You do not need a doctor to tell you that you or your loved one is getting old.
The aches and pains, the slow reactions, and the full medicine cabinet already tell you that. (I almost forgot – there also may be memory loss.)
But you do need a special doctor – a Geriatrician – to make sure that your loved one is getting the proper care. As we get older, and our minds and bodies change, our systems react differently to treatments and medications.
What should you do? My guest on this episode of Toula’s Tips for Caregivers is Dr. Raphael Balbino, is a Geriatrician with the AgeWell Institute at Baptist Medical Center. AgeWell is the premier health care program for seniors.
More importantly, he can help you to get the best care for you and your loved one, to relieve the stress and sense of loss that we all sometimes feel.

Does it really feel like a “NEW” year? Or just more of the same?
It can be different. You can find strength. You can be a better caregiver this year. I can help you to step into your power.
That is why I have asked my good friend, and now a life coach, Carol O’Dell, to be my guest on this podcast of Toula’s Tips for Caregivers. Carol will help us to make this a real “new” year. Carol was a caregiver for her mother with Alzheimer’s, which she recalled in her book, Mothering Mother: A Daughter’s Humorous and Heartbreaking Memoir. Now Carol is a life coach, helping caregivers and others become more fit both physically and emotionally.
Carol will give us some practical tips. She knows that, when we feel better, we can be stronger emotionally as well. We can make the tough decisions. We can handle the difficult times. AND, we can avoid our own serious illnesses.
She has achieved what most of us caregivers don’t think that we can. She will talk about how caregiving affected her, and the road to wellness that she has been on the last couple of years. It took determination. Carol will reveal what motivated her.

Do you like paperwork?
You know what I mean. Filling out application forms, collecting bank statements, making copies of documents. FINDING all those old records.
I don’t like it. Not at all.
But sometimes the paperwork can make the difference between getting help or getting no help at all.
When it comes to Medicaid assistance – something that all caregivers may need someday – the application process can be overwhelming (read, “frightening!”).
When I recently needed to apply for Medicaid for my mother, I needed help. I really needed help.
My guest on for this episode was a true “godsend.” Our first step was to gather together a long list of documents. I called Colleen Dedenbach, a dear friend and owner of Medicaid Assist Services of NE FL. Within a few hours, Colleen worked with my Dad to collect EVERYTHING we needed. I was expecting this to take weeks.
On this episode, Colleen will talk with us about the whole Medicaid application process. She will actually make you and me more comfortable, less afraid.
Colleen was a great help to me. She will be a great help to you.

Do you remember when you realized you were a caregiver?
Did it seem like it happened “in an instant”?
It can happen to us all – even celebrities, like my first guest on this podcast.
Lee Woodruff is a writer, a contributing reporter for “CBS This Morning” and a contributing editor for Working Mother magazine. She also is the wife of Bob Woodruff, the journalist who succeeded Peter Jennings as the co-anchor of ABC World News Tonight in 2005.
In January 2006, their lives changed “in an instant”, when Bob was critically injured by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq.
In an instant, Lee became caregiver for her husband with a traumatic brain injury.
My second guest is Danielle Porter, a Music Therapist from Brooks Rehabilitation’s Bartram Park campus. Danielle uses music to improve the quality of life for their residents. With her will be Danielle McGrath, Director of Marketing for Aging Services for the Bartram Campus. Together, they are helping their residents to find closer sense of community, so that they can achieve the highest level of recovery and participation in life.

Because we love. Because we care.

Their caregiving story is touching and compelling.

Just like yours.

Their story is unique. Just like yours.

There were difficult discussions. And hard decisions. Just like you.

They showed – it is about love, respect, and honoring your loved one. Their story may receive a Pulitzer Prize nomination for an Orlando Sun-Sentinel reporter.

As caregivers, we understand what it means to truly say, “In sickness and in health.”

My special guest on this podcast is Chris MacLellan, will share his story with us.

In January 2014, Chris lost his partner, (Bernard) Richard Schiffer, to cancer. Chris cared for Richard during his extended illness.

As a caregiver and his loved one, they faced many of the issues, conflicts and tough choices that we face. As a gay couple, they dealt with their own unique obstacles.

How much sleep do you really need?

The best answer I have heard is, “just five minutes more!”

I wasn’t the first one to say that. But I may be saying it more often. Do you agree? Do you want to say it to your loved one? To your family?

Unfortunately, the normal answer from caregivers is, “I will sleep when my work is done.”

Sleep! Who needs sleep?

Yes. You know you do. I worry that you aren’t getting enough. I worry that it will affect your health.

There is only one thing that I can do – call in an expert. So I did.

Robert Trenholm is an educator with the AgeWell Institute of Baptist Medical Center. He started his professional career in a sleep lab. He understands what happens when you do not get a good night’s rest.

Robert will help you to sleep better. He will explain what may be causing you to have restless nights, or sleepless nights. He will share some important tips for you to be able to wake up feeling refreshed.

Yes. Even caregivers can sleep well. Find out how. Listen to Robert now.

Can I trust you with my secrets?

No. I don’t want you to keep them. I want you to SHARE them! Let your loved ones, your family, your friends, your co-workers, and even your boss know them.

These secrets are too important! Everyone must know!

These are secrets about how to be a better caregiver.

You have told me some of your secrets, like how you skip meals, or forget your own medications because you are taking care of your loved one.

Have you ever postponed medical treatment because you don’t have time, or because you don’t have anyone else to care for your loved one? DON’T LET ME HEAR YOU DOING THAT! You have to learn ways to put yourself first.

As caregivers, we often put the needs of our family members ahead of our own needs – even to a dangerous extreme. I admit, I’ve done it…and later regretted it.

In this podcast, Troy Doughan, In-Home Program Director with Apex Home Health Care, and I discuss this topic. We will have some revealing talks about caregivers (maybe about someone like you).

Do you remember how proud you felt?

Weren’t you proud as a little child, being able to say the full alphabet, in order? Did you have your biggest smile when you spelled a new word?

Now, as a caregiver, do you know the “caregiver alphabet”? Can you recognize all those new caregiver terms?

What is SNF? (No, it is not “Saturday Night Fever.”)

What is LTC? (No, it’s not “loving, tender care,” but you are close.)

On this podcast of Toula’s Tips for Caregivers,” we will talk about all the acronyms and terms that you need to know as a caregiver.

My special guest on this podcast is Landry Arnold, Sales and Marketing Director of Allegro Senior Living in Fleming Island. Landry will help. Being in sales and marketing, she has to know all the jargon. She will be able to help you.

BTW – You may even ROFL a little by the time we finish.

(Okay. BTW means “by the way.” ROFL means, “roll on the floor laughing.”)

Did your parents share any of their recipes?

Their recipes for caregiving, I mean.

You may be taking care of a parent or grandparent. Just like your parents did. And their parents. Maybe they were part-time, or long distance caregivers. It is still caregiving. You know how that works.

What did you learn from them? Did they have any advice for you?

A little bit of this. A little bit of that. Turn up the heat. Add some time in the pressure cooker. In the end, we all appreciate the experience.

That is called “Generational Cooking.”

My guest Linda Phyllis Ratzthompson, has written her own “cookbook” about her life and becoming a caregiver. It is called GENERATIONAL COOKING.

She also has a web site dedicated to the book and her experience

Linda is the latest in a long line of family caregivers. She learned the true meaning of caregiving through the examples of her parents and their parents. She cared for her grandparents, her mother-in-law and now her parents.

She and her husband read many books and articles about caregiving. But, as the saying goes, “experience is the best teacher.” Now she wants to help others by sharing her lessons. That is why she wrote the book. Enjoy the show!

Are we changing against our will as we get older? Do things get worse for us as we age?

Is getting old really “Life’s Most Dangerous Game”?

What do I think? When I look at photos of my past, and my parents’ past, I think that what I was told is true.

But not everyone believes this. My exceptional guests on this podcast do not.

These myths are FALSE, says Dr. Bill Thomas – an internationally acclaimed longevity expert, author, musician, teacher, and physician. Among his many credits, he created The Green House® model of care for people with memory disorders that is used by our friends at Brooks Bartram Lakes. He also shares his thoughts on his blog site, “ChangingAging.org.”

Dr. Thomas is currently traveling across the country on “The Age of Disruption 2015 Tour.” He shows audiences how to turn the tables on “Life’s Most Dangerous Game” and how to approach aging with the skill and enthusiasm it requires.

Also with us will be Elaine Martini and Danielle McGrath of Brooks Rehab – Bartram Lakes Assisted Living. They will talk about the care and support that Brooks Bartram Lakes offers to our Elders, especially in their Green House unit.

You will also be one of the first to learn about their new Caregiver College, a free program sponsored by Bartram Lakes and the Alzheimer’s Association. The College will offer three classes at their Assisted Living facilities, talking about HEALTHY HABITS, THE 10 WARNING SIGNS of ALZHEIMERS, and THE BASICS OF MEMORY LOSS, ALZHEIMERS AND DEMENTIA.

We have a lot of great information for you. You won’t want to miss it.