Going Home…a Family at a Crossroads

This is a very touching short film on dementia produced by award-winning Chinese filmmakers and worthy of your time.  Dementia can and does tear at the family fabric causing strife, guilt and anger.  Learning how to recognize and cope with its effects is critical.

Coping with Holiday Stress

By Jeffery Johnson

We all know that the Holidays are times of family gatherings and much merriment.   However, there is a considerable amount of stress for many people around the holiday time.

For example, relationships in families can be heightened so that already existing stressful situations can flair up and become quite nasty.   Or, a family member who has lost a spouse may be feeling the loss of that loved one more intensely during the holidays.

Money is an issue for many families, as they attempt to keep up with the neighbors in providing gifts for their children.   It is easy to lose control over

Is Your Loved One a Hoarder?

by Jeffery Johnson…

It happens more often than we even acknowledge: we walk into a potential care recipient’s home, review the areas that our caregiver will be working, and see that there are piles of books, newspapers, and bills everywhere . . . Yet, we assume that this care recipient just needs one of our caregivers to help straighten this “mess” up. However, what we don’t consider is the fact that this care recipient may be dealing with “compulsive hoarding,” often associated with or defined as a symptom of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (as listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition). Compulsive hoarding is also frequently associated with dementia or with those who grew up during the Great Depression of the late 1920’s and early 1930’s and who tend to hold on to their possessions.

Ok, so what’s the big deal about compulsive hoarding?  Many families turn away from the 500 lb gorilla in the room and try to explain away the behavior.  Isn’t it really just a matter of holding on to some “stuff” too long?

Pump Up Your Brain!

Brain Power
from Jeffrey Johnson

For most of my 59 years in this world, it was acknowledged that as we aged, so did our brain: it became slower, could not remember as well as it once did, and that after our twenties, we would begin losing brain cells that could never be replaced. Aging was not something to look forward to. However, in recent years scientists and doctors have discovered that, indeed, it is possible to rewire the brain – to build new neural connections that not only can stop the loss of brain function, but actually improve the brains ability to

Give an “Angel” for Christmas!

If you are looking for a special gift for your aging loved one, why not give them an “Angel”?

We are offering special four-hour packages of care at a discounted Christmas rate.

The “Angel” service you give your loved one can include:

• Personal hygiene
• Light housekeeping
• Meal preparation
• Medical reminders
• And of course  great companionship from our caring and compassionate caregivers.

So many times the loved one is resistant to receiving any ongoing care and this gift of care might be just what they need to see the benefits of Visiting Angels.

This four hours of care is $80 but we are offering this as a special Christmas gift to new clients at a 25% discount  for a total of only $60.

The gift certificate will include four-hours of continuous care and conforms to our normal standard care policies.  The four hours are good for only one care recipient and must be used as a single four hour block and may not be used on holidays.  Additional hours may be purchased.  This gift certificate is offered by and only valid at Visiting Angels of NW Valley and is for a limited time only.

Please email us at visitingangelsaz@gmail.com for more info or other conditions which might apply to your needs.

Or telephone Teresa at 623-266-9304 and arrange for an “Angel” to visit your loved one soon.

Reverse Mortgages are Changing.

I am in the middle of exploring all avenues of income generation for one of our clients.  She is approaching 90 and is in remarkable health and her mind is still sharp as a tack.  She lives in a nice home, almost 2,000 square feet and feels comfortable and safe there even though she lives alone.  She looks into the future and sees that there is a possibility of running out of money and needs to lower her expenses.

Since  I am also a licensed real estate agent we have explored the possibility of selling her home and moving into either an independent living or assisted

What Happens Next?

This is something that I have been thinking about for a long time.  In fact, all my life.  What happens next on this page is that you will be asked to participate.

Many events happen in our life without us having the opportunity of seeing it coming.  Some of these events are positive like an unexpected bonus at work, an upgrade at a hotel or a long lost friend calls you.  But sometimes they produce depression like the loss of a job, an illness or the loss of a loved one.

Is Sodium a Hidden Problem?

from Jeffrey Johnson

Most of us are pretty darn tired, even to the point of hysterics, at the never-ending onslaught of information and misinformation handed out by the multiple “expert” sources regarding what foods are good for us, which cause cancer, and which prevent any number of diseases. For example, red wine was once thought to be very good for people, but only if we have a glass or two a day (that’s 7-14 per week). Yet, we all know that alcohol is poison and therefore bad for our frail human systems. And that is only the beginning of the discussion on red wine . . . It never ends. So, what if anything, can we glean from all these words of wisdom on food? The easiest and most useful approach is to find a common denominator and begin your food research from there. From my perspective, there are two areas of major, bottom-line concern: salt (sodium) and sugar. Let’s look a bit at salt today.

Son Kills Dad with Alzheimer’s

Bobby with his dad

This is a recent AOL News article on the events that led up to a son being charge with the murder of his father.   The son was the only caregiver for the Alzheimer’s inflicted father and their relationship was increasingly strained.  It doesn’t have a happy ending for anyone but there might be some lessons learned here.  If a professional caregiver would have been called in to give some respite to the son this might have never occurred.  In the later stages of the disease the patient can become explosive, combative and violent, so maybe the situation was beyond external help, it is hard to tell.

I think it is incumbant on all of us to recognize if a friend or family member is getting overwhelmed and to strongly suggest external help.  In situations like this caregivers not only provide care and support for the elderly loved one but gives such relief to the overworked family caregiver that it borders on rehabilitation.

Spend a little time on this article and please leave a comment.

http://news.aol.com/health/article/son-allegedly-killed-dad-with-alzheimers/759079

Ongoing Alzheimer’s Research

According to the National Institute for the Aging and the National Institute of Heath a cure for the debilitating and fatal disease of Alzheimer’s is achievable.  This is a short video from HBO Films about new developments in research.