The reflections shared in this book are written from our hearts to yours, with the hope that you will find the hope and courage, sprinkled with a smile and sense of humor, to carry on through what can be a very difficult time.
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From the Afterword:
We would strongly urge those with aging parents to spend more than daytime hours with them. We visited our parents often, sometimes coming in the late morning and staying until evening. But we had no idea of the gravity of Mom’s condition because Dad did all he could do to cover for her. We saw that Mom did not cook anymore, but Dad insisted it was that he no longer felt like eating big meals. After all, he said, the older you get, the less it takes to get you going! Also, Mom and Dad, who were always conscious of the environment, started using only disposable cups, plates, and dinnerware. Dad said it was his idea so that Mom did not have so much work to do. We didn’t realize how serious the situation was until we starting staying overnight when Dad got sick. If we had noticed patterns of behavior sooner, perhaps Mom would have been put on Aracept sooner, and perhaps we could have shared Dad’s burden instead of him having to be Mom’s sole caregiver. A few days before he passed away, Dad sat in his rocker, put his head into his hands and cried. I knelt at his knee and listened as he asked “ Who is going to take care of my wife? ” I told him that no one could ever take his place, but that Rose and I would do our best to care for Mom the way he would want us to. Dad looked me in the eye and quietly sobbed, “ You don’t understand. Who is going to take care of her? ” At the time, we did not know that he was referring to the behavior that would be diagnosed as Alzheimer’s.
About the Book:
Nurturing Your Self While Caring for Another is for all those who face the prospect of caring for aging parents. The reflections shared in this book are written from the heart, with the hope that readers will find the hope and courage, sprinkled with a smile and sense of humor, to carry on through what can be a very difficult time. Drawing on their own experiences, sisters Rose Kaszycki and Juanita Liepelt impart 31 days of inspirational thoughts, one for each day of the month, that point out the importance of the care you give to your self.
By Rose Kaszycki and Juanita Liepelt, SFO
About Rose Kaszycki:
Rose is a certified massage therapist, with a background in oncology massage. She is also a certified infant massage instructor. Rose is currently volunteering at Rush University Hospital, Chicago, working with cancer patients at the Cancer Integrative Medicine Program.
About Juanita Liepelt:
Juanita received a B.S. in applied psychology from Loyola University Chicago, and an M.A. in pastoral studies from the nstitute of Pastoral Studies/Loyola University Chicago. She is a Grief £Recovery® Specialist and received training from The Grief Recovery Institute®. Juanita has created a series of workshops based on the practice of mindfulness and spiritual growth.
EAN: 978-0-9791317-4-5
ISBN: 0-9791317-4-X
First Printing: August, 2007
80 pages, Paperback
5 x 8 x 0.192 in., 0.214 lbs.
Published by: RealityIsBooks
BISAC: SEL021000 SELF-HELP / Motivational & Inspirational
Wholesale: Ingram Book Group