This is a story about an unlikely mix of topics: running, music, mothers, aging and a stranded blowfish. I was on an early morning run along the beach in Cape May, N.J. during a three-day getaway. It was a great run. Blue sky, shimmering water, warm te… Continue reading
(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.) PORTLAND, Ore. — After nearly 40 years as an internist, Dr. Ron Naito knew what the sky-high results of his blood test meant. And it wasn’t good. But when he turned to his doctors last summer to… Continue reading
(This article appeared previously in Kaiser Health News.) PORTLAND, Ore. — After nearly 40 years as an internist, Dr. Ron Naito knew what the sky-high results of his blood test meant. And it wasn’t good. But when he turned to his doctors last summer to… Continue reading
When Carla Sofka’s mother died just before Thanksgiving 2017, Sofka didn’t immediately post the news on social media. She was busy planning the funeral, making travel arrangements and getting an obituary ready for the weekly newspaper in her mother’s c… Continue reading
Jacquelyn Eberle was 57 and renewing her driver’s license when she did something she’d never done before: she signed up to become an organ donor upon her death. The West Allis, Wis., resident was motivated to take that step after seeing a magnet that r… Continue reading
Not too long ago, a dear friend’s dad suffered a major heart attack and died. At the funeral, there was little time for more than a brief exchange of words. But, given my background in grieving support and education, I wanted to offer some advice to he… Continue reading
(Editors’ note: Since this article was published on July 11, 2019, Democratic presidential hopefuls Sen. Cory Booker and Sen. Amy Klobuchar released long-term care proposals. Booker’s long-term care plan would make it easier to qualify for Medicaid cov… Continue reading
Ten residents slipped away from their retirement community one Sunday afternoon for a covert meeting in a grocery store cafe. They aimed to answer a taboo question: When they feel they have lived long enough, how can they carry out their own swift and … Continue reading
If you are sure you would never read a book about how to face death, especially long before you need it, A Beginner’s Guide to the End: Practical Advice for Living Life and Facing Death just might convince you it wouldn’t be bad to have on the shelf. W… Continue reading
My dad was a smart guy, but not so smart as to avoid being hoodwinked by those who drafted the contract for my mom’s long-term care insurance policy. When my father died in 2013, he went to his grave imagining that my mother, then an Alzheimer’s patien… Continue reading