Sunday, January 4, 2015

Organizing Medicines For Older Parents

As you may have seen by now, my dad recently had a big open heart surgery and is now recovering. Mom lived with us for almost 6 weeks while Dad was in the hospital or rehab center. When Dad got out of the rehab center, it was quite overwhelming for him and Mom to think about tending to all that needed to be done when they went home on their own.

Dad has always been very capable and hard working, but the surgery has taken a lot out of him. He should recover much more yet, but the transition from being in rehab to going to live at their home without full time help was a bit daunting.... even Dad's voice is weak right now whereas it used to be very strong... he is just quite weak even though he is improving.

He was put on many medicines, and there was concern about keeping them all straight... and he was very overwhelmed with it. To make things easier for him, I used markers and put a colored circle on the medicine bottle.... the orange circle means morning and the blue one means evening..... then I wrote the number he takes at those times...... IN the circle. It made it really easy to see at a glance what he needed to take.

I also made a "key" for it.... listing the medicines he takes in the morning and those for the evening. The ones that are PRN, or "as needed" are marked with yellow.... and on the list I circled the bottom one on the morning and evening list to also show that they are also "as needed". That didn't show up here and when I tried to "fix" it with the paint program, I made it worse, so what you see here is not as clear as Dad's copy is.


 Dad has been so pleased with this...... and said it has simplified things for him a lot. If they lived closer, I would have offered to put his meds in a divided container, but since they live several hours away, he had to be able to do it and understand it. There are better systems, but this works.... and I was pleased to get it done... as I was so tired and my brother and sister in law were picking Mom and Dad up the next morning.

Sometimes, I am surprised how things that we take for granted as being "easy", are actually becoming more complicated for Mom and Dad and it is a good idea to help them.  On a future post, I plan to share the system we came up with to continue their therapy exercises.... it is work, but so helpful... and what a blessing that we can help our aging parents.

Thank you for visiting.... if you have aging parents who are needing help, it can be rather difficult... especially if they don't realize they need some help and you don't want to step in where you are not needed/wanted. It is a dilemma, but though our world looks with scorn on the older generation, God doesn't and it can be a blessing to help our parents... even if it is difficult.

 "The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness." Proverbs 16:31


Shared on:


Making Your Home Sing Monday
Weekend Wind Down Party
Saturday Sparks
Saturday Soiree
Funtastic Friday
Thriving Thursday
Paula's No Rules Weekend Party
HomeAcre Hop
A Little R and R
Coffee and Conversation
So Much At Home
Wonderful Wednesday
Wake Up Wednesday
Tuesday Talk
Women Helping Women
Modest Monday
Good Morning Monday
The Art of Homemaking
Making Your Home Sing Monday
Motivation Monday








16 comments:

  1. That's a terrific way to help your parents. May God bring quick healing to your father in Jesus' Name.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you... he is getting better little by little. :)

      Delete
  2. Your system is very easy to follow, one to keep in mind. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.... I was so glad God gave me the idea, since I was really rushed and wanted something simple. Thank you for stopping by. :)

      Delete
  3. This is a wonderful system to get in place! I have a question though, will someone there be able help him maintain the system with the prescription bottles and label any new ones or changes he may get? For my in-laws, every time they see the doctor, something in their prescription changes, and that gets very difficult for them to keep up with as well. It is a blessing that you are able to help your parents in this way at this time in their lives!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If it changes, yes, I think so.... otherwise, when they get new bottles of the same medicines, they could do the same system to their new bottles and I think they will be able to keep the system going... but I think my brother and sister in law will try to also check it, hopefully. I think they are able to do so much for themselves yet, and I want to help them do that as long as they can. :)

      Delete
  4. Prayers for a quick and full recovery! And prayers for you and your siblings too. My mom was the caretaker of her dad (my grandpa) for many years so I've seen how hard it can be. ..but so loving too! May God bless you for your loving acts!

    Thanks for linking up with us for Tuesday Talk! - Jess

    www.sweetlittleonesblog.com / sweetlittleonesblog@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.... it is hard and it is nice to hear from someone who knows how hard it can be... but God gives grace and we are thankful. :) I appreciate your visit.

      Delete
  5. What a great idea and what a blessing you must be to your parents. Mine past away 4 and 5 years ago and it was hard to help care for them as they lived 1800 kms away. It always brings joy to my heart when I hear of children being able to help their parents. Thanks for sharing at Good Morning Mondays. Blessings

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It has been a blessing to help them, although I didn't expect to see it that way. :) God is a wondrous God and He blesses obedience and compassion in such a situation. Thank you for visiting. I am sorry about the passing of your own parents.... I am so glad we are not facing that.

      Delete
  6. What a great idea!
    I'm an RN (though I'm currently not working...I'm staying home with my little one) and missed doses/extra doses/wrong doses/etc. of meds are a huge problem for patients. This is a wonderful way to organize them.
    I'm pinning this to my "strengthening family" board on Pinterest.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you! I love the idea of a strengthening family board also.... Glad you visited. :)

      Delete
  7. Prayers are going for your dad, I hope all goes well. Very organized and very instructive for all of us to keep in mind. Thank you for sharing.
    Hugs,
    FABBY

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you... I sure appreciate the prayers... recovery is a long hard road. Thank you for your visit. :)

      Delete
  8. What a brilliant idea! I should try this, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you.... just seemed that the Lord gave me the idea and it was quite timely for Dad. Thank you for visiting. :)

      Delete