Better Caring for the Elderly

When it comes to caring for the elderly, if we choose to care for them ourselves, we have to know what to do to take good care of them, especially if they suffer from some kind of serious illness. For Indonesians, sending elderly parents to nursing homes is considered something bad to do. It's like "getting rid of them" or something.

Personally speaking, I think if you intend on caring for the elderly at home, at least you have to find out as much information as you can get concerning the health condition of the elderly. As Michelle once told me, getting in touch with a specific health support group or forum can help. The above website provides such a forum and plenty of information about caring for the elderly, such as: recognizing the signs of dementia, Parkinson's disease, bed sores, how to prevent stroke, etc.

Since my father-in-law suffers from Alzheimer, I felt so touched when I read a letter sent to the above website by a man whose wife suffers from Alzheimer. If you want to read it, visit the site and click on "care discussion" and "your letters". In short, at first the man took care of the wife at home, but then she fell and broke her arm. Then she couldn't speak and had to use a wheelchair. Since he couldn't take care of everything himself, he decided to send her to a nursing home. However, that only made things worse. In the end he sold his house, moved to a smaller one and he has been taking care of her alone since then.

Anyway, if you feel that you're incapable of taking care of your loved ones by yourself, yet you don't want to send them to a nursing home, hiring a carer is a good option. This is what my parents did when my grandma's condition deteriorated badly. After all, my parents had jobs back then and they still had to take care of us, their kids. All in all, when there are sick elderly in your family, it's better for you to equip yourself with all the necessary information and options so you can choose the best option for your loved ones.

Can't Take My Eyes Off You

I just remembered something I haven't shared with you. During our long-distance relationship, I used to call my hubby once a month. One time I suggested singing to each other hue he he he he...and he said that he had to write down the lyrics first so that he would be able to sing for me on the phone. He had NEVER done it before and after he was done singing, he said he would NEVER do that again HA HA HA HA HA...

Wonder what he sang? He sang "500 Miles". Yeah, that classic song! He sang the WHOLE song as he had the lyrics with him when I called HE HE HE HE HE...I don't remember anymore what I sang for him, but it wasn't a complete song (yeah, I cheated HA HA HA...).

This morning hubby left me a VERY sweet note again. I want to SQUEEZE that guy SO tightly in my arms right now...He wrote the note in Finnish (I requested this so that I could learn more Finnish), but the English translation of it would be something like this:

"Morning, Love. Today's the last Friday of the month, or should I say 'again'? Time does fly so fast, but my love for you only grows with time. You're the best. I don't know if I can go home for lunch, but I'll see you when I see you. Love you."

On a sad note, I just received an email this morning from my missionary friend, Daniel Huisman (his name is on my blogroll) that his beloved sister died two days ago. She had been suffering from cancer for a while. :-((((

Then I also received a message from my close friend yesterday about one of her acquaintances. She's married and she has a little boy (around 2 years old, I think). Her Dad has glaucoma and Parkinson's disease and he's lost one eye already. She just found out months ago that her son's autistic (it can cost A LOT for the child's education 'coz in Indo there are no benefits like in Finland for example). And that's not all. On top of that, turns out that her husband's got tumor and they don't know yet how acute it is.

This reminds me how fragile life is. I told the above story to my hubby last night and said to him, "Health is PRICELESS." It seems to me that ever since I moved here, I'm reminded again and again about cherishing everything I have.

I'd love to share this song with all of you. I ADORE the "refrain" part 'coz it feels SO fragile..."Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Damien Rice.

I LOVE gazing at my hubby - sometimes it bothers him, but I just LOVE watching his gorgeous facial features...mmm...and I wanna remember EVERY single thing about him...I wanna make the most out of the time I still have left with him. I don't wanna live my life with regrets. Enjoy the song and remember how fragile life is...