Implement These Positive Resolutions for Family Caregivers
“I’m going to force myself to run three miles each day.” “I’m going to clean the bathrooms more frequently.” “I’m going to eat more celery and less chocolate.” Do your New Year’s resolutions feel more like punishment than positivity? If that’s the case, resolve to make 2024 the year you set some goals you’ll look […]
Top Tips to Help Older Adults Manage Diabetes
November is Diabetes Awareness Month, and with more than 130 million Americans diagnosed with the disease, it is likely you know someone or maybe even are included in this group. Regardless of whether you are new to caring for someone with diabetes or an experienced veteran, there’s always something new to learn to help older adults […]
Taking Care of Older Parents as an Only Child
Being an only child has some perks. During childhood, you never had to experience sibling rivalry or squabbles, and you also had the benefit of receiving all the love and attention of your parents. But as an adult with no siblings, you may now realize that it is your turn to provide all of the […]
Top Strategies for Stroke Prevention in Older Adults
Suffering a stroke is just the first step in a series of challenges. The resulting effects from a stroke can linger long-term. In fact, the National Institute on Aging marks stroke as the top reason behind disability in American seniors. As with other serious medical conditions, prevention is crucial. What Steps Can Be Taken for […]
What to Ask the Doctor Prior to Joint Replacement Surgery
You have just learned that Dad will need knee replacement surgery. You’ve heard bits and pieces of what joint replacement surgery could involve from friends, but are you actually ready to help him prepare for the surgery and recuperate safely and fully afterwards? Millions of people have joint replacement surgery each year. The good news […]
Top Incontinence Care Tips for Family Caregivers
It’s not something most people would feel comfortable sharing with others. In fact, the awkwardness of even bringing up incontinence can be enough to keep the problem concealed. Not just that, but there is a common misunderstanding that it is simply a normal part of the aging process and needs to be silently accepted and […]
The Silent Struggle: Unraveling the Connection Between Heart Disease and Depression
Experiencing a heart attack changes life in an instant. What seemed important prior to the health crisis suddenly fades into the background, as the top priority becomes helping the damaged heart to heal. Life is then filled with adjusting to new medications, implementing dietary changes and an exercise regimen, following up with medical appointments and […]
Advocacy Tips to Ensure Quality Care During a Loved One’s Hospital Stay
Whether a loved one is hospitalized for a planned procedure or an unexpected medical crisis, you may be left feeling vulnerable and helpless. You’re fully trusting the trained medical professionals to meet all of your loved one’s needs during their hospital stay and to know just what to do to help keep them feeling comfortable. […]
Understanding the Difference Between Palliative Care and Hospice Care
When a person you love is struggling with a serious health condition, you might feel helpless. You want to do everything you can to alleviate the discomfort, fear, or pain, but are not sure where to start. One of the best ways you can help is simply by learning whatever you can in regards to […]
How In-Home Care Can Help a Family Caregiver Balance a Career With Care Duties
It is a delicate balancing act. On one hand, you’ve got your work, which supplies you purpose, fulfillment, and of course, an income. In contrast, you are caring for someone you love. Trying to give 100% to these two vitally important roles can make you feel physically and mentally exhausted, with little if any time […]
The Most Common COPD Triggers and How to Manage Them Effectively
We have waited all winter for March! Finally, the days are becoming longer and we can begin to feel the promise of springtime all around us. For a person with COPD, there is extra cause to celebrate the seasonal shift. Cold, dry air is one of a number of common COPD triggers, and the arrival […]
Home Care Helps Older Adults Manage and Live With Congestive Heart Failure
We only have one, and it’s arguably the most important part of the body – so hearing the news that our heart is “failing” is alarming. Congestive heart failure (CHF) affects approximately 6 million individuals in the United States alone, according to research by the CDC, and though it’s a chronic illness, there are actions people can […]
Tips to Help an Older Adult Loved One Adjust to Using a Wheelchair
Aging requires us to get accustomed to a wide range of changes. Our children become adults and move out. We may choose to sell the family home and scale down. Retiring from a long-lasting career alters our purpose and goals. And, health problems or mobility challenges may result in the need for a wheelchair. This […]
Home Care Helps Older Diabetics Make Healthy Lifestyle Choices
If you or someone you love is amongst the nearly 16 million seniors diagnosed with diabetes, you already know firsthand how challenging the disease can be to manage. Between medications, lifestyle changes, daily glucose tests, and more, a person with diabetes, and older diabetics in particular, can very quickly become overwhelmed. And perhaps the most […]
How Families Benefit from Home Care Services When a Loved One Is on Hospice Care
When a loved one is nearing the end of life, comfort and top quality care are extremely important. Families must know that the individual they love will receive everything necessary for a peaceful transition. Hospice care is very helpful during this period, and pairing hospice with in-home care services ensures that both the individual receiving […]
Understanding ALS and How Senior Care Can Help
Receiving a diagnosis of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease) raises countless questions and concerns, both for the individual who received the diagnosis and those who love them. What causes ALS? What are the symptoms now – and what will they be in the future? Who can I go to for […]
Paying for In-Home Care
Continuing to live at home for a lifetime is the intent of the majority of people as they age. Home is the place we’re most comfortable. It’s where memories have been and continue to be made. We have carefully designed our surroundings at home in line with our personal style and preferences. Plus, it’s where […]
Caring for a Senior in the Middle Stages of Parkinson’s: Part 2 of 3
A Parkinson’s disease diagnosis impacts loved ones in addition to the person diagnosed. Understanding what to expect as the disease advances is vital to being ready for the changes to come and to making the most of every day. In our three-part series, we will be posting blogs about what to anticipate in each stage […]
Long-Distance Caregiving: The Advantages of Partnering with a Home Care Agency
They say distance makes the heart grow fonder, but long-distance caregiving for senior parents can cause additional feelings: worry, concern, and helplessness, to name a few. It is hard to know precisely how your parents are doing through phone calls, letters, emails, and video chats. There are a few things you can do, however, to […]
The Many Health Benefits for Seniors of a High-Fiber Diet
If an older adult you know is more inclined to indulge in the many junk and fast food choices that are so readily available, he or she is in good company. While these foods are convenient, they are frequently high in calories, fat and cholesterol and lack fiber and other key nutrients that are important […]
How Home Care Services Can Complement Hospice Care
If you were to ask those who have a life-limiting illness what specifically is most important to them, you are very likely to hear answers including: Remaining in control over which services will be provided To be free from pain Emotional and spiritual support To remain at home In-home hospice care meets all of these […]
Good Nutrition Never Gets Old! The Importance of a Balanced Diet for the Elderly
Remember family dinners at Grandma’s house? The tantalizing scents wafting through the kitchen would draw everyone in to assemble at the table to enjoy her home cooking. There was always an abundance of leftovers for future meals or late-night snacks. However, for many older adults, these kinds of family meals are few and far between. […]
Elderly Care Solutions: How an In-Home Care Consultation Can Help Your Family Navigate Care Decisions
You’ve just concluded speaking with Dad on the telephone, and now have a sense that something isn’t quite right. While it was a nice conversation, his memory lapses were troubling. He assured you that he is absolutely fine – that he is eating very well (even though he couldn’t remember what he had for lunch), […]
What Is Happening with My Senior Loved One? Hospital Delirium in Older Adults
A hospital stay is never something an older adult looks forward to, but at least there is the reassuring fact that the necessary care and treatment are going to be delivered to provide healing. But what occurs when the outcome is not as expected, and the older adult winds up with a new health concern? […]
Six Ways In-Home Care Services Can Help Combat Senior Loneliness and Isolation
Loneliness. Fear. Isolation. The pandemic has wreaked havoc on all of us in one way or another, but for senior loved ones especially, the seclusion required to ensure safety from COVID-19 has had adverse effects on physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. At Abby Senior Care, our home care for seniors in Denver can help reduce senior […]
Keep High Cholesterol in Check by Making Healthy Food Choices This Holiday Season
From November to January, it is very easy to lose track of our healthy eating habits with family and holiday gatherings. For older adults with high cholesterol, however, making sensible food choices is extremely important. Yazid Fadl, MD, MPH, Indiana University Health cardiologist, says, “Around the holidays, we tend to let ourselves go, and that’s […]
The Benefits of Making a Long-Term Plan for Senior Care Needs
Being together during the holidays is a good time to catch up and an ideal time to have discussions with elderly parents about long-term care planning for senior care needs. Having an open and honest conversation around senior care needs, home modifications and finances is important to help meet the wishes of senior loved ones. […]
Diabetes Awareness Month: Helping Seniors Live with and Manage Diabetes
Checking blood sugar levels. Injecting insulin. Carefully watching your diet. If this describes an average day in your life, or that of a senior you love, you know firsthand the obstacles that come with a diagnosis of diabetes. As November is Diabetes Awareness Month, Abby Senior Care is pleased to share the following important information […]
Management of Urinary Incontinence in Seniors
While not unusual in seniors, urinary incontinence is a challenging condition to cope with, impacting everyday life in many ways and frequently leading to reduced self-confidence and assurance together with the limiting of rewarding activities. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand that urinary incontinence is not something that must simply be accepted as a typical […]
Home Care Services Can Help After Returning from a Hospital Stay
After a surgical procedure or hospital stay, the words we anticipate hearing most are, “Here are your discharge papers – you’re able to go home now!” What a feeling of relief there is in coming through the front door, sinking into a favorite chair, and relaxing. However, there are frequently a number of tasks needed […]