A few weeks ago, I came across this wonderful piece on transitions by a parent of twins, Marquitha Gilbert. I contacted Marquitha and we had a rich conversation about parenting, writing and the many transitions that we experience with our children over time. I am so grateful to Marquitha for
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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Caring Families Need Help With Financial Planning – It’s Here
I absolutely love it when family caregivers turn their experience into a business opportunity after caring ends. And when they create a service that I know we caregivers really need, I blog about it! Today I’d like to tell you about a conversation I had about a company called CaregiverCapital . I
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: PTSD in Caregiving – When Little Things Feel Life-Threatening
One day when I was 17, I happened to be home alone with my father. As a result of three strokes a year earlier, Dad was paralysed on his right side and had lost his speech. On this particular day, I remember in vivid detail walking down the hall into
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Cooking to Grieve and Remember
Yesterday (I think it was yesterday – time is a blur nowadays), I was in the car on my way to buy groceries listening to a show called Q on CBC radio. They were playing an interview with the Korean-American author, Michelle Zauner. When Michelle isn’t writing books, she is
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: When My Heart Gently Whispered…. It’s Time to Let Go
It is my pleasure to host this guest post from caregiver and writer, Ruth Berzins. This blog post is part of a series on grief published on the Madiha Foundation website. The Madiha Foundation‘s mission is to improve people’s mental health and empower women. The foundation offers simple yet effective programs
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: WHEN IN DOUBT, DANCE IT OUT! Evan Kharrazi’s Approach to Caring
Evan Kharrazi is a caregiver, a dancer, a wellness coach and an entrepreneur. Evan took his personal experience and built ChillTime TV – an app for caregivers seeking to embed dance, healthy eating, fitness and fun into their daily lives. Evan’s motto inspires me: “When in doubt, dance it out!”
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: BELONGING WHILE CAREGIVING: WHERE DO WE BELONG?
Photo by Geoffroy Hauwen on Unsplash In the trenches of caregiving, we can feel very, very alone. We may never experience a sense of belonging except in that tiny world of our loved one’s bedside (and possibly not even there). How can we feel belonging when our caring lives become
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: SHIFTING FROM "YOU" TO "US" IN CAREGIVING
There might be a good reason that nurses ask patients, “How are WE doing today?” The caregiving relationship is one that consists of two people who are ‘in it’ together. So why do we find it so difficult to understand that both of these people need care, not just one?
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED ABOUT CARING FROM YOUR MOM?
Mother’s Day 2021 got me wondering how we learn to be good caregivers – what lessons about caring did we learn from our own mothers? I asked friends and colleagues who are caregivers on social media to tell me what they learned from their Moms and this is what they
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: LET’S TALK ORAL HEALTH AND DEMENTIA – HOW TO GET THOSE TEETH CLEAN?
I remember helping my Mom brush her teeth – sometimes she was “too tired” or just not interested in doing her own personal care. Today it’s my pleasure to host this informative guest post about how we caregivers can work together with dentists to ensure good oral health for our
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: AN AMAZING OPPORTUNITY FOR ONLY 20 CAREGIVERS
I think it was two years ago when a few of us got the idea of creating a retreat for caregivers. Not just any retreat, but one that could help participants understand how they have been transformed by their caregiving experience. Then, COVID19 hit and we asked ourselves, “Can this
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: If You Thought Crip Camp Was Thrilling, You Will Love This Book
I admit it, I’ve been feeling discouraged recently. I’ve been advocating hard for people with disabilities to be prioritized for COVID19 vaccines in Canada, but still haven’t had success protecting our son. I was active every day on social media decrying the unfairness of Bill C7, the Medical Assistance in
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: RINGS OF A PLANET: Caregiving in a Natural Disaster
Last year, my friend and colleague Vickie Cammack and I co-wrote a piece about caregivers as first responders in natural disasters. We wrote: “Canada’s ability to successfully respond to the climate crisis depends on the freely given, natural care provided by family, friends and neighbours. These caregivers (distinct from professional
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Happy International Women’s Day, Caregivers
March 8 is International Women’s Day and this year, I would like to celebrate the women in our families who nurture us, love us, feed us, drive us, shop for us, and rescue us from mishaps every day of our lives. This year has been especially hard and has
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE COSTS OF CARING AND THE ERASURE OF ITS EXISTENCE
Last week I happened to read a fascinating article by Jordan Kisner in the New York Times Magazine about 78 year old feminist and scholar, Silvia Federici. I kept thinking about what Federici said about domestic work and caregiving being a form of gendered economic oppression – “an exploitation upon which
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Ntl Caregivers Day: The Power of Words
February 19th is National Caregivers Day in the USA. For the occasion, I began to think about words that hold power when we say them and words that hold power for us when we hear them. We know that people we love and care for sometimes live with great suffering
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Illness Experiences + Emotions = Treatment Choices
Me with my Dad One day when I was 17, I was home alone with my Dad. I was lying on my bed reading and Dad was in his living room arm chair. At that time, my father was paralyzed on his right side from a series a strokes and
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: THE MUSIC BETWEEN US: Memoir of a Bedside Musician
I am always fascinated by stories of personal transformation. How does anyone achieve redemption, wisdom, grace and meaning after experiencing or witnessing prolonged suffering? I’m especially interested when those stories come from caregivers. Steve Litwer is a volunteer guitarist for patients in hospice care. His book, The Music Between
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: DISABILITY PLANNING FOR MY CHILD: HOW TO BEGIN NOW
I talk to lots of different people who have a role in supporting families of children with disabilities. This week, I had an interesting chat with Bruce Maier, a financial advisor and managing partner of Iron Birch Advisors, a division of Ameriprise Financial Services. Bruce is based in New York
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: My Breakup Letter to 2020
Dear 2020, I’m breaking up with you. I can’t live with you anymore and I’m done trying. In fact I never want to hear from you or see you ever again. At first you seemed normal and fine, nice even. I remember last New Year’s Eve. Everything felt hopeful and
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