You know this because you’ve probably lived this: Hospitals can be a harsh environment for your caree. A lucid caree can become confused and disoriented hospital patient. A caree with Alzheimer’s can become combative and aggressive during a hospitalization. This week, The New York Times toook an interesting look at the prevalence of hallucinations among [...]
Continue reading about Suggestions to Help a Caree’s Hospital Confusion
You plow through the days, doing your best to stay positive, strong, smiling. But, some days, well, you just find yourself wishing for a pink slip. If only you could just walk away from your caregiving role, you think, life would be so much better. And, worse, the wish to walk weighs heavily on your [...]
Continue reading about Tell Us: When Do You Wish for a Pink Slip?
Results of a new study say that your care recipient prefers you as the caregiver over a trained professional. Your care recipient is happiest when a family member provides care. But, you already know that. You know that because of the resistance you receive when you try to bring in professional help. This study was [...]
On Thursday, I gave an eldercare presentation to a group of employees at a large corporation based here in Chicago. At the end of the presentation, an attendee asked: “What do I do about my mom? She insists on going to the doctor. A few years ago, she was seeing 24 doctors who all prescribed [...]
Continue reading about Ask Denise: How Do I Deal with the Endless Demands?
Dear Denise, I came across your website looking for some help for my mother-in-law’s niece, Alice. Alice’s mother, 79, died on May 30, 2009. Now Alice must care for her 85-year-old father. He is very difficult and stubborn and physically hard to handle. He won’t go to the doctor because he says Alice wants the [...]
Continue reading about Ask Denise: How Does She Get Her Dad to the Doctor?
You count to 10. You pray. You say any and all affirmations those 14 books you’ve bought tell you will work. But, nothing’s working. You and your care recipient are at odds. And, the odd-makers seem to be betting against you. Caregiving is getting the best of you. It might be time to look for [...]
Continue reading about An Extra Pair of Hands May Mean Easier Days
When I first started writing about caregiving, I had worked with family caregivers in home health care settings (linking family caregivers to respite services) and in nursing homes (helping them admit their care recipient to the facility). But, I had never provided direct hands-on care. When the opportunity to work as a private-duty caregiver for [...]
Dear Denise, I believe divine guidance led me to your website. I plan to register for the course. My frustration is that I cannot get my mother on a schedule in order to take her medications. She wants to sleep until noon and then be awake all night. She is suffering from post herpetic neuralgia since [...]
You’ve finally decided the time has come: You need help in your caregiving role; you’d like to hire a home health aide to help with your care recipient’s personal care. With your job, your kids, your spouse and your other commitments, you’ve discovered it’s just impossible to do it all yourself. Amazingly, it’s a relief [...]
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