“Caregiving 101” Blog

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 033 —Anita Sitz-Castillo – “Anita Sitz-Castillo and Conflict Resolution” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Anita Sitz-Castillo
Broadcast Date: October 4, 2008

Anita loves to mediate and assist people work through their conflicts and disputes.  She tells us that everyone’s emotions run very high when you are talking about taking care of your loved one.  There are control issues, adult children that feel that their parents were unfair to them when they were growing up, arguments with siblings in the formative years.  Many of these aspects of past relationships emerge at these times of stress, and even after decades of apparent resolution they can unravel. (more…)

This Week’s Featured TV Podcast

Listen to Volume # 011 — Starr Calo-oy – “Unresolved Conflict” ( TV Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” Tips on KENS TV–5, San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr Calo–oy
Topic: Unresolved Conflict
Broadcast Date: August 3, 2008

Sometimes we have to care for those who did not care well for us.  Don’t expect to get justice for those wrongs.  (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 086 — Barry Jacobs – “Barry Jacobs and The Emotional Survival Guide for Caregiving” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Barry Jacobs
Broadcast Date: October 10, 2009

It is often difficult to understand what patients and family members go through.  Barry can give them a heads up on what might help both now and later, as an aid in communicating with physicians.  He also can help physicians connect on an emotional level with their patients and patient families.  Physicians are not trained to think about family members and what dynamics are involved.   Often they talk-over the patients or the caregivers head with technical lingo.  This gap is often never bridged, and everyone suffers. (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 032 —Racinda Vekasy– “Racinda Veksy and Choice One Medical” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Recinda Vekasy
Broadcast Date: September 27, 2008

Racinda from Choice One Medical tells all caregivers to come by the shop and have a look.  They are very service oriented, and you know how it is where the management is good, it filters down through the employees to you.   Everybody’s living conditions are different and everyone’s routine is different as well, for both caregivers and patients.  Choice One Medical deals with every age group and every population, whether you have insurance or not.  They have many things that can make life easier not only for your loved one, but also the caregiver. (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 031 — Janet Edmunson – “Janet Edmunson” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Janet Edmunson
Broadcast Date: September 20, 2008

Janet Edmunson wrote “Finding Meaning with Charles; caregiving with love through a degenerative disease”.   In this interview she said “It’s scary when you begin being a caregiver.  You just keep hoping for the best and then the worst starts happening.” (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 033 — Anita Sitz-Castillo – “Anita Sitz–Castillo & Bexar County Conflict Resolution Center” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Anita Sitz-Castillo
Broadcast Date: October 4, 2008

Anita loves to mediate and assist people in working through their conflicts and disputes.  She tells us that all emotions run very high when you are talking about taking care of your loved one.  There are control issues, adult children that feel that their parents were unfair to them when they were growing up, and arguments with siblings in the formative years.  Many  aspects of their past emerge at these times of stress, and even after decades of apparent resolution they can unravel. (more…)

This Week’s Featured TV Podcast

Listen to Volume # 010 — Starr Calo-oy – “Visitation” ( TV Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” Tips on KENS TV–5, San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr Calo–oy
Topic: Visitation
Broadcast Date: July 27, 2008

Set up regular visiting hours and post  them for those visiting your loved ones; don’t make any exceptions to those hours.  (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 085 —Maggie Griffith – “Maggie Griffith and Trey’s House” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Maggie Griffith
Broadcast Date: October 3, 2009

In Texas there is a debilitating brain injury every 4 minutes.  Maggie Griffith has a son named Trey who had a Temporal lobe brain tumor at age 22.  He was working one day, and he started acting strangely, going psychotic, and throwing things.  This tumor was the size of an orange, and had been growing since he was 12 years old. (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 029 —Douglas Smith– “Caregiving; Hospice-Proven Techniques For Healing Body and Soul” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Douglas Smith
Broadcast Date: September 6, 2008

It is difficult to imagine the trials and tribulations that this family has undergone.   The emotional and spiritual strength they’ve shown is amazing.  I am awed by God’s grace and love, as shared by Douglas in this interview.  He was blessed with the ability to draw his family, friends and doctors together and work through this long tribulation and share his testimony with so many people. (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 028 — Ginger & David Reimer – “A Celebration of Caregiving” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Ginger & David Reimer, Greg
Broadcast Date: August 30, 2008

One of the very special and unique personal stories is shared by Ginger & David Reimer, and Greg.  Ginger says that she truly believes that she started being a caregiver when she was 5 years old and one of ten children living on her family’s farm.  Even then, she was taking care of her younger siblings. (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 027 — Betsy Murphy – “Guide to Caregiving in the Final Months of Life” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Betsy Murphy
Broadcast Date: August 23, 2008

Betsy has worked professionally as a nurse practitioner with hospice care for 23 years.   Then, for the last 5 years of her hospice care she took care of her mother and father-in-law on their family farm where they lived their last days on this earth.  She then cared for her father along with a local hospice provider for some months. (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 084 —Bethany Knight– “Blessed are the Caregivers: A Daily Book of Comfort and Cheer” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Bethany Knight
Broadcast Date: September 26, 2009

Bethany Knight works in a nursing home, and can vouch for the Christian charity that shines through our lives.   For example, very often the staff there will come to her and say “Look at these cute fleece pants I bought for so-and-so at Wal-Mart the other day, since I know that she’s always chilly and will love them.”  She replies “Now you make sure that I get that receipt”.   However they say “No-no-no, this is from me to her, and I’m not asking for reimbursement.”  These are people who make $9.00-$12.00 dollars an hour, and would Never think of being reimbursed.  This is a level of charity that most Americans never reach.

“And above all these things put on CHARITY, which is the bond of perfectness.”  Col. 3:14

Starr & Bob Calo-oy created CaregiversAdvice.net to help, encourage, and support caregivers. Through weekly Radio Shows on KKYX 680am San Antonio, they host special guests who cover many unique topics concerning caregiving. They also have weekly TV Segments on KENS TV 5 San Antonio where they share caregiving and marriage tips. All of these programs are archived as Radio Podcasts and TV Podcasts for your easy listening. Visit their sister site, Marriage101.net for marriage help and encouragement. Starr has written Four Books on Caregiving.

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 026 — Carol O’dell – “Mothering Mother” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Carol O’dell
Broadcast Date: August 16, 2008

Her mother had Parkinson’s disease, and was no longer able to drive and take care of herself easily.  Carol began to coordinate her care and give her rides.  In those first years, her community, friends and church were helpful in their involvement. (more…)

This Week’s Featured Radio Podcast

Listen to Volume # 025 —Lisa Gwyther– “The Alzheimer’s Action Plan” (Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” on KKYX Radio 680am San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr & Bob Calo–oy
Guest: Lisa Gwyther
Broadcast Date: August 9, 2008

One way to get your father, mother, or other loved one to the doctor when you think something is wrong (like dementia), is to pick-out one thing that has been bothering them lately…for example fatigue, and run with that.  You can then speak to their doctor or assistant when you are with them about your concerns at that appointment.  (more…)

This Week’s Featured TV Podcast

Listen to Volume # 008 — Starr Calo-oy – “Caregiving and Your Siblings” ( TV Podcast)

“Caregiving 101” Tips on KENS TV–5, San Antonio, Texas
Hosts: Starr Calo–oy
Topic: Caregiving and Your Siblings
Broadcast Date: July 13, 2008

Many families divide rather than stick together when conflict arises while caring for your loved one.  Discuss with your siblings finance, personal needs, caregiving needs, etc, before it becomes an issue.  Have each person sign up for listed duties from your chores for your personal needs, to chores for your loved one.  If they cannot help physically then they should help financially. (more…)