Tagged with aging parents …

My Mother (Mom)

I spoke on the phone with my mother tonight. What an amazing woman! Besides being one of the Obama super-volunteers in the Shenandoah Valley last year, she is active in politics, a book club, and church, and she is always ready to get in touch with a Congressperson or Senator about an important issue (right now … Continue reading →

Helplessness and Aging

Watching all four, now only two of our senior parents over the past ten years, I’ve been intrigued that a certain amount of helplessness seems to surface when they encounter the medical system. When a person becomes ill or develops a chronic condition, the medical world usually goes into high gear. This is especially true … Continue reading →

Technology and Seniors: Practice Makes It Easier

If you are an aging child and you have parents who use or want to use computers, check out this great web site. The Senior’s Guide to Computers, run and updated by Jeff Mayer, features wide-ranging advice, ideas, illustrations, tutorials, and much more. His explanations are in simple plain English, and it’s possible to choose … Continue reading →

Caregivers: Looking Back, Giving Back

We were fortunate to have people and places who helped us care for my husband’s mother. During the last year of mother’s life, things were intense, and sometimes we wished that we could be taken care of, too. Choosing to help with mother’s care and to have her near us, especially before she needed substantial … Continue reading →

Mother’s Memorial Service

Other Posts Relating to Remembrances:  After a Parent’s Death: Obituaries and Remembrances,  After a Parent’s Death: Writing a Remembrance, Part II,    After a Parent’s Death: Writing a Remembrance, Part I Our goal was to plan a memorial service that celebrated the life of my husband’s mother. As she was two months shy of her … Continue reading →

Overcompensating After a Parent Dies

We are now in the second week after the death of my husband’s mother. The two of us are taking it easy and accomplishing the most important tasks. Also, we are breathing a bit easier because Mother is no longer in such extreme discomfort. The last few weeks were tough for her. However, I’ve noticed … Continue reading →

After Death Details, Part I: Grief

Grief … It has been a week since my husband’s mother died. We miss her, though we are glad she is not in the extreme discomfort that she experienced at the end. We’ve laughed and we’ve cried, more of the former, because she lived a long and rich life. Saying goodbye takes time. Photograph albums … Continue reading →

Senior Adults and Falling

From the November 11, 2009  New York Times in an article by Steve Lohr … “FALLS are so harmful to the elderly and so costly to society that if falling were a disease it  be deemed an epidemic.” Almost every week or so an over 70-year-old acquaintance or friend falls. According to the Centers for … Continue reading →

How We Speak to Seniors

I’d love to know how many seniors are truly hard of hearing. I’ll bet the percentage is higher than the general population, but not that high. I ask this question because I’ve discovered that when people speak to seniors — in clinics, at hospitals, in stores, at the library, but especially in medical settings — … Continue reading →

Going to the Emergency Room/Hospital With an Elder Parent

With all of our national health problems and the extreme  burdens on hospital emergency departments, when very old senior citizens visit they require special care.  Their bodies, attention spans, and fearfulness cause extreme disorientation after a short time in an emergency facility. Disorientation occurs quickly.  I’ve now observed this several times now with several parents. … Continue reading →