My Vexing/Gratifying 7 Years of Caregiving

By Barry Jacobs

A clinical psychologist and co-author of AARP Meditations for Caregivers who specializes in helping family caregivers.  This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post.

On April 26, 2017, while lying motionless in her nursing home bed with closed eyelids and a gaping mouth, my 86-year-old mother took two last short breaths before peacefully going still. Her death from complications of dementia and kidney failure brought to a close a nearly 7-year, sometimes rancorous period of family caregiving after my wife and I moved her up from Florida to live near us. We then gradually took over every aspect of her life.

That wasn’t our intention, of course. We tried to preserve her independence for as long as we could. But as she became confused about her pills, fell more often, and wandered at times, we responded by commandeering her pill box, making her use a walker, and hiring legions of home health aides. With nearly every change, she fought us. That made a sad, deteriorating situation more difficult. Living in a nursing home during her last year-and-a-half gave her the supports she needed and allowed us to finally stop battling with her.

 

Read the full article by following the link below.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/my-vexinggratifying-7-years-of-caregiving_us_591a5986e4b0f31b03fb9e8d?ncid=engmodushpmg00000004

Traxx Mobility Systems is Lifting the Standard of Home Care

The Titan 500 is a freestanding overhead patient lift designed for home health care. It is a complete lift system and comes with the freestanding frame, 8 foot long overhead beam, rechargeable electric lift motor, four-point lift bar, remote control, battery charger and a universal sling, with 4 sizes to choose from.

The Titan 500 ships freight and arrives in a large carton. It is partially assembled and two adults can fully assemble the lift in about 30 minutes. We have a video demonstration of the lift in use, followed by an assembly video, on our website at www.traxxms.com.

The Titan 500 does not attach to the structure of the home and allows a single caregiver to safely transfer a loved one without the stress and strain of a floor-based lift. The only real maintenance required is keeping the batteries charged and maintaining a straight lift strap to avoid twists and folds.

Each piece of the system is designed to lift up to 500 pounds. We have several safety systems built into the lift. These include a belt travel limiter to prevent the belt from completely unspooling, a safety stop switch to keep the belt from winding all the way up into the motor unit and an electric emergency down system.

The Titan 500 is proudly U.S. made and was designed by a service-disabled veteran. We are located in Michigan and shipping is free within the continental U.S. Options for the unit include a 10 or 12 foot overhead beam and a set of locking casters for the frame.

For more information, visit our website, find us on Facebook and watch our YouTube channel.