The Later in Life Planning Show
di Patrick Cawley
The Middle Class faces specific threats in the later years of life. Long-term care expenses will attack and consume your savings. Know your threats and build a shield.
Episodi del podcast
Stagione 1
On Whom Can We Rely?
The actor Bradley Cooper is producing a documentary called "Caregiving." He shares the lifelong admiration that he had for his father. When his father was dying from cancer, Bradley was a caregiver, even bathing his own father. Many adult children can identify with this stage of life. Some adult children will be unable to provide care for aging parents because of geographical distance, family or job responsibilities, or the extensive needs of the parent. While there are levels of care and support available in a facility setting, policy makers in the government are placing great stress on an already fragile system. Grossly irresponsible policies will likely mean that more adult children will have to find a way to provide care in the home as Bradley Cooper did.
Navigating Senior Living Options
Mom lives alone in her home. After Dad died, Mom is lonely, getting confused, and prone to falls. Dad managed the bills and household finances, and Mom is at a loss. For those of us who serve older adults, the red flags are piling up. The adult children may also be concerned, but they have no idea where to start with resources or living arrangements to support Mom. In this episode, Angela Merkel of Country Meadows Retirement Communities discusses the risks of living alone in the later years of life, the benefits of senior living options, and some ways to think about objections to a move.
Varicose Veins: Something to Worry About?
As the weather warms up and the shorts come out of storage, there will be a common sign of older adulthood on display: varicose veins. Those dark purple or blue lines on your legs have a fascinating story behind them. They are probably linked to your age because of what happens to valves inside the veins. They may be linked to your gender, your occupation, or your lifestyle. But for some people, the mind races to poor health outcomes. Do these veins mean that a heart attack or stroke is coming? Vascular health is nothing to mess around with. In this episode, Dr. Bryan Kluck of Cardiovascular Experts of PA explains why these veins become noticeable, some lifestyle changes to address them, and the ways that vein experts can diagnose serious problems and treat them.
Care Management for Stressed-Out Families
The so-called Sandwich Generation has a lot on its plate. They are adults who tend to their job responsibilities while raising children and giving those children the best start in life possible. They look after their parents who are getting older and becoming less independent as they used to be. When the parent starts needing a great deal of support, the adult child scrambles to monitor medications, pay the parent's bills, and ensure that the parent is safe and eating. The adult child in the Sandwich Generation can easily burn out under such responsibilities. They need someone to assess the situation, help them find available resources, intervene when an emergency happens, and help the adult child to make difficult decisions. There is help available. Life Care Managers are the hub of the wheel, and they know the many spokes that might make the caregiving journey go more smoothly. In this episode, Ellen Platt of the Option Group explains how Life Care Managers can help with proactive planning for an aging adult and be a partner along the journey.
What Would You Do If You Knew for Sure?
A fascinating study in England has found a significant link between performance on a simple visual exam and the eventual diagnosis of dementia. With emerging treatments to halt the progression of dementia being dependent on early detection, the most astounding part of the English study is that it detected patterns of dementia twelve years before a memory test would detect the disease. If the future will bring testing for dementia a decade or two before the symptoms become life-altering, an important question arises: what would you do differently if you knew for sure that you will lose your memory, your identity, your independence, and your ability to interact with people? Given the rates of dementia diagnosis and the number of people who will need long-term care, what should we be doing as citizens to prepare for this inevitable demand for resources? This episode examines some personal and philosophical questions and the difficult decisions that policy makers are facing about a future with dementia.