Buckle up because today, the new Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence released a white paper on the crisis state of caregiving in Canada and HOW TO FIX IT. The report is titled Giving Care: An approach to a better caregiving landscape in Canada. If you’re a policy nerd like me, you
Continue readingAuthor: The Caregivers' Living Room
THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: November Caregiver Support Challenge
November is many things. For Canadians it’s the dark month, the lead-up to Christmas. For Americans, it’s Thanksgiving month. For all of us, it is National Caregivers Month (well, it’s really a designation that originated in the US, but ALL of us can and should claim it too because…
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Artists as Designers of Dying and Funerals
I’ve been thinking about death and dying a lot lately. Maybe that’s because I watched all of the Queen’s funeral or maybe it’s because I read about the actor Alan Rickman’s newly published diaries, Madly Deeply in The Guardian yesterday. It wasn’t the diaries that caught my breath (although those
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Perfect Fake Independence
The other day I was browsing facebook posts in an online caregiver support group when I read, “My mother was living the perfect life of fake independence when she fell and broke her hip. Before yesterday, she lived in an apartment that adjoins our house. I cooked all her meals
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Wish a Caregiver Happy Labour Day!
The feminist scholar Arlene Kaplan Daniels coined the phrase “invisible work” to describe the many tasks that women have traditionally performed in their families and communities. Picking apart our common understanding of what constitutes “work,” Daniels wrote (in 1987): We distinguish work from leisure activity (that we want to
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: COMMUNICATING WITH LOVE – How to Relax and Chat With Someone with Memory Loss
If you care for someone with a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s or dementia, you have probably seen this image on social media: I’ve posted it on my Facebook page, The Caregivers’ Living Room and the most common reply is, “That’s all very well, but those instructions are more easily said than
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Lessons for Caregivers in a New Book, The Power of Teamwork
Today I finished reading The Power of Teamwork: How We Can All Work Better Together by Dr. Brian Goldman and I had to share my excitement about it right away. There are SO many lessons here for family caregivers and the circles of care that we manage. I’ve written about
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: All My News: A Personal Update
It’s Sunday morning and the thrum of rain on our metal roof is lulling me into a thoughtful mood. It’s a good day for writing. So I thought I would pause and reflect on my life and activities. Here’s what’s been happening: CARE RELATED Jim and I have been updating
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW – AT HOME
For 23 years, we ran a “home ICU” for our son Nicholas. Nick was born with severe cerebral palsy and he is very medically complex. Moving from crisis to crisis with multiple diagnoses meant that I needed someone in our circle of care to be my close partner in
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: National Caregiver Day in Canada: All the News!
The first Tuesday in April is National Caregiver Day in Canada and this year, there is lots of news to share! Although it doesn’t formally launch till May, activities at the newly minted Canadian Centre of Caregiving Excellence have begun! I am so honoured to serve on the advisory board.
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: FOR NATIONAL CAREGIVER DAY: ALL THE GOOD THINGS
Today, February 18, is National Caregiver Day in Canada and it seems like a great time to tell you about all the great opportunities for caregivers that are new and exciting. So grab a coffee and click the links in the list for more information! 1. A totally FREE online
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Two Cups of Tea and Slivers of Time
The other day I recorded a short video for the (free!) online Caregiving Essentials course that I facilitate at McMaster University Department of Continuing Education. I was talking about self-care. And I was reflecting on the idea of (and sorry if you’ve heard me say this many times before)
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Tiniest New Year’s Resolution
It’s the new year – a time for hope and resolutions. But it’s also 2022 and we’re in the midst of a new surge in the pandemic. The usual template for hope and resolutions doesn’t fit. So what ARE some positive changes we can make right here, right now? Maybe
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE TWELVE DAYS OF A CAREGIVER CHRISTMAS
This is a reprise of a Christmas post from 2017. Hasn’t the world changed since then?! Then again, time moves more slowly in caregiving. Merry Christmas, everyone! And may we all stay safe and healthy in 2022. My words to the carol “The Twelve Days of Christmas” are fun,
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: ADVOCACY BIG AND LITTLE: You Can’t Do Caregiving Without It
I have the pleasure of facilitating a free online course called Caregiving Essentials, offered through McMaster University Continuing Education. A companion project is a free monthly webinar series, also called Caregiving Essentials – it’s open to anyone, anywhere. You just have to register to get the zoom link. Anyway, I
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: CircleOf – The Newest Online Caregiver’s Best Friend
If you are a regular reader here in the Caregivers’ Living Room, you will know that I love online tools that help family caregivers ease the burden of care by organizing the good will of friends and family members. Even if you have only one friend and one sibling who
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: When Caregiving Calls – A New Guide for Care
Today it is my pleasure to introduce the very wise caregiving expert and author, Dr. Aaron Blight. I can’t remember exactly where or when I first met Aaron online, but I know that I instantly recognized his original approach to caregiver support and we became fast friends and kindred spirits.
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Help! I’m a Caregiver and I Need Therapy!
About forty years ago, I had what we called then, a “nervous breakdown”. My life unravelled as I sunk further and further into a deep clinical depression. Back then, I had a LOT of talk therapy. Slowly over time and with the help of medication, I pieced my life back
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: TWO NEW FREE COURSES – ONLINE AND JUST FOR CAREGIVERS
When our son Nicholas was two, he had an operation to insert a feeding tube in his tummy. It was a tough decision made a little easier by the fact that our son’s cerebral palsy made sucking, chewing and swallowing so difficult for him that his growth slowed to an
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Nursing Home Abuse During Times of COVID-19
Photo: NPR COVID-19 has taken a terrible toll on Canadian long term
Continue reading