fbpx

10 Things I Wish I Had Known Before My Dad’s Alzheimer’s Diagnosis

When someone receives an Alzheimer’s or other dementia related diagnosis, there is an array of emotions for the patient and their family – disbelief, denial, anger, loss, confusion and so much fear. What will this mean for our family?  Before my dad received the first diagnosis of “mild cognitive impairment,” we knew things were off. He’d gotten lost a few times and was repeating himself, but it was all manageable. His friendly personality and quick wit was a good cover, but dementia is a relentless foe and it marched on. As my siblings and our mother adapted to a new normal, things would change again and again.   Our wonderful dad passed away a few months ago, giving me some time to reflect on his Alzheimer’s journey.…

To view this post, you must purchase a paid-subscriber plan—learn more here.

Related Articles

Helping Elderly Parents Manage Finances

With record numbers of Americans hitting their golden years, parents will increasingly be dependingupon their children to manage finances. According to a 2015 Pew Research Study, in the United States64% of those with a parent age 75 or older have provided help with finances, errands and personal care,while about half (52%) of those with parents age 65 to 74 have done so as well. Stepping into this rolecan be daunting.It was clear when my family was hit with my dad’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis that one of the things I could doto help was to bring organization and control to my parents’ finances. They had been managing well, butmy siblings and I started to see some small warning signs that things were getting away fromthem. Minor disputes with creditors, multiple visits…

To view this post, you must purchase a paid-subscriber plan—learn more here.

A Simple 4-Step Approach to Building a Grateful and Empowered Environment

As we look forward to family, food and a little break from our regularly scheduled programs this week, I find it hard not to shine a light on the benefits of being grateful. Since most things you read this week will be focused on gratitude, my thoughts leading up to this Tip threw me back to the post-training practice ritual we used for years with our teams. This is a simple, yet powerful way to end any training session or meeting and send the participants, no matter what their age, off with a shot of positive emotion. Each day, our practice plan included a “quote of the day.” Each day’s quote was chosen intentionally to fit the time of the season, the goal of the…

To view this post, you must purchase a paid-subscriber plan—learn more here.

What Does It Mean to Be Vulnerable? 

What exactly is vulnerability and can it help us in daily life?   There are a lot of ways to define vulnerability. The term, ‘vulnerable’ means to be susceptible to harm. Another way to describe vulnerability could be “at-risk”. At the root of it, this harm comes from your emotional experiences. Being emotionally vulnerable involves the process of acknowledging your emotions, especially those that are uncomfortable or painful.   Acknowledging painful emotions can be difficult because it is human nature to avoid experiences that hurt us. Oftentimes, instead of fully experiencing and acknowledging an unpleasant emotional experience, we may do things that help distract us. For instance, when you feel sad, you may call a friend for emotional support and ask for advice. When you feel angry,…

To view this post, you must purchase a paid-subscriber plan—learn more here.