New Award Recognizes Long-Term Caregivers Who Blog

Do you know someone who has cared for a severely disabled family member at home for ten years or more, and who writes about caregiving on a blog?

When my mother, Judy, who had dementia, lived with me and my young family nine years ago, and I worked outside the home, writing was my safety release valve. Jotting down my thoughts and worries in stolen moments in notebooks and on scraps of paper helped me keep my sanity while I struggled to come to terms with my new role as a “sandwich generation” caregiver. But the sustained writing that formed the chapters of my caregiving memoir didn’t happen until Mom moved into assisted living and I had more time to breathe. And I didn’t start a blog until my book came out a few months before Mom passed away two years ago. Sometimes I wonder, if Mom were living with me today, whether I would be posting my worries, fears and lessons learned on a blog. But back then a blog never occurred to me.

New recognition for blogging caregivers

A brand-new award program seeks to honor those of you who are blogging about your experience caregiving full-time at home for a family member with a severe disability.  The program, launched last week, is called the “Caregifted Blog of the Week Award,” and is a partnership between the blogstream  ChangingAging.org, which challenges conventional views of aging, and the nonprofit Caregifted.org, which grants respite to long-term caregivers.

Read more about the Caregifted Blog of the Week Award, and how you can nominate someone, here.

Guest Post: What Caregivers Need to Know about Financial Planning

My mom, Judy, might have been able to stay longer in her "memory care" assisted living facility if I had consulted a financial plannerI don’t regret a whole lot about the eight years I was my mother’s caregiver, but one thing I wish I had done differently is I wish I had sought the advice of a financial planner. Today’s guest post about financial planning may help you avoid some of the mistakes I made.

When my mother, Judy, was living in a memory care facility with the middle stages of Alzheimer’s disease, she ran out of savings and I applied for her to go on Medicaid. Her application was denied because of an error I made when I sold her home, an error which ended up costing my family a great deal of money. I wish I had known enough back then to consult not only an attorney familiar with Medicaid rules in our state (which I did), but also a financial planner who could have helped me plan ahead and avoid costly missteps.

Today I am pleased to share with you a guest post from financial planner Kathleen Clark of S.E.E.D. Financial Strategies. Kathleen and I recently spoke together on a panel at a case management conference at Binghamton University in Upstate New York. She has guided many family caregivers to better financial health.

Click here to read the guest post on caregivers.com.

Are You a Caregiver for a Veteran? Learn Here About Benefits and Support

If you are a family member caring for a veteran, there are many free or low-cost resources on-line to help you find support and understand the benefits you are entitled to.

On my post this week for caregivers.com, I highlight two of these free or low-cost on-line resources for caregivers of veterans:

• an upcoming webinar ($15) by the Family Caregiver Alliance that will explain the benefits and support available through the Department of Veterans Affairs’ Caregiver Support Program, and
• the VA’s free on-line workshop called “Building Better Caregivers,” which you can enroll in and complete at any time.

Check Out this Month’s VA Caregiver Support Program Webinar

The Family Caregiver Alliance, a leading advocacy organization for family caregivers, is hosting a webinar Wednesday, June 18, 2014, from 1-2 p.m. PST, which will explain the VA Caregiver Support Program and services offered through the Department of Veterans Affairs. It should help you find more support and understand the benefits available to you as a military caregiver. The webinar costs $15. 

Read the rest of this article on caregivers.com.

Are You Caring for a Person with a Rare Disease?

My sweet Andrew with his Grammy, my momThirty million people in the U.S. are living with a rare disease, and an estimated 350 million world-wide. Often, it's difficult for them and their care partners to find information and support.

That was the case for me when our son, Andrew, developed a rare disease when he was 8 years old. The disease made his esophagus swell up, and he couldn't swallow solid food. The only thing he could eat was pureed soup. It took me months to find a doctor who recognized the symptoms, but fortunately, after a year of steroids and avoiding wheat and dairy, Andrew's symptoms disappeared, and he's been disease-free for 10 years. Not everyone is that lucky. 

In my post this week for caregivers.com, I review a brand-new website for rare disease caregivers from the Caregiver Action Network called Caring for Rare Disease Caregivers: A Guide for Family Caregivers of Loved Ones with Rare Diseases. 

Even if you are not caring for a person with a rare disease, it's worth checking out this website. It's full of information that will be useful for all care partners, including those who are caring for person with dementia. 

Read more about this new website here.