What is the origin of these three English-language pet peeves? Could it be as a caregiver, I felt my time was not respected at the doctor’s office? Or are these due to English being my second language? As a first-generation American, we, like many immigrant families, spoke my parents’ na[...]
Your whole family is gathered for dinner during the holidays. Your sister-in-law is playing a video to entertain her two boys. Your spouse is having an animated discussion with your brother about holiday-light displays. A timer is buzzing in the kitchen. Your teenage daughter tells you that your mot[...]
Linda Sivertsen presents the concept of Time Debt – something we caregivers experience, but likely didn’t have a name for, until now. When we were younger, time went by slowly; especially, when we’re in school. As we grew older, we likely had the same lament as our parents: The sea[...]
Mirror Mirror On the Wall – Who Is That Mimicking Me? One Sunday, while relaxing and catching up with the week’s mail, my husband, David, and I watched as my father got up quietly and walked toward his bedroom. He had been living with us after being diagnosed with dementia. We returned o[...]
It used to be that speaking was a fear greater than death. Today, the fear of getting Alzheimer’s is frequently cited among the aging population. While VOICES with Dementia aims to raise awareness of people with dementia who live productive and meaningful lives, the stigma remains. But not for[...]
For National Family Caregivers Month, we review Merrill Lynch’s just-released 42-page Caregiving Study Report, entitled, The Journey of Caregiving: Honor, Responsibility and Financial Complexity. While we often think of caregiving as hands-on care, surprisingly, 98% of family caregivers surveyed pro[...]
How would you feel if the person you love and care for were called a zombie? That offends, does it not? Yet people with dementia are often referred to in various publications as being zombie-like. It happens in popular media and in nursing and caregiving publications. Consider that people with demen[...]
Fifty-eight-year-old Phyllis Fehr of Hamilton, Ontario was enjoying an eighty-degree sunny day at her home about an hour’s drive west of Niagara Falls, while I shivered in the low sixties in Southern California during our Zoom video call a few weeks ago. How fair is that? Well, if you’re old enough,[...]
Various and diverse paths lead to caregiving. We have our own reasons for stepping up to the role of caregiver and each of our experiences is unique. Yet, our struggles and joys are similar. While, caregiving marks the beginning of a lonely, clueless journey, along a thankless road, it also yields t[...]
I am very reluctant to “come out” as a person with dementia. The stigma is great. Once people label us as people with dementia, we suddenly move from being productive members of society into being described with deprecating labels including: mistaken, forgetful, irrelevant, delusional, and irrationa[...]
Caregiver, ask for HELP before it’s too late. Oftentimes, caregiving families (including mine) dive into crisis mode before they know what they’re getting into. As they dive deeper and deeper, they lose sight of the shoreline. Soon, they come up and gasp for air. Looking around, there[...]
Caitlin Keating reports for People Magazine that these two newlyweds in the UK must now find a way to live dementia. Former globe trotter, Becky Barletta, who lived an active life now needs ’round the clock care. While her husband works, Becky needs caregivers to help look after her at her pa[...]
