My guest blogger is Lisa Greenwade. She is a part of the stamp development team at the U.S. Postal Service. Her goal is to educate people about stamps that might be of interest to them and their communities.Net proceeds from sales of the Alzheimer’s semipostal stamp are distributed to the National Institutes of Health, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, all part of a national effort to find ways to prevent, treat, and someday stop this heartbreaking disease. In its first 13 months on the market, the US Postal Service has sold 5.4 million Alzheimer’s Stamps, rai ..read more

I went to visit my mom and stepdad's final resting place on Christmas Day, and it was emotional for me. I mean in a matter of four years I lost everyone in my immediate family. I went through the daunting task of going thru my loved ones things and came across a trunk full of accomplishments that my mom and stepdad had over their lifetime. There were diplomas, certificates, letters of recognition old photos, etc Just a cornucopia. of things that just showed what amazing individuals they were. I thought to myself WOW. Now I knew my mom was amazing of course, but I had said after all that life ..read more

While you are looking forward to spending the holiday season with family and friends, it may be a little different this year. Perhaps a parent, grandparent or even a dear friend suffering from a form of Dementia is in a nursing home this time around. You may be questioning yourself how to celebrate the holiday festivities with them in this situation or even if you should do it at all. Some elderly individuals know that they can’t spend the holidays in their own home, and that can be difficult. If your elderly loved one does not want to talk about it respect their decision. Just don’t pretend ..read more

For the individuals that had to take a long break from their career to become a full-time caregiver the prospect of re-entering the workforce can be intimidating. Most likely you will find unique challenges that may make it difficult to land the job that you want. There are some ways that you can prepare for success. Before you apply to the same types of jobs you held a year ago, consider the person you are today and determine if the career that you once had is a good fit for you now. One way to avoid doubting yourself and increasing your confidence back is to “identify what’s important to yo ..read more

So you have a friend, and they are currently a caregiver. You see them struggle daily to make it every day. Caregivers have to juggle responsibilities for everyone including themselves. Some of them have full-time jobs, or they are someone’s parent of young children. They are someone’s secretary making medical appointments, they are the legal counsel going over important paperwork deciding on their loved one's well-being, and they are the nursing assistant feeding and giving baths to their loved one, leaving no time for themselves. Their lives for the most part has made a complete 180 degrees ..read more

Yes, I’ve said this to myself many of times, you love your parent, but you don’t think that you have it in you to be a caregiver. What do you do when you don’t have a choice? Well, I had two options like many of us do place my mom in a Nursing Home or step up to the plate a provide care to the woman that gave me life and was my number one supporter. I chose to step into the caregiver role. Fortunately, I had help her Husband and his daughter who was a medical provider who guided me along the way but if help isn’t available what do you do? What do you do when the "family" disappears from all f ..read more

Over time the dark days outweigh the good days. Although you want to don’t want to admit it, you feel that you can no longer take on the caregiving responsibility. Placing your loved one who has dementia in a nursing home is never a decision you should take on lightly but, here are some signs that caregivers visually and physically experience to recognize that maybe it’s time to consider it: 1. Wandering. As dementia moves into the later stages, the risk of wandering becomes more significant. Your loved one can wander off even if you leave them out of your sight for a moment to go to the bath ..read more

The time has come when you feel that you can’t provide your parent the best care at home. You have dreaded this choice, but think that it’s best for all parties involved. There are things that you should consider when making this decision. In the brief moment that I considered placing my mom in a Nursing home as a last resort, I've heard the horror stories about mistreated patients but, there are good Nursing homes you have to do your research. I did some research myself even though we decided to keep mom at home. First things first, get yourself a notepad because you need to do your research ..read more

Hello everyone. I haven’t posted a blog in a while I know, but I’m slowly making it back on the scene. Everyone that has had a loss of a loved one and or was a caregiver for your loved one can relate to wanting to take time to recover from the heartache and exhaustion. It’s a lot, and you shouldn’t apologize for that. When I lost my brother from cancer in April 2015 after six months after his diagnosis, my heart was broken he was my hero. I couldn’t even grieve with my mom because of her dementia, so I grieved and moved forward as a caregiver for her. Then my mother passed away from suffering ..read more

African-Americans are twice as likely as Caucasian people to get Alzheimer's. Although the cause of Alzheimer's disease is not known, studies have shown that persons with a long history of high blood pressure or high cholesterol are twice as likely to get Alzheimer’s disease. Another risk factor is diabetes. All these risk factors are higher in African-Americans. To be honest, I'm terrified of this being that both of my parents passed away from different forms of dementia. My mom passed away in June 2017, and my dad passed away in July 2009 from a combination of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's di ..read more