I remember when my Mom came home from the hospital and needed many different things. It was a time when I was scattered, scared and just couldn’t connect to creating an easy way to pull all of it together. I was fortunate to have my Sister out from the East Coast, two heads are better than one, particularly in a time like that. Nonetheless, it was an added burden to find and go after things.
I thought about that time when I was putting together the Breathing Spaces website. The website, the entire company really, is all about bringing family caregivers together and giving each of you support in one place. As we add our hand-picked Affiliate Organizations, seminars and walks will become available near you to better support you on your journey.
One of the things I added to the website is a line of products that most people need whether they have a loved one coming home, or take to a care facility to help cut down on costs there. I also added a few personal touches that just might be good for you, the caregiver, or your loved one.
When Mom went to the hospital, it was the last time she ever would. Sadly she passed away about a month later. That’s another blog in itself, the process and the grief. I remember grabbing a small white notebook I had to take with me as I rushed off behind the ambulance knowing I’d need to keep track of information. That notebook became a life saver with information about her health status, doctors and nurses, medications, her pertaining information, in home care facilities and ultimately hospice.
That notebook also became my journal. My thoughts/emotions were so varied and things that Mom spoke about in her final days were written down in it. I can’t tell you how grateful I am that not only did I have the ability to reference that when information was needed on the spot but much more importantly after she passed, memories that I would otherwise not have. That period can be so devastating that remembering moments you go through with your loved one are difficult.
That’s the reason I wrote a journal, a family caregiving journal for those of you going through that journey. Whether or not your loved one is near the end of their life, the journal was written to help you keep track of information while giving you inspiration along the way. You can purchase the journal on the Breathing Spaces website, and I hope it will be able to give you the space to write your feelings down as well as the memories that you will later cherish.
Be well,
Cyndi