Category Archives: Caregiver

April 20, 2017 was my birthday. It was also a day that defined where we were with the disease that had changed our lives so incredibly. It was a beautiful spring day and Al wanted to play golf. We called his sister and they were up for golf so the four of us went toContinue reading “Where Do I Go From Here?”

As I’ve mentioned earlier, I didn’t have anyone to share my most intimate feelings with when my husband’s illness began. It was hard to accept and even difficult to acknowledge the feelings generated by the turmoil in my every day life. My feelings of anxiety, incompetence, frustration, hurt, anger and fears filled me and IContinue reading “Shifting Gears”

One day in 2017, when I stood at the sink, doing dishes and looking out at the beauty of a summer day, I realized that I was not the same person I had been. That thought saddened me and added to the feelings of loneliness and despair that had become my constant partners. I haveContinue reading “What’s Happening to Me?”

September begins the season of holidays. Many of us will find ourselves celebrating Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas as well as other special holidays/events, and occasions. And of course there is extra time spent shopping, cleaning and cooking for every special day. This extra work increases the possibility of frustration and losing your patience.Continue reading “Getting Through The Holidays without losing your mind and your patience!”

Whether your loved one is in the initial stages of a disease or has been fighting it for a while, and regardless of how hopeless things may seem at times, there are always some bright spots along the way. Here is my Caregiver’s Rule #4: Look for, find, and savor the good moments! Although youContinue reading “Look for the Good Moments”

As I mentioned in an earlier post, our lives changed with my husband’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease in August 2016. Where changes had, for the previous year, been less noticeable to those not with us everyday, they now were not only more noticeable but they also affected both our lives in different ways. So, asContinue reading “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy…..”

Yes, every day brings its own surprises, some good ones, some funny moments, and then, usually, some that bring a new challenge and creates the need for some “out of the box” thinking. Things are different for me now and generally not adaptable to old ways of doing things; creative solutions are often called for.Continue reading “Something New Every Day”

Alzheimer’s, as with any debilitating disease, generally will bring new challenges and/or problems almost daily. And when those challenges or problems arise, it is most often left for the caregiver to find a way to cope with the issue. As an example, my husband who was then about half way through the middle stage ofContinue reading “Finding New Ways To Get Things Done”