I’m on a plane now, reading over the notes I’ve made from the last four days. I’ve just come from a week of listening, sharing and thinking about how society can be shaped and shifted to support family caregivers. I was thinking too, about how care is at the heart
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THE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: An Early Morning TV Interview About My Book
Yesterday morning, I got up really early and travelled to the studios of CanadaAM in Toronto. Here’s the interview about the new paperback edition of my book, “The Four Walls of My Freedom: Lessons I’ve Learned from a Life of Caregiving” (House of Anansi Press, 2014). Available everywhere in Canada
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM A Blog by Donna Thomson: How Humans Live
How humans live: Baby is born (healthy and able-bodied…. or not) and is totally dependent for one year. If able-bodied, the baby develops and with nurturing, enters school. Child may have an allergy, asthma, ADHD or a broken leg from learning to ski. In secondary school, child may require treatment for
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: A Caregiver Christmas
Christmas is a stressful time for caregivers. We buy gifts for our own families, help our loved ones to give, cook our best loved traditional recipes, enable and host holiday social events, all while carrying out our usual caregiving tasks. We love to give, but we need others to remember
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Loneliness and Caregiving
This morning, I stumbled upon an article in the Guardian (UK) newspaper that started like this: The officials who broke down Joyce Carol Vincent’s door were meant to be serving an eviction notice. Instead they found her corpse slumped on the sofa, with the light from the TV still flickering over
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: An Interview About Caregiving with Me for FIT MINDS
Nicole Scheidl is the founder and CEO of Fit Minds, a company with a mission to produce learning materials that are proven to slow the process of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Nicole has a strong focus on caregivers and has created an information sharing hub for our community. I am honoured
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: The Gift of Friendship or The Caregiver Ties That Bind
I’m up at our family cottage on a lake in the mountains of Quebec. Yesterday it rained, so naturally I gravitated to the bookshelf in the corner by the fireplace. I found this 1910 copy of “The Gift of Friendship and Other Verses”. Let me share with you one verse
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Hanging Out and Having a Laugh
Out in the Hood Photograph by David Alan Harvey The sidewalk outside a liquor store doubles as a front porch for two Harlemites. Rather than sit in stifling apartments, many residents hang out on the street, where they can catch up with friends or just take in the scene.
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Guest Post: How A Battle With Cancer Made Us Stronger
Cameron Von St. James is a husband, father and caregiver. In this guest post, Cameron shares his family story of caring for his wife Heather through her cancer diagnosis and treatment. Thank you, Cameron and here’s to all the husbands, fathers and sons giving care today. How a battle with
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: GUEST POST – Diagnosed With Dementia: What to Expect as a Caregiver
In an unexpected, swift life change, you’re suddenly the caregiver for your loved one who’s been diagnosed with dementia. Your life and priorities have changed forever. As your loved one begins to lose physical abilities and mental capabilities, your life will revolve around caring for them. Knowing what to expect
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Just Breathing vs A Good Life
Yesterday I tuned in to a podcast about a new model of care in Australia. Initially I thought I might be able to double-task by writing some easy emails while listening. But almost immediately, I abandoned that idea and grabbed paper and pen instead. I needed to remember everything about
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: How to Advocate for Care: Part 1
Advocating for care is a complicated task. The job of caregiving does not discriminate on the basis of family income, race, education or employment status. Anyone, anytime can find themselves suddenly thrust into the position of giving care to a loved one. And if the care needs are high, the
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: 4 Tips on Avoiding Conflict With an Aging Parent (or anyone who needs care!)
Caring.com is a great resource for family caregivers of seniors in the US. I am so pleased to share a very wise blog post from Paula Spencer Scott, their senior editor. Here, Paula gives sage advice on avoiding conflict with aging parents, but I know these tips will be useful
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Caregiving in a War Zone
The other day, I was listening to a banker talking about the volatility of financial markets. She used a term I hadn’t heard before – VUCA. It’s a military term used by forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and it stands for ‘Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous’. “Wow”, I thought, “that
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: How the Grinch Got Christmas
A few weeks ago, Nicholas came home to help decorate our Christmas tree. Nick is never that interested in the ‘girlie’ stuff of decorating, but he was only slightly grinch-like after I gave him a hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows to sip and put on Phil Spector’s “Rockin Around the Christmas
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Five Tips for Surviving Caregiving
A few weeks ago, I travelled to Vancouver to address a family association and also to give a talk about how we use Tyze Personal Networks to coordinate Nick’s care. I’ve written extensively on Tyze before, but for the uninitiated, Tyze is a softw…
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Constipation, a Kidnapped Diplomat and an Enema
My husband is a retired diplomat. A colleague from the service, Bob Fowler, had the terrible misfortune of being kidnapped in Mali and wrote a book about his awful experience called “A Season in Hell”. Bob tells a story in his book (and one recounted in even more vivid detail
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: How Artists Talk About Caregiving
I used to be an actor… and a director. In fact, when Nicholas was born, I was working for a horse-drawn theatre called The Caravan Stage Company (the Caravan has since traded their clydesdales for a tall ship). Now, after 23 years of looking after my children, I remain fascinated
Continue readingTHE CAREGIVERS' LIVING ROOM - A Blog by Donna Thomson: Fathers, Sons and the In-Between Spaces of Grief
I tell our family story to anyone who will listen. I hope that our story will shift readers’ embedded thoughts and ideas about what it means to be different and to care for a loved one over time. For me, the most gratifying aspect of writing a book is that
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