The
Nursing Home Insider (June 2002)
by
Marian R. Kranz PT
A Book
About You!
As we
get older, each of us should talk to our spouse and grown children
about our likes and dislikes so that they will know how to best care
for us. But what if they forget?
This
book, Who
Cares: A Loving Guide for Caregivers by Dee
Marrella, ensures that they won't forget. It is a reference book
about YOU. When completed, it contains all pertinent information about
you in one convenient location: Your personal likes and dislikes, your
personal beliefs, physical problems, medications and allergies, family
medical history, favorite brand of personal products such as
toothpaste, wishes for medical treatment and life support, preferred
healthcare providers such as doctor and dentist, daily routine,
favorite foods, hobbies, clothing sizes and preferences, favorite
forms of entertainment, and favorite places to visit. This is just a
partial list. The scope of information included in this book is
amazing.
Who
Cares will help caregivers know the wishes and desires of the
person they in their care. Completing this book will provide our
children with information about how to best care for us. This one book
provides great benefits for the caregiver and the person for whom care
is provided. This book provides a way to communicate our guidelines of
how to best care for us. Through this book we can communicate our
wishes to our children even if we lose our ability to communicate
verbally.
I
applaud the Dee Marrella for writing this book. It is written with
such insight and attention to detail that it could have been written
only by someone who had been a caregiver herself. When completed this
book provides a way to communicate your wishes to you children and
relieves them of the anxiety and guilt of doing something wrong. Shelf
price: $14.95. Freedom from guilt: Priceless.
Marian
Kranz is a geriatric physical therapist based in Bellevue, Washington.
She is the author of The
Nursing Home Choice: How To Choose The Ideal Nursing Home
available at bookstores nationwide.
