By now you know the story—or at least think you do: A nursing home nurse sees an 87-year-old resident in cardiac arrest and calls 9-11. Despite desperate pleas of the call center operator, the nurse refuses to do CPR and the resident dies. Except most of the story isn't true. Lorraine Bayless lived at a Bakersfield (CA) continuing care community called Glenwood [...]
After my mother-in-law died suddenly, my wife and I found ourselves caring for my father-in-law. There was so much we didn't know. One area where we were flying blind: We had no idea what financial resources he had, what banks and mutual funds he used, or how to access the funds he needed to pay for his home health aides and, later, assisted living [...]
The other day, I had a long talk with a friend about her mom. My friend lives on the East Coast. Her mother lives in the Midwest. Mom is in an independent living apartment and recently has been falling and suffering memory lapses. The other day, mom got lost trying to drive home from her regular bridge game. My friend realizes it is time for her mother to [...]
John Mills, who cared for his dad for six years, has started a nice new website filled with practical tools and information for caregivers. You can find it at http://www.ecarediary.com/ For those caring for parents, this is one worth checking out.
The wonderful families I met while writing Caring for Our Parents had many things in common: The made tremendous sacrifices to help frail parents or spouses, they brought deep love and great patience to this responsibility. And under great physical, emotional, and financial stress, they often ignored their own health. It may sound selfish, but if you are assisting a loved one, [...]