|
|
By Carol January 24th, 2012
For every caregiver, the day will arrive when caregiving comes to an end. Most of us can’t know when that day will come. Because of this, caregiving often seems endless, but it is not.
Some of us are able to accept that the end is coming sooner or later. The couple in this video are planning for the time when he will be gone, and she will be alone. Senior co-housing is one option for companionship and support for the spouse that is left behind.
Weighing the Options from Our Future Selves on Vimeo.
Social Bookmarking
Technorati Tags: afraid, aging in place, Brave Old World, caregiver mental health, caregiver needs, caregiver stress, co-housing, coping with death, Elder Spirit, end of life, end of life decisions, family caregiver, pain of caregiving, Paula Span. Columbia University School of Journalism
By Carol November 15th, 2011
When Dad was courting our stepmother, the lovely Elizabeth, they surprised us all by becoming ardent opera enthusiasts. Each year they bought their season tickets. Then, weeks ahead of each performance, they began preparing by immersing themselves in musical recordings of the coming opera while reading along on the translated librettos. When the night arrived, they would dress in their best—for Dad this was formal wear complete with opera cape—and head downtown for a magic evening of music and drama.
Opera was one of the activities that we looked forward to enjoying with Dad when he moved to Denver toward the end of his life. During his two years with us we saw three live operas and many others on TV and DVD. In the process, Bill and I both grew in our knowledge …
Continue reading this post here
By Bill February 25th, 2011
As a rule, my day to post to this blog is on Thursdays. Last week the well was dry and I didn’t post. Yesterday I missed the day, and here it is late Friday afternoon and I am just beginning to write. There are a few reasons for all this. For the present, there is not much caregiving to do. We lost Frank, Carol and Judi’s father, the first of July 2010. Audrey, their mother, died in September 2009.
My parents married late, and twelve years elapsed before I was born. My mother died of cancer in 1958. I have written about that experience and how my father and I stayed in denial. My father died of a heart attack and stroke in 1978. That was a better death, and I got to be …
Continue reading this post here
By Carol November 7th, 2010
Recently Bill, Steve and I were able to sit down together to watch this wonderful inside look at the realities of palliative care and hospice. I had recorded it months ago on my DVR, but we had not had a moment to view it.
Interviews with patients, caregivers, volunteers and professionals show us the heart of this service. You can view a selected excerpt here on our blog or to see it in its entirety click one of the the links that will take you to the Channel 6 website.
Living With Dying
Watch the full episode. See more RMPBS Specials.
Contrast these patients experience with those facing a hospital death Social Bookmarking
…
Continue reading this post here
By Bill October 12th, 2010
The software we use to bring this site to you counts how many times a search is made using the same keywords. One of the most common searches is caregiver guilt. Caring for elderly parents is stressful, exhausting, time-consuming, often frustrating, frightening, and often thankless. So, we need guilt?
Well, it seems that guilt is part of elder caregiving. After all, the aging parent is old, sick, weak, and dying. We are from a culture that solves problems, fixes things. Our loved ones most often can’t be fixed, and then they die. So, guilt.
We were long-distance caregivers for Frank when he lived in Florida. We had a geriatric case manager who did a fine job, and we visited as often as we could and stayed in touch. One thing we all missed …
Continue reading this post here
|
|
