It can be hard to notice gradual changes in your aging loved one’s health and behavior when you see them every day. But keeping an eye out for these changes—perhaps spending a few minutes to take daily caregiver notes—could catch health insecurities before they decline further. This includes paying attention to unintentional weight loss, which […]
Continue ReadingSpring brings with it a spirit of renewal. It acts as a reminder that we can all start fresh again every year, no matter how young or old we may be. This renewal happens around us no matter what: trees are waking up again, flowers are blooming, birds and other creatures are making themselves known. […]
Continue ReadingWhen you’re a kid and your parents make you brush your teeth, you often meet it with reluctance. Depending on your age, maybe tears. Most kids try to get out of brushing their teeth, as it just seems like a chore. For the most part, when you get older, you start to…if not enjoy it, […]
Continue ReadingEven when Alzheimer’s disease makes almost everything unfamiliar, positive quality of life is still within reach. But it takes adaptability and flexibility around the present circumstances and challenges. Luckily, yoga is an excellent practice in flexibility: for the body, the mind, and the spirit. Whereas Alzheimer’s is a disease of disconnection, yoga is a science […]
Continue ReadingStress and aging go hand-in-hand over the whole course of our lives. More than just a mental-emotional experience, a stressful situation triggers biochemical responses that kick our bodies into high gear so we can better handle that situation. However, we aren’t meant to be in this high-alert mode for long periods of time, let alone […]
Continue ReadingWhen Ruth’s husband died, she was 67. She had never been one to shy away from having a drink, but as the weeks and months went by, her family and friends seemed to notice her drinking more and more. When asked about it—always delicately—she laughed and said that she’d earned it. This seemed to be […]
Continue ReadingAt 82 years old, David was in pretty good health. He prided himself on being fit, healthy, and active, so when he began experiencing severe pain after minor knee surgery, he felt as though the things he valued most were being taken away from him. After a few visits to his surgeon, David was prescribed […]
Continue ReadingMary was devastated. Her mother-in-law Sara had been in a serious car accident and had barely survived the crash. Sara hadn’t regained consciousness after the crash, and because she didn’t have an advance directive or living will, she was kept alive on a ventilator for months. Each day when she went to the hospital to […]
Continue ReadingI wish there was a natural, sure-fire way to immunize my garden against weeds, especially as I’m getting older and my back and my joints don’t hold up as well to the stooping and pulling. I can mulch the area; that helps. And I can keep up the health of my purposeful plants, so their […]
Continue ReadingAfter my father had his stroke, I lived in rolling fear, peaking every cold and rainy spell, that he would catch pneumonia. It became almost an obsession of mine, heightened in my imagination by the cruelty of it: this strong man who took on everything in the world, being felled because his weakened immune system […]
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