For weeks I’ve been intending to post a link to A Sharper Mind, Middle Age and Beyond, a New York Times article that appeared on January 19, 2012. The article, by Patricia Cohen, addresses mental fitness of people as they age and examines the reasons that brain power changes as people grow older. Especially interesting … Continue reading
Posted in February 2012 …
Mothers, Daughters, and Aging
“Mother-daughter. Daughter-mother. With aging parents, the lines blur in ways that make you question everything you know about yourself,” writes Washington Post reporter Tracy Grant in her February 22, 2011 Momspeak column. If you are an adult daughter with a strong and confident mom, this introduction not only rings true — it also makes you … Continue reading
Art in a Hospital? Does it Help with Healing?
Read this short Detroit News article, Saint. Joseph Mercy Oakland Enhancing Hospital Environment, appearing in the paper on March 22, 2012. Not only does this hospital currently display art on its walls, but it is now seeking art to purchase or commission to become a permanent part of the new South Patient Tower, currently under construction. … Continue reading
The Over-Medicalization of Aging
At what point, as we age, do we become accepting of aches and pains –aging that is — and stop thinking about rushing to a physician all of the time? How do we decide whether or not to fix a problem if it has more to do with the later years of our life than … Continue reading
Duplicate Discharge Orders for Elderly Seniors to Adult Child
In this day of electronic medical records, EMR’s for short, why can’t a hospital with an e-mail or fax number on file send off a copy of the discharge orders to the adult child designated by the elder parent? Given that the private sector has figured out a way to help adult children keep track … Continue reading
More Men are Becoming Caregivers
The Chicago Tribune has a story today (Valentine’s Day, 2012) about men who are caring for family members. In The Increasing Male Face of Caregiving Doug Wyman, who is semi-retired from a career in sales and marketing, explains how he assists his wife, who has Alzheimer’s disease. The couple has been married for 63 years. … Continue reading
Making Choices that Lower the Count: Low Sodium Diet #IX:
If you liked this post consider reading my other posts on decreasing sodium in our diets. Aging Parents, Disease of Aging, and Sodium – Low Sodium Diet: Seniors Get Started in their Eighties – Hospital Cafeteria with No Low Sodium Options – Making Sense of Sodium Labels and Numbers – Five Lessons Learned About Cutting … Continue reading
Different Falls – Different Interventions
If you have aging parents who falls — and recently one of my parents took a spill — read the article about senior falling in the September 2010 Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. Mobilize Boston, the organization that conducted the research stated on its website that, “The purpose of the study is to collect information that will … Continue reading
Helping Parents Stay Out of a Nursing Home?
The Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times recently published an instructive article explaining in detail what adult children can do to help our parents stay out of nursing homes. Written by Karen Ravn, the article suggests focusing on nine specific issues that make an enormous difference in the safety and security of a senior parent’s home environment — … Continue reading
Dementia Reality Tour
An article in the San Jose Mercury News describes a multi-sensory experience that simulates the perceptions and struggles of a person suffering from dementia. In Santa Clara ‘Dementia Reality Tour’ Shows What It’s Like to Live with the Affliction, Mercury News reporter Helen Shen describes how the simulation asks caregivers to complete routine activities of daily living (ADLs) … Continue reading
Middle Age, Senior Years, Elder Years, REPEAT or RERUN
My husband and I are empty nesters. Over these past few years, as blog readers know, we helped to support his parents, now deceased. These days we regularly touch base with my parents by phone and in person as often as possible, and though they are currently independent and active, at times they welcome our … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 