Water and Proper Hydration Concerns?

Do you really have to make sure that your care recipient drinks eight full glasses of water every day?

The simple answer? Probably not unless their doctor says that you do. And even then, it might be less water than you expect.

An average sized drinking glass out of my kitchen cabinet holds 1 2/3 cups of water, with one cup being 8 ounces. So a standard glass of water is almost two servings out of the 8 servings recommended to keep properly hydrated.

Drink 5 water glasses full of water in a day, or 5 bottles of water, and you most likely have drank your recommended allotment of water for the day. But it is not even that simple, since the water does not all have to come from clear water. That tea your mother had with breakfast can count towards water intake. Yes, the tea and lemon and sugar all change it a bit, but there is still water needed for remaining hydrated in the cup of tea.

Water intake needs vary based on many factors, and on how much water is in the things we eat or drink. If you are concerned about keeping your care recipient properly hydrated then you should consult their primary care physician to find out how their hydration levels are doing and to advise you on the proper plan for dietary and water intake. Something that not many people consider is that too much water can also be a danger under the wrong circumstances, so if you have concerns about hydration in your loved one ask about it the next time you accompany them to the doctor's office.

Depuy lawsuit

Chances are you have heard of DePuy Orthopedics, and if not then you have no doubt heard of their parent company - Johnson & Johnson. DePuy Orthopedics provides orthopedic devices for hip, knee and extremities. The August 26, 2010 recall affects over 90,000 hip replacement systems identified as the ASR™ XL Acetabular System and DePuy ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System used in hip replacement surgery.

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath knows that big companies might not always be prompt in providing the care promised during such recalls, so would like to reach out to anyone that has been affected by the DePuy Orthopedics recall. If you think that you might need some help, or might need to be part of a Depuy lawsuit product liability claim, then O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath invites you to contact them at the above link or using the below information:

O’Hanlon, McCollom & Demerath
Personal Injury Lawyers
808 West Avenue, Austin, TX. 78701
512-494-9949

CHAOS

Every once in a while a show that is just flat great comes out, and it just as quickly vanishes.

That is what happened with CHAOS, a new CBS comedic drama about a group of old school CIA operatives that premiered April 1st of this year. The show made it for three aired episodes, then CBS yanked it out of the lineup because they disliked the fact that it's viewership were not in their 18-49 demographic range.

Maybe there should be some advertisers targeting the older viewership on occasion? Because CHAOS had good viewer levels, just not in the 18-49 segment apparently - which is the segment that wants to be out in the bars at 8pm Friday - which is when they aired CHAOS.

CBS either needs to target the right ads to that timeslot, or they need to move CHAOS to a good fit for what its viewer audience is, because it is a great show that really deserves to be given a chance to prove itself.

I would dearly love to see it picked up by USA and paired with Burn Notice, that would make a nice pairing.

How to create a caregiver book

When I was taking care of my dad there came a point where one of my sisters was to take care of him for a few weeks until my mom and I drove a car out the Al-Can to pick up my dad at my sister's place and go for a trip with him in the Lower 48.

Before my sister took my dad, I created a small booklet on the computer that she could take and read so that she was up to speed on what she needed to know about his dietary restrictions and his medications and what to expect from him as she took care of him for a few weeks.

The care only lasted almost a week, but the creation of the caregiver booklet is something that I think any caregiver should consider for when they have someone else taking care of a loved one.

Basically it was a letter from me explaining what the booklet was for.
A page on what my dad liked to eat for snacks.
Information on what he could not eat because of medications or other dietary restrictions.
Some information that was specific to taking care of him, such as how he preferred to be assisted when he transferred from bed to wheelchair and similar things.
A list of what he enjoyed watching on television, and what radio show he liked to listen to as he went to bed at night - with a note that he slept better if he had a nightlight and the radio was left on overnight rather than turned off.

I also included information on his contact information for his primary physician and a basic health history that covered things that might be asked by a hospital, just in case.
A list of what dad's medications were along with information on dosage and what each medication was for.
With that was a standing order from his doctor for a lab test on a few medications that needed their levels monitored by a lab.

Add in a timeline of what can be expected for a few days worth of average care and my sister was armed with everything I could think of that she might need while taking care of our dad.

Even if someone is not taking care of your loved one, I would suggest making up a small booklet that can be kept in an easy to find place so that if something does happen and you need to spend a little time in the hospital or have to go somewhere and leave someone else providing the care you normally provide, you don't have to spend precious time explaining things. The stand-in caregiver can be left a handbook specific to your loved one.

It has been a while

I know that I haven't been to this blog for a while, but life has been rather crazy since my dad passed away. I have been trying to sort things out and get everything figured out for how to save my parents' house, not sure if I am having much luck at it or not, but I do know I'm not exactly getting a lot of help with it, so... we'll see how it works out. I'm not giving up on trying to save it.