JacquelineMarcell

Alzheimer's Research Funding Cuts--Get Involved!

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

Visiting Elderly Loved Ones

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

Moving Madness

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

One in Three Will be Affected by Dementia--Either in Themselves or a Loved One: How Employers Can 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! Dementia is a word that conjures up the worst of images. The stereotype of someone with dementia (Alzheimer's is just one of many types, yet accounts for 60% of all dementias) is that of someone who is far-gone and in a nursing home. Yes, that's the heartbreak of Stage Three (1-3 years), but there's a "long good-bye" through Stage One (2-4 years), and then Stage Two (2-10 years), before anyone gets there. For most people, the tendency is to think that a little short-term memory loss that seems to come and go, is just a normal part of aging. What used to be called "untreatable senility", now affects one out of every ten persons by the age of 65, and one out of every two persons by the age of 85. Most families, and many professionals who are not trained in dementia, ignore the early warning signs for four years (through Stage One), thinking that these subtle symptoms are just what happens to all of us as we age. "It's not that bad yet," is what's most often heard. The problem is that left untreated, it will be "that bad" and worse, much sooner than need be. More…

Medicare Part D--Huh?

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! So... we got... Medicare... Medicaid... Medi-Cal... Medi-Gap... Medi-whatever... geeeze, I'd like to know who comes up with the names for all these complicated programs! Don't they realize when first-time caregivers get thrust into the world of eldercare (usually after a crisis), all these terms and details of these programs are just too darn confusing. And then there are the acronyms--oh yeah, they'll make you nutty too. When I first began caring for Mom and Dad, healthcare professionals would casually throw out terms and acronyms like I was, of course, supposed to automatically know what the heck they were talking about. I'd get so overwhelmed listening and taking notes and then finally I’d just keep nodding, not wanting to look too stupid--and I am not shy! More…

Resolutions for Caregivers of Loved Ones 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! LIVE IN THEIR REALITYWhen I took care of my parents (both with dementia), I noticed that each thought the other was the only one not thinking clearly. When Mom said something off-the-wall, Dad would look at me so sorrowfully and we'd nod, sharing the sad fact that Mom was a "little off". Then when Dad would say something illogical and irrational and Mom was clear, she'd whisper to me, "Ohh, poor Daddy, he's getting old and really starting to lose it." But then one day when the shuttle brought my parents home from their Adult Day Care center--Mom said proudly, "Guess what? Dad got a part-time job today!" "He did? That's wonderful Dad--what are you doing?" "Well... I'm taking care of Clark Gable's horses," he grinned from ear to ear. Mom nodded, "Yes, honey, so we have to go shopping for hay tomorrow!" I couldn't believe it--they were both in the same little demented episode at the same time! My initial instinct was to correct the facts, saying that those horses were long past gone and so was Clark, but instead I realized it was so much kinder to validate what they believed to be true and to just go along and live in their reality of the moment. "Wow, what an honor, Dad--I am so proud of you", I said, as I kissed him and he beamed. Fortunately, by the next day they had forgotten all about Clark, his horses and hay--but I can't tell you how much enjoyment they got from believing it was true the day before. I was so glad I had curbed my desire to be accurate and that I didn't spoil a wonderful harmless fantasy for them. More…

Caregivers NEED and Can Enjoy Vacations

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 get so many emails every day from caregivers who are so stressed out, often saying they'd love to take a break and get away for a little vacation, but are just too afraid to leave their loved one and go. They always ask me if they will ever have a normal life again. I experienced that awful feeling while I was taking care of my parents and didn't take a vacation for over five years. I'll emphatically tell you this--I wouldn't do it again! I always email back and say, "Please listen to me and put yourself first! You don't want to get sick and shorten your own life simply becasue you were a good daughter to your elderly mother." More…

Alzheimer's Disease Costs American Business Over $61 Billion Dollars A Year! (And Jacqueline's Big 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! I remember when I first heard that statistic, because I was really teetering on a financial crisis from a year of caring for my elderly parents in their home (both with the beginning of Alzheimer's Disease/rageaholic father) without any income coming in whatsoever and burning through my life savings like water. But still, come on, sixty one BILLION dollars--that's equivalent to the net profits of the top 10 Fortune 500 companies! How could that possibly be? Here's how it breaks down: $24.6 billion covers Alzheimer health care (4.5 million people have been diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, millions haven't yet), and the other $36.5 billion covers costs related to caregivers of individuals with AD--including lost productivity, absenteeism and worker replacement. So, all those people who just HAVE to take time off to go care for a loved one is costing them, as well as our society, a whole lotta money (not to mention a fortune in Kleenex). I remember thinking, gee, I had been pretty replaceable as a TV Executive, who cares? But what about people in important life/death jobs that effect so many--like Air Traffic Controllers, Police, Fire, Emergency Healthcare, Key Government and National Security people? Who replaces all of them when they just HAVE to leave work because of thier loved ones? More…

Alzheimer's Patients Often Wander: 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 can't even imagine the terror of frantically running through the neighborhood searching and searching trying to find an elderly parent who has wandered off. I was a certifiable basket case one time just when my parents were over two hours late coming home from their Adult Day Care--when their new shuttle driver got lost and took everyone else home first. I thought for sure there had been an accident and they were lying in the gutter hurt or gone. I remember being soooo relieved when the van finally came around the corner and they arrived safely. I receive Alzheimer's news alerts from around the world daily and often read about sorrowful regretful families whose loved one wandered off, were eventually found, but unfortunately were already gone. Since 60% of AD patients will wander (in the middle to late stage of the disease), families need to plan ahead for the probable behavior--instead of waiting until it starts and risking becoming a heart-breaking statistic. More…

Shortage of Geriatric Specialists--Don't Wait Until You Need One: Take 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 only had 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 people being over 65 by 2025! An estimated 43% of Americans 65 and older 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 (with the fastest growing segment of the population being the 85+ group), however, age is the greatest risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease. 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 now (more than double since 1980), yet millions have not been diagnosed because the earliest signs OFTEN get chalked up to a "normal part of aging". More…