...At this time, Alzheimer's disease is considered incurable. People who develop AD tend to die from seven to 10 years after diagnosis, though some can live as long as 20 years. Still, upon diagnosis, the person diagnosed knows instantly that his or her life is going to change dramatically. Read more →

...An even more common situation, however, is when caregivers are responsible for looking after two or more elders who are ill and live in varying locations, sometimes over long distances. It’s a circumstance that I know well. During my busiest eldercare years, I was the Read more →

...Goodwin says that keeping a journal was “like having a best friend that didn’t talk back—I didn’t get interrupted mid-sentence.” Read more →

...No matter how difficult or stressful caregiving becomes, we can wind up feeling lost once this job inevitably comes to an end. Our natural grief may even be accompanied by a sense of relief, especially if we cared for loved ones who suffered Read more →

Short-term memory loss makes it impossible for dementia patients to remember what they just said, so they say it again and again and again. Anyone who has been in this situation will tell you that there’s a limit to how many times you can muster a genuine response. It’s enough to drive a person mad. So, Read more →

This new reality may simply nudge you, or it may sock you in the gut, but reality it is. Your parents are aging. They are on their way to “being old.”... Read more →

Most caregivers would have been devastated by the death of their loved ones before they took on this role. But when a care recipient has declined so significantly that they no longer resemble the person they used to be, it can be heartbreaking to imagine prolonging such a life. When a loved one is in pain Read more →

As with most types of dementia, family members are the primary caregivers by default, at least at the beginning of the disease. They are usually the people who notice that something is not right with their spouse or parent. Again, like Alzheimer’s... Read more →

...However, the new entrepreneurs have seen gold in the little jobs. If we are lucky, we may even find nice people, who enjoy elders, driving the vans that pull up to your parents' door to fix that broken window screen. Read more →

Moving is daunting to people of all ages. The idea of sorting through, packing up, moving, and unpacking everything we’ve collected over the years is overwhelming. For many seniors, downsizing is synonymous with purging. Collectors, those who hang on to sentimental items, depression-era savers and even hoarders are often... Read more →