"Dementia and Alzheimer's Disease" is the newest
Topic on YourAgingparent.com
and it's the flier for this month's edition of Catholic
Caregivers. Here's how it begins:
It’s become common to incorrectly use the term Alzheimer’s
to describe all kinds of dementia. Dementia is the loss of
memory and the ability to think, to solve problems, and to use
reason. It affects memory, intelligence, judgment, language, and
behavior. There are a number of subcategories under this broad term,
including Alzheimer’s, multi-infarct dementia (which is
stroke-related), senile dementia, and alcohol-related dementia.
Historically, all the types of dementia were called “senility.” An older person with some form of dementia “became senile.”
Certainly your care-receiver has heard of and known people who have
“lost their minds” (to use another common expression) as they have
aged. Even if your loved one is seriously incapacitated because of
physical problems, he or she may proudly and thankfully state, “At
least I still have my mind.” Of course he or she is worried about Alzheimer’s. The disease
has become well known, and it—or any form of dementia—takes a
horrible toll.
You can read more of this Topic
here.
And you'll find the flier
here.
We've also posted January's
Prayers of Intercession for October and the
Bulletin Briefs at CatholicCaregivers.com, our
sister site for parishes and dioceses.
- - -
Again this week we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers). You can:
There can be a fine line between encouraging or
comforting your care-receiver and annoying him or her.
And that line moves!
The same is true for all of us.
Under some circumstances we readily accept a reminder or
a little pointed advice, but under other circumstances .
. . watch out!
We're tired, hungry, don't feel well or
already upset about something and then along comes some
unsuspecting (or unobservant) family member, friend or
coworker and what he or she suggests seems like just
about the dumbest thing we've ever heard in our entire
lives. (As one wife has learned to gently put it to her
husband when he wanders into that minefield: "I know
you're not as stupid as you seem to me right now.")
Successful writers, musicians, politicians and entertainers
have learned to keep their audiences in mind and so they
have a pretty clear idea about the specific audience they're
targeting. You, on the other hand, always have the same
audience -- your care-receiver -- but need to pay
attention what's going on with him or her right now.
So here's our little bit of advice for you, and please
forgive us if it reaches you at a time when you really
don't want any more stupid, stinking, annoying,
unrealistic or pretty much obvious advice:
--Never hesitate to ask the Holy Spirit for
a wee bit more wisdom before you say or do something
you're not sure you should say or do. Or when you
suspect you should say or do nothing.
--Realize that a few words of spiritual
adages or consolation can sound very much like pious
platitudes or clichés. (Annoying pious platitudes
or clichés.)
--It can help to refer to the health-care
professionals who wrote the prescription or set up the
physical therapy regime when it's time to give the
prescription or go through the routine. (Yes, that
physician or therapist is such a . . . . And here are
the two of you, caregiver and care-receiver, on the same
side, who now have to live with it.)
--Sometimes laughter is the best medicine
and your care-receiver needs that happiness. Other times
it's tears and he or she needs a shoulder to cry on.
Sometimes your loved one really needs your company or
your silent presence. Other times he or she is better
off left alone for a while.
--It isn't just the world, but you, too,
who seem much brighter after your loved one's pain
medication has kicked in and he or she has been able to
get some rest and had something good to eat.
--God is immutable; that means He never changes. He's
always a great audience. Ready to listen to you,
right here, right now.
- - -
Please join us in welcoming the newest member of the
Friends of St. John the Caregiver: Valerie T. of
Florida. Please keep her and her intentions in your
prayers. She has promised to pray for you and yours. Again this week we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers). You can:
Five years ago, on January 16, 2006, the State of
Washington issued a "certificate of incorporation to
Friends of St. John the
Caregiver."
When we began FSJC (and made YourAgingParent.com one of
its programs) we needed to jump through some legal hoops
to start a non-profit organization but, more importantly
than that, we knew prayer had to be at the center of
this ministry. We decided it would be the one and only
request we made of those who joined as members.
Since then, time and again, we've seen how
precious and powerful those prayers are. (And for us,
personally, that was especially so during 2010 when
Monica had surgery, chemotherapy and radiation treatment
for cancer.)
When we visit with caregivers in person, on
the phone, or through e-mail or letters we can listen
with concern, offer to send written material and suggest
resources, but -- time and again -- we can sense the
difference one simple statement makes: "We want you to
know that members of the Friends of St. John the
Caregiver around the world are praying for you and your
loved one."
And it is worldwide. We now
have members in 14 countries on five continents.
As we continue to celebrate FSJC's
fifth anniversary, we want to thank all those members
for all those prayers. What you've done, and what you
continue to do, touches countless lives in countless
families. On a global scale, you are the "two or three
gathered" in Jesus' name (Matthew 18:20) and have played
a role in Christ's being in the midst of that caregiving
and that care-receiving.
Please know that you are in our
prayers.
- - -
You can see why -- week after week -- we encourage you
to join FSJC if you're not already a member and why we
make a point of welcoming new members!
This week we welcome Stephany C. in
Maryland, Fran F. in California, and Rose V. in
Pennsylvania. Please keep them and their intentions in your
prayers. They have promised to pray for you and yours. And we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers). You can:
Today, January 24, is the feast of St. Francis de Sales.
You can read more about him
here.) We've featured one of his
little
lessons (and
offered it as advice for caregivers) on our
JohnTheCaregiver YouTube
channel:
- - -
This week we're
so pleased to welcome Mary U. of Alabama and Tim E. of
New York as the newest members of the Friends of St.
John the Caregiver. Please keep them and their intentions in your
prayers. They have promised to pray for you and yours. And we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers). You can:
Many parishes have the custom of the blessing of throats
on the feast of
St. Blaise which is this Thursday, Feb. 3. You may
know
he's
the patron saint of those having troubles with throat
ailments but you may not know he's also one of a group
known as the "Fourteen
Holy Helpers." Devotion to this collection of
saints, each with a focus on interceding to assist with
a particular medical need, was popular in the later
Middle Ages but their feast day was dropped when the
liturgical calendar was reformed in 1969.
Still . . .
There are "holy helpers" today and -- as a
caregiver -- you're one of them.
Now, before you completely dismiss such a .
. . (seemingly) preposterous idea, consider:
--God has asked you, invited you, to help
his beloved son or daughter, and you've said yes.
--As his or her caregiver, you've learned a
great deal about a particular condition or illness or
disability, and how to assist someone who has it. (And
sometimes you "intercede" for your loved one when
dealing with his or her physician, physical therapist,
pharmacist, and so on.)
--It's true that you may not have begun
your helping as someone who is holy but through
helping you are becoming holy. (Don't argue! You
are!) Through doing the Father's will for you and
providing care to someone in need, you are becoming more
like Christ.
- - -
The World
Day of the Sick is Feb. 11, the feast of
Our Lady of
Lourdes. You can read Pope Benedict XVI's message on it
here. There may be a special Mass or prayer service in your
diocese or parish.
- - -
This week we're
so pleased to welcome Marie B. of Missouri as the newest member of the Friends of St.
John the Caregiver. Please keep her and her intentions in your
prayers. She has promised to pray for you and yours. And we cordially invite you to join
the Friends of St. John
the Caregiver! (FSJC's programs include
YourAgingParent.com and
CatholicCaregivers.com.) You can find out more about
becoming a member here.
No meetings, no dues. All we ask is that
you pray for caregivers and those receiving care. Our members include
caregivers, care-receivers, and those who support both
(including quite a few former caregivers). You can:
Catholic
Caregivers. Here's how it begins:
The same is true for all of us.
Under some circumstances we readily accept a reminder or
a little pointed advice, but under other circumstances .
. . watch out!
Caregiver."
When we began FSJC (and made YourAgingParent.com one of
its programs) we needed to jump through some legal hoops
to start a non-profit organization but, more importantly
than that, we knew prayer had to be at the center of
this ministry. We decided it would be the one and only
request we made of those who joined as members.
he's
the patron saint of those having troubles with throat
ailments but you may not know he's also one of a group
known as the "