Growing Bolder Community

When I was caring for Margaret, my wife of 20+ years who passed away only months after an unexpected Stage Four pancreatic cancer diagnosis, I knew that she was very ill, and that our time together was finite. I was no longer able to think in terms of our lives stretching out before us, or of the things we might do or places we might see. By necessity, I became focused much more in the...

Why is it so hard to ask for help? Asking for and accepting help is complex. At times, it is essential to admit that you need the helping hand of someone else in order to make a difference in the quality of care you provide for your loved one. Defining what kind of help you need will ease the responsibilities that seem overwhelming. Below are five tips to help you determine the help you need....

You may be stunned to learn that a loved one is terminally ill . Your heart and your mind can become flooded with overwhelming thoughts and emotions. Perhaps all you can do is ask “what's next?” After the diagnosis and basics of treatment and care have been discussed and decided upon, the next step for many may be to have a conversation about healthcare wishes, finances and insurance. It may...

Caregiver: 3 Tips For Keeping Hope Alive When we are faced with the terminal illness of a loved one, we hope – sometimes against hope itself – that the illness can be overcome and that death can be delayed. Unfortunately, a diagnosis of terminal illness promises only to threaten life and to do so in a downhill spiral. I know that’s what I experienced when my wife was unexpectedly...

“Sometimes all we need is a little pampering to help us feel better.” —Linus of Peanuts Fame One of the harshest realities of a life threatening illness is how drastically the world changes. And it can happen so quickly. One month you are celebrating the holidays in the Lone Star State, and the next month you are sitting in a hospital room wondering what a test will reveal. For a...

Dale Carter invited me to do an interview on her BlogTalkRadio show on July 27th. It was a very interesting experience and I was pleased with the results. Our discussion provided some very practical information and tips that can help all of us... even though it was specifically geared toward adult children with aging parents. http://blogtalk.vo.llnwd.net/o23/shows/show_1121902.mp3 Tune in and...

Caregivers: About Visitors When someone hears that your loved one has a serious illness they ask if there is anything they can do. This of course is the right thing to say and some people say it for that precise reason. Others actually mean it and some will even expect an answer. I found while caretaking Margaret, my wife of 20+ years, who was unexpectedly diagnosed with Stage Four...

When you’re over the age of 65, a little fall can do more damage than most people realize. In fact, falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospital admissions among this age group. However, an injury is only one of the many possible consequences arising from a fall. Let’s start by looking at a few facts from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC): Falls are the...

As we get older, the things (housing, health, safety, etc.) that we care most about tend to change. Think about living situations for young and energetic people. Generally, young people move all over the world, traveling and changing careers. However, for most people who are in their later stages of life, tend to desire to remain where they are and age in place. Health and safety become much...