Joan Oliver

Recent storms and coverage of the 60th anniversary of the Palm Sunday tornado in Crystal Lake is a good reminder that it's best to be prepared in case disaster strikes.

The observance National Poetry Month offers language and word lovers a chance to reflect on how many ways poetry has touched their lives.

Caregivers for those with Alzheimer's disease do well not to dwell in the past or look too far into the future. However, sometimes events, particularly stressful ones, provide a forceful reminder of just how much has been lost to this insidious disease.

If the idea of "Swedish death cleaning" sounds a bit too morbid, there's another strategy to tackle clutter: "Norwegian life cleaning." Either way, the idea is to take care of the junk in one's life while there's still time.

Although "telephobia" may be something that seems like a new phenomenon for younger generations, it's something that some of us have had to deal with for many years.

The death of Oscar-winning actor Gene Hackman and his caregiver wife, Betsy Arakawa Hackman, should serve as a wake-up call to caregivers about the need to have a check-in system in place.

As the television series "Life Below Zero" comes to an end, fans are left to reflect on the many life lessons provided by the cast member of this beloved show set in wild and remote Alaska.

Longtime friendships are like flower gardens, the memories being made like flowers that bloom each season. In a time of loss, those memories are something to treasure and savor.

Tom Petty said that waiting is the hardest part. When one is waiting for results of a biopsy, waiting can be a little like being on a roller-coaster ride.

After a cancer diagnosis, there's nothing routine about routine screenings. And the anxiety that accompanies each test sometimes isn't always much ado about nothing.

Being a caregiver requires exhibiting a lot of patience, even more so when one's charge has dementia. However, the need for patience goes to another level entirely when a caregiver also must deal with the limitations brought on by an injury.

Chicago-area sports fans don't have much to cheer about this winter. Why, some of us can't even watch our favorite teams. However, the debut of the Unrivaled Basketball League offers a bright spot amid the viewing gloom.

Everything old is new again, or so the saying goes. Sadly, that seems to be true about a resurgence of use of nitrous oxide on college campuses. It was a bad idea back in the late 1980s, and it remains a bad idea now.

When we're young, we often view ourselves as invincible. Cancer is for older people. However, new statistics from the American Cancer Society show that we all need to stay on top of our health.

An unexpected trip to the hospital was a stark reminder of why it's important to make important decisions about one's health care or know the wishes of one's care recipient in advance of an emergency.

Staying out of debt requires more than knowing the principle. One needs to live by it.

As a new year dawns, the lesson of 2024 comes through loud and clear: Sometimes we need a little help from our friends.

Someone is always trying to tell us how we’re supposed to achieve whatever look is trending.

Holiday Grinches lurk, waiting for unsuspecting holiday shoppers. Here are a few tips to help you avoid being a target this season.

Caregiving for someone with dementia comes with a lot of lessons. Sometimes the things learned come from emotional or mental challenges. However, a few are more of the physical variety. To say they are hard lessons learned would be an understatement.

With all the talk about counting our blessings this week, it might be easy to dismiss this as another greeting-card, feel-good exercise in futility. However, real gratitude can make a difference in how we deal with our most challenging situations.

Finding resources can be one of the hardest things for a family caregiver, particularly if one's loved one has dementia. A new program, as well as a new database, offers some guidance.

Want to spread some positivity into the world? World Kindness Day is a good way to start. If you need some ideas about where to begin, you've come to the right place.

Did you need the extra hour of sleep that came with the clocks falling back to standard time? If you did, you weren't alone. For the Oliver family, that hour to sleep couldn't have come at a better time.

Art imitates life, or so the saying goes. Sometimes life can seem to fall into a series of movie genres. For the Oliver family, it certainly seems that way as they celebrate their wedding anniversary.

Getting some time off is essential for a caregiver. Unfortunately, that's never easy. An outing for this year's Autumn Drive, however, did the trick for one frazzled caregiver.

No one likes to fall victim to scammers. Unfortunately, it's an all-too-common occurrence these days. What can we do to prevent becoming some crook's next victim? These tips in honor of Cybersecurity Awareness Month can help.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which might be apparent from all the pink. Despite a decrease in the number of breast cancer deaths, 1 in 8 women still will be diagnosed with breast cancer during their lifetime. That's why early detection is so important.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Here in Illinois, the number of deaths from domestic violence increased during 2023. So there's work to do. Turning Point will host its annual Candlelight Vigil on Oct. 3 on the Woodstock Square.

Patience is rare these days, but it can be developed. It's also a critical necessity for those of us who are caregivers for people living with dementia. Still, each new phase of the disease requires a different level of patience.

College students these days face far more challenges than they did in the past. Among them is the need to protect themselves from all sorts of scammers who target them for their financial inexperience. Here are some tips to keep them safe.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese's season may be over, but fans of the team can't help but be proud of all that the Louisiana State University graduate has been able to accomplish in such a short time.

September is National Preparedness Month. This year's theme is "Start a Conversation." Here are a few tips so that families can be prepared for anything.

How does Alzheimer's disease progress? As the Oliver family wraps up its ninth year after Tony's diagnosis with early onset dementia, it's apparent that the years have brought constant adjustments.

When a family faces an Alzheimer's disease diagnosis, everything changes. What if there was a program that offered guidance to families about where they could find resources and to create a plan? There is now through a partnership between the Alzheimer's Association and Rippl.

As the school year looms for area students, now is the time for all of us to prepare kids to be able to handle potential bullying. Equipping them to prevent it from happening is as essential as making sure they have new No. 2 pencils.

The breast cancer journey that began in February comes to an "end" of sort. The completion of radiation treatments marks the beginning of the five-year waiting period to be declared cancer-free.

The Summer Olympics offer so many sporting options that it's hard for even a rabid fan to see everything. However, it sure will be fun to watch sports that rarely get any coverage during the rest of the year.

The death of actress Shannen Doherty was a blow to her many fans. It also was difficult for those of us who are battling the same disease that she was: breast cancer.

What can employers do when an employee starts exhibiting signs of dementia? The Alzheimer's Association and Bank of America have released a new white paper that offers some tips for both employers and employees.

Goodbyes can be hard even when one is saying goodbye to a beloved television series. The recent finale of "The Incredible Dr. Pol," a favorite for more than a decade, was like that for the Olivers.

Every year, a pet meets with an unfortunate injury or worse because it became scared during Fourth of July fireworks. The loud noises often trigger pets' fight-or-flight response. Here are a few tips to keep pets safe.

Going through radiation treatments for breast cancer for a second time feels like déjà vu.

The continued controversy surrounding the treatment of the WNBA's top draft pick this year, Caitlin Clark, paints the rest of the league's players as jealous villains. Yet, physical play has always been a hallmark of the W.

During Alzheimer's & Brain Health Awareness Month, the Alzheimer's Association is offering five tips you can use to take charge of your brain health.

Trying to buy flowers from a garden center doesn't sound like a difficult task. However, when the targeted flower is nasturtium and one's husband has Alzheimer's disease, the mission can be downright herculean.

Summer days during childhood were often limited only by imagination. Fun could be found almost anywhere. Maybe it's time to tap into that wonder again.

For a lot of us, our natural inclination is to tell people that "everything is going to be OK." Although we hope that's the case, sometimes it's better to just listen and acknowledge that it's OK not to be OK.

Recent crazy weather, including a tornado in Harvard, had Team Oliver scrambling for the basement. It also was a good reminder to review what to do in the event of emergencies.

New guidelines for when women of average risk should begin getting mammograms aim to make it easier to know what to do. However, those recommendations can't save lives if women don't follow them.