Inspiring wonderful places to grow up and grow old by fostering care communities and care economies for & by neighbors.
There’s a saying that goes, “If you want to take the island, burn the boats.” Attributed to different people, it means “if you’re determined to advance, eliminate your means of retreat.” Like when I quit my job vs. taking a sick leave of absence: the latter would have let me return easily if the going…Continue reading Making a minimum viable village
My friend put his face close to mine looking eager for an answer to his question: “How did you get your parents to leave their house?” he wanted to know. Sadly, my answer didn’t help him much because my father’s doctor literally ordered him out of my parents’ three-story house to avoid stairs, which was…Continue reading Telling Mom it’s time to move and other tricky care conversations
Apparently, my father’s skin was a topic of conversation among his hospice team for how beautiful it was. Nature was certainly on his side but it also helped that I gave him collagen. Collagen is a protein found in skin, bones, connective tissue & elsewhere in the body. Beef tendon is a staple in some…Continue reading Using collagen and chlorophyll for health & treating bedsores
Locking down at home was nothing new for many workers. As caregivers, some of us had been in quasi lockdown for years before 2020, unable to leave the house for more than 1-2 hours to meet the needs of loved ones requiring constant care. That said, at one point while caregiving for my father it…Continue reading Wound care’s growing potential to hold workers hostage
My connection with my former neighbor deepened in the parking garage: With one load of groceries by the elevator, she was trudging from her car with load #2 with baby on hip and phone to ear. Not wanting to interrupt her conversation, I mouthed, “I got it,” while relieving her of a bag carrying a…Continue reading Starting a personal village in five simple steps
Walter refused what would have been his 9th hospital admission that year. “You run a great hospital, Doc,” he said to Bruce Leff, “but it’s a lousy hotel.” It was the ‘80s and Leff, a Johns Hopkins geriatrician who was then a resident, responded by working with his mentors to assemble everything that Walter would…Continue reading Making a normal day ideal for someone
In grad school, I did a seminar on a paper proposing a novel kind of gene therapy. A doctor in the audience all but said that I was wasting my breath because the technology to deliver the treatment didn’t exist. I got confused: the whole point was that the idea was novel. Still, I didn’t…Continue reading Defer to imagination, not conditions