"Mom, don't you remember?" I have years of conditioning to my mother’s communication style. Mom thinks about things deeply, questions everything, and like all of us, makes assumptions. Her thought process often ends up with her having a fight with you in her head. Suddenly she is mad, and you have no idea why. Or she is thinking about something and will ask you a question that … [Read more...]
How Can Family Help Seniors Adjust to Assisted Living?
Moving to an assisted living facility, even when voluntary, can be hard for your senior. How can family members help loved ones adjust to assisted living? It is the question I put to Jennifer Sallis, who lived 1,000 miles from her mom, and still helped her to adjust. (Jump to Lessons Learned) I never met Carol Sallis, but Jennifer paints a joyous picture of her mother. … [Read more...]
Wheelchairs and Other Mobility Vehicles Can Make Your Senior Invisible
Don’t let it happen. Maybe the title of this blog should be DISABILITIES can make your senior invisible, but our experience is specific to mom in her wheelchair. Here is what I have learned over the last two years. (Jump to Lessons Learned) I first wrote about wheelchairs in early 2016. It is important to know how Medicare will help you purchase a wheelchair, you can read … [Read more...]
How Best Can I Love and Live With Mom, A Person Living With Dementia?
One Alzheimer's Caregiver Story. Shelly’s mother has Alzheimer’s and she has been her primary caregiver for years. Her mom is a wonderful woman that often thanks Shelly and her other caregivers, despite the fact that she doesn’t know who they are. But this loving behavior wasn’t always the case. There was a time when the violence was so bad (pinching, pushing, punching and … [Read more...]
Caregivers Put Aside Your “To Do” List and Re-connect with Your Senior
Caregivers share ways they create special moments. Making time to step away from all the caregiving tasks and spend quality time with our aging loved ones is a universal problem. I first wrote about this in March with the post: Today I am her daughter and not her caregiver. Since then I have been gathering suggestions from readers on how to make time to be with loved … [Read more...]