caregiving medical records , etc., it would be wise to make a backup of them and store them away from your home.

Having a father who was a retired firefighter has helped keep these tips at the forefront of my mind . I’m so grateful I’ve never needed them, but we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. It’s important to be prepared, especially when we have others, like aging parents and grandkids, who depend on us!

Fun Mother’s Day News:

Ending on a happier note, I wanted to let you know that 5 Minutes For Mom is celebrating Mother’s Day with several fun contests for all of us! Isn’t that fun news! And  there are ways to win for bloggers AND non-bloggers. So head over to 5 Minutes For Mom to enter. Then come back here and tell us what your favorite prize is   The giveaways include:

• HP Mini 1000 XP Edition
• Kodak EASYSHARE W1020 Wireless Digital Frame with Home Decor Kit
• $50 Macy’s Gift Card
• Hearts and Berries Edible Arrangement
• Kodak EASYSHARE M380 Digital camera
• My personal favorite – Toshiba Portege A600
• And LOTS more!!!
  

  Thank yous go to Julie at Surrendered Scribe for another interesting edition of the Current Event News Meme . Be sure to visit Surrendered Scribe to find more interesting news articles!

It’s once again time for the Thursday Meme, Current Events Wrap Up. Today I want to share a sad story that includes some very useful information for us as caregivers.

Head Injuries – One very sad story that has had headlines all week was the tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson, Liam Neeson’s wife. In case you missed it, she died from a fall while skiing on a fairly simple slope. Each time I saw the headlines, I prayed for her, and I continue to pray for comfort and encouragement for her husband, family and friends. One part of this story that I found of special importance to us, as caregivers, is found in this article at the Globe And Mail . Apparently an ambulance was dispatched, but turned back because her injuries did not seem to be very bad. According to the article, “Mr. Coderre, who has 23 years’ experience as a paramedic, says victims of head trauma often make the potentially fatal mistake of believing they are fine. ‘When you have a head trauma you can bleed. It can deteriorate in a few hours or a few days. People don’t realize it can be very serious. We warn them they can die and sometimes they start to laugh. They don’t take it seriously.’”

As a caregiver of children and elderly adults, we know that falls are a common occurrence for both groups. Many times, these falls can involve head injuries. I know to check with a doctor and then monitor anyone with a bad head injury for 24 hours. But I would never have thought that was necessary if they said they felt OK. Now I’ll know to ask a few more questions, watch a lot more closely, and push a little harder for a doctor visit. Medline has a good article on the subject of head injuries, including a checklist of what to watch for. This would be a good site for caregivers of all ages, including grandparents and parents, to bookmark.

If you’d like to read more articles on current events, check out the founder of this meme, The Surrendered Scribe . There you’ll find her take on the Madoff story as well as another view of Ms. Richardson’s death that I found to be informative and a sweet tribute.

You’ll also notice she is going to be participating in the Blog Party I am so excited about.  Don’t forget that starts tonight at 12:01 a.m. EST, (though you might not want to visit until tomorrow during the daylight hours ). I do hope you’ll come to our party, have a little fun, and maybe even win a fun prize! In fact, SandwichINK has donated two prizes:

99 — $25 gift certificate for Shutterfly
Provided by: SandwichINK.com
Prize details: $25 gift certificate for Shutterfly for photos of all those cute kids, grandkids, pets, etc.

100 — Two Coaching Sessions with Denise M. Brown from Caregiving.com
Provided by: SandwichINK.com
Prize details: Wishing for an easier day? With Denise as your coach, you can tackle your life’s current challenge. During each coaching call, you will determine your next steps that will take your toward the resolution, change or insight you want. Denise is a certified life coach, specializing in eldercare and life purpose. The value of your two free coaching calls is $150.00. For more information, please visit www.caregiving.com

You can see the rest of the prizes over at 5 Minutes For Mom’s prize page .  As of 12 noon on Thursday, there were over 200 prizes listed.  I’ve heard that many of the sites are also offering prizes on their own sites instead of through the main site, so the total number of fun goodies may be even bigger than this. Remember, if you don’t have a blog, you can still have fun. Stop by here tomorrow to get the link for the  Blog Party Main Post. You just have to visit at least 20 of the many interesting sites you’ll find linked there, leave comments at each one you visit, then go back to the Blog Party Main Post and leave a comment, telling that you visited 20 sites and including what prize(s) you are interested in to be eligible to win. You have a whole week to do all that. And most important of all, have fun!

Hot diggety dog. There are some great sites for you to check out on Twitter and I’ve got some of them right here:

Check out Penny Raine’s site for her new eBooks including some yummy recipes that are free. One has LOTS of chocolate. She is limiting the amount of free downloads so it would be best to check it out as soon as possible

Oh my, Amazon has five MP3 albums on sale for $5. There were two in particular that I really liked. I love the praise and worship style of the David Crowder Band and their album, Remedy, is on sale. If you prefer classical, you can find Mendelssohn pieces by Anne-Sophie Mutter. It’s important to note that an MP3 album means that you download all the music. You won’t get a CD or other type of physical music media. You should be able to play it on your computer, copy it onto your MP3 player, or burn it to your own cd using something like iTunes or Windows Media Player.

Frugal Business Twip – A lot of Baby Boomers and others in the Sandwich Generation are self-employed. Most of us probably work from home but if you are starting to outgrow the house or various family members (elderly parents, adult children, grandchildren, etc.) have moved in and there’s no longer room for a home office, have you considered sharing/renting space from another company’s offices? This is quite popular with lawyers and I’m sure it would easily work with other businesses as well.

Here’s a fun Friday story from Seniors for Living . Would you believe a 73 year old who is back in college and playing basketball for his school! Wow! No wonder 50 is the new 30. 75 is apparently the new 35! I like that!

For anyone in the US with little or no insurance, Walgreens has a great prescription savings plan for only $20 a year.  @SaraCH writes that she earned back the $20 fee on her first purchase! Now that sounds like a great frugal option.

Good news – Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.

If you have a Maytag Refrigerator, many of them are under a recall. You can get the details from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission .

If you are struggling with making your mortgage payment, watch out! News10 in California writes about scam artists who are targeting struggling homeowners.I doubt that it’s only Californians who are dealing with that kind of scam. Make sure you always carefully check out anyone you do business with and keep close tabs on your elderly parents. It’s especially easy for them to fall prey to something like this.

Farmers made a fascinating discovery of a monastery beneath Israeli soil – per CNN , via @NerdNews, two of my favorite sources of news.

If you’re in the mood for a contest, you’ll find a fun one at Our 7 Qtpies , the blog of a fellow Sandwich Generation writer. She is busy raising kids, helping her mom, loving life, and having contests. This one ends March 20 and you’ll learn about a great new product for cleaning the bathroom. Frankly, even if I don’t win, I feel like I did, because I really like the sounds of the cleaner. Great if you have family members with allergy issues!

“I read the Bible everyday and the newspaper everyday. That way I know what both sides are up to!” Zig Ziglar

“DNA proves all the Russian czar’s kids died: One of the most enduring mysteries of the 20th century.” Per CNN , via @NerdNews. Does this mean the grandkids won’t want to watch Disney’s Anastasia anymore?

The Grocery Game is a great way to save time AND money at the grocery store.

Great news – In You, O Lord, do I take refuge…For You are my rock and my fortress; and for Your name’s sake You lead me and guide me.

If you use iTunes and find the print is too small, there is an easy solution! Read Rick Broida’s article at PC World and you will find several things you can do to make using iTunes even better including increasing the size of the print. I don’t know about y’all, but it seems like the print on everything is getting smaller and smaller, just as my eyesight is getting worser and worser. It’s nice to be given an option.

Debt-Proof Living has been one of my favorite frugal sites for years. Her current article has some frugal tips including a creative way to make good use of your grandchildren’s works of art. It’s titled “Creative Preservation.”

Here’s some food tips from my favorite foodie site, @Foodimentary. I wish I’d learned this YEARS ago! Cleaning a grater after shredding cheese can be made easy by grating a potato afterward. It clears the gummy cheese out. Also, if you drop an egg on the floor, cover it with salt and leave it for a couple of minutes. Cleaning will be much easier!

Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.

Well, that’s it for this week. Did you find an idea you  really liked? We’d love it if you’d let us know by leaving a comment.

Fun contest! Go to “Gift It For Free” Sweepstakes at http://tinyurl.com/62c443 . Win $5000 in products from Staples! 1/12/09- This contest has ended so the page is gone

Encouragement-by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast.