One Day at a Time: A Personal Story of Stroke Recovery
Carol S. Heape, MSW, CMC I never truly understood what a brain injury meant—until I had a stroke. It came as a complete shock: unexpected, untimely, and incredibly disruptive. I had no idea just how deeply it would affect my […] Read More
The Fight Against Ageism: Our Families Story
About four months ago, our family’s life changed forever. Our fiercely strong, active, and independent mother suffered two, nearly back-to-back strokes.  As a family, we were blindsided. Our mother was healthy, actively working, and traveling. Throughout this journey there were […] Read More
What Happens When There Is a Suicide?
It happened years ago but I’ll never forget. The telephone call came in on a weekend just before Christmas from my immediate supervisor at work. I never got calls from work on a weekend so I could not imagine the […] Read More
Boundaries: Respecting Our Own and Others
We hear a lot about boundaries these days, but do we understand the scope of them and know how to respect them in ourselves as well as others? There is much to be said about boundaries and whole books are […] Read More
More than a Dixie Cup
In the Fall of 2017, I was a graduate student taking an elective on Gerontology, specifically on Successful Aging. The title brought curiosity, knowing everyone around me is, myself included. I found it to be proactive to integrate this knowledge […] Read More
Successful Aging and Life Satisfaction
Successful aging and life satisfaction can be a subjective concept. For the purposes of this article, I would like to propose the definition of successful aging and life satisfaction as: The continued ability to learn and develop as a person. […] Read More
Decubitus Ulcers – More Than Just a Pain in the Butt
Mr. Clarke lived alone in his one-bedroom apartment with his dog Buster. Recently, Mr. Clarke fell, broke his pelvis, and was transferred to skilled nursing for rehabilitation. After some rigorous physical therapy, Mr. Clarke was able to return home with […] Read More
The Importance of Autonomy in the Well-Being of the Older Adult
Studies show that maintaining a sense of autonomy is an important factor in keeping the older population living a satisfying life. “Autonomy is the ability of the individual to make and carry out decisions about how, with whom, when, and […] Read More
Who Is Going to Care For Me?
The woman was a grandmother but young by today’s standards – 64. She had been divorced for years but was hard working and self sufficient until the cancer diagnosis. Reluctantly following her physician’s advice, she had to quit work and […] Read More
Food and the Inflammation Process
Betty Lynn was diagnosed with arthritis ten years ago. She didn’t believe in diets, and ate pretty much whatever she felt like. Betty enjoyed cereal with sugar, the Sunday doughnut after church, Chinese food on Friday nights and even the […] Read More