Care for Caregivers

I’m sure many of you remember the famous line from the movie “Cool Hand Luke,” “What we have here, is a failure to communicate.” I wonder how many times a day we are failing to communicate with our loved ones with dementia and how many times a day they fail to effectively communicate with us.   Good communication is going […]

Every once in a while, I’m reminded of why I do what I do by the people I’m doing it for. I’m guilty of occasionally forgetting that there are those in the caregiving journey of a loved one with Alzheimer’s, or some other dementia, that really have no clue what they’re dealing with or how to deal with it.  When […]

As the facilitator of an Alzheimer’s Support group, you can’t imagine some of the situations and circumstances that have been shared in our sessions. Then again, if you’re an informal caregiver of a loved one or a formal caregiver of loved ones with Alzheimer’s dementia (AD) you probably can. What’s that saying? You’re living the dream.  Many of those situations […]

For some time now, I’ve advocated that primary caregivers take advantage of all the resources that are available to them. With that said, how many of you have considered making your children part of the caregiving plan? It’s a better idea than you might think. In an article from U.S. News that I received from The National Alliance for Caregiving, […]

  Mom is in her 80’s with mid-stage Alzheimer’s dementia. Dad, also an octogenarian, is doing a great job of caring for her but now he’s using a “walker” to keep himself out of trouble. She can be a very busy woman, depending on the day, and the writing is on the wall. Last year some work needed to be […]

I’m sure it’s the same everywhere but for some reason the Holiday season in New England is very special for me, magical if you will.  From the wonderful Thanksgivings that we’ve hosted, surrounded by our two incredible daughters, their husbands and three beautiful granddaughters, to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and all that happens in between, it’s something I look […]

I know I’m dating myself but some of you may remember the 50’s t.v show “You Bet Your Life.” It was hosted by the comical Groucho Marx with the help of his sidekick George Fenneman and one of the aspects of the show was the “Secret Word.” “Say the secret word and the duck comes down and you win $50.00. […]

When I lecture, there are three things I try to impress on everyone. Regardless if they’re formal or informal caregivers of one with Alzheimer’s/dementia they need to always remember the following. The number one thing your loved ones are looking to you for is to feel safe. Number two, you can’t reason with someone that has literally lost the ability […]

Over the years I have been sharing with you how important it is for you to take care of you. Being a caregiver, any kind of caregiver is challenging to say the least and if you are in the world of Alzheimer’s caregiving, I can hear you saying, “tell me something I don ’t know.” This progressive illness presents obstacles […]

So here you are at the end of your caregiving rope. You’ve done it by the book and you’re proud of the job you’ve done on behalf of your loved one with Alzheimer’s. You read the books, gone to caregiver conferences, engaged the family, brought in outside help, used the day care center and joined a support group. All that […]