Support

Important Lessons From a Party and Heartfelt Gifts for Family Caregivers

Curiosity overcame me. My desk sat across the hall from this resident’s room, and it sounded like a party in there. She was new and had moved from the community, so I didn’t know a lot about her. I’d met her three daughters, who seemed lovely and supportive, and Mom smiled every time I went

Important Lessons From a Party and Heartfelt Gifts for Family Caregivers Read More »

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

How Families of Elders Struggle and Become Superheroes Read More »

How do I navigate the struggle to find good care?

My dad asked me to take mom shopping. They planned a road trip out west to visit my sister and family, and mom needed new camisoles. He’d become a reluctant caregiver when she developed Alzheimer’s, but that kind of shopping  gave him chills. I looked forward to a fun time with mom, who loved to

How do I navigate the struggle to find good care? Read More »

Practical Help for the Desperate Caregiver

                                                                                        Out. Of. Control.                  

Practical Help for the Desperate Caregiver Read More »

A Poignant Focus on the Heart of One Receiving Care

At 46, Jenn has a unique perspective on caregiver stress. She is the one receiving care. Only a few years ago, she rose before dawn and slipped into the frigid Manitoba winter to run, training for one of the many marathons in which she competed. She’d started to take classes to put her in a

A Poignant Focus on the Heart of One Receiving Care Read More »

Caregivers: Practical Value Found Here

The 5 Tips Newsletter isn’t just for hands-on caregivers of elderly people. It’s for anyone who has an elder in their family or among their friends, and wants to learn better ways to support and love them. It contains 3 blog posts discussing some aspect of caring, 5 quick tips related to that month’s theme,

Caregivers: Practical Value Found Here Read More »

Surprising, Little Known Ways To Find Your Tribe

I tucked the carefully crafted letter in backpacks and diaper bags. When I met the parents at the door to pick up their children from my daycare, I didn’t say a word. In a few hours, the phone started to ring as my monumental decision reached its tentacles into the lives it would affect. I

Surprising, Little Known Ways To Find Your Tribe Read More »

Feel Empowered With An Epic Medical Team

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 »

Seize the Opportunity to Build Your Team

“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 »

Do your Doctor’s Manners Make You Angry?

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 »