Q – I live near Walnut Creek and recently decided to leave my job in order to become a full-time caregiver for my aging mother. Is there anything I can do to prepare for the process of being a senior caregiver?

A – Being a family caregiver will be one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences you will face in your life. To make the transition to caregiving easier, there are a number of things that you can do to ease the burden on the entire family.

• Talk to your mother about her expectations of you as a caregiver – what daily tasks does she feel she could use help with? What areas of her life would she prefer to manage independently (when possible) or with the assistance of a professional, rather than a family member?

• Determine what role your other siblings or family members will play in the care of your mother so that all expectations are predefined.

• Talk to your family and children about your changing role, so they understand what you are dealing with and try to help you through the process without becoming resentful over your shifting attentions in the beginning.

• Encourage your mother to get her affairs in order; including drafting a living will so you can ensure that her wishes for medical care are followed should she become incapacitated.

• Find local resources in Walnut Creek for information and caregiver support.

Sources:

1. Associated Content

2. Adsense Blog

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Q – My elderly mother, who lives alone in Walnut Creek, neglects her nutrition because she says food doesn’t taste like it used to, and since my father passed away she doesn’t bother to cook for herself. I worry about her health with all the processed convenient foods she eats. Can you suggest a healthy, tasty recipe that would be easy for her to make that would encourage her to cook at home?

A – Here’s a great recipe that your mother will be able to make quickly and easily, and it has such a great taste she’ll surely be convinced that cooking at home is worthwhile. It also tastes so wonderful that she needn’t cook it just for one; if she invites over some guests they’re sure to think she’s been slaving away in the kitchen all day even though the recipe only requires about 10 minutes preparation time, and 30-35 minutes in the oven.

Lemon Dill Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup sour cream
1 TSP chopped fresh dill
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp. lemon zest

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425? F. degrees.

Mix all ingredients except chicken.
Spray a casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
Spread 1/4 of the lemon dill sauce over the bottom of pan.
Arrange chicken breasts on top of sauce in a single layer.
Pour remaining sauce over chicken and spread evenly.
Bake uncovered for 30-35 minutes, until chicken is done.

Sources:

1. ClevelandAndSeniors.com

2. Nutritionwerks.com

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

We know that as a family caregiver from Walnut Creek you are faced with overwhelming responsibilities and high levels of stress on a daily basis. You probably focus so much on the needs of everyone else around you, that you find yourself neglecting your own. To prevent caregiving stress and burnout, you need to make sure that you factor your own needs into the equation. Complete the following checklist to determine if you are doing everything you can to reduce your own stress levels, and improving the level of care you’re able to provide to your elderly care recipient by concerning yourself with your own well-being.

• When you’re feeling overwhelmed you take a step back and breathe. Simply by taking a few long, deep breaths your will find yourself recharged.

• You ensure that you take at least a few minutes every day where YOU are your only focus.

• You make time for activities you enjoy – you relax with a good book, a glass of wine, or a hot bath.

• You know that regular exercise can help to reduce stress levels.

• You remember that your own health needs to factor in, so you seek medical attention when necessary.

Sources:
1. Caregiverstress
2. Caregiver ABC Blog

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Q – I know that my elderly mother from Walnut Creek has a diet rich in salt. Is sodium harmful to a senior’s health? And if so, how can we help her cut back?

A – Every diet should contain sodium in order for the body to maintain homeostasis, however, when it’s consumed in excess it can be harmful to a senior’s health. According to a recent study completed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, seniors who consume more than 1,500 mg of salt per day are at a greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. While altering a senior’s diet may seem drastic, proper nutrition with a reduced sodium diet is essential for Walnut Creek seniors’ health.

If your mom consumes processed foods, like meats, on a regular basis an easy change would be to encourage her to shop for fresh foods instead. Generally, fresh meats will not contain added sodium, but this can be confirmed with the butcher before purchase. Packaged foods should also contain ingredient lists, and will state if they are low in sodium – seniors should choose these products for better nutrition. You can also encourage your mother to choose salt-free snacks over those that are high in sodium; omit salt from recipes where possible; and use other spices and seasonings that are sodium-free.

Sources:
1. MayoClinic
2. Magic Kitchen
3. Seniors for Living

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Q – My father was recently diagnosed with dementia. While we all saw it coming in a way, it has come as a shock, especially for him. What can we do to help keep him in positive spirits and cope with the emotional aspects that come with such a diagnosis?

A – While you may have suspected a diagnosis like dementia in your father’s future, actually hearing the words and having your fears reinforced can be shocking for everyone.

At this stage, your father may feel as though his mind and body are letting him down, and he may fear an inevitable loss of independence. In the early stages, your father should seek support from Walnut Creek community groups for those suffering from Alzheimer’s and dementia, and learn as much about his condition as possible. Planning early on for the future can also help ensure that his wishes with regards to care and medical treatment are met, if he reaches the point where he is able to voice what he wants. Encourage your father to create a living will, appoint a future Power of Attorney, and generally get his affairs in order. By researching care options in Walnut Creek, he can choose the best fit for him if it’s needed in the future. Encourage him to maintain his lifestyle, but refrain from activities that are too stressful or demanding.

Sources:
1. Alzheimer’s Society UK
2. DementiaGuide

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Since she became retired and her mobility has declined, most of my mom’s favorite hobbies and activities have kept her confined to the home. Her love of crafts has her knitting, building dolls houses, painting ceramics and even beading jewelry (though this is becoming increasingly difficult as her eyesight changes). Last spring, I began to notice that she just hadn’t been getting outside much; particularly since living in a condo in Walnut Creek she has no garden to take care of and no pets to encourage her to step out of her home. I would never ask her to give up her hobbies, but I helped her find a way that she could do her favorite activities outside of the home. Her building has a public patio area, and with permission, we decided to setup a patio table and chairs to give her a surface to sit and do her crafts, while enjoying the fresh spring air and sunshine in Walnut Creek. This year, I know that when her grandchildren come over to their grandma’s for a visit, they will love sitting out on the patio playing board games, cards, making crafts and socializing with their loved one because they won’t be cooped up inside when the weather should be getting them into the spring air!

Sources:
1. Suite 101 (Janienne Jennrich)
2. Disabled World

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Q – I know my mother in Walnut Creek receives a lot of calls from telemarketers, and I worry that she might be exploited when they realize she’s a senior. Is there any way to make them stop calling?

A – Good news for your mother from Walnut Creek who can be registered for the National Do Not Call Registry established by the Federal Trade Commission in the United States which ensures that most telemarketers are blocked from calling her phone number. You can register your mom online or by calling in, and all you need is her name and phone number to add her to the list. After registering your elderly mother, she may continue to receive telemarketer calls for up to 30 days until the request takes effect. Some telemarketers will still be able to call, even if your mother is on the Do Not Call List, but only from those businesses that she has a relationship with, like the financial institution where she does her banking.

By registering your mother for the National Do Not Call Registry, you can sleep easy knowing that she won’t receive calls from telemarketers that might exploit her.

Sources:
1. Federal Trade Commission
2. DoNotCall

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

The decision to become a family caregiver for an aging parent in the Walnut Creek area can be one of the most challenging and rewarding choices you’ll ever make. Naturally, when taking a dive into elder home care you want to ensure that your senior loved one receives the best care available; so how do you prepare to become a caregiver? Start by arming yourself with information; use the internet, like you are now, and other home care resources to learn how to deal with the emotional aspects of caregiving.  Seek out additional resources within your local Walnut Creek community; including caregiver support groups, transportation services, adult day cares and local medical centers. Whether or not you and your senior will require some of the services today, it’s wise to have an understanding of what’s available when you need them.

It’s also important to work with your parents to have all the legal and financial documentation prepared and available should you need to assist them in managing their affairs. Ask them to put together a list of important account numbers and contacts and keep it in a safe and secure place. You don’t need to be savvy to the information today, but it’s a good idea to have it available. You should also ensure that your parents have a living will prepared, so that you can ensure their medical wishes are carried out appropriately if at some point they are unable to speak for themselves.

Sources:

1. Associated Content

2. Adsense Blog

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

What would you do if you had an elderly parent with an addiction?

No one seems to suspect that senior citizens are at risk for drug addiction, but currently approximately 17% of people over the age of 60 abuse prescription medication, and many have adult children who are wondering: “what do we do?” People have preconceptions about what defines an addict, but age and pharmacueticals don’t discriminate.

The elderly who face depression, illness, and various ailments are more likely to become reliant upon their prescriptions and face withdrawal once they try to stop taking them. Addiction doesn’t mean you needlessly take medications; many seniors legitimately require pain killers to cope with Arthritis or sedatives to deal with the loss of a spouse, but it’s abuse when medications are taken consistently against medical instruction.

What if you had a parent who had a history of alcohol abuse and now uses prescription drugs? It’s a great debate with seniors who abuse prescription drugs, since they need them, is it fair to categorize seniors and label them as addicts as you would label an alcoholic? According to experts, drug abuse is addiction, regardless of medical need. Alcoholics also need to have a drink in order to avoid withdrawal, and that’s addiction too. But would you handle a senior’s prescription drug addiction the same way you’d intervene with an alcoholic?

Sources:

1. Bio-Medicine

2. Join Together

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.

Q - In caring for my elderly mother, I feel I’ve fallen into a rather limited routine. This summer, I’m hoping to up the excitement ante with interesting senior appropriate activities. What activities have you completed with your senior during past summers that are in line with June holidays, special days and events?

A1 - One of our June family traditions have stemmed from National Turkey Lovers month! While the point might be to honor the living creatures, we’ve created a special holiday to bring the family together at my senior father’s home. Of course we honor the turkey as it plays a role in our family feast, but it’s more about bonding as a family over a nice meal and showing my dad how much we all love and appreciate him.

- Sarah    Walnut Creek

A2 – My senior mother loves the ocean, and since it’s become increasingly challenging to get to the coast and walk along the beach, instead we check out sea life by taking advantage of National Zoo and Aquarium Month which takes place in June. By going to a zoo or aquarium, my mother gets back some of the experience she’s missing by not getting around at the coast, and it’s an environment that accommodates a senior with more limited mobility. We look forward to June every year to check out our favorite aquatic animals, and it’s a great change from the everyday senior activities that we typically engage in!

- Melanie, 56

Home Care Walnut Creek, CA delivering home care and elderly services to seniors in the Contra Costa area including Concord. Call us 925-280-9688.