Twice A Child

In this final episode of the Twice A Child Podcast, I chat with Traci Lily, a jewelry artist who is originally from New York City.  Traci currently lives in Atlanta, while her mom lives in NY with her brother.  Traci and I help care for our moms long distance.  We discuss the challenges of being an only daughter who is not caring for her mom, how we knew this was the best choice, and anxiety about our own brain health. 

In this episode Dr. Bianco and I continue our discussion.  We discuss managing the behavior of dementia patients by modifying caretaker communication and your elder's environment.  Use of medication to manage behaviors is also reviewed.

In this episode, Dr. Morancie speaks with Dr. Shelley Bianco, a physician who manages the medical care of dementia patients in hospice care.   In Part 1 of our discussion, Dr. Bianco tells us about diagnosis, behaviors in the later stages of dementia, and how families can plan for the difficult medical decisions that arise as dementia progresses.

In this episode,  Sam Harden talks about his experience caring for both of his parents who had dementia.  He discusses why he believes his father had a more serious case than his mother, and how he and his mom made preparations for her care in advance of her cognitive decline and sometimes found humor in the strange behaviors that she exhibited.

In this episode, my long time friend, Jeanne Maynard,  talks about her experience caring for her mom and how she came to make the decision to place her in an Assisted Living facility.  She describes her frustration with insurance companies, medical providers, and navigating all of these things while working and taking care of her own home responsibilities.

In this first episode of Twice A Child, Dr. Michelle Morancie and her brother, Craig Morancie, chat about early recognition of Alzheimer's dementia in their mother and how they are coping with some of the behaviors that accompany that diagnosis.