Marilyn is 55 years old, works part-time in retail and has two teens at home. She currently cares for her partner who has chronic pain and a brain injury from a motor vehicle accident. She feels like the “linchpin” in her family and is the case manager for her partner and for her two children. […]
Are you a healthy caregiver?
Many caregivers understand the importance of caring for themselves and, yet, in another breath, say things like, “I feel overwhelmed,” “I’m stressed out,” “I’m too busy to eat, let alone find time to stay healthy,” and “There are so many things to do, how do I make time for myself?”
The Value of Peer Support
By Wendy Johnstone “New to the caregiver support group, I was so nervous and skeptical about attending. My doctor suggested I give it a try. They were all strangers to me; I wasn’t sure if I wanted to open up about my wife’s disease. As I walked to my car after the meeting, I felt […]
Summer Holidays
By Wendy Johnstone It’s that time again – summer holidays – and for myself that means a week long cycling trip in Oregon to recharge my batteries. Yes, this week’s column on caregivers taking holidays is a bit of a “re-run” from last summer. In my defense, I would argue some information is worth repeating […]
Balancing Work and Caregiving
You have a looming deadline at work and your mother is 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. When you arrive late for work after taking your dad to his medical appointment, […]
Caregiving: Unexpected Changes
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 […]
Family caregiving and work: find out if help is available
Can you imagine trying to meet your work commitments while fulfilling your caregiving responsibilities? Maybe you already are. If so, you’re definitely not alone.
Not another article on gratitude!
With Thanksgiving upon us, it seems rather predictable that our blog should be about gratitude. Perhaps you’re feeling a bit cynical or shaking your head, thinking to yourself, “Here we go again, another article telling me to be grateful for all that I have or for simple pleasures. They have no idea what’s its like to […]
Boundary setting for family caregivers
“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 […]
Taking Mom Home
Featured this month in Inspired Senior Living, this is the story of a family honouring their mother by finding a creative way to to support the people they are caring for with alternate housing arrangements and the outdoors. Read it here.