The Carex lightweight walker for seniors is a very handy dandy tool for our senior parents and relatives. But we had lost the directions for it and this Sandwich Generation granny nanny must confess that I was definitely challenged trying to figure out how to close it.

I was saved by our physical therapist who knew instantly how to fix that problem and thought I'd share the info with you, just in case you are having the same problem.See the cute pink arrow pointing to the little black thing on the mid-way part of the top bar of the Carex walker? You just push down on that, it presses the hidden button and it all closes nice and neat.

Such a simple solution to such a silly little question – and yet it plagued me for a couple of weeks. And with all the other Sandwich Generation issues of life, who needs that. Right? Much better to spend quality time enjoying Pink Saturday!  

Kaye

The Sandwich Generation Juggle

"Doin' the Sandwich Generation Juggle." That's been my dance this week in a big way as my senior relative is recuperating in the hospital and babysitting grandchildren is coming back to the forefront. Last week – it was all hospital. This week, it's both. I'll head out to the hospital, stay for a bit to help and encourage, go babysit, back to the hospital, then off to school to pick up another grandchild for sweet times with some homework help.

Exercising Our Baby Boomer Brains

Talk about a great way of exercising your brain! Have you SEEN what junior and senior high students have to learn these days! I'm sure it's much harder than when I was in school. I think it's even harder than my own kids were in school! But we keep plowing through and she's doing great and I'm getting to know my geography and history a whole lot better! Ah-hem, we won't discuss the math aspects though – a constant struggle for me since junior high!

Handmade or eCard Greetings Cards Are Both Full of Smiles

My sweet grandchildren (and their equally sweet parents) on both coasts have been faithful to send handmade get well greetings cards, which are now plastering the bulletin board in her room. And here's a fun little trick I just learned about. Many hospitals offer a link on their primary site that takes you to an ecard-maker. There, you fill out the ecard form, pick a cute picture, put in the room number, type a cheery message or some encouraging Bible verses and press enter. Later that day or the next (they may not deliver on weekends), a hospital volunteer will deliver a cheerful little eCard to your loved one. Very quick, easy, and encouraging. Perfect for the patient AND all of us busy with the Sandwich Generation.

Granddogs are Great

I sent the cutest pictures/ecards to her. Today, I even sent her one from all her granddogs – with a delightful picture of somebody's granddog on the front. Earlier, I had picked up some store-bought cards with pictures as well. One thing I wish I'd thought to do – and will remember for the future. If you have time before a planned surgery, print out some cute grandkid pictures to hang in their room. If you wait til after the surgery, you may find that you are too busy, and too tired, to deal with it. That was me. I had time to do it at the hospital – but no printer. When I got home each night, I was too tired and too busy getting caught up with everything else to do it.

Grand Help for the Sandwich Generation Granny Nanny

Thanks to the cute granddog ecards, the store greetings cards, and all the lovely homemade greetings cards from my grandkids, it's worked out just fine and there have been lots of smiles going around in our whole Sandwich Generation family.

Kaye

As caregivers, we all experience difficult days . Days when you just want to scream, throw rocks, or hide under your pillow until it’s over. Days we are extra worried over aging parents or sick grandkids. Days when the Alzheimers care is so difficult. Those are the days we need to cling to God’s promises extra hard, particularly His promise that someday He will take us to our real home – Heaven, an awesome place full of His light and glory, where there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more sorrow. I am so looking forward to that, and so grateful to Jesus Christ for providing the Way to heaven.

“Jesus said…’I am the way, and the truth, and the life;

no one comes to the Father but through Me.’

John 14:6

Here is a lovely poem that wondrously illustrates that point:

Jesus is the key

To unlock Heaven’s door.

He is the only One

Who can take us there forever more.

R.S.

I was reading through my Twitter Micro-Blog and noticed a friend commenting on how many people use the word pray without really doing it . I think that holds true in the real world as well as the virtual world, don’t you? So often people will say, “I’ll pray for you,” then they never do. I know I used to be guilty of that on a regular basis. Not on purpose. I would just plum forget.

Then I heard a pastor speak on this very topic. He suggested that when someone asks you to pray, or when you are talking to someone and you tell them you will pray – DO IT RIGHT THEN . Wow! Such a simple concept and yet it had never occurred to me up to that point. In sharing this concept with others, I’ve discovered I’m not alone there.

I immediately decided that I would do that, to the best of my ability. Even when I was in my 30’s I didn’t claim to have the best memory in the world. As a member of the Baby Boomer generation, I am now in my 50s and my memory is not any better. In fact, with all the input I get from grandkids, aging parents, cell phones, text messages, internet info, and iPod, it’s probably a whole lot worse. But that’s OK.

Now when I am talking to someone and they tell me about an issue, I tell them I will pray and I do it right then ! Sometimes I do it in my head. Shhh, don’t tell, but sometimes I even send up a quick prayer while they are still talking. Sometimes, I ask if it’s ok if I pray for them right then and there. I’ve gotten a few shocked looks, but rarely get turned down. And I get a lot of thank yous!

As God brings them to my mind, I try to pray again several times . But by praying for them right away, I know I’ve prayed and I know God is awesome and is working in their lives as well as mine . So I rest content on His promises NOT my faulty memory. As a caregiver , that’s a wonderful thing. As you well know, we are subject to plenty of interruptions so we need that.

So there you have it. One important secret to praying for others is to just do it. Right then, right when you think of it, and again as God brings it to mind. It’s a joy to watch God work in and through us and our prayers, I can promise you that.

As families continue to scatter across the US and further, more women and men in the Baby Boomer Generation and older are flying all over, often alone. Not only that, for many of them it’s the first time they’ve flown alone. It may even be the first time they’ve ever flown at all.

I had a few trips under my belt before I started having to travel so much, thanks to my parents. My dad and mom gave me a great gift when I was 30. I had never flown before. Southwest and America West had both just started and were offering fantastic deals. For about $7 per ticket, my dad took my mom, my three kids, and myself from Southern California to the Phoenix Zoo. We flew there and back the same day. Back then, smoking was allowed and I was in misery in the back smoking row, but it was still thrilling. They even had seats that faced backwards, which made me rather queasy. I’m so glad they all face forwards now!

I was able to fly with my whole family a couple of times after that. The first time I had to fly alone (well, not alone, but as the only adult with three kids under 9!), it was a tough day, made harder by several prolonged delays due to mechanical difficulties. I was nervous and on edge, but I did great, because of the past experience. Being in my 30s helped a lot too.

A dear friend of mine needed to go on her very first plane trip ever. As a member of the Baby Boomer Generation, and two years away from being an official Senior Citizen, she was very nervous about the whole process. I could certainly understand. If my first trip had been in my 50s instead of my 30s, with my eyesight not as great and my arthritis slowing me down just a bit, it would have been a much more difficult trip.

She was able to combine plans with another friend who had traveled alone several times. They traveled together, which made it much easier for her first time. Her next couple of trips were by herself but her husband could drop her off, her son could pick her up and she had no layovers. She was scared at first but thrilled at her accomplishment when the trip was completed. Then the big day came when, due to a family crisis, she had to make reservations quickly, fly by herself with two plane changes, and return home in time for a vital appointment. She did GREAT! Can you imagine how that trip might have gone if she hadn’t had the earlier ones? Just like anything in life, practice makes perfect, or at least closer to perfect than when you started.

If you, or a special senior in your life, have never taken a plane trip anywhere, or if you have flown but never by yourself, I would encourage you to watch the sales, and take a plane trip or two somewhere close, just for fun. It would make a nice little getaway, which always helps ease caregiver stress , and it would give you a chance to practice doing something you’ve never done before.

You may wind up with just some great memories and never need to use the experience you’ve gathered. Then again, senior health care or grandkids’ needs may spring an emergency on you out of the blue. As you sit in that plane, praying hard for the beloved you are headed to visit, you will be so grateful for the experience that is helping to make this trip just a little bit easier.

The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that,

A North Carolina woman reportedly dumped an elderly relative at a shelter in Bradenton on the way to Walt Disney World. Beverly Edwards is said to have dropped her aunt, Ruth Smith, at a Salvation Army homeless shelter Sunday evening — while indicating that she would not be returning to pick up the 96-year-old. Edwards, who told staff at the shelter that she could no longer care for the elderly woman…

Shocking and sad news that has left many asking, “Why?” At first glance it is so easy for us to pass judgment on this family. “How dare they do this to that sweet old lady?” However, it is important for us to stop and think it through.

For one thing, we need to remember that just because something is in the newspaper it isn’t necessarily totally true or accurate. We can probably all think of one or two important news stories in the past year or so where the facts proved that the reporters embellished or just plain made up all or part of the story.

I saw that in action 20 years ago when the church I was attending bought a quaint old building for their church home. Because of the uniqueness of the building, more newspaper stories were written about our church move than the norm. It was fascinating reading those articles as an “insider.” Names, dates, and activities – you name it, there were plenty of things that needed correcting!

I learned from that to take everything I read with a grain of salt and to find plenty of corroborating information before believing a lot of that. One of my goals for SandwichINK is to verify information as much as possible before sharing it, even when I’m just passing on links And if you ever find something here that needs correcting, do let me know. I appreciate the “extra eyes.”

Another side of this multi-faceted story is the sweet old lady. I am blessed with several senior citizens in my life and they are all wonderful and truly sweet. I have known some elderly people, though, who are anything but sweet. Not only that, dementia or heavy doses of necessary medications can turn a sweet adult into someone no one would want to be around. I saw that happen to a dear friend of mine.  For two weeks I thought I would never have my friend back again. Then the doctor finally found a medication that she could tolerate and it was like night and day. She was once again sweet and caring, and I can’t tell you how happy I was!

For many families dealing with a patient who is in the fog of dementia, they may never see their beloved get better. It only gets worse. Dealing with an elderly parent with dementia year after year is so very difficult, physically and emotionally. My parents cared for an elderly aunt for several years. I have always had the greatest admiration for them and the wonderful attitude they had in dealing with her. Don’t get me wrong, they weren’t perfect. They got discouraged, frustrated, and depressed. But they kept on going, and set an example for me that I continue to strive to copy to this day. As a teenager, I’m afraid I wasn’t that much help to them then. I’m grateful I got a second chance with them and am happy to report I’m doing much better, though I’m not perfect either. Not by a long shot! Come to think of it, no one is, except our precious Lord Jesus! 

We don’t know much about this family. We don’t know if they were struggling with their circumstances, if they were feeling alone and depressed, if the aunt was in more need than they could provide, or if they really were as heartless as the newspaper reports make them appear.

What we do know and what I would encourage you to think about today, is that caregivers need to be proactive about taking steps to avoid burnout. For the sake of the patient AND for the sake of the caregiver.

It’s important for each of us to make sure we build a network of people who can help us in our elder care-giving journey. Relatives, friends, and people from our church can all do little things that can help make our burden lighter if we let them. I was so blessed when my dad was on hospice. My daughters and sons-in-law all helped wonderfully. They ran errands, helped with giving medications, and even took turns spending the night when we needed extra assistance.

Not everyone has extended family close by and it is sometimes hard to build and maintain relationships when your caregiving duties are keeping you extremely busy. This is especially true for the Sandwich Generation! Often we are dealing with the care of our elderly parents AND with kids or grandkids AND with work AND with spouses… It can really be overwhelming.

I always encourage people to start with their church home. Many of the larger churches have a full-on senior citizen ministry. Some offer help for repairs around the house as a ministry to the elderly. If money is extra tight due to all the added medical bills, they might even be able to help out with canned goods or a small grant.

Senior citizen nonprofit groups can be found in many cities. They, too, can be a great resource to help families. In this economy, it is getting harder. There may be more forms and longer waits. It can be worth it though. It’s certainly worth checking into.

Meals on Wheels can be a wonderful help to both the elderly parent and the Senior caregiver. They provide a full and healthy meal once a day and the cost is very low. If money is an issue, there may even be an option for a grant. Many aging parents are eating less and find that one meal fills them up twice a day. Not only that, if your aging parent lives alone, it gives you the comfort of knowing someone else is checking on them once a day.

The internet certainly is a big help in providing friends for caregivers who can’t get out very much. There are many excellent sites who specialize in helping caregivers with counseling, resources, and links to other great info. You can find many great resources here at SandwichINK, starting with yesterday’s Boomers & Seniors Blog Carnival.

Make sure you are taking good care of yourself physically and emotionally! Walking daily can be a great way to exercise, as well as lower your cholesterol, blood pressure, and stress levels. Prayer and meditation has been proven to be very helpful at keeping stress at bay. God is good and His Word is overflowing with His love, comfort and promises. Chewing on a verse or two daily can really help drive away anger, fear, and depression.

Caregiving is not the easiest job in the world. It can, however, be extremely rewarding. Just be sure that you are getting plenty of help, availing yourself of the resources that are out there, and taking good care of yourself, so that you can keep taking good care of your beloved elderly parents. And when you’re praying and meditating on God’s Word, pray for the family in the newspaper and for caregivers everywhere. We can always use extra prayer! 

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

My dad developed Parkinson’s Disease in the mid-1980s. He dealt wonderfully with it. He stayed active, playing golf and walking every single day. He was able to live a relatively normal life for over a decade. Eventually they moved to a house close to me the same year my first grandchild arrived. That was my introduction to the Sandwich Generation .

A few years later his Parkinson’s had progressed considerably and we decided together that it was time for them to move in with me. We knew it would make it easier for mom and me as joint caregivers . It also gave my dad great peace of mind! When I bought my new house a couple years prior to this, I made sure it was easily accessible with no stairs, higher toilet seats, and hand rails in both bathrooms. Shortly after they moved in, my dad had to give up his beloved rolling walker for a wheelchair and I discovered some things I hadn’t thought of. Inches and ramps! Inches as in, “how many inches in my doorways?” “How many inches in the turning radius of a hallway?” “How many inches wide were the sidewalks and walkways?” I totally panicked, then breathed a sigh of relief when I realized that everything was wide enough for his new wheelchair !

Ramps were a bit trickier. I didn’t have any clue where to buy them, what kind to get, or how long I would need them for. Since my house was a single story with no major steps, just a threshold in front and one step down in back, we decided to go with threshold ramps . I was able to find a store three cities away and bought two different kinds. They screwed into the threshold and really did work quite well for us. In doing some research, I discovered several new articles out there that I wish I’d had five years ago. One thing I would suggest, that I didn’t think to do then. Ask your doctor/insurance company if the ramps (or any other necessary equipment) are covered by insurance. I didn’t learn to do that until after we bought the walker AND one wheelchair! Fortunately, we really loved that wheelchair as it was very light weight. It was perfect for travel. I’ll be writing more about that in a later post. In the meantime, here are some links you may find useful if you need wheelchair ramps for your aging parents:

• New Disability
• Discount Ramps – threshold ramps - They have a wide variety of ramps, in addition to these threshold ramps
• Handi Ramp
• Lite Ramp

Swine Flu Updates for Caregivers:

It’s going to be very important for caregivers to monitor the Swine Flu situation. WHO (World Health Organization) raised the pandemic flu alert level to 4 .

Grandkids and Grandparents:

For all those who are helping with homeschooled grandkids, you’ll find this quite interesting – 10 Homeschooled Celebrities .

Here’s a great list of car contests . Wouldn’t it be fun to enter them together with an older grandkid ? Bet they’d think you were the best grandparent in the world!

If your grandkids are more into dollhouses, there’s a fun project for them as well at Grandma Wren’s .

Eldercare:

Five Tips for Preparing a Traditional Eulogy . Good advice from @cemeteryspot. In addition to his great ideas, I like to share their favorite Bible verses, hymns, etc.

What it means When Someone With Dementia Says “I Want to Go Home ” Thank you to @caring4seniors.

Caregiving.com has several podcasts of interest to caregivers including “Cooking with Mom “–tips on how to make cooking a caregiving activity to enjoy.

Pesticide exposure Found To Increase Risk Of Parkinson’s Disease .

Are you interested in HBO’s, “The Alzheimer’s Project ” but don’t get HBO? Alzheimer’s Reading Room has a great solution for you – a free copy of “The Alzheimer’s Project. ”

Alzheimer’s Disease – This article, with facts and figures about this disease, includes the 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s Disease . Thanks to @ alzheimers98 .

Encouragement:

The Lord God is my strength.

General Interest:

How many of you enjoyed the movie, The Sound of Music ? Here’s an interesting interview with one of the real Von Trapp kids, Maria von Trapp, talking about her new book, My Favorite Songs . Thanks to @ ActiveGeezering :

Bible Money Matters has an excellent article on what types of insurance we should have.

If you or an aging parent need help buying a new toilet, Terry Love’s Consumer Toilet Reports is the BEST site I’ve ever seen on that subject. I’ve used his site as a resource several times. He has reviews, recommendations, and a great forum with even more information and help

AARP – As a member of the Sandwich Generation and a Baby Boomer I qualified for AARP a couple of years or so ago. I wasn’t thrilled to know I was old enough for it, until I discovered that my optometrist gives a generous discount for AARP members AND Borders gives a great discount off all books to AARP members. Now I’m thrilled I qualify! 

Finally, as a special gift to all my fellow Sandwich Generation caregivers , I am ending this post with a big smile. Take a look at these photos. They were taken for a special event,  Extreme Grooming of Poodles – The dogs have been groomed into camels, Clydesdales, and more! That’s what you call a different kind of caregiving!