Medic Alert Bracelet for Caregivers

“If anything happens to you I’m a gonner,” Dad commented, seemingly out of the blue while eating breakfast this morning.  | 0 comments ›› more ...

She's Crazy

“Listen to me very carefully, you’re in danger,” the psychologist said. The urgency in her voice made my blood run cold. Goosebumps raced down my spine raising the hair on my arms. “You must get him to the hospital as soon as you can. If you ... | 1 comment ›› more ...

Easter Burps

“People’s bodies make noises,” he will tell you with no sense of unease at all when a loud belch punctuates the end of a meal. “If I don’t let it out I’ll “sussplode,” he says | 0 comments ›› more ...

Call for Legislative Action

Do you want to see funding for Lifespan Respite in FY2009? If the answer is yes, then please help make it happen by taking action and contacting your federal Representatives today! | 0 comments ›› more ...

I'm Sorry, I Can't Let You In

I knew when I arrived that it wasn’t going to be easy to find a parking place. It was almost 11:00 AM and the large lot usually fills up by 8:30 AM and stays that way throughout the afternoon. I usually don’t mind the ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Hyper Vigilant Wacko?

 “I’m concerned about Rodger this morning,” I said into the phone. One the other end was Jason, the tele health nurse. Jason is extremely responsive to my concerns and he is genuinely fond of Dad.  

›› more ...

Dysphagia – A Diagnosis That’s Hard to Swallow

Dysphagia, or trouble swallowing, is a condition that can come on suddenly from any one of a number of causes and finding the right treatment is often tricky. I’m just beginning to understand how complicated the swallowing process is and how easily it can become disrupted. ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

A Message from the National Family Caregivers Association

On Wednesday, January 30 please listen to National Public Radio’s Fresh Air with Terry Gross.  Terry will be interviewing Suzanne Mintz, president and co-founder of the National Family Caregivers Association about family caregivers in America today, her personal experiences as a family caregiver and her ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

He Smiled Today

It doesn’t happen often. Dad is a dour man with a deeply furrowed brow and a face rutted with frown lines. The landscape of his life, mapped out on the parchment-thin skin of the elderly, is a map of negative emotions. ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Dealing with the Guilt

As I sit at here at my keyboard this morning I am, as usual, multi-tasking. I have one load of dirty clothes in the washing machine and one load of clean clothes running track in the dryer. I have the timer ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Dad's Had A Heart Attack

Dad had a heart attack Thursday evening | 0 comments ›› more ...

Do You Need Help?

I call what we do as an in-home care givers ‘creative problem solving on the run.’ Every day brings new challenges as a loved one’s physical and emotional health fluctuates. It’s never easy and it can be devastatingly lonely. We can ... | 0 comments ›› more ...

Memory Test

Sometimes you have to smile in the face of sadness. On Saturday we lost another family member to Alzheimer’s disease. | 0 comments ›› more ...

A Feeling You Wish You Didn’t Have

The anger ebbs and flows. The first time it hit me, right after Dad returned home from an extensive stay in the hospital, I thought I was losing my mind. | 0 comments ›› more ...

Halloween Magic

Halloween is the night when we step out of our usual roles to reach out and grab the sweet things in life and there’s real magic in that.  Halloween is made for him. | 0 comments ›› more ...

Homicide Suicide Increasing Among the Elderly

   Men are most often the perpetrators of homicide – suicides in older couples and frequently his motives are more altruistic than ... | 1 comment ›› more ...

Therapeutic Lying or Unethical Behavior?

He’s pacing this morning. I can hear the floor squeak each time he reaches the spot just outside his bathroom door. Three more steps and then he’ll turn and go back the other way.  Pace, pace, pace, squeak. Pace, pace, pace, squeak. Over and over. | 1 comment ›› more ...

Millions Provide In Home Care

Five years ago, while I was busy planning for the future it came barreling in with all the speed and subtlety of a runaway freight train, not only knocking me off course but impacting every aspect of life as I knew ... | 2 comments ›› more ...