None of us want to lose capacity – with our mobility, energy or cognitive abilities (memory). But, with longer lives comes changes in physical and sometimes mental abilities that face the best of us. Many of these changes are natural and are expected. Some, like a diagnosis of a progressive illness or medical incident like Read More
Aging Families: Difficult Decisions and Getting on the Same Page
Life is filled with processes. Although we would sometimes like to think of life changes in a linear mode, it is true that a process or several processes often need to take place. Sometimes we “see a need and fix it”. That works well for certain things for example, providing transportation to medical appointments and Read More
Seniors & Emergency Rooms
When you get that call that your parent has just been taken to the ER, you need to either get there ASAP with a list of current medications or fax that information into the emergency room. If you are an “agent” under an Advanced Directive or Durable Power of Attorney, you should bring or send Read More
Not Correcting Those With Dementia…
…unless it is necessary. When asked if she tasted the ribs at a recent bar-b-que my mother said, “No, I didn’t serve myself.” One of the guests said, “Well, you were right behind me in line”. Mom looked confused and I just changed the subject to the ingredients in a salad on her plate. Later on Read More
Preparing to Move a Loved One and How to Make the Best of It
A few months ago, my siblings and I were getting ready to move our mother from her homestead, where she had lived for 48 years, to a vibrant assisted living community in another town. As we were trying to accomplish this task, it made me feel like Mom was moving away to college—the big difference Read More
Mom Knows Her Memory is Poor
Last night, after my mother called and could not remember why she made the call, she said, “My memory is really bad.” This is the first time she admitted to her memory loss since her stroke. However, she did make the call 15 minutes before Jeopardy and told me that is why she called, knowing Read More
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 13
- 14
- 15
- 16
- 17
- …
- 32
- Next Page »
