Sometimes caring for our parents feels like a 100% of our time is spent focused on their needs and their journey. But this is your life too! So let's take some time to talk about us ... the caregivers! What are we learning about ourselves... as we care for others? How do we gain perspective when our world feels narrow and restricted? In this episode, we'll share some of the things were discovering, and some techniques we have found helpful when we feel stuck in a constan...

Sore knees can make life miserable. But having knee replacement surgery is a big deal. And we're not going to lie to you, caring for your elderly parents, post surgery, is a lot. Be prepared to be super tired for at least the first 2 weeks. In this episode, we'll share our experiences of caring for our loved ones and walk you through some helpful things to know about the realities of knee pain and knee surgery. What are some non-surgical options?When is it time to have the knee re...

Medication can be so confusing! And truthfully everything just gets even more complex as your parents get older. In this super informative episode, we will share our stories about what we've learned along the way and also mistakes that we've both made. Nurse Lana has a wealth of professional and personal experience as she cares for her father-in-law with the very complex and complicated Parkinson's Disease. We will discuss the things that are confusing, what to watch out for, soluti...

The Grady family finally has hospice care in the home. And now we find out what that looks like. How does hospice help? How does dad feel about this stage of his life? What does it feel like for the family? As with all of our episodes, there will be stories and laughter and a few tears. **************************************************** Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady Theme music produced by Ricardo Giarratana All graphics and characters created by Nan Creamer We...

In our last episode we discussed what happened that led up to the Grady family's decision to bring in Hospice care. Now it's time to discuss this new and scary option with dad. It's never an easy conversation. And no matter how much you prepare, things change quickly. There will always be surprises. But it's always helpful to listen to other peoples stories and perhaps get a few ideas of how you'll handle this stage in your caregiving journey. *********************************************...

Hospice. A word that strikes fear. The path to Hospice Care is unique for every individual and every family. In this Three Part Series we share the personal journey and experiences of the Grady family's decision to begin this important stage of caring for our parents. What is hospice? How do you approach talking about it? How do you begin? What's it like? In Part One, we talk all about what happened that brought us to the point where comfort care was needed for Ron Grady. Info: Pe...

The dreaded UTI. When you meet another person who is also caring for their elderly parent, the UTI is the biggest ice breaker. The topic comes up and the conversation quickly moves to swapping horror stories, commiserating, and complaining. In this episode we go over the traditional symptoms of a Urinary Tract Infection and why they are often not helpful at all when determining if your parent has a problem. As always we share our own experiences (mostly so you can learn from o...

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??! Unfortunately, too often, the answer is … no. Your parent’s hearing loss can cause a lot of conflicts, frustration, and loneliness. In today’s episode we share our experiences and the things we've learned along the way. What causes hearing loss? What issues does the loss cause? How do we spot when our parents are struggling?– especially the early stages.And what are the solutions to help with hearing loss? – Sometimes it’s an easy fix! Some soluti...

Pack your bags! We're going on a guilt trip! Guilt is one of the most common feelings we caregivers experience. Unfortunately, resentment and anger usually love to tag along for the trip. When these three emotions are fed a daily dose of - a lack of sleep, overwhelm, and not being appreciated...things can get ugly. It's important for those in the trenches to know that what you're feeling is normal and you're not alone. So, in this episode we share our stories of guilt, ang...

You definitely need to listen to this episode!! If you're parent hasn't already been in the hospital, they most likely will at some point. Maybe it will be a planned surgery or maybe it'll be an urgent 911 call. Either way, you need to be as prepared as possible and Nurse Lana walks us through the whole dang process! This episode is chock full of our stories and lots of helpful and important information to make the process less scary. Going to the Hospital for a planned proce...

We caregivers take on a lot of roles as we go through the various stages of caring for our parents. Sometimes it's just too much. Sometimes it's not sustainable for our own health. If you're anything like us, stating your own needs, and letting go of some of these roles and responsibilities feels almost impossible. How do we learn to ask for help? ... when we really hate asking for help. Podcast theme written and sung by Lisa Grady Theme music produced ...

We're finishing up our conversation on "Home for the Holidays" and a quick focus on the family dynamics - specifically the siblings. You might be the sibling who lives at home and cares for your parents there. You might be the sibling who cares about your parents from afar. The holidays are time when everyone gets together and often these two perspectives can collide. In today's episode we share some insights in what each of these groups might be feeling and give so...

Holidays are tricky at the best of times. But as our parents get older, things get even tricker. We'll give you things to look for, to get a better idea if your parents are struggling. (they can be really good at hiding that fact) Then we'll talk about the dinners, events, parties. Are your folks still willing or even able to host? How can we help? And what traditions might need to change to make our holidays a bit easier. And finally, if your parents are in the later stages o...

Welcome to our podcast! We are two old friends, Lisa Grady and Lana Davis, and each week we share the realities of caregiving, with some humor, storytelling, problem-solving and honest reality checks. With our first-hand and hard-earned knowledge, we give you tangible tips, tools and take-aways, knowing full well that caring for your parents, can easily become overwhelming, frustrating, draining, absurd, and sometimes…not so pretty. IYKYK So, if you’re also in the thick ...