One form of denial takes advantage of distance. In most families, there is typically an adult child who lives nearest to Mom and/or Dad, and then there are siblings who live further out of town or in another state. The role of primary caregiver... Read more →

Understand that we aren’t talking about someone who wasn’t smelling too fresh one day when you stopped in. There could be many reasons for this. Perhaps they simply had a hard arthritis day or on the other extreme, maybe they had a stellar day and... Read more →

...Many would rather use their precious time visiting with family members or seeing to their own health instead of filling out paperwork, juggling appointments, and searching for sources of financial assistance. This is where geriatric care managers (GCMs) come in. Read more →

They have a stellar list of podcasts for you to choose from but a recent entry is about my work. If you'd like to give it a listen, you can go to their podcast site... Read more →

Sex and death: It’s odd that these two topics of conversation should bring so much anxiety to parents and children. One addresses the beginning of life, while the other addresses the end. Both are a natural part of the circle of life, but many find that sex is often the easier subject to discuss. Read more →

Dear HS: Ouch! Of course, that hurt you and was terribly unfair. In defense of the medical people and social worker who criticized you, they were doing their jobs in for watching neglect and/or abuse of older adults. However, it seems to me... Read more →

That's okay in emergencies since everyone has to give in these cases, but not for the long-term. Caregiving nearly always involves juggling different roles... Read more →

Dad can walk with assistance but just getting him up and walking seems to bring on the urine flow, so even if we could catch him before he lets go, he doesn’t make it to the bathroom. In fact, it’s almost worse Read more →

"BrainGuide offers two memory questionnaires: one to take for yourself, and another for someone you care about. Each questionnaire takes less than ten minutes to complete. When you’re done, we’ll send you tailored resources based on the answers you gave us. All your responses are confidential." Read more →

For instance, if someone has cancer and they need emotional support, pain management, and stress relief they should be able to receive palliative care. In fact, palliative care began as a focus on helping cancer patients, though now it been expanded... Read more →