How Do You Know When It’s Time to Move Your Aging Parents?
This is the one question I hear most frequently from baby boomers caring for their aging parents, and I wish there was a “one size fits all” answer for it. All of our aging parents (or Golden Oldies as I prefer to call them) decline in various ways and at different rates, but here are [...]
What If Your Aging Parents Refuse to Evacuate in a Hurricane?
In the United States, the weekend news focused on the story of Hurricane Irene, before, during and after the storm hit. There was one news story I heard that raised some practical, even ethical, questions for family caregivers regarding natural disasters, emergency plans and our aging parents (or Golden Oldies as I prefer to call [...]
Tips for Safeguarding Your Online Life
After witnessing my friend’s medical emergency last month, I’ve been thinking a lot about what would happen if something similar happened to me. What if I was incapacitated suddenly in some way and unable to communicate — or worse? As we age, we learn it’s vital to have “our affairs in order,” which means we [...]
How Connected Are We Really? Lessons Learned from a Medical Emergency
Two weeks ago my friend, Penny, passed out while out dancing at a night club with a group of friends, including me. Here are lessons I learned from this frightening night that may be helpful to people of all ages. As I write this, Penny remains in the hospital but, thankfully, is on the road [...]
Notice Decline in Your Aging Parents? Action Steps, Part 2
This is Part 2 in a series. Please click here for Part 1 for more action steps and suggestions. With the holidays and your family visits completed, if you noticed signs of physical or cognitive decline in your aging parents or other relatives, don’t panic! Here are excellent resources to turn to for help in [...]
Notice Decline in Your Aging Parents? Action Steps — Part 1
In a recent post I provided a checklist to use in assessing your aging parents’ daily living situations while spending time together during the holidays. If you noticed signs of decline in either their physical or cognitive abilities, what steps can adult children take next? Here are some do’s and don’ts. Don’t Feel Guilty Don’t [...]
Holidays with Your Aging Parents: Don’t Miss These Warning Signs
With the holidays rapidly approaching, many adult children will have extended visits with their aging parents (or Golden Oldies as I prefer to call them.) These visits provide an excellent opportunity to watch for signs of possible decline in your Golden Oldies’ physical and/or cognitive abilities. Below is a checklist to use when visiting your [...]
Do Your Aging Parents Think Like a Black Belt?
Over the holiday weekend I read the e-book Think Like A Black Belt: Take Charge of Your Personal Safety by Lori Hoeck. The author presents 15 powerful safety tips for preventing assault and dealing with an attack. It is an excellent how-to book about raising our awareness, relying on intuition, reducing vulnerability and learning emergency [...]
Implement Nationwide Silver Alerts for Missing Seniors
Missing children grab headlines, but missing senior citizens are far more common. In the United States there are currently more than 5 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and that figure is expected to grow to as much as 16 million by 2050. According to an article by Alex Johnson, an MSNBC reporter, “About 60 [...]
How a Bus Stop Helps Prevent Wandering in Alzheimer’s Patients
As a family caregiver, I find it encouraging to read creative solutions to common problems we face and this news story certainly contains one! If you have cared for someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, you know your Golden Oldie could possibly wander off and become lost. In Dusseldorf, Germany, the Benrath Senior Centre, came [...]
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