Sally Abrahms

Biography: I’m a long-time contributor to AARP with both a personal and professional interest in caregiving. For the last twelve years, I have cared for my father, then my mother and now my 93-year-old mother-in-law. I cover aging and boomers and have written for TIME, Newsweek, the New York Times, USA Today and the Huffington Post, among others.

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Sally Abrahms 'sPosts

Who Will Be Your Caregiver? I Know Who Won’t Be Mine

Posted on 01/3/2013 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Your LifeI usually write about other people, but indulge me a minute. I have been a long-distance family caregiver for 12 years straight (father, mother, mother-in-law) and in the future, I will likely need and want a family caregiver myself. My three kids are spread out across the country (Florida, California, New York), but I thought not for long. For the last year, my son and his wife have said they planned to move to Boston from the West Coast. (They …

Caregivers: Spotting & Preventing Financial Elder Abuse

Posted on 12/20/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Money & SavingsWhat if something just doesn’t feel right or your parents’, relative or friend’s finances aren’t adding up? Could it be a professional caregiver, someone who has befriended them recently, or, perish the thought, even your own flesh and blood, who is cooking the books or sporting a cushy lifestyle at your expense? Could it be financial exploitation? As important as checking out a relative’s physical environment and their health is making sure their money is safe. Just in time for …

Can Home-Delivered Meals Keep You Out of a Nursing Home?

Posted on 12/7/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

CaregivingA new study out of Brown University offers food for thought. It shows that one way to keep people out of nursing homes — so they can age in place, at home — is for states to offer more home-delivered meals. The report revealed that states that invest the most in home-based meals, like Meals On Wheels, have fewer nursing home admissions for “low-care” residents. Low-care means a person lives in a nursing home yet doesn’t require many of the services offered. …

A Promise to Help Caregivers

Posted on 12/5/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Your LifeYou know those New Year’s Resolutions we make? To be kinder, break a bad habit, save money, stress less, travel more, lose weight, exercise, work harder? Is helping a family caregiver ever on your list? The national Lotsa Helping Hands has decided to speed up New Year’s resolutions with a campaign they have launched. Its purpose: have people begin to think about how they can lighten the load for a caregiver (and/or care recipient) in 2013. To keep folks on the …

What Caregivers Don’t Tell Anyone

Posted on 11/29/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Home & Family | Your Life“Sally Abrahms can take her crown off now!” Ouch. That was one response to my story that recently ran in the AARP Bulletin explaining common emotions (guilt, grief, exhaustion) family caregivers have and strategies for dealing with them. I was writing about my own experience — I’m a long distance caregiver, not someone who lives 24/7 with a sick or chronically needy parent — as well as what I have observed from my work. That reader could have been less strident, …

Your Four-Step Holiday Caregiving Checklist

Posted on 11/21/2012 by Sally Abrahms | Caregiving | Comments

Caregiving | Your LifeIf Sherlock Holmes had been a long-distance family caregiver visiting his parents over Thanksgiving, he would have been a busy guy. He wouldn’t have missed a great opportunity to assess how an older family member or friend was faring so he could make changes if needed. And neither should you. It doesn’t take a pro to sleuth out the situation. Here are easy pointers on what you need to know: 1. Their Health What do you notice? Do they remember to …