A Post for Those Who Are Responsible for the Care of a Loved One

If you have read my blog for the past year or two or are a Face Book friend you may know that I have an elderly mother who has dementia. She still remembers family members and past life experiences and enjoys her days in the assisted living community where she lives.  Many of her needs are taken care of there, but it is my responsibility to coordinate her care among her various providers.  She has doctors appointments that need to be made and kept, personal items that need to be routinely purchased,  family visits  coordinated, bills paid, shoes and clothing updated, dozens of issues that need follow up,  the list goes on and on.  I have routine meetings with the staff where she lives and all that information needs to be kept in an orderly and easily accessible way along with her weekly appointments for personal needs like hair cuts, nail care, massages, etc. I was overwhelmed by this responsibility 16 months ago when my dad passed away and have been trying to do my best with all this responsibility since that time.  If all of this sounds like a huge task, believe me it is.

A few weeks ago I received an email from my friend Jeni, The Blog Maven, my blog designer.   She knows that I care for my mom and asked me if I would be willing to review a product that she was working on that might make my life a little easier.  Her clients, Susan McArthur, an RN, and Joy Rodriguiz, a professional organizer, have a company named Un Souci (meaning “to worry” or “show concern”) and they have designed and assembled a workbook for people in my circumstances who are responsible for the care of someone else, whether that person (young or elderly) lives at home or is in a care facility like my mom is. I liked the concept and immediately agreed to take a look.

I was so impressed by the content and organization of their binder.  I have almost all my mother’s health information in my binder now and can see that this aspect of my life is going to be a lot easier.  Un Souci binders are available as downloads (which is what I chose) and a printed notebook version is available as well if you prefer it.  If you click on the above badge and go to their website you can review the contents and even download a few pages. Binders are customized to meet the needs of children and adults.

If you have responsibility for overseeing the health care needs of another person I can promise you that Un Souci will make your life easier.  I work and am occasionally out of town and I am confident that any friend or family member could pick up my binder and know how to step in and take care of my mother’s needs.  That’s a lot of peace of mind in a stressful situation.

I have several health issues of my own and as I was assembling my mother’s binder I realized that I need one for myself in case  my children have to help with my medical needs someday.  It would save them hours of stressful searching if they needed my medication list, my doctors’ contact numbers, insurance information, etc. It would be a loving gift to give them that they won’t really appreciate until the day they might need it.  An Un Souce binder would also be a wonderful gift for a friend who has the responsibility of caring for a loved one.

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Tagged as: Health Care