I must admit it. I am not good with all the acronyms. The world of senior care is full of them and I still have to look at my “cheat sheet” to recall what they are. I can just imagine what someone without some history with these senior care acronyms must think when they are […]

It’s so easy to get frustrated and angry when we’re the one that everyone counts on. Pair that up with a negative senior who is struggling with memory loss and you have a recipe for disaster. So do you need a time out? Chances are your older loved one does too. We can find at […]

Caregiving – the rewards are great but so are the stresses. So, what will your older loved one do if you get sick or experience an added family emergency? You’d better have a back-up plan and people who do have your back. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, “Caregiving has all the features […]

Two weeks ago, my daddy was on death’s door. Momma said “You have to face it, Karen. Your daddy isn’t going to be here much longer.” Needless to say, I cried for days. I begged him to see the doctor. I worried about my momma who was worn out and stressed. I called all the […]

Many elders experience readmits to the hospital. They want to be home or their doctor thinks they’re well enough. Urinary tract infections, also known as UTI’s are a huge reason elders have to go to the hospital in the first place and be readmitted after the infection rages on. Dehydration is another huge factor in […]

One of the most common reasons for an elderly person’s hospital visit is the mean old Urinary Tract Infection, also known as an UTI. In elders there are very few symptoms except for generally feeling awful. They are also hard to get rid of for older people. My mother had one for a month and […]

Spending time in a garden with an older loved one can be so rewarding! You’ll both come away with new memories and perhaps eventually some good things to eat! There’s still a real chill in the air even though it’s February and I live in the Sacramento Valley. It’s been months since I’ve been able […]

This is by far the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’ve got to let go of my daddy. He’s lived through the Great Depression. He’s survived tuberculosis, appendicitis, bladder cancer, raising me and also lived to see 10 great grandchildren. But it looks like he’s done. Every day is a rollercoaster of emotions. My momma […]

It’s just a fact that people need people. Without those flesh and blood connections we all lose both quantity and quality of life. For older people who live alone this can be more serious than a heart attack. The #1 indicator of morbidity in an elder is isolation. That’s a fact, not a theory. Not […]

My great-granny’s family Bible is old — really old. Somehow it has survived and found its way to my mother. For many families their Bible was where treasures were kept. My mother discovered this while carefully turning the faded fragile pages that date back to the 1800’s. In the pages of that Bible was a […]