Filtered tag: Family Caregivers

You have a looming deadline at work and your mother keeps calling because your father has fallen yet again. You are notified by your mother’s housing provider to find immediate overnight care due to your mother’s dementia and wandering at night time. You are for late for work due to taking your Dad to this… Read more…

My Dad is 95 years old and honestly, some days I can’t believe he is still alive. I’m his only daughter and caregiver. I’ve been looking after him for 4 years now. In those years, we’ve had pneumonia, a broken hip and a stroke. What I’ve really learned is there are always unexpected challenges. I… Read more…

In the past few months, Family Caregivers of BC received numerous calls from individuals asking about how to hire private care, through an agency or an independent care provider. Most cases we come across involve care for the elderly. Hiring private care is sometimes an option in other cases involving other disease specific illnesses or… Read more…

Join me and the fantastic Jodie McDonald, Executive Director for the Cowichan Valley Caregivers Support Society, for our final live Coach Caregiver session of the year, next Thursday, Dec. 15th at 6:30pm. Wearing my Family Caregivers of BC hat, Jodie and I will answer your caregiving questions drawing on tips learned from recent webinars –… Read more…

“Sure Mom, I’ll help.” As soon as I spoke the words, my internal thought was, “I do not have time or energy for this! Why did I agree to help?” Sometimes we just say yes automatically. We feel emotionally tied to a situation or we feel an enormous amount of guilt and before we even think what… Read more…

I wrote this article for Inspired Senior Living as part of my ongoing work with the Family Caregivers of British Columbia. I can’t encourage readers enough to use this amazing provincial resource on family caregiving, as well as being able to talk to someone about how best to care for someone without losing yourself and… Read more…

Did you know that family caregivers provide upwards of 80% of care and support for aging parents or spouses? Phew! That’s a lot of time and energy. When I was seven months pregnant, my father had a massive stroke. The next few months were like a rollercoaster as our family struggled with the many difficult… Read more…

There are some people you meet in life that you remember for a lifetime and who always bring a smile when you think of them.  This is always the case with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson.  Last night I was out having a beer with a colleague and our conversation found its way to our work… Read more…

An African proverb says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Most of us are able to go fast from time to time. We can push the boundaries of our energy and burn the candle at both ends. Then once the urgency is over, we return… Read more…

Recently, I listened to an interesting interview on death and the fear of dying on CBC’s The Current and the emergence of the Death Café, which are popping up in as many as 35 different countries. Given the work that I do, it shouldn’t be no surprise that I think about death frequently. I also… Read more…