Medicines

Proverbs 4:20:22 Gods Word is my medicine

Lets talk about medicine today. My mother does not take a lot of medication.
She takes a pill for blood pressure and an 81 mg.aspirin a day. Blood pressure pill twice a day as needed. I have a pill book that tells a lot about medication side affect that it’s for ect. I think it’s very important to keep up with the medication the doctor sends out. I am very careful with what medication that is given to my mother. Always check side affects.
What they print out at the drug store is not all the side affects that is why you need to get a pill book.
Let’s go ahead and talk about aspirin and how important an 81 mg. Aspirin is good to keep down strokes and even heart attacks. My mother has never had another stroke since she has been on one aspirin a day. She has never h ad a blood clot either. Praise the Lord!
Later Rebecca

I Can Do It And So Can You

Proverbs 16:31 “The hoary head (gray hair) is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness.”

My mother is 91 years old and has a feeding tube. When she first came home from the hospital I did not think I could do this. It took a lot of help from God on this one. I had to keep telling myself I can do all things with God’s help. My daughter was much better at it than I was at first. I was concerned I might do something wrong and hurt my mother. After we feed her in the tube she has to sat up an hour to keep it from going into her lungs. We use a little coke to clean the tubing from time to time. Washing and cleaning the stomach around where the tubing goes into stomach is important also. We get the drain pads and keep the around it.
I am able to do it all not thank God.
Remember I am here for you. Later Rebecca
Let me know if this Bog is helping you .

Keep It Clean

In Leviticus Chapter 15 in the Bible God tells about cleanliness. We know that in hospitals and in nursing homes some people get stash infections and it is because of not being clean enough. I read where 90,000 deaths are caused annually by infections in hospitals. Something as simple as washing your hands and wearing gloves can help keep down infection. I believe in alcohol hand-gel I have it setting out in my mothers room.When people come to visit they can use the hand-gel.
One of the things they tell you to do in a hospital book I have is to be sure and wipe off the remote for the TV. I also wash off bed railings, doorknobs and phones. All of this is important to keep your love ones healthy. Use disinfectant handy wipes I use them also.
Later Rebecca

It Takes Love

To be a caregiver you must have love. In John 15:12 God says,” This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” So we are suppose to have love for each other. I have a great love for caregivers. I again say, I want to be here for you to support you in anyway I can. Ask questions feel free to share with me and I will pray for you and the love one you are caring for.
Let’s talk today about keeping everything sanitary which is very important. I use a lot of alcohol for cleaning. Antibacterial soap for washing hands and lots of gloves are also very important. Make sure everything is clean. I use bleach for washing sheets ect. Lysol spray is also used when needed. I do not spray it in the room but I use it outside of the room. My mother is bathed and I keep her very clean. I cannot stress how important it is to keep everything clean and sanitary.
Later Rebecca

Rest For The Caregiver

Always remember we are to love not in just words but also in deed. I John 3: 16-18 we are to love one another I John 4:7.
As you love and take care of your loved ones you need to also love and take care of yourself. So rest your body, exercise your body and know that God loves you. In Isaiah 30:15 “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength; I believe that children should be taken care of by their parents and parents should be taken care of by their children. I guess I am just from the old school so to speak.

Later,
Rebecca

The Day Of Rest

As a caregiver we do not get Sunday off, we still have to take care of our love ones. I know God understands this. I do try and let other things go on this day like washing, cleaning the house ect.

Genesis 2:2 “Tells us that on the seventh day God rested. I try to rest and pray and read God’s Word. I don’t get to go to church that much I watch it on T.V. and that helps a lot.
Because this is the seventh day if you have never asked Jesus into your heart I want to give you the opportunity to do so. Just pray this simple prayer and it will change your life and keep you out of hell.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to You in the Name of Jesus
You said in Your Word,”…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
And shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,THOU
SHALT BE SAVED” (Rom.10:9).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.
Your Word says,”…with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness:
And with the MOUTH confession is made unto salvation” (rom10:10).
I do believe with my heart, and I now confess with my mouth Jesus as My Lord and
Savior. Therefore, I am now saved! Thank You, Lord for my salvation.

If you prayed this prayed sincerely from your heart, then according to God’s Word you
Are saved! I want to welcome you to the family of God. Now tell someone because
God says if we are ashamed of Him He will not confess us before His Father in
Heaven. Write and let me know. You will never be the same.
Rebecca

Do It As Unto The Lord

Caregivers must also remember what God said in his word. I know we care for our loved ones because we love them, not because we expect any reward for doing it. We must also remember that as we take care of our loved ones it is the same as taking care of Jesus, read what it says in Matthew 25: 35-40 “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? Or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? Or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
And the King shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Also in Ephesians 6:2-3 is a promise from God that if we honor our father and mother he will give us a long life on this earth. So we will be rewarded for what we are doing.



Later,
Rebecca

What About You?

I will be sixty-seven years old in May and I should have taken better care of myself so take good advice and take care of yourself.
Your body needs exercise. I love my treadmill; I put on my Christian music and walk on my treadmill. I also love to do other exercise also. Walking in the neighborhood is also good for your body and mind.
Eat good food and count your calories. Get rest for your body also. All of this will help you be able to take car of your loved ones. If we do not take care of ourselves we will not be able to take care of others. God says in Deuteronomy 33:25 as my days so shall our strength be. God also wants us to take care of ourselves so we can have strength.


Later,
Rebecca

About You

If it is possible at all to get someone to help you, by all means do it. Take some time for you go to a movie; go shopping for yourself not for supplies all the time like I did.
Get your hair or nails done; go out to eat even if you go alone (Jesus is good company).
Also be sure and get check ups from your doctor. Try and get some rest, take exercise, and eat the right kind of foods. And laugh a lot that helps. Get into God’s word and study the word of God, which is very good for you in every area of your life. We are told in I Corinthians 6:19 that our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, so we are suppose to take care of our body.

Later,
Rebecca

Take It From Me

Again, I say like it says in Proverbs 19:20 “Hear counsel and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter-end.”
One nurse that came out to check on my mother sat me down and had a talk with me about taking care of myself. You see I took care of my mother for six year all by myself. Now my daughter helps me and it is a blessing. Before that, it was me alone with only God’s help. He gave me strength to do it but I let myself go. When my daughter came to help me, I was in a pretty bad shape physically and emotionally. I had pulled my back out, pulled on my rib cage lifting her and even more. I was confined to the house all the time. So remember, take care of yourself so you can take care of others. I now wish I had done better. So take good advice from another caregiver.


Later,
Rebecca

Take Care Of Yourself!

Caregivers have needs also, we need to take care of ourselves so we can take care of our loved ones.
Maybe you can learn a lesson from me. I have not done a good job taking care of myself. I will be honest with you, I have not. I have been to busy taking care of my mother and felt I did not have time for myself. I know I should have done better but I did not.
In Proverbs 19:20 it says, "Hear counsel and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter-end. "

Later,
Rebecca

My Everyday Prayer

As I share more with you about my mother, I want to give you a prayer I pray everyday. You might want to pray this daily too. The precious Holy Spirit gave me this prayer.


It is a blessing to be able to take care of my mother. She is such a blessing to me.
Thank you Lord for my mother and for giving me the opportunity to be able to bless
her in her last days on earth.
Thank you Lord for giving her a long life on this earth. You have blessed her with
A long life, Godly wisdom and a sharp mind.
You will bless the works of my hands (Deuteronomy 28:12) as I do this with the right
Attitude.
Each day help me see my mother as you Jesus. Let me realize as I do it unto the least
Of these I am doing it unto you. Matthew 25:45
I take up my cross daily and I follow you Luke 9:23. As I pick up my cross each day,
I pick it up with the right attitude.
Everything I do I do as unto you. No matter how big or how small I do it unto you
Lord. Colossians 3:23
My heart rejoices as I take up my cross and follow you day by day. Luke 9:23
My attitude tells you that I love you and others. Thank you God that my attitude is
From you.
The joy of the Lord is my strength. Your joy makes me strong each day.
Nehemiah 8:10
This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalms 118:24
I of myself can do nothing, but I can do all things through Christ my Lord who
Strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13


Later,
Rebecca

The Day Of Rest

As a caregiver we do not get Sunday off, we still have to take care of our love ones. I know God understands this. I do try and let other things go on this day like washing, cleaning the house ect.

Genesis 2:2 “Tells us that on the seventh day God rested. I try to rest and pray and read God’s Word. I don’t get to go to church that much I watch it on T.V. and that helps a lot.
Because this is the seventh day if you have never asked Jesus into your heart I want to give you the opportunity to do so. Just pray this simple prayer and it will change your life and keep you out of hell.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to You in the Name of Jesus
You said in Your Word,”…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
And shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,THOU
SHALT BE SAVED” (Rom.10:9).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.
Your Word says,”…with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness:
And with the MOUTH confession is made unto salvation” (rom10:10).
I do believe with my heart, and I now confess with my mouth Jesus as My Lord and
Savior. Therefore, I am now saved! Thank You, Lord for my salvation.

If you prayed this prayed sincerely from your heart, then according to God’s Word you
Are saved! I want to welcome you to the family of God. Now tell someone because
God says if we are ashamed of Him He will not confess us before His Father in
Heaven. Write and let me know. You will never be the same.
Rebecca

Laughter Is Like A Medicine

Ecclesiastes 3:4 Tells us that there is a time to laugh and my mother loves to laugh.
Keep your loved ones happy and laughing. She has always enjoyed laughter and making others happy and keeping them laughing. My friends always enjoyed being around my mother. She was always a lot of fun. They just loved her. She was like a second mother to them.
We try to keep her as happy as we can. She is a sweet little precious lady.
Proverbs 17:22 Says a merry heart doeth good like a medicine she will be ninety-two March 29th so I am sure that has been a lot of her medicine. Again I say keep them laughing a lot.
“The joy of the Lord is our strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 its also their strength.
I know it is hard sometimes to do this no one knows any better than I do. But we must try for them and for us.


Later,
Rebecca

My Mother Part 4

Matthew 25:15 “And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one.”


I always loved my mother’s sense of humor. I also loved to hear her play her mandolin, she even taught me how to play it. She would play her guitar and I would play the mandolin. She taught my daughter how to play the bass guitar.
My mother came from a musical family and all the brothers and sisters played music and sang; they could play nearly anything. They grew up playing music out in the country in Arkansas.
I was around music and musicians all my life, they were always at our house.
At one time playing music was my mother’s life.

More tomorrow,
Rebecca

My Mother Part 3

Matthew 25:15 “ And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one.”


My mother was a very beautiful, strong woman and she always looked a lot younger than her age.
One of the things she loved best was to sing and play on her guitar and mandolin. She was very good too. At one time in her younger years she was known as the Arkansas Sweetheart. Her and her brother played and sang on radio station K.L.C.N. Blytheville, Arkansas. This was the same radio station that Johnny Cash sang on first time professionally in the mid 40’s. I guess this was also my mothers first time to sing and play professionally. Conway Twitty was a good friend of my mother. She met and knows a lot of famous people. Everyone loved my mother and she had a wonderful sense of humor and made people laugh.

More tomorrow,


Rebecca

My Mother Part 2

Proverbs 31:26 “She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.”


My mother also taught me to be honest and never tell a lie. She taught me so many things. One thing I have always remembered was no matter how famous a person is, do not be intimated by them. If you meet this person and need them to do something for you don’t be intimated to ask for their help. She said; “All they can do is say yes or no and who knows when they will say yes.” I also taught my daughter this and she says it is one of the greatest things I told her. She is a gospel singer and meets a lot of famous people this helps her when she has to talk to them about important things. The good things your parents teach, you pass it on.

More tomorrow,
Rebecca

My Mother Part 1

“Her children arise up, and call her blessed.”
Proverbs 31:28

This is one of my mother’s favorite scriptures. I can remember how she would set in her little chair in her living room and pray God’s Word. She was a prayer warrior. She prayed for all her family.
I want to share with you about my mother, the precious lady I am taking care of.
She was always there for me to encourage me and tell me you can do it. She taught me to say the Lords prayer when I was a small child. I will be telling you more each day for a while about my mother and the things that were always important in her life.

Below you find a picture of my Mother and me when I was a baby.

More tomorrow,
Rebecca

Sometimes I Just Have To Cry

Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”

Sometimes I just have to leave my mom’s room so I can cry. There are times when I am so sad and upset. None of us want to see our loved ones in the shape they may be in. So at these times I leave the room go cry and pray for strength. God says, as our days so shall out strength be. When I don’t understand I must remember what God said in Proverbs 3, 5 Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not into thine own understanding.
So when we get to that place where we don’t understand, just remember trust the Lord. Stay happy in the Lord because the joy of the Lord is your strength Nehemiah 8:10

Have any questions or prayer needs let me know. I will try and answer your questions or try to find the answers for you and pray for you and your loved ones needs.

I love caregivers, your are all doing a wonderful job.

Later,
Rebecca

The Day Of Rest

As a caregiver we do not get Sunday off, we still have to take care of our love ones. I know God understands this. I do try and let other things go on this day like washing, cleaning the house ect.

Genesis 2:2 “Tells us that on the seventh day God rested. I try to rest and pray and read God’s Word. I don’t get to go to church that much I watch it on T.V. and that helps a lot.
Because this is the seventh day if you have never asked Jesus into your heart I want to give you the opportunity to do so. Just pray this simple prayer and it will change your life and keep you out of hell.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to You in the Name of Jesus
You said in Your Word,”…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
And shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,THOU
SHALT BE SAVED” (Rom.10:9).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.
Your Word says,”…with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness:
And with the MOUTH confession is made unto salvation” (rom10:10).
I do believe with my heart, and I now confess with my mouth Jesus as My Lord and
Savior. Therefore, I am now saved! Thank You, Lord for my salvation.

If you prayed this prayed sincerely from your heart, then according to God’s Word you
Are saved! I want to welcome you to the family of God. Now tell someone because
God says if we are ashamed of Him He will not confess us before His Father in
Heaven. Write and let me know. You will never be the same.
Rebecca

I Want Your Feedback

II Corinthians 1:3, 4 Blessed be God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort. Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.

This is why I started this blog, to comfort and try and help others that are going through what I myself am going through. You cannot really reach out and help someone unless you have been there. I know what it is like being a caregiver because I am one. I know how you feel at times.
Please let me know if I have been able to help you in anyway because that is what this blog was started for, to help others.
I give God the Glory because I would not have been able to do any thing without His help.
Hebrews 13:6 “So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper.”
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Psalm 146:6 “My help comes from the Lord which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is. “

Just remember where your help comes from.

Later,

Rebecca

Cleaning The Feeding Tube Area

Psalm 147:3 “He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.”

Cleaning the stomach area where the feeding tube goes into her stomach: To do this, use three different washcloths. One to wash area, one to rinse area and one to dry area. After I clean stomach area I use a Q-tip and put Neosporin ointment around the area. Now I place two drain pads one going up and one going down then I tape the feeding tube in place with paper tape. The drain pads I use are soft they are really called drain sponges they are made of gauze. I had some that were not as soft as these so be sure to try and get the soft ones. Taking care of the stomach area is very important.

Later,
Rebecca

Feeding Tube

Philippians 4:12, 13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”


More on feeding by mouth and tube feeding. When I feed my mother through her feeding tube, we have to raise the bed up to a seating position where the food will not go into her lungs. We had trouble with her sliding down so much and this was a big problem. She is so contracted and also has Osteoporosis in her back so, she just kept sliding down. A friend of mine told me to try a rug gripper that holds rugs and mats in place where they will not slip. I was at the point that I would try just about anything. I went to a hardware store and found two different kinds. To my surprise, it worked and is still working. I put it under the pad on her bed and there is also a sheet covering the pad of course so it does not touch her. This was a blessing, now she does not slide down and she can sit up better so we can feed her.

Later,
Rebecca

Feeding

I Peter 4: 13 “But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings;”


Today we will talk about feeding by mouth. I am not able to feed my mother that much by mouth anymore due to her getting pneumonia because of aspiration, which is caused, by her not being able to swallow properly and the food or water goes down into her lungs instead of her stomach. I have to give her water on a sponge and sometimes when I do this I think about how they put water on a sponge and lifted it up to Jesus on a spear when he was on the cross and he said I thirst.

It makes me very sad that my mother cannot eat anything by mouth now. The doctor said, I could give her very little along with a thickening agent called, Thick It and it had to be as thick as honey. I do give her some baby food, like applesauce, bananas, carrots, ect. when she asks for something. I also have to use Thick It in her water when I put it on the sponge. I was using Thick It before she was put on the feeding tube. Thick It does help though. It comes in a can and you just mix as much as you need to your food or water. You can ususally find it at your local Pharmacy.

Please feel free to ask me any questions and if I don’t know I will try and find out for you.

Later,
Rebecca

Using Pillows For Comfort

Genesis 28:11 “ Jacob took stones for a pillow he lay down to sleep.”


I use a lot of pillows for my mother. Pillows for her head, pillows for her arms when needed for them to rest on. Pillows for her legs to make her more comfortable. Pillows to put her feet up.
I use pillows under each side of her to keep her lying straight in the bed because of her broken hip and the fact that she is so contracted makes it hard for her to lay straight in bed or be comfortable so, I use a lot of pillows, most of them are just standard size. They help me a lot.

Later,
Rebecca

Adult Diapers Cont.

Isaiah 46:4 “And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I will bear; even I will carry, and will deliver you.”

Psalm 71:17, 18 When I am old and gray-headed, O God, forsake me not; until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to every one that is to come.”

As I was saying it is so hard to see your loved ones in a diaper. It’s hard on you and it’s hard on your loved one. I really make it a point never to say I need to change your diaper. I always just say I need to bath and change your clothing. I do not want my mother to feel bad.
I use A&D cream on her to keep her from getting chapped. I also use a lot of baby handy wipes. Yes, it is hard but someone has to do it and I know if my daughter or me are the ones who are doing it, she is being taken care of.
Please read all my blog and feel free to write me back for comments, questions or if you need prayer. I really want to be here for caregivers because I know how hard it is.

Later,
Rebecca

The Day Of Rest

As a caregiver we do not get Sunday off, we still have to take care of our love ones. I know God understands this. I do try and let other things go on this day like washing, cleaning the house ect.

Genesis 2:2 “Tells us that on the seventh day God rested. I try to rest and pray and read God’s Word. I don’t get to go to church that much I watch it on T.V. and that helps a lot.
Because this is the seventh day if you have never asked Jesus into your heart I want to give you the opportunity to do so. Just pray this simple prayer and it will change your life and keep you out of hell.

Dear Heavenly Father,
I come to You in the Name of Jesus
You said in Your Word,”…if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
And shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead,THOU
SHALT BE SAVED” (Rom.10:9).
I believe in my heart that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.
I believe He was raised from the dead for my justification.
Your Word says,”…with the HEART man believeth unto righteousness:
And with the MOUTH confession is made unto salvation” (rom10:10).
I do believe with my heart, and I now confess with my mouth Jesus as My Lord and
Savior. Therefore, I am now saved! Thank You, Lord for my salvation.

If you prayed this prayed sincerely from your heart, then according to God’s Word you
Are saved! I want to welcome you to the family of God. Now tell someone because
God says if we are ashamed of Him He will not confess us before His Father in
Heaven. Write and let me know. You will never be the same.


Rebecca

How To On Adult Diapers

Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”


Today I am going to talk about an adult diaper. It is so hard to see your mother in a diaper. My mother was always such a strong woman. It hurts so bad to see her this way. I know it hurts her even more. I know I have changed her diaper more than she ever changed mine. Sometimes we feel this is not fair, this is not right, this is not the way it is suppose to be. When I do this I have to take time to break away go into another room and pray. I have to be strong for her. There are times when it is not easy. That’s when I say I of myself can do nothing but with God’s help I can do it.
My mother is able to use her right hand and she can use it too. I have to put her arm inside a pillowslip and pillow to keep her from using her hand where she should not. A nurse told me to do this and it works, it does not hurt her and it helps to keep her hand out of the way while I am changing her and bathing her.
Another thing I do that the nurse taught me is to use duct tape to tape the sides of her diaper at the bottom part of her legs, I guess you could say, it is a custom fitted. I also buy the largest diapers I can find to give plenty of room, even though she would normally wear something a lot smaller in size. All of this helps to keep anything from coming out. I also never say to her that we are putting on her diaper or changing her diaper because I feel if that were me laying there, how humiliating it would be so, we just say getting her cleaned up and changing her clothes. Once again it goes back to respect.

Later,
Rebecca

The Perfect Gift Cont.

Christmas morning came and we put all her presents on the foot of her bed. She cannot sit up in a wheel chair because of her legs being so contracted so she has to stay in bed most of the time. Even though I had been worried about her not getting enough presents, when I finished carrying all her presents into her room and laid them on the foot of her bed, it was covered and it seemed as if she had gotten more presents than we did because there were not many presents left in the living room.
She had a great Christmas. She was so happy and was laughing with us and having a great time.
I knew she always loved to wear a watch and I never could find one that I felt was safe to put on her arm. Her little skin is so thin I was concerned about it tearing her skin but I found one that had a wide cloth band, which was just right. My daughter Stephanie got her a ring, which she loves. She got so many things and was so blessed.

Later,
Rebecca

The Perfect Gift

“For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

God gave us the best gift of all JESUS his Son.


I just wanted to share with you about our Christmas 2009.

Giving gifts to the loved ones you are caring for is very important however; it can be hard to find gifts depending on the condition of the person you care for. Buying gifts for my mother is hard sometimes because, her left side is paralyze from having strokes, she cannot use her left arm or hand at all, she is contracted in her legs and she can only use her right hand so, I have to get creative with the gift choices. I buy her clothing of course sheet sets, comforters, blankets, pillows but I know she wants other things also. So I really have to pray and think, shop and look.

My daughter and I really have to pray a lot and shop a lot for her. I was worried about this Christmas her little skin is just so thin. I have to be careful and it is hard to buy jewelry for her even though she loves jewelry. I was really worried about what in the world are we going to get her. My daughter would say it is so hard I have only got her about three gifts but I will keep looking. It’s good to remember the things they always liked and then work off of that for your gift.

Later,
Rebecca