Supporting all who care for elders
We sometimes play a game with a parachute. Everyone in a circle holds a loop attached to the colourful fabric and pulls to keep it tight. A ball in the centre rolls from side to side, sometimes bouncing if someone gets enthusiastic and suddenly pulls tight. If a player slacks off, the ball falls to […]
Feel Empowered With An Epic Medical Team Read More »
“It takes a village to raise a child is an African proverb which means that an entire community of people must interact with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment. The villagers look out for the children.”1 The concept of the community participating in the raising of children is
Seize the Opportunity to Build Your Team Read More »
Melanie shifted in the uncomfortable, straight-backed chair and glanced at her watch. It hadn’t moved since the last time she looked, and compulsively staring at it wasn’t doing a thing. Mom had mercifully fallen asleep in the chair beside her after almost an hour of meaningless chatter, pacing and protests loud enough that everyone in
Do your Doctor’s Manners Make You Angry? Read More »
Bill and I and the doctor were crowded into a tiny examination room, peering at the computer screen. A week ago he’d had a serious event which brought him to the emergency room. His cardiologist was there that evening, and did multiple tests. We stared at the screen where the results were displayed. “Idiopathic Cardiac
After A Frightening Diagnosis Ask These 5 Powerful Questions Read More »
Older people’s bodies aren’t the same as younger people’s. Duh. Am I a master of stating the obvious? But there’s more to it than you might realize. And the implications for you and your elder might be something you haven’t considered. What are the Differences? By no means a comprehensive list, here are a few
Do You Have The Right Doctor? Read More »
Meet Janice. She has a family; two teenagers and a twelve-year old, a husband who travels, so is not home for the day-to-day running of the house, and a mother who helps out with the kids. Mom is a young eighty who walks every day, reads the paper, is conversant in politics and plays a
Becoming a Care Partner Overnight Read More »
Millie’s family had just been through some horrendous months with her care. She was in heart failure, and it led to so many problems. Her legs swelled and leaked, her mood was all over the map, and she was seeing things that weren’t there. Sometimes she was short of breath and needed oxygen. She wasn’t
Dealing With Change Read More »
If you talk to anyone living in Southern Ontario this week, there is only one topic. The weather. Friday ‘s grey skies turned to snow Friday night, ice pellets on Saturday, freezing rain on Sunday and torrential rain on Monday. Everything was coated in ice, including my car, driveway and the roads. I remained glued
How to Cope When You Feel Overwhelmed Read More »
Back in the mid-1950s, they were both in high school and she experienced heart palpitations whenever he passed her in the hall. He was three years older, and she doubted he even noticed her. But he did. One day he caught up with her and walked her home. She sat in the old swing out
When a Wife Becomes A Care Partner Read More »
My friend, who I will call Jane, has been going through hell as a care partner. Her husband is suffering from a serious form of brain cancer, and their lives have been one crisis after another lately. Surgery after surgery, infection, seizures and multiple hospitalizations. Each day is a roller coaster of emotions, as she tries
Dear “Friends,” How Dare You? Read More »