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Towel Racks, Railings, and Doors

Part of improving your home environment is stabilizing and modifying the features of your home to eliminate or reduce problems. Here, we’ll look at three: towel racks, staircases, and inside doors. ... read more

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In the Shower

Helping some in the shower is one of the more difficult and risky activities in caregiving. Here are some hints in how to make it easier. ... read more

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Dealing with Falls

Your loved one will probably fall. Any emergency-services people will advise you to call 9-1-1 and have her taken to a hospital for evaluation. While this is the safest thing to do, there’s a problem. ... read more

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Transferring into a Car

Transferring someone into a car can be difficult, particularly if the car is an SUV or van with a high seat. Here’s how I transferred Sandra into our car—a sedan. ... read more

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Toileting

Getting onto or up from the toilet can be a problem for someone with mobility issues. ... read more

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Choosing Flooring

If you have a choice of flooring or if you’re planning on replacing what you have now, what’s best for Parkinson’s patients? ... read more

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Helping with Communications

Communicating with someone with Parkinson’s can be difficult because their voices tend to become softer and slurred. ... read more

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Offering Help

When you see someone struggle, particularly your loved one, your first inclination is to help. That’s not the best strategy because ... read more

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Helping with Mobility

Parkinson’s disease affects mobility in two ways. The stiffness the disease imposes makes any movements, including walking, slower and more difficult, and the instability, which increases the risk of falling, leads to a tentative shuffling. ... read more

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Helping with Eating

People with Parkinson’s find eating a challenge, in part because the loss of muscle control and coordination make it harder to manipulate a fork or spoon, and in part because the tremors slop the food off the utensil. One solution is the children’s ditty: ... read more

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Care Tips: Offering Help and Seeing Doctors

When you see someone struggle, particularly your loved one, your first inclination is to help. That’s not always the best strategy because ... read more

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The Menagerie of Professions

Among the sometimes frustrating and confusing aspects of caregiving is the wide range of medical and professional roles you will encounter. Before being thrust into the role of caregiver, I had assumed—if I ever thought of it at all—that medicine was a general practitioner and maybe a couple of specialists for conditions the GP couldn’t handle. Was that ever a mistake. ... read more

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Caregiving Tips