Even in the absence of pain or other symptoms, any change is reason to seek help. We were extremely fortunate that after all Mom had been through, her interactivity had returned. As she slogged through another round of pre-CT scan barium solution, I handed her a magazine; she took a quick look and threw it down on the table: “Housekeeping!” she proclaimed, “who wants to read a magazine about that!”

—excerpt from Living Is for Living: A Caregiver’s Story