Paperwork Makes Caregiving Simpler

OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters offers a chapter called: Paperwork and Practicalities. It gives a straightforward view of the official documents a caregiver needs in order to pay a loved one’s bills, talk with doctors and other medical providers, get information from insurance companies and chase down any billing discrepancies (whichContinue reading “Paperwork Makes Caregiving Simpler”

Bridging The Gap Between Doctor and Patient

When my dad was diagnosed with bone cancer, my brother made sure he was at every doctor’s visit with Pop. He wanted to be there to listen, even record it, and be able to use the information to help our father make the best decisions possible in his individual circumstances. It was more than aContinue reading “Bridging The Gap Between Doctor and Patient”

Natives vs Nativars: What’s The Problem?

by Nancy Taylor Robson Published in 2013 by GWA (now GardenComm) the national garden communicators’ association Nativar, a term coined by University of Georgia horticulturist Dr. Allan Armitage, has something like cult status among gardening cognoscenti. “There’s a huge discussion about it,” says Jillian Zettig, horticulturist and landscape designer at Johnson Nursery in Menomonee Falls,Continue reading “Natives vs Nativars: What’s The Problem?”

8 Tips to Relieve Caregiver Guilt

We all feel guilty at one time or another — what we did and shouldn’t have done, what we failed to do and should have done. For caregivers, who may also feel resentment, anger, frustration and more, the guilt can be multiplied. But it’s not useful — for either you or your loved one. DoingContinue reading “8 Tips to Relieve Caregiver Guilt”

Coping with Alzheimer’s and Dementia Hiding and Rummaging

It often comes on so gradually it’s hard to pinpoint when it turned a corner. Hiding and rummaging can even be exaggerations of traits the person has exhibited all his or her life. Someone who has taken care of business — gotten the mail, paid the bills, made sure everything is taken care of —Continue reading “Coping with Alzheimer’s and Dementia Hiding and Rummaging”

10 Simple Salves for Jangled Caregiver Nerves

Breathe. That’s the mantra Sue Collins, RN and I sound like a low bell throughout OK Now What? A Caregiver’s Guide to What Matters. Breathing deeply and mindfully is something that we often forget when we’re rushing, fraught, stressed. Yes, we’re breathing, but we don’t remember to BREATHE. Taking a moment to breathe, deeply, evenly,Continue reading “10 Simple Salves for Jangled Caregiver Nerves”

20 Ways to Care for Your Caregiving Self

Life can be complicated even when everything is relatively simple — you go to work, you come home, you pay the bills, spend some time with family and friends. But it is even more complicated when you are the primary caregiver for a loved one, whether it’s a parent, a spouse or a child withContinue reading “20 Ways to Care for Your Caregiving Self”

What Else You Got?

Freelancing in Radio by Mary Saner just out from head to Wind Publishing. Available in paperback amazon. Want to know the inside story of how people do stories for NPR? Voice of America? CBS? The schlepping and the hauling, dangling jacket fringe in front of babies while interviewing the mom, hanging over the back seat ofContinue reading “What Else You Got?”