Life Happens

"It's crucial to have adult children or family involved with the beneficiary choosing what the selections are because they're the ones that are going to have to navigate it ultimately."Daintee Hurst DietzTitle: Medicare Made Simple: What Adult Children Should Ask for Their Aging ParentsWelcome to a new episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In today's enlightening conversation, Kim Hegwood is j...

Common misconceptions about dementia:“Families just really get into the short-term memory loss thing in the very beginning ... but it's really the sequential reasoning, the executive function, that they, it's hard to grasp that they've lost.” ~ Lori FarrisTitle: Facing Dementia Together: Insights with Lori FarrisWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, where we dive into the re...

“If you aren't putting your care first. And it feels so, so awkward, you are putting them in jeopardy to have you as their caregiver. And that's, that's what they want more than anything is to maintain the relationship and that they can call on you and lean on you and have you by their side to the end of their days because you were their choice." Robin Andrews SmithWelcome to another episode of Li...

Discovering Favorite Spices: "You can make a big batch of white rice and make little cups of white rice and then pour the spices on one little cup and have them taste it and see if they like it, see what they taste and just go like step by step, make little cups and then bring different spices in." Melissa BernsteinTitle: Nourishing the Soul: Melissa Bernstein on Food, Caregiving and Purposeful Co...

The Power of Support and Spirituality in Caregiving: "I don't know how anyone gets through this without some level of spirituality. I just don't."Kate McCartyOn this episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, we’re delving into the world of dementia care with Dr. Kate McCarty, an experienced dementia coach whose personal and professional journey offers hope, insight, and practical support for famil...

Welcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In today’s heartfelt conversation, Kim sits down with Rachel Hiles, a dedicated granddaughter who became her grandmother’s primary caregiver for over seven years. Together, they explore the unique challenges and profound rewards of caring for an aging loved one, especially when family support is limited. Rachel opens up about her “grandd...

"I wanted to structure something that was easy, five things that I could give to my patients to help them navigate their health from the time we met as for as long as they lived." – Dr. David BernsteinTitle: Mental Health and AgingWelcome back to Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, the podcast where we help Texans protect their legacy and navigate the twists and turns of the second half of life. In thi...

Build Your “To-Go File”: "I want you to move instead to maybe, like, a to-go file... documents that are going to help identify who should be the person helping to take care of you, who should be the person speaking for you if you can't speak for yourself, and what exactly are your wishes if you're not able to speak for yourself."Title: Preparing Families for A Hospital StayOn this episode of Life...

Seeing the Person Behind Dementia: "But the nicest thing about the whole book together is for the caregiver who doesn't know them begins to see them not as the lady in three zero one a, but as Alice and gets a picture of their whole life and gets to be able to see them as the person that they that they were are and the life that they lived well." ~ Lori YauchTitle: Reminiscence- A Bridge to Dement...

"Don't keep secrets. And that ties into what you were just saying... we don’t want the person we’re caring for to feel vulnerable, to be upset... so we try and make it better. We try and make it okay, and too often, we promise things we cannot be sure we can keep." ~ Deborah HalliseyTitle: A Relationship Contract for CaregiversOn this episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, we're joined by speci...

"I think what people with Parkinson’s also realize they need is that community. Parkinson’s is a long-term diagnosis... they need peer support. And so being able to tune in and lock into a community that understands what they’re going through physically, emotionally, and medically is really important and something that we try and facilitate." ` Celeste Harris, LMSWTitle: Bridging Care and Communit...

Title: Mental Health and AgingWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In today’s insightful conversation, Kim sits down with guest Cherice Poole to explore the critical topic of mental health and aging. Together, they discuss why maintaining good mental health is so important as we get older, highlighting the unique challenges aging brings, such as grief, loss of independence,...

The Power of Compassionate Hospice Care: "But having us be able to come in, help get them the medications they need, get them a bed that's more, helps them be more accessible. You know, it's just a lot of different things that are kind of involved with that. And the better the care they receive, the longer they do seem to live."Title: Palliative and Hospice Care- What is the difference? Welcome to...

The Overlap Between Infection and Mental Health: "They've got case stories of people who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia and then get diagnosed with Bartonella, which is one of the pathogens that my husband had. And then they get treated, and their symptoms go away."Title: From Caregiver to Advocate: A Mission to Transform the Standard of CareOn this episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwoo...

It’s all about connection.“When caregivers are of the same age, they can bond over the same music, movies, and life experiences,” says Shehnaz. Small talk? Instantly easier. Loneliness? Way lessened. Title: Home Care with a TwistWelcome to another episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood! In today’s conversation, Kim sits down with Shehnaz Kapasi to explore a truly unique approach to senior home c...

The crucial details:Every move is a “special event,” Lori says, where timing, energy levels, and lots of little details matter—especially for seniors. She explains how a senior move manager’s attention to careful scheduling and sensitivity makes the day far less stressful. ~ Laurie Maggio- Senior Move ManagerTitle: Moving a Senior- Hire a Project ManagerOn this episode of Life Happens with Kim Heg...

How Concierge Medicine Changes the Doctor-Patient Relationship: "As a concierge doctor, folks have my cell phone number. They have my email address. They call. They text."Dr. Tacara SonesTitle: Concierge Medical Care for SeniorsOn this episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, Kim sits down with Dr. Tacara Soones, a geriatrician and founder of Dahlia House Calls, to explore the growing trend of co...

When Personal Safety Becomes a Concern: "As he began losing track of who I was, it would become scary. He could come in the bedroom and go, Who are you in my room? And that's when I realized we were on a different path." ~ Allene Symons- AuthorTitle: Finding Caregiving Solutions When Your Spouse Has DementiaWelcome to another episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwood," where we dive into the chall...

The Longest Day: "The thinking behind it was that living with Alzheimer's or caring for someone with Alzheimer's or dementia can feel like the longest day. So it's very symbolic of that challenging journey that we all face when we're dealing with Alzheimer's in our family or with our friends or in our workplace, and it represents the perseverance and continuous effort required to navigate the comp...

"When the Sparkle Fades: Recognizing the Signs of Depression": "All I could say is he doesn't look right. The sparkle is gone. And I know that sounds like, like, it made no sense. And when the day they said, oh, he's depressed, I thought that's what that's it. That's what I've been trying to say, I guess, with saying. But to me, it was like, what I could see was that sparkle, that life in his eyes...

"Setting Boundaries Through Caregiving: Three Essential Questions for Clarity": "Are they financially safe? Are they physically safe? Are they mentally safe? And if the answer was no, I set a boundary." ~ Elda Prevette- AuthorTitle: How to Talk to Your Aging Parents about Difficult TopicsIn this episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwood," we dive into the complex dynamics of caring for aging paren...

The Hidden Impact of Social Isolation on Dementia: "The only difference I see in the family progression of this disease is that she was socially isolated, she stopped her career, She took care of him 24/7 and that brought it on twenty years earlier."Title: Navigating Family Conflicts in Dementia CareHow to Contact MaliaIn this episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, we dive into the complex worl...

"Empowering Participation": "I mean, truthfully speaking, it's just not a great feeling to feel like you're so 100% dependent on everybody around you." ` Krista MontagueTitle: Tips and Tools to Help the Dementia CaregiverOn this week's episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwood," we're thrilled to welcome Krista Montague, the founder of Dementia Success Path. Krista shares insights from her extensi...

"Giving Ourselves Grace": "Look at what you're doing. You're doing all the things for someone else on top of being a human yourself. So we gotta remember and give ourselves some grace, which I know is so hard." ~ Carrie AalbertsTitle: Caregiver Cruise- Do it for you and for the one you loveWelcome to another insightful episode of "Life Happens with Kim Hegwood." This time, we dive into the world o...

"Adapting Tasks for Alzheimer's Care": "Things need to be on a good schedule, and their tasks, their daily life tasks need to be simplified, very much simplified." Sharon CantrellTitle: Early Education Provides Hope for Dementia CaregiversIn this episode of Life Happens with Kim Hegwood, we dive into a crucial topic for many families: how early education can provide hope for dementia caregivers. O...