Mother's Day and Caregivers

It's Mother's Day this Sunday.  I'll be visiting my mom, but I'm not sure whether she will understand it's Mother's Day.  I feel fortunate that she continues to recognize me, and seemingly enjoys when I visit and spend time with her.  My mom has Alzheimer's Disease, a disease that erodes the brain.  There are a number of different types of diseases of the brain (dementia), and it is among the fastest growing health epidemics of our time. My mom worked as an RN for decades.  A proud and intelligent woman, she took care of herself, along with my father, and engaged in no unhealthy behaviors to bring this upon herself.

It's Mother's Day this Sunday also for my sister, who is my mother's family caregiver.  It is a critically important and thankless job.  She makes sure my mom doesn't get lost, tries to make sure she eats right, helps her find things she misplaces, gently but firmly intervenes in unsafe situations, drives her places because mom can't drive even though she thinks she can, listens to the same anecdotes and stories dozens of times in a day, tries to understand and tolerate my mom's mood swings, and repeatedly answers questions including the whereabouts of my father who passed away last year.

God bless all the moms, and especially god bless all the moms who are doing double-duty being a mom for their children, and a caregiver for one or both of her parents.

If you are a family caregiver and are interested in what support is available to you, call The Information Center at (734) 282-7171, and ask about the area Caregiver Support groups that are available at no charge to you.

Benefits for Seniors

Older Americans miss out on more than $20 billion worth of benefits each year according to an article in the latest AARP newsletter. You can check to see if there are benefits you or a loved one might be eligible for.

You can go online yourself, or you can call The Information Center at (734) 282-7171 and ask for a Senior's Benefit Check Up. A specialist will go online for you while you are on the phone. To do it yourself, just go to benefitscheckup.org, which is the National Council on Aging's free comprehensive online screening site, featuring more than 2,000 public and private programs for low-income Medicare beneficiaries.

For more information about all local services available for seniors at any income level call The Information Center at (734) 282-7171.

Help for People Caring for Others

Do you know someone with an elder parent or spouse suffering from Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia? Taking care of a mom or dad, husband or wife, as they become increasingly forgetful, have erroneous memories, experience mood swings and require increasing amounts of attention for their own protection can be draining and stressful. The person(s) who assumes responsibility for providing companionship and safety of the person suffering from dementia is called a “caregiver.” Attend a free support group with other caregivers. Call The Information Center (734) 282-7171. www.theinfocenter.info