9 tips to keep your loved one eating well with dementia When you think about side effects of dementia, eating probably isn’t one of the first issues to come to mind. But for a disease that impacts every area of a person’s life, mealtime definitely takes a hit. Over time, dementia may cause changes in […]Read More
Tags : Caregivers
Seek support when caring for a partner with dementia In the basement of Frank Pagura’s Elk Grove Village home is a woodshop, a respite from his role as full-time caregiver to his wife Rosemary, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease about five years ago. While Frank, 80, gets lost in the art of woodturning, Rosemary, 81, […]Read More
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
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
Launi Whedon’s husband David was diagnosed at age 62 with primary progressive aphasia, a form of frontotemporal dementia. “There is no cure, and the prognosis is grim, so I knew I needed ways to cope,” says Whedon, who participated in a research study that teaches caregiving skills. The program, called LEAF — Life Enhancing Activities […]Read More
7 questions to ask when hiring a home care provider Living alone can be daunting if you struggle to do things like shower, dress yourself or cook a meal. Whether the cause of that loss is temporary or long term, home care providers offer assistance with daily living tasks during challenging times. Thanks to this […]Read More
When caring for a loved one at home, most family caregivers reach a point where they realize they need some assistance. Hiring an in-home caregiver can ease the workload, providing help with tasks like bathing, dressing, cooking, cleaning, companionship and supervision. The caregiving industry is growing alongside the aging baby boomer population. With so many […]Read More