Kindness Matters: Thank a Caregiver Today

Alzheimer's Speaks host Lori La Bey joins Suzanne to talk how to give thanks to family caregivers on this Thanksgiving weekend, who put their lives on hold to take care of a senior loved one.

Lori says, "Sometimes I think it's not even a formal thank you. And so a phone call or a card that just says I'm thinking of you, I'm praying for you. I love you. And then throw an offer out there. You want to go to a movie, you wanna go out to dinner, here's a gift card for a massage. I mean, there's so many different ways to do it. But I think those personal phone calls can really lift somebody up. You can laugh on a phone call. And that sometimes is really needed. Sometimes you can do that through a text, or an email. Just being able to remember and support them through all of life, it takes away [the feeling that] I'm not alone, that so many people have."

Suzanne says, "If you know someone that is caring for a loved one and what kind of restaurant they love, there's all kinds of services like Doordash and Grubhub. Order a meal and have it sent by surprise. One time we had an opportunity to do that for someone who was caring for their mom. I had it sent and, and I called, and I said, 'Don't make plans for dinner tonight.' It was nothing for me to do it. It saves them hours of time not having to cook a meal and it brings some joy to their life."

Lori adds, "We're in the holiday season, so helping them with decorations inside, out, or buying a wreath, or a poinsettia, all kinds of little teeny things can make a huge, huge difference. Or maybe somebody needs help shoveling snow, arranging for something like that. Or cutting the grass. Those things are huge."

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* Alzheimer's Speaks: https://alzheimersspeaks.com

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