Living: the ultimate team sport

Why I love the internet

Posted on October 1, 2015 Updated on October 1, 2015

Sure, it’s convenient and very utilitarian for our every-day use.  As a writer, I benefit greatly from an online Thesaurus to use alternate words.  Case in point,  there’s gotta be a better way to say, “Colleen got angry (irked, vexed, indignant, apoplectic, choleric) when traffic made her late for her hair appointment.”

And among the many other reasons for which I use the internet, I count on it for quick access to a recipe for an I’m too exhausted to be creative meal on a Monday night or in the alternative, a restaurant that’s not too far away from home and can seat us at the last minute.  Bottom line, I take full advantage of what the inter-web has to offer.

But the biggest reason I love the internet is that it reaches anyone who has access to any type of computer device – especially those in need of some sort of assistance when sorting out the difficulties of life.  My need for a dining alternative pales in comparison to someone searching for help when caring for someone with a debilitating illness.

One of the blogs I follow: My Dementia Experience, is written by a woman, NorCalMom, who takes care of her mother-in-law.  This delightful caregiver also has five children of her own.  But NorCalMom jumped into caregiving with both feet in 2013 when Marie, her mother-in-law, moved in with her and the rest of her household because of Marie’s advancing dementia.  Reading just one of this blogger’s posts will show an outsider what types of challenges NorCalMom faces on an ongoing basis.

As caregivers, and I’ve been one as well, we oftentimes “wing it” when it comes to handling the day-to-day, and shockingly acute, issues that occur during our caregiving journey.  The unpredictable nature of Alzheimer’s or other dementia makes even the most mundane activities frustratingly impossible to handle with only a layman’s knowledge of providing care.  For example, how does one communicate with a person who can no longer understand what is said to her and who can no longer respond cogently to questions proferred by their primary care person?

Caregivers need psychic powers to unravel the mystery of care providing.  Or do they? 

I wrote a comment on one of NorCalMom’s posts, suggesting that she might search You Tube for training videos by Teepa Snow, one of the most preeminent and sought-after professional coaches on dementia caregiving.  When I provided that suggestion, I also knew it was likely this blogger would read my suggestion and have to ignore it because any free time she had was most certainly not free, thus ruling out spending 15 minutes in front of her computer device watching a video that may or may not provide what she desperately needed.

But she did allot time to watch a video or two, one of which was training on how to communicate with a person who has Alzheimer’s or other dementia.  She tried one of Teepa’s suggestions and voila it worked!  Another of NorCalMom’s blog followers, having read my suggestion to check out Teepa Snow on You Tube, also benefited from what Teepa had to say about tackling the challenges of caregiving.

Wow.  Thanks to the internet, at least two people have benefited by my brief mention of Teepa Snow.  And now you who read this article may seek Teepa’s advice, provided so readily on You Tube and other places on the web.

Glorious, isn’t it?

And that’s why I love the internet.