Episodes

Another story about a caregiver who creates something based on their experiences. His father’s actions inspired founder Art Shaikh before his passing, which moved him to develop new technology. Art’s father had given him this box filled with family movies, hand-written cards, and old photographs, and he asked Art to deliver these to family members on his behalf once he was no longer alive. At the time, his father was healthy. He was just preparing for the future, but Art’s father unexpectedly p...

Over the past five years, Mike and Kim Barnes found themselves navigating problems they never saw coming from their parents: Alzheimer's, pacemakers, COVID pneumonia, and the tough decision to move parents into retirement communities. They've learned to balance the many facets of parenting aging parents, including medical, financial, and everyday-life decisions, emotional rollercoasters, protecting their parents from scams, and more, all while parenting their college-age kids and building their...

We want a fix when we get sick or don't feel well. Prescribing more and more medications because we want an immediate fix can cause more problems than they solve. This situation is especially true for the older population. One morning I was scrolling through Instagram when a video caught my attention. A pharmacist was talking to an audience of general physicians about how they can continue to make money while de-prescribing meds. I liked it and got an immediate DM. I assumed it was a bot, but t...

I learned about JellyDrops early on in my podcasting days, but sadly they weren't available outside the United Kingdom at the time. Earlier this year (2022), I started seeing social media posts from followers in America about this innovative snack. Shortly after, I got an email suggesting Lewis Hornby as a guest. What a happy day. If you are not familiar with JellyDrops, here's a quick overview. You'll want to tune in and hear the entire story of how Lewis was inspired to create them and where ...

We all likely have a story about how our medical records are incomplete, not regularly reviewed by our doctor, or something else. It's beyond frustrating that in addition to managing ourselves, we also have to manage and advocate for the proper medical care. PicnicHealth takes care of our medical documents in a way that works for our doctors and us. In this bonus episode, I talk to Brittany Drier about PicnicHealth and how they were created to help caregivers and patients. When CEO and co-foun...

Grab a snack before pushing play because today's episode may make you hungry! I'm speaking with Dr. Yami Cazorla-Lancaster. In addition to her pediatric practice, Dr. Yami is a certified lifestyle medicine physician, health and wellness coach, author, and speaker. Her podcast, Veggie Doctor Radio, explores diet and nutrition, healthy habits, behavior change, and motivation. New episodes are released weekly, featuring leading experts in plant-based food and healthy living. I'm glad she was able t...

On today's show, I am talking to Rabbi Steve Leder about his book, The Beauty of What Remains, a beautiful book that I thoroughly enjoyed. As the senior rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the world, Rabbi Steve has learned the many ways that death teaches us how to live. Even after having sat bedside at thousands of deathbeds, Steve, the rabbi, was not fully prepared for the loss of his father from Alzheimer's disease. I believe you will find this episode moving and inspirational, and hop...

Today I'm speaking with Linda Fordrini-Johnson, the author of The Empowered Caregiver. The Empowered Caregiver is a pocket support guide designed to provide you with strategies and solutions for caring for your aging parents. In today's episode, we're talking about what to do about resistance, how to set limits, and how to share the caregiving load. We're lucky that this isn't a three-hour episode! Linda Fodrini-Johnson became a licensed family therapist and professional certified care manager i...

As a professional photographer, it was important to me to preserve memories with beautiful family portraits. I was a photographer long enough that I had clients die, and trust me, no one was sorry they had some lovely photographs. I was excited to connect with Carmen of the Doggies for Dementia Foundation finally. They create portraits for families experiencing Dementia. Their goal is to provide beautiful memories and also to raise awareness. They do this by sharing the images that they create o...

This week's guest is Laurette Kiler, the author and creator of Nana's Books. When her mother-in-law developed Lewey-Body dementia, Laurette looked for ways to have quality engagement with her. In this chat with her, you'll learn how this need ended up as a passion project for anyone who has a loved one with dementia. Nana's books is an educator-created treasury of nostalgic books designed to engage people in cognitive decline and their care partners. Lovingly designed and created, each book help...

Learn how to PACE yourself while caregiving. Today I'm chatting with Tami Anastasia about strategies for dementia caregiving. Tami offers a fresh and practical approach to the challenges faced by wives, husbands, and adult children who care for loved ones with dementia. Using the four D's of Dementia Care, detach, document, diffuse, and distract, caregivers can find solutions for behaviors ranging from shadowing to wandering to medication refusal. The PACE model is what we discuss in this episod...

Matt wanted his Mom to hear from her four sons and thirteen grandchildren daily! She needed a simple and direct way to communicate, ask for assistance, and conveniently interact with her grandchildren. Screens and phones are complex for her. Amazon Alexa and Speak2 Family remove this barrier. The entire family can watch out for her and help her with her requests. It keeps her as the family centerpiece, just like she always was. This need is the basis for my conversation with Jillian Guerra, the ...

Using natural remedies has been my preferred method of health care whenever possible. My dad spent the last decade of his life on many prescription drugs, which caused numerous unpleasant side effects. They added more to address the latest side effects instead of reducing the number of drugs he was on. After moving Mom to memory care, my sister wanted to diffuse essential oils in her room, but it wasn't practical since we were not there every day. In this episode, I talk with a past guest, Dr. J...

Regular listeners will remember that this podcast started because I sought better engagement methods with my Mom. Thankfully, we know better ways to help keep our loved ones active, engaged, and happy. Montessori engagement creates an environment filled with cues and memory support that is explicitly designed to enable individuals to care for themselves. Using the Montessori methods, generally associated with teaching children, people living with dementia can learn to shop and prepare their meal...

Theresa Willbanks talks to me about how we can create sustainable caregiving. Creating sustainable caregiving will be something more of us will have to know as our population ages. Caring for another person, especially a parent, can feel like navigating an unpredictable, wild river. How do we determine when it's no longer safe for Mom or Dad to live alone? When do we step in to help manage finances and or medications? How do we get our loved ones to stop driving and continue to allow them their ...

What do you do when your Mom has had Alzheimer's for more than a decade? You Start a podcast of course!

Every caregiver has their own unique story about how they learned a loved one had dementia. Carolyn Birrell used her experiences with her Mom to write a book. Walking With Fay – My Moms’ Uncharted Decline Into Dementia, released in time for Mother’s Day 2022, is a heartwarming story. It’s a story of a mother and daughter as they navigate the twists and turns along the path into dementia. How do you stop someone who lives in a different state from driving down the wrong side of the road? What do ...

Caring for a caregiving spouse is not a topic I’ve discussed on this show. Not directly. I was pleasantly surprised when my hubby told me he had an idea for an episode. To be fair, I don’t need someone to feed me ideas, but I listened. You’ll be glad I did because his idea was gold. My Mom died at the start of the pandemic, and life kind of went on the way it was unfolding back in March of 2020. We haven’t had a lot of conversations about our feelings, but that changes with this episode. Today I...

Finding ways to reduce caregivers’ frustrations is a worthy goal that may be helped by mindfulness. Regular listeners likely know that I discovered the benefit very late in my caregiving journey. Thankfully, it still helps me today which is why we’re revisiting the topic. Being frustrated happens for many reasons. Understanding the reasons and how we can reduce them can serve us well in our daily lives. But, caregivers are faced with a very high level of frustration triggers. How can we use mind...

Connectedness is important for good brain health. Have you ever had a conversation that lasted a long time but didn’t feel as if it did? Perhaps a chat with a loved one that made you feel seen, heard, special – alive? Conversations can be mood elevators as well as help maintain good cognitive health. We’ve all lived through a time that forced us to rethink how we stay in touch with other people. While many are excited to return to “normal” the pandemic did give us new tools for helping those who...

Add a gleam in their eyes by providing tools for interacting that are fun and cognitively appropriate. How do you add a gleam in their eye? Simple, by hearing what this caregiver turned support provider has created. My guest Marie Vaudry is a sandwich generation caregiver who has found a way to make visits easier with curated activities. The Gleam in Your Eye boxes contain games that facilitate discussions, make visits more pleasant, allow you the opportunity to laugh together, and properly stim...

Cameron discusses having essential financial conversations with our parents. Show me the money is about having essential conversations with your parents about their finances. Talking to your parents about their financial matters isn’t easy territory; you need to know what to say & what not to say. My guest, Cameron Huddleston is an award-winning, financial journalist. Despite her comfort with financial conversations and her Moms openness on the subject, trouble loomed. They didn’t discuss the im...

Welcome to episode #216. I, Jen, can’t believe I’ve been podcasting for four years. I still feel like a newbie. This episode is a little bit of my story, including what it was like losing my Mom during the pandemic. I also talk about what I’ve learned from doing this show, and, a little bit of behind the scenes into how the show gets made. When Jen started out on her podcasting journey she planned on sharing all she knew. That didn’t last long. After tapping into her less than a deep well of kno...

Could there truly be a cause & cure for aging? Could aging have a cure? Besides dying young? As a naturally curious person, I was intrigued by this possibility. I was even more intrigued when I realized I’d be talking about someone who is a nuclear physicist AND a biblical scholar. Aging: Cause and Cure reveals two newly discovered vitamins that are no longer naturally available today. Like all of the previously known vitamins, they appear to be necessary for optimal health and well-being. Ongoi...