By: Arlinda Babcock What is “Respite Care” and why is it needed? People generally think of respite care as a short term care arrangement for the person who needs care. Guess what? Both care-takers and care-givers need respite! One of the most difficult things for a care provider to do who is a family member […]
Seeing Things My Way
By Sylvana Rinehart My spouse doesn’t always “see things my way” when it comes to health and wellness issues, and I get frustrated, like most well-intentioned spouses. As I was growing up, I thought my mother was constantly pestering my father to either not eat so much of the “bad” stuff, drink lots of liquids, […]
Intuition and Denial
By Maria Myers Annette was in her 70’s and living alone. She had reached out to us as she was concerned about her current health troubles of congestive heart failure and COPD. She was also using oxygen 24/7. Her intuition had been correct that her health could deteriorate. But there are times when we all […]
Healing Power of Four Legged Friends
By Kathy Kappler, RN Many of us have been lucky enough to have had the pleasure of sharing our life with a pet. They have the ability to touch our soul in a very special way. I have had dogs most of my life and the memories bring warmth and smiles. One special dog was […]
Reverse Mortgages
By Kecia Lilly For many years, reverse mortgages have been a controversial method of obtaining equity from a home. These types of loans are designed for seniors (generally 62 and older). A reverse mortgage is similar to a home equity loan; however, the borrower does not need income to qualify and the loan is not […]
Holiday Expectations
By Nori Patnode We all have special memories of holidays past. Time spent with family and friends burned in our memories and fueling our expectations as the season approaches. I come from a family of four children of which I am the youngest. My favorite memory of Christmas from when I was a child is […]
Holidays and Alzheimer’s Disease
By Kathy Kappler, RN This season I’m thinking back to experiencing a Christmas with my sister while she had Alzheimer’s Disease. The holidays bring up many challenges for families living with Alzheimer’s. My sister remained very social with her disease, but the addition of families coming and going caused stress and confusion. She would mix […]
Celebrations and Memory Loss
By Mary Cordova Whether celebrating Christmas, Hanukkah, or any other holiday, we all celebrate with our love one’s with Alzheimer’s and other memory loss diseases. I was recently sitting around speaking to my father-in-law who lives with us about Christmas and the holidays. He is eighty-eight and has Alzheimer’s. I realized as we were talking […]
Male Caregivers
By Sylvana Rinehart For all male caregivers … In our society, women predominantly participate in the field of caregiving; however, in our capacity as senior care advisors, we have seen many men take on the role without hesitation. Research suggests that some men feel they are just doing what needs to be done as their […]
Thanksgiving and Seniors
By Donna Mischke Thanksgiving brings back happy memories of family and great food for me. The first 30 years of my life were spent blissfully at my Nana’s. My grandmother could cook! Seriously, move over Paula Deen because Nana’s pecan pie, homemade biscuits, corn and green beans were the best. I still try to duplicate […]