JacquelineMarcell

FREE Online Early-Detection Dementia Test!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! In 1998 the United States had only 9,000 Geriatricians (an MD with a specialty in geriatrics) trained to care for 34 million Americans over age 65. A sobering new statistic reveals the figure has declined to only 6,700 specialists, yet the need steadily rises with a projection of 62 million over age 65 by 2025! An estimated 43% of Americans 65+ will spend time in a nursing home, and by 2012, 75% of Americans over age 65 will require long-term care. Because of advances in medicine, people are living longer than ever (fastest growing is the 85+ group), with age being the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's. One in 10 over age 65, and nearly half over the age of 85 are afflicted.  A person with Alzheimer's will live an average of 8 and as many as 20 years or more from the onset of symptoms. An estimated 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer's (more than double since 1980), and millions have not been diagnosed yet because the earliest signs OFTEN get chalked up to a "normal part of aging".  All this brings me to my mission of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer's disease. My heart sinks so often when I ask people how their elderly parents are and I hear, "Oh, they are doing real good--just a little dementia and a little memory loss, but that's normal for their ages, isn't it? And anyway, it's not really that bad yet." More…

Coping With Shocking News

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! FYI: I will be speaking in Alabama November 9th http://www.alcard.org/ My dearest friend since First Grade sent a newspaper article in the mail to me today about the drugging, strangulation, murder and then burning of the body--of a long-ago classmate we adored from afar for two years. In 7th and 8th grade, sometimes Linda and I and our other best friend, Kathie, liked to discreetly follow Ray around school, because he was a musician who looked just like John Lennon--round wire glasses and all. We secretly called him, "Him" - but even with all the giggling, I don't think Him really knew we existed. I immediately called Linda and we shared how shocked and saddened we were to hear such a horrible story about the darling young boy we dreamed about 40 years ago, who seemed to have so much potential. Over the years we often wondered whatever happened to Him, always reminiscing and laughing about the silly young girls we used to be. More…

Alzheimer's Stamp and Alzheimer's Quilt--Need Your Support to Increase Awareness!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! A nationwide campaign is underway to petition the U.S. Postal Service to issue a fundraising stamp known as a "semi-postal". They will select a cause for the stamp soon, so please help us convince them to select Alzheimer's Disease, which would raise millions for research of this devastating disease. Please call the Capitol at (202) 225-3121 and ask to speak to your Congressman. Locate: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm and: http://www.house.gov/writerep/  Ask for their support of the creation of an Alzheimer's postal stamp, emphasizing that it would not have any impact on the federal budget. More…

National Case Management Week: October 8-14

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving More…

Durable Power of Attorney: Important!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! A Durable Power of Attorney is a legal document that gives an individual the right to step in and make decision for a specified person if they become incapacitated. Two are needed: one for health decisions and one for financial. If you have aging parents, sit down and have the discussion and get their wishes in writing long before it is needed--and definitely before any type of dementia is diagnosed. A person with dementia is not considered of sound mind and able to sign a Durable Power of Attorney. More…

Health Care Crisis Coming: Plan Ahead!

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I am in Cleveland Ohio to speak for The Benjamin Rose Institute http://www.benrose.org, which has been helping seniors since 1908! I wonder what caregiving was really like way back then? They say in those days family generations lived together, so most elders (average lifespan was 55) were taken care of by their families at home. I also wonder what it will be like when I get to the age of needing help-along with 78 million Baby Boomers (average lifespan is now 77), who by-and-large did not care for their elders in their homes and thus didn't teach their children by example how to care for them when they reach old age. More…

Adult Day Health Care: For Patients With Dementia

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! This week is National Adult Day Services Association Week and I am a huge advocate for NADSA (http://www.nadsa.org) as I constantly spread the word to families, who usually have no idea it even exists when they start their caregiving journey. I had no idea what it was all about either when I started caring for my elderly parents. Since they had dementia, rather than Adult Day Care, I was advised to enroll them in Adult Day Health Care, as the professionals there are trained to work with dementia patients. More…

Memories of September 11th

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! Like all of us, I remember very well where I was on September 11th, because just two weeks before I had sadly flown back home to San Francisco when my 87-year old father suddenly passed away in his sleep. I was still there managing all the details after the funeral and trying my best to comfort my sweet mother, who after 60 years of marriage missed him terribly--even with her advancing Alzheimer's which my father suffered from as well. I gave Ariana, my mother's wonderful live-in caregiver, a much-deserved break and found myself once again the hands-on caregiver, as I had been for both parents earlier on--which compelled me to give up my television career to write my first book, Elder Rage.  To cheer us up a bit, I decided to throw my mother a birthday party the following weekend. I was up late at night working on the arrangements and decorations, only to be awakened at the crack of dawn by a call from my dearest friend yelling for me to turn on the TV. "The United States is under attack!" Whaaat?! More…

The Joy of Life-Long Friends

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS—Tell us your story! I have been having a ball entertaining out-of-town guests--my best friend since first grade, Linda, and her 23 year-old daughter, Kathleen, my darling "niece". Even though we don't get to spend time together often, we always just pick up and go on as if no time has passed. The history is so deep there's never a lull in the conversation, and as references to our many shared experiences surface there are constant smiles and giggles. I haven't laughed so hard in ages and I will miss them terribly when they leave. I can't imagine not having them in my life. More…

When Mom and Dad Need Help

Author Elder Rage www.ElderRage.com Host Coping With Caregiving Radio Show www.wsRadio.com/CopingWithCaregiving WELCOME BACK ALL MY CAREGIVERS — Tell us your story! Convincing elderly parents they need help in their home, or that they need to downsize into assisted living, can be a tough hurdle for families to accomplish. The best way is to start the conversation early, before their health is an issue. Getting them used to the idea by being part of the planning process will make it easier when the time comes. But what if you haven't discussed it nor made plans for their transition into old age? If the time has come for your parents to alter their living situation because they can no longer take proper care of themselves--here are some important points to consider. More…