Stress is sneaky. It tightens your shoulders and tries to hitch them to your ear lobes. It sends blood racing to the center of your body, upsetting your tummy and leaving your hands and feet cold. Your muscles clench, temples throb, and chocolate becomes your only food group. All while giving you the illusion that you’re
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“I have the right to take care of myself. This is not an act of selfishness. It will enable me to take better care of my loved one.” The man reading these first lines of the “Caregiver’s Bill of Rights” looked up in surprise. “I’m having a really hard time with this,” he said, taking
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Love and loss are prime motivators for thousands of Mother Lode residents joining a step-by-step fight against cancer.

When your brain careens around the block for the 39th time, worrying the same worry or making the same list, it’s time to make it stop. Stress and anxiety can send our brains into hyper-drive, causing thoughts to loop over and over, interrupting our sleep, and making it hard to complete even simple tasks. It’s
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Don’t put a time limit on the grieving process, advises Dr. Patrick Arbore: “It takes as long as it takes.”

 I know God will not give me anything I can’t handle. I just wish that He didn’t trust me so much. ~ Mother Teresa We all face the five stages of grief when a loved one dies, but it can be shocking to recognize that we must actually go through a variation of these stages each time
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Two women reveal their difficult and very different journeys through grief and loss.

By Joan Jackson When a loved one slides into dementia, the progression is not straight line. What they were able to do last month, last week, or even yesterday may suddenly no longer be possible. We often hear caregivers describe the frustration of trying to get a parent or spouse with dementia to follow through
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Parkinson’s disease took Sarah Johnson by surprise. As a result, others diagnosed with the disease now have easier access to information and support.

Respect, appreciation and deep gratitude punctuate Deborah Kagay’s sentences as she talks about her family’s experiences with the Shriners Hospital for Children in Sacramento. The hospital, one of 22 supported by Shrine clubs in the United States, Canada and Mexico, is noted for its pediatric orthopedic and burn care services. In March 1999, Deborah’s older
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