Carol Bradley Bursack

The ability to provide ongoing daily care for aging parents, and do it well, is a heart skill, yet technology can still be our friend. Some caregivers open a Gmail or Microsoft account specifically for this, using that email address and calendar only for caregiving. Connected siblings can then see your parents' appointments. Sharing Google Keep Notes, Microsoft OneNote, or a similar app where you've added comments after appointments can keep them updated without you needing to write more emails.

The only way to handle full-blown confabulation, or even deviances from the literal truth, is to join him in his reality.

"Your siblings’ very human problem is that we who are well project our needs onto the person whose body is shutting down," Carol Bradley Bursack writes.

"I’m so sorry you’re facing a family rift, but I’m hoping mediation or family counseling can settle the disagreement and bring you some peace," Carol Bradley Bursack writes.

"A caregiver’s body language and tone of voice are dead giveaways to how they really feel, even if they are technically doing all the right things," Carol Bradley Bursack writes.

Carol Bradley Bursack says to wait to contact family until the woman chats with her neighbor about the symptoms she has noticed.

Carol Bradley Bursack writes: "Staffing levels are daunting for nearly all care communities, but training can vary widely. Ideally, every person who provides home care and/or facility care should be someone dedicated to caring for vulnerable people."

"You’re experiencing a kind of pain that is unique to long-married couples," Carol Bradley Bursack writes.

Carol Bradley Bursack advises asking what the person's goals of care are as they age.

Carol Bradley Bursack writes that while palliative care is comfort care, it can be used in conjunction with curative treatments.