[MotheringMother]

Hello,
I'm MotheringMother (web name) otherwise I go by Carol.

I was my mother's caregiver for about 19 years--she had Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. The last three years, she lived with my husband, our children, and me--and we learned how to live with these diseases (and eachother) the best we could.

I now speak to Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and caregiving groups and have been featured on CNN and Fox and other cool places. My message is that of hope--that caregiving doesn't have to kill you, although it may seem like it will. I use humor, sarcasm, wit, honesty, and inspiration to combat what these diseases do to a caregiver and the ones they love so much.

My mother was a handfull. She was ornery, funny, and sometimes downright cantankerous--but we bungled our way through it--which is something I suggest to those I share my story with. It's not easy, and you won't do it all right--love and accept yourself and your situation "as is" and go from there.

I'm fascinated with psychology and neuro-based studies and people--and I guess that's why I'm here. I"m here to listen, and hopefully offer a few words of encouragement if something strikes a chord.

It's nice to meet everyone. And if you can't tell by my grammar or word choices, I'm Southern--as in US Southern. It makes us talk funny.

~Carol D. O'Dell

[Idealist]

My best friend has been caring for a mother who has alzheimer's for quite some time now. But then just last month he finally had to put her into a nursing home. She kept falling down and hurting herself, and he was the only one she would really listen to, but she started confusing her son with her late husband. And of course he couldn't be there for her all the time, because he had to work during the day. Still, I think that he did an amazing job for as long as he could. His mother sounds exactly like yours, too. It's a terrible disease, and I'm sorry that your mother suffered with it as well as with Parkinson's. Good luck to you, Carol, and I hope to see you around.

Idealist

[glenntaj]

It sounds as if you have a lot of experience to share--and we can always use some humor.

If you haven't already, take a look a through the many and varied subforums we have--you'll find forums on caregivers, and on Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and just about any other common (and some not so common) neurological condition:

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/index.php

--and feel free to jump in anywhere.

[Alffe]

Hi Carol and welcome to NeuroTalk. Here is the link to our Caregivers Forum...http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum56.html

I'm glad you've joined us...I can tell you're going to be an asset.

[ali12]

Hey,
Welcome to Neurotalk, if you need anything just ask - I will try and help you if I can.
Thanks and take care
Alison