Mom and Dad Have Dementia

Dad's latest hospitalization, Mom's revised care plan, listener feedback, and AI-inspired reflections on what we've learned over the first season of Mom and Dad Have Dementia.Do you follow us on social media? Instagram⁠ and Facebook: @momanddadhavedementia⁠Blue Sky: @momdadhavedementia⁠Gmail: [email protected]:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner"Adventures in Adventureland" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

After their move to the memory care wing of the retirement home, Mom and Dad each exhibit behaviors that may be dealbreakers for this type of care. The kids scramble to keep up."Adeste Fideles Waltz" and “Brittle Rille" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Bethany and Jeremiah discuss how our parents got comfortable with moving into a retirement home, how we chose from, and exactly how much they've paid for each level of care through three moves.Do you follow us on social media? Instagram⁠ and Facebook: @momanddadhavedementia⁠Blue Sky: @momdadhavedementia⁠Gmail: [email protected]:Jer - middle childBeth - youngest sibling

Josh gets a call from the retirement home while on vacation letting us know that Dad is in the hospital. We give an update on Dad's condition and discuss what went well and and what didn't as we all tried to respond to a long-distance emergency. Do you follow us on social media? Instagram⁠ and Facebook: @momanddadhavedementia⁠Blue Sky: @momdadhavedementia⁠Gmail: [email protected]:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner

In this episode, we talk about how Emily is helping her parents - who do not have dementia - navigate the aging process. She’s taking what we've learned from Mom and Dad’s journey and using it to support her own parents proactively. Join us as we explore what it means to age well and plan ahead. Do you follow us on social media? If not, please do! ⁠Instagram⁠ & Facebook: @momanddadhavedementia⁠⁠Blue Sky⁠: @momdadhavedementiaGmail: [email protected]:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner"Odyssey" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Today we talk about Dad and the difficulty we've had nailing down a diagnosis and a cause for his dementia. Navigating the United States healthcare system is not for the faint of heart, and when the answers are unclear, it means the patient or caregiver has to be even an even stauncher advocate for finding the right care. Find us on Instagram⁠ or ⁠Facebook⁠⁠ @momanddadhavedementiaFind us on Blue Sky⁠ @momdadhavedementiaGmail: [email protected]:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner

We're switching things up and discussing how dementia, Alzheimer's, and memory loss are portrayed in film. Each of us brings a different movie or TV series to the table to discuss why we think it's important and we give it a rating. Do you have a favorite movie or TV series about memory loss? Tell us in the comments below!Do you follow us on social media? If not, please do! InstagramFacebookBlue SkyGmail: [email protected]:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner

We talk about paperwork- POAs, POLST, HIPAA - and all that important stuff you need lined up in order to take over officially as a dementia caregiver. And if your parents are currently in good health, what can you do now to prepare for the future?Instagram and Facebook: ⁠⁠@Momanddadhavedementia⁠⁠ BlueSky: @momdadhavedementiaWould you consider leaving us a review? Reviews help other listeners find us!Hosts:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner

We're taking a break from our regularly scheduled content to give you an update on what happened last week with mom and dad.Are you following us on social media?Instagram and Facebook: @momanddadhavedementiaBlueSky: @momdadhavedementiaGmail: [email protected]:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partnerLove Song and Path of the Goblin Kingby Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under the Creative Commons 3.0: By Attribution license

One of the hardest parts of caregiving is having to "parent" your own parents. In this episode, we dive into the emotional and practical challenges of managing your loved one's technology use—especially when dementia makes it difficult to draw clear boundaries. We share our personal experience with mom’s internet habits, how we navigated the decision to take away her iPad, and the impact it had on both her and us as caregivers. Join us as we discuss the delicate balance between maintaining independence and ensuring safety, and how to handle tough decisions with compassion and care.If you don't follow us on Instagram yet, please do! You can find us at: ⁠@Momanddadhavedementia⁠Hosts:Josh - oldest siblingJer - middle childBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner

We talk about what we did with all that STUFF that our parents accumulated over the years - not to mention the emotional baggage that comes with it. We got rid of 50% of mom and dad's belongings when moving them from a single family home to a 2-bedroom apartment in a retirement home, and then downsized again by about 25% when we moved them within that same retirement home from a 2-bedroom apartment to a 1-bedroom apartment. How did we handle making tough decisions when it was time to downsize two parents with dementia?You can get your own printable copy of Beth's clean/purge game here! If you don't follow us on Instagram yet, please do! You can find us at: @MomanddadhavedementiaPlaylist for moving your parents:https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1dqBsmYnRWi49qJxmISLOk?si=du-Q7YrLTgWsdKiBkMNk-A&pi=u-eO1xnSfrRnmzHosts:Josh - oldest siblingBeth - youngest siblingEmily - Josh's partner

Anica joins us today to talk about taking care of her mom (who has Alzheimer's) and a baby all while juggling her career as a therapist. Balancing caretaking for older parents and children at the same time is often called "sandwich caregiving." Some studies estimate that up to 24% of adult caregivers are also sandwich caregivers. Anica is an incredible insightful, thoughtful, lovely human-being, and it was such a pleasure speaking to her about all things caregiving!You can follow Anica's caregiving journey on Instagram at: @thesandwichedcaregiver⁠ You can follow us on Instagram at: @momanddadhavedementiaHost: Bethany Interviewee: Anica Leon-Weil

Mom is buying CBD gummies, glass art, and gadgets online but doesn't remember purchasing them...time to take away the credit card?! We look back to the first signs that mom and dad needed help managing day to day finances and discuss how we slowly made the transition to managing their expenses ourselves. If you’re enjoying this podcast, would you consider leaving us a review? Thanks! You can also find us on Instagram or Facebook @momanddadhavedementia. Want to connect? Email us at: [email protected] Hosts: Beth (middle child) Emily (daughter-in-law)

In this episode, we talk about driving with dementia. At what point did mom and dad lose their car keys? What did that look like? What are the complexities around getting someone to stop driving? Hosts: Josh (oldest) Jer (middle child) Beth (youngest) Emily - Josh's partner CORRECTION: Some sharks do sleep (sort of).

We found mom's blog content, thanks to my aunt!In this mini episode, Beth reads a story mom wrote on her blog back in 2012, long before her Alzheimer's diagnosis, about our family's nativity scene.Check out our social media for a pic of the creche.Happy Holidays!We'll be back with a full episode on January 7, 2025.

Josh asks Dad's permission to discuss his dementia in our podcast and asks Dad what it's like to have memory loss and live with someone who has Alzheimer's. Hosts: Josh - oldest sibling Jeremiah - middle sibling Beth - youngest sibling Emily - Josh's partner

Jeremiah (the third sibling), joins the discussion and we all try to answer the question, "When did we first notice something was wrong?" We discuss what normal aging behavior looks like vs. signs of dementia or Alzheimer's. Our hosts are: Josh - Oldest child Jeremiah - Middle child Beth - Youngest child Emily - Josh's partner

We introduce ourselves, our parents, and our parents' dementia journey. Dementia is an umbrella term that refers to a decline in memory, thinking, and cognitive abilities severe enough to interfere with daily life. Alzheimer's disease is the most common and well-known form of dementia, but there are many other types, each with its own set of symptoms and progression. Our hosts for this episode are: Joshua - Oldest child (of three) Beth - Youngest child (of three) Emily - Josh's partner