Resources

I recently received a late-night phone call from a friend whose mother was in hospital after a fall. Needless to say, there was panic and uncertainty in her voice. I started asking some questions around the severity of her mom’s fall, if she was being admitted to hospital, and the physician’s diagnosis and possible treatment.… Read more…

One of the main reasons family members take on the role of caregiver is because they love their aging loved ones and they want to help them with a better life and prolonged independence. Sometimes though, the rewards of caregiving are outweighed by the stress, physical and emotional work, which invariably leads to burnout. How… Read more…

  Coming home for the holidays is for many caregivers a very joyous and special time. For some adult children, this visit might represent the first opportunity in several months or a year to personally interact with their aging loved ones. Most long distance caregivers rely on regular telephone conversations or by keeping in close… Read more…

  The joy that accompanies the holidays can often feel absent from the halls of a residential care facility or in a widowed grandparent’s home. Our aging loved ones can often feel more lonely or isolated as a result of changes in their senses, memory loss, illness or a loss of mobility. Visiting around the… Read more…

I’ve developed a new philosophy… I only dread one day at a time.” — Charlie Brown For caregivers, the holidays are often a particularly stressful time of year. Coming face to face with the changes in their loved one’s life is hard enough. Add in gift buying, decorating and entertaining on top of caregiving responsibilities… Read more…

When I was 34 years old, my Nana Cumming died after very slow death from Alzheimer’s disease. I was 36 weeks pregnant at the time and was unable to travel back to Ontario. In many ways, I said “goodbye” a long time ago. I remember grieving most when her dementia was progressing and she was… Read more…

It’s time to finish up the “Seniors Housing” series by reviewing options in the Comox Valley. The Comox Valley has a variety of housing choices depending on care needs and available monthly income. Independent Living or Retirement communities or housing geared at seniors (usually 55 years and over) are intended for seniors who do not… Read more…

It’s always hard for me to recover from Thanksgiving — the roast turkey, our special sourdough stuffing, the ooey-gooey sweet yam dish, and the calorie-laden pumpkin pie. The combination of extra poundage and the lagging effects of tryptophan make it oh-so-difficult to extricate myself from the couch. If it weren’t for my four-year-old daughter, I… Read more…

Understanding seniors’ housing options is pretty complicated stuff. From all the clients I work with, it is by far the most complex issue we deal with. Last week we introduced the idea of how to assess the type of housing best for you or your loved one.x. I actually want to take a step back… Read more…

“Are you part of the solution or just ALL of the problem?” My mother’s spin on an African proverb packed the same punch around our household and quickly shut down any whining and complaining. It’s easy to spot the problems. Solutions, on the other, require us to work (usually harder than we want to!). Busy… Read more…