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Join Our Newsletter3 Strategies to Overcome the Most Stressful Part of Daughterhood
There is almost nothing in life more stressful than feeling like you are 100 percent responsible for a situation over which you have zero control. This is happening a lot these days in my house because somehow, somewhere, my daughter has grown into a teenager and I’ve...
3 Powerful Ways to Avoid the Hospital
Americans have a love affair with hospitals. We tend to think of doctors and nurses as the people who were working hard to make good grades while the rest of us were skipping class. I am pretty sure my brilliant, doctor friend Heather was walking around with a...
The Burden of “Self-Care”
Every time I turn on my computer, I see some story or advice about the importance of self-care, especially for women. We read about how Arianna Huffington is on us to get more sleep, which has the effect of keeping me up all night worrying about the bad things that...
What to Do When Your Best Efforts Aren’t Good Enough
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...
4 Things You Must Know When Picking a Home Care Agency
Everyone says that they want to stay at home as they age. And, actually most of the frail older adults living in this country today are, in fact, living in a home setting. Really very few live in nursing homes or assisted living facilities. Now you might think that...
Creating a Resilient Response to Loss: The Special Challenge of Dementia
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...
A Daughter’s Guide to Hiring the Right Aging Care Professional
Recently when I was talking to a friend about daughterhood, she asked me, “Why isn’t there someone I can pay to help me figure out how to get the best care for my mom? You know, someone who can help me navigate the system.” That’s a really good question. There are, in...
Medicare Therapy Rules Made Easy
Most of us take for granted that we can get out of bed in the morning and do all the things necessary to head out and face our day. You know... the simple everyday things like moving around our house, showering, getting dressed and eating breakfast. I might be a...
A Go-To Guide For Understanding Your Aging Parents’ Rehabilitation
I was 30 weeks pregnant with my daughter when a routine doctor’s visit uncovered the fact that a disconnected placenta had cut her off from getting food and water. Essentially, she was starving in utero. Later that same day, my girl was born by emergency C-section...
Are You Ready to Make Healthcare Decisions for Your Parents? Six Steps to Prepare You Now
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...