Growth and Lessons Learned from Being My Wife’s Caregiver

  While my wife Rebecca lay in her hospital bed, the sterile feel of the hospital room and the alarms from her ventilator had become all too familiar. The shock had worn off from New Year’s Eve when they placed her in a chemically induced coma due to respiratory...

How to Assess When Your Aging Loved Ones May Be at Risk?

There may come a time when the ability to independently walk, dress, cook, or bathe becomes increasingly challenging for an aging loved one. How do you assess if it is safe for them to remain in their home without any assistance? There are some warning signs to watch...

3 Things I Learned About Aging While Serving as My Father’s Caregiver

My father passed away almost 2 years ago at age 97. Much to our chagrin, while in his eighties he was still climbing on his roof to clean the gutters and he shoveled snow. I suddenly found myself in the role of caregiver when he unexpectedly caught pneumonia at age...

Product Review: FreshAlarm-5 Alarm Voice Timer

How can you help someone and yet maintain their independence, and yours? This was a question I faced one day when my husband misunderstood the time and showed up for a class early. The next day he asked me to stay home to make sure he left on time for an appointment,...

Taking Care of Yourself as You Assume the Role of a Caregiver

According to AARP and the National Caregiver Alliance , the average caregiver is a 49 year old woman caring for a 69 year old relative. In addition to being a caregiver she is married with her own children and is working. The study says the caregiving role lasts an...

Come Into My Room and Sit With Me – a poem by Peggy Raulie

Peggy wrote this poem some years ago when she realized that visitors to loved-ones in various stages of decline did not really know what to talk about with them. Lots of people lose touch with their friends or family when they become ill or infirmed. mostly because...