Parentsitting with Kip Lewis

seeing the light of day

As caregivers we devote so much time and energy to our parents that we often end up neglecting our own well-being. In this episode of Parentsitting, I share some of the conscious decisions I made to reconnect with myself and how admitting I needed help ultimately allowed me to see the light again.

Dementia, The Death of the Relationship

In this episode, I talk about how dementia slowly robs us of the time we have left with our loved ones, and in many ways, takes the relationships we once knew along with it. I also share some of my personal experiences with my parents over the past month, which I think will resonate with anyone who has faced dementia or Alzheimer's.

My Dads Rapid Decline

On this episode I discuss a routine trip to see my parents that took a turn for the worse. How I ended up spending six straight days and evenings at a hospital, and how it was the beginning of a reckoning that life doesn't last forever.

The day I'll never forget

As I continue down this journey of " parentsitting", I've recently come to understand how apathy plays a significant role in dementia, something I hadn't fully recognized before. In this episode, I also share what has been the most difficult day of my adult life: the day I  moved my parents out of their home and made the difficult decision to take the car keys away.

Is This My future

On this episode I tackle something everyone who has a parent with dementia thinks about at one point or another, specifically, wondering if what we are seeing is our own future.  I share the moment it really hit me, as well as how I've decided to deal with it personally. And the letter I wrote to my parents' years before they began their cognitive decline.