Shows
The Agewyz PodcastDr. Pauline Boss on The Grief That Has No EndThe Coronavirus pandemic has forced many residential care facilities to go on lockdown and implement “no visitor” policies. As a result, family members with loved ones in care facilities are feeling a heightened sense of “ambiguous loss”—a term coined by pioneering educator and researcher Dr. Pauline Boss to describe a form of never-ending grief. Common in caregivers of family members with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, this feeling of grief arises because the person with dementia is “there but not there.” Another form of ambiguous loss was noted by Dr. Boss in the early 1970s, when she interviewed famil...
2020-04-0938 min
The Agewyz PodcastJason Resendez: LatinosAgainstAlzheimer'sGrowing up in Alice, Texas, Jason Resendez didn't have any experience with Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. But more recently dementia has started to become an issue in his family. Now the issue has come full circle: as Executive Director of the LatinosAgainstAlzheimer's Network, all Jason thinks about are the changing demographics in the Alzheimer's community, and in our nation. That's because the number of Latinos in the US over age 65 is set to triple by the year 2050, when the care and treatment of Latinos with Alzheimer's disease will be a critical health equity issue. Jason tells us h...
2020-02-2742 min
The Agewyz PodcastLeslie Gray Streeter: Black WidowVeteran writer Leslie Gray Streeter established a loyal readership through her Palm Beach Post column, "That Girl." Now a general entertainment columnist at the Post, her writing for the newspaper began in the early 2000s and eventually included mentions of Scott Zervitz, referred to in Leslie's column as The Gentleman Friend when she and Scott were dating, and The Mister after they married. Baltimore natives who went to the same high school but didn't know each other well at the time, Leslie and Scott had re-met after 20 years and become soul mates for life. But tragedy struck in 2015, when 44-year...
2020-02-1345 min
The Agewyz PodcastMedication Overload: Time For An Action PlanIn the last two decades the number of people age 65 or older who are taking five or more medications has increased 300 percent. A problem that is much bigger than America’s opioid crisis, the scope and impact of over-prescribing in older adults is detailed in “Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem,” a report co-authored by The Lown Institute’s Judith Garber, a Health Policy and Communications Fellow at Lown; and Shannon Brownlee, Senior VP at the Institute and author of the book, “Overtreated: Why Too Much Medicine is Making Us Sicker and Poorer.” We talk with Shannon and Judith about w...
2020-01-3044 min
The Agewyz PodcastVIP Care Management With Sonja KobrinGeriatric Care Manager Sonja Kobrin was in her twenties when she began caring for the grandparents who raised her. She had no help and was traumatized by the experience, but it informed her approach years later, when she cared for the biological father who had been absent in her childhood. This school of hard knocks training has influenced Sonja’s holistic and comprehensive approach to helping her clients at VIP Care Management, the Palm Beach County, Florida company she co-founded with her husband in 1993. Tune in for real talk from a compassionate care manager who shares her insights and adv...
2020-01-1640 min
The Agewyz PodcastDeirdre Fishel on her documentary film “Care”Award-winning filmmaker Deirdre Fishel walked around in a state of rage during the making of her documentary film, “Care,” which delves into the world of paid care from the perspective of both workers and care recipients. Deirdre talks about the making of her film, and about how her vibrant but frail mother influenced her decision to make it. As we head into the 2020 presidential elections, “Care” is a must-see film for candidates—and a powerful tool for advocates. Note: this episode originally aired June 8, 2017. We have an update at the end of this broadcast.For a transcrip...
2020-01-0250 min
The Agewyz PodcastLGBTQ Sandwich GenerationBrent Wright is one of 64 million sandwich generation Americans who has simultaneously cared for an aging parent and his kids, all under the same roof. What made their setup unusual? His mom moved in with Brent and his husband, Sandis, and their two adopted daughters. Brent tells us how the dynamics in their family changed when his mom moved in, and how his 7- and 10-year-old daughters help care for their grandma. Brent Wright is the Chief Operating Officer of Family Equality, a nonprofit that advances legal and lived equality for LGBTQ+ families, and for those who wish to fo...
2019-12-1229 min
The Agewyz PodcastAutism Village Founder Topher WurtsOne in 68 children born in the US today is diagnosed as being on the autism spectrum. The vast majority of them are being raised by single moms, and boys make up roughly three-quarters of those diagnosed. Faced with these and other alarming statistics, Topher Wurts decided to use his background in tech media to develop Autism Village, a free mobile app designed to help families find autism-friendly places and services. The issue is personal for Topher: his son, Kirby, was diagnosed with autism at eighteen months old. Topher shares his family’s caregiving journey with Kirby, from altered careers an...
2019-11-2844 min
The Agewyz PodcastShaista Kazmi: Serving Elderly Ethnic MinoritiesMichigan resident Shaista Kazmi has firsthand knowledge of the isolation and guilt felt by millions of family caregivers. But as a Pakistani Muslim, she's had the added challenge of finding culturally competent home health aides for her elderly family members. To help caregivers like her avoid the same fate, Shaista founded Detroit-based Apna Ghar, the first senior care agency in America dedicated to serving the needs of elderly ethnic minorities. Shaista tells us how well-meaning senior care agencies tried but failed to meet the cultural needs of her family members, and how it affected her ability to work and ra...
2019-11-1445 min
The Agewyz PodcastSuzanne Garber: Unraveling Global HealthcareSingle Payer, Medicare For All, Universal Healthcare - as these phrases get tossed around the presidential debate stage we get real with Suzanne Garber, whose documentary film, "Gauze: Unraveling Global Healthcare" compares and contrasts healthcare systems around the world to determine what "best healthcare" means and what it really looks like. We talk with Suzanne about her own experience with medical care, both in the US and abroad, what she discovered during the making of "Gauze" and why many Americans are choosing to go overseas for affordable, quality care. Tune in for a lively conversation with this filmmaker who...
2019-10-3159 min
The Agewyz PodcastCynthia Lim: Carving a New Path After LossLA resident Cynthia Lim, author of the book, "Wherever You Are: A Memoir of Love, Marriage and Brain Injury," returns to the show a year after our first interview to talk about how her life has changed since the death of her husband, Perry. Retired from working in the LA Unified School District, Cynthia has also raised two grown sons and been a fulltime caregiver for her husband. She talks about the gradual changes she’s made, to her house and in her life, now realizing this is a point in her life where she has the freedom to ac...
2019-10-1730 min
The Agewyz PodcastElissa Altman on "Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing and Longing"What happens when a gay, middle-aged daughter who has never gotten along with her makeup-addicted, former television singer mother is suddenly thrust into the role of her caregiver? That's the subject of James Beard Award-winning food writer Elissa Altman's new book, "Motherland: A Memoir of Love, Loathing and Longing." Jana talks with Elissa about how “Motherland” evolved and what it was like for the author to revisit her complex relationship with her mother, Rita, this time through the prism of hands-on care. At age 56, after countless therapy sessions and the publication of three memoirs, Elissa finally has a healthy relati...
2019-10-0345 min
The Agewyz PodcastMillennial Caregiver Adrienne GlusmanAdrienne Glusman always knew she would have to care for her mother at some point. It just happened 30 years sooner than she expected. An only child of divorced parents, Adrienne was 29 years old and traveling the world in between waitressing gigs in New York City when her mother was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Adrienne initially managed her mother's care from a distance, flying back and forth between New York and her mother's home in Tampa, Florida during emergencies. But as her mother's Parkinson's progressed, Adrienne became more anxious. She finally decided to leave New York and move back to...
2019-09-1949 min
The Agewyz PodcastContemplative Caregiving with Dr. John Eric BaugherPioneering educator and researcher Dr. John Eric Baugher was just eighteen years old when his mother was murdered. Filled with rage, John felt he was fated to join his mother's killer in life imprisonment. Not behind bars, but behind psychological walls of unresolved grief and anger. How he channeled his grief and discovered compassion and even humor in the face of death is at the heart of John's new book, "Contemplative Caregiving: Finding Healing, Compassion and Spiritual Growth Through End of Life Care." Jana talks with John about how "Contemplative Caregiving" evolved from his early years as a hospice careg...
2019-09-0539 min
The Agewyz PodcastValerie Bourdain: Finding Shelter in the Storm of CancerIn a span of five years, Nebraska native Valerie Bourdain lost her daughter to adrenal cancer, her mother to lung cancer and her father to Chronic Lymphomatic Leukemia (CLL). Midway through their daughter’s cancer journey, Valerie's husband left the marriage. Valerie forged ahead. But as the sole caregiver for all three family members, her weight and blood pressure soared to dangerously high levels. Finally, she was motivated to get healthy so her grown son wouldn’t have to care for her later in life. As Valerie slowly rebuilt her life, and her body with the help of a fitn...
2019-08-2939 min
The Agewyz PodcastBefore It's Too LateIn 1996, Mike O’Krent became a volunteer interviewer for Steven Spielberg's Survivors of the Shoah Visual History Foundation, the largest oral history project captured on video in the world. The experience of interviewing Holocaust survivors rocked Mike’s world and led him to found Life Stories Alive, which records the life stories of individuals, couples and siblings for their families before it’s too late. Mike’s own father and grandfather died before he could capture their stories, so he vowed not to make the same mistake with his mother. Mike talks about getting hooked on the process of storytel...
2019-08-2229 min
The Agewyz PodcastJanet Elsbach: Caring, Connecting & Building Community One Dish At A TimeJanet Elsbach was raised by people who did a lot of cooking, but she didn't go to professional cooking school. A home cook inspired by seasonal food, the cravings of those she loves to feed and the idea of bringing people together at the table, Janet knows from personal experience that in times of illness and sorrow there's nothing like the gift of food. Her new book, “Extra Helping: Recipes for Caring, Connecting, and Building Community One Dish at a Time” includes personal stories from the front lines of care, cooking shortcuts for cooks short on time and tips for tw...
2019-08-0837 min
The Agewyz PodcastWhat Would The Patient Want?What happens when a family member or friend is incapacitated and they’re counting on you to make a healthcare decision for them? Do you take the doctor's advice for treatment? Or do you push back, knowing the patient would never want the treatment the doctor is suggesting? In high pressure situations like this, the wisdom of someone like Viki Kind is invaluable. Viki is what's known as a clinical bioethicist. She helps families make good medical decisions and she counsels healthcare professionals on how to do right by their patients. On the show, we examine what went wrong in sit...
2019-08-0139 min
The Agewyz PodcastJudith Henry: The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to CaregivingWhen Judith Henry's parents became ill in 2007, not even her reputation as a pragmatist, a planner and responsible eldest sibling could prepare her for what lay ahead. But Judith had one advantage: around age ten she had played a caregiving role for her mother, who was in and out of hospitals. Judith's caregiver-in-training childhood and transition to aiding her elderly parents in the last phase of their lives is at the heart and soul of her book, "The Dutiful Daughter's Guide to Caregiving: A Practical Memoir." Jana talks with Judith about her no-nonsense, witty and practical "Dutiful Daughter's Guide to...
2019-07-2542 min
The Agewyz PodcastIdentity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After StrokeBeing able to speak and write were central to Debra Meyerson's career as a tenured professor at Stanford University, where her work revolved around diversity, gender, identity and organizational change. But when she suffered a severe stroke that nearly killed her, the career by which Debra defined herself was gone - cut short by her stroke. Jana talks with Debra and her son Danny Zuckerman, co-authors of the new book, "Identity Theft: Rediscovering Ourselves After Stroke," an account of Debra's extraordinary efforts to recover and her journey to redefine herself after her traumatic event. "Identity Theft" also includes stories...
2019-07-1831 min
The Agewyz PodcastWhen Is It Time To Stop Driving?Former Ohio state trooper Matt Gurwell spent 20-plus years delivering bad news to family members about accidents involving older drivers. Now instead of delivering death notifications, he’s helping to preserve family relationships and saving lives with a self-assessment tool called Beyond Driving With Dignity. Matt is the founder of Keeping Us Safe, and Beyond Driving With Dignity is the organization’s proactive approach to helping family members and older drivers make their own decisions, but the right decision, about possibly giving up driving. Matt says not all older adults need to turn over their car keys. He explains why...
2019-07-1135 min
The Agewyz PodcastAuthor Liz O’Donnell on "Working Daughter: How to Care for Your Aging Parents While Making a Living"THE AGEWYZ PODCAST IS CELEBRATING ITS FOUR YEAR ANNIVERSARY!THANK YOU FOR TUNING IN OVER THE YEARS!There are lots of books on the market about balancing career and children, but where do you turn for advice on balancing career and aging parents? With 10,000 people turning 65 every day and employers slow to acknowledge the needs of their caregiving employees, Liz O'Donnell's new book, "Working Daughter: How to Care for Your Aging Parents While Making a Living" could not be more timely. Liz was riding high in her career as a marketing executive and raising two children...
2019-06-2749 min
The Agewyz PodcastJay Perry: Journeying Through CancerAward-winning Canadian photographer Jay Perry dodged burning cars in Haiti after the country’s devastating 2010 earthquake, he’s had Haitian rebels point their guns in his direction and he’s driven across the country in a cramped van eating and drinking off four dollars a day. But watching his father slip away from cancer was harder than any of those ordeals. Jay tells us why, and he talks about his book, "My Dad Got Sick: Love and Insights From a Caregiver's Unexpected Journey Through Cancer," an emotional account of interrupting his skyrocketing career at age thirty-one to help his father...
2019-06-2048 min
The Agewyz PodcastAisha Adkins on Millennial CaregivingDid you know that Millennial caregivers make up nearly a quarter of America's 44 million family caregivers? One of them is Atlanta writer and dementia care advocate Aisha Adkins. An only child and African American who grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood near Seattle, Aisha was bullied in school and had forty operations as a child. But resentment is not in her wheel house. In 2017, she founded Our Turn 2 Care, a website that connects young adult caregivers with information, resources and each other. Aisha helped care for her dad when he had a stroke and she now cares for her mo...
2019-06-1350 min
The Agewyz PodcastPhotographer Robert Duron on "stages: 100 Over 100"Did you know that in the United States there are over 80,000 centenarians? Those are Americans who have made it to age 100 and beyond. They were born at a time when the life expectancy was just 53-1/2 for men and 56 for women. Today, life expectancy is 76 for men and 81 for women. So what is it like to be age 100 or older? And what can we learn from the men and women in this demographic? LA photographer Robert Duron is finding out. Robert is in the midst of photographing 100 of the nation's centenarians for California-based health plan SCAN, which is celebrating Amer...
2019-06-0618 min
The Agewyz PodcastA Grief That Has No End: Dr. Pauline Boss on Ambiguous LossPioneering educator and researcher Dr. Pauline Boss coined the term "ambiguous loss" to describe a form of grief that is common in caregivers of family members with Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. It's marked by a never-ending grief for the person with dementia who is "there but not there," and it forces the caregiver to confront a new and confusing relationship - one ruptured by dementia. Dr. Boss tells us how the phrase "ambiguous loss" evolved and how she experienced it in her own childhood, growing up in Wisconsin in her Swiss immigrant family. She explains why people who a...
2019-05-3039 min
The Agewyz PodcastMilitary Caregiver Jill ArmijoWe celebrate this Memorial Day with the story of a military caregiver whose husband returned from active duty alive but mentally wounded. Jill Armijo’s husband, Joe, served in the Navy as a machinist and was deployed to a ship in the Persian Gulf just before Operation Desert Storm. A gentle, generous man, Joe returned from the Gulf War paranoid and with delusions of grandeur. For the past 20 years, his greatest battle has been schizophrenia. Although the medical community eventually recognized Joe’s condition as Gulf War Illness, Jill says the VA wasn’t much help when he came back f...
2019-05-2343 min
The Agewyz PodcastCareGiving.com Founder Denise M. BrownChicago native Denise M. Brown founded CareGiving.com at a time when Google, Twitter, Facebook and Wikipedia didn't even exist. Everyone told Denise she was wasting her time. No one would be interested in a website like CareGiving.com. She launched the site anyway and now, over twenty years later, CareGiving.com is the go-to destination for millions of family caregivers desperate for practical advice and encouragement. Jana talks with Denise about her early influences, how she manages her own parents and the two-day, National Institutes of Health event that shocked Denise into the realization that caregivers are invisible even...
2019-05-1641 min
The Agewyz PodcastChoosing Joy: How One Couple Reframed Alzheimer'sA few months after their 50th wedding anniversary, Helene Berger's husband Ady was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. When the doctor gave him the news, Ady replied, "I don't want to live anymore." From that moment on, Helene vowed to find creative ways to make their lives as joyful as possible for as long as possible. It wasn't always easy. But Helene learned a lot along the way, and she took notes which became the basis for her new book, "Choosing Joy; Alzheimer's: A Book of Hope." Helene tells us how she and Ady worked together to communicate in a...
2019-05-0932 min
The Agewyz PodcastSky Dylan-Robbins: How Will Millennials Care For Their Parents?In the next fifty years the population of Americans over age 65 will double. Where do millennials fit in? That's the question posed by filmmaker and visual journalist Sky Dylan-Robbins in her documentary short for NBC Left Field titled, “Millennials Stepping Up: How Will We Take Care of Our Parents?” It’s a topic that feels close to home for Sky. A millennial and only child whose father died of colon cancer, Sky wants make sure her mother is well cared for as she ages. She's also slightly intimidated by the prospect of preparing for her own aging. Sky tells us how...
2019-05-0225 min
The Agewyz PodcastTrailer for The Agewyz PodcastCaregiving expert and author Jana Panarites engages with unsung heroes — people caring for family members, friends and relatives amid the demands of their own lives — plus professionals in the field of aging and writers, performers and artists who are using media to creatively address major health issues, foster dialogue and challenge widespread assumptions about aging.
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Contact: jana@agewyz.com
2019-04-2903 min
The Agewyz PodcastGayle Kirschenbaum on her film "Look At Us Now, Mother!"If you’re having a hard time caring for a family member or friend, chances are there are lingering wounds in the relationship. But choosing the path of forgiveness can heal even the most fractured bonds. Take it from filmmaker Gayle Kirschenbaum, whose emotional abuse as a child made her feel like she was born into the wrong family. Her relationship with her mother was especially harsh, but Gayle chose the path of forgiveness and chronicled her journey with her mother from enemies to friends in the film, "Look At Us Now, Mother!" Gayle shares the back story on her fun...
2019-04-2544 min
The Agewyz PodcastThe Best Seven Years of My LifeGeorge and Carol Shannon were on their last night of vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico when Carol had a stroke. A day later, in a hospital back in their hometown of Pittsburgh, PA, a million questions went through George's mind. He was still working. How would he handle this? How would he be a caregiver? Would he be a caregiver? Who would take care of Carol? How long would she be in this condition? Distant and selfish by his own admission, George realized he'd taken his wife for granted during their entire 41-year marriage. But he not only rose to...
2019-04-1843 min
The Agewyz PodcastMedication Overload: America's Other Drug ProblemWe hear a lot about how the opioid crisis is destroying families and communities. But the scope and impact of medication overload is much bigger: in the last two decades the number of older adults taking five or more medications has increased 300 percent. There’s also been a spike in the number of serious adverse drug events (ADEs). These alarming facts and others are outlined in a new report from the Lown Institute titled, “Medication Overload: America’s Other Drug Problem.” Jana talks with the report’s co-authors: Judith Garber, a Health Policy and Communications Fellow at the Lown Institute; and...
2019-04-1144 min
The Agewyz PodcastJaime Estremera-Fitzgerald: CEO of South Florida’s Area Agency on AgingJaime Estremera-Fitzgerald is a CEO on a mission. As head of South Florida’s Area Agency on Aging (known locally as Your Aging and Disability Resource Center), Jaime leads a team that serves seniors, adults with disabilities and the people who care for them in Palm Beach, the Treasure Coast and Okeechobee Counties. Jaime explains how the Center connects people with a vast array of home and community-based services designed to help people continue to age in their homes. Their services include directing people to respite care services, providing tools to fight the exploitation of elders and guiding people th...
2019-04-0433 min
Alzheimer's SpeaksInsights to Caring & Coping with Jana Panarites on Alzheimer's Speaks RadioLori La Bey host of Alzheimer's Speaks Radio talk openly with Jana Panarites, Author and Podcaster on lessons learned and shared by herself and others. She talks openly about her own story and her mother's dementia in her book the "Scattered: My Year as an Accidental Caregiver" as well as on her own podcast Agewyz. Call in and talk with us at (323) 870-4602. Contact Jana Panarites: Email: jana@agewyz.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanaPanarites Agewyz Media:www.agewyz.com Additional Resources on Dementia and Caregiving at Alzheimer's SpeaksSupport this...
2019-04-0247 minAlzheimer's SpeaksInsights to Caring & Coping with Jana Panarites on Alzheimer's Speaks RadioLori La Bey host of Alzheimer's Speaks Radio talk openly with Jana Panarites, Author and Podcaster on lessons learned and shared by herself and others. She talks openly about her own story and her mother's dementia in her book the "Scattered: My Year as an Accidental Caregiver" as well as on her own podcast Agewyz.
Call in and talk with us at (323) 870-4602.
Contact Jana Panarites:
Email: jana@agewyz.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/JanaPanarites
Agewyz Media:www.agewyz.com
Additional Resources on Dementia and Caregiving at Alzheimer's SpeaksSupport this...
2019-04-0247 min
The Agewyz PodcastBrian LeBlanc: Living Well with Alzheimer's58-year-old Brian LeBlanc is an international Alzheimer's advocate who speaks at conferences, workshops, symposiums, and even on dementia-friendly cruises. He's got a sense of humor that will knock you over. But don't call him an Alzheimer's patient. And don't call him an Alzheimer's sufferer. Brian explains why, and he tells us how he's living well with Alzheimer's disease in this lively conversation.For a transcript of this episode click here: TranscriptBrian's website: A Bit of Brian's BrillianceConnect with Brian on FacebookConnect on TwitterSubscribe to The Agewyz Podcast: iTunes
2019-03-2851 min
The Agewyz PodcastRonni Bennett: Time Goes ByNo one knows what it’s like to be old until they get there. That’s the view of Ronni Bennett, a former radio producer in her 70s who also spent over two decades as a writer and producer in network television in New York City. These days Ronni is busy with her acclaimed blog "Time Goes By," where she explores aging with humor, compassion and uncommon candor. Ronni tells us about the evolution of her blog and what’s good about getting older. She explains how media fuels America’s rampant ageism and she reflects on the Op-Ed piece, "...
2019-03-2142 min
The Agewyz PodcastKalisha Bonds: African Americans and DementiaMuch of the research on dementia in the United States has overlooked African Americans, but the prevalence of dementia in this population is more widespread than you might think. PhD candidate Kalisha Bonds is doing a deep dive into the subject as a student at Oregon Health & Sciences University (OHSU). Her research is focused on decision-making and the use of formal medical care by African Americans with dementia and their care partners. Kalisha tells us how being raised by her grandmother inspired her career path and what she’s uncovered so far in her research. She tells us how sh...
2019-03-1439 min
The Agewyz PodcastWhen Caregiving Is Rejected: A Mother and Her Son's MSWanting to care for your child is a basic instinct for most mothers. All the more so when that child has a chronic condition, like the son of today’s guest—a Wisconsin mother who asked that we not use her last name. Carol’s adult son has Multiple Sclerosis (MS), but he refuses to let Carol care for him. She says their relationship wasn’t always strained. On the show, Carol reflects on how she and her son arrived at this impasse and she tells us how she navigates her relationship with her son now. She shares her concerns...
2019-03-0841 min
The Agewyz PodcastKristi Horner: Supporting Mental Health CaregiversIn the U.S., as many as 8.4 million people act as caregivers to adults with emotional or mental health conditions. That’s according to a recent report co-authored by the National Alliance for Caregiving (NAC) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). Mental health caregivers often have a heavier burden of care and higher stress levels than a typical family caregiver. One such caregiver who faced a heavy burden—and ultimately, heartbreak—is Kristi Horner, whose brother suffered from mental illness and took his own life. Kristi is the founder of Courage to Caregivers, a Northeast Ohio non-profit focuse...
2019-02-2849 min
The Agewyz PodcastTamesha Keel: This Is What Normal Looks LikeBrooklyn-born attorney and empowerment guru Tamesha Keel was riding high in her career when her father died and she took on the role of sole caregiver for her mother. Years earlier her mother had survived a massive brain hemorrhage. She couldn’t live alone, so she moved in with Tamesha. Then her mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and terminal cancer. Tamesha talks about powering through work as she coordinated her mother’s multiple care needs, letting go of her “perfect daughter” mindset, tough-love fights with her mom and their complicated but magical trip to New Orleans sponsored by the Dre...
2019-02-2153 min
The Agewyz PodcastKatherine Summers: From the HeartFlorida native Katherine Summers stumbled into her career as a paid caregiver. She had some time on her hands, and friends from her childhood began asking if she could check in on their aging parents. Katherine found she liked being around the elders, and caring for them came naturally to her. So she decided to take classes in Alzheimer’s and dementia care and work as a caregiver professionally, first through an agency and then independently. For the past six years she’s cared exclusively for two people who live together: a cancer patient and his mother who has deme...
2019-02-1459 min
The Agewyz PodcastJohn Leland: Happiness Is A Choice You MakeIn 2015, award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of America’s fastest growing age group: people age 85 and older, or what gerontologists often refer to as “the oldest old.” What John discovered during his deep dive into the world of elders upended his own ideas about old age. It also challenged the widespread notion that old age is nothing more than a grim period of physical and emotional decline. On the show John shares some of the lessons he learned from six elders profiled in his best-selling book, “Happiness Is A Choice...
2019-01-3152 min
The Agewyz PodcastThe Candia ShuffleCandia, New Hampshire residents Kathy and Ray MacDonald vowed when they got married that neither mother-in-law would ever live with them. Then Kathy’s mother Simone developed Alzheimer’s disease. The working couple now juggles caring for 78-year-old Simone with fulltime jobs, getaways planned months in advance and a rotating team of in-home aides paid for through Simone’s long-term care insurance. On the show Kathy tells us how the new normal unfolded, what her son’s eighth grade presentation on Alzheimer’s taught her about the disease and why she knows she and Ray made the right decision. Tune in an...
2019-01-2440 min
The Agewyz PodcastKate Schutt: Nothing I Won't BearSinger/songwriter, guitarist and producer Kate Schutt was packed and set to leave for a gig in the Middle East when she learned that her mother had stage 3c ovarian cancer. Kate broke her contract, moved in with her mother and became her primary caregiver for the next four years. On the show she talks about returning to live in her childhood home, the intense journey with her mother from cancer diagnosis to death and writing about life and loss for her forthcoming album, “Bright Nowhere,” which Kate is working on with legendary producer/arranger Rob Mounsey. Kate riffs on t...
2019-01-1750 min
The Agewyz PodcastJournalist Paula Span on The New Old AgeVeteran journalist Paula Span has had personal experience with many of the issues explored in her twice-monthly column for The New York Times, “The New Old Age”—the only dedicated real estate at the Times that talks about aging issues and caregiving. On the show, Paula shares some of those experiences and tells us about the evolution of the column and the story behind some of her pieces, including one on the growing use of medical marijuana among seniors and another on a program for medical students that involves interacting with older adults. She also weighs in on ageism, the re...
2019-01-1057 min
The Agewyz PodcastDr. Nicole Rochester: Your GPS DocDr. Nicole Rochester has known she wanted to be a pediatrician since she was about eight years old. A Washington, DC native whose dad was a Redskins season ticket holder, Dr. Rochester has advocated for her own family members and given medical care to children in the DC Metro area for two decades. In today’s show she shares her insider’s view of the way hospitals work: how the doctor-patient relationship has changed over the years, how the fast-paced nature of hospitals affects care and why family meetings are a critical component of care. Dr. Rochester shares her conc...
2018-12-2047 min
The Agewyz PodcastSteve Burrows and Ilan Arboleda on "Bleed Out"When Steve Burrows’ mother, Judie, fell into a coma after a routine hip surgery, he was afraid she would never wake up. Questioning Judie’s care during surgery, Steve discovered his mother was one of an alarming number of patients in the US who are harmed by medical error. His personal video diary of Judie’s recovery mushroomed into a ten-year, multi-layered investigation into the state of American health care laid bare in the documentary film, “Bleed Out”—Steve’s hair-raising search for the truth about what happened to his mother’s care. A former member of the Groundlings theater company...
2018-12-1336 min
The Agewyz PodcastGetting CoveredIt’s open enrollment season in the United States, so if you need to sign up for an individual health insurance plan through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace or you want to learn more about Medicare, Medicaid and long-term care, today’s show is for you. Our guest is Thad Hooker, an insurance agent and broker with the Assurance Group, who has worked in health care for over twenty years. Thad gives us an overview of the ACA marketplace plans, he tells us what to look for in choosing a plan and explains why one type of plan migh...
2017-11-2335 min
The Agewyz PodcastHidden LivesThe Agewyz Podcast is on a summer break and will be back with all new episodes starting September 14th. Meanwhile, we hope you enjoy this popular rebroadcast: We often think of caregiving as something only adults do, but in the US there are at least 1.3 million youth caregivers (ages 8 to 18), many of them forced to drop out of school to provide care to a family member. That’s what happened when a surgical error left Feylyn Lewis’ mother in need of 24/7 care. Feylyn was just eleven years old at the time and her parents were divorced, so her 18-year old...
2017-09-0736 min
The Agewyz PodcastEpisode 91: A New NormalA year ago on the podcast Lisa Howland told of quitting her job to be a full-time caregiver for her father, who has Parkinson’s disease, and of hiding the knives in her house because of his increasingly aggressive behavior – associated with his later diagnosis of Lewy Body dementia. In today’s episode: the changes since then in Lisa and her father’s lives, from his move into and out of an assisted living facility to Lisa’s new knowledge of Florida’s “stand and pivot” law and why she stopped going to a support group, learned to embrace mindfulness and...
2017-04-0651 min
Caregiver SOS On AirFalling into caregiving with Jana Panarites 3-12-17Jana Panarites made a tough choice when she decided to move in with her mother to be a caregiver. She had no idea what she was getting into, but she they realized they both needed each other. Jana also hosts a podcast called "AgeWyz" where she speaks with other caregivers.
Originally aired on Caregiver SOS: On Air presented by the WellMed Charitable Foundation on March 12, 2017, in San Antonio, TX on 930 AM KLUP “The Answer.” With co-hosts Carol Zernial and Ron Aaron.
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2017-03-1551 min
The Agewyz PodcastEpisode 54: Moments Together And ApartKrysta Close and her siblings all live in different cities, but they banded together to figure out a new living situation for their mother when they realized her memory was declining and it wasn’t safe for her to continue living alone. Krysta’s mom, a retired psychiatrist, born in Poland, had taken it upon herself to get a neuropsychological exam because she too was worried about her forgetfulness. Her eventual diagnosis: early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. In today’s show Krysta talks about the process of moving her mother from Milwaukee to LA, how she went about choosing an assisted...
2016-06-3047 min