Life Happens

Why We Hold On To Old Things: "The silliest thing that they absolutely love and will not get rid of are the things that hold meaning to them. And it usually has nothing to do with value." Joy LoverdeTitle: Who Will Care for Me and What Happens to My Stuff? Planning, Downsizing, and Letting GoWelcome back to Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In this episode, Kim Hegwood is joined once again by bestsel...

Family Secrets & End-of-Life Planning: "He's chosen me. We've done all of our documentation, but I'm his second wife, and I realize his two adult children don't know that he chose me as his agent, and that could cause World War 3 and all he needs to do. They'd be perfectly fine if they knew about it ahead of time."Title: Who Speaks for Me? How to Choose the Right Medical Power of Attorney AgentWel...

Organize Early: Don’t wait to have the difficult conversations about end-of-life wishes and funeral planning. Making decisions together ahead of time eases the burden later and helps avoid costly, emotional spending. Natalie ShippTitle: Before and After: A Couple’s Guide to Preparing for Loss with Natalie ShippWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! Today, Kim Hegwood is joine...

Organize Early: Don’t wait to have the difficult conversations about end-of-life wishes and funeral planning. Making decisions together ahead of time eases the burden later and helps avoid costly, emotional spending. Natalie ShippTitle: Before and After: A Couple’s Guide to Preparing for Loss with Natalie ShippWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! Today, Kim Hegwood is joine...

Spiritual and emotional support matters: True hospice care respects and aligns with your family’s unique faith and beliefs. The best providers offer a “ministry of presence”—supporting families with empathy and understanding, not just medical care. Luke SanchezWelcome back to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In this insightful continuation, Kim Hegwood welcomes Luke Sanchez of Con...

"We're aiming for people who are right in the middle, who clearly have Alzheimer's. And we'd like to see if we can turn it back to the point where, yes, they not only can drive and remember their name, but they can go back to work. That's our goal. We'll see." ~ Dr. Micheal FosselTitle: Telomeres and the Future of Dementia Care with Dr. Michael FosselWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with...

Why Early Planning Matters"If you can take care of some of those practical legal pieces ahead of time, things like having a power of attorney, getting that early, I mean, that was a game changer." ~ Sandy Steed- Author Peace Out PlanningTitle: Planning for Peace: How a Life-Change Concierge Supports Families Through Aging TransitionsAre you facing life transitions like caring for aging parents or...

The Inclusive Pageant is a must-see: young women with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome & more shine onstage—talent, stories, and tissues everywhere! Over 1,000 people attended, proof that communities crave these moments of authentic celebration Title: Energizing Communities: How the Dash Gordon Foundation Champions Special Needs, Disabled & At Risk FamiliesWelcome to another inspiring episode...

The Hidden Costs of Elder Care: "The hardest journey for most of, of the folks that I've talked to is not knowing where to turn. You know, not knowing. An example would be not knowing that Medicare doesn't cover assisted living. Expenses, not knowing that Medicare doesn't cover, you know, memory care. Right. And that the cost for those types of facilities and care is a lot. And so, they're just so...

"Hospice is designed to be that piece, be the guide and help you be able to just spend time with your family, spend time with your loved one, remove the chaos, spend time with your loved one, make sure that the rest of their life is the best of their life." ~Luke SanchezWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, where we help Texans navigate the challenges of protecting their leg...

The #1 issue? LONELINESS. Seniors are often left behind as life gets busier for their kids & grandkids. “Loneliness is the number one problem,” said Sharon Powell. That isolation? It literally shaves years off lives. Welcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, where we explore the challenges and opportunities that come with aging and caring for our loved ones. In today’s episode,...

The Importance of Planning for Elder Care: "Because what I mostly see when I work with people is that they didn't have a plan, just like me, and they think Medicare is going to cover everything, and it doesn't." ~ Dianna MoinotWelcome to another episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwood," where we empower Texans to protect their legacy and prepare for the second half of life. In today’s episode, K...

Estate Planning Paralysis: "I can't tell you how many people have come to me and said, I don't know who to name. I don't have anybody." ~ Dr. Dara Zeff GeberWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, where we explore the unique challenges faced by Texans as they prepare for the second half of life. Today, Kim is joined by Dr. Sara Zeff Gerber to tackle an increasingly urgent issu...

Less Intrusive Safety Measures in Senior Care: "we have motion detectors inside our, all our rooms because it's less intrusive for the resident. In other words, if they make a move, you know, and they're moving around, our staff knows it, but no alarms and things are going off." Scott Wright- Sycamore Creek Ranch Memory CareTitle: From Caregiver to Changemaker: One Son’s Mission to Redesign Memory...

AI Voice Cloning Scams: "So AI can now regenerate your voice. So even when you get those phone calls, and they tell you to say, is your name XYZ? And then you say yes, no, maybe, or my name is. Now they can take those little sound bits and put them into software and regenerate it."Title: AI Scams Targeting Seniors: What Families Need to Know NowWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim H...

Relieve Your Loved Ones of Stress: Pre-planning a funeral helps alleviate emotional and financial burdens when the time comes, ensuring your wishes are honored and your family isn’t left making difficult decisions during a time of grief. Title: Planning Ahead: How Funeral Pre-Planning and Estate Planning Work TogetherOn this episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwood," Kim Hegwood sits down with sp...

"Never contradict their reality... It's kind of almost being a little bit of a snob to say your reality is the right one and theirs is the wrong one, because they're both subjective perspectives of reality."Eliezer Sobel- AuthorTitle: Stories of Care and Creativity: Eliezer Sobel on Family, Memory, and MeaningWelcome to Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, where Texans come to protect their legacy and p...

Free Support Services for Parkinson's"But HAPS offers, you know, everything for free, all of our services and programs and education support groups." ~ Dr. Maggie Abbott, PT, DPTTitle: Movement, Community, and Hope: Parkinson’s Care with Maggie AbbottWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, where we explore the journey of protecting legacies and preparing for the second half of...

New Medicare Authorization Rules" It will only affect people with only Parts A and B, and people who have a Medigap, or also what's known as a supplement. Typically, in the past, when you had that plan, authorizations were just not part of it. Authorization means my doctor ordered one of the 17 items on the list, and normally, you would have just been able to say, great, I need a certain kind of w...

The Battle Over Medical Information Access"When POAs and your rights to information get questioned in the healthcare system, our tool has already taken that information out and allowed families that choice of inviting folks in."~Jean RossTitle: An App with One Place to Access All of Your Healthcare InformationWelcome to another insightful episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In today’s episod...

People have planned for their retirement, right? So after they retire, what they're going to do, they have planned for their funeral, and they forgot that middle part where they are going to be not active, need assistance before passing, and that's where the gap is."Title: Choosing Senior Care in Texas: From Group Homes to Hospice — What Families Need to KnowWelcome to Life Happens with Kim Hegwoo...

Preparing for the Aging Journey: "We get nine months to prepare for a baby. How do we better prepare for maybe the senior care part, which many more of us will probably play that role?"Sherri Snelling- Corporate Gerontologist- AuthorTitle: The Future of Caregiving: Insights with Sherri SnellingOn this episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwood," Kim Hegwood welcomes Sherri Snelling, CEO of the Care...

"You do not want to be the only person on your Medicare portal. You need other people able to speak to Medicare for you or to be able to access that portal for you and be able to check it because, you know, there's Medicare fraud, there's Medicare claims that get tangled up." ~ Bonnie Sheeren- Patient AdvocateTitle: Navigating Aging: Advocacy, Access & Empowered CareWelcome to another insightful e...

Grieving Change in Loved Ones with Dementia: "But I do want to say, even though I talk about having a strength-based approach, you do get to grieve that you are losing part of your loved one. So, someone who is living with dementia, I know it's easier said than done to always focus on the positive. And I just want families to understand that it is valid that you may realize that maybe you're celeb...

"I will say nine times out of 10, there is a personal history link to a behavior or sometimes what's being said. And so, I just started pursuing it. And I can usually find something, and once that light bulb goes off, like, oh my gosh, that makes so much sense. We can personalize the care. We often dismiss dementia behaviors as, Oh, it's just dementia." ~ Tami AnastasiaTitle: Personal History, Pre...