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Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt

It’s Advent already?! Christmas is four weeks away!? There is precious little time these days to linger over lengthy blog posts. So much has to get done between now and December 25! And it’s not as if the rest of life is on “hold” as we navigate through these days of Advent. So, during Advent,…

Before this year, I have to admit that being an advocate for Alzheimer’s disease was not on my list of things to do. I was aware of the disease, had written a few columns about it, and had known people with it, including the mother of some neighbors of mine. I knew (or thought I…

What do you give someone who has Alzheimer’s disease? What can you possibly say or do that will express the love and gratitude you have for him or her, even if the disease is progressing and he or she is slipping away from who they once were? And, what do you give those who are caring for…

At Thanksgiving, many people will make great efforts to gather with loved ones, whether friends or family. The big dinner table groaning with food and surrounded by a crowd of adults and children has become almost essential when describing how the holiday is celebrated. Yet for some, whether by choice or happenstance, Thanksgiving will be…

Oh, the joys of traveling at the holidays! The perfect scheduling, the ease of flying, the lack of crowds, the pain-free transit… Wait…what?! Well…not quite. Traveling at any time can be tough on even the healthiest person. But if you have a chronic illness or pain, complications can be really snarly. From lugging luggage full…

When Laura Young, Jewish Chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, presented her spiritual reflection on Alzheimer’s disease to the other Pastoral Care chaplains at Cedars, she did not know that I had requested an interview only a day or two before. But God had paved a way, and it was just after she…

How can you communicate with someone whose mind and personality have changed so much that you do not recognize them any longer? How do you find the words? Or, are words necessary? Pamela Lazor is a Chaplain at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. An ordained Presbyterian minister, she is skilled in pastoral care…

I don’t think it’s by accident that the month of November, when we celebrate Thankgiving, also includes Veterans’ Day.  In fact, as we honor Veterans of our Armed Services, I think it is so very fitting to extend our deepest thanks for all that they have given to our country and to our own lives, and especially…

Often, when I bring up the subject of spirituality, inspiration, or faith  with patient advocacy groups, the response I receive is lukewarm or even negative.  As important as these elements are to sucessfully coping with any physical challenge, some people simply do not “get it.” Others, however, do. And one major Alzheimer’s disease advocacy group is embracing…

In my journey to find out more about Alzheimer’s disease, I quickly realized that the most effective healthcare professionals were going to be those who combined scientific, quantifiable knowledge and skill with that all-important ingredient of  compassion. I feel blessed to have found such people and, in this and future blogs, will be introducing them…
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