Take My Hand by Tia Amdurer

Author:Tia Amdurer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: counselor;caregiver;hospice;bereavement;loss;death;aging;parents;elderly;planning
Publisher: Torchflame Books
Published: 2018-01-03T05:00:00+00:00

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4 Abrahms, Sally "Laughter Yoga to Improve Health? It's No Joke." AARP.org. https://www.aarp.org/health/alternative-medicine/info-11-2008/laughter_yoga_to_improve.html (accessed December 8, 2017).

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Blessed Moments

Haiku (Sleep)

Invites comfort, soft and warm,

Protector through night’s slumber.

Dreams. Healer. Renewed.

A blessed moment is whenever you find it. It can be as simple as enjoying a childhood food, sharing a joke, making a new memory, taking a pause to notice a peaceful or loving interaction. It may be a day when your loved one is awake and cognizant. As a caregiver, these are the things that will stay with you, so be on the lookout for them.

Do not be afraid of laughter with the terminally ill. Should it be your family’s temperament to crack jokes and share funny stories at the bedside, do so. Keep in mind that at the end of life, the focus in the room should be on the patient and remember that for those who are not conscious, the last sense to go is hearing—stories and discussion should be appropriate for them. Unless your loved one is asking to discuss final arrangements, keep those conversations out of the room.

Additionally, sharing space or holding a hand or gently massaging a loved one’s feet may provide great connection. On one of the last days I spent with my mom, I had the privilege of rubbing cream into her dry, swollen legs which gave her comfort. It was such a small gesture for me, but so appreciated by her.

R

Sometimes when you have a difficult road to travel, if you’re smart, you’ll stop and ask for help and direction. When we began this journey through Lymphoma, (and I say “we” because I feel I am traveling this journey with Mom as her “sherpa,”) I knew that I could not carry her burden alone. I asked for help, and I asked for direction. Mom and I have received guidance, comfort, and help beyond measure. From my husband who listens to my every gripe and dries every tear, to the daily prayers that are lifted up on our behalf. We are blessed. You all are the calm in the midst of our chaos.

O

If you’re smart, you’ll stop and ask for help and direction.

O

I had asked previously if anyone had or knew of someone who could get their hands on a Chevy Corvair for Mom to take a ride in, to no avail. This morning, with hope, I reached out to the Rocky Mountain Chapter of the Corvair Society of America. Within minutes I received a call from Steve, one of the members who had read my inquiry. He sounded like Jimmy Stewart, so I liked him immediately, and we chatted at length about Lakewood, Lymphoma, and Corvairs. Steve made it his mission to find a Corvair that was the same year and color of the car Mom owned, or close to it. By early evening he had acquired an early ‘60’s model, baby blue convertible in Castle Rock, owned by a woman who shares my first name, and granted our request with an

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