Cooking for My Father: A Cancer Diary
It’s always been one of my signature traits that I don’t know how to cook. “Melanie’s hopeless in the kitchen,” my sisters would shrug, as
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Latex Allergy
Latex is one more example of a natural product with certain useful properties that are superior to anything manmade. This liquid, found in tropical rubber
Remodeling for Wheelchair Access: (Part 3) Bathrooms
A few years after a car accident that left my brother Miguel paralyzed from the shoulders down, he had to be flown to a state-of-the-art
Remodeling for Wheelchair Access: (Part 4) Kitchens
My brother Miguel celebrated his birthday in Santa Cruz, Calif., soon after he left his job as a tenured sociology professor in Albuquerque. By the
Alzheimer’s: Dealing with Mealtimes
You may feel unsettled when your mother botches her favorite recipe. Then again, who hasn’t confused tablespoons with teaspoons a few times? But as the
A Taste of Home
The deep fragrance of soy and garlic wafted out to the nurses’ station from Mrs. Lee’s room, signaling that her daughter, Mrs. Wong, had arrived
The Attending at the Funeral
By Pat Irvine, MD It was during the busy Christmas season when I turned my car into the parking lot of the funeral home. This
Beth’s Story: A Caregiver’s Diary
Although my father had battled a rare but non-metastasizing form of cancer for 25 years, my mother had never been sick a day in her
Alzheimer’s Disease: An Overview
Alzheimer’s disease is like a cat burglar. It slips into a person’s life without making a sound, and soon treasured possessions start disappearing: memory, personality,
Quiz: What Do You Know About Alzheimer’s Disease?
1. Alzheimer’s disease is the same as dementia and is a natural part of the aging process. True False 2. How many people in the
Alzheimer’s: Buying Time
When a loved one has Alzheimer’s disease, time takes on new significance. Every day that he or she can hold onto old memories or stay
Elderlaw
What is elderlaw? Your lifestyle, ambitions, and worries all change with age — and so can your legal needs. Older people who have never hired
When Your Spouse Dies: Coping With Loss and Grief
When her 69-year-old husband died of Alzheimer’s disease, Dorothy Wellborn was surrounded by loving friends and family. She wept with them at the memorial service.
Pressure Sores
In the end, Superman was brought down by bedsores. Christopher Reeve, the actor who played the superhero in four movies, died in 2004 of complications
Pain Control at the End of Life
A better understanding of pain — and how to treat it — means a gentler death for many patients with terminal illnesses. People who are
Long-Distance Caregiving
It was the call that every adult child dreads: My mother had become terminally ill with Lou Gehrig’s disease, and my father was dying of
Caregiving 101
If you’re caring for a chronically ill or disabled friend, child or relative, you’ve joined one of the biggest — and most important — workforces
Caregiving: Reaching Out for Help
Michelle Booth of Foster City, California, remembers that when she first moved in with her parents, her three-year-old daughter was in tow. Her parents were
Caregiving After a Stroke (Part 2)
Stroke survivors often feel as though they’re lost in an alien landscape. Words can lose their meaning, familiar places and objects can become bewildering, and
Caregiving: Beds, Pads, and Beyond
Most of us are choosy when it comes to mattresses, sheets, and pillows, and for good reason: We tend to spend more time in bed