You think you’re in good health, right? Don’t have time for an annual checkup? Or what about your parents or grandparents for whom you are responsible—are you avoiding taking them in for their checkups because they “just don’t need one right now?” The problem with that is that, for one, the purpose of prevention is to get to the problem…
Increasing trouble navigating everything from the basement stairs to the golf course convinced Gail Richman to have the hip replacement her doctor had been recommending. The surgery went smoothly, the doctor told Gail’s son Will. But when Will arrived in the recovery room, Mom didn’t recognize him. She tried to pull out her IV, and moaned in distress. The nurse…
It happened in seconds. The phone rang while Maggie was carrying in the groceries with her mom, who has Alzheimer’s disease. By the time Maggie hung up on what proved to be a robocall, Mom was gone! Maggie was frantic. Luckily, she had alerted the neighbors that Mom was confused and tended to get lost. “Thank goodness,” she breathed as…
“Mom, we’d all feel a lot better if we knew you had some help.” One of the great joys of the holidays is reconnecting with family who may live far away. But sometimes when adult children visit their elderly loved ones, they find that their parents are no longer as healthy as they remembered. Or they might see signs Mom…
A recent article in Bloomberg exploded the myth that Americans stick to their trusty old clunkers upon retirement; apparently, plenty of the 36 million senior drivers today are leaving the showroom with a snazzy new set of wheels! Today’s seniors have their roots firmly in the age of driving. Driving equals independence in the minds of most. But physical or…
There are things we can do to protect our skin, but we won’t find most of them in a fancy jar. Those miraculous “before” and “after” photos in skin care ads? All the “miracles” usually come from photo editing. Last year, the Assisting Hands “Hand in Hand” newsletter reported on the proliferation of products and services being marketed as “anti-aging.”…
Fear of falling confines many seniors to the house. Professional caregivers help them remain active and engaged in the community. September 23, 2015 Is Falls Prevention Awareness Day. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently announced that the number of seniors who die from fall-related injuries has nearly doubled in the last 15 years. Clearly, falls are a…
Is it becoming more difficult for Dad to take proper care of his yard or bend over to take the laundry out of the dryer? Does it seem like too much effort some days for him to cook or take care of basic housework? Does he bathe less often because he is worried about slipping and falling in the shower…
