JacquelineMarcell

Having Senior Moments? Keep a Log!

WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS! Are you one of millions experiencing those pesky senior moments, which seem to occur more frequently with each advancing year? We whisper to our friends with a gallow's laugh about the silly thing we have done now, secretly worrying we may be starting to get Alzheimer's or something. Then there's that anxious moment waiting for our friends to validate our experience by sharing their own senior moment, which makes us feel so much better that we are not alone. Senior moments are most often More…

How Do I Manage an Elder Who Demands All My Time and Attention?

WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS! Always screen your calls and never pick up when your elder calls with a nasty demanding tone. If you never give in to moaning and groaning, they will eventually stop trying that approach. But if you eventually give in, you are teaching them that all they have to do is continue pushing harder and harder because you will eventually cave in. Never allow yourself to be manipulated. More…

Love Among the Ruins: Remembering My Parents

WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS! My mother was an absolute 10 when she was young-and I don't mind saying that I've never held a candle to her. One fateful day as she walked down the street with her friend Mary, looking for Mary's beau, a dashing young fellow drove by and Mary yelled, "Hey, Jake, have you seen my boyfriend Buck?" Jake stopped, instantly mesmerized by my mother's beauty. "No, but hop in girls and we'll go looking for him." As the story goes, my mother hoped in and never hoped out, beginning a true love (at-first sight) story with my father, which would span more than sixty years. More…

Easy Way To Be Evaluated for Memory Loss and Early Alzheimer's--By Phone!

WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS! After eight years of working so hard to spread the importance of early diagnosis of Alzheimer's (and any kind of dementia), I am still having a hard time convincing people to reach out early. Even a few of my friends find excuses for not getting their parent to a doctor for early evaluation. Even in the face of blatantly present warning signs (http://www.elderrage.com/alzheimers.asp) and my ongoing pleading, there's always a reason why they just can't do it right now. When I dig deep to find out why most people procrastinate and delay doing something that is so critical for their family, it's always that the intermittently odd behaviors "just aren't that bad"... to which I always reply: "YET!" More…

Can Exposure to Aluminum Cause Alzheimer's?

WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS! I received this question today: "I am so afraid of using aluminum products, because I believe it caused my mother's and her best friend's Alzheimer's. They worked together in an aluminum plant for most of their lives and they died together too. I am wondering if that connection has been proven yet?" Hi, so sorry to hear about your loss. It is interesting that the Aluminum/Alzheimer's connection continues to persist for many people, even though in the 1960's and 1970's after it was first suspected and researched extensively, no connection has ever been found. There is still no known cause of Alzheimer's, but a few things that are believed to help prevent it are: eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat and cholesterol, staying mentally active and learning new things, and exercising regularly. However, my opinion is that if you strongly believe that there is a connection between aluminum and Alzheimer's, even in the face of medical science assuring you that there isn't, More…

Expect the Best, Be Prepared For the Worst-Then Live in the Present

WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story!   Since the phenomenal success of "The Secret" DVD, I have noticed there are many more books out now about the power of visualization, "living in the moment", focusing on gratitude, and using positive affirmations. Even Oprah and the talk shows are doing more programs about the "new" innovative concepts-which have actually been around forever. The other day I watched a program about famous people down through the ages who creatively used the power of their minds to overcome life's obstacles. And when I was a little girl, I remember my mother teaching me the mind-focusing techniques as she read Norman Vincent Peale's, "The Power of Positive Thinking". More…

My Father's Odd Behaviors Don't Mean He Has Alzheimer's--He's Just Getting Older, Right?

WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! For eleven years I pleaded with my elderly father to allow a caregiver to help him with my ailing mother, but after 55 years of loving each other--he adamantly insisted on taking care of her himself. Every caregiver I hired to help him sighed in exasperation, "Jacqueline, I just can't work with your father--his temper is impossible to handle. I don't think you'll be able to get him to accept help until he's on his knees himself." My father had always been 90% great, but boy-oh-boy that temper was a doozy. He'd never turned it on me before, but then again--I'd never gone against his wishes either. When my mother nearly died from an infection caused by his inability to continue to care for her, I immediately flew from Southern California to San Francisco to save her life--having no idea that in the process it would nearly cost me my own. More…

April is National Donate Life Month: Join LifeSharers Organ Donation Program!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregivingJacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I am a long-time member of the LifeSharers organ donation program, because I was shocked to learn that every year Americans bury or cremate 20,000 transplantable organs. That means about 8,000 Americans die needlessly every year just waiting for an organ. As of March 31, 2008: More…

Shocking New Alzheimer's Statistics--Why Doesn't the NIH Allocate FAIR Funding?!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregivingJacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! The Alzheimer's Association has released a fantastic and shocking new report with the latest Alzheimer's Disease (AD) statistics: 5.2 million people in the USA have AD; Out of 78 million Baby Boomers (those born 1946-1964), a whopping 10 million will develop AD and 4 million will develop some other type of dementia; Every 71 seconds someone develops AD; The direct and indirect costs of AD and other dementias to Medicare, Medicaid and American Business is more than $148 billion each year! (To view the 41-page report: 2008 Alzheimer's Disease Facts and Figures: http://www.alz.org/national/documents/report_alzfactsfigures2008.pdf) I am on the Board of Directors of the FAIR Foundation (Fair Allocations In Research: http://www.FairFoundation.org/Board/board.htm), which strives for equitable distribution of research funds from Congress and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for ALL diseases. Our goal is to bring awareness to the vast inequities in spending and to advocate for change. The FAIR Foundation's latest figures (graph below) are also shocking, and illustrate how lobbyists and effective media campaigns can make such a huge impact on how research funds get allocated. Our government has only allocated $124 per Alzheimer's patient, $29 per cardiovascular patient, $50 per diabetes patient, yet allocated an astonishing $14,932 per West Nile Virus victim, and $3,052 per AIDS patient! Why shouldn't ALL diseases get an equitable portion of revenue? More…

Elder Abuse Can Be Reduced By Training Caregivers About Dementia

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregivingJacqueline's Lecture on CD; 12 Experts; 14/hrs. of Help--ASK ME!WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! ELDER ABUSE is an expanding serious problem affecting hundreds of thousands of elderly people in the United States. And since the abuse is oftentimes at the hand of a family member or friend, the issue remains largely hidden by the families, causing gross under-reporting of the crisis. It is estimated that only 1 out of 14 incidents come to the attention of authorities. And criminal prosecution rarely occurs, because by the time law enforcement gets involved the incident has long passed and the family doesn't want to bring attention to their disgraceful family secret. DEMENTIA COMPOUNDS PROBLEMStatistically families (and many doctors who are not dementia specialists) ignore the early warning signs of dementia because they incorrectly believe that the intermittently odd behaviors are just a normal part of aging and More…