May 21, 2023 | End-of-Life, Uncategorized, Your Parent's Hospitalization
Three years ago, my father and I rode horses together for miles and miles of trails at a Florida state park. Two weeks after that, the world shut down and two years later, he died. His dying was my first very close-up experience with serious illness and death. If...
Sep 6, 2022 | Common Challenges, End-of-Life, Feeling Guilty, Feeling Overwhelmed, Navigating Change and Letting Go, Resources
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog about how important it is to prepare for end-of-life decisions you might have to make on behalf of your parents. I wrote about advance directives, and having important conversations with doctors and family. I culled so much good...
Jun 21, 2022 | Assisted Living, Common Challenges, End-of-Life, Feeling Overwhelmed, Uncategorized
This summer at a caregiving event, a man wanted to know if it would be better for his mother, who has Alzheimer’s, to live at home with family or to live in a facility. He asked me, “What’s the right thing to do?” More recently, a woman worn out from caring for her...
Mar 29, 2022 | Common Challenges, End-of-Life, Feeling Overwhelmed, Navigating Change and Letting Go, Resources, Uncategorized
I’ve said many times that few things are more disorienting than the shift from being cared for by your parents to caring for your parents. The only thing that makes it harder is when your parent (or spouse) has dementia. This is quite possibly the most challenging of...
Feb 23, 2022 | Assisted Living, End-of-Life, Feeling Guilty, Feeling Overwhelmed, Navigating Change and Letting Go, Uncategorized
My neighbor George is not a daughter but he’s certainly part of the daughterhood. You see, until a year ago, he spent most of his time taking care of his parents in the home they shared. Now, from my perspective, he was the best kind of son any parents could hope to...
Jan 5, 2022 | End-of-Life
A reality of our healthcare system is that it’s really good at keeping people alive way past the point that they’re aware of being alive. As a result, our parents stand a good chance of ending up in either a healthcare crisis or end-of-life situation where they can’t...