Denise shares her thoughts about and insights on the personal caregiving experience.
What if a durable Power of Attorney (POA) truly empowered those who will make decisions on our behalf? Last week, I hosted a conversation about a family dispute recently featured in The New York Times Magazine. The dispute ended up costing $400,000 because of the 8 attorneys who ultimately became involved. The toll on the …
How do we manage the difficult caregiving disputes? We gathered today (May 31) to discuss a recent article featured in The New York Times Magazine which profiled two sisters who battled their mom’s boyfriend over who could make financial and caregiving decisions. (Read The Mother Who Changes: A Story of Dementia.) Resources The Slate …
Archive: Disruptive Dynamics and Difficult Caregiving Disputes Read More »
It seems direct care workers can only count on long hours, low pay and the same job every day for years. Imagine: You hard work every day, becoming an expert in your field. Yet, your industry doesn’t have a career path or opportunities for advancement or even pay raises so you receive a salary you …
Direct Care Workers Deserve Career Opportunities Read More »
We continue to meet with family caregivers and former family caregivers to understand what it’s like to navigate, manage and advocate within The 17 Caregiving Systems. Michele, who cares for her sister, shared her story with me on Friday. I so appreciate the time Michele took to share her experiences. Michele also became a Certified …
1 Med Refill, 12 Systems: Navigating The 17 Caregiving Systems Read More »
How do we make mental well-being services available and equitable for all? We tackled that question last week during a special event, “Coming to Light: A Path to Mental Health Serves for All,” hosted by The Kennedy Forum. The event will air on Chicago’s PBS station in the late fall and offered to PBS stations across …
I read an article in The New York Times Magazine on Friday night that I continue to think about. The article, A Mother Who Changed: A Story of Dementia, profiles two sisters who battle their mother’s boyfriend over who can make financial and caregiving decisions for their mother. As you can imagine, it’s an absolute nightmare …
Important Conversations About the Difficult Caregiving Disputes Read More »
How well can a celebrity tell the world about the true caregiving challenges? We’re continuing to collect stories of what it’s like to navigate The 17 Caregiving Systems. (Please schedule time to tell us about your experiences.) Last week, Donna Thomson, who cares for her son and cared for her parents, shared her experiences with …
Artist. Diplomat. Organizer. Shepherd. Which ones are you? Which one(s) describe you? Which one(s) would you like to be? Artist: You create in order to bring beauty to your world, your caree’s world and our world. Advocate: You champion causes, whether they be yours, your caree’s, the family caregiver’s or all of them, and speak for …
We do our best but the systems add challenges. The skills required to manage our caregiving experiences are sophisticated and nuanced. We receive pieces from 17 different puzzles that we somehow have to fit into one puzzle — our own caregiving situation. I share the experience of pulling together the pieces to help my mom …
We’re collecting stories to create awareness of the complexity of a caregiving experience. Last week, I had a conversation with a group of Certified Caregiving Consultants about The 17 Caregiving Systems. Trudy Madden, one of our CCCs, encouraged us to explore ways to better support family caregivers through the systems. Her nudge led me to …
