Filtered tag: Aging Loved One

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…

What is Caregier Burnout? At first most caregivers accept their new role as caregiver with a sense of idealism, hope and eagerness to do well. As time goes on fatigue may set in, disappointments and frustrations can and do occur. Caregiver burnout or compassion fatigue is a sense of being completely overwhelmed and unrewarded (Carter,… Read more…

Thank you to Steve Hill, Pastoral Care Chaplain at St. Joseph’s Hospital, for bringing his expertise and knowledge on coping with grief. My fingerprint is unique. So is yours. I cope with grief in my way, in my time. So do you. And, that’s OK. I have found helpful wisdom in an old Latin phrase,… Read more…

  Unpaid caregivers, which are typically family but also include friends and neighbours remain an invisible pillar in B.C. health care system and yet make up over 25 per cent of our population. Canadian statistics on caregiving paint a very clear picture — “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when you… Read more…

There are days where being in denial is better than coming face to face with reality. Like when your child is so misbehaved in the grocery store, you actually believe this small evil person is not your next of kin and you start looking for the mother with the rest of the passersby. Or when… Read more…

Are you among the one million family caregivers in B.C.? May 8 to May 14 is Family Caregiver Week this year. Raising awareness of this societal phenomenon is crucial. The latest statistics show that at least one in four Canadians are caring for someone they love. Of those family caregivers, over a third are also… Read more…

  One of my favourite cartoons shows a man lying down on a couch in a therapist’s office. The therapist is taking notes. The man says to the therapist, “I love my Dad but he is really difficult to talk to. By the way, are you going to bill me full price for this session,… Read more…

It’s hard for me to get used to these changing times. I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty.” – George Burns A grandson is excitedly showing his grandfather his new phone and says, “These phones are so cool Grampy; they don’t have any buttons.” The grandfather reminisces and tells his… Read more…

“I feel like I’m the parent now and my mother is the child” is a statement I hear by many a worried and stressed out caregiver caring for an ailing parent. When my father had his first of three strokes, a defining moment in how he was cared for is forever etched in memory. We… Read more…

  It’s 5:30 pm on a Monday and I’m interrupted from a Board Meeting by a colleague. She says, “It’s your brother from Toronto calling.” The conversation is choppy. It’s Dad. He’s had a massive stroke. Don’t fly home. He was a candidate for surgery and is recovering in hospital. He should be fine. My… Read more…