bstockman Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 This is a Question for Caregivers. please answer honestly .... We have a CareGiver Chat on Tuesday Evenings. Many Survivors also come to this chat. Survivors have about 10 chats per week, of course all are Welcome to them. Would it be better for the Care Givers to have their ONLY chat for caregivers , to be able to "vent" and bring up questions, to be able to talk openly... without having a survior who may get hurt feelings, or think they are being de meaned. Care Givers need a place to be open and honest, to be tired and cranky. They are our angels here on earth. This Chat may be their only interaction and understanding from another Care giver's point. Care Givers take care of their loved one pretty much 24/7. Many have no or not much help. They should have some time. to discuss, vent and support each other...... We could schedule a Survivor Chat with a Survivor Host on Tuesday's in the Survivor Room. It is difficult for a Caregiver to get time or to even schedule something, sometimes their loved one may need something done.. going to the bathroom, having an accident, that is not scheduled.. but we can try to give them a little space of their own. Comments and thoughts on this would be appreciated. Bonnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bessy Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 sounds good 2 me im in a few care givers chats even thought im a SUVIVOR i can share what they are doing and pass along on 2 my family who are my care givers its like putting a lot of heads in 1 place 2 discuss diff options on care giving BESSY :big_grin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksaul Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 bonnie, as i had mentioned earlier i would be happy to include caregivers in my thursday afternoon chats. perhaps a caregiver might be able to drop in to an afternoon chat when their loved one is napping. cheers! kathy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstraugh Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 It is my thoughts that on Tuesday evenings we should let the Caregivers have their chat where they can vent - one caregiver to another rather than have survivors input. The Caregivers deserve "their" time to vent and share. I sincerely feel that survivors should leave the caregivers and go to another room to chat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bessy Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 so sorry i miss under stood i guess NO SINCER APOLOGY 2 U AND EVERY 1 ELSE BESSY :big_grin: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djeffries Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Bonnie: I do agree that the Tuesday evening chat SHOULD be for Caregivers ONLY. YES, they are our 'angels' and YES they are on call 24/7 with their 'survivor. I do have caregivers frequent my Coffee Shop Chat, on Friday nights, and that is fine with me. I do make them feel welcomed and I do offer assistance if needed. Denny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstockman Posted January 2, 2009 Author Share Posted January 2, 2009 Thanks all, I am not trying to keep CG's out of or chats, and fridays are a fun social time for everyone. I just think since the survivors have so many chats.. and open chats we could give them a little space of their own.. We all interact and I think it helps to see stroke from all sides, but it is nice to be able to have some time for them also. It is difficult for many Caregivers to really make a "definate" plan, as Care Givers have to be available to respond to what is happening at the moment. Thanks to all who responded so far, Bonnie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dstraugh Posted January 2, 2009 Share Posted January 2, 2009 Bonnie, You hit the nail on the head. Caregivers chat is one night a week versus the amount of survivor chats scheduled each week. Lets be courteous and give them their time with other caregivers rather than most of us putting in our 2 cents worth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kanderson Posted January 3, 2009 Share Posted January 3, 2009 donna and bonnie, i couldn't agree with you more. caregivers do need their space and time away from survivors. not every caregiver has the same issues as others do, so let them discuss amongst themselves and get the support they need too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swilkinson Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 This will only wok if caregivers are able to put aside this time and come together to discuss caregiver issues. So to all the caregivers, I look forward to meeting with you on Tuesday nights in the caregiver rooms. Sue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdube Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks all, I am not trying to keep CG's out of or chats, and fridays are a fun social time for everyone. I just think since the survivors have so many chats.. and open chats we could give them a little space of their own.. We all interact and I think it helps to see stroke from all sides, but it is nice to be able to have some time for them also. It is difficult for many Caregivers to really make a "definate" plan, as Care Givers have to be available to respond to what is happening at the moment. Thanks to all who responded so far, Bonnie I agree with letting the caregivers have their chat without us survivors being there. Yes I agree that some of their comments while venting could hurt feelings even if that is not their intention We survivors have all the existing chats, lets give up the tuesday evening chat to the caregivers mc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
givincare Posted January 5, 2009 Share Posted January 5, 2009 I can understand why this sounds like a good idea. My concern is that there is rarely more than a few caregivers on during chat anyway. I am always happy to chat with Sue...but who else is going to show up? I am afraid there would only be 1-3 people in chat on Tuesday nights. It would almost be easier to just pm each other when you need a "caregiver chat/vent" and say, "I need to talk, can we put together a caregiver chat tomorrow night?" etc. Or maybe schedule 1 or 2 private chats a month? Another thought would be to have the caregiver who feels they need a private chat to send Sue (or caregiver Host) an IM saying in essence, "can we clear the room tonight so I can vent", and the host could tell the group "it's time for a caregiver-only chat, thank you survivors for coming". Am I making sense-lol?? Kristen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bstockman Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Hi Kristen, thank you, and yes I do understand, I understand how hard it can be for a CG to try to "plan" sometimes, or get interrupted. So I thought well we could give this a little try.. we will have a survivor chat at the same time.. We may end up having a survivor and CG host, so if someone needs or wants ro split they can go to another room. I am just trying to give CG's some support and let them know how thankful we are, and understand, they may have some issues they may want to talk about. So a co host on that night with the option of splitting off may be more a reality. Bonnie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merichsen Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Oops we did it again.... seems the caregivers were not the vocal respondents here. Is it that they've become so conditioned to taking care of us survivors that they are even willing to give us their chat too? I would hope if any are concerned about expressing their desire for a more predominantly caregiver chat on the board , they would do so via pm to Bonnie. The survivors absolutely appreciate your dedication and contribution to this board. We admire you for all you do and would will gladly extend you the consideration you deserve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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