A Note From Carol
Dear friends,
When I first started writing about elder care and
caregiving in general, I was told no one was
interested in the subject. Now, it's everywhere.
Keeping up with it all could be more time-consuming
for the caregiver than the caregiving itself.
That's where Minding Our Elders and related sites
come in. We try to stay on top of things for you. Just
this month, you'll see that I've joined forces in two
different ways with two very different Web businesses.
One that has me absolutely thrilled is Elder Care
Link.
I felt that Minding Our Elders needed to add more
direct
guidance to local care resources
for people, so I did
my research and have now partnered with
Elder Care Link. This free-to-the-caregiver resource
will zero in on your needs as you complete a survey.
Where do you live? Do you need in-home care? Do
you need adult day services? They can help you find
what you need in your region. You can read more
about them on your right.
The other Web site I'm teaming up with this month is
the upbeat and informative Silver Planet.
Silver Planet is designed for boomers. You can
see, at the bottom that they are this month's sponsor.
I'm also linking to a post from my blog so you can get
just a taste of what they have to offer. But there is so
much more. Please pay them a visit.
Take care of yourself by getting help. Take care of
yourself by having fun. Both of these will help, when
you decide, after reading the lead article, how much of
your life you owe others, and how much you need to
protect for your own good.
Take care and thanks for reading,
Carol
Quick Links...
Sponsored by Silver Planet
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Hello!
Welcome to Minding Our Elders! Our hope is to break
the isolation that caregivers often feel. We'd also like
to share ideas, comfort and information that will help
you along your caregiving journey. Thanks for reading.
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Don't Let Caregiving Ruin Your Other Relationships
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How much of their lives do adult children owe their
parents?
In the 1970s, there were ongoing debates about
whether a woman could balance a family with a
career. The discussions centered on being a good
wife, mother and employee. The question seldom
posed, in those days, was how, besides being a wife,
mother and career woman, could a woman also be a
good daughter?
Today, we hear about the toll elder care takes on
families as routinely as we heard the former
arguments in the '70s. Adult children are being faced
with choices (or seemingly, assignments) they never
thought about before. They are raising children or
teenagers and holding down a job, when suddenly
they find that their aging parents need an ever-
increasing amount of attention.
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Site Makes Hunt for Local Caregiving Services Easy
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Finding qualified
caregiving services in an area where you live is
hard enough. Finding these care services in an area
where your parents live, but you don't, is even harder.
That is the task of the long-distance caregiver. I am so
often asked to help people with this dilemma that I
finally started an active search for a way to match
caregiver's needs with agencies that can help them.
The criteria I used in making a selection to
recommend was that the service be free to caregivers,
that it had good testimonials from caregiver who have
used it and that it had different types of services from
many areas of the country.
I found what I wanted. I am am now partnering with Elder Care
Link. This site allows the person looking for help
to narrow down the area where the elder lives and the
kind of help needed. I'm impressed with the results
I've seen. Filling out the form is easy, though the more
you want to narrow the service choices, the more you
can choose to fill out.
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Silverplanet Refreshing in Its Approach to Aging
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Silver Planet, at www.silverplanet.com, is a site I've
lately become aware of. It's not a caregiver's site, but a
boomer's site. However, there are caregiver and
senior tips that will be of interest of those of us with
aging parents, and many of us are aging ourselves,
as we may notice by a quick look in the mirror.
The site is so visually exciting and positive, that when I
checked it out, I immediately signed up. I see many
benefits for several generations on this site which, by
its very name, acknowledges the aging of our
population, but without negativity and without trying to
cop an attitude of being the new "My Space" of the
older generation.
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Sadness, Agitation, Fear: Could This Be Sundowner's Syndrome?
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An article by Aprill Jones on AgingCare.com
Sadness, agitation, fear: Could this be Sundowner's
Syndrome?
Yes, these and other mood and/or behavior changes,
occurring a few hours before or during twilight and
sometimes lasting until dawn, are usually classified
as Sundowner's Syndrome, or "sundowning."
Typically seen in Alzheimer's patients, particularly
early in the onset, and in dementia patients, others
with cognitive issues can also experience
Sundowner's Syndrome symptoms. It may be
temporary or prolonged, severe or mild.
When behaviors and emotional issues such as:
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About Carol
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Caregiving expert Carol Bradley Bursack, Author,
speaker and columnist, presents a collection of
articles, stories, news and research for you to
browse. Please check the blog and Web site links for
more information and feel free to email Carol at
carol@mindingourelders.com to chat or ask
questions. Minding Our Elders is a registered
trademark.
If your group or organization would like to buy "Minding
Our Elders: Caregivers Share Their Personal Stories"
in bulk, please email carol@mindingourelders.com
for information. Bulk rates are available.
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