Saving the Family Jewels
One fairly long (over a year) Caregiver stint for a loved one and the family assets could all go….
Caregivers Talk
Come to my informative talk and be ready for the role you’ll probably take on, as Caregiver, in your lifetime.
The Disease That Stalks My Family
It’s a rapacious predator who has taken far too many of my family. Just in the past 9 months, my two brothers passed, due to this illness. John Jr., at the age of 79, passed last August and Peter, 82, died more recently. John was buried on the Cape one month ago and Pete is…
Burial at Berry….
It was as still as could be in Berry Cemetery (yes, someone knew that name would get a reaction), off a dirt road in Denmark, Maine, where I’d gone this past Saturday, in June, to be part of the funeral assembly for my latest cousin who’d gone the route of Alzheimer’s. The sound of the…
Paul Wesley Gates and Colleen Mellor Marry After 33 Years
Mark Patinkin, a top journalist at Rhode Island’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Providence Journal, interviewed me and wrote up Paul’s and my story about our wedding this past December 16, 2023. He found our story intriguing—the kind in which others would be interested. We were 83 and 78 years of age and we’d been together in an…
Don’t Let Them Tell You (Caregivers) Otherwise:
A Caregiver’s First Duty and Commitment Reflecting over this past year, I am mindful of how very fortunate Paul and I have been. My decision to place Paul in a long-term care facility was a wrenching one; I was so very afraid; I wanted him safe but I didn’t want him staring at institutional walls…
Az and Me: A Partner’s Journey with Alzheimer’s
I Begin New Life as an Az Advocate At one time, I considered becoming a lawyer. Why? I love advocating for people wronged by others…the system…inadequacies of the law, etc. But, earlier in my life, I couldn’t invest in the time requirements to realize that goal, since I was a single working mom. So, my…
