Janice | ElderCareABCblog.com

Finding an Elder Law Attorney to be Your Medicaid Advisor

Many Medicaid advisors are elder law attorneys. When your parent owns property and has investments then a Medicaid advisor can guide you and your parent through options to preserve your parent’s estate. In a recent post, I discussed the importance of planning for your parent’s smooth transition to Medicaid. A Medicaid advisor will guide you…

Protection from Financial Elder Abuse

by Janice Wallace Protecting your parent from financial elder abuse is an important parent care responsibility. This type of abuse robs your parent of her money and her freedom because money equals choice when it comes to elder care services. Financial elder abuse is defined as a person taking an elder’s money or property for…

Macular Degeneration An Elder Health Care Threat

by Janice Wallace Macular degeneration threatens elder health care and quality of life. It creates a hole in the middle of the field of vision. Seniors lose the ability to read, drive a car and recognize faces. Age related macular degeneration (AMD) is the top cause of blindness in seniors. AMD creates an elder health…

Helping Your Parent Cope

by Janice Wallace Helping your parent cope with an elder health care crisis can seem endless. The stress of surgery and being hospitalized can bring out new symptoms. New complications can arise as a result of the original illness or surgery. It seems that the more your parent tries to heal and get home, the…

Preparing for Conversations about Death

by Janice Wallace Mary had been through a lot in the last month, heart surgery a pressure sore and a long stay in a nursing home. The great news was that she was steadily improving. I was shocked during my next visit when she said. “I won’t renew my symphony subscription; I’ll be dead before…

Eldercare Surgery and Recovery Tips

by Janice Wallace Mary has been recovering from an elder health care crisis of open heart surgery and a bumpy recovery. I’ve shared some of the challenges that Mary has faced in recent posts. We are hoping she will be discharged from skilled nursing in about a week. This feels like the right time to…

Elder Care Health Alert Preventing Pressure Sores

Preventing Pressure SoresElder health care vigilance from family members is the best way to prevent pressure sores. Recently, two older friends of mine had aortic valve replacements. Mary just started her fourth week in a nursing home. Lynn was home two weeks after her surgery. What is the difference between these two women? Mary developed…

Memory and Independent Living

A healthy brain and good memory are the keys to independent living as we age. As the daughter of an Alzheimer's disease victim, every memory lapse I experience makes me worry. I wonder is this the first sign that I will get AD too. While we know more about how our brains work than ever…

Caregiver’s Nightmare: Delirium After Surgery

As a friend and not a caregiver to my 80 year old friend Mary, I was confident her surgery would go well. A week before her surgery, Mary followed her normal schedule of bridge games and working in the garden. A week after surgery, Mary didn't know what hospital she was in. She told visitors…