"Dad, just give me the keys!" Alice came in saying she’d gotten lost. My mother-in-law had gone to the grocery store – the same one she’d shopped at for thirty years. It was four blocks away. I was staying with my father-in-law, because he couldn’t be alone. A couple ...
A Caregiver's Journey You’ve got kids and they’re growing up. You’ve got a job and you’re moving up. You and your spouse have smoothed out the wrinkles of early marriage. Sailing along pretty well, right?
Bang! Dad has a stroke. Mom, while trying to ...
Grief Or Relief - Which Is It? “Carol, I’m so sorry about your dad,” people told me after he died. “I’m sure you miss him.” They were right. I missed him terribly. But, my dad had, effectively, died on an operating table ten years before. The man we ...
How do we get Dad to participate at adult day care? What do you do with Dad when he sits alone at adult day care and sulks? How do you get Grandma to participate in the activities the nursing home provides? These scenarios often take us back to the days when our children entered kindergarten and hid in the corner, ...
How long can I do this? When was the last time you listened to a bird? Noticed tree leaf buds bursting open on a spring day? Enjoyed a child’s laugh (even your own child or grandchild)? Can’t remember? You’re caring too much. That’s right, you are caring ...
Man, I'm a caregiver! Typically, when most people think of a caregiver, they picture a woman. An elder’s care-giver? The daughter, of course. However, when I was looking for caregivers to interview for “Minding Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories,” I kept stumbling on caregiving men. My final ...
Mom always loved you best Did you think you left the sibling rivalry behind when you all left the nest? Did you dream that if and when your parents got old and needed help, you’d all pitch in? Did you envision snug discussions about who would do what when the folks did ...
Remembering Who They Were For many suffering from painful or debilitating disease, death is the only real relief. For many caregivers, it is the same. Often, worn down by years of attending to the needs of a loved one; years of watching the mental decline from Alzheimer’s disease or other dementias; ...
Should we move Mom and Dad back home? To move or not to move? That is the (perennial) question. Mom and Dad retired and joined friends who moved from the cold north winters to warm, dry Arizona. They were healthy and had a good life. That was twenty years ago. Now, Mom is getting frail, and Dad ...
There's a hole in my soul A study from New York University, found that caregivers are twice as likely as non-caregivers to report physical and mental health complications. One in three caregivers uses medication for caregiving-related health problems and depression among caregivers is three times greater than for non-caregivers in their age group.
Another study ...
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