Happy Healthy Caregiver

After working at National Geographic for 21 years, Gina Martin saw how important visual storytelling can bring awareness to important issues. Gina helped her dad Bob care for her mom, Diane, who had Alzheimer’s. The Bob & Diane Fund was created to bring a visual awareness and understanding to Alzheimer's and Dementia. In this episode, Gina shares her parent’s story and how the fund in their names came to be. Gina was definitely a self-care cheerleader for her dad and she was able to do this even from 3,000 miles away. And, Gina also talks about how she had to learn to ask and accept help during her breast cancer journey and recovery earlier this year. A reminder for us all to schedule your mammogram and make sure the others you care about have, too! Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod148 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsors

Ben Mandelbaum grew up in a home along with his 14 siblings where he witnessed his Mom caring for his great grandmother, and then his grandmother. Ben was also part of his dad’s care team – his dad passed from ALS earlier this year. Ben’s background is in finance for skilled nursing communities. In this episode, we talk about living life while caring for others, the difference between Medicare and Medicaid, what benefits Medicaid can help families with, and how his company NavigAid can help guide and support you through the Medicaid application process. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod147 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPO

Charlotte Bayala is a spousal caregiver determined to love her caregiving life and help others along the way. Charlotte’s life changed forever when her husband was diagnosed with an incurable form of thyroid cancer in 2013. She uses her experience as a caregiver and her training as a Yoga and Meditation teacher to help caregivers find easy ways to care for themselves. In this episode, we talk about Chicago life, protecting the spousal relationship, addressing worries, themed digital photo albums to help you through rough patches, and how self-care can look different for each of us every day.  Enjoy the show! Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod146 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care

Kim Albrecht knows what the sandwich generation feels like. She has been her 18-year-old daughter’s primary caregiver since Miranda was born and she helps care for her mom who is living with dementia. Kim is a southerner transplanted to California via the Midwest along with her husband and 2 teenage daughters, the oldest of which has level 3 nonspeaking autism. Kim hosts the award winning LOMAH Disability Podcast, where over 150 expert guests have been interviewed on topics relevant to planning the future for teens and young adults with disabilities.  In this episode, we talk about how Kim and her husband are preparing Miranda for adulthood and living independently from her parents, Kim’s gratitude for some tough feedback from trusted individuals that shaped her current caregiving mindset, how she recovered from caregiver burnout, and why every caregiver may need to purchase some construction worker headphones. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod145 Receive the podcast

Susanne White is the founder of Caregiver Warrior. She cared for her parents and this caregiving adventure changed her life. She blogs about this journey on her website, caregiverwarrior.com and shares her experience, strength and hope with others so that they too may survive caregiving with grace and empowerment. In this episode, we go deeper into talking about emotional self-care including being vulnerable, coping with anxiety, and modifying our behaviors in the spirit of self-improvement. You’ll also learn about what to expect in Susanne’s new book on our favorite topic – self-care for caregivers! Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod144 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network

Carlos Olivas III is a California native who is a three time caregiver. He currently cares for his dad who is living with Alzheimer’s and provides support to his adult daughter and his brother who have mental health concerns. Carlos is archiving and documenting his Dad’s dementia progression through his vast assortment of art In this episode, Carlos and I chat about how work can sometimes feel like respite, what his typical day looks like, how impactful Miguel’s story in the hit TV show This is Us was, self-care routines, and we list out a variety of support options for family caregivers. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod143 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Revie

Sheila Welch is a dementia family advocate and educator. For over 12 years, Sheila has been the Developer/Coordinator of Loving Through Dementia: a free, all volunteer ministry that offers help, hope, inspiration and dementia education to families facing dementia; and provides resources and guidance for churches of all faiths, all communities, and all individuals who seek to better serve these families. Sheila's family has lost eight family members to Alzheimer's. Her husband, who has led this ministry with her for over twelve years, was diagnosed a year and a half ago with Parkinson's dementia. Her own family’s journey, along with the journeys of the families she serves inspire her work today. In this episode, we chat about loving someone through dementia, setting yourself up for a successful caregiving journey, how a faith community ministry could be started in your area, and how to give yourself grace. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod142 Receive the podcast in your em

Caregiving happens. My upcoming guest needed to reschedule – dad in hospital. Family always comes first. I’m not as batched up with episodes as I’d like and the show must go on with a new episode every other Wednesday. So like caregiving, I pivot and haven’t done a show on this topic before. In today’s show, I’m sharing strategies to help the family caregiver that is or feels like they are all alone in their caregiving season. Bottom line is – being a solo caregiver isn’t sustainable. I have yet to hear a solo caregiving success story. Typically the health (and happiness) of the family caregiver suffers when trying to control all the aspects of caregiving plus the other family, household and career responsibilities. Likely your plate was already full. Then heaped on caregiving responsibilities. May have seemed doable at first or you just love this family member or chosen family member so much that you wanted to do whatever it takes. Perhaps you realize this isn’t sustainable but you are in too deep. Today

Aisha Adkins is an only child caring for her parents. Her mom has Frontal Temporal Dementia, and her dad has suffered multiple strokes. Aisha’s career is the Constituency Organizer for Caring Across Generations. She is a storyteller, advocate, international speaker, and passionate about building an equitable, inclusive, and comprehensive public health and care infrastructure. She enjoys classic film, live music, and the great outdoors when she is not trying to affect positive systemic change. In this episode, we talk about the nuances of being a young caregiver and only child, small yet impactful care advocacy steps can we take, community care, acceptance, managing expectations, and sipping tea. Enjoy the show! Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod140 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https:

Meet my son Jacob at age 20. Jacob was eight when our caregiving season started. He’s witnessed a lot during his adolescent and young adult years…we reflect on this, share family memories. and talk about how caregiving may have influenced his life.  We also talk about how he coped with isolation during the pandemic, how he manages school stress, his plans for this summer, and why he decided to delete the TikTok app from his phone. Enjoy the show! Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod139 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet Kimberly Whiter who is on a mission to guide families to a more financially-positive caregiving and aging experience. With her unique and personalized process, families gain multiple professional perspectives and can make a plan for saving time and money for overcoming the challenges of elder care.   In this episode we talk about changing careers while caregiving, finding financially positive ways to survive the caregiving season, and the challenges of running our caregiving business (and what office supplies we adore!). Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod138 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet Amanda Clark who cared for her late husband Joe after he was diagnosed at age 28 with colon cancer. This diagnosis came two months before their wedding. Blogging helped she and her husband through this journey until Joe passed in 2014. After Joe’s death, their joint blog became Amanda’s non-profit called Cocktails & Caregivers. In this episode Amanda talks about what it was like to care for her fiancé and husband while working and raising their daughter, she shares how counseling and girlfriends helped her during her deep days of grief as a widow, what life looks like now 7 years later, and how her non-profit Cocktails and Caregivers can help lift a caregiver’s day. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod137 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-

Meet Jennifer and Ellen the force behind Yoga4Caregivers – a social impact business that aims to expand access to holistic wellness services to caregivers. Jennifer is the founder of Yoga4Caregivers and Ellen is the Program Manager and Volunteer Yoga Teacher.  In this episode with Ellen and Jennifer we talk about busting stress, infusing minutes of self-care in your day, and how you can access free online yoga classes. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod136 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet former family caregiver Debbie Howard. Debbie lived and worked in Japan for 30+ years. Debbie is also a former caregiver on a mission to change the way the world looks at caregiving so the impacts are not so devastating. Her work focuses on providing companies with support programs for employee caregivers to mitigate the related risks of absentee-ism, employee turnover, and extra healthcare costs. In this episode, we dive into this topic and we also chat about how caregiving was a transformational experience for Debbie, how she shared the care with her sisters while keeping her own business running, the concept of joy journaling, and how simple steps can have ripple effect on lasting change. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod135 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealt

Meet Patti Lafleur who says she has the amazing opportunity to be the care partner for her Mom, Linda, who has dementia and type 1 diabetes. Patti was a Kindergarten teacher for 9 years before quitting her job to care for her mom full time. People truly enjoy watching Patti and Linda’s life through social media and this keeps Patti connected, too. Patti’s goal in sharing our story is to change the stigma around a dementia diagnosis and share their daily joy! In this episode we talk about traveling with your loved one, leaving the workforce to care, activities you and your care recipient can do together, Amazon wish lists, caregiver respite, making a hospice decision, and how to find the joy in your caregiving journey.  Please note that this episode was recorded before the recent passing of Patti’s mom, Linda. Please keep Patti and her family in your thoughts and prayers. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod134 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv

Meet Bianca Padilla. Bianca’s experiences caring for her grandma inspired her to start Carewell along with her husband John – a family-founded company that simplifies life for caregivers by providing personalized service, compassionate content, and expert-vetted home care products.  In this episode, we talk about how Bianca’s family came together to create a care plan, seeking bi-lingual health care accommodations, long term care insurance, work/life boundaries, training care compassionate employees, and even discuss how the laundry gets done! Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod133 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIE

Meet Lucinda Koza. Lucinda is a family caregiver and the founder & CEO of I-Ally, an app that provides a secure community and marketplace for millennial family caregivers. She started the company after her own experience becoming her father's sole caregiver at a young age. In this episode we chat about societal stigmas, the importance of keeping our identities, solo caregiving, millennial caregiving support, and our favorite traditional and digital games. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod132 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https://happyhealthycaregiver.com/contact-us/ The Happy Healthy Caregiver podcast is part of the Whole Care Network. Rate and Review the podcast: https://bit.ly/HHCPODREVIEW

Meet Theresa Wilbanks who cared for her father until his passing at 99 years of age. During that time, she experienced the raging river of emotions that comes with caring for a family member. Overwhelmed and drowning, she navigated toward a more sustainable caregiving experience. Theresa founded Sustainable Caregiving and works with fellow family caregivers to help them navigate their caregiving journey. With humor and vulnerability, Theresa shares her story and strategies in her book, Navigating the Caregiver River: A Journey to Sustainable Caregiving. In this episode, we talk about finding peace in the caregiving journey, setting boundaries with care help, uncovering local financial resources, meditation, travel, and adjusting to life after caregiving ends. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod131 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast

I this episode, I am shining the caregiver spotlight on someone in the caregiving space that has my utmost respect - Teepa Snow. She’s an Occupational Therapist with over 40 years of rich and varied clinical and academic experience. Her company, Positive Approach to Care® (PAC) provides online and in-person education and products for anyone impacted by dementia. I can say firsthand that Teepa presents with extraordinary expertise and humor to audiences throughout the world. In today’s show, we learn how Teepa’s experience caring for grandparents shaped her career focus, the language and visual cues to use to better communicate with our care partner, her self-care rituals, where she obtains her trusted dementia information, how her training may also help better communicate with persons with developmental disabilities, and the story of how she got the name ‘Teepa’. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod130 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a c

In today's show, I am shining the caregiver spotlight on Mary Daniel. During her husband’s long-term care community’s pandemic lockdown, family caregiver Mary Daniel’s story went viral when she accepted a job as a dishwasher so she could visit and, more importantly, physically touch her husband, Steve. Mary is a dementia family caregiver based in Jacksonville, FL, and one of Next Avenue’s 2021 Influencers in Aging. In this episode, you’ll be inspired by Mary’s story and understand how she continues to influence change through her caregiver advocacy and leadership in organizing a social community called Caregivers for Compromise which has over 14K members. You’ll also learn about Mary’s self-care strategies. Show notes with product and resource links: https://bit.ly/HHCPod129 Receive the podcast in your email here: http://bit.ly/2G4qvBv Order a copy of Elizabeth's book Just for You: a Daily Self Care Journal: http://bit.ly/HHCjournal For podcast sponsorship opportunities contact Elizabeth: https:/