Grief

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Why Caregivers Shouldn’t Feel Guilty About Calling Hospice

A billboard in my city carries a simple message: “Most families say, ‘Why did we wait so long to call hospice?’ “ When I...

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Siblings Who Feel Shut Out of Caregiving

There’s a great deal of anger in the world of family caregiving over siblings who don’t help care for their aging parents. Very often,...

Family Disagrees about Moving Widowed Mom Weeks After Husband’s Death

Dear Carol: Dad died two weeks ago at 89 years of age. Mom is 87 and has what they think is early-stage Alzheimer’s. She’s...

Woman in an outside setting crying into her hands

Is It Normal to Grieve Before Someone Dies?

Nearly everyone involved in caring for an ill or aging loved one is experiencing some degree of grief. However, we don’t usually identify the...

Music-Thanatology: Providing Harmony at the End of Life

The mission of hospice providers is to help people live their last months or weeks of life in the most comfortable, dignified, and satisfying...

Loving Yourself: A Caregiver’s Ultimate Challenge

We’ve all heard that we must first learn to love ourselves before we can love others. Yet, many of us have grown up with...

Life As a Caregiver: How to Make Tough Care Decisions

Many of us feel honored to provide care for our aging parents or ill spouses, but this honor can also present serious challenges. Even...

Respecting the Right to Age with Dignity

The impact of aging frequently makes the news. Sadly, the coverage is consistently negative, and all facets of this topic are portrayed as “problems” that...

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...