Elder Care Cafe

This morning I woke up with tears in my eyes – a very unusual occurrence. What I realized is that it is Mother’s Day and I miss my mother more this year than I have any year since she died in 2004. Mom was a very special lady! She was so creative with her writing drawing, quilting, cake decorating, sewing, and so much more. She was a second grade teacher for many years after starting out teaching in small, one-room country schools. She was a lefty in a right-handed family which gave her a uniqueness that was her own.

She was so much to us over the years. Staying home and taking care of us kids until I was ten and my youngest sibling entered kindergarten, then she went back to work. We enjoyed having her home in the summer, although for a number of years she worked on her advanced degrees for six weeks every summer. She did everything she could to promote education and would be proud that all three children have at least a bachelors degree and all four of her grandchildren have advanced degrees, including one lawyer.

Mom was sad that she never had any great-grandchildren and would be so proud of the three girls and one boy that were born after she passed away. She loved children and would have taken them under her wing and taught them to be a creative person and to go ahead and color outside the box.

The pictures I am sharing today just show how active she was even in adulthood. She and Dad traveled all over the United States including three trips to Alaska; as well as going to England and Germany to see my brother who was in the Air Force. They also spent a lot of time “up north” in Michigan with many other family members riding three-wheeled Honda’s, golfing, tubing down the river, playing cards, and having a great time. The second picture is Mom in her later years enjoying yet another fun Christmas with family members.

Mom was quite a lady and I miss her. Happy Mother’s Day to all of you who still have your mother on earth. Give them a special hug if you can, or at least let them know you are thinking of them. Not all mothers were good mothers, but they brought us life and for that we should be thankful.

If you are a mother, have a wonderful day!!!

Depending on their circumstances, it doesn’t usually take a long time before caregivers start to feel a little overwhelmed. As time goes by and the needs of the person or people they are caring for increase, the pressure to succeed as a caregiver begins to intensify. When someone is caring for more than one family member, the feelings are magnified.

Most caregivers are motivated by their conscience or their inner desire to do the right thing for their parents. Unfortunately, when they are in the depth of their duties and life is getting tougher, they start wondering if they made the right decision to take over the care of their loved one. [Read more →]

Deciding when to hire a 24 hour care service to take care of an aging loved one, isn’t always clear or easy. You most likely have a lot of concerns and due to the vast amount of misinformation available online getting the answers you need can be difficult. Today I’d like to help you if I can by laying out a few simple guidelines to help you know when it’s the right time to seek the services of professional home care.

Preventing Harm

One of the most important reasons to seek help in caring for a loved one is when they need constant 24/7 monitoring to keep them from harm. Whether they have physical disabilities that prevent them from getting out of bed on their own or mental health concerns that cause them to wander it’s absolutely necessary that someone is always available to keep an eye on them. When you are unable to give your loved one the care they need, it’s time to seek the help of a professional service. [Read more →]

As a caregiver of an elderly male, I’ve tried to be honest about what goes on in our lives because I hope that our experience can be of help to others. My father has had problems with sinus infections for decades. Recently, we noticed that he once again was showing the signs of the infection he struggles with several times a year, especially during hay fever season. We were shocked when Dad’s physician said that his recent troubles are probably not due to hay fever, but chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

The doctor asked me a number of questions about Dad’s smoking history, such as: [Read more →]

The good news is that just because you are having problems with your memory that does not mean you are facing a diagnosis of dementia. The bad news is that you may have another problem or two in your life that needs to be addressed. As we age we become more forgetful because our brains change much like the rest of our body. What we need to understand is that our memory problems are not a normal result of aging. We must find out what the cause may be so that we can get the help we need – the sooner the better.

Here are seven possible causes of memory problems: [Read more →]

Being in control of any situation is important to the successful outcome of the event; remaining calm, cool, and collected is a prerequisite to handling an unforeseen circumstance in the proper way.  If you enjoy working outdoors or inside on your favourite hobby make sure that you keep your work areas free from debris that could cause accidents.  If you want to be confident that help is only a button push away if you should need it, then you should consider purchasing a personal alarm that can connect you to those who can respond immediately to any need that you might have. [Read more →]

Guest Post: Having the right information on the best retirement home can help to live the rest of your life in peace and tranquility. One need to know how to research well to get the perfect one for them.

When it comes to retirement there are different people who make different plans in advance. Some of them try to visit exotic locations, buy new house and the list is endless. Well, there are also some people who wish to live with other people of their age to share their feelings and experiences. For this they are in look out for the best retirement homes. But to find the ultimate one for you, you have to make a good deal of research. You need to find the one that helps in providing a positive environment so that they can live with joy without any pains and sorrows of life. One should also need to concentrate on their budget as well for which they need to find an affordable one. It should be able to cater to the needs of the senior citizens for which there should not be any sort of problem. It should also be able to provide them with different recreational activities like swimming pools, gyms, spas and so on. [Read more →]

Caregivers must take care of themselves if they expect to take care of their loved one for any period of time without burning out. They need to make sure they are taking care of their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We have a checklist for caregivers to use to make sure they are touching all the bases at least once a week if not more often. [Read more →]

I am very excited and grateful to announce that the Family Caregiving (Caring for Aging Parents) Kindle book is now live. It was a lot longer coming than I wanted, but sometimes life just gets in the way. This particular book is a combination of memoir and pertinent information that will be useful to anyone who is now, or thinking about becoming, a family caregiver.

We used our experience to help explain the ins and outs of taking care of an elderly parent starting with my grandparents many years ago. We saw what my mother went through caring for her mother and father, and then we shared a little of my sister and her time caring for mom. Now that I’m caring for dad, I have plenty of experience in that area and decided it was time to share. [Read more →]

Physical activity is important at any age, but as we get older becomes even more vital to our health. The fact of the matter is that elderly people have a higher risk of developing health problems such as obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease, and regular physical activity can lower that risk.

Unfortunately, though, the majority of elderly people tend to exercise less rather than more frequently as they age, either due to health problems or simply a lack of energy.

But studies have shown that moderate to vigorous exercise can lower the risk of death in the elderly, and may also protect against diabetes, Alzheimer’s and hip and vertebrae fractures.

Older adults who exercise on a regular basis tend to be stronger in general, have more energy and better balance and coordination, which helps to prevent falls and allows them to remain more independent for longer. [Read more →]

When a patient needs to stay connected to a medical professional around-the-clock, you must have a reliable call system in place that can be trusted to perform when the need arises.  You want a seamless installation process that doesn’t disrupt scheduling or the routines of your medical staff or patients who rely on a consistent daily slate of activities for comfort.  You should partner with a company that is committed to providing you with quality products and high calibre customer service that is quick and efficient.

Select a Dependable Company

Wireless nurse call systems keep patients and professionals connected.

The company from which you decide to order your radio call system should offer you a wide range of durable and reliable products designed specifically for the healthcare field.  Their call systems must have the best radio technology available in the market and be easy and comfortable for all patients to use.  You’ll want a system that is tailored to meet your individual needs; make sure that a service support team will be available twenty-four hours a day to assist you with any questions or concerns that you might have. [Read more →]

Family dynamics can be a complicated situation. Some families seem to have a loving, close-knit relationship with children who seem to grow to adulthood with little strife. On the other end of the spectrum are the families that have multiple problems, dysfunctional parents, and abused and damaged children. Many of us are somewhere in between.

Many years later, we find that there are adult children from all points on the spectrum who are now caring for at least one if not both of their parents. Those who were raised in a loving and kind family typically pass on that same care. But what happens when abused and dysfunctional adult children find it necessary to care for a parent that they never cared for in the first place? [Read more →]

As we age, life around us seems to slow down. When people take a look at our lifestyle, those of us in our late sixties to our nineties, it looks like we might have a peaceful, restful existence. Unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. We aging seniors also experience stress, although quite often a different kind of stress than those who are much younger.

So, what in the world could cause us stress? We actually have a lot to worry about. Here is a list of reasons seniors might be stressed. [Read more →]

Even us older gals need to pay attention to our beauty habits. In fact, we probably need to more than those who are young. Our guest author for today addresses several bad beauty habits we need to stop committing. You can read more about Margaret Jules at the end of the article.

There has never been any fixed beauty regime for the ladies. No matter how hard one try, but fixing to one particular beauty and make-up regime seems to be an impossible task. Every woman is very particular about their beauty habits. They spend lot on beauty treatments. However, they always keep their beauty habits a secret. One must accept the fact that beauty habits keep changing with time. With the passing of time and generation, tastes and demands of people changes. This leads to change in the beauty habits from one individual to another too.

In the process, there are several beauty habits that tend to create a negative repercussion on the skin. It is not about spending the bigger amount to get the perfect makeup. What matters largely is following a perfect beauty regimen that creates a fantastic appearance while promising no harm to the skin. Have a look at some of the bad beauty habits that should definitely be avoided: [Read more →]

Beware this personal rant on a situation I have noticed more often the past couple of years. Not only are people aging, but so our the financial institutions we have lived with for decades. Unfortunately, they are not willing to change with the times and adjust to the fact that there is a growing number of senior citizens who are trying to do their banking where they always have. What those in the banking industry are going to find out is that they will not have as many customers as they used to if they continue to shut out aging seniors and refuse to cater to their needs. Instead of attracting new customers, they are driving away longtime customers that have been with them for years.

Today I tried to renew Dad’s debit card over the phone with our bank. Unfortunately, the conversation did not end well. The problem is that I am his caregiver, I’ve signed numerous forms giving me permission to act on his behalf, and I have done so for six years. Today when I tried to renew his card which expired April 1st, I was told that I did not have the authority to do so. Only Dad could do that by verifying his information. [Read more →]