Understanding
Senior Care

Get Ready for 2015

From our Care Blog

Where did this year go? We cannot believe in just a few weeks we’ll be counting down to midnight to bring in 2015. As we start to reminisce of the events of this year (and read every year-in-review piece of information we can), we also start to get a little excited for January and the renewed optimism for change, for a better life, for a better you that comes with the arrival of a new year. This fresh start gives us a chance to reinvent our lives, ourselves, our homes, and our outlook. It allows us to reinvigorate ourselves, to...

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Respite Care Over The Holidays

From our Care Blog

The holidays can be stressful. We have more things to do, family obligations, events, activities, shopping, and more. If you are a family caregiver – there doesn’t seem to be enough time for it all. It can all become too much. It’s tough and for many caregivers we become overwhelmed, exhausted, even depressed when the quality of a Caregiver’s daily life is out of balance. Many caregivers have no lunch hours, no coffee breaks, and no vacation. We all need breaks. It is why we are always emphasizing the importance of respite care. You will be a better caregiver when...

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Five great holiday movies to curl up and watch this weekend

From our Care Blog

It’s the crazy holiday season and there is so much to do with so little time but may we suggest, even recommend, that you block out a few hours this coming weekend and take a well deserved break? One of our favorite holiday traditions is to find a Saturday afternoon where we turn everything off (minus our Christmas lights), start a fire in the fireplace, grab a warm beverage, find the coziest blanket in the house and watch our favorite holiday movies. We have found this to be a great way to get re-energized and excited about the holiday season....

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Opening The Conversation on Care

From our Care Blog

Molly Rowe owns FirstLight Home Care of Salem, MA with her husband, Steve, and lives in Swampscott with their two sons. A few weeks ago, I wrote about our regrets related to my father-in-law in the last few years of his life. Since then, I’ve heard many stories from people who’ve shared similar experiences caring for an aging parent or loved one. Every story is different of course, but there’s one sentence I keep hearing over and over: “Looking back, we should have had help.” It’s mind-boggling to me, really, that we are all in this “caring for our parent”...

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Give the Gift of Caring

From our Care Blog

As Thanksgiving is around the corner and the holidays approach, the question always arises: “What should I get my parents and grandparents for the holidays?” They are hard to buy for. They have reached the point in their life where they don’t need things. Dust collectors. Things to trip over and create a fall. If you ask them what they want, they will undoubtedly answer: “nothing, I have what I need.” That’s not much of a help! Consider this: your parents and grandparents are getting older and may have trouble doing the things they used to do. Cleaning the house...

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Respite Care For Your Aging Parents Over The Holidays

From our Care Blog

If you are like most baby boomers, on any given day, you are trying to squeeze in raising your children, managing your career and taking care of your aging parents.  This can be very stressful and hectic as you try and meet all your time commitments. Add in the pace of the holiday season, and it’s no wonder that your blood pressure could be skyrocketing! Maybe you’d like to go away over the holidays, but you have no one reliable to watch your aging parents. Or maybe you’d just like a couple of hours off a week to get your...

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Where to turn when you’re caring for your aging parents

From our Care Blog

All your life, they’ve been there for you and now as they grow older, the role between you and your parents is changing. You’re now the parent…worried about their safety, concerned over changes in the way they eat or remember things that they use to never forget, and each month they require more help. It’s scary, confusing, exhausting, and at times even heartbreaking. We know. We’ve personally been there and we serve many families across the US who are going through exactly what you’re going through right this moment. In our years of serving the elderly, disabled, those returning from...

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Serving Our Veterans

From our Care Blog

FirstLight Home Care team members are proud to be able to serve and care for our men and women Veterans. We work hard to deliver care that is tailored to the servicemen and women that have fought for our freedom. We provide services that can be covered through a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) pension program that provides financial benefits to veterans, or their surviving spouses, with non-service connected disabilities (called “Aid and Attendance). FirstLight Home Care caregivers can come into your home or a home of a Veteran family member and create a safe and supportive environment for you...

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Losing It. Early Signs of Dementia

From our Care Blog

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, more than 5 million Americans live daily with dementia. In fact, every 67 seconds, someone in the United States develops dementia. Dementia is a collection of symptoms that can be caused by various diseases. The leading cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s disease. Dementia can also be caused by brain damage incurred from any injury or stroke or from other diseases like Huntington’s or Lewy body dementia. Many people write in to Nurse Gina to ask about dementia and its early signs versus normal age-appropriate forgetfulness. Here are some signs to consider: Memory Loss: If you...

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Sanity Check: Why Family Caregivers Need Respite Care

From our Care Blog

Caring for a parent, family members or loved one day in and day out can take its toll on the caregiver. It’s a tough job and sometimes caregivers need a sanity break and take time for themselves and to rejuvenate their own body, mind and soul. At FirstLight Home Care, we are caregivers and we know what caregivers go through. We support these family members and over the years we have found these 4 tips to be very helpful in keeping your sanity in check. 1. Have a Life: Yes caregiving can be a 24/7 job but you need to...

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