Aging

When You Witness Cognitive Decline, Step in with Respect

Dear Carol: My mom and I have always had a good relationship, and I’ve admired her sharp brain and great humor. She was a...

Hospital Delirium: Cognitive Decline After Hospitalization

In the expected course of treatment, people are hospitalized because they are ill. Then, barring a terminal condition, they are released because they are...

Balancing Elder Care with Other Relationships

Becoming a family caregiver is often something that either happens very suddenly or slowly sneaks up on a person. When a loved one has...

When One Parent Dies the Other Often Needs a Long-Term Care Plan

Long-term marriages generally evolve into a support system so efficient that even adult children hardly notice changes in their parents. If Dad’s hearing is...

Reconciling Grief & Relief When the Loved One You Cared for Dies

When my mother died in a local nursing home, my “career” of visiting this exceptional facility nearly every day for almost 15 years ended....

Cognitive Decline After Illness Common, but Check Medications, Too

Dear Carol: Until about six months ago, my mom, 93, was as cognitively sharp as ever. Unfortunately, she was hospitalized for several days for...

Caregiver Burnout is Best Prevented Since Recovery Is Hard on Everyone

Dear Carol: My mom, age 79, has had steadily declining health for several years. Arthritis is a genetic problem in my family, so pain...

5 Questions to Determine the Impact of Caregiving

Are you prepared to take on the responsibility of caring for a family member? Will you be able to handle the commitment of moving...

New Caregivers: Tips on Caring for Elderly Parents

I have interacted with countless professional and informal caregivers over the years, and I’ve noticed two prominent patterns that characterized my own experiences and...