Smile = Good Feelings

I had just learned a card trick that would make it seem as if I pulled a single card from the air when I visited an elderly man at an assisted living facility in Palm Beach County, Florida. He had been a "serious man" all his life so when I asked his son if his dad ever liked...

Home Health Services vs. Institutions

It's not uncommon for the younger generation to say, "I'd rather die than end up in a nursing home." In some cases, there doesn't seem to be much of a difference when you see the elderly in a vegetative, medicated state, far away from their families, pleasure completely devoid...

Good Caregivers Are Like Good Friends

Lucy, a good caregiver in Boca Raton, Florida shared with me her experiences working with Mary, an 85-year-old lady with late stages Alzheimer's disease. Mary used to suffer from depression and took her medications as prescribed for. She lived alone except with a caregiver for...

Caregivers are the Patient's Eyes and Ears

One summer while I was a caregiver for a woman with severe Alzheimer's disease, she started telling me that her back hurt almost every day during our walks. Only, she couldn't describe what sort of pain it was.  I told her physician what had happened but he said that he...

Good Caregivers Like to Laugh

Keet and I always have a great time with Lo in NYC. Lo is an 80-year-old woman with late-stages Alzheimer's disease although you wouldn't know it unless you tried carrying a conversation with her for over a minute. In very short spurts, she appears sharp with her engaging smile...

Is Alzheimer's Disease Such a Horrible Way to Die?

I hear it often: "Alzheimer's disease is such a horrible way to die." I don't entirely agree. It is hard to watch a loved one lose their memory- I agree to that. There was a time in my life when I angrily tried to convince my elderly father with late-stages of dementia that he...

Happy Mother's Day!

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Proper Caregiving Also Depends on Home Modifications

Home modification ensures a senior's safety in the home. The safety changes you make to your elderly parents or senior relatives home should reflect their capabilities. If for example, old age has set with diminished eyesight, installation of optimum lights should be considered....