Happy Healthy Caregiver

Meet former family caregiver Debbie Howard. Debbie lived and worked in Japan for 30+ years. Debbie is also a former caregiver on a mission to change the way the world looks at caregiving so the impacts are not so devastating. Her work focuses on providing companies with support programs for employee caregivers to mitigate the related risks of absentee-ism, employee turnover, and extra healthcare costs. In this episode, we dive into this topic and we also chat about how caregiving was a transformational experience for Debbie, how she shared the care with her sisters while keeping her own business running, the concept of joy journaling, and how simple steps can have ripple effect on lasting change. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod135 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet Patti Lafleur who says she has the amazing opportunity to be the care partner for her Mom, Linda, who has dementia and type 1 diabetes. Patti was a Kindergarten teacher for 9 years before quitting her job to care for her mom full time. People truly enjoy watching Patti and Linda’s life through social media and this keeps Patti connected, too. Patti’s goal in sharing our story is to change the stigma around a dementia diagnosis and share their daily joy! In this episode we talk about traveling with your loved one, leaving the workforce to care, activities you and your care recipient can do together, Amazon wish lists, caregiver respite, making a hospice decision, and how to find the joy in your caregiving journey.  Please note that this episode was recorded before the recent passing of Patti’s mom, Linda. Please keep Patti and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod134 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet Bianca Padilla. Bianca’s experiences caring for her grandma inspired her to start Carewell along with her husband John – a family-founded company that simplifies life for caregivers by providing personalized service, compassionate content, and expert-vetted home care products.  In this episode, we talk about how Bianca’s family came together to create a care plan, seeking bi-lingual health care accommodations, long term care insurance, work/life boundaries, training care compassionate employees, and even discuss how the laundry gets done! Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod133 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet Lucinda Koza. Lucinda is a family caregiver and the founder & CEO of I-Ally, an app that provides a secure community and marketplace for millennial family caregivers. She started the company after her own experience becoming her father's sole caregiver at a young age. In this episode we chat about societal stigmas, the importance of keeping our identities, solo caregiving, millennial caregiving support, and our favorite traditional and digital games. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod132 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet Theresa Wilbanks who cared for her father until his passing at 99 years of age. During that time, she experienced the raging river of emotions that comes with caring for a family member. Overwhelmed and drowning, she navigated toward a more sustainable caregiving experience. Theresa founded Sustainable Caregiving and works with fellow family caregivers to help them navigate their caregiving journey. With humor and vulnerability, Theresa shares her story and strategies in her book, Navigating the Caregiver River: A Journey to Sustainable Caregiving. In this episode, we talk about finding peace in the caregiving journey, setting boundaries with care help, uncovering local financial resources, meditation, travel, and adjusting to life after caregiving ends. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod131 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

I this episode, I am shining the caregiver spotlight on someone in the caregiving space that has my utmost respect - Teepa Snow. She’s an Occupational Therapist with over 40 years of rich and varied clinical and academic experience. Her company, Positive Approach to Care® (PAC) provides online and in-person education and products for anyone impacted by dementia. I can say firsthand that Teepa presents with extraordinary expertise and humor to audiences throughout the world. In today’s show, we learn how Teepa’s experience caring for grandparents shaped her career focus, the language and visual cues to use to better communicate with our care partner, her self-care rituals, where she obtains her trusted dementia information, how her training may also help better communicate with persons with developmental disabilities, and the story of how she got the name ‘Teepa’. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod130 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

In today's show, I am shining the caregiver spotlight on Mary Daniel. During her husband’s long-term care community’s pandemic lockdown, family caregiver Mary Daniel’s story went viral when she accepted a job as a dishwasher so she could visit and, more importantly, physically touch her husband, Steve. Mary is a dementia family caregiver based in Jacksonville, FL, and one of Next Avenue’s 2021 Influencers in Aging. In this episode, you’ll be inspired by Mary’s story and understand how she continues to influence change through her caregiver advocacy and leadership in organizing a social community called Caregivers for Compromise which has over 14K members. You’ll also learn about Mary’s self-care strategies. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod129 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet military family caregiver Caira Benson. Before Caira was a family caregiver she was a thriving non-profit director who loved teaching Art History at her local college. She left it all to take up the most important vocation she had never wanted – caregiver to her husband, Eric, a catastrophically injured veteran. Armed with coffee and a lot of humor, Caira is determined to fight for her family to function somewhat normally despite all their challenges. In this episode we talk about how Caira navigated her husband’s health journey with the VA, how she made the choice to not be angry, how her prayers were clearly answered, and which military and inclusive resources have helped all the members of her family, especially her five children. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod128 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

In today’s show, I am shining the caregiver spotlight on Brenda Blais Nesbitt. Brenda is a master in advocating and navigating the confusing world of disability. Her personal experience has enhanced her ability to help others navigate the complexities of the healthcare system and excel in the challenging journey of caring for and loving those with complex needs. In today’s episode we discuss how Brenda embraced outside help, why Brenda doesn’t want to be pitied, and how to get comfortable having a one-sided conversation with a loved one. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod127 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

In this episode I reflect back on 2021 and my 4 years of podcasting and looking ahead to 2022. I talk about my podcasting journey, some highlights from 2021, how I did on my 21 for 2021 list, the Happy Healthy Caregiver Holiday Gift Guide, what my plans are for the holiday season and some initial thoughts for 2022. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod126 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW