Falling Down Sick or The End. Maybe. Finally? Maybe.
My mom fell. Hard. On her face. She was trying to get out of bed. She seemed OK. Shaken, but OK. I walked in the door as they were calling me to tell me about the fall. I stayed for … Continue reading →
View ArticleA Letter to Those Businesses And Professionals Who Make Dementia Even More...
Dear hospice and nursing home (names of providers removed because I have enough problems, frankly), Thank you for making late/end stage dementia even more awful by not coordinating your care of my mom,...
View ArticleThe Good News: You’re Going to Die. The Bad News: Death Has Bad Breath & If...
If you’re reading this blog because you have a parent dying from Frontotemporal dementia, I have bad news: things are going to get worse. That is a fact. No point in sugar coating the truth, right?...
View ArticleA Memoir: Until I Say Goodbye by Susan Spencer-Wendel
I stumbled upon Susan Spencer-Wendel’s soon-to-be released book, Until I Say Good-Bye: My Year of Living with Joy early this morning. I haven’t read it yet. It doesn’t come out until next March. Still,...
View ArticleLife After My Demented Mom or A New Year: Time To Think On Death
It’s another year. And I am trying to be optimistic about 2013 — optimism is not my strong suit — mostly because, at this point (knock on wood…… the gods can be very cruel), the worst thing that could...
View ArticleReverse Empty Nest Syndrome
When I walked into the front door of my mother’s home, a little over two weeks had past since my last visit. Because of the influenza epidemic that turned Arizona bright red on the “flu view” map of...
View ArticleGoing to the Funeral is the Easy Part
The other day, my friend Gary posted an NPR “All Things Considered“ interview with a woman named Deirdre Sullivan to his Facebook wall. The gist of the interview was the importance of going to the...
View ArticleHey God, She’s Dying. Where Are You?
I’m still coming to terms with the idea that my mom is dying. It hardly seems possible. I mean, I knew, eventually, she would die. But death felt faraway. It still feels far away. If she is dying,...
View ArticleA New Chapter… Life After Death & Dementia
I don’t really know what to say at this point. The thing is, I still have a lot to say. I want to tell our story. I have to. I need to keep going because, well, what else am I going to do? Sit back...
View ArticleThe Recovering Caregiver: A Podcast About Life After Dementia
“The Recovering Caregiver” is a four-episode podcast series about life after dementia. This podcast is geared toward caregivers who have entered the final phase of caregiving: life without their loved...
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