Words Matter. One of the biggest and best caregiving lessons I’ve learned over the last five years is words matter. Starting a discussion with “You must”, “You should” get’s me nowhere with my mother. The concept is so central to how mom and I interact, that I devote an entire chapter on having hard conversations in my book "Your Caregiver Relationship Contract.” But the … [Read more...]
Medical Marijuana: Quality of Life at the End of Life.
Finally, Access in New Jersey Has Eased. For individuals on hospice, medical marijuana may be the only drug that brings relief from pain while giving quality of life at the end-of-life. This was the experience of Jake Honig, a little boy who died at the age of seven after living with brain cancer for five years. During those years, Jake went through two surgeries, 61 rounds … [Read more...]
When Decisions to Help Our Aging Parents Are Made in Good Faith. And They Backfire.
How to protect ourselves from the cost of healthcare as we age really does require legal advice. People that I know made a decision to live in community as a multi-family household so they could help their parents. They made this decision in good faith with the best of intentions. Between the time they made the decision, started legal paperwork on the house they will modify … [Read more...]
Pre-Planning is the Key to Family Vacations With Your Senior.
How one family made it happen successfully. Elizabeth Miller of the Happy Healthy Caregiver is a colleague. On her website, you will find her podcasts and blog. Her work like mine, came about because we are caregivers. Elizabeth is part of her mother’s caregiving team. Growing up, Elizabeth and her family vacationed at Hubbard Lake in Michigan. The tradition has continued … [Read more...]
Caregiver Self-Care. Taking My Own Advice.
Some self-care resources that don't cost money. I’m going to go radio silent next week. No social media, no business emails or phone calls. I have not unplugged like this in years, I’ll let you know how it goes. For the first time in six years, since Dad got sick, I’m taking real time off from my life, all of it, even caregiving. It’s taken a lot of work to set up my … [Read more...]