Supporting all who care for elders
I felt like a bug on the wall, hearing a private conversation which took me into the hearts and mind of people struggling with dementia. It wasn’t private, but a podcast featuring several people sharing. One elderly British lady stole my heart as she explained how she took her caring children aside. “Please don’t help […]
How to Train Your Mind to Handle Chronic Pain Read More »
Have you ever been in a room with a loudmouth? Maybe at work, or a party? I met one in a bus shelter once. A loudmouth has opinions and loves to expound them. They have no interest in listening, little agenda for hearing or understanding your opinion, and they are “full of themselves.” Their opinion
How to Outsmart Chronic Pain so it Sits in the Back Read More »
I have a companion who travels with me 24/7. I can’t call him friend, and even companion sounds a little too cozy. Gremlin? Hanger-oner? Pest? He won’t kill me, but if given the chance, he’ll steal parts of me, a little each day. If he wins, he will leave me incapacitated, so I must fight
How to Keep Chronic Pain From Stealing Your Life Read More »
We’re working on a project. It’s a secret at the moment, but I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun. It involves a bucketload of creativity, the gifts of both my husband and myself, and some reaching outside several boxes to figure things out. Ideas for it wake me at night and encroach on
Finding Ways to Create with Joy with Your Elder Read More »
Do you remember the excitement when the Eaton’s catalogue used to arrive? I could ask for one present. I’d always receive more than that, and my stocking contained all kinds of small treasures, but the one I asked for would be the “desire of my heart” present. The thing I couldn’t live without (or so
The Value of Good Choices in Your Elder’s Journey Read More »
Everyone in the family knew that Grandpa couldn’t hear well. The television roared when he listened to it, and the radio sounded at levels that rivalled his teenage grandchildren. In conversation, he growled about family members “muttering.” Why couldn’t anyone speak up these days? Conversations addressing the problem never went well. Grandpa would go off
How to Have Difficult Conversations With Your Elder Read More »
My shoulder is killing me. Tylenol is starting to dull the ache and make it use-able, but my mind is going in 100 anxious directions. As someone with a hip and knee replacement (and the other hip probably pending) I wonder absently how many parts you can replace. Should I look into physio? What about
Important: After research comes action! Read More »
“We can’t deal with this problem here. She needs to go to hospital.” They are all looking at you. The doctor, the nurses, the care staff, your family. As your mother’s care partner and power of attorney, the next decision is yours. Maybe she has pneumonia which isn’t responding to the antibiotics she’s been given,
Six Reasons To Say “No” To A Hospital Visit Read More »
John was a “frequent flyer” in my work area. Able to propel his wheelchair down the hall from where he lived to our neighbourhood, his favourite activity was to create havoc in our dining room. He’d move from table to table, touching dishes and cutlery with hands which had been everywhere. John wasn’t popular–that’s an
How to Triumph Over Toxic Behaviour in Dementia Read More »
From the day he moved in, everyone knew three things about Harry. He loved plants, he had a killer smile, and he never went anywhere without his harmonica. Dementia had stolen his huge repertoire but he still retained six or seven songs he played from memory. While passing in the hall you would hear them
Did You Know Effective Music Can Make Magic? Read More »