How does one live in the now while also awaiting the results of significant health tests? Everyone finds a way because there is no choice. Over the last three weeks, since an unanticipated hospital stay (what hospital stay is anticipated?), I have been stuck in this mode of waiting—waiting for my body to be cleared of food so I could get a colonoscopy, an endoscopy, and a capsule endoscopy; waiting for insurance approval for this [...]

It is stressful enough to get mom or dad to agree to move to Assisted Living, much less to complete all the required paperwork. Keep in mind, a smooth move-in day can make the transition very easy or even harder. Here are some tips on how to prepare given by veteran Care Coordinator Norelle Kranking, of Magnolia Glen. To read the entire article, visit: https://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Mom has agreed to move into Assisted Living. How long can you expect it to take and what are the logistical steps to make it happen expeditiously and seamlessly? To read the entire article, visit: https://www.wral.com/steps-to-move-into-assisted-living/17675043/

Wednesday's article about a 92-year-old grandmother shooting her 72-year-old son after refusing to be sent to Assisted Living went viral because it tapped into a vein many can relate to. Very few choose to go to Assisted Living. Here are some ways that might help soften the resistance. To read the entire article, visit: https://www.wral.com/introducing-the-idea-of-assisted-living/17675486/

Caregiving can be a very isolating experience and while family and friends may be supportive and well-meaning, they can’t fully understand the impact of caregiving on one’s life. Recently, several of my clients have asked for support due to severe burnout. I reached out to Laurie Ray, MSW, CMSW, C-ASWCM, an Advanced Professional Aging Life Care Specialist, with LifeLinks to answer some common questions. To read the entire article, visit: https://www.wral.com/caregiver-support-groups/17668231/

Sometimes old coping mechanisms don't work in new situations. Sometimes we are forced to change. It's not always a bad thing. The bulk of my clients call me in crisis and full of fear. Fear that there is no solution to address the very difficult situation at-hand or, if there is one, they cannot afford it. They call me when their internal worlds are all stirred up because of something happening in their external world. [...]

When words aren't sufficient to express how grateful you are, say thank you anyway. Most of my working hours are spent helping care for someone else in need, but this past week, when I was having a hard time standing up straight and doing the simplest of chores, I found myself on the other side of the equation, in a pinstriped hospital gown on the third floor section A of Wake Med. It had been [...]

All acts of kindness, big or small, can undoubtedly provide some real value to the recipients of those acts, but maybe at the end of the day, they can provide something more important for those with a paintbrush, a drill or saw in their hands: a chance to get out of their own heads for a minute and do something for someone else. To read the whole article, visit: https://www.wral.com/the-radical-benefits-of-kindness/17634870/

Dear Dad, Working now daily with people--many at the end of their lives--I am well aware that too often we don't say the most important things that we carry in our hearts. Here is my attempt to do so. When I was young, I often had nightmares. I remember quite distinctly you bringing me downstairs for milk or sitting by my bed, repeating the Lord’s Prayer over and over and over until my restlessness quieted. [...]

Death Café is an international program intended to allow people to discuss anything related to death and dying. Someone recently forwarded an invitation for an upcoming Death Cafe. What is that, you might ask, as did I. I called the facilitator of the Raleigh-based Death Cafe, Heather Hill. Heather is a licensed funeral director at Renaissance Funeral Home in North Raleigh, where she typically hosts a Death Café once a month. Here is my interview: https://www.wral.com/death-cafes/17609883/