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‘Grandma’ delivers help through pandemic
The perils of the new coronavirus have been well documented for older Americans: They are one of the more at-risk groups for the lethal virus. Read more
The perils of the new coronavirus have been well documented for older Americans: They are one of the more at-risk groups for the lethal virus. Read more
When she wants a break from being cooped up at home, Donna Langel, 80, drives through a Culver’s near her home in Grayslake, Ill., gets takeout and eats lunch by the lake. Read more
Dear Savvy Senior: All this horrible coronavirus carnage got me thinking about my own end-of-life decisions if I were to get sick. Can you recommend some good resources that can help me create a living will or advance directive, or other pertinent documents? I’ve put it off long enough. — Almost 70 Read more
Debi Gurdock was surprised how still and silent the mustang was as she trimmed his front feet. She walked around to the back, placed a foot between her legs — and it happened. Read more
Norman Potter’s mother, Dorothy, who suffers from a chronic pulmonary illness, lives alone in the mountain town of Newland, N.C., two hours from his home in Winston-Salem. For a year, Potter had been looking for technology that would enable him to monitor her health from afar. Read more
Dear Savvy Senior: I manage a large doctor’s clinic that treats hundreds of seniors each month. We are moving to more telehealth visits to help keep our patients safe at home during the coronavirus pandemic, but this new way of seeing a doctor is befuddling to many of our elder patients. Read more
Allison Keller is a surgical technologist at Sutter Roseville Medical Center who feels the strain on health care workers serving on the front lines in the fight against a global pandemic. “It’s scary,” she said. Read more
The essence of war remembrance is to make sure the fallen are never forgotten. All it takes is a wreath, a tiny wooden cross, a little token on a faraway grave to show that people still care about their fallen hero, parent or grandparent. Read more
Dear Savvy Senior: Because of the coronavirus pandemic, I just got laid off from my job of 22 years and need to find health insurance until I can get another job or enroll in Medicare at age 65. What are my options? — Scared to Death Read more
Their city is under siege, their age group at particular risk and their lives increasingly isolated. But every Monday morning, one group of older New Yorkers is finding plenty to laugh about. Read more
Intensive care unit nurse Raquel “Rocky” Collanto is 63 and cares for her 91-year-old mother, so when COVID-19 patients began to arrive at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, her supervisor offered her options. Collanto could transfer to another department or to a different ICU unit where there would be less risk of exposure to the potentially deadly virus. Read more
Dear Savvy Senior: My husband and I are both in our late 60s and have diabetes. We would like to find out whether our diabetes increases our risk of getting the coronavirus. — Concerned Diabetics Read more
For 81-year-old Dell Kaplan, the offer to get calls from a stranger just to chat while staying home during the coronavirus pandemic was immediately appealing. Read more
For decades the backbone of the nation’s disaster response system — and a hallmark of American generosity — has been its army of volunteers who race toward danger to help shelter, feed and counsel victims of hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities. Read more
When asked what they want to know about exercise and the new coronavirus, readers wrote that they were concerned about how to exercise and maintain fitness if they or someone they love is older or has functional limitations, such as arthritis or joint replacements. Read more
Dear Savvy Senior: Can you recommend some good grocery and/or meal service delivery options for seniors? My 78-year-old mother has always shopped for herself, but since the coronavirus pandemic hit, the grocery store shelves are always half empty, and she’s getting more fearful of leaving the house. — Parent Helper Read more
For more than 50 years, Cornelia Vertenstein, 92, has taught piano lessons from her home in Denver. Every week, through all those years, a parade of children came to her door, books in hand. Read more
Dear Savvy Senior: Do currently offered vaccines against pneumonia provide seniors any protection against the coronavirus disease? I’ve always been bad about getting vaccinated, but this coronavirus pandemic is causing me to change my thinking. — Pro-Vax Patty Read more
Each day, 98-year-old Lorraine Kozak sits at a table in her nursing home and carefully cuts out swatches of fabric and places them into plastic bags with elastic and instructions on how to turn them into face masks. Read more
Elizabeth Hubbart was booked for a cruise that followed the path of Lewis and Clark’s expedition in the Pacific Northwest. Read more
Sian-Pierre Regis, 35, is used to living with roommates. For the past 10 years, he has split the rent on his apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York with two (in some cases, three) friends. But in June he’s getting a co-tenant of a different sort: his 78-year-old mother, Rebecca Danigelis. Read more
