Adventures in Eldercare August 2014 I have been writing Adventures in Eldercare for a few years now and have covered many important and interesting issues related to aging, home care and healthy living. I look forward to many more years answering your questions, interpreting important information and helping seniors age successfully. In these three short years the home care landscape has already changed dramatically. Seniors are gaining a bigger and bigger voice on polit

Adventures in Eldercare July 2014 Summer 2014 has begun and a very hot humid summer has been forecast in Southern Ontario. Along with these hot days and nights comes the need for an important conversation about preventing heatstroke. To stay safe in the summer heat, it is important to stay hydrated and to be smart about how long you stay outdoors and how you protect yourself from heat exposure both outside and inside the home. Summer temperatures can reach dangerous levels

Adventures in Eldercare April 2014 The business of medicine, for most doctors in Ontario is fee-for-service and unfortunately this means that a physician’s income is directly dependent on the number of patients that he sees move through his clinic each and every day. This means short visits, a lot of information exchanged quickly and an emphasis on the patient being able to handle it all. In the elderly population this can be a very bad combination of events that can lead

Adventures in Eldercare January 2014 I have written about my old dog Rocky a few times over the last couple of years. 14 year old Rocky is now reaching the end of his life; his physical body is deteriorating rapidly, especially his hind quarters. He has great difficulty getting up and down and going in and out of the 4 steps to our side yard. He has had a few accidents in the house and has lost his appetite. Rocky is a part of our family, a beloved pet and companion. I a

Adventures in Eldercare August 2013 Last July, I wrote about my then 13 year old Golden Retriever Rocky and the response to that article was overwhelming. People like Dogs! I also find that we can really learn a few things from the older dogs that we care for. Rocky is 14 now and has some heart and breathing issues, weakness and very arthritic hips. He does not have a lot of ‘get up and go’ anymore as you would expect from a dog that is equal in age to a 98 year old man.

Adventures in Eldercare May 2012 Elder seniors are often the targets in elaborate scams and cons, all aimed at relieving the senior of their hard earned savings or pension income. The scammer will use any method they can to accomplish this goal; they will use emotional pleas, false documents and outright lies. Here are a few of the common scams that are targeting seniors at this time. Grandparent scam: This is the newest and unfortunately very effective scam that is now i

Adventures in Eldercare March 2012 Last summer, my 92 year old Aunt Mary boarded a plane at the Thunder Bay airport with the intention of attending her grand-son’s wedding in Toronto. Aunt Mary has only one daughter and she and her family live in Scarborough. There are two important things to understand about this story; Aunt Mary, a widow for over 20 years, lived on her own in her own home, did her own shopping and banking and cared for a large outdoor garden, she was ext

Adventures in Eldercare February 2012 Many people reading this article today remember a time when multiple generations of families lived very closely together. In fact multiple generations lived on the same farm or often in the same house. It was unusual for any family members to be more than a concession or two away, ready to help and certainly there in a flash if there was a crisis of some type. A wonderful memory of a simpler time. Unfortunately the norm today is quit

Adventures in Eldercare December 2011 Home for the Holidays? Whether you’re going across town or across the country, holiday visits to parents and older relatives are a perfect opportunity to assess how they’re doing. Even though they assure relatives and friends that they’re fine, some older adults may be having difficulties in one or more areas of their lives. Some changes, such as appearance, reflexes and physical or mental health, may be obvious. Others may require look

November 2010 Aging parents begin to rely on their adult children more and more. In a family with multiple siblings there is the possibility that disagreements will arise over various aspects of care. Communication is the key to minimizing these disagreements. Here are a few tips on communicating effectively with regards to an aging parent. If you are your parent’s primary helper… Ask yourself what you really want Help? Appreciation? To be in charge? Caregivers often feel