It usually starts with a phone call. Without a solid life-care plan, you’re often blindsided by it and left scrambling, bumbling and stumbling through the next steps. “Mom fell.” “Dad didn’t recognize me today.” “The doctor says there’s been a sudden decline.” And just like that, everything changes. You’re now a care partner thrust into […]
Now we reach the end. The entire life-care planning process is meant to ensure A LIFE WORTH LIVING for our elder loved ones. And that’s especially the case for the final step: end-of-life planning. It’s a tough conversation. I’ve facilitated many of them as a Board-certified Patient Advocate in Clearwater, FL, guiding clients on the […]
All of us are capable of love and happiness on our own terms. Those terms may change with time and ability, but the capability remains. This is especially true with our loved ones living with dementia. While the terms may change from the early to late stages of dementia (and with different types of […]
You’re a caring care partner. Otherwise, why would you be there? And a big part of being there may involve attending your loved one’s doctor visits. It may become more necessary with time — especially as their medical care grows progressively complex due to serious illness, memory and comprehension issues, or even routine difficulties associated […]
We develop skills in reasoning and judgment our whole lives. In most healthy individuals, the brain becomes a powerful decision-making machine from our toddler years when we first learn not to touch a hot stove, to our teenage years when we learn how to drive in traffic, to our adult years when we learn to […]
You just heard the news. Your loved one just received a life-changing diagnosis, or perhaps they’re just getting “up in age” and need help with daily living. You now find yourself in the role of a caregiver (well, we prefer the term care partner). How can you do this well? Care with compassion. The word […]
You hear your brother in the kitchen, fumbling around with some car keys. “Shoot, he found them,” you whisper to yourself as you try to intervene. His doctor estimates he’s in the middle stages of mixed dementia, and everyone on the care-partner team (your brother included) agreed several years ago it would no longer be […]
Your husband’s out in the living room watching TV, and you’re busy pushing through your chore checklist. In his advancing stages of dementia, it’s been increasingly necessary for you to plan and perform daily tasks. You’re about to put away his laundry and you stumble across one of the most common Alzheimer’s and dementia behaviors: […]
Knowing how to care for your aging loved one is difficult. Is it better for them to have a regimented routine? Or would it be better to let them (and help them) make decisions that are right for them? The answer may be: It depends. We prefer and advocate the person-centered care model, which lets […]
Your husband sits at the kitchen table, thumbing through an old golf magazine for the umpteenth time. It’s about noon. You’ve prepared a nice, little lunch for him — just his favorite soup and sandwich. He looks it over, but 20 minutes later the soup is cold and he hasn’t even touched his sandwich. […]
