...These statistics should make it glaringly obvious that family caregivers are indispensable to our nation as well as to the rest of the world. Without this so-called free care, global health systems would be in far worse trouble than they currently are. I am one of that army of caregivers. Over the span of two decades, I have provided primary care for a total of seven elders, four of whom had dementia of different types. Therefore, I know intimately the toll that years of caregiving for someone with dementia can take.
Dear Carol: My mom lives with emphysema so she's been on oxygen for more than two years. Mom needs several medications to manage this awful disease, which I understand, but some of her other medications concern me. I’ve asked her current doctor to consider lowering doses or taking her off some of them, but he’s made it plain that her life expectancy is quite limited so he doesn’t want to “rock the boat” by making changes. Meanwhile, Mom is becoming foggier in her thinking, and her memory and balance are bad. Maybe this is just age and poor health...
Dear Carol: My husband’s an experienced carpenter, so there’s rarely been a house problem that he couldn’t fix. Now that’s changed because he had a stroke a year ago, which took away most of his ability to use his tools. He gets upset when he notices things around our home that need fixing because he can’t do the work. I can live with imperfections, but seeing the look on his face when our swollen front door sticks or a deck board cracks makes me want to cry. We can afford to hire the work done...
