EPISODES

Feb. 8, 2025

Visited Mom Today - An Interview with Author John D. Scully

For 13 years, John Scully visited his mom in a nursing home. For the last 8 years of her life, she couldn’t talk. So he had other conversations. And they became a book. It’s called Visited Mom Today: Conversations Through the Lens of...

Jan. 18, 2025

How Did I Survive? Truth, Strength, and Walter Cronkite

I grew up listening to Walter Cronkite. He signed off each nightly newscast with “And that’s the way it is.” As a kid, I was often alarmed by the news. But I reasoned that if Walter Cronkite respected me enough to tell me the truth, then I could...

Jan. 1, 2025

The Caregiver You Love Needs Help!

This episode is a message for the caregiver to send to someone else, someone who doesn't know, or doesn't understand, the stress the caregiver is going through. I liken that stress to driving alone, in an old car, up a steep mountain on a narrow,...

Oct. 31, 2024

Tall Ships and Facing Death - Victoria Burdick, Hospice Chaplain, Ret.

"Between now and dead, you've got a purpose. Don't be timid." Before she retired as a hospice chaplain, Reverend Victoria Burdick faced her own death several times. In her 30s while in divinity school, she wrote a series of essays she called "Lunch...

July 20, 2024

Anticipatory Healing - What Family Dementia Caregivers Need to Know to Survive

You've probably heard of anticipatory grief. Unbidden, hidden, and immediate, it comes with the diagnosis that your loved one has Alzheimer's. Depending on when the diagnosis was delivered, it can be several years or more before your loved one dies....

Jan. 3, 2024

Wandering and the Bring Me Back Home Program

For a person with Alzheimer's or other form of dementia, wandering can be dangerous. If that person isn't found within 24 hours, the chances that he or she will suffer serious injury, even death, increase dramatically. The family dementia caregiver...

Nov. 19, 2023

The Dilemma of Dementia and Driving: Taking away the keys?

Your spouse has Alzheimer's. You know he - or she - shouldn't be driving. When you bring up the subject, you hear some version of, "That's ridiculous! I know how to drive a car." He might be right. He might still know how to drive a car. The...

Nov. 5, 2023

"I Didn't See It Coming" - Interview with LBD caregiver Mary Lou Falcone

Mary Lou Falcone became a caregiver when her father had a massive stroke. She was 10 years old. The experience prepared her for the day, many years later, when her husband, illustrator and 1950s rocker Nicky Zann, was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia...

Oct. 3, 2023

Illusive Dreams and Frustrating Dementia Care Ads

Sometimes, the dreams we carry inspire us. Then life changes, especially if your spouse has dementia. Now, those same dreams weigh us down… and we have to let go. Advertisements for some memory care facilities and some dementia service agencies...

Aug. 14, 2023

My Caregiver Friend Died First

This is a cautionary tale about a dear friend, a family caregiver who died first. She was in her mid-70s, a few weeks younger than I am. In mid-April, she had a stroke. She died mid-July, just as I faced the one-year milestone of my husband's death...

June 16, 2023

Why Join a Support Group? To Survive!

Questions and answers. Frustrations and fresh ideas. Support and compassion. They’re all elements of what a good support group can provide. There are differences in the various forms of dementia and differences in the patients. Still, when it comes to helping the caregiver navigate the journey …

March 6, 2023

My First Holiday Season Alone

My husband died last summer. He had Alzheimer's. I’ve experienced a lot of “firsts” without him: his birthday, my birthday, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and most recently, Valentine’s Day. Some of those days passed without...

Dec. 21, 2022

Not Feeling Festive? Light a Solstice Candle

Not feeling festive? No surprise. For those of us caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's or other form of dementia, December can be a cruel month. While much of the world is joyful. We're sad. It's part of the journey we're on. Today is the Winter...

Dec. 4, 2022

Alzheimer's and Hope - A Gift or A Curse?

Are you caring for a spouse with Alzheimer's? You need to know that hope, like optimism, can strengthen your resilience or distort your reality. Hope can also be the key to your surivival. My husband died four months ago. In caring for...

Oct. 23, 2022

The Power of Grief, Community, and a Tree

When tragedy reshapes your life, having a supportive community is key to your survival. Since my husband died of Alzheimer's three months ago, I've been in a cave of sorts, rarely leaving the house. My neighbors drew me back into the world of the...

Aug. 27, 2022

Death and the Funeral

From the time my husband was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, my goal was to care for him at home. He died last month, at home, in my arms. This episode shares deeply personal details about the changes in our relationship, the loss of physical...

Aug. 1, 2022

Hospice - Help When the End is Near

My husband died at home on July 19. From steady decline to dramatic drop to sudden nosedive, to death -- that was the pattern. I was prepared for some steps. Others blindsided me. Hospice helped both my husband and me in ways I didn't expect.

June 29, 2022

Sudden Falls and Rapid Changes

Alzheimer's degrades a person slowly over a period of years. When a downturn comes, symptoms can escalate suddenly. As a dementia family caregiver, you need to know what that downturn could look like. Knowing can help you survive.

June 19, 2022

Mistakes and Dementia Self-Care Rituals

Studies show that how the dementia family caregiver interprets her stress is key to her survival. I'm sharing 3 rituals I created that have helped me. I also share 3 mistakes I made in the early years of caring for my husband. He has...

May 9, 2022

Our Loved Ones - The Power of the Dementia Stories We Tell

Zita Christian shares three personal stories about her husband who has late-stage Alzheimer's. She talks about the importance of telling the stories of our loved ones before they are seized with dementia. She talks about why it's important for us to...

April 10, 2022