Posted on Monday, April 11, 2016

How to Help Your Child Cope With An Illness

When my daughter was born, she had a serious illness that kept her in the hospital months after. At the time, I was also caring for my other daughter who was just a toddler. It was difficult to go through this diagnosis with my new born but it also taught me invaluable lessons that can keep both you and your family positive through it all.

There are many common emotions that a parent feels when their child is sick, such as sadness, guilt and even frustration. I know that I felt these same feelings and even feelings of helplessness. However, learning about my daughter’s illness helped me better understand what my child was going through and the care she needed. The more you know about their condition the better understanding you have of what behaviors and symptoms are normal and what to look out for.

As the mother, you are also your kids team leader. So staying positive is key. Try and treat your child just as you would your healthy child. I found that keeping things as normal as possible helped both me and my family. Kids tend to thrive on routine and they look for structure, depending on the diagnosis, it is best to keep your family’s routine the same as it was before your child became ill. During a diagnosis, it is normal to want to overly protect your child, but try not to shelter them too much or limit the activities they still love to do.

As the child’s caregiver, it is easy to forget to care for yourself both mentally and physically during the process. Make sure to take a few moments out of your day just for you, go for a walk, read a book or take a hot bath. This will give you the energy and strength to care for your child and make the best medical decisions. It’s important to also talk with your child about their illness and listen to what they’re feeling and answer any questions they might have. Don’t be afraid to ask your doctor questions too about your children’s illness especially if there are things that you don’t understand.

If you’re like me and have another child who is healthy, make sure to spend one-on-one time with them and make sure they feel part of the family too. Figure out ways they might be able to help out with their brother or sister which will make them feel more involved.

It is not going to be easy everyday and there will definitely be your fair share of bad days but it’s important to remain positive, keeping laughing, telling jokes and doing activities that bring you and your family joy.

Posted on Thursday, April 7, 2016

Helpful Healthcare Links: April 7, 2016

A lot is happening in healthcare news this week. I have gathered a few great topics that are trending in health news to share with you in hopes that this information will assist you in making the best healthcare choices for you and your family! Here are a few health articles for this week:

A new study has found a correlation between exercise and the brain. According to this research, exercise is not only good for the heart but also good for the mind. This study reveals that those who run, swim, or participate in other moderately active exercises have brains that look, on average, 10 years younger.

Exercise Keeps Your Brain Young, Study Finds.

After investigation, Medicare has been found to be paying hospices nearly four times more than it should be for certain patients. Sometimes, hospices were found to be billing Medicare for a more expensive level of care than some patients needed.

As of lately, patients are becoming more responsible for the cost of their own health care. However, recent research shows that the conversation doctors have with their patients highly impacts their cost of care, out-of-pocket expenses and also preventive care and testing. This research suggests that doctors should begin to have more conversations with their patients about health costs.

Patients Miss Out On Savings When Doctors Fail To Talk About Costs.

Vision-related issues during pregnancy are not often talked about, however, these changes and eye issues can occur during pregnancy. There are a few indicators of these vision-related issues that can detect for you and your doctor potential complications for child birth.

What Every Pregnant Woman Needs To Know About Her Eyes.

For more healthcare tips for you and your family, check out my latest offering in dealing with unexpected healthcare: When Life Happens: What to do about unexpected health concerns. This is a bit different than my other books. When Life Happens is a workbook filled with information, tips, and tricks for getting through accidents, difficult diagnoses, rehabilitation, and what to do with the kids through it all. But it also has activities to guide you through your situation. You can find it here.

Posted on Thursday, March 31, 2016

Staying Active When It’s Cold Outside.

We completed another successful webinar yesterday on helpful healthcare tips for busy moms. This was our fifth webinar and I have been enjoying this experience in sharing my healthcare tips with you. I hope you continue to tune in!

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to answer one of the live questions we received during the webinar. I thank you all for submitting such wonderful questions.

One of the questions I received was, “How do you find the motivation to workout when it’s cold and rainy outside?”

As a working mother raising two young girls, finding the time and energy to stay active was always a challenge. It is especially difficult during the colder, rainier months of the year.

Getting outside and spending time in nature is said to energize you and combat depression, even if it is just a 10-minute walk. For me, what made working out easier during these months was to find fun and creative ways to get me and my family out the door.

For me and my girls, taking a walk outside was something we looked forward to and a time where we could catch up with each other. If you have a pet, take your family outside for a walk with your pet. If it’s cold outside, invest in a few workout pieces that can keep you both comfortable and warm.

Trying fun activities such as sledding, building a snowman, making snow angels, skiing, are all great ways to continue activity when it’s cold. Don’t forget to get creative with your indoor activities as well and try indoor playgrounds, swimming, rock climbing, bowling or touring a local museum.

The greatest thing I learned through the process of finding motivation was to continue the habit of being active. The more I continued to exercise even when the weather wasn’t optimal or I didn’t have the most energy, the easier it became to maintain an active lifestyle. Research also suggests that it takes 21 days to make or break a habit, so the longer you can continue your healthy routine, the easier it will be to maintain.

If you missed out on my live webinar yesterday on Helpful Healthcare Tips for Busy Moms, you still have time to register HERE for additional webinar times this weekend!