Welcome Dr. Hill! Josh Hill, DPM Podiatry/Podiatric Surgery HCH Physician’s Group Harrison County Hospital welcomes Podiatrist Dr. Josh Hill to the HCH Physician’s Group! Dr. Hill is Board-Certified by the American Board of Podiatric Medicine with a Certificate of Additional Qualification in Diabetic Wound Care, Limb Salvage, and Amputation Prevention. Dr. Hill is now available to see patients full-time in the HCH Medical Pavilion on the Hospital Campus. Appointments with Dr. Hill may be scheduled by calling 812-734-3800. To learn more about Dr. Hill, including a list of specialized services, visit hchin.org/DrHill. Josh Hill, DPM 1263 Hospital Drive NW Suite 105 . Corydon, IN hchin.org 28 • <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> • Southern Indiana Living
Grandparenting During a Crisis Grand in Grandparenting While watching two child monitors showing our sleeping grandsons, I contemplate words of wisdom to pass along to our Southern Indiana grandparents. I feel inadequate. We are in the midst of a tragic virus that is indiscriminately taking the lives of our loved ones — pulling families apart, and in many cases, smashing them together. Both our son and daughter-in-law are considered essential employees, and we are helping by watching baby Case and 3-year-old DJ part time. Grandparents all over the world are unable to physically spend time with their grands, while others are spending full time with their cooped-up angels. Family dynamics have changed for everyone. One of our neighbors had planned to drive to their home in Florida just before the virus hit. Their daughter is in the health profession, and the family didn’t want to take the chance of infecting their baby girl and two young sons. Therefore, the children made a quick temporary move from Indianapolis to their grandparents’ house in Jeffersonville. With nothing more than the items they brought from home, long walks and a little creative ingenuity, they are doing well. Another neighbor, the Johnston family, has the opposite scenario. Their daughter, Krista, and three grandchildren typically live with them, but the children were elsewhere with their father when he discovered he had been near someone diagnosed with COVID-19. They went under a 14-day quarantine. Trudy Johnston said, “We miss being with the children, but the nightly video chats are really helpful.” (To video chat with your grandchildren, check out FaceTime, Skype, WhatsApp, Google Duo, Zoom, Facebook Messenger Kids, and Google Hangouts.) Linda, who lives near her grandchildren, said she continues to take walks with her family. They walk on opposite sides of the street to obey social distancing while talking and laughing together. At the end of each walk, they hug themselves instead of one another and blow kisses. And then there is the mom who accomplished a two-in-one project by taking her children over to their grandparents’ house and asking them to sit by their large window. The children then used watercolors to draw pictures, paint messages and create stained glass on outside of the window. During dark times, little things can make a big difference. Consider having homemade card parties with the grands (if not in person, via video), making cards of cheer for the employees of your local hospital. One night make cards for the nurses and doctors, and the next night for the patients, dieticians and custodians. After a week of card-making, mail or deliver the cards to the hospital. Walking with my grands, we have seen many neighborhood works of chalk art, filled with expressions of hope and love. They fill me with peace. These walks have turned into learning time for DJ. He is learning left from right by looking both ways before crossing a street. We search for specific colors, and just yesterday he discovered his shadow. Fascinated that his shadow mirrored his movements, DJ watched for it diligently throughout the journey. When he bumped his head on the stroller, he immediately looked over at his shadow and said, “I’m sorry, shadow, did that hurt?” DJ also helped by pulling weeds, which to my delight, he loved, but even better, he learned about worms and how not to be afraid to hold them and to gently place them back in the soil to continue helping water flow. I’ve been wanting to read stories to DJ about our faith, but until now he has been too fidgety. This week I was able to read a child’s Bible story before his nap. He listened to the entire story, asked a couple of questions, then drifted off to sleep. How are you making your connection with the grands during this unique time in their lives? Make the most of this isolation period, whether the connection is close-up or far away. Look at this time as a rare opportunity to slow our grandchildren down long enough to make a sincere and deep connection. We very well may have their somewhat undivided attention for several more weeks. Finally, there is an informative source on the internet from Families First Indiana, where you can find 50 family activities that don’t involve screens: https:// www.familiesfirstindiana.org/50-familyactivities-that-don-t-involve-screens Be safe, Southern Indiana. • Image Credit: Syda Productions / Shutterstock.com Carol Baker Dawson, CCDP/ AP, is President of EEO GUIDANCE, Inc. She also volunteers as the Communication Director, Center for Lay Ministries, and is the owner of Broken Hearts, Inc. – featuring Joni’s Heart. Southern Indiana Living • <strong>May</strong>/<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> • 29
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