Is it okay to feel angry? Is it okay to occasionally hate the person I’m caring for? What did I do...
Category: Caregiving 101
Essential information for caregivers on a wide range of topics.
My father had dementia and I was his caregiver. Here’s what I wish I had known
In 2007, I was suddenly plunged into the role of caregiver for my then 75-year-old father, who had...
Moving Is a Monumental Task for Many Older Americans. These Organizers Can Help.
“It’s not just packing and unpacking,” Ms. Buysse said. “It’s working with the clients and the...
Scientists Warn of A “Friendship Recession” — I’m Part of It
I’m thirsty for friends. It’s embarrassing. I’m far too old to be courting acquaintances like some...
The question of a funeral
Our social worker and child life specialists speak to the patients and parents, informing them of...
With Flowers
I’ve tried to tell this story before. Let me try again. This time with flowers. My mother died on...
Your Suffering (Probably) Comes From This False Belief
I was trying to influence a situation outside my control by staying awake. I could not prevent my...
A Field Guide to the Abeyance of Loss
Claudia cannot choose the path her life is taking. Neuromyelitis optica directs her, making life...
5 Women On the Realities of Caregiving for a Sick Partner
When someone else gets sick like that—someone you love—it can mean a complete overhaul of what...
Just journal your pain away
To be sure, at worst, self-reflection and quiet time never hurt anybody, so on its surface, these...
The Agony of Putting Your Life on Hold to Care for Your Parents
Randi Schofield tried her best to not dwell on all the ways her life changed, on the pieces of...
Can I get paid to be a family caregiver in Canada?
Family caregivers make many sacrifices to support their loved ones. While provincial health...
I Took Over My Father’s Finances at 25. The Lessons Were Hard-Won.
Six years ago, I took over my father’s finances. ... I was 25 and had just moved in with my...
Being disabled is my future
People call me codependent. If you combined and then divided me and my partner in half, you might...
How to Embalm Yourself Before You’re Dead
Since Mother’s death, I’ve been mothering Dad the way I’ve always wanted to be mothered. I learned...
Older spouses struggle to care for loved ones with dementia
It's been nearly four years since Russ Kellogg's wife, Frances, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's...
Provincial funding programs should allow immediate family to be paid caregivers
Vancouver resident Evan Brunelle was approved for WorkSafeBC's Self Managed Personal Care (SMPC)...
Why Siblings Are The Forgotten Caregivers
When Katie MacDonald bought a new home in Brantford, Ont., this past spring, one of her main...
How to Deal with Irrational Elderly Parents
Some of the approaches for responding to regular aging parents apply to irrational ones too, while...
Frontotemporal dementia: ‘I don’t ever want to be looked at by John as a caregiver, I want him to see me as his partner’
Cindy McCaffery provides support to her husband John who was diagnosed with frontotemporal...
Saving Friends: What I’ve Learned from Insufferable Patients
How we conceive of autonomy, goodness, and justice (or their absence) serves as a fulcrum to...
The Alzheimer’s Crisis in Indian Country
Alzheimer’s is on the rise across all Americans over 65, with one in nine people in that age...
Dinner with Proust: how Alzheimer’s caregivers are pulled into their patients’ worlds
In her mid-70s, Ida began showing signs of Alzheimer’s. Her decline was gradual. She experienced...
Disability needs a new story
Disability typically is understood as the problem of a selected group of individuals who meet a...