Island Treasures

This mini episode revisits some of the points that Roxane Anderson made in the full episode from lessons she learned through her caregiving experience - caring for her husband and experiencing a flood. The flood was a disaster but hidden within the disaster was an opportunity for her husband to get involved in flood advocacy - providing him with a purpose again. The couple became fierce advocates...

Roxane Anderson is a registered social worker in Canada and published author whose most recent book " Moving the Flood " is a memoir and a promise fulfilled that she had made to her late husband, John. Roxane had found herself taking on more and more caregiving responsibilities as her husband's health worsened; but she had not expected to take on the caregiving role for her husband....

In this mini episode you will hear Dr. DeLon Canterbury share how it was a pharmacist who identified that a medication his grandmother was prescribed had been the cause of her mild dementia symptoms intensifying. This message highlights the benefit of having a pharmacist as an advocate for your loved one to help navigate your caregiving journey, in your caregiving support system.  For more about D...

Dr. DeLon Canterbury shares his caregiving story of how he and his family cared for his grandmother and how, when her mild dementia symptoms intensified, they needed to facilitate her move from her care home to where they lived. It turned out the changes in her symptoms and behaviours were due to a medication she had been given that had an F.D.A. warning to avoid being given to patients with demen...

Highlights taken from the full-length episode featuring Ben Graham, Vice President of Brand Development and Marketing at Joe & Bella, from the moment the family first meets Joe and Bella and our initial introduction to the people behind the brand of clothing.  We hear how the clothing brand was born. When, during the Covid pandemic, out of a need for fashionable and comfortable adaptive clothi...

In this episode Ben Graham, Vice President of Brand Development and Marketing at Joe & Bella, tells his caregiving story, which starts with his grandparents no longer being safe in their home. The family moves the grandparents into Assisted Living where they are befriended by fellow-residents of the home - Joe and Bella! Ben, along with his family, provided care for his two grandparents for ne...

As a follow-up to the full-length Island Treasures episode called "Voila! Caregiver" (Episode 22 of Season 3), this mini version includes a couple of excerpts highlighting Debbie Compton's insights: talking with a consultant and taking her mom and her mother-in-law together to an appointment - and how challenging it was to get them ready. Hear all about this and the funny ending to...

Debbie Compton is a three-time caregiver for parents with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and vascular dementia. She’s a Certified Caregiving Consultant, Certified Caregiver Advocate, keynote speaker, and author of 6 books geared toward caregivers and seniors.  Debbie has been a Community Educator for the Alzheimer’s Association since 2017 and is the founder of The Purple Vine, an organization created t...

Mrs. Kelly (played by Breeda Miller) appears for a cameo performance in an excerpt from the 2 act, one-woman play "Mrs. Kelly's Journey Home" . Breeda found she was in the sandwich generation of caregivers when she started to provide care for her mother who had vascular dementia and quickly had to learn how to make it through each day on this unplanned journey. She admits there was...

Breeda Miller is a story teller and a caregiver who is able to share her caregiving experience through the lens of story and good humour. People who care for others are often the worst at caring for themselves. Breeda calls herself a recovering caregiver, caring for her mother for 6 years, including hospice care in her home. She is a professional speaker and a wonderful storyteller. In fact, her s...

From the audio version of the Island Treasures podcast for Caregivers, this mini episode addresses what Jodi Kay Benusa (Independent Geriatric Consultant and Licensed Social Worker) shared about being a compassionate scientist and how we can all adopt this approach to be inquisitive and find out what's behind our actions; by taking a pause we can uncover the reason so we can make changes with...

Jodi Kay Benusa is an Independent Geriatric Consultant who is a licensed social worker. She has been providing care in various ways throughout her entire life and it came as no surprise that she would enter the field of social work. Jodi works hard to preserve the rights of aging adults so they can live their best life through the toughest of times and she does this by asking questions so she can...

Licia Thompson ( liciathompson.com ) is a Reinvention Strategist and in this episode she shares her number one tip for caregivers. Licia is the founder of Licia Thompson Coaching & Consulting LLC and she combines her life skills from her caregiving experiences for both her parents with her professional skills in leadership roles to help folks move forward after caregiving, or other life transi...

Licia Thompson has been a caregiver for both of her parents, separately, and at different times throughout her adult life while she simultaneously worked in corporate America and was a single mom. During this time she was in “Go Mode” and just kept on dealing with all the tasks at hand because that is what you do in “go mode” – and she learned the hard way that neglecting self-care and ignoring wa...

This episode of the Island Treasures podcast for Caregivers draws from the full episode “Telling the Full Story of Caregiving” featuring retired broadcast journalist, and author of "Winter Stars, an elderly mother, an aging son, and life's final journey", Dave Iverson.  We start with Rosalynn Carter’s quote about caregivers and proceed to explore the aspects of caregiving that face...

This Mini podcast episode touches on some of the key points raised in the full podcast episode for caregivers called "Telling the Full Story of Caregiving" (Season 3 Episode 13) including whether caregivers are called or guided or compelled to step into caregiving. We review the broad scope of caregiving on the macro and micro levels. I talk about Dave Iverson's book "Winter St...

Dave Iverson is a writer, documentary film producer/director and retired broadcast journalist. When Dave was 59, he moved in with his 95-year old mom Adelaide when she could no longer care for herself. His new memoir "Winter Stars: An Elderly Mother, an Aging Son and Life’s Final Journey" tells the story of the 10 year caregiving odyssey they shared until her passing at the age of 105. D...

The Mini podcast episode highlights some of the key points from the full podcast episode for caregivers called "Nurturing Caregiver Wellbeing During & After Caregiving" where Theresa Wilbanks of Sustainable Caregiving shares how she applied the strategies she developed to help sustain her own wellbeing during and after caregiving. Some of the topics include her book, "Navigating...

When today’s guest first appeared on the Island Treasure podcast, she was actively caregiving for her 99-year-old father. Shortly after the podcast aired, he passed away, and she found herself needing a re-set. You’ll hear about the “reset trip” Theresa Wilbanks was able to take - spending time in nature and practicing self-care strategies!  Theresa has written and published “Navigating the Caregi...

Using the methodology of LEGO Serious Play, Loretta Veney facilitates sessions for various audience; and she shares how beneficial these sessions can be for her audiences including sessions designed specifically for caregivers... such as the "Unbreakable Caregiver" session. This mini episode captures a couple of excerpts from the full episode (Episode 9, Season 3) where Loretta shares he...

This “fabulous” interview with Loretta Veney builds on a caregiving relationship spanning 16 years. During those years my guest discovered a unique approach to enhance the relationship between herself and her mom who had dementia. LEGO had been a part of their lives before caregiving and turned out to be an effective and enjoyable communication tool through which Loretta continued to communicate w...

In this mini episode we visit the full episode (Season 3, Episode 7) where Brenda Leppington read her story "Who Am I Hurting" from Chicken Soup for the Soul's "Navigating Eldercare & Dementia: 101 Stories for Family Caregivers, compiled by Amy Newmark, © 2021.  The episode addresses what Brenda believed her Mom meant when she said she just wanted to be normal again. And, w...

From Chicken Soup for the Soul's "Navigating Eldercare & Dementia: 101 Stories for Family Caregivers, compiled by Amy Newmark, copyright 2021 - today's episode features the reading of "Who Am I Hurting?" by its author, Brenda Leppington. As her mother's caregiver Brenda learned many lessons. She shares what brought more meaning into their visits. Simple things tha...

As we visit some of the key points of the full episode (Season 3 - Episode No. 5) of the Island Treasures  podcast "Helping Families Soar" with Mike George, we hear Mike tell how he realized this is a role you can't do on your own. This led Mike and Jan to create a Caregiver Support Formula as they wished there had been a handbook available for their caregiving. The episode addresse...

Mike George is a speaker, author, and co-Founder of Soaring Families, an organization he and his wife created to help family caregivers navigate the complex world of care through the development of a reliable support network and a trusted team of competent people who share their vision of care.   As a caregiver himself for nearly 3 decades, Mike intimately understands the burdens of supporting the...