According to Forbes, many Americans need to educate themselves on the cost of aging and long term care. Many Americans in their 20's - 60's really don't understand Medicare or Medicaid. 44% of Americans thought Medicare, the national health insurance program for seniors, paid for care by home health aides; 37% thought the program covered nursing home fees. But Medicare does not cover nursing home costs and it covers home health only in certain cases. As for Medicaid, the federal program for America's poor, only 39% thought they might ever need to rely on Medicaid to cover long-term living costs. The reality is that Medicaid pays the bulk of the nation's long-term care costs, usually after people have spent their retirement.

With nursing homes averaging over $6000/mo and assisted living ranging from $2000 - $5000, it doesn't take long to spend one's nest egg. Preplanning is key for everyone, despite the fact it's not as fun as planning for a wedding, new house or baby. Many Americans don't want to think about getting older so they simply don't plan. In some situations, Mom has not planned and now she is no longer competent to make her own decisions due to Alzheimer's disease. Here are a few things you can do today to plan for tomorrow:   Read More

Recently, the Master's Golf Tournament was played and each competitor was hoping for the least amount of golf strokes to win the game. For a Mom, the word stroke has nothing to do with a sport, it may mean rubbing her daughter's hair in a sweet embrace. From my perspective, however, the word stroke is a word that is not sweet at all and I would like to eliminate it out of the United States' vocabulary because it signals a brain attack.

As I was growing up, I was fortunate to live next to my grandmother. She loved to ballroom dance and swim. I even remember my grandmother jumping on my trampoline with me. I love to think about those memories. While my grandmother was great at exercising, she didn't take care of her blood pressure and cholesterol. She paid the ultimate price with strokes, paralysis, recovery, and around the clock home care. She finally died because of a stroke. For these reasons, preventing strokes is near and dear to my heart.

May is Stroke Awareness Month. Strokes are "brain attacks". Nearly 700,000 strokes occur each year in the United States. While there are some factors that can't be changed, there are other preventable factors that each person has control over to change their stroke risks.

Here are some factors for stroke that can't be modified by medical treatment or lifestyle changes.

• Age - Strokes can occur in children to seniors. The risk of stroke doubles with each decade between 55 - 85.

• Gender - Men have a higher risk, but more women die from stroke

• Race - African Americans have a higher risk and mortality rate from strokes.

• Family history of stroke - Several factors may contribute to familial stroke - inherited high blood pressure, diabetes and/or common lifestyle.

The good news is there are treatable risk factors and they include:  Read More

fatigue, uneasiness, or slight tremors. A family 

member may notice a change in handwriting, facial expression 

movement due to stiffening. As soon as someone notices changes, seek medical attention. Incorporating a few strategies can allow your loved one to enjoy everyday life and relieve some of the Parkinson's symptoms. 

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