Category Archives: caregiving

Life Changes

Posted on December 23, 2022 by Bob Ritzema

Life changes. However, I didn’t experience much change for about 10 years. As I’ve written in previous posts, I came to Grand Rapids, Michigan in 2012 to help my parents. That was a year of many changes, but then things … Continue reading →

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The Disposable Elderly

Posted on May 25, 2020 by Bob Ritzema

Are you prejudiced against the elderly? Am I? We both would probably deny it. Our actual attitudes, though, would probably be revealed better by what we do than by what we say. Views of the elderly in America have always … Continue reading →

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When Fraility Arrives

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Bob Ritzema

Recently, David Sedaris wrote an article about his family, in particular his elderly father, who fell on the eve of his 95th birthday party. When family arrived he fell again and was disoriented, so he was admitted to a rehab … Continue reading →

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Save the World? Don’t Look at Me!

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Bob Ritzema

Earlier this year I read Assimilate or Go Home: Notes From a Failed Missionary on Rediscovering Faith (San Francisco: Harper One, 2016) by D.L. Mayfield. Mayfield is a young woman of faith who spent much of her early adulthood volunteering … Continue reading →

Posted in caregiving, Spirit | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

A Matter of Perspective

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Bob Ritzema

I know a woman and her adult daughter who have always been close and who say they love each other deeply, but who can’t seem to get along. The mom is in her eighties and has moved into an independent … Continue reading →

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Caregiver Vigilance

Posted on October 25, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

I wrote in September about my 91-year-old mom’s fall and subsequent hospitalization. She suffered two compression fractures in her back, causing her a good deal of pain and significantly limiting her ability to do things for herself. After she left … Continue reading →

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Mom on the Mend

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

My mom, who is 91 years old, fell a couple weeks ago. She was in the bathroom, heading for the toilet in the middle of the night when her feet flew out from under her. She normally takes her time … Continue reading →

Posted in Body, caregiving | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

“Touch Me”

Posted on July 24, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

There’s an interesting incident near the end of David Foster Wallace’s magnum opus Infinite Jest that says a lot about how humans treat each other. It’s the story of Barry Loach, the head trainer at Enfield Tennis Academy. Earlier, Barry’s … Continue reading →

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Healthcare Decisions for Our Parents and Us

Posted on May 15, 2017 by Bob Ritzema

In a recent New York Times article, Dr. Mikkael A. Sekeres, a cancer specialist. told of his first meeting with a 97 year-old patient. The elderly man had recently moved into an assisted living facility in Cleveland in order to … Continue reading →

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Caregiving: Imperfections and Opportunities

Posted on November 21, 2016 by Bob Ritzema

I recently read an article by Next Avenue writer Chris Hewitt about Bob Morris’ book Bobby Wonderful: An Imperfect Son Buries His Parents. The book is an account of Morris’ involvement with his elderly parents towards the end of their … Continue reading →

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