www.dementiacaregiving101.com

Dementia Caregiving 101 is the joint project of Paula Farris and Lanette Stultz. Paula and Lanette are sisters who shared in the responsibilities of cargiving for their Mother, Delorice, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease in March 2008. She passed away in September 2008 after a battle with blood clots.

Paula does the writing for Dementia Caregiving 101 and Lanette helps with the technical end of things as well as providing ideas and insight into the various topics on the site. They both look forward to serving you and making your Dementia Caregiving journey easier and more fulfilling.

http://www.dsolie.com/blog/
Aging Parents Insights: Insights to Understanding Our Aging Parents and Ourselves

Observations and commentary on caregiving, aging, and the complex journey through the second half of life.

David Solie is the author of How To Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders, published by Prentice Hall Press. Written for baby boomers and their parents, professionals who work with the elderly, and everyone who has regular contact with seniors, this book offers an original perspective on why these conversations can be an exercise in frustration. Whether the communication difficulties involve parents, patients or clients, Mr. Solie’s book provides a fresh and inspiring look at new strategies and skills for overcoming these challenges.

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/

Thanks to the marvels of medical science, our parents are living longer than ever before. Adults over age 80 are the fastest growing segment of the population, and most will spend years dependent on others for the most basic needs. That burden falls to their baby boomer children, 77 million strong, who are flummoxed by the technicalities of eldercare, turned upside down by the changed architecture of their families, struggling to balance work and caregiving, and depleting their own retirement savings in the process.

In The New Old Age, we explore this unprecedented intergenerational challenge. While founding blogger Jane Gross is on leave, at work on a book, we’ll be posting contributions from a variety of writers. You can reach the editors at newoldage@nytimes.com.

www.sandwichINK.com

Information and Encouragement for The Sandwich Generation and Other Multi-Generational Caregivers.

My parents and my in-laws are getting older. My mother-in-law just died last year after suffering tremendously from dementia for many, many years. Dementia; Alzheimer’s – whatever you want to call it, it is a horrible disease. It is an interesting study of contrasts. My parents are more like me (or me like them??) — anal and organized. My husband’s parents are more like him — free-spirited and focusing on the here and now. Both personality traits have their advantages and both have their disadvantages. When it comes to aging, however, being anal and organized tends to be the better approach.

None of us want to age. Some of us never age mentally but try as we might, we will all age physically. And it is a tough process. One of the toughest junctures in aging is when the parent must admit that they need more help from their children than their children need from them. Caring for an aging parent is difficult. It is difficult mentally, physically, and financially.

An estimated 30 million Americans are providing care, for free, to someone over the age of 50, but they’ve barely begun to realize how common or widespread their new role is. And they often feel alone and unsure of what they are doing. Caring for elderly parents involves maneuvering in the murky worlds of medicine, law, hospitals, nursing homes, guilt, fear and family ties.

There are many resources on the web offering advice and information on dealing with aging parents. Like most information on the web, however, it tends to be scattered here, there and everywhere. We have gathered the best videos we could find on the topic of aging parents at www.lipstickwisdom.com. As usual, the availability of personalized stories featuring individuals with advice to offer from having lived through the experience is limited. NBC Nightly News did an outstanding series during 2007 on Aging Parents called “Trading Places” that featured the personal situations of Brian Williams, Dr. Nancy Snyderman, Ann Curry, Tom Brokaw and Tim Russert. It was one of their most popular series ever.

In addition to the NBC Nightly News “Trading Places” series, we have gather videos introducing two movies (which have to be purchased elsewhere), “The Sandwich Generation” and “Surviving Parents”, which chronicle two families’ journeys with their aging parents offering their insights and advice from the emotional to the practical. Videos from experts on the website offer caregiver resources and information on long term care, geriatric care managers, home care and how to best communicate with your parents. We hope the resources we have gathered are helpful in navigating the journey. If you know of videos, articles or other resources that you think would be helpful, please send them to me in either the comment area of the aging section or in the feedback area of the blog itself.

The Sandwich Generation, those caught between their aging parents and young children, includes some 20 million Americans.

In this emotionally charged account of family caregiving, filmmaker Julie Winokur and her husband, photojournalist Ed Kashi, expose their personal lives with unflinching candor. Winokur and Kashi uprooted their two children and their business in order to move 3,000 miles cross-country to care for Winokur’s father, Herbie.

At 83, Herbie suffers from dementia and can no longer live alone. Winokur and Kashi are faced with difficult choices and overwhelming responsibility as they charge head on through their Sandwich years. It is a story of love, family dynamics and the immeasurable sacrifice of those who are caught in the middle

Trading Places: Caring for aging parents
Feb. 12 2007: It’s something so many Americans experience — caring for aging parents. Here, Brian Williams shares his personal story as part of NBC Nightly News 2007 special series.

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Trading Places: Moving on
Feb. 14 2007 : Dr. Nancy Snyderman shares her story of helping move her parents from their longtime home

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Trading Places: Ann Curry’s father, Bob
Feb. 15 2007: Ann Curry introduces us to her father, who she says refuses to act his age.

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Trading Places is often a struggle
Feb. 16 2007: NBC’s Tom Brokaw reports on how he is helping care for his mother, and talks to a family who struggles to find the time and finances needed to care for an older parent.

Trading Places: Having is easier than having not
Tom Brokaw parallels one Alabama family’s experience with his own
By Tom Brokaw
Correspondent
updated 12:21 p.m. ET, Sat., Feb. 17, 2007

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For the Russerts, caring for Dad is a team effort
Still independent, ‘Big Russ’ gets help from family, friends and neighbors
By Tim Russert
 

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Trading Places: Caring for Mom and Dad
May 20 2008: NBC’s Dr. Nancy Snyderman checks in to see how her parents are faring, one year after they moved their lives to become a bigger part of hers.

 
May 22 2007

Even in his final days, Bob Curry, NBC’s Ann Curry’s father, brought his family together with humor, love, and fierce determination. Ann shares an interview with her dad and reports on coping with loss in Part 3 of our series, Trading Places. (Nightly News)