The Agewyz Podcast

Victoria Negri is a member of the millennial generation, but her father was a veteran of World War II and he developed Parkinson’s disease before Vicki turned 20. In today’s episode, Vicki talks about her new film “Gold Star,” which was inspired by the last years of her father’s life, and which Vicki wrote, directed and stars in alongside the renowned actor Robert Vaughn, who plays her father in the film. Vicki also talks about what it was like growing up with a dad who people often mistook for her grandfather but who was so physically fit he ran a marathon at age 65, how she and her father communicated through a magnet board after he had a stroke and could no longer speak, her parents’ deep love for each other despite their 37-year age difference and the meaning behind the title of her film. Click below for the latest news on Vicki’s award-winning film: Gold Star Official Website: http://bit.ly/2fg1raG Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/2f4UGs2 Twitter: https://twitter.com/goldstarfilm Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldstarfilm/ Music: “Blizzard (PON I)” by Kai Engel | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

Bree Beynon was under the spell of music from a young age. An only child raised by a single mom, she started singing at age five for the seniors at a nearby nursing home and anyone else who would listen. So it’s no surprise that she found her way to a career as a music therapist, initially working in a hospice setting and now with the Palm Beach Music Therapy Institute. In today’s episode, Bree explains how music helps people get their autonomy back, whether it’s someone living with dementia, an age-related illness or an individual with autism. She also explains how Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords recovered from brain trauma through music therapy and she tells us why seeing someone come alive through music never gets old. Explore the Palm Beach Music Therapy Institute: http://pbmti.com Contact Bree: [email protected] PBMTI’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PBMTI/ Find Resources Near You: http://www.musictherapy.org Music: “Arashi” by Kakurenbo | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

When Craig Glover added Organ Donor to his driver’s license, he had no idea he would still be alive when he gave up an organ and that his wife Bonnie—who began dialysis treatments at age 51—would be the beneficiary. But that’s what happened when the couple participated in Florida’s first ever four-way paired kidney exchange, which saved a total of four lives. In today’s episode, Craig and Bonnie talk about their dual transplants, caring for each other before and after the operations and connecting with the kidney transplant community in Florida. They also talk about how and why they started their company, A Better Way Home Care, which serves a diverse population and is the only home health care agency in Palm Beach County certified by a national organization (SAGE) to serve the LGBT elder population. Bonnie and Craig’s home care company: http://abetterwayhc.net Learn more about the four-way kidney transplant the Glovers took part in: http://bit.ly/2dR8Yv8 Also mentioned in the show: Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE): http://www.sageusa.org Feeding the Hungry (FL): http://bit.ly/2e4cQLj CareerSource (FL) for training: http://bit.ly/2ebhZ7P

Working in a hospital as a Certified Nursing Assistant, Karen White saw the best and worst of how patients were treated. The eye-opening experience inspired her to earn an MBA, finish nursing school and start her own quality care company: Home Health Services of the Palm Beaches, which provides in-home care for people living with Alzheimer’s and related dementia. In today’s episode, Karen talks about her journey from nursing assistant to company founder and how her aunt’s decline influenced her path. She also explains why patients don’t always get the care they need in hospitals, why it’s important to foster a culture of compassion in her company, what she looks for in hiring and how she supports staff members who encounter racism on the job. Learn more about Karen’s company: http://www.hhspb.org/about-us Music: “Quest to the Temple of the Sun” by Dlay | CC BY NC ND | Free Music Archive

Dr. Connie Siskowski founded the Florida-based American Association of Caregiving Youth to meet the needs of eight to eighteen-year-olds who sacrifice their health, education and childhoods to care for relatives or household members who are ill, disabled or elderly, or battling other conditions such as substance abuse. In this episode, Connie talks about how caring for her grandfather as a child affected her own adolescence, the history of the AACY and its programs and services aimed at students and their families. She also explains how the economy and changing structure of the family is affecting youth caregivers and why this demographic—estimated at 1.4 million in the US—is often overlooked in conversations about care. Learn more about the American Association of Caregiving Youth: www.aacy.org Call the AACY: 800-508-9618 Music: “There's a Special Place for Some People” by Chris Zabriskie | CC BY | Free Music Archive

Journalist and author Katherine Stewart left New York and moved into her childhood home in Boston to care for her cancer-stricken mother in the last years of her life. In today’s episode, she talks about the challenges of writing on a deadline while caring for her mother and two small kids and how her husband, also a writer, helped to make it all work. Katherine also reflects on problems that arise when family members and society don’t view caregiving as real labor, and she discusses her piece for The Nation, “Inequality Has Gotten So Bad That We’re Offshoring Our Grandparents” which examines the growing number of Americans choosing to retire overseas because they can’t afford to grow old in the US.

Katherine’s recent pieces on aging and elder care:

Follow Katherine on Twitter

Music: “Even When We Fall” by Philipp Weigl | CC BY | Free Music Archive

Huffington Post Senior Writer Ann Brenoff writes about caregiving from the perspective of her own hard-earned truths. In today’s episode she describes her harrowing experience of going from having a full, active life with her husband to seeing him leveled by acute kidney failure and becoming the equivalent of his nurse. Ann also talks about what she’s hearing from other caregivers as a result of her column, why it’s important for caregivers to speak out and how she’s attempting to maintain a sense of normalcy in her kids’ lives despite their father’s condition. Tune in for a moving conversation with a spouse, mother and truth teller adjusting to a life she never imagined. Articles mentioned in the program: “No, Caregiving Is Not Rewarding...” (6/23/16) http://huff.to/28PbYK7 “8 Things You Should Never Say To A Caregiver...” (6/30/16) http://huff.to/294BFCF “When Caregivers are Honest...” (8/4/16) http://huff.to/2aCu2UJ For a full list of Ann’s HuffPost articles click here: http://huff.to/2cZec7b Music: “Arashi” by Kakurenbo | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

Billie Jordan survived a major earthquake in New Zealand but was so traumatized from seeing people die in front of her, she fled to tiny Waiheke Island where she bonded instantly with the senior citizens: death was on their minds, just as it was on hers. She figured if everyone was going to die, why not go out dancing? In today’s episode Billie talks about forming the Hip Op-eration Dance Academy—tailored for people ages 72-96—defying ageist stereotypes, the response to her project and how she and her troupe have been reborn through dance. She also shares her grueling yet at times hilarious experience of caring for, training and managing her senior dancers on the road to performing at the World Hip Hop Championship in Las Vegas—a journey captured in the documentary film, “Hip Hop-eration.” Tune in for this extraordinary tale of going from darkness into light and living life to the fullest.

Hip Op-eration Dance Academy

Facebook page

Watch the Hip Op-eration dancers at TEDxAuckland 2015

“Hip Hop-eration” documentary film

Sounds: Kapa O Pango Haka, New Zealand v. Australia Rugby World Cup 2011; Hip Hop Reggae New Music by Soldier Boy (Opotiki, NZ)

Author and illustrator Kathryn Harrison created her picture book “Weeds in Nana’s Garden” to help children who have family members with dementia understand and be aware of the disease. Kathryn created the book after her mother was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) and her children began asking questions about their grandmother’s odd behavior. In this episode she talks about the healing properties of art, how her life changed as her mother declined and what her children learned from being involved in their grandmother’s care. Kathryn also shares how her daughter’s friends at school got involved in the process of creating “Weeds.”

Learn more about “Weeds In Anna’s Garden”: http://bit.ly/2cCSJlD

Music: “Tomoshibi” by Kakurenbo | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive

Designer, researcher and professor Glen Hougan created a program at NSCAD University that puts an emphasis on designing products for seniors. In today’s show he talks about how he’s helping his students understand some of the physical limitations we all face as we age and how a project undertaken with the Alzheimer Society of Nova Scotia gave his students a chance to look at the actual brains of people with Alzheimer’s. He also talks about how medical products reinforce negative stereotypes about aging, how ageism affects the way those products are designed, how older adults are hacking everyday products to make their lives easier and how design thinking can improve health systems. Tune in for a fascinating conversation with an out-of-the-box thinker.

Glen’s “Product Hacks for Seniors” board on Pinterest: http://bit.ly/2bTn0hW

Music: “Discovery” by Jon Luc Hefferman | CC BY NC | Free Music Archive