Minding Our Elders®

Preventing Alzheimer’s: Exercise, Diet and Brain Games Show Promise

People want to know. Can we prevent Alzheimer's? Certainly, there are no guarantees. Throughout my years writing for this site, I've written about studies on exercise, diet and brain games. All have shown some promise, but none say "this will prevent Alzheimer's." Now, a Wall Street Journal article titled "How to Outsmart Alzheimer's: New Effort Tries to Fight Disease With Word, Math Games, even Wii for Exercise," shines an even brighter light on this approach.

Read more about preventing Alzheimer's on ouralzheimers.com:

Find care agencies to help you care for your loved one:

Jump start discussion in support groups: with real stories - for bulk orders e-mail Carol:

Caregivers Need Support: Get Help along the Way

Every caregiver's journey is different, but we share many situations that help us understand one another. Some of us watch while our elders slowly lose ground and need more assistance as often happens when people have dementia. Some of us find ourselves caregivers overnight, as can happen if a loved one has had a debilitating stroke. Because my personal elder care journey spanned two decades and involved seven people, I've been through both types of experiences.

Many, if not most, caregivers struggle with isolation. If there was a dramatic event that threw you into caregiving, you may have had a lot of support right away, but then people must get back to their own lives and often the caregiver feels abandoned.

Read more about finding help on Eldercarelink.com:

Find care agencies to help:

Jump start discussion in support groups: with real stories - for bulk orders e-mail Carol:

Aging with Options Forum

I received a press release from Volunteers of America about an "Aging with Options" forum. They plan a panel discussion, to be held June 8, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Most of you won't likely be going to this forum, but the site is interesting, and you can join a blog conversation by going to http://volunteersofamerica.wordpress.org  The press release begins:

"Volunteers of America is about to embark on a new effort to transform the way in which healthcare and services are provided to seniors in our country. On June 8, we will be hosting a panel discussion at the National Press Club about the future of care for older Americans and discussing our new Aging with Options^TM initiative."

Read more about Aging with Options and Volunteers of America:

Find care agencies who can help you:

Ontario Health Care for Those Over 50

Jennifer Jilks runs a blog that is mostly for Canadian readers, but she has followers in the US just as I have many readers who live in Canada. Jilks' blog has good general health care information. She wrote a book which I reviewed on this site titled Living and Dying with Dignity. Whether you live in the US or Canada, you will find interesting information on http://ontarioseniors.blogspot.com/. Give it a try.

Find the type of caregiving help you need by taking this survey:

Minding Our Elders Column in Your Newspaper?

Boomers and caregivers – make yourselves heard! As I’ve mentioned before, Minding Our Elders is expanding in all directions. This includes the weekly newspaper column. If you read a newspaper online, in print or both, and you’d like to see the weekly Minding Our Elders column run for your benefit as well as that of others, please take a moment to e-mail or call your local newspaper editor. Go to either the Life Styles editor (or whatever they currently call that section, the managing editor or the executive editor. Let them know what you want.

Believe me, newspapers are fighting for their lives. They want to know what readers are looking for. Most newspapers are trying to lure the twenty-somethings into their readership net. Nothing wrong with that. But in doing so, many are ignoring the vast audience of boomers who are caregivers, as well as their senior readers who want information for themselves or who are caregivers for their spouse and want support for that daunting task. Minding Our Elders, in print and online, is an affordable way for them to provide this support. The popular column has been running since 2005, so it has history on its side. 

Ask the editor to go to www.mindingoureldersblogs.com and click under my photo where it says “email me.” They can tell me what they need. I will send them column samples, my electronic Media Kit, links to my national blogs and forums – anything they want. This is your chance to make a difference. I’m asking for your help so that others may be supported during their elder care journey.  

Take care,

Carol

 

 

Learn about care agencies in your area:

Minding Our Elders Goes Full-Time to Give Caregiver Support

If you subscribe to the Minding Our Elders monthly ezine, you will want to skip this post. Since many readers don't, I taking the liberty of repeating myself, so everyone can know about the changes in the Minding Our Elders business model, including referrals to caregiving companies and more.

Thanks for reading,

Carol

Dear Readers: I've got exciting news, at least from my perspective. I'm going full time with Minding Our Elders projects. Elder care and support for caregivers took over my private life decades ago. In these last few years, it's been a large part of my professional life, but lately interest in my work has exploded.

So my friends, I'm making my passion for caregiving support through all things Minding Our Elders a full-time occupation. My elder care work includes a newspaper column, blogs, forum moderating, cargiving community leadership, resources , speaking engagements and direct support. My passion has now become my sole work focus. So, spread the word. Share the articles. Share the Minding Our Elders Web sites and anything else you find helpful.

Please also share your hard-won wisdom with me, so I can help you contribute your wisdom to your peers. I've learned an enormous amount from generous readers who want to share their personal experiences with others, and I want to pass that on.

I can't think of any way to honor my mother during her birth month of March more than this move to expand my business. She was a caregiver to the elders in our family. I followed in her footsteps. Now, to celebrate her birth month, I'm expanding my caregiving business. I know she would be (is) pleased. Thank you, loyal readers, for allowing this to happen.

Silver Planet Spotlights Carol Bradley Bursack and Minding Our Elders

Silver Planet is a site for boomers and seniors. I'm very pleased by its upbeat, positive feel and the wealth of information available. We have teamed on some projects, so Silver Planet interviewed me for their site to give their readers more information about Minding Our Elders. The interview contains some information new to some of you, but even if you don't read the information about me, you will enjoy browsing the site. Give it a try. It's free and a fun. You'll learn in the process.

Read "Bursack Cares for the Caregivers Now: Working to provide the resources she didn't have," on Silverplanet.com.

Forget Me Not - Walking For Alzheimer's

Shelly, at Forget Me Not, is walking for funds for Alzheimer's research. Her financial goals are modest, her heart huge. She has watch Alzheimer's in her family and has a touching post that begins:

I am walking because I have seen two grandparents and a great aunt suffer from Alzheimer's Disease. I've seen ...

Please go to www.forgetmenot.blogspot.com and read the rest of Shelly's post. Her heart is in this. Let's help her make her goal.

Silverplanet Refreshing in Its Approach to Aging

  The photo on your left is Silver Planet Founder Florence Klein (center) meeting with featured author Ellie Greenberg (left) and Silver Star Marion Downs (right). Marion will soon be celebrating her 95th year.

Silver Planet, at www.silverplanet.com, is a site I've lately become aware of. It's not a caregiver's site, but a boomer's site. However, there are caregiver and senior tips that will be of interest of those of us with aging parents, and many of us are aging ourselves, as we may notice by a quick look in the mirror. 

The site is so visually exciting and positive, that when I checked it out, I immediately signed up. I see many benefits for several generations on this site which, by its very name, acknowledges the aging of our population, but without negativity and without trying to cop an attitude of being the new "My Space" of the older generation. I feel respect for readers vibrating from the pages. If you are interested, give www.silverplanet.com a look to see if it suits your needs, and/or those of your parents.

The University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community Launches Blog

I received an invitation to check out the new blog on aging that has been launched by  The University of Indianapolis Center for Aging & Community. I'm impressed by All Things Aging, already, and would like to send you over there for a look.

Read more about the new site on centered on aging issues:

Engage With Grace Provides Valuable Tool for End-Of-Life Discussions

In many ways I was fortunate as I made decisions about my parents deaths. My mother's sister and her husband were ten years older than my parents. They came out to the prairie to live near us, their only family, as aging and health problems took over their lives. We helped them through the death process. During this time, my parents made out wills and Durable Powers of Attorney for health and for money matters, for themselves. They saw the writing on the wall, so to speak, and finally got it done.

Read more about Engage with Grace:

Alzheimer's From the Inside Out

I've written about Richard Taylor's remarkable book, "Alzhiemer's From the Inside Out," many times. I'd like to send those of you interested in knowing more about what it's like to live with Alzheimer's to Richards blog. Here's the beginning of one of his recent postings:

"I am Richard Taylor, and I have been engaging the symptoms of dementia probably of this or that type for the past several years. Thanks for opening my "news" letter and at least reading it this far.
 
  I am still here (a whole person confronting the symptoms of Alzheimer's disease on a daily basis).
 
  We are still here. (About 10 million whole people ((soon to grow because of the increase in people over 65 to 20 or 25 million whole people).
 
  "'It" is still here. The International, National, State-wide Local and family public health crisis; the tsunami of dementia racing around the world and caused by the aging of the "baby boomers."

Read more on Richard Taylor blog:

Obsessive Caregiving Can Be Harmful To Caregiver and Care Receiver

Carol O'Dell, author, blogger and much more, like yours truly, knows her subject because she lived it. She writes excellent posts, and is gracious enough to pass on my material from time to time. I like to do the same with hers. Here's an excellent post of Carol's that many of you will relate to titled, Have You Taken Caregiving Too Far For Your Own Good? :

"I was recently at an event where a woman received the caregiver of the year award for her community. Her daughter wrote a lovely letter about all her mother did for her mother. The list started at about 5am and ended about midnight–with frequent middle of the night interruptions as well. The list went on and on. Daily baths, attention paid to her mother’s nails, lotions, pulling chin hairs…on and on and on. She got a standing ovation, but my heart ached for her. She was in her early 50s and looked in her late 70s. She was smiling but looked as if life had beat her with a crowbar."

Read Carol's full post on obsessive caregiving:

Medicare Launches New Caregiving Site

Medicare is out to help us. Acting Administrator Kerry Weems had some extra incentive to figure out how to better help caregivers navigate the murky waters of the Medicare system, because he and his wife have been caregivers. Since taking over as head of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid (CMS), he's been working on this new initiative.

Read about Medicare Launches New Caregiving Site on ouralzheimers.com:

New Medicare Site for Caregivers to be Unveiled September 18th

On September 18th, Medicare will unveil the new site "Ask Medicare." I've been asked to attend  a Web Cast that will include the unveiling of the site and I will try my best to make it. Either way, I'll be reporting on the site and adding it to my resources list.

According to the press release, the site at medicare.gov/caregiver "...will provide updated, easy to use information and tools to assist caregivers in talking with their loved ones to make a family plan and in making informed healthcare decisions about a variety of topics from Medicare coverage to technology updates to emotional support."

Keep watching for information and I'll keep you up to date.

Minding Our Elders Makes NYTimes.com Online Resource List

I'm please and honored that New York Times health reporter Jane Gross listed Minding Our Elders under resources for caregivers on NYTimes.com. Her list is extensive, and a valuable tool for caregivers. The full list can be found here.

Blogging From Inside Alzheimer's Disease

A while back, I reviewed Richard Taylor's informational and inspiring book Alzhiemer's From the Inside Out for my twice weekly posts on ouralzheimers.com. Taylor has continued writing and lecturing, all the while battling the disease He's a Ph.D. who has not stopped teaching. His blog is on Minding Our Elder's right margin, but here's a direct link. Anyone interested in learning more about what it's like to live with Alheimer's will profit from visiting Richard's blog.

A Spiritual Take on Caregiving

A caregiver's blog that I recommend to caregiver's seeking additional spiritual perspective can be found at Caregiversvoices.The group is closely monitored, but all caregivers are welcome to check it out. If you'd like to join, email  bigsur_1999@yahoo.com. The blog has a lovely and loving feel, with a lot of support.

Johns Hopkins and MedHelp Collaborate

Folks, this is one great medical site. I'll be sharing some of my material on caregiving with the site, which I'll tell you more about later. But check this out:

From MedHelp:

"MedHelp announced a collaboration with Johns Hopkins Medicine, where specialists from Johns Hopkins will personally answer questions on a number of health topics on the MedHelp website. Medhelp, with over 5.5 million monthly users, is the largest online health community site connecting people with shared medical experiences."

About MedHelp:

"MedHelp provides its users with access to advice from experts at the top medical institutions such as the Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins Medicine, National Jewish, Partners Health, and Mount Sinai. MedHelp members can access an online archive of millions of posts across hundreds of medical conditions. In addition, MedHelp offers personalized user accounts, information on health topics and treatments, and an extensive set of health tools to help users track and monitor various health conditions. For additional information, please visit www.medhelp.org."

Take it from me. You don't want to over look this site!

Learn To Better Use Video for Business and Family Fun

I've signed up for a two evening video course to better use video on my blogs and for other Internet projects. I've got the basics down, but there's much left to learn. I can't make the calls live, but they will be recorded for download and the price is a bargain. I thought I'd let readers know in case there's interest. You may want to check out "Boost Business With Videos 2 Day Event"  and join the group.