I know I’m not alone in these emotions. When I talk to family caregivers, a common thread is the range and depth of the emotions we are feeling during this crisis. As caregivers, we always live with the fear that an underlying medical issue will worsen or a heart attack or stroke will force our loved one into the hospital. But today’s world heightens our fears and increases … [Read more...]
Is A Healthcare Safety Plan In Place? For You and Your Loved One?
Safety for your elder goes beyond falling. When we talk about keeping our elders safe, we usually focus on home safety and ways to mitigate falls. Maybe it’s all the news coverage of the coronavirus and the known risk to our frail loved ones, but healthcare safety is on my mind right now. Protecting your loved one’s physical and emotional health should not be a reaction … [Read more...]
Caregiving Changes Relationships.
A Podcast with All Things Seniors." Something a bit different this week. I had the opportunity to chat with Rafiq Punjani of "All Things Seniors" about how caregiving changes relationships. Apple Podcast Link: Episode 16 Spotify Link: Episode 16 Android Podcast Link: Episode 16 'All Things Seniors' focuses on issues that are important to seniors: … [Read more...]
Are You Balanced On The Knife Edge Of Caregiving? It Is Exhausting.
Knife Edge: In a difficult or worrying situation of which the result is very uncertain. Cambridge Dictionary Six years into caregiving for my mother and we are fortunate to be in what I call “The In-Between Place.” By that I mean her health (and mine!) and her mobility issues are steady. We have a routine down that is working, and I am grateful. However, I am always watching … [Read more...]
Parenting Your Parents. I cringe every time I hear this term.
How about “Supporting Your Parents” instead? Google ‘parenting your parents’ and you get about 869,000,000 results in 0.68 seconds. The sources range from venerated publications like Forbes and Kaiser Health News to the Huffington Post. Granted, you must sift through articles about how to be a parent and the danger to children forced to take on the parental role. Bottom … [Read more...]