From the category archives:
When disease and age has deprived our GFGs of the ability to communicate, art can become a way for them to express themselves…without judgment or restraint. That’s the philosophy of Memories in the Making, a program through the Alzheimer’s Association that encourages self-expression, creativity and joy through art. The program, which came out of the [...]
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See a series of short videos about the topic of brain fitness…and in particular, memory loss. One of the videos is a presentation by Sue Halpern, author of “Can’t Remember What I Forgot: The Good News from the Front Lines of Memory Research”. Her book is a behind-the-scenes journey into the world of cutting-edge memory [...]
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St. Paul refers to the act of worship in common spaces of work and home as “a special form of sacrifice.” For caregivers, worship can take place in the sickroom as well…or the kitchen. And often, we end up resorting to creative forms of sacrifice. Yesterday, a quirk of my father sent me into a [...]
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Bet Tzedek, a non profit legal service organization in the Los Angeles metroplex, has a free legal guide for caregivers. The guide offers tips on how to pay for eldercare, your legal rights and making medical/legal decisions for your GFG. Please note that the guide is based on California law, and that other states might [...]
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“In a world where celebrity equals talent, and where make-believe is called reality, it is most important to have real love, truth and stability in your life. “ — Bernie Brillstein (seen on a Starbucks cup) GFG loves to watch “Survivor” and other reality shows. I hate them because they are a horrible perversion of [...]
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Deborah Forrest, a registered nurse who worked on a geriatric ward, argues that the final stages of our lives can be deep, fulfilling life event — for both the patient and the caregivers around the patient. She wrote a book, Symphony of spirits: encounters with the spiritual dimensions of Alzheimer’s, that describes how she learned [...]
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Smart lighting can help reduce the chance of falls for the elderly and visually disabled. Some ideas for using lighting to prevent falls: Place nightlights in hallways, bedrooms, bathrooms, and stairways. In particular, make sure that the passageway from the bedroom to the bathroom is well-lit and clear of anything that can trip up a [...]
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Caregiverland is usually the first place where we have a face to face encounter with the frail. In our busy, segregated modern lives, we often do not really commune with people outside of our age group, class background, classes or office. We live in such segregated lifestyle: singletons work and live only with other singleton. [...]
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Try a guided meditation, based on Jeremiah 18. A guided meditative prayer via the Internet seemed at first, to me, to be too discomforting to try…but it can be a great way to provide variety and a new perspective on the Scripture’s words. The audio meditation will take about 5 minutes, and is offered via [...]
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Medicare beneficiaries might encounter changes in their drug plans in 2009 — so stay alert to what this might mean to your GFG’s prescription drug plan. Avalere reports that the number of free-standing plans available for low-income beneficiaries who qualify for the low-income subsidy will decrease from about 500 this year to 308 in 2009. [...]
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