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QUIK-CLICK GUIDE TO THIS PAGE
Care-Givers
Retreat Schedule
What Is a Care-Giver's Retreat?
Comments from Previous Participants
Whos Is a Care-Giver?
Tips for Care-Givers
Care-Giver's Prayer
Care-Giver's Self-Assessment
Local Resources for Care-Givers
Online Resources for Care-Givers
Registration
Contact
Care-Givers Retreats
Saturday, October 23, 2010
April 16, 2011
9:00am–Noon • Chapel Wing
Covenant Medical Center, Waterloo
No
Charge
•
Open to
the Public
•
Includes Noon Meal
Pre-registration Suggested
• • •
Retreat
Schedule
Opening Prayer
Covenant Medical Center Chapel
Spiritual
Reflection on the Role of Care-Giving
Rev. Mark Pell
Director of Spiritual Care
Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare
Discussion
and Sharing
Community
Resources for Care-Givers
Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging
Noon Meal
Courtesy of Wheaton Franciscan Health Care
If you need someone to provide care
for your loved one while you attend the retreat, contact the
Pastoral Associate in your parish or call 319-234-9912.
• • •
What Is a Care-Givers Retreat?
A Care-Givers
Retreat is an opportunity for prayer, reflection and discussion
for individuals who have primary or frequent responsibility for
the care of
sick, disabled, aging or dying
family members, neighbors or
friends.
We
know family care-givers often feel overwhelmed, confused, and
unprepared for their role as care-givers. Many feel trapped by conflicting
responsibilities, unexpected and sometimes unreasonable demands.
Almost all family care-givers experience stress and many feel
discouraged, guilty, angry and exhausted.
A Care-Givers
Retreat helps participants examine the spiritual, emotional and
personal challenges of full-time care-giving. It helps
participants appreciate the spiritual meaning of their role as
care-givers and helps them find strength, encouragement and
support in the assurances of their faith.
Although the
purpose of a Care-Givers Retreat is always same, the content of each retreat is different from previous retreats.
We invite care-givers to attend a retreat each time one is
offered.
Comments from
Previous Participants
"I enjoyed
the retreat very much. I could relate to all that was
discussed. This is a good thing to provide for
care-givers...."
"I enjoyed
the morning and think it was helpful. It was also
informative and I hope it will be held again...."
"Mark was
very insightful in his remarks. I enjoyed the morning very
much...."
"I enjoyed
the sharing time and understanding better where others were
coming from...."
"This was
the first time I attended a retreat and I found it to be very
helpful in my job in a nursing home and for the one I take care
of at home...."
Who Is a
Care-Giver?
Most family
care-givers do not think of themselves as "care-givers;"
they consider themselves family members -- a husband or wife, son
or daughter, doing what family members do for one another.
However, if you provide care or assistance on a regular basis to
a family member, neighbor or friend who cannot provide this care
for themselves, you are acting as a family care-giver. You are a
family care-giver if you provide all or any of these services to
a family member, neighbor or friend on a regular
or full-time basis:
•
Live with an sick, aging,
handicapped, incapacitated or dying person.
•
Visit regularly
with a person who is hospitalized or living in a nursing home or
assisted living center.
• Have primary responsibility for a
person's health care, medicine, insurance or
financial affairs.
•
Perform or arrange for
household chores, such as cooking, cleaning, laundry,
home maintenance and repair, outdoor and yard maintenance.
• Provide, arrange or
monitor home health care or hospice services.
• Communicate regularly with health care providers and community service
agencies on behalf of a loved one.
• Provide transportation for an elderly, sick, or handicapped
person.
Whether you consider yourself a
"care-giver" or not, if you provide this kind of care on a
regular or full-time basis you are acting as a care-giver.
Sooner or later you may feel some of
the personal, emotional and spiritual challenges which are
common among family care-givers.
Tips for Caregivers
•
Give yourself permission to be angry or resentful about
your care-giving role, suggests Roberta Cole, author of Caregiving
From the Heart. “The only way you are going to work things
through is to acknowledge that those are feelings you have a
right to feel.
•
Focus on the present.
Amy Baker, author of Slow Dancing at Death's Door, stresses the
need for "getting angry and getting over it." You can do this,
in part, by learning how to separate the past from the present
when dealing with, for example, a strained parent-child
relationship.
•
Practice forgiveness.
Treat your feelings—for yourself and the person for whom you are
caring—with compassion. “As hard as it is to do, realize that
most people are only doing the best they can,” says Baker.
“Their meanness or lack of love for you probably wasn’t
malicious. They didn’t set out to hurt you.” Letting go can be
healing.
•
Ask for help from a third party, especially if you're
feeling overwhelmed. Cole suggests seeking aid and advice from
another relative, a friend, an elder care professional, or a
clergyperson or spiritual counselor.
•
Turn it over to God's grace, suggests Baker. Sometimes the situation is too
painful you probably wasn’t malicious. They didn’t set out to
hurt you.” Letting go can be transformative.
•
Tend
to basic needs. It’s difficult to care for a
person in need if you yourself are run-down. Make sure to
address your immediate needs for adequate rest and sound
nutrition. Schedule in a few brief but potent breaks into
your day. A short walk around the block helps or a catnap can do
wonders to refresh you. If you can’t physically get away, you
can literally take a “breather.”
•
Blow
off steam. Do something active each day:
walking, running, biking, swimming--anything that gets you
moving. Take time to get outside and out into the world--even if
it's just taking a walk down the street and back–and really pay
attention to your surroundings. A regular mind/body practice can
help you fight stress before it starts. Yoga, Pilates, qigong,
and other mindful disciplines create greater flexibility and
strength, as well as a relaxed
body and mind.
•
Again,
ask for help! Being a
caregiver is an extremely demanding task. Rather than
becoming overwhelmed and ineffective, ask someone to share the
load before it becomes unbearable. It may be as simple as having
a friend pick something up for you at the grocery.
•
Nurture
yourself.
Get your nails done, meet a friend for
coffee. Take time to do something for you.
-- Mary Beth Sammons online at
Beliefnet.com
• • •
A Caregiver's Prayer
Heavenly Father, help me better understand
and believe I can do what you ask me to do.
Forgive me for the times, even now,
when I question your judgment.
As I go about the
many daily tasks of
caregiving, give me energy.
As I watch my loved one oh-so-slowly walk
across the room, give me strength.
As I answer his/her repeated question
just one more time, give me patience.
As I look for solutions to whatever
is the most recent concern, give me wisdom.
As I reminisce with him/her about the
“good old days,” give me a moment of laughter.
As I get to know my loved one in a new way,
seeing both his/her strength and frailty, give me joy.
As I sit beside my loved one’s bed waiting
for his/her pain medication to take effect,
give me comfort.
Lighten my burden, answer my prayer,
and give me the strength to do what
so often seems impossible.
Give me a quiet place to rest when I need it
and a quieting of my anxieties when I’m there.
Change my attitude from a tired,
frustrated and angry caregiver
to the loving and compassionate
one I want to be.
Remain my constant companion as I face
the challenges of caregiving
and when my job is through
and it’s time for me to let go,
help me remember
he/she is leaving my loving arms
to enter your eternal embrace.
Amen.
Friends
of St. John the Caregiver
http://www.youragingparent.com/a_caregiver's_prayer.htm
• • •
Care-Giver's Self
Assessment
Caregivers are often so concerned
with caring for another's needs that they lose sight of their
own well-being. Click here to assess what impact
care-giving is having on your own mental and physical health:
Care-Giver's Self Assessment
• • •
Local Resources for Caregivers
You will find a variety of
resources, advice and support services for caregivers available from
these local agencies:
Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging
Suite 320.
2101 Kimball Ave., Waterloo. Phone: 319-319-272-2244.
Cedar Valley Hospice
Suite 401. 2101 Kimball Ave., Waterloo. Phone: 319-272-2002.
Alzheimers Association
Suite 122. 2101 Kimball Ave., Waterloo. Phone:
319-272-2300.
The Catholic Parishes in Waterloo
Blessed Sacrament Parish/Sr. Madonna Friedman OSF.
319-233-6179
Queen of Peace Parish/Bev Byford. 319-226-3655
Sacred Heart Parish/Nancy Rigel. 319-234-4996
St. Edward Parish/Karol Rae Hoth. 319-233-8060
Online Resources for Caregivers
"Caregivers Survival Tips" (Beliefnet)
Caregivers Video Meditation (Willowgreen)
Caregivers Need Care Too (St. Anthony Messenger)
"Caregivers--What's in a Name?" (Beliefnet)
"Caring for Your Parents" (PBS)
"Coping with Caregiving" (Pacific Northwest
Extension)
"Depression-Busters for Caregivers" (Beliefnet)
"Prepare to Care" (AARP)
"The Reluctant Care-Giver" (Beliefnet)
"Tips for Caregivers" (Beliefnet)
Caregiver.com
Website (Today's Caregiver Magazine)
"When You're the Caregiver for Someone Who Is Ill"
(Willowgreen)
"Your
Aging Parent" Catholic Website
(Friends of St. John the Caregiver)
"Best Books for Caregivers" (Beliefnet)
• • •
Other Resources
for Caregivers
• A Good Death: Challenges, Choices
& Care Options.
Charles Meyer. Twenty-Third Publications.
64pp.
• How
to Honor Your Aging Parents--Fundamental Principles of
Caregiving.
Richard P. Johnson. Liguori Publications. 128pp. 9780764804762.
• 124
Prayers for Caregivers.
Joan Guntzelman. Liguori Publications. 144pp. 9780764810176.
• • •
Registration
•
By phone: call
319-234-9912
•
By email:
DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
•
Online:
Click here to register online
• • •
For information contact:
Director of Adult
Faith Formation.
320 Mulberry St., Waterloo IA 50703 Phone:
319-234-9912 • Email: DBQ208s3@arch.pvt.k12.ia.us
Posted 10.16.09 Last Update: 08.12.10
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