My Dad now uses his iPad keyboard to write on the yellow note pad multiple times each day. Sometimes he just writes, but at other times he taps the letter icon and send his writing off, via e-mail, to a family member or friend. I have received a number of these compositions and get a thrill … Continue reading
Posted by Marti Weston …
Aging Parents: After a Stroke – Taking Prescribed Medications
If you find this post interesting you may want to read Aging Parents and Medications and Thoughts on Medications and Seniors, Part I. Anyone with a stroke survivor in the family knows how many details caregivers attend to immediately after the event. Coordinating many medications and rehabilitation services, as well as trying to surmise the extent … Continue reading
Losing Adult Friends: In Memoriam
Part of growing into the role of adult child is understanding that life, with all its excitement, adventure, and power, is tenuous and eventually ends. I have no fear and do not spend much time thinking about this, but as one loses parents and starts moving toward the a role in the senior generation, these … Continue reading
Aging Parents: Senior Caregivers and iPads
Check out the August 3, 2010 ElderGadget posting on senior caregivers and potential iPad uses. As Our Parents Age has been featuring the iPad for Dad series over the past four months so other iPad information is always interesting. Many people are interested in Dad’s iPad, so it is easy to understand just how much might … Continue reading
Medicare Doughnut (Donut) Hole: $250 Sent Automatically
According to an August 10, 2010 press announcement from the Department of Health and Human Services, more than 750,000 rebate checks for $250 have already been mailed to Medicare beneficiaries who have already entered the doughnut hole this year because of prescription costs. Adult children need to be sure that a parent reaching the doughnut … Continue reading
In the Hospital: Does Anyone Know What’s Happening?
When you or a family member has been in the hospital, do you know the names of the physicians who visit or the exact names of prescribed medications? Have you been informed of the side effects that might occur? Apparently a lot of people — physicians and patients — perceive things differently according to interesting … Continue reading
Calcium Supplements? To Take or Not to Take?
Calcium supplements are a part of a daily regimen for many aging parents and for adult children. Most of these adults take calcium supplements to build stronger bones and avoid osteoporosis. However, new peer-reviewed research suggests that the benefits of taking calcium may be outweighed by increased risk of cardiovascular events. The July 29th edition … Continue reading
Bloomberg News Features iPad for Dad!
… and other seniors, too. In an August 5, 2010 article, This Is Your Grandfather’s iPad as Japan Elderly Embrace Apple, two Bloomberg News reporters, Pavel Alpeyev and Yoshinori Eki, mention the As Our Parent Age iPad for Dad series. The piece has an international focus, describing how the iPad is becoming popular with seniors in Japan, … Continue reading
Hospice: More Days to Say “We Love You”
Thank you hospice. Since reading Dr. Atul Gwande’s New Yorker Magazine article, Letting Go, a piece that describes the end of life (see my recent posting about this article), I’ve been thinking a lot about our hospice experience with a program in Northern Virginia. For some time I’ve wanted to write about those four months, … Continue reading
Andy Griffith Likes Medicare Too
Andy Griffith, of timeless Mayberry fame, stars in a new video celebrating the 45th birthday of Medicare, today, July 30, 2010. On this date in 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare into law. Griffith, now 84 years old, shares his enthusiasm for Medicare and for the upcoming improvements that will occur over the next several … Continue reading
iPad for Dad, #12 – Adding a Keyboard!
I strongly recommend adding a keyboard to a senior parent’s iPad if typing is important! Dad thinks it’s a “game changer.” Over the past three months he’s used his iPad in a variety of ways, but when he wants to type more than a word or two, he is frustrated by the iPad’s touch keyboard. I … Continue reading
End-of-Life Decisions: Article by Dr. Atul Gawande
Dr. Atul Gawande has done it again — writing another compelling and riveting article that everyone will be talking about in the coming weeks. It can be downloaded at The New Yorker website. In Letting Go, published in the August 2, 2010, issue of The New Yorker Magazine, he examines how people make end-of-life decisions and how … Continue reading
Senior Parents: What a Difference a Word Makes
Words matter, especially words that describe people who are aging. In every day conversation, disrespectful phrases such as “old people” or “old folks,” are commonly used. My parents and many of their friends detest these comments. This week I listened to a podcast of a panel discussion, produced by a well-known media outlet, and buried … Continue reading
Education and Dementia Risk
New dementia research conducted at the University of Cambridge finds that the brains of people with more education appear to be better equipped to deal with the effects of dementia. The announcement from the university reviews a number of past brain research results that connect education level with dementia, and then describes the new research appearing … Continue reading
Good-bye Daniel Schorr
Daniel Schorr died yesterday at age 93. In addition to being an amazing newsperson for more than 65 years, he also set an example for all of us — aging parents and adult children — who want to stay engaged and keep working long past traditional retirement age. Schorr experienced occasional health issues, and Scott … Continue reading
Mom and Me: Thoughts on Marginalization and Aging
From Mom to Me As we age, we are treated differently, make no mistake about it, but until I felt it myself, it never rang true. In my professional life, from time to time I observed how people are marginalized – individuals with mental illness, immigrants, international students, people of color. Now, after years in … Continue reading
Introducing… My Mom and Me: Two Perspectives
Tomorrow I will upload the first in a series of posts featuring a dialogue between my mother and me on a variety of topics that relate to aging, senior parents, and adult children. Mom and I often talk about aging issues, occasionally heatedly. Sometimes our initial perspectives diverge, but the longer we talk, the more … Continue reading
Great Review – Passages of Caregiving
Read the thoughtful review of Gail Sheehy’s book, Passages of Caregiving, at the Life With Father blog. Chuck’s writing is engaging and evocative as he describes merging caregiving responsibilities with the rest of his life. He doesn’t write often, so I regularly check and recheck my feeds, hoping for a new post.
End-of-Life: Another Form!
In the July 18, 2010 New Old Age Blog Paula Span reports on yet another form we need to fill out if we want the most control at the end of our lives. Her article, A Final Prescription describes the POLST form, though the name may be different from state-to-state. A individual completes this form … Continue reading
iPad for Dad, #11 – Dictionary.com
If you like this post, read some of the other descriptions of our Father/Daughter iPad for Dad adventures – iPad for Dad, #1, iPad for Dad, #2, iPad for Dad, #3, iPad for Dad, #4, iPad for Dad, #5, iPad for Dad, #6, iPad for Dad, #7, iPad for Dad, #8, iPad for Dad, #9, iPad for Dad, #10, iPad for Dad, #11, iPad … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 