Caregivers have been asking me for years how to write and get stories published. I tried to answer as best as I could but it’s a bit like asking a surgeon how to operate. The answer is complex and in most cases requires years of experience. As a nine-book author and owner of a Los Angeles-base[...]
What makes more sense–SURVIVING as a caregiver or THRIVING and even Finding the JOY? The KANDU Industries team came up with an efficient way to describe this caregiving continuum– CAREgiving to CARELIVING. I love it! Yet, it’s not easy. After all, how can careGIVERS (note the word,[...]
Finding the Right In-home Caregiver Guest article by Lynette Wilson Juul, MS In recent articles, I’ve described the JOYOUS experiences I’ve shared as a caregiver in assisted living facilities, group homes, and during my current role as an in-home caregiver. Over the years, I’ve responded[...]
Is it dementia? Or is it war on dementia? The words we use to talk about dementia are responsible for creating and maintaining the stigma of dementia. It’s time we change how we talk about dementia. I joined thirty-plus concerned attendees–some with dementia–in an online panel disc[...]
Choosing Your Attorney-in-fact Guest article by LawDepot When choosing someone for any kind of Power of Attorney, trust is the most important factor. You need an individual who you believe can make the tough decisions you’ll need him/her to make. Trust, however, is not the only thing that you [...]
Really? Are these cures or a bunch of old-wives’ tales? Caregiver, you decide. Did you know that drinking two glasses of Gatorade can relieve headache pain almost immediately–without the unpleasant side effects caused by traditional pain relievers? Really, for all types of headaches? Did[...]
What’s it like living with dementia? Fortunately, for caregivers, more people with dementia are speaking out about what it’s like on the “other side.” Last week, we featured Norman Mc Namara’s call for dementia awareness with, “Please Don’t…” Thi[...]
Caregiver, take a Five-Minute Respite Professionals often remind caregivers to take a respite. I agree. Caregivers should take a respite. BUT… how reasonable is it to ask a busy caregiver trying to juggle life’s responsibilities to take an afternoon off let alone a weekend? Forget about [...]
Norman Mc Namara has lived with dementia for almost seven years. He was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s at age fifty. A few years later, he was diagnosed instead with Lewy body dementia. He is a vocal advocate for, and author and poet on dementia awareness. Based in the UK, he was recently awarded [...]
Thorlos socks for caregivers’ sore feet. I’ve run two marathons and have the distinction of running, hiking, climbing in sandals. I wear a thin pair of toe socks under a heavy pair of padded socks. In between, I position gel pads under the balls of my feet during day-long hikes. No more! As a [...]
The Guilty Caregiver Guest post by Leslie Vandever My caregiving career with my mother started when she developed sciatica and was barely able to care for herself. At the time, I expected that she’d need me for a few weeks. Maybe a month, at the most. I packed a small suitcase and settled into her g[...]
Things you and I take for granted are sometimes hard to grasp for a person with dementia. Take this story, “Making sense of time” shared in Finding the JOY in Alzheimer’s. A month before my father, Martin’s, ninetieth birthday, my husband David and I had the following convers[...]
