Families Caring Together

Donald and Kathryn lived many miles apart – Donald in Missouri and Kathryn in Virginia. Their parents were in their eighties and in failing health: mom with physical decline that necessitated placement in a skilled nursing facility; dad in the early stages of Alzheimer’s Disease and still living in the family home. Kathryn lived just several miles from their parents and, thus, bore the main res…

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Peaceful Living (Joan Watson)

Clearly it is desirable for our overall health to maintain a peaceful existence. Living in peace, an outward and inward process, involves living harmoniously with yourself, others, and all beings around you. Unfortunately, a completely peaceful environment isn’t always likely in today’s world--stress finds us, accidents happen, diseases appear, relationships can be challenging, and social justice elu…

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End of Life Caregiving

Embed from Getty Images It doesn’t happen much anymore in our modern era of automobiles and public transit, but in the “olden days” one would often walk a companion to his or her home…Walking someone home allowed the opportunity to give protection and guidance to the destined dwelling place…Sometimes this walking was done mostly in silence. Sometimes there was much talking going on. In any event, th…

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Inflammation (Joan Watson)

Inflammation is the new “buzz word” in the health care literature. When you hear the word, inflammation, you probably think of redness and burning around a cut or insect bite, or a swollen join, or tenderness around an injury, or even the pain of a broken bone. This reaction is acute inflammation, the good kind, which protects and heals the body after injury or infection. Known as the inf…

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Let's Talk

Joan Rivers often began her comedy routine with the comment, “Let’s talk…” Often that is how caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s Disease and related dementias try to communicate with their loved ones. Unfortunately, though, sometimes those for whom we offer care can no longer use words, or are living in a reality that isn’t ours. As Alzheimer’s Disease, for example, progresses the ability to talk diminish…

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