This episode contains a powerful story of resilience through the challenges of battling a rare disease. Amy Gietzen has done this for over 20 years, as she’s become one of the foremost advocates for Scleroderma patients. She is a patient ambassador for Patients Rising, a community outreach volunteer at Steffens Scleroderma Foundation, advocate for the National Scleroderma Foundation, and more. She shares so much in this episode and there’s no doubt you’ll walk away knowing you just spent 12 worthwhile minutes listening to a special human being! We hope you’ll enjoy watching this episode! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Todd “TJ” Keitz has been primary caregiver and patient advocate since June 2018 for his parents, who each are faced with serious illness. This journey led him to create the…

We had a VERY special guest (and addressed a very important topic!) for the 1st Caregiving Insights episode of 2024! Todd “TJ” Keitz, Founder of this blog, Caregiving Insights, and My Care Friends, was truly honored to welcome the former Governor of Wisconsin, Martin J. Schreiber. Marty is a wonderful human being, who cared for his wife Elaine for 19 years along the Alzheimer’s journey. In this episode, he shares so much insight into the journey of a caregiver for someone with Alzheimer’s and how to love both people — the woman he first fell in love with and was his rock (and glue of the family), and the second woman that didn’t know who he was. Marty is kind, engaging, funny, caring, loving…and realistic…

This episode of Caregiving Insights was so meaningful for host, Todd “TJ” Keitz! When he met Lance A. Slatton earlier this year before the launch of My Care Friends, it was apparent their commitment to caregivers and patient advocates was in alignment. As they discussed Todd being a guest on Lance’s podcast All Home Care Matters, they both learned so much about each other – including where their passions for the caring industry were born. They had an instant connection and Todd asked Lance if he could “turn the camera around” and have him as a guest on Caregiving Insights. Without hesitation, he said “absolutely” and in this episode you will learn so much about Lance – why and how All Home Care Matters came…

As we shared last month, there are over 5.4 million caregiving youth in the U.S. and countless others around the world. In this episode of Caregiving Insights, My Care Friends’ Founder/CEO Todd “TJ” Keitz sits down with 18-year old Kaylin Jean-Louis — caregiver, radio host, motivational speaker, and founder of Kaylin’s Caring Konnection. Kaylin graduated high school earlier this year and since 2016 along with her mom has been caregiver to her grandmother and great-grandmother. So, how did she have time to do all she’s done — and at such a young age? Watch this uplifting episode and hear all about it. We think you’ll be as impressed by her and her story as we are. She’s well spoken and mature beyond her years, with…

So, what is deprescribing? According to deprescribing.org, it’s the planned and supervised process of dose reduction or stopping of medication that might be causing harm, or no longer be of benefit. Deprescribing is part of good prescribing – backing off when doses are too high, or stopping medications that are no longer needed. We often hear patients and caregivers on their behalf talk about the many medications they are on. They wonder if it’s really helping or potentially hurting. This is where a certified professional comes in to help people assess the possibilities. Passionate thought-leader DeLon Canterbury, founder/CEO of GeriatRx, is an example of such a person and we are thrilled to have him as a guest on this episode of Caregiving Insights with Todd…

These topics are often misunderstood or not at all. Other than having heard of patient assistance programs and drug trials, to what extent do caregivers and patient advocates (or anyone for that matter) know what they are all about? Learning and understanding the intricacies can greatly benefit patients, caregivers and patient advocates in many ways. Check out the outline below of what’s talked about in this episode of Caregiving Insights, where Todd “TJ” Keitz chats with Debra Alper. Over 25 years, Debra gained vast strategic marketing, strategic portfolio analysis, new product planning and commercialization experience in the pharmaceutical industry, including most recently as Director, Global Strategic Marketing, Hematology, at Johnson & Johnson. Four years ago she created Alper Consulting Group, which partners with early development…

Per the Alzheimer’s Association, an estimated 6.5 million Americans age 65 and older are living with Alzheimer’s dementia in 2022. That means of the total U.S. population, about 1 in 9 people (10.7%) age 65 and older has Alzheimer’s dementia. The numbers will rise significantly over the coming decade, as 10,000 baby boomers turn 65 every day. That means more caregivers will be needed and family members will often take on that role. How are they going to handle all that comes along with it? In this episode of Caregiving Insights, Todd “TJ” Keitz chats with Jillian McCleary. Jill left her career behind as the Director of The University of Arizona Art Museum to care full-time for her mother. The conversation packs a lot into…