I have a short essay in O: the Oprah Magazine's Caregiver's Guide this month about my great aunt Holly. When she was struggling with dementia a decade ago, living on her own on the Upper West Side, a group of family and friends teamed up to take care of her until we could move her into a nearby care facility. This is a much slimmed-down version of a longer piece I had written, but I hope it still offers some guidance to families who are struggling to take care of elderly single relatives. We were lucky that Holly had awesome, watchful neighbors and a dear family friend living just around the corner. (As well as amazingly patient home health aids. God bless them all!) But the pivotal idea that saved us was quite simple, really: a three-ring binder that contained info on Holly's medical history, current medications, account numbers, and social contacts. (Thank you, Perry-Lynn!) If your subscription to O has lapsed (!), you can read my essay here: Download HollyO
Comments