What Are We Going To Do With Dad?
What Are We Going To Do With Dad? Writing in Health Affairs, Geriatrician Jerald Winakur looks at the “vast inland sea of elders” that is building and wonders where the doctors will come from to care for them. Writing as the son of an eighty-six-year-old man with dementia, Winakur also details the nitty-gritty of caring for an increasingly debilitated parent. In both of his roles—loving son and highly skilled professional—he is hard pressed to alter a course that punishes his dad and tears at his family. Even as medical science extends life, the future seen through his eyes is fraught with clinical and moral quandaries.
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In Early Alzheimer's, When to Give Up the Car Keys
It’s one of a family’s most wrenching decisions, and as Alzheimer’s increasingly is diagnosed in its earliest stages, it can be hard to tell when a loved one is poised to become a danger
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Doctors overiding end of life counseling see benefit in current controversy
…physicians who work with patients on end-of-life planning say, that while they are surprised and upset about criticism of the proposal, it has brought needed attention to what they view as a long under-funded and overlooked service.
Years Later, Divorce Complicates Caregiving
Years after parents split, their children may wind up helping to sustain two households instead of one, and those households can be across town or across the country.
http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/10/years-later-divorce-complicates-caregiving/
When Your Loved One Resists Care
How many times has your mother refused to change her clothes? Has your father resisted getting out of bed? Has your wife pushed you away when you tried to brush her teeth? Many times a caregiver will be particularly frustrated by her loved one’s refusal to help himself.
http://www.ec-online.net/Knowledge/Articles/resistance.html
Management of Agitation Behavior
One of the greatest impacts on quality of life for families and their loved ones with Alzheimer’s Disease is the presence of agitation behavior in the middle stages of the disease process.
http://www.ec-online.net/Knowledge/Articles/agitation.htm
11th Commandment – Don't Parent your Parent
The original ten commandments are divided into the 5 shalts and the 5 shalt nots. One of them is clearly related to caregiving: Honor they father and mother. However, there seems to be considerable psychological confusion about how to do this, which has led to lots of articles and even a few books about a term that brings fear into the hearts of many caregivers: “Parenting your parent.”
http://www.ec-online.net/knowledge/Articles/11thcommandment.html
Communicating With Impaired Elderly Persons
Communication with a mentally or physically impaired person can be a difficult and frustrating task, but good communication skills can prevent catastrophic reactions.
http://www.ec-online.net/Knowledge/articles/communication.html
80% of Caregivers Report Strain on Their Marriages
Eighty percent of baby boomers caring for an aging parent say that it has put a strain on their marriage. This insight is one of many garnered from a new research study conducted by Caring.com to measure the impact of caregiving on spousal relationships.
http://www.caring.com/about/news-room/press-release-caregiver-marital-stress.html
Demystifying Your Aging Parents' New Stage of Life
Those of us who are caring for elderly parents are often bewildered by the decisions they make — and by their seemingly stubborn refusal to follow our advice. We shake our heads over their obsession with the past, their caution, and the glacial pace with which they make decisions and move through the world.
http://www.caring.com/articles/communicating-with-elderly-parents
