Your Caregiving Journey airs tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET (6:30 p.m. CT, 4:30 p.m. PT). It’s our live call-in show and tonight we’re taking your answers to this question: What’s the toughest caregiving decision you’ve had to make?
Feel free to share your thoughts in comments section, below. We’d also love to hear from you tonight; call (646) 652-4944. Our first caller wins! And, when you...
This morning, on Your Caregiving Journey, Dr. Benjamin Mast joined me for a terrific discussion on when to end tests for your caree. Dr. Mast is an Associate Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences and Associate Clinical Professor in Geriatric Medicine at the University of Louisville (Kentucky). He’s also the author of Whole Person Dementia Assessment. You can listen...
We all know how to handle stress:
- eat, but not too much
- sleep
- exercise
- follow a routine but be flexible
- lean on others
- pray
- use the right tool for the problem (ok you might not know this one but it fits… trust me)
- eat some chocolate
I could’ve of used all of these today.
It’s been a long week and an even longer day today. The week had been extended by multiple away soccer...
Posted by
Denise on Sep 22nd, 2011 in
Denise's Blog,
Tell Us |
11 comments
I love this comment left by Karen yesterday in response to our request for bathing tips:
Way back then, the only thing that would get her in the tub was if I told her she had a doctor appt the next day. That usually did it after coaxing for an hour… Needless to say… I told her that every other day! Those little fibs we have to tell… That’s a very hard thing in itself to deal with initially… You don’t...
On Friday morning, Viki Kind, author of The Caregivers Path to Compassionate Decision Making, joined me on Your Caregiving Journey. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.
Our show focused on how to handle a really tough situation: Your caree, who is not cognitively impaired, makes a conscious decision to stop eating and drinking. In essence, your caree makes the decision to die.
The...
An interesting article appeared today on the website of the Daily Press newspaper. Here’s the gist of the article (“Pat Robertson Says It’s Okay to Divorce Someone with Alzheimer’s Disease“):
(Pat Robertson) was asked what advice a man should give to a friend who began seeing another woman after his wife started suffering from the incurable neurological disorder. The question was posed...
I avoided all news channels this past weekend. The memorials and scenes from 9-11 were too much for me to take in. Like everyone of age, I remember precisely where I was and what I was doing ten years ago that fateful morning. In some ways my world changed very little. Ten years ago I was already on active duty and living on a military installation, and I had also already been on the ground previously in...
This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Bette, who cares for her mother and her three children, joined me for Table Talk. (You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post).
Bette updated us on how her mom is doing (read Bette’s post yesterday) as well as how her community is coping with the flooding.
We also spoke about a new segment of Your Caregiving Journey which will air...
Posted by
Denise on Jul 21st, 2011 in
Denise's Blog |
0 comments
About 10 years ago, Dick, who cared for his wife with Alzheimer’s until her death, moderated the men’s online support group for me on Caregiving.com. He was close to 90 and fun, witty and caring. He was a catch.
Genie thought so, too. She met Dick in a support group for persons caring for a family member with Alzheimer’s. Her husband resided in an assisted living facility. So, Dick, now widowed,...
Oooooooh, you may think. How am I going to face this?
It may be another diagnosis, yet another new home health aide, a different treatment regime, a visit from family, a decision about end-of-life care.
Or, it could simply be another day.
When it seems that what you face is too big for you, call in the support. Tell a trusted friend that you feel like it’s getting to be too much. Take a walk. Share your worry...
Posted by
Denise on Jul 5th, 2011 in
Denise's Blog |
1 comment
As we support The Unit Known as Shandi and her mom, I thought it would be helpful to share resources we have on the site.
You can find articles relating to end-of-life care, including making the feeding tube decision, here: www.caregiving.com/tag/end-of-life/
And, one of the articles includes a talk show I did about 18 months ago with a chief medical officer at a Hospice organization based in Florida (Making the...
I read this a couple of months ago at Caring.com and jotted it down. I find myself frequently coming back to it and after doing so again tonight, thought I share how I’ve applied it. (link below)
8 Maxims of Strength and Comfort for Alzheimer’s Caregivers by Duke University social worker Lisa Gwyther.
Focus on what’s left, not what’s lost.
– My parents are still here. When they...
In caregiving, some decisions carry an emotional charge unlike any other life decision. The decision about a feeding tube for your caree is one of those decisions.
A feeding tube can be a helpful option during a time when your caree will recover (from a surgery, for instance). For those nearing end of life, the feeding tube causes discomfort without extending survival. Some studies show that a feeding tube can...
Posted by
Trish on Mar 6th, 2011 in
Trish's Blog |
9 comments
There are days I just don’t want to decide what’s for dinner.
Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t because I can’t make a decision. I’m actually very good at making decisions and do so all the time regarding Robert, regarding my home and family and at my Day Job.
I do my research, weigh the options and have been known to write a “pro/con list” a time or two. I can make a quick, reasoned decision if the...
This morning, on Your Caregiving Journey, Stephen J. Silverberg, Esq., CELA, CA of the Law Office of Stephen J. Silverberg, PC, joined us for a discussion on durable powers of attorney. You can listen to our show via the player at the bottom of the post.
In a caregiving situation, the following documents are important:
A durable Power of Attorney which designates an individual to manage finances on behalf of a...
Posted by
Jo on Feb 12th, 2011 in
Blogs,
Jo's Blog |
3 comments
I’ve told the beginning of the story (You Need to Get Your Parents Right Now) and I’ve told of some of the adjustments and aftermath (Moving Them In) but there is a middle part still untold. In many ways it is the hardest part.
My parents do not accept their current living facility as their home. Every day they dress and pack and await my return so that I can “drive them home”. Each visit I will check my...
Yesterday on Your Caregiving Journey, Dr. Linda Combs joined us for a discussion of her book “The Long Good-By and Beyond.” Linda wrote the first edition of her book while caring for her mom, who had Alzheimer’s disease. You can listen to our show via the player below.
Linda and her husband left Washington, DC, to return to Linda’s hometown in North Carolina after it was evident her...
Posted by
Jo on Nov 15th, 2010 in
Blogs,
Jo's Blog |
1 comment
“Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought I was the only one’.”
-C.S. Lewis
This morning on Your Caregiving Journey, Ellen Rogin shared ideas on how to act as your caree’s financial planner. She also offered suggestions if you’d like to be the bill-payer and hire a financial planner to manage the investment strategies. (You can listen to our discussion via the player at the bottom of the post.)
During our discussion, I asked Ellen about family members contributing their moneys...
This week, I struggled with doing the right thing. So, on Table Talk today, I shared the five lessons I learned from this week. (You can listen to the show via the player at the bottom of the post.)
My five lessons are:
1. The definition of what’s right changes depending on circumstances. For instance, what’s right when your caree can be safe at home is very different from what’s right when your...
Posted by
Jo on Oct 8th, 2010 in
Blogs,
Jo's Blog |
4 comments
With those words this past February my role in caring for my parents jumped from casual, distant supporter to hands-on, full responsibility. It also marked the entry of my parents into a full-time living facility.
It’s not that we never talked about it. Mom and Dad had been mentally declining for years. Based on what I know now I’m sure they had early onset Alzheimer’s. While they were still living in their...
Posted by
Denise on Oct 4th, 2010 in
Denise's Blog |
4 comments
…then living life for the caree and the family caregiver during the life of caregiving would be so much easier.
Here’s why:
If end-of-life were a diagnosis, we would know when a caree has a year to live. Then, six months. Then, a few weeks. Then, a few days.
When we know these magic numbers, we know:
1. When to take a break for a vacation;
2. When to take leave from a job;
3. When to call family members...
