When it comes to doling out medication to our loved ones, or even ourselves, it can and is extremely difficult, even impossible for many. I am a survivor and caregiver. I have a moderate traumatic brain injury and my daughter has a severe traumatic brain injury from the same car accident 15 years ago, Feb. 13, 2008. My daughter was 15 at time of injury and is 30 now. I was diagnosed with bipolar disorder long before our brain injuries and was used to putting my own meds in my pill container. I remember, after injury, I had a super hard time even ordering my prescriptions for myself. My husband had never done this for me before. I always took care of it myself. Well, with my short-term memory loss, when I ordered a medication, I did so through an automated system and I would have to type specific numbers into the phone in a specific order, for the prescription number. This was a huge problem because there were seven or 10 numbers to put in depending on which pharmacy they came from. I could only remember one or two numbers in a row at first and it took me a long time to do all this if I lost track of what number I was on or if I accidently pressed the wrong number in the wrong order. I had to learn to do this for myself again. Let me tell you, the struggle was real. With my husband taking care of two family members with brain injuries, the pressure on him was too much.
Fast forward to today. My daughter is not capable of filling her pill containers because she gets very confused. She does not know which pill is which, and she cannot remember what meds she takes, or the purpose of each pill. When someone asks what she takes, she will tell them the name of a med that stuck in her mind that she has been off for 10 years. I handle filling our pill containers once each week. It is not an easy task, and it does take me some time to accomplish. I am on 11 ½ pills in the a.m. and 6 ½ before bed. Veronica takes her pills morning, evening, and before bed. One thing that scares me is that although we keep our pill packs on the back of the kitchen counter against the wall, I am often afraid of the container being bumped or handled and dropped. Accidents do happen. I have this vision of my pills going flying. We have pets, so that could be catastrophic if they got ahold of a pill off the floor. I must be really worried about this because I frequently dream that my pill pack has been spilled, and I have no idea which pills to take when, so I take nothing at all.
All those things are a possibility, which is why I want to tell you about something I recently learned about. It is called a Hero Dispenser. This came highly recommended by a friend on a brain injury support group. How I needed this 15 years ago! I would like to share a few facts about it and let you decide if it is something you would like to look further into. I am not a salesperson of any kind. My hope is to help even one person when I share my blogs. My feeling is, we all need to try to help each other. Here is what caught my eye.
The Hero Dispenser holds 90 pills at a time for up to 10 different medications. A dispenser may only be used for one person’s medication. It cannot handle gummies, liquids, or cut pills, but it can still remind you to take those and the pills the Hero Dispenser is dispensing. Although it can be used by people on Medicare at little to no cost for the patient, it can also be paid for by medical expense accounts such as: FSA (Flexible Spending Account) or HSA (Health Savings Account) approved credit card. It has a 90-day risk free trial and is FDA approved as a medical device. This product is rented, not owned, for a monthly fee. It must be returned when you are finished. The company will send you a prepaid return label when you are ready to return it, and they must receive it within 30 days. Medicare does not cover the cost of the electronic medicine dispenser itself. You must pay for the actual dispenser. Source: Medication Dispensers for Seniors Seniorliving.org
For lots more information, you can look up, the source: Automatic Pill Dispensers: Can they help Seniors Stay Safe? Herohealth.com But you don’t have to be a senior to use this product. I almost forgot something so important that I think makes this a great pill dispenser. There is an app that helps set up and manage your dispenser, allowing you to make updates, access your information, and schedule reminders anywhere, anytime. The helpful friend I talked to about this says it’s great because she and her mom live in separate states and she would be alerted by text within 15 minutes, in another state, if her mom had not taken her pills. That’s incredible to me. This article will give you a great deal of information that can help you decide if this product is something you would be interested in using. Different insurances may or may not reimburse for Hero, but it is worth the effort of looking into if you are ever in the position I was in when my daughter and I first came home from the hospital with brain injuries. Go to Herohealth.com for more information.
If you are interested in more information about our lives as survivors, and me as a caregiver, read my book. I share the things that matter that no one wants to, or is embarrassed to, talk about.
You can find my book on Amazon, to purchase right from my website. Go back to the menu and press on Book.
A Miracle a Day, One Day at a Time: Hope After Traumatic Brain Injury
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Have a beautiful week everyone. Remember to count your blessings.
Dawn Corbelli 