Caregiver Community

  • Caregiver Community
    2313 member(s)

    A place where Caregivers come together to share common experiences, challenges,and resources. 

    Caregivers are truly experts in patient management and can help each other because of their intensive experience in patient care at home. Caregivers can ask questions to others on this forum going through a similar caregiving experiences. They can start topics and discuss things like ways to manage daily tasks, where to find doctors, nurses, and other health services, how they manage stress, and any other topics related to caring for their loved one and for themselves. It is a great place for Caregivers to come and chat about the issues that affect them on a day to day basis and take time to focus on their own needs and health.

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  • Leading Causes And Precautionary Interventions For Falls in Persons With Dementia
    Ms. Ayush Chandra and Ms. Sradha Madan Ray under the guidance of DEMCARES, SCARF India write about the leading causes for falls in persons with dementia and how caregivers can prevent these falls.  According to WHO risk of falls in old age increases due to several factors such as changes in physical function, sensory input, and cognition. For a patient with cognitive impairment the risk is doubled and can lead to more complications (Scala G & Kraemer, 2009). Being aware of the…
  • Tips for Caregivers of Alzheimer's Patients
    Our Best Tips From Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer's and Dementia
    World Alzheimer's Day 2018 Alzheimer’s is hard, but as we care for our loved ones, we gain experience that can help others. Read the best tips from Shibani Ganguly, Vimal Balachander and Carol Fernandes, caregivers of persons with dementia.  Share your insights. If we share our knowledge, we can all manage better. #YourExperienceMatters    
  • Mausumi, a dark haired woman on the right with her mother, a person with dementia on the left. Mother is wearing specs and a bindi on her forehead and you can see the blue and white sari draped around her shoulders
    Patience And Innovation Are The Most Important Attributes Of A Caregiver For Persons With Dementia
    Mausumi Ghosh from Mumbai talks about the travails of taking care of her mother, 77 who suffers from dementia in addition to other conditions like osteosporosis. My mother is an osteoporosis patient from 2003 when she underwent hip replacement operation in Mumbai. She recovered from the same very well and was mobile and independent till she met with a ‘fall’ at home in 2010 and broke her ‘femur bone’ (left leg). She got herself operated twice in Kolkata in AMRI hospital and both the times the ‘…
  • On the left is Yee Ling with her husband Yen-Lu Chow on the right. She is dressed in a black formal dress and he is wearing a black tuxedo with a white shirt. The background is red and shows some people blurred
    Things Will Get Better, The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow
    ...Life is precious - life is worth living."  reminds Yen-Lu Chow. When their son and only child Lawrence Chow ended his own life at the age of 26 after suffering for many years from manic depression, Yen-Lu Chow and his wife Yee Ling went beyond grieving and coping with the tragedy. They involved themselves in mental health initiatives in Singapore which have, in turn, given them a purpose in their lives. Tell us about your mental health initiatives in Singapore. Mental wellness is not…
  • Stock pic of a young girl child with blond hair hugging her mother holding her face and feeling depressed. Image is respresentational only
    Depression In Parents Of Children With Special Needs: How To Cope And Build Resilience
    Parimal Pandit, Clinical Psychologist and Program Director, V-Excel Educational Trust Chennai describes the signs of depression to watch out for, how fathers and mothers react differently and how a special needs family can build resilience. 1.  A journey of a special needs parent goes through many ups and downs. What are the stages at which parents are most vulnerable? (Are these different for a mother v/s a father) When a child is diagnosed with a chronic condition or a…
  • Rishi Chowhan a young child with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and Autism on a wheelchair with his family standing behind him from Left to Right- his mother, his sister and his father. Picture shows Singapore's Merlion in the background
    A Wish For A Magic Wand to Shoo Away My Son's Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy
    Hitesh Chowhan, 52 from Bengaluru, shares the challenges of bringing up his son Rishi diagnosed with Autism and Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a rare disease. The constant struggle to make him independent and as comfortable as possible. And of course a hope for a cure. My son Rishi is nearly 10 years old and has both Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and Autism. Early Symptoms and Diagnosis He was diagnosed at the age of 5. We consulted doctors when we noticed that he was unable to lift himself…
  • Image description: Pratyush a young dark haired Indian man in a white t-shirt in the centre with his mom on the left in a white top taking the selfie and his spectacled father on the right in a grey shirt
    People Started Looking Beyond His Disability
    Wheelchair user computer whiz Pratyush, 24, born with Spinal Muscular Atrophy, excelled at prestigious institutes like IIT Bombay and Columbia University, and recently got a job at Microsoft. His mother Srilakshmi Nalam talks of overcoming depression and taking on the mission to make Pratyush an independent and self-confident person. On September 14, 1993 our little son was born. Giving birth to a new life is an amazing experience. It is the beginning of a great adventure full of surprises and…
  • Aarshia on the left a young Indian black haired spectacled girl with Down Syndrome in a purple dress and on the right her brother Aaryamann a young Indian teen boy with black hair in a purple kurta and white pyjamas
    No Special Favours For This Sister!
    As part of our Raksha Bandhan series, Aaryamann and Aarshia share nuggets of what makes their sibling relationship as special and adorable as any other brother-sister relationship.  Aarshia,11 is a sprightly young girl who has also starred in an Indo-Australian film on Down Syndrome, directed by Onir  "Raising The Bar"  Aaryamann, 16  is a football and math enthusiast. In spite of being a brother of a girl with special needs, he doesn't give her any special privileges…
  • Image Description: Nivriti on the right in a white kurta and red dupatta tying a rakhi on her autistic brother Nishant's wrist. Nishant is sitting and wearing a blue kurta. Looking over both of them is their father in a mustard kurta and grandmother in a blue sari
    "Don't Worry ....Be Cool"
    is the brotherly advice from Nishant to Nivriti. As part of the Raksha Bandhan series, the brother-sister duo of Nishant, a young autistic adult and Nivriti share what their relationship means to them  Nishant Sriram, 22 is an intern at AMAZE, he likes nature, music and travel. He is a bronze medalist in cycling at the Special Olympics Bharat. Nivriti Sriram, 17 is in Grade 12 and is a voracious reader. She loves animals, music and travel. Both love food and cooking and baking. Akila…
  • Image description: On the left is Pranav an autistic young man in a red shirt, black hair and on the right is his older sister in a black dress talking of their relationship as siblings
    "I Told Ma To Cut The Rakhi Because I Thought It Was Hurting"
    As part of our Raksha Bandhan series, Pranav, 18, a young adult on the autism spectrum and his older sister Nikita, 22 reflect on their relationship and their times together - the fun times and the stressful times.  Nikita studied at Hindu College, Delhi University. She is pursuing Masters in Public Health in Sydney and plans a career in mental health and counselling. Pranav is pursuing a multimedia course with AIMS. He plays golf, loves music and is a Radio One fan. An award winning…
Patient not discharged from ICU despite repeated requests
In the last couple of weeks, I have heard of two different cases in India where the hospital kept a patient in ICU on life support for weeks on end. In one case, even after the family asked for the patient to be transferred to a normal room, the…
Counsellor in Ahmedabad
Query from a caregiver Does anyone know a counsellor in Ahmedabad who can go to a patient's home. Patient has had a couple of strokes and even though there is no paralysis believes he is paralysed and does not use his limbs and keeps falling.…
Walking with quad cane assistance
Here is a question from one of our members: My father is 89. He used to walk regularly twice a day and used a simple walking cane. But now he has had a few falls. Doctor says he must use a cane with 4 legs(quad cane) but he refuses to do that. Now…
A family torn apart by illness
When treatment started failing 66 year old Siew Ching, the family became divided into different camps. Some wanted her to stay in hospital so that she could receive maximal supportive care. Others wanted her to be discharged so she could go…
My 95 year old father
My 95 year old father lives with my sister. She takes very good care of him. Normally he is fine. Can manage most daily activities with some help. But he is sometimes very paranoid about domestic helpers coming into his room and trying to harm him…
Tips for Caregivers
We found a great list of tips (in the link below) to help ease the challenges of being a caregiver and help caregivers with self-care - take a look at this list and share with us if you have ever used any of these and how! The tips include:…
Sleep - A big challenge for Caregivers
A lack of sleep or feeling tired is one of the biggest challenges that Caregivers face. Often times we have to wake up at night to check on our loved one, or we have trouble falling asleep because our mind is preoccupied. What are some of your…
How do you ask for help?
As Caregivers we often take on a lot and can get exhausted. It is important to learn how to ask for help - maybe other family members, friends, or neighbors can help take on some tasks and make life a little easier for the Caregiver. For many of us…
Restlessness in semi mobile senior
My MIL is a little bit over weight @ 94, and is able to walk only with a walker very slowly.She is addicted to watching TV whether she understands anything or not, but cannot sit for a long time. WE give her TV time, once a day for 2 hours. For…
Sharing Caregiving Duties Among Siblings or Family
I recently came across a great article that spoke about the importance of sharing caregiving duties among family or siblings. Often, the caregving duties falls upon one sibling or family member, and  this can cause resentment or…

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