My Eldercare Journey

 One of the first challenges I faced when I realized that my mom needed pro-active eldercare, was that there is a lot to do. As her cognitive function declined, her ability and willingness to do things for herself declined as well. This would come to mean that every task would have to be done by someone else. Almost every activity would have to be prompted. This would include shopping, cleaning, paying bills, preparing food, scheduling doctor's appointments, exercise, even getting out of bed and going to the bathroom! Basically, I was living her life for her. This would get in the way of me living my life, and vice versa. As an only child of a single parent, there really was no one else I could count on for help. Eventually her care was conflicting with work, hobbies, social engagements, even sleep. I wound up hiring a home health aid and later getting her into an assisted living facility. But even so, the cost, paperwork, monitoring, and need to visit her regularly, maintain her m...

 Greetings friends! Some of you may know me by my work as a lecturer, actor, musical entertainer, or seen me at comic book conventions, know my involvement in medieval martial arts and recreations, or have watched my videos. But I have started a new chapter in my busy life: Eldercare for my mom. If you know me, you know that my mother, Jayne Berrier, former fashion model and medical researcher, has advanced to the age of 89, and has the condition of Alzheimer's dementia. For the past few years I have had to take on more and more of the tasks required to make sure she is healthy and active in this "next chapter" of her life.  Unfortunately, I was not as prepared for it as I could have been. Though she did direct me in some things, as the progression of her needs increased, the more I had to figure out for myself. For a while it was a full-time job just making sure she ate something and had basic hygiene every day. This began to interfere with my regular job, and an unfortu...