Elder Care Quotes

“To care for those who once cared for us is one of the highest honors.”
― Tia Walker, The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love

“The twisted inversion that many children of immigrants know is that, at some point, your parents become your children, and your own personal American dream becomes making sure they age and die with dignity in a country that has never wanted them.”
― Karla Cornejo Villavicencio, The Undocumented Americans

“Caregiving often calls us to lean into love we didn't know possible.”
― Tia Walker, The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love

“I love you but I got to love me more.”
― Peggi Speers, The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love

“By loving you more, you love the person you are caring for more. ”
― Peggi Speers, The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love

“The power of intuitive understanding will protect you from harm until the end of your days.”
― Lao Tzu

“Embracing a healing presence requires you to just be in the moment together.”
― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey

“Compassionate artificial intelligence systems are required for looking after those unable to care for themselves, especially sick, physically challenged persons, children or elderly people.”
― Amit Ray, Compassionate Artificial Superintelligence AI 5.0

“Offering care means being a companion, not a superior. It doesn’t matter whether the person we are caring for is experiencing cancer, the flu, dementia, or grief.

If you are a doctor or surgeon, your expertise and knowledge comes from a superior position. But when our role is to be providers of care, we should be there as equals.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“Never give up hope. If you do, you'll be dead already.--Dementia Patient, Rose from The Inspired Caregiver”
― Peggi Speers , The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love

“Put 'em who threaten possessions and power together with 'em who offend our tastes in sex and dope. Those who're touched, put 'em in asylums. Pack off old ones to 'senior communities,' nursing homes. Our children? Keep'em prisoner, baby-sitter as warden. School? Good for fifteen to twenty years. Army afterward. Liberated, we live in prison. No this, no that. Kill us before we die!”
― John Cage, M: Writings '67–'72

“My caregiver mantra is to remember 'The only control you have is over the changes you choose to make.”
― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey

“Age is only a number. Keep an active life.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

“Love, care and treasure the elderly people in the society.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Pearls of Wisdom: Great mind

“Never give up hope. If you do, you'll be dead already.-- Dementia Patient Rose in The Inspired Caregiver”
― Peggi Speer and Tia Walker

“I believe that most caregivers find that they inherit a situation where they just kind of move into caregiving. It's not a conscious decision for most caregivers, and they are ultimately left with the responsibility of working while still trying to be the caregiver, the provider, and the nurturer.- Sharon Law Tucker”
― Peggi Speers, The Inspired Caregiver: Finding Joy While Caring for Those You Love

“Many caregivers share that they often feel alone, isolated, and unappreciated. Mindfulness can offer renewed hope for finding support and value for your role as a caregiver…It is an approach that everyone can use. It can help slow you down some so you can make the best possible decisions for your care recipient. It also helps bring more balance and ease while navigating the caregiving journey.”
― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey

“Caregiving will never be one-size-fits-all.”
― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey

“My caregiver mantra is to remember: the only control you have is over the changes you choose to make.”
― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey

“Even though people experiencing dementia become unable to recount what has just happened, they still go through the experience—even without recall.
The psychological present lasts about three seconds. We experience the present even when we have dementia. The emotional pain caused by callous treatment or unkind talk occurs during that period.
The moods and actions of people with dementia are expressions of what they have experienced, whether they can still use language and recall, or not.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“As your care recipient’s advocate, be involved, don’t accept the status quo, and don’t be afraid to voice your concerns.”
― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey

“One goal of the mindful caregiver is to find ways to not feel ‘dis-eased’ in the caregiving process.”
― Nancy L. Kriseman, The Mindful Caregiver: Finding Ease in the Caregiving Journey

“Blessed is the society that has oldies.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

“Age On Purpose. Be intentional in your journey. You define aging. Don't allow aging to define you. It renders helplessness.”
― Macie P. Smith, A Dementia Caregiver's Guide to Care

“Take care of the elderly people.”
― Lailah Gifty Akita, Think Great: Be Great!

“Last Comforts” was born when one nagging question kept arising early in my journey as a hospice volunteer. Why were people coming into hospice care so late in the course of their illness? That question led to many others that rippled out beyond hospice care. Are there better alternatives to conventional skilled nursing home operations? How are physicians and nurses educated about advanced illness and end-of-life care? What are more effective ways of providing dementia care? What are the unique challenges of minority and LGBT people? What is the role of popular media in our death-denying culture? What has been the impact of public policy decisions about palliative and hospice care?

The book is part memoir of lessons learned throughout my experiences with patients and families as a hospice volunteer; part spotlight on the remarkable pathfinders and innovative programs in palliative and late-life care; and part call to action.

I encourage readers – particularly my fellow baby boomers -- not only to make their wishes and goals clear to friends and family, but also to become advocates for better care in the broader community.”
― Ellen Rand, Last Comforts: Notes from the Forefront of Late Life Care

“Even though people experiencing dementia become unable to recount what has just happened, they still go through the experience—even without recall.

The psychological present lasts about three seconds. We experience the present even when we have dementia. The emotional pain caused by callous treatment or unkind talk occurs during that period.

The moods and actions of people with dementia are expressions of what they have experienced, whether they can still use language and recall, or not.”
― Judy Cornish, The Dementia Handbook: How to Provide Dementia Care at Home

“When someone you love has dementia, you too experience a form of anticipatory grief, but yours may extend over a longer period of time (for some, as long as 20 years) and be socially unrecognized and surrounded by uncertainty.”
― Wolfelt PhD CT, Healing Your Grieving Heart When Someone You Care About Has Alzheimer's: 100 Practical Ideas for Families, Friends, and Caregivers (Healing Your Grieving Heart series) by Wolfelt PhD CT, Alan D., Duvall MD, Kirby J. (2011) Paperback