Helping you care for the seniors you love |

Is it Alzheimer’s or just old age?

Not long ago, I started working with a client who was becoming increasingly forgetful. Her children, who lived in another state, hired me after a recent trip home to celebrate Mom’s 80th birthday. As often happens when there are long separations, certain changes (or declines) can seem more pronounced. One daughter noticed that Mom was...

Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

The Awesomettes use sparkle, social connection to ease aging

“I turn 77 next week, and I’ll be wearing go-go boots and a tiara,” said Sabra Taylor, who was wearing an elegant, diamond-rimmed, blue evening gown. A curtain rod slid out of Barbara Wishy’s fairy wing and clanged onto Lee Ann Walsh’s brick patio. Wishy, 84, said, “It’s never too late to start.” I was sitting with...

Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Expect Medicare to cover assisted living? Think again

According to a 2015 survey conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 34 percent of Americans assumed Medicare would cover ongoing nursing home care, while another 27 percent were unsure. That’s simply not true. “There’s a big disconnect between what resources people think they will need financially during their last years and what they...

Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

The call after the fall: What to do with grandma

Six weeks ago, our dear 77-year-old neighbor Dee fell while going out to water her yard. It was a fluke accident, simply a misstep, while she was trying to loosen a hose. Her hip hurt, but Dee was more worried about her elbow – until she tried to stand up. The pain was excruciating. An...

Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Know road signs, resources to aid aging loved ones

Many years ago, when I was in graduate school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, I’d drive over to visit my grandmother in Smithfield. I’d plant annuals in her garden. We’d go out to lunch at K&W. I’d take her to the doctor. She always insisted I drive her car, a 1975...

Article and images are provided by WRAL. To view this and other articles written for WRAL, visit: http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/agingwell/

Interviews With Experts