Alzheimer’s and
Memory Loss

Alternatives to the Traditional Funeral

From our Care Blog

Guest blogger: Julie Grannan My mom passed away on August 2, 1997.  Only 54 years old, she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a short six months prior.  Being “younger” I don’t believe that she and my dad had really discussed their funeral/burial preferences.  But when terminal illness comes knocking on your door, this often times awkward conversation has to be had. I was 18 years old at the time, and I remember being quite surprised and unsettled in my emotions when I heard that my mom wished to be cremated.  However, over time and definitely as I fully entered...

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Tips For Communicating With An Alzheimer’s Patient

From our Care Blog

Here at FirstLight Home Care, we work with lots of families caring for loved ones with many different diseases and disabilities.  One disease that is particularly heart wrenching to watch and personally endure is Alzheimer’s.  I have asked myself this question many times…as I get older “would I rather lose my physical capabilities or my memory?”  That’s definitely not a fair choice to make.  And, unfortunately we don’t get the choice.  Life happens as it’s going to happen, and then in order to move on, we have to learn to adapt to a “new normal.”  But, after talking to many...

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Men Are Caregivers Too

From our Care Blog

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a long-time friend of mine who had been caring for his elderly mother.  My blog entry was also about how FirstLight Home Care is meeting the needs of aging America, and an unfortunate lack of awareness surrounding caregiving options. This week however, I want to circle back to the fact that my friend Dave* (a male obviously) was in a caregiver role for his mom.  Dave* is not alone in having that title.  According to a National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) survey, 44% of caregivers are men.  Yes, I said 44%, and...

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What is Veneration? Building Stronger Bonds With Seniors

From our Care Blog

What is veneration and how can it benefit your caregiving journey? Learn more from the caregivers at FirstLight Home Care.

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The Case for Hiring a Caregiver

From our Care Blog

A USA Today poll revealed that 41 percent of baby boomers with living parents are providing some kind of care to them, either financially, personally or both and an estimated 34 million unpaid caregivers in America provide an average of 21 hours a week of care. When you realize that an older adult in your family needs extra help, a few options come to mind: move him or her to an assisted living facility, hire a caregiver or move in to do the caregiving yourself. This is a challenging decision for many people and requires some serious thought. Before you...

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Caregiving Doesn’t Stop If Your Loved One Is Hospitalized

From our Care Blog

Today we handed the spotlight over to Martine Ehrenclou, M.A., an award-winning author and patient advocate, who shared her personal experiences of handling the care and hospitalization of her mother and godmother and how others can navigate the intimidating hospital world. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Have a great weekend, all! -- Jeff Bevis I began my journey into advocacy eleven years ago when my mother and godmother were patients in hospitals for very lengthy stays (five months and seven months respectively.) I was not prepared for what I saw and experienced with their...

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Stress Awareness Month: Stress stops here

From our Care Blog

April is Stress Awareness Month, a national effort sponsored by The Health Resource Network (HRN) to inform people about the dangers of stress, offer coping strategies and disprove harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society. Prominent writer Martin Boroson, author of One-Moment Meditation: Stillness for People on the Go, published an article yesterday on Huffington Post about “stresscalation”—the way in which we pass our stress to other people, often unwillingly. Boroson challenged readers to vow not to pass their stress on to others for one day, in honor of National Stress Awareness Day on April 16. It’s...

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Caring for the Caregiver

From our Care Blog

I’m excited to introduce you to LeAnn Thieman, co-author of Chicken Soup for the Caregiver’s Soul. She has provided a great guest post for our readers about caring for the caregiver. Strong bonds between family members are crucial to any healthy relationship. However, caregivers often require additional support from family members as they carry both the young and older relatives on their shoulders. LeAnn does a great job of offering advice to help care for the caregiver in your family.   Terry stacks the breakfast dishes into the sink, hands the freshly-packed lunchboxes to her son and daughter, bundles them...

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Hospitals need to revamp to cater to aging population

From our Care Blog

According to a recent article on USA Today’s website, an astonishing one-third of hospital patients older than 70 leave more frail than when they arrived. Further research shows that even after they are released, nursing home care or rehabilitation can be necessary. The elder care experts quoted in the article believe that this is a result of “conventional hospital care focusing on treating disease rather than preventing frailty.” So what can be done to help better the quality of care our elderly are receiving? Many hospitals have implemented walking programs to help get the seniors out of bed and moving—a...

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Caregiving Does Not Discriminate

From our Care Blog

I'm happy to introduce another guest blogger this week. Cindy Laverty is a nationally recognized caregiving expert who has dedicated her life to empowering caregivers. Today, she discusses her personal experiences as a family caregiver. Caregiving does not discriminate and caregiving usually happens when we least expect it. If not managed in an organized way from the beginning, it has the potential to rock and wrack your world. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be this way. I know this to be true, because it happened to me. Several years ago, I was one of those people literally...

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