Preserving Control

End Of The Line…

We take pains to keep the nursing home at arm’s length, a cultural purgatory that haunts our worst fears about being old. Yet, as Valery Hazanov found out, it is also an instructional landscape about who we are despite our…

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Anything But Dementia

The question “What Genuinely Terrifies You?” was posed on Reddit and the overwhelming consensus was not war, cancer or being destitute. It was dementia. One responder who goes by the name of Poem_for_you Sprog commented in verse, a sentiment that…

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Should Older Adults Live With Their Peers?

Environmental gerontologist and social geographer Stephen M Golant, University of Florida has written a brilliant article on where older adults are living now and why they may opt to live with their cohort in the future: “My focus is on…

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Are We More Than Our Memories?

This fascinating article from Scientific American reveals new research that argues “morals, not memories, define who we are.” The study has implications for patients with Alzheimer’s and other disorders… Morals, Not Memories, Define Who We Are…

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Navigational Thinking and Being Older

We see things not as they are, but as we are…H.M. Tomlinson Navigational Thinking is an effective strategy for recalibrating perspective. It offers aging adults a process to create a more useful attitude about being older. Navigational thinking mimics the…

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Aging Parents: Time To Move?

Helping aging parents consider a change in living accommodations is a delicate process. Before offering unwanted advice about where to live, adult children should first undertake a compassionate assessment of the losses and potential gains of this emotional transition. There…

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Honor Their Words…

At some point you have to be their voice. No one else can do it. This article by Dr. Mikkael Sekeres director of the leukemia program at the Cleveland Clinic reminds us that we are called to honor the words…

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No Longer Safe To Drive

At some point it becomes painfully obvious. Maybe it’s the near misses, another fender bender, traffic tickets, getting lost on errands, poor night vision, or increasing confusion. Whatever the mix of warning signs, the message is clear and deeply concerning.…

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When Everything Falls Apart

Remember that there is nothing stable in human affairs; therefore avoid undue elation in prosperity, or undue depression in adversity…….Socrates The world of aging parents is a complex system. This is not simply a scientific observation; it is a critical…

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Why Doctors Die Differently…

As a clinician, this Wall Street Journal article echoes my own views on dying, ones that are in my health directive. Maybe its the medical knowing, seeing all too often how a promise of “more time” turns out poorly. While…

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