TAMPA - A Tampa woman who serves as the caregiver for two people pushed them, kicked one and stole $348 in equipment from her own daughter, Hillsborough County deputies say. ...more

January 28, 2008

A recent article in The Hunstville Times told of the death of two women who lived together. They were mother and daughter. One was age 63. She was the caregiver for her 89-year-old mother who had Alzheimer's disease. The daughter apparently died from a heart attack in their home - unbeknown to neighbors or friends. Subsequently, her mother starved to death. Like us, you're probably asking, " How could that have happened? Didn't anyone ever check on them?" But think about it. How easily could that happen in your neighborhood? Might we sometimes be confused between what is interfering and what is caring? Either way, interfering or caring could have saved one or perhaps two lives. If the caregiver had had a buddy who called every morning and evening, things may have ended differently. Our mom and a friend had a daily phone system worked out between them. Their agreement and friendship greatly eased our concerns – especially when we were traveling and couldn't always check on her ourselves. ...more

January 25, 2008

AVON PARK — Ann Romney doesn't like to talk about politics, but she did tell a crowd of about 125 that her husband, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, is the kind of man who loves his family. "His children and grandchildren are what makes his life rich and fulfilled," his wife said. They've known each other since elementary school, said Ann Romney, 58, an attractive, slender blonde in a black pantsuit and silver pearls. She appeared at Iris & Butterflies, 207 Circle Park Drive, on Wednesday morning, and spent an hour talking to the crowd that gathered in the back room. ...more

January 24, 2008

TAMPA - In the 1960s, they were best friends in high school at the Academy of the Holy Names, the Catholic girls school on Bayshore Boulevard. ...more

January 7, 2008

Five people, some elderly and some disabled, were removed from an unlicensed adult assisted-living facility that was shut down Sunday night by the Tampa Fire Marshal's Office. ...more

December 24, 2007

TAMPA - Five people, some elderly and some disabled, were removed from an unlicensed adult assisted-living facility that was shut down Sunday night by the Tampa fire marshal's office. ...more

December 24, 2007

Lyn's new column, The Caregiver's Caregiver, first appeared last July in 4You, Tampa Tribune's magazine for health, fitness, nutrition and appearance. Kim Franke-Folstad, editor of 4You, recognized the need for caregivers to take as good care of themselves as they do the loved ones in their care. The subject is one Lyn has been involved in since the 1980s when she began helping care for both her father and her grandmother. Her father suffered with Alzheimer's disease for 13 years. Her grandmother did not have dementia, but she grew increasingly frail and unable to care for herself. She lived to be 95. Lyn's many magazine articles on caring for caregivers and her book filled with practical caregiving tips earned her the nickname "the caregiver's caregiver." Therefore, naming the new column was easy. ...more

December 7, 2007

It's about thanks and giving for the Ferstl family. On Wednesday, in a courtroom filled with caregivers, caseworkers and family, three teenage siblings were adopted by Keith and Sherri Ferstl, who married in 2001 and already have seven children from previous marriages. ...more

November 22, 2007

Dear Lyn: I'm a caregiver and I'm writing a journal. It's helping me in ways I can't explain, but I wanted to suggest journaling to fellow caregivers and ask you to address the advantages of keeping a journal. — Maggie ...more

October 26, 2007