Alzheimer’s and
Memory Loss

Three Early Signs of Dementia

From our Care Blog

So, it’s a Saturday and you have just taken your mom out for a nice lunch.  Your elderly mom however cannot remember where she put her checkbook.  And, she tripped a couple times as you brought her back to her house.  You also noticed that she seemed distant at lunch, and you caught her staring off into nowhere several times. None of these things should be a cause for alarm, right?  Geez, even I misplace my car keys about once a day.  However, as our parents and loved ones age, the occurrence of these events could be early signs of...

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Keeping A Thankful Journal

From our Care Blog

It is an annual tradition in our family to go around the Thanksgiving table and have everyone express one thing they are thankful for. One of my favorites is when my nephew said he was thankful he didn’t have to clean up the mess! But too soon, Thanksgiving is behind us, the stomach ache from eating too much turkey is long gone and the rat race begins anew. We get caught up in the stress, the negative feelings the holidays can elicit and we forget about all the good things. For instance, this is my first holiday season without my...

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Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

From our Care Blog

November is National Diabetes Month and FirstLight Home Care would like to bring your attention to an illness that impacts millions of Americans every day. According to the National Diabetes Association: Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. Another 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes and are at risk for developing type 2  diabetes. The statistic that is most startling is: Recent estimates project that as many as 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes. Although Type 1 diabetes is not preventable, Type 2 diabetes is....

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Alternatives to the Traditional Funeral

From our Care Blog

Guest blogger: Julie Grannan My mom passed away on August 2, 1997.  Only 54 years old, she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a short six months prior.  Being “younger” I don’t believe that she and my dad had really discussed their funeral/burial preferences.  But when terminal illness comes knocking on your door, this often times awkward conversation has to be had. I was 18 years old at the time, and I remember being quite surprised and unsettled in my emotions when I heard that my mom wished to be cremated.  However, over time and definitely as I fully entered...

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Tips For Communicating With An Alzheimer’s Patient

From our Care Blog

Here at FirstLight Home Care, we work with lots of families caring for loved ones with many different diseases and disabilities.  One disease that is particularly heart wrenching to watch and personally endure is Alzheimer’s.  I have asked myself this question many times…as I get older “would I rather lose my physical capabilities or my memory?”  That’s definitely not a fair choice to make.  And, unfortunately we don’t get the choice.  Life happens as it’s going to happen, and then in order to move on, we have to learn to adapt to a “new normal.”  But, after talking to many...

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Men Are Caregivers Too

From our Care Blog

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a long-time friend of mine who had been caring for his elderly mother.  My blog entry was also about how FirstLight Home Care is meeting the needs of aging America, and an unfortunate lack of awareness surrounding caregiving options. This week however, I want to circle back to the fact that my friend Dave* (a male obviously) was in a caregiver role for his mom.  Dave* is not alone in having that title.  According to a National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) survey, 44% of caregivers are men.  Yes, I said 44%, and...

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What is Veneration?

From our Care Blog

By definition, veneration is the expression of respect or reverence inspired by dignity, wisdom, dedication or talent, often of an elder. Veneration is also a new initiative with an aim to raise awareness of aging Americans, find connections to other generations, find solutions to the challenges facing older adults and rebuild the dignity that our elders deserve. The Veneration Project was incorporated in 2011 by two sisters, Adina and Sara Saoerstein, who had to care for their mother at a young age. They had no support as they navigated through the complicated legal systems and home care options for their...

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The Case for Hiring a Caregiver

From our Care Blog

A USA Today poll revealed that 41 percent of baby boomers with living parents are providing some kind of care to them, either financially, personally or both and an estimated 34 million unpaid caregivers in America provide an average of 21 hours a week of care. When you realize that an older adult in your family needs extra help, a few options come to mind: move him or her to an assisted living facility, hire a caregiver or move in to do the caregiving yourself. This is a challenging decision for many people and requires some serious thought. Before you...

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Caregiving Doesn’t Stop If Your Loved One Is Hospitalized

From our Care Blog

Today we handed the spotlight over to Martine Ehrenclou, M.A., an award-winning author and patient advocate, who shared her personal experiences of handling the care and hospitalization of her mother and godmother and how others can navigate the intimidating hospital world. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below. Have a great weekend, all! -- Jeff Bevis I began my journey into advocacy eleven years ago when my mother and godmother were patients in hospitals for very lengthy stays (five months and seven months respectively.) I was not prepared for what I saw and experienced with their...

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Stress Awareness Month: Stress stops here

From our Care Blog

April is Stress Awareness Month, a national effort sponsored by The Health Resource Network (HRN) to inform people about the dangers of stress, offer coping strategies and disprove harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in our society. Prominent writer Martin Boroson, author of One-Moment Meditation: Stillness for People on the Go, published an article yesterday on Huffington Post about “stresscalation”—the way in which we pass our stress to other people, often unwillingly. Boroson challenged readers to vow not to pass their stress on to others for one day, in honor of National Stress Awareness Day on April 16. It’s...

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