Bruce Jenner first came to fame as an American decathlon champion, a gold medalist in the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics. His victory coincided with the American bicentennial celebration, and Jenner became a national symbol and celebrity. Bruce is also one of the celebrities bringing attention to the challenges of living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), which affected Kris Jenner’s grandparents. He and celebrities including Danica Patrick, Jim Belushi, Patty Loveless and Michael Strahan recently completed a cross country drive to support DRIVE4COPD, a multi-year public health initiative to screen the millions of people who may be at risk for COPD, the nation's 4th leading cause of death.

Gary Barg: Can you tell me about the DRIVE4COPD program and how your trip went?

Bruce Jenner: First of all, why did I do it? The reason I did it is because both my wife’s grandparents died of emphysema.  When you talk about caregiving, the rest of the family becomes the caregiver to people who are afflicted by this and it is just such a strain on everybody; not just the patient, but also the caregiver. COPD is the fourth leading killer in the United States.  So that is the reason we did it; to build awareness of what COPD is.  Why do we want them to be aware?  Because there are a lot of things you can do to help manage this disease along the way, to make the quality of life better.  Now they say there are approximately 24 million people affected by COPD.  Half of them don’t know they even have the problem...read more

Take Care

Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com

---

Feature Article

Getting Ready for Joint Replacement By Hilary Wright

Age is no longer the determining prerequisite for whether or not a person will receive joint replacement surgery. Constant athletic activity, a busy lifestyle, and the natural wear and tear of time on the body’s joints have made people of all ages candidates for this type of surgery. An amazing amount of advancements have been made through medical technology regarding this procedure, perfecting it to the point where recovery time has been cut in half for most people...read more

Guest Column

A Caregiver’s Gift By Darcy Heller Sternberg

My husband Marty has to take a combination of eight different drugs seven times a day; this is in addition to routine vitamins. Each morning, I set them up in a pillbox so that there is no confusion about the schedule. He manages quite well unless his Parkinson’s, which he’s had for over 30 years, prevents him from opening the individual sections...read more

Caretips

Tips for Swallowing Pills By Janie Rosman Swallowing pills — medicine, vitamins or supplements—is the most commonly-reported problem for people living with dysphagia, according to Jan C. Pryor, MA CCC-SLP, BRS-S, Speech-Language Pathologist at University of Washington Medical Center. Water is a usual companion with pills, yet there are alternative options besides the clear liquid...read more

Carenotes

My mother has Alzheimer’s and my poor father is TRYING to keep her home as long as he can. He just got a pacemaker and is just about at his wit's end. I read ALL the newsletters, but unfortunately, I cannot share them with Dad. My mother would have a fit.  She is very mean to him. They both lose patience. Nancy Answer This Week's CareNote

Caregiver.com Support Group Directory. Click here for information about any caregiver support groups in your area. Caregivers need your help. Please add information about your local support groups to our Support Group Directory.

Have an idea for an article? We are always looking for contributing writers. For more information contact editor@caregiver.com Recommend Us Tell your friends about Caregiver.com!  If you have a friend who you think would benefit from our newsletter, complete and submit the form Subscription Information If you received caregiver newsletter and are not yet a subscriber, and would like to begin receiving a complimentary copy of your own, please click here. Unsubscribe To unsubscribe from caregiver newsletter, simply  click on the 'manage your subscription' link at the bottom of this newsletter. Privacy Policy Privacy Statement

Copyright© 1995-2012 Caregiver.com Inc., All rights reserved by Caregiver.com and its subsidiaries.