The dreaded UTI.

When you meet another person who is also caring for their elderly parent, the UTI is the biggest ice breaker. The topic comes up and the conversation quickly moves to swapping horror stories, commiserating, and complaining.

In this episode we go over the traditional symptoms of a Urinary Tract Infection and why they are often not helpful at all when determining if your parent has a problem.

As always we share our own experiences (mostly so you can learn from our mistakes) and give you some things to be on the lookout for, outside the normal symptoms.

We'll discuss some helpful preventative measures, and give you a few methods and tools that can get your parents the assistance and medical care they need.

****************************************************
Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Follow us!
Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents
Facebook Lisa and Lana: Taking Care of Our Parents

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??!
Unfortunately, too often, the answer is … no.

Your parent’s hearing loss can cause a lot of conflicts, frustration, and loneliness.
In today’s episode we share our experiences and the things we've learned along the way.

• What causes hearing loss?
• What issues does the loss cause?
• How do we spot when our parents are struggling?– especially the early stages.
• And what are the solutions to help with hearing loss? – Sometimes it’s an easy fix! Some solutions are too expensive. And often the options aren’t really helpful at all - and even seem to create more problems.

But never worry! We’ll share our stories and all of the things we are learning about how to connect and communicate with our parents – and give you some methods to make you and your parents lives just a bit easier.

JBL Headphones
https://a.co/d/dNUXaQR

***************************************************************
Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Follow us!
Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents
Facebook Lisa and Lana: Taking Care of Our Parents

Pack your bags! We're going on a guilt trip!

Guilt is one of the most common feelings we caregivers experience. Unfortunately, resentment and anger usually love to tag along for the trip. When these three emotions are fed a daily dose of - a lack of sleep, overwhelm, and not being appreciated...things can get ugly.

It's important for those in the trenches to know that what you're feeling is normal and you're not alone. So, in this episode we share our stories of guilt, anger, and resentment with heartfelt honesty and, as always, with some laughter.

But don't worry! You'll also get some insights and things were learning along the way. We may not be able to completely unpack this heavy bag, but we have some tips to lighten the load a bit.


Click to watch: Anger: Responding, Not Reacting, with Tara Brach

Click to watch: Listening to shame | Brené Brown | TED

***************************************************************
Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Follow us on Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents

You definitely need to listen to this episode!!
If you're parent hasn't already been in the hospital, they most likely will at some point.

Maybe it will be a planned surgery or maybe it'll be an urgent 911 call. Either way, you need to be as prepared as possible and Nurse Lana walks us through the whole dang process!

This episode is chock full of our stories and lots of helpful and important information to make the process less scary.

Going to the Hospital for a planned procedure:

• Getting yourself, the house and both of your parents prepared for a planned visit to the hospital
• Discussions with the surgeon and nursing staff about what to expect and what care and equipment you will need when they come home
• Getting to and from the hospital
• What do you need to make sure to take with you to the hospital?

The 911 call:

• Like a fire drill, making sure you know what you need to do when you have to make that call is the key.
  What can you have in place so you're not running around the house freaking out? It's an overwhelming moment while caring for your parent.

The Hospital Stay:

• Be your parents advocate. What does that mean? What does that look like?
• Follow your intuition and know your rights
• Who do you contact when things go wrong or you have concerns on your parents care?
• Who is the Nurse Care Manager? (also known as the Social Worker/Discharge nurse) When do you reach out to them and why are they so important in your parents care?

Navigating the tricky process of getting your parents discharged and home

• What is the hospital's process? And why does it take sooo long?
• Managing your parents expectations
• Managing your own expectations
• Discharge paperwork, referrals, prescriptions, and waiting! (Usually with parents who aren't feeling well and are very impatient and frustrated. ) It's a lot!

Expectations for when they come home:

• Home Care - How is it set up? When will you hear from them?
• Understanding the responsibilities and time table of the Home Care Team: Nurse, Physical Therapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech therapist, and Aid
• What is your parents state both mentally and physically and making sure their recovery goes a smooth as possible.

This episode will truly make a difference in your caregiving journey!!

Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Follow us on Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents

We caregivers take on a lot of roles as we go through the various stages of caring for our parents.

Sometimes it's just too much.
Sometimes it's not sustainable for our own health.

If you're anything like us, stating your own needs, and letting go of some of these roles and responsibilities feels almost impossible.

How do we learn to ask for help? ... when we really hate
asking for help.



Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Follow us on Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents

We're finishing up our conversation on "Home for the Holidays" and a quick focus on the family dynamics - specifically the siblings.

You might be the sibling who lives at home and cares for your parents there.
You might be the sibling who cares about your parents from afar.

The holidays are time when everyone gets together and often these two perspectives can collide.

In today's episode we share some insights in what each of these groups might be feeling and give some suggestions in how better to handle these tricky days.

Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Follow us on Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents

Holidays are tricky at the best of times. But as our parents get older, things get even tricker.

We'll give you things to look for, to get a better idea if your parents are struggling.
(they can be really good at hiding that fact)

Then we'll talk about the dinners, events, parties.
Are your folks still willing or even able to host?
How can we help?
And what traditions might need to change to make our holidays a bit easier.

And finally, if your parents are in the later stages of health, how do we make
sure they are safe and feel included in our family celebrations.


Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Additional original music by:
Michael Ramir C.
Grady Miller / GradyMillerMusic.com

Podcast recorded at Second Story Sound,
Grand Rapids, MI

Follow us on Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents

Welcome to our podcast!

We are two old friends, Lisa Grady and Lana Davis, and each week we share the realities of caregiving, with some humor, storytelling, problem-solving and honest reality checks.

With our first-hand and hard-earned knowledge, we give you tangible tips, tools and take-aways, knowing full well that caring for your parents, can easily become overwhelming, frustrating, draining, absurd, and sometimes…not so pretty. IYKYK

So, if you’re also in the thick of it and feel like no one “gets it” – this is the place for you! Join us every Tuesday!

Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady
Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana

All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer

Follow us on Instagram @TakingCareofOurParents