Respect

How to Speak Words of Affirmation to Reach Your Elder’s Soul

    Who doesn’t appreciate a huge bouquet of flowers?      Me.      That’s not exactly true. I appreciated that the person who gave them spent a lot of money, and wanted to make me feel special on my birthday. I thanked them profusely, and they had no idea that their gift didn’t […]

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How the 5 Love Languages Can Impact Your Elder

Have you heard of the 5 love languages? For over 30 years, Gary Chapman has been telling us how to relate to each other by understanding how we best understand giving and receiving love. He talks about “keeping the love tank full” and warns that “isolation is devastating to the human psyche.” 1. Published in

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How Families of Elders Struggle and Become Superheroes

Superman, move over. Wonder Woman, hand over your cape. There’s another group of heroes in town, and no matter how many times you’ve saved the nation, they deserve it more. Family members of elders. Of course, they are care partners, although they may not feel like it if their elder lives in a care situation

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One Family’s First-hand Experiences with Finding and Receiving Care

This blog is special. It contains an interview with an elder who receives care with input from one of her daughters. First-hand experiences and wisdom are gold, and I feel excited to share with you. What are some important qualities of a good caregiver? Personality “Friendly, personable. It’s important to me that they chat while

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Has Our Solution to Hospital Overcrowding Created Painful Loneliness for Elders?

Vera sat in the easy chair in her room and allowed her mind to wander to the many times she’d felt she had no control of her life. Even when her physical body could bounce back, she’d struggled emotionally with the feeling before. Her mind took her back to when her first husband left her

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How to offer respect to people with dementia

On a hectic trip to the local drug store, I picked up several items and headed to the checkout. I also needed stamps, which I knew can be obtained at the cash register. While I am placing my items on the desk, the cashier begins to fire questions at me. Do I want a bag?

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How Ageism Affects You and Your Elder and What To Do About It

I drove to my friend’s house for a visit and to deliver some homemade jam she was buying from me. As I started to make my exit from the car, I did my normal “dance.” I got my body out, reached back for the bag of jams, my purse and my cane and got everything

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A Deep-Dive Into How To Give the Gift of Respect to Your Elder

It’s hot and muggy and I am dripping sweat with the smallest exertion. I’d like to deep-dive into my favourite lake on Manitoulin Island. I’ll be doing that soon, but in the meantime, I’m going to deep-dive in the topic of respect. What is respect? What is ageism and why is it so harmful? How

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How Do Social and Medical Care Get Married?

I made a valiant effort to keep the horror off my face. It was the yearly care conference for this resident and her four children sat in our meeting room with the doctor, physio, dietary staff and others. The purpose was to review her care plan and tweak it if needed. I had just explained

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