Things I learned by watching YouTube

• How to take out my old dishwasher & put in a new one
• How to take out an over-the-stove vent
• How to take down kitchen shelves
• How to feed someone through a feeding tube WHAT?!

Most people search YouTube for funny cat or dog and music videos by their favorite artist.  I usually search for help with DIY projects.  However, the other day I found that YouTube is not just for entertainment and the random DIY home project, it can help with caregiving challenges as well.

How this came to pass…I was helping a client coordinate care for a family member coming home from the nursing home with a G-Tube (Gastrostomy Tube) needed for him to receive food, medicine and nutrition.  The family had a 24-hour caregiver that has cared for their family members for several years.  I had coordinated with an agency to have a nurse there to do the feedings every 6 hours, however, there was an issue with staffing and no nurse had arrived by the time the first feeding was required.  I called the representative for the g-tube formula and asked some basic questions and then I searched YouTube to watch a video on how to do the feeding.

It was so helpful for me to watch the video and made me more confident when the caregiver and I embarked on the task of feeding.  Though it was very helpful for me to watch the video, I was cognizant of where the information was coming from.  I made sure that the video was from a reputable source and made me aware of each step, in detail.

Points to ponder when searching the internet for caregiver support:

• Seek out reputable source and not a sales pitch
• If it doesn’t sound right, it probably isn’t – check several (dependable) sources to substantiate the information.
• When putting in search parameters, keep to the point. Adding a lot of extra words/phrases can result in hours spent sorting through pages of irrelevant data.
• Survey results from organizations that focus on medical research, such as universities and hospital networks.

There is a lot of great information on the World Wide Web that can help support you through your caregiving journey.  Make sure to validate and corroborate your results.

For more resources visit my YouTube page at YouTube.com/aginginfousa