If you watched “Still Alice,” you will have a better idea of what a person with Alzheimer’s goes through. Especially if you have a parent with this disease, you will know how it feels like to be in their shoes. “The poet Elizabeth Bishop once wrote: ‘the Art of Losing
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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: How to Help an Alzheimer’s Caregiver (Share This Post With Friends and Family!)
A Guest Post by Vee Cecil Caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease is an incredible challenge, both physically and emotionally. Often, primary caregivers are spouses who are also aging and sometimes have health issues of their own. It’s not uncommon for Alzheimer’s caregivers to neglect their own health
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Why Caregivers Must Take Hearing Loss Seriously
Guest Post Hearing loss is an invisible condition. Not everyone can express the fact that they aren’t hearing well, and still others are in denial. That’s why it’s so important for you to be able to identify signs that your loved one might not hear as well as they could
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: When Caregiving Leads to Employment – One Woman’s Experience
My name is Michelle Thompson and I am part-time blogger and social outreach coordinator for Parentgiving.com, as well as a mother of three, wife of one, and caregiver for both of my elderly parents (who live with us here in Caldwell, New Jersey). My caregiver journey began three years ago
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: ONE SIMPLE, POWERFUL WAY TO SUPPORT CAREGIVERS – My Guest Blog Post on The Mighty
In times of hardship or pain, looking at the people we love can be powerful medicine. Parents and caregivers need to be on the receiving end of the loving gaze of family and friends too. Here’s what got me thinking about eye contact: I happened to notice a billboard with a photo
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Signs of Power in Paid Caregiving – And I Don’t Like Them
A couple of days ago, I was wandering around my local grocery store when I happened to notice a young man in a wheelchair. He was smiling and chatting with a paid caregiver who was putting some oranges into his basket. How did I know she was his paid caregiver?
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: From the Treasure Chest – How to Live Without Irony: Just Ask a Caregiver
VS A day or two ago, I was driving along the highway enroute to visit Nicholas, my young man who lives in a truly cozy and pleasant care home. Nick is 24 and has severe cerebral palsy as well as a myriad of other complicated medical conditions. He is blessed
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Caregiving With Strength – A Guidebook for Grieving Caregivers
Eleanor Silverberg understands grief. She is a child of holocaust survivors who often witnessed her mother silently weeping. An unspoken sorrow infused the Silverberg family home…..grief seeped into their furniture, their walls and of course their hearts. Eleanor Silverberg’s book Caregiving With Strength: Raising Self Care to New Heights by
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Five Bad Beliefs That Harm Caregivers
Caregiving is a complicated role, full of joy and sometimes grief and frustration. Caring for those we love is laden with human drama and is hard enough without imposing beliefs and standards upon ourselves that make it harder. HARMFUL BELIEFS: 1) My role is to give care, not receive
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Why Some People Won’t Help and What You Should Do About It
Yesterday, I read an excellent blog post titled “Asking for Help” on the Caregiver Space. The article is chock full of good ideas and practical advice. It was the comments that got me thinking, though. Many sounded like this: What if no one asks if they can help? That’s my
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Celebrating Royalty and Nobility in Ordinary Caregiving
“So Brother Matthew locked the gate behind me, and I was enclosed in the four walls of my new freedom.” Thomas Merton Caregivers like me know how the four walls of home can sometimes close in and feel like a prison. How to find freedom, satisfaction, meaning and joy within
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Understanding the Needs of the Caregiver and Care Receiver
By Guest Blogger, Fay D. Wein Introduction: According to a recent study headed by Susannah Fox, associate director of the Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life project, Americans are living longer not only due to advances in medicine, but as a result of the excellent care that is being
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Anger
Anger Anger that my son has pain. Anger that my husband is away on business. Anger that the caregiver didn’t show up for my Mom. Anger that the milk is sour in the fridge. Anger that the doctor smirked when I asked a question. Anger that an old colleague’s career
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Why We Shouldn’t Read (Sometimes)
The other day, a newspaper headline caught my eye: “The Joyof Not Reading”, it read. It was an opinion piece about a man whose immigrant parents had told real bedtime stories to him and his brother as they grew up. “My brother and I shared a bedroom as kids, and
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Great News Today!
The new paperback edition of my book, “The Four Walls of My Freedom: Lessons I’ve Learned From a Life of Caregiving” (The House of Anansi Press, 2014) is available as of today in the USA at all major booksellers! Here’s a short interview that aired a few months ago on
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Time It Takes
It was mid morning yesterday when I arrived at my Mom’s apartment and mid afternoon when we ambled out to the car to begin our errands. In the interim, we’d had toast and coffee, I’d tamed her bedhead hair with spray and mousse, and I’d done a quick alteration on
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Film ‘Boyhood’: Reflections on Holding On and Letting Go
A date night with my husband Jim doesn’t happen often. We have fallen into our habits of cooking dinner together, followed by reading or watching a British television drama. Sometimes, though, a movie or play catches my eye and I peek out of my turtleshell long enough to organize an
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Caring for Someone with Meningioma (Brain Tumor)
A friend of our family passed away from meningioma, so I was pleased to host a guest post about caring for a loved one with this type of brain tumour. Guest Post by Jan VespremiTreatment Options For Meningioma First, let’s talk about the science. As a caregiver, understanding the science
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Blog Challenge Week One: My Connection to Disability
This summer, I’m participating in a blog hop. The first topic of discussion is ‘My Connection to Disability’. It was 1972 and I was seventeen. I remember it was hot and humid on the day that the loudspeaker crackled to life and called my name, telling me to go to
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: Sharing the Care Online – Can It Really Help?
When my son Nicholas was born with severe disabilities in 1988, my husband and I struggled to care for him on our own. Nick turns 25 at the end of this month and all these years of giving care have taught me one great big lesson. Caring alone is
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