Who Should Be On Our Care-Partner Team?

This may just be one of my favorite parts of the life-care planning process: building the care-partner team. You naturally have tons of questions as you and/or a loved one make important preparations. Yes, they’re all equally important! But selecting the care partners that’ll be there for support in good times and bad is the […]
A Life-Care Plan Must Be Flexible

Last week we discussed fire-drilling your life-care plan. For myself and my care partner, Brian, a nightmarish “perfect storm” had thrown our professionally designed plan (built by me) into disarray. It called a number of factors into question and shed light on one key reality: a life-care plan must be flexible. Not that ours wasn’t. […]
Fire Drill! Is Your Life-Care Plan Ready for the Unexpected?

I’m a professional life-care planner. I’ve been helping people and their loved ones plan for advancing age and terminal illnesses for decades. It’s critical to be prepared. Just a few short weeks ago, our own plan fell apart. It certainly wasn’t for a lack of trying or expertise. By all accounts, the life-care plan Brian […]
Patient Advocacy: Your One-Stop Shop for a Life Worth Living

As your loved one ages or progresses through a terminal illness, the number of professionals and agencies involved in their care will only increase. Patient advocacy is your one-stop shop for EVERYTHING your loved one and their care partners will need. You’ll have doctor appointments — sometimes many of them spanning a range of health […]
Common Alzheimer’s and Dementia Behaviors: Communication Difficulties

You’re chatting with your husband and sister on the back patio on a beautiful summer evening. The wine tastes divine — even better with some stimulating conversation. Except, for some reason that escapes you right now, your husband is repeating himself and having difficulty finding the right words. That’s new, you think to yourself as […]
It Takes a Village: Community Care for Dementia Patients

You’re trying so hard. We know. Being a great care partner for a loved one living with dementia is most certainly a labor of love. You may feel very alone. You likely feel as if you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, keeping up with the steady march of dementia and its […]