Author: Archana

Once a Physiotherapist now a Wordsmith. Field Botanist. Bonsai. Proud Indian. Fauji Wife. Doting Mother and Mother-in-law. Devoted Grandmother. Reluctant Cook. Happiest on a road less travelled. 60s are the new 40s ;-)
Posted on

Twins (ThursdayTreeLove)

I spotted these trees recently. All efforts to take a ‘solo’ photo of them failed as it was a very busy road and vehicles simply couldnt be kept out of the frame. 
Going closer meant losing some part of the tree. 

Trees, Adansonia, Pune

 The twins look magnificent don’t you think??



So here is the Baobab that is called Adansonia digitata and belongs the Bombacaeae family. It is native to Africa and has been introduced to India hundreds of years ago. In fact, it seems to be quite happy here considering that it flowers and fruits happily. It can be easily identified by its palmate leaves and its huge trunk. The trunk is said to store water. In the above photo, the white flowers are of the Plumeria though the Baobab also bears white flowers.


I have seen this species at four other places in Pune and this was a new find for me! This is also my third Baobab post on my blog! 


I am joining Parul in her ThursdayTreeLove bloghop. Do head over to see some fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in!

0
Posted on

I is Innoculation, Insurance

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting.


Innoculation
Do I see your surprise at this word? Let me explain. 
It may so happen, that our ‘wards’ may be silent carriers of some infections for example Hepatitis B. They have never suffered any symptoms hence is never diagnosed. Diagnosis can be only when specific tests are carried out. 
Hence its a good idea to stay updated with immunisation programs. Get booster shots if necessary. Keep your own immunity high by choosing healthy food and regular exercise (to the extent possible amid your commitments).


Insurance
This is very important as medical bills can be huge drain. Its vital to keep the insurance documents updated. Find out which hospitals honour the health insurance policy that your ‘ward’ holds. Also find out which conditions are covered under that policy and which conditions/services are excluded. 

Check if the cashless treatment facility is available. If not, what is the procedure to claim the amount later, which documents need to be submitted, time frame to receive your claim etc. If your ward does not have any medical cover, then the hospital bills will have to be paid upfront. 


There is no one size fits all solution. 
Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan.


My sketch for the day..

See you tomorrow folks.
Stay happy!

0
Posted on

H is Helper

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting. 


Helper.
These can be most valuable and indispensable to help us take care of our wards. Depending on the health of the senior/seniors we look after, the helper has to be a trained nurse else health worker. The latter can help with feeding, bathing our wards, taking them for a walk, reading to them and so on. 

This can be for either only during day hours or for 24 hours. In some instances, the wards need help with outside jobs like going to the post, bank, library, writing letters (yes some elders still do write with a pen!) and so on. In that case, help is needed only for a few hours. Then my city has the option of getting help from needy students under a ‘Earn and Learn’ project. The student comes home for a couple of hours and helps out with such tasks for a small remuneration. 


Here are some providers:
DISCLAIMER: I have no vested interest in any of these. Some were recommended to me, some I have found via Google search. 
Elder Care
Nightingales
MayaCare 
Portea

Full time helpers can be costly but they are a huge help to us care givers. 


Obviously whether our wards are staying independently or in our homes, there is a security issue. Its a good idea to get helpers from a known, reputed Bureau and also get a police verification. Pune Police has a dedicated cell for senior citizens. 


Here is a peculiar situation I have seen..
I know of an over 90-year old lady with many maladies associated with that age. Her son is past 70 years of age and also suffers from some heart issues. Possibly he too needs some care. He too must be living off his pension. The grandchildren must be in their late 40s and in critical stages of their own lives. In this case, on whom does the onus of care for the 90-year fall? 


Where does the buck stop?


There is no one size fits all solution. 
Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan.


Sketch for today..



See you tomorrow folks. Stay happy!

0
Posted on

G is Guilt

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting. 


Guilt.
According to the Collins Dictionary, it means “..an unhappy feeling because you have done something wrong or think you have done something wrong.” 


Seeing our wards in physical or mental pain, discomfort, confusion there is a feeling of helplessness. After my father passed away, more than once, I have felt that I could have done something more despite a sane assessment telling me otherwise. Should I have consulted more doctors? Should I have been more firm about them following doctor’s advice? Should I have not gone on the business tour? Had I ignored some complaints?….This an umpteen other doubts.

I have consulted with an expert. As long as one is doing their duty sincerely and with a clear conscious there is nothing to feel guilty. Its ok to want to take time out for yourself, go to the beauty salon as long as our ward is being taken care of. 


This definitely is not shirking responsibility. 


Little ‘breaks’ serve to keep care givers motivated to better look after our wards. 


Bottom line, there is nothing to feel Guilty about. 


There is no one size fits all solution. 
Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan.


This sketch will surely cheer you up! Inspired by images found via Google search

See you tomorrow folks!
Stay happy!

0
Posted on

F is for Friends

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting.


Friends.


It is vital to have a social circle where one can simply be oneself, speak ones mind, not be judged for it and be sure it doesn’t end up as gossip. Friends can lend a patient ear to care givers and often that is all that is required. It may so happen that by sharing our problems (while taking care of our wards), our friends may also have been in a similar situation and offer useful timely advice. 


It doesnt have to be several people, even one good friend is enough. Someone you can call and speak with any time. 


I have drawn strength from our interactions with our friends and urge all care-givers to do so. 


Such friendships do not develop overnight. They need to be nurtured. Selflessly. 


A True Friend. Be one to someone and you will have someone standing  by you!
Of course, it could be a family member or spouse who is your pillar of support. 


Having said this, there is a flip side as well.

In my experience, there can be some so-called ‘friends’ who end up giving us negativity, low morale after meeting them. Many people of this category tell us sad stories of someone in a similar situation or dire endings.  They don’t really have anything concrete to offer. Such talk can also disturb our wards. I would suggest staying away from such individuals. I have firmly but politely dissuaded such visitors even at the cost of  being ‘branded’ as snobbish. Some members of the family too may fall in this category and they have got the same treatment. 


Its up to us as care givers to stay positive, motivated, happy and aim for the same mental frame for our wards. 


There is no one size fits all solution. 
Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan. 


And here is my sketch for the day…

art therapy, cupcake, sketching

See you tomorrow folks!
Stay happy!

0
Posted on

E is Exercise

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting.


Exercise.


Here I refer to physical activity for the care givers. Looking after a sick person is extremely demanding physically. It is vital for care givers to stay healthy and fit. Hence they must exercise regularly. He must continue to exercise at the usual health club. If care is being given at another place, then try to find a jogging track or garden close by where its possible to work out. If nothing, simply put on your walking shoes and walk briskly for at least an hour.


This not only gets the heart rate going, muscles working but also drives all morbid, sad thoughts out of the mind. Post work out, we become fresh and alert to continue the task in hand. 

Yoga is a good indoor exercise option. You Tube and other health Apps provide a huge variety of exercise plans. Choose a suitable one and stay with it. 


Never miss your exercise session. Care givers need those endorphins!


There is no one size fits all solution. 
Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan. 


Since we are talking about exercise.. today’s sketch is about taking our ‘ward’ for a walk… 
Like I said, I am not an expert, so please excuse me if the walker in the figure’s hand looks like a toy!!

ageing, aged, care giver

See you tomorrow folks!
Stay happy!

0
Posted on

D is Documents

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting.


Documents. 


Here in India, people avoid making a Will and its absence can create problems for any settlements that are to be made after elders pass on. A Living Will and Power of Attorney are other contentious issues that will also have to be prepared if need be. Elders do forget where documents are stored or even if they existed. Trying to get this information can be very tricky and very likely to be misinterpreted. 


Hence its vital to ensure that the bank accounts, bank lockers, mutual funds, stocks etc are not on a ‘single’ holding. Many a times, property documents are not in order. Time and other conditions permitting, try to straighten these out. 


So caregivers have to find a middle path. Or simply be ready for endless visits to the bank and other government offices as and when the time comes to change the holding pattern of the assets. 

Besides financial and real estate, medical documents also have to be kept safely and properly filed. Besides the Doctor needing them, they may have to be submitted when claiming health insurance. 


There is no one size fits all solution. 
Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan. 


My sketch for the day… Not one but two!
Both are from a Marathi magazine..

See you tomorrow folks with my E post!
Stay happy!

0
Posted on

C is Child

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting. 


While all my posts will be focused on care givers for the elderly, I think I must focus on parents who take care of their very sick or disabled children. During my work with differently able kids, I have seen first hand the trauma the parents (especially mothers) have to face, the uncertainty about the future, social ostracisation, and so on. 


I will never forget the comment of a young mother of child with cerebral palsy. They lived in a remote village and had come to our centre when the boy was about a year old. He used to cry continuously and she would stay awake in a bid to allow the rest of the household to sleep. . After evaluation, I had prescribed a preliminary home program. At her second visit at an interval of a month, she told me, “I have slept for the first time in a year’. 

That’s when I realised that my physiotherapy that was aimed to help the child ended up benefiting his mother as well. A most satisfying thought! 


In the same town, some of the mothers of the differently abled children, would go out only at night as neighbours or with their faces covered. I dont need to elaborate on this aspect of ostracisation. 


All the points applicable to care givers of elderly apply to such parents as well. 


Care giving actually doesnt differentiate between the age of the ‘ward’. The mental and physical demands on the care giver remain the same. 


There is no one size fits all solution.
Every family has to find something that suits them best. At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan. 



Here is my sketch for today:

Inspired by images I found via Google search. 

See you tomorrow folks with my D post. 
Till then, stay happy!

0
Posted on

B is Bills

Hello and Welcome to my sixth attempt at the AtoZ blogging challenge.
My theme this year is Caring for the Caregiver. My posts are based on my experience and are not meant to be a comprehensive guide on the subject. I would love to hear your experiences..
You can catch up with my previous posts here.
With each post, I am sharing a sketch that I have done as a means for stress busting. 


Bills are something that simply have to be paid in the stipulated time. Thankfully, we now need not stand in queues to pay for various services that we use. 
As a care giver, we need to be alert about bill payments of residence of our ‘wards’ and also our own homes and offices.


This is the place to make full use of all available technology. 
Let me elaborate.
Use online payment methods via a laptop/desktop or mobile phone whichever one you are comfortable with. Many offer prescheduled payments or automatic payments when a bill is generated. For those who do not wish to use automatic payment options, check if it is possible to make an advance payment to over upcoming monthly bills. This can be used for electricity, phone, internet, annual property taxes and so on. Grocers, Newspaper, domestic helpers, cable/satellite TV also have to be paid on time. 


Payments will also have to be scheduled for any medical services for the ‘wards’ – as in monthly medications, for helpers/nursing or physiotherapy services availed. 


Occasionally payments may be required for services of a plumber/electrician/mason etc. 


The above relate to the home of our ‘ward’ but the same bills have to be paid at our (care giver’s) own residence as well – assuming the care giver has his own separate home. Things like income tax need personal attention so one has to make time for it. If one is running a business, then additional attention to employees Pay and reimbursements and incentives need to be calculated and scheduled.


Its best to use a diary or put in reminders on your phone calender. Tick off as as you go along so there is no repetition. Every family will have different headings to be paid and I have only made a general list on the basis of what I do. 


Always keep another responsible family member in the loop so they can take over in case needed. 

I would love to hear more ideas on managing bill payments. 
There is no one size fits all solution. 

Every family has to find something that suits them best. 
At best, posts such as mine will inspire a family to come up with their unique workable plan. 



Encouraged by my first drawing, I purchased a notebook.. the store only had a ruled variety and undeterred I began sketching in earnest.
Here is another of my efforts!


calm mind, Pune , zentangle



See you tomorrow folks with my C post!

0