Q. I am a full-time caregiver for my father, Frank, who has Alzheimer’s. I am able to work from home, but I often feel like I have two full-time jobs, since caregiving for dad is a full-time job in itself. At work, I am entitled to two weeks of vacation time a year, and in past years, I didn’t take it. My lifelong […]
Being Her Brother’s Caregiver
A year ago, Helen Ries’s mother died unexpectedly, and she became the primary caregiver of her brother, Paul Knoll. Knoll has Down syndrome and had lived with his parents most of his life. Ries admits that her first year as a caregiver wasn’t easy, as she attempted to maintain the same standards for her brother […]
Military Caregivers: Challenges and Strategies
Q. My father, Steve, is a retired Marine who is recently widowed. My mother used to provide care for him full-time until she passed away suddenly. My brothers and sister live far away, and my father needs assistance now. He has Parkinson’s Disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, and is depressed over the loss of my mom. […]
How Caregivers Can Collect Social Security Benefits and Reduce Work Hours
Q. My mother had a stroke and really needs my help until we can find other arrangements. I’m afraid I’ll lose my job and wind up unemployed if I take time off work to care for her. Do you know if I have any rights under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA)? A. Millions of […]
Should I Have a Caregiver Contract?
Dear Angel, I will be quitting my job to care for my father next month. He will be paying me, since I have no other income to support myself. My dad used to have a caregiver through an agency, and the agency had a written contract. But as an individual, I’ve never had a contract […]
What Aging Parents Really Want from Their Adult Children
Ellen, 75, was thrilled at first when her daughter, Samantha, moved back to Northern Virginia with her family. She loved seeing her grandchildren and enjoyed being there for their concerts, soccer games, and birthday parties. Her feelings began to change, however, when Samantha began dropping by, acting overly critical, and assessing everything from the cleanliness […]
Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Provide Tax Credit for Caregiving Expenses
Dear Baxter, I read something about a Bill that was just introduced to provide tax credit for caregiving. I am a part-time caregiver for my father and work 20 hours a week at my job. Iwould be interested in learning more about this, if you can provide any details. Thanks! Bill Foruss —- Dear Bill, […]
Enough is Enough! I Quit.
Every day, Rebecca goes to her mother’s house in Oakton, gets her out of bed, gives her breakfast, and dresses her. She spends the day with her, as she is working from her mother’s home. Sometimes, when Rebecca arrives, her mother will greet her with, “Oh, it’s you again.” And, throughout the day, she complains […]
Bring Your Mom to Work: On-Site Elder Day Care at Workplaces
Karen spent many years in school to get her PhD, followed by years of work to become a tenured professor at a university, and eventually a department head. She and her husband delayed starting a family, and when she was in her mid 40’s and at the peak of her career, she had her […]
A New Era of Human Longevity
Happy Birthday Irene Ciuffoletti! Irene Ciuffoletti, a nursing home resident in Pennsylvania, celebrated her 113th birthday last week with other residents, enjoying cake and music. A widow for more than half a century, she has outlived all but one of her five sons. She was already a centenarian when she arrived at the nursing home […]
PBS’ Nine to Ninety: Three Generations Face Questions of Aging
Phyllis and Joe Sabatini (source: NextAvenue) Juli Vizza, 44, is an Emmy award-winning producer and editor who typically tells the stories of others in her documentaries. Recently, she witnessed her Aunt Sarah struggling with the caregiving of her sick grandparents, Joe and Phyllis Sabatini (who are 89 and 90, respectively), while also caring for her […]
Top 15 Articles of 2015
From the 50th birthday of Medicaid and Medicare and the 80th birthday of Social Security to the once-a-decade White House Conference on Aging, we covered a lot of ground in 2015. It was a year that included a new act being passed in Virginia to help special needs families, overtime pay for caregivers, and amazing new technological innovations to help seniors age-in-place. At the Farr Law Firm, […]
It’s Not Just the “Sandwich Generation” – It’s a Triple-Decker
“Are you the ham in an intergenerational sandwich?”- Graphic by Amanda Sterczyk Marlena is a 53-year-old professional who works out of her home office and provides care for her two octogenarian parents, whose health is rapidly declining. She is also a wife, and mom to two teenagers. When it comes to her parents, she often feels like she is taking care […]
How to Survive Adult Sibling Conflict Over Elder Care, Inheritances, and More
Q. Last week, my sister, my brother, and I traveled with our families to visit our 82-year old mother for Thanksgiving (I didn’t have to go too far, since she lives ten minutes away!). Although mom says she is “just fine,” we noticed several memory lapses and other signals of her waning health throughout our […]
New Law Helps More People Live Independently
Q. My widowed 82-year-old mother lives in the home she has owned for more than 60 years. She is legally blind, and has severe arthritis and diabetes, but she insists on staying in her home for now. In my opinion, in order for her to remain in her current independent living situation, she really needs […]
Be Very Afraid: Our Top Ten Scariest Articles
With Halloween upon us, now is the time when we present you with this year’s scariest & creepiest stories. From posthumous messages from loved ones to Alzheimer’s being contagious, we uncovered some scary ground. To celebrate Halloween, we’ve ranked our scariest articles for you to revisit (if you dare). As always, thank you for reading […]
Mandating Overtime Pay for In-Home Caregivers
My mother-in-law, Stella, lives alone in her home in Florida, and her health has been declining for some time. About a year ago, we hired an in-home caregiver for her who comes 4 hours every day from a local agency. Now her health is deteriorating more rapidly, and we are thinking of hiring a live-in […]
I Am A Caregiver Whose Friends Are Deserting Me!
Dear Angel, My mother needs full-time care, so I quit my job and moved in with her. Before doing so, I had a core group of friends that I went to lunch with, to the movies etc. Now, they are not including me anymore. And, it seems they feel uncomfortable coming to mom’s house. What […]
Learning to “Speak Alzheimer’s”
Dear Angel, My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s a couple of years ago. She used to be a college professor and is a brilliant woman. I began noticing that when someone hears of her Alzheimer’s, they ask me questions that she could very well still answer for herself. How can I convey to others that […]
Hospitals are Required to Train a Family Caregiver Prior to Discharge
Q. My father, Marty, was in a serious car accident last year, where he broke several bones. During the week that followed his discharge from the hospital, my step-mother, Carolyn, struggled as she tried to get dad from the car to his wheelchair, and he ended up falling on his head and having a concussion. […]
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