At age 68, Mary knew the time had come to sell the family’s two-flat on Chicago’s North Side that her grandfather purchased in the 1940s. She grew up with her siblings and parents on the first floor. After her grandparents passed away, Mary moved to their second-floor apartment where she was joined by her partner, […]
Michael Grecco is currently at the end of his rope. Not only is he, along with the rest of the world, dealing with the continued uneasiness of the pandemic, but for more than 15 years, he has had the responsibility of taking care of his now-81-year-old mother. A proud woman at her core, Grecco’s mother […]Read More
Finding one’s way through mourning and loss Carisa Urban was quite literally at the end of her rope. Working tirelessly as a nurse in a Covid-19 intensive care unit at a busy Chicagoland hospital, the Bolingbrook resident had her hands full. She found herself not only treating an onslaught of severely ill patients, but also personally dealing […]Read More
Taking care of an older adult can be exhausting for family caregivers, who learn as they go from one precarious situation to the next. If you’re not prepared for the challenge, every mishap can feel like a one-two punch. But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you feel like you could benefit from […]Read More
Chicago Health is committed to publishing a diversity of opinions. The opinions expressed in this op-ed article are the author’s own. My husband was diagnosed out of the blue with stage 4 lung cancer. We never saw it coming; he was a non-smoker and health nut. Plus, he had no alarming symptoms, just some back […]Read More
When a loved one receives a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, family caregivers may feel at a loss, but there are concrete steps they can take to ease this phase of life. The statistics about Alzheimer’s disease can be staggering. More than 5 million Americans are currently living with the disease according to the Alzheimer’s Association. […]Read More
Looking out for others can be overwhelming; carve out respite time for yourself Like many people, Louise begins her day with a shower. The peace and quiet of a morning routine provides Louise, who asked that her last name not be used, a centering start to a new day. But even then, her focus is […]Read More
How to handle emotional stress from tough caregiving decisions Louisa McKellaston’s father was diagnosed with cognitive impairment several years ago, but several life-altering events — his retirement and a couple of moves — had contributed to significant memory decline over the past year. Then McKellaston’s mother died unexpectedly in March. “We brought my dad to […]Read More
What to look for when transitioning to memory care For families who have a loved one with dementia, the many challenges — the emotional burden, constant unknowns and high cost of care, to name just a few — may feel endless and unrelenting. More than 16 million family caregivers in the U.S. provide unpaid care […]Read More
DEAR MAYO CLINIC: What’s the difference between Lewy body dementia and Alzheimer’s? How is Lewy body dementia diagnosed? ANSWER: Doctors diagnose Lewy body dementia based on the range of symptoms a person shows. Generally, the diagnosis requires an ongoing decline in thinking skills, along with two of the following: visual hallucinations, Parkinsonism or fluctuating alertness. […]Read More
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