Each time a friend or acquaintance experiences an illness or death in the family, I go through the same thought process. When should I call? What should I offer? Will I intrude? What it really comes down to is this: I should stop dithering around and just do something — just about anything, really — to demonstrate … Continue reading
Filed under aging parents …
Incidence Versus Prevalence: What’s the Difference?
In June 2013 I listened to a PBS News Hour segment about valley fever. A fungus, Coccidioides (often called simply “cocci”) lives in soil in the southwestern United States as well as in Central and South America, and it causes valley fever. In the U.S the cases occur primarily in California and Arizona deserts and parts of several … Continue reading
Detached Retina-PVR: A Low Vision Specialist’s Huge Tape Tip
I’ve always thought of myself as a cup-half-full person. Just about any time that something hard or challenging occurs, I’m out there trying to help solve the problem or at least make things better. My continuing retinal detachments (a.k.a. proliferative vitreoretinopathy or PVR) together with oil that may never be removed from my eye, have … Continue reading
GPS in Shoes: A Product that Makes Sense and Helps People
Take a look at an article, George Mason Professor Champions Shoes with GPS Tracking, that describes how Professor Andrew Carle developed the idea of using GPS chips in the shoes of older adults who tend to wander because of brain diseases. According to the Washington Post report Professor Carle contacted a shoe company that produces GPS children’s shoes … Continue reading
Aging With Commitment and Good-Bye Pete Seeger
When we look around at elders, it’s interesting (and a bit awesome) to observe many engaged and committed people leading rich lives for as long as they live — and often despite fairly daunting physical difficulties. I usually think of my parents who use their energy to help others and solve problems in the world, … Continue reading
The View from Inside an Assisted Living Community
We hear a lot about assisted living communities these days. If we need to learn more, we check out glossy brochures that describe each place in considerable and colorful detail. Sometimes we visit the community for a meal or to participate in a special event. What we don’t see when we help a family member … Continue reading
Watch Out for Unexpected Recurring Charges on a Parent’s Credit Card
Over dinner at my parents’ house recently my mother commented that a recurring charge appeared on her Mastercard statement every month for at least a year. “I have no idea what it is,” she said. She had been checking her bills and was unsure about what to do. I looked at the bill and sure … Continue reading
Aging Parent Hospitalizations and Observation Status
Just when you think that you have settled the most significant adult child-aging parent issues — when you and your parents have spoken about medical care support, finances, and the range of their end-of-life wishes — along comes another concern to worry about, and it’s one that may be completely out of our control. We … Continue reading
Some Retirees Are Starting Businesses
Those of us edging closer to retirement may be in for some surprises. We may discover that some of our friends and colleagues are thinking less about taking it easy in their later years and more about using the time to start a business. A Bloomberg Personal Finance article, Older Americans Shun Retirement at 65 … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age — 2013 Reviewed
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. About 50,000 visitors checked out this blog in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 18 sold-out performances for that many … Continue reading
Detached Retina: Understanding that My Eye Won’t Ever Be the Same
Any time a person goes through a big change in life, a seminal event usually occurs to make that individual recognize that the change is becoming a normal part of life — permanent even. The seminal event in my right eye detached retina saga occurred a few days ago at a regular appointment with my … Continue reading
How Does Your Life Resemble a Millennial’s Life?
If you are an older adult or an adult child, you probably know at least one millennial family member who was born in 1981 or later. Millennials are digital natives, born into a world that is markedly different from the world in which we all grew up. So when it comes to life, they also have … Continue reading
Dad’s New iPad: How We Decided What to Buy – iPad for Dad #25
I finally figured out what iPad model to purchase for my 90-year-old dad as a Christmas 2013 present, and I thought I’d share my decision-making process here, just in case others are dealing with the same conundrum. My mom is under strict instructions to keep him away from this blog (he is a regular reader) … Continue reading
Pneumonia Vaccinaton Makes a Difference
Aging parents and elders need to get a flu shot each year, and they also need to receive a pneumonia vaccination. And just about everyone else does, too. Each fall I ask my parents about their flu shots (You can also read the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s influenza FAQ), and each year, by the … Continue reading
Nelson Mandela: Courage and Leadership in His Elder Years
I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Nelson Mandela over the past several days. Since he died last Friday (December 6, 2013), I’ve considered especially the moral courage he demonstrated during his 95 years as well as his ability to work with and lead others even as he aged into his elder (and elder, elder) years … Continue reading
Detached Retina: Another Vitrectomy Treating My PVR
I’ve just returned to the hospital for another surgery on my right eye. My retina condition has a name — proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) — which basically means that, so far, my retina keeps detaching. When I last reported on my detached retina issues, I explained how oil was placed into my eye to hold the retina in place. … Continue reading
Keeping Elders Out of Hospitals as Much as Possible
Anyone who has spent time with an elder parent in the hospital knows just how easy it is for one problem to be solved only to have the person discharged with different problems. This is not necessarily the fault of the medical caregivers or the hospital itself — it’s a result of a system that … Continue reading
Low Sodium Thanksgiving – Third Year
I am reprising this post from two years ago when I cooked my first low-sodium Thanksgiving dinner — attending to sodium because of my father’s congestive heart failure diet requirements. Most preparations are staying the same, though I am dividing the stuffing this year into two parts. The first half I will prepare in a … Continue reading
A Better Old Age: U Mich Public Health Magazine Theme
The other day when I picked up a copy of Findings, the alumni magazine of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, I discovered that the entire fall 2013 issue focuses on how to age well and improve old age. My husband is a Michigan alumnus, but the magazine is freely available as an … Continue reading
When to Start Social Security?
When we offer any kind of support to aging parents, we learn quite a bit about Social Security along the way. One thing we discover is information about the various retirement ages that qualify for benefit payments. If other adult children are anything like me, they begin to think about their retirement years ahead and … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 