{"id":33955,"date":"2019-12-20T03:35:55","date_gmt":"2019-12-20T11:35:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=33955"},"modified":"2019-12-18T12:59:24","modified_gmt":"2019-12-18T20:59:24","slug":"providing-care-and-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2019\/12\/20\/providing-care-and-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Providing care and support"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jamie Kinaschuk helps caregivers in various ways. (photo from Jamie Kinaschuk)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen somebody faces a situation of becoming a caregiver, they can embrace it and see it as a sense of purpose for the person they\u2019re caring for, or they can resent having to do it,\u201d Jamie Kinaschuk, a social worker with A & O (Age and Opportunity) Inc. in Winnipeg, told the Independent<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you embrace it, you can feel that the tables have turned \u2013 from the time my parents looked after me to, now, me looking after them \u2013 and you can see this as something you want to do, are proud to do. That makes it easier.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the other hand, you can have a child or a spouse who\u2019s just not ready and doesn\u2019t want that responsibility. They may have been designated by other family members.\u201d<\/p>\n

In some situations, said Kinaschuk, the ultimate caregiver is the closest in physical proximity to the family member needing care and, as such, other family members expect them to carry the load of caring, not taking into account that the caregiver has their own life, family, job and\/or other commitments.<\/p>\n

Being a caregiver takes a toll in many ways, including that their life has to be put on hold to a certain extent.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomebody might become a caregiver with some resentment … or, maybe, the relationship between the caregiver and the recipient hasn\u2019t been the greatest and it just happens that they live together,\u201d said Kinaschuk. Regardless of the circumstances, \u201cthere is an impact on you physically, mentally, emotionally and financially.\u201d<\/p>\n

The care given varies by recipient. For some people, minimal help is needed \u2013 things like cooking, house cleaning or doing laundry and shopping. For others, assistance could be needed in bathing or grooming, getting dressed or using the toilet. Often, needs change over time and a caregiver is left to find ways to fill the new requirements of the person for whom they are caring. As a caregiver, one must learn to adapt.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they have to locate a different doctor for a different health issue that has arisen,\u201d said Kinaschuk. \u201cMaybe they have to apply for home care, to locate medical supplies or transportation. Maybe it\u2019s come to a point where they can no longer transport them, so they need something like Handy Transit.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes what adds to the difficulty of being a caregiver is, if you\u2019re a male caregiver, having to do the personal care if you\u2019re caring for your mom. That could be a struggle \u2013 dressing, bathing and toileting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ideally, caregivers will have their own support system, people who can provide some relief. Staying healthy is the most important thing a caregiver can do, not just for themselves but also to not become a further burden on the family.<\/p>\n

Kinaschuk, who started his career with Winnipeg\u2019s Jewish Child and Family Service in 2000, runs a caregivers support group.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my group,\u201d he said, \u201cwe see a lot of caregivers struggling to access resources or, because they don\u2019t have any other supports, they\u2019re really struggling with the situation. There are times where, I\u2019ll give you an example, a caregiver is struggling because their sibling doesn\u2019t understand what they\u2019re going through; they don\u2019t know how difficult it is. That other sibling may say, \u2018You can deal with it\u2019 and \u2018That\u2019s not a problem.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Kinaschuk recommends having a heart-to-heart conversation with the other siblings or relatives to inform them about what\u2019s going on. If a conversation is not an option, a letter can work wonders in getting the message across. \u201cThis way, they can read it and hopefully not rip it up, and then read it again,\u201d said Kinaschuk. \u201cAnd maybe they\u2019ll realize that, \u2018Yeah, my brother or sister is going through a lot. I better start supporting them.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the concerns is that a caregiver may take their frustrations out on the care recipient. Good communication with other family members and their support diminishes this risk, as does attending a caregiver support group. When possible, a talk about boundaries could be beneficial for all involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cBoth the caregiver and the recipient need to realize that there are boundaries,\u201d said Kinaschuk. \u201cThey both have boundaries.\u201d Caregivers, he said, have to be honest with themselves and the recipient \u2013 be up front about the fact that they can only do so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recipient needs to realize that the caregiver needs time. They can\u2019t be demanding 24\/7 care,\u201d he said. \u201cThey have to be respectful, to respect each other. If the recipient is too over-demanding, it drains the caregiver.\u201d<\/p>\n

If all involved can embrace the situation and find the positives, such as having an increased sense of purpose, then, being a caregiver can be an uplifting, life-changing experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the support group perspective, it\u2019s all about empowering,\u201d said Kinaschuk. \u201cWhen people attend the support group, first of all, that\u2019s where you see that you\u2019re not alone \u2013 you see that other people are experiencing similar emotional, physical and mental situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his sessions, Kinaschuk asks that people not give advice, but rather share their experiences, in the hope that others can take what information they need to find a solution that fits them. At some meetings, he invites professionals \u2013 from the regional health authority and groups specializing in Alzheimer\u2019s and palliative care, among others \u2013 to teach the group about different aspects of providing care.<\/p>\n

Rebeca Kuropatwa<\/strong> is a Winnipeg freelance writer.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jamie Kinaschuk helps caregivers in various ways. (photo from Jamie Kinaschuk) \u201cWhen somebody faces a situation of becoming a caregiver, they can embrace it and see it as a sense of purpose for the person they\u2019re caring for, or they can resent having to do it,\u201d Jamie Kinaschuk, a social worker with A & O […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":33956,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[9559,3429,2864,9560,4048],"class_list":["post-33955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-caregiver","tag-family","tag-health","tag-jamie-kinaschuk","tag-winnipeg"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33955","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33955"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33955\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/33956"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33955"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33955"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33955"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}