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Community Manager

AARP Caregiving Summer Break Contest

 

Summertime often means taking breaks and planning vacations. Both of these can be a bit tricky while caring for a loved one.  Have you traveled with your loved one recently or are you planning to?  

Share your experience here and you will be entered in our Caregiving Summer Contest 2018 and could win one of the weekly $100 gift cards or a chance for the overall winning prize of $500 gift card. Your story may be advice or inspirational!

Review rules here:  https://community.aarp.org/t5/Caregiving/AARP-Caregiving-Summer-Break-Contest-2018/m-p/2023713#M67

AARPTeri
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Hello, Today my mother-in-law is 97.  We had planned a wonderful dinner at her favorite restaurant,  with her, us, the grands. great granddaugghter and few friends.  We were excited.  However, it was raining really hard almost all day.  She has problems walking very far. My husband felt,  by the time we got her out of the car at the restaurant and inside, we would have been really wet even using a wheel chair.  And it would probably be cold in the restaurant and she would get sick. He picked up her favorite meal, we had dinner together and told her that maybe we can do it on the weekend.  She was happy.

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Even if it a walk by yourself the clear your head, everything helps. 

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We take my mother with us when we go to Santa Fe for the opera. They have good accommodations for wheelchairs there.
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Travel is really a whole other ballgame when you are a caregiver responsible for someone else. It becomes not about enjoying yourselves, but also about making sure that things are in place to accommodate your needs. Bathrooms are important - stop often and carry an Occupied sign.

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Newbie

I took care of my parents over the lat 10 year! they both have cancer!

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Recently traveled with a love one i was caring for. Was a tough job but the reward was the quality of time we got to spend together. I would not trade it for the world

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I am 63 and have been the caregiver for my 31 year old son who received a TBI almost 7 years ago. This is not my first time as a caregiver as I was married twice and each had cancer and my mom had Alzheimerโ€™s. My son is difficult to handle because of cognitive reasoning and Executive function problems. His behavior when he does not get his way is like a toddlers meltdown. The only thing that calms him and keeps him mellow is his medical marijuana ( it treats his seizures also) Because of his OCD behaviors and his marijuana use makes traveling or staying anywhere impossible. So basically vacations are a thing of the past . He used to sleep days and up nites for over 6 years and has just started having a more normal sleep patterns. I always say never say never though.

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I love to enjoy my summer break by spending time with family and friends. My favorite trip during the summer time is driving down to the beach, where I can enjoy hanging out with my friend.

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Summertime often means taking breaks and planning vacations. Both of these can be a bit tricky while caring for a loved one.  Have you traveled with your loved one recently or are you planning to?   

Share your experience here and you will be entered in our Caregiving Summer Travel Contest 2018 and could win one of the weekly $100 gift cards or a chance for the overall winning prize of $500 gift card. Your story may be advice or inspirational!

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Newbie

Plan on taking a family vacation before the grandkids go back to school. My wife requires help, so planning around that while still making it fun for everyone else has been a chore. Have to call all the places we plan to visit to make sure it won't be a problem.

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I care for my grandfather with dementia. He is forgetful and he has issues with walking. He's unable to cook food and has to have other cook his meals.

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Watching a grandmother and grandson on a the Disney Dumbo attraction is pure magic. 

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I have lived with my partner for the last 26 years she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 2004 up until the last few years she was able to be somewhat more active now she is bedridden her back an feet are very debilitated she can not lay back at all sometimes it is very difficult to change her because she is in so much pain she yells and cusses me out quite frequently I have been a family caregiver since 2008 she doesn't allow me to be away from her more than a few hours she always thinks sheโ€™s going to die that day I tell her all the time itโ€™s up to God doctors tell her there is not any more they can do for her she is at the point where itโ€™s up to God sometimes I wish I had a friend that I could shout out to sometimes we have been almost homeless we live in a weekly room I'm always afraid for her sometimes I just would like to be blessed so I didn't have any worries Iโ€™m confused of what to do if she passes no one seems to care no one in our family ever calls to see how we are doing I pray frequently please listen she never wants anyone else to touch her or help her sometimes I wonder if Iโ€™m doing the right thing but my love keeps me here.

 

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I don't have much to tell but I'm in my 50 was in the armed forces for 10 years.

 

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My daughter is terminally ill with cystic fibrosis so oxygen concentrators, tanks and nebulizers are part of our everyday life and make vacations almost impossible. Our solution has been to go to a large tourist town about an hour away and get a motel room. When she is up to it there are all kinds of shops and restaurants to visit. Each time we decide ahead of time where our vacation is going to be. In our mind our hotel room is at the beach, London, Hawaii or so many different places. We may never be able to physically go but in our minds that motel room can be anywhere we want to be. We can take her large concentrator with us and she can do the tourist thing when she is up to it. Imagination sometimes makes reality much better.Sheis only 35 so I try to make every day an adventure and each moment special.    Mary E in NC

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i have cancer 

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Hello. My name is Maria. My summer breaks include helping my mother with things that she can no longer do. That includes taking her to the grocery store (eventhough she doesn't need anything. LOL) or even just taking her on a drive or somewhere to eat. 

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Its really tough to decide to relax when it feels so not okay to do so. I think to myself, "I wouldn't want to feel as if my existance was a hinderance on someone else's", and plan accordingly and respectively.

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Hello, my favorite thing to do is have a girls day with my grandmother. We go to the spa get massages and our nails and feet done after that we stop and get food and ice cream

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Newbie

I take a break by going to the beach with my husband and kids while another famly member stays with  my dad.

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Itโ€™s important to plan ahead when traveling as a caregiver. You should keep extra doses of medicine and lists of prescriptions and other instructions in case something is misplaced. 

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I took care of my parents for 20 yrs til they die.when my dad passed away I had to do everything that he was doing around the house and take care of my mom too.

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Have always been a sentimental type, preserving old photographs, researching family history, keeping cards and letters which I found meaningful, and labeling items from generations past for generations future. Quite indifferent, our children have not shared the same interest in my cache of artifacts and my passion for tales of long past relatives. Such things will vanish along with me. But our story reflects a strange and unique twist of events resulting from my love of reminiscence and most likely from my finally fulfilled wish to take what I call our โ€œjourney home.โ€ Every moment we have is cherished.

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We have been traveling to the lake almost every other weekend. We are camping and enjoying ourselves. We also went o the beach and took my extended family. We had the best time. My autistic nephew went with us also, and he was a complete joy! Im so thankful to take part in all these vacations. 

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I am new to caregiving responsibilities, so I have good reason to seek support and information from this forum.  The biggest challenge I've noticed thus far is balancing the day to day physical needs with the task of paperwork, insurance, healthcare and bureaucracy.

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I was taking care of my mom while helping run my father's Building and Loan business.  I ran into some tough times when my uncle lost some money from the business.  But things turned out ok after I met my friend Clarence.  Clarence helped me appreciate the good things that I have in my life and helped me to see things much more clearly.  I think he was looking for a reward in helping me, but I'm thankful for the help anyway.

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sup my guys

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I took care of my mom and dad til they die. I did everything from cleaning to taking the dogs out. My parents was so happy that I was spending time with them and helping out that they can't do in anymore.

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We went on some short roadtrips this summer which allowed us to just get away.  It was nice and relaxing and we all enjoyed spending the time with each other.

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Newbie

Very nice. Heres mine:

I dislike entering book shops. Every time I walk into a book shop, I will end up buying one.

I entered an international bookshop in Eixample, Barcelona, while looking for some cool things to do in Barcelona. And as expected, a book named โ€žThe dead alleys of Barcelonaโ€œ got my attention, a crime novel. Long story shot: I bought it, went home, and started reading.

In this book, the author Stefanie Kremser talks about a special part of El Born, downtown Barcelona. She describes this magical square, this narrow street the main character lived in.

I didnโ€™t know this exact street, and I was curious. I went downtown, wandered around the square and saw this cafรฉ with the few tables on the terrace. Until today, 7 years later, it is still my favorite cafรฉ in Barcelona โ€“ thanks to this book!

 

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