Wednesday, November 27, 2013

A Day of Thanksgiving

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thanksgiving_%28United_States%29

While much of the activity in our office is already revolving around our Be A Santa To A Senior Program, we have not forgotten Thanksgiving. We are, as a Home Instead Family, grateful for many things this year not the least of which are the opportunities we have had to touch people's lives through service.

While not only celebrated in the United States, I believe that Thanksgiving can be qualified as a uniquely American holiday. It is true that the Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving but most of their tradition didn't become commonplace until settlers from New England began to head northward during the American revolution. In Liberia, Grenada, Norfolk Island and Japan Thanksgiving has its roots in American influence. And we have much to be thankful for.

The Pilgrims are largely credited with establishing the tradition in the New World of giving thanks to God for all that he has done. They began to celebrate in this manner while still in England. They would hold fasts and festivals of thanks in order to praise God for giving them a good harvest or for giving them the strength to survive a plague or difficulty of some type.  It was only fitting that after they fled to the New World in order to have the freedom to worship in the way in which they chose, that they take the first opportunity they had to pay homage to God for blessing and protecting them.

In 1789,  President George Washington proclaimed the first nation-wide thanksgiving celebration in America, "as a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favours of Almighty God." Somehow that last part has gotten lost through the years. We pause to give thanks for all the things that mean the most in our lives but to whom are we giving thanks. I told a friend of mine this morning that I was thankful for his friendship. That is an interesting concept. It presents our friendship as a gift that he has given me for which I am thankful. Grateful that I am, it is not deserving of a feast in his honor. Without an acknowledgement of divine influence, Thanksgiving appears to be a bit of an overkill. I am thankful for a roof over my head and a warm meal but I am not sending cards and flowers to the construction workers and grocers who actually made those physical dreams a reality. Rather I am thankful to God for giving me the abilities to be successful at work and for opening the doors to a work environment which allows me to showcase the talents with which he has enabled me. I believe that God has provided and continues to provide for my family in every way. I am thankful for that providence.

Thanksgiving affords me a great opportunity to tell the people in my life just how thankful I am for them. However, without an understanding of who wove our lives together in oftentimes unimaginable ways the thanks seems misguided at best. For example, I am thankful for the community of people whom I have recently come to know through Crossfit but I will not stop tomorrow to thank myself for joining Crossfit. Like so many other aspects of my life, there were a myriad of things that put that situation together and almost none of them I am able to take sole credit for. Some may chalk all of those those circumstances up to happenstance. Some may say that the "many and signal favours of Almighty God" are in reality nothing more than acts of chance. In that case, this holiday is pure idiocy. There is no reason to thank chance. If chance is truly to credit for all of the gifts that even the least fortunate of us have been given then Thanksgiving is nothing more than a excuse to overeat and watch football. Thanksgiving, like so many other things, makes little sense once God is taken out of it.

As a parent, I am teaching my boys to say "please" and "thank you." I am teaching them that there are two requirements for thanking someone. First, you must know what you are thanking someone for. Second, you must know who you are thanking. Perhaps we would all do well to remember the second part of that lesson this year.

"...Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted." 
Isaiah 12:4

Happy Thanksgiving.


Monday, November 25, 2013

The Smoky Kitchen. More Stories of Being A Santa To A Senior.


I am not a "country boy." I did grow up in Texas but, in truth, my life has always been lived inside the city limits. I love the outdoors. I enjoy "roughing it." However, all of those things I enjoy as optional. I suspect that my affection would wane if there were not a hot shower and various other creature comforts waiting for me upon my return.

I confess that rural living has always held some appeal.  My wife and I enjoy watching the Food Network program The Pioneer Woman in part because of the idyllic farm life portrayed there: tons of kids, tons of cows, tons of land. It looks positively wonderful...at least on TV.

Delivering gifts to our Be A Santa To A Senior program recipients takes me to some similarly rural spots. Last year, I found myself driving to portions of Orange County that I was sure had yet to be seen by any cartographer. I suspected this because my trusty Garmin just kept repeating the phrase, "Recalculating, recalculating." One farmhouse in particular stood out to me in part because of its remote location and in part because of what I saw inside.

Each year people submit names of seniors to Home Instead Senior Care's Be A Santa To A Senior program who either don't have any family around or don't have the means to celebrate Christmas otherwise. These names are then placed on a tree along with gift suggestions or needs where members of the community can adopt a senior to whom to be a Santa.  The gift ideas are for the most part very practical: a warm scarf, a shaving kit, a bathrobe or towel. A few of the gift suggestions are curiously specific. This gift was one of those.

The home belonged to an elderly couple in their early 90's. The front door of the farmhouse was obstructed by fallen tree limbs which had apparently been there for quite a while. The door to the kitchen had since become the main entrance which wasn't an issue as hardly anyone ever came to visit. I wrapped my knuckles on the door frame and announced myself loudly. This far into the country I am always a little paranoid of getting shot for being on the wrong front porch:). A faint voice called out to come inside. The kitchen scene into which I entered seemed to be something out of the early nineteen hundreds. There was a long kitchen table covered in all manner of shrapnel. Someone had dropped of groceries recently and they remained in their Food Lion bags on the table. It's difficult to put groceries away when it hurts to stand. In the center of this kitchen was a wood burning stove with a metal chimney haphazardly angled to poke out through the top of a window next to the sink. Despite their efforts to insure proper ventilation, a smoky haze hung throughout the room and permeated everything it touched. One lone pot of lukewarm water sat on the corner of the stove while both husband and wife waited in front of it warming themselves and willing the water to boil.

Their gift was a large, unwieldy thing. She chose to be the one to unwrap it as his hands ached from the arthritis which had become his constant companion.  Their Santa had brought them an electric hotplate. Our conversation over the next few minutes showed me just how meaningful a gift this was.  The wood burning kitchen stove constituted the only heating apparatus in the house. The vast majority of their days this time of year were spent huddled around its iron body drinking in the warmth that it provided. Many times, they would elect to sleep in their chairs in the kitchen rather than brave the cold in the other rooms of this drafty old farmhouse. In addition to the physical heat it provided them, it was also the only manner in which they had to heat food since their last hotplate gave out on them...in September. There was a smattering of other gifts. A gift card for a local pharmacy to help them afford medications and a couple toboggan caps were greatly appreciated. But no gift stood out as much as the gift of a warm meal.

Before I left that day, she insisted on writing out a thank you card. Without the leg strength to get to the mailbox and with no money for postage, this was the only way to make sure that we were "thanked good and proper." As I trudged back down the muddy driveway to my car, I was reminded of just how much I take for granted. While the smoky smell of their kitchen stove lingered on my coat for only a few days, my eyes were forever opened just a bit wider to a world around me of people in need: people we can help if we'd just take the time.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Stories of Being a Santa to a Senior

http://californiawatch.org/dailyreport/california-seniors-federal-poverty-level-falls-short-basic-needs-4722

I knocked on the door of her trailer carrying an armload of presents at about 2pm that afternoon. On the porch, there was a plastic lawnchair which hadn't been sat in at any point this decade and a large porcelain frog with its mouth full of stagnant rainwater and leaves. The glass storm door boasted a small sign the read "Peace on Earth" which was suction cupped to the window.  The grey cat standing guard never took her eyes off of me as I waited for someone to come to the door. I hadn't actually heard the bell ring and was about to press the button a second time when I heard someone from the back of the trailer say "Just a minute."

Each year, Home Instead Senior Care's Be A Santa To A Senior program brings Christmas to the less fortunate senior members of our community. Seniors who wouldn't have any gifts otherwise are nominated to have their names placed on a tree along with gift suggestions or needs. Members of the community then gather and wrap the gifts to be delivered during the week of Christmas. Giving the gifts is always one of the highlights of our holiday season.

When she finally came to the door, she immediately cupped her hands over her mouth in surprise. Tears began to fill her eyes as she saw the neatly wrapped, colorful packages in my arms. After regaining her composure, she cracked the door enough to be heard but not enough to let the cat out and said "I didn't think I was going to get a present this year. Can you come in for a moment while I open it?" After a few minutes of conversation and a cup of instant hot chocolate, I learned that this was not the only time she would have spent Christmas alone. A widowed mother of two, she had an estranged son living on the West Coast who refused to call or visit and a daughter who had passed away from cancer five years ago. There were no grandchildren to color works of art to adorn her refrigerator. She had outlived her siblings. There was no one left with whom to share the holidays. Since losing her drivers license several years ago, she had lived a life of solitude with her television as the only window to the world outside. This would have made her fourth Christmas alone in her trailer with no one to share a warm conversation and a hot cup of cocoa.

Her "Santa" had purchased for her a fuzzy pink bathrobe and some slippers for which she was tremendously grateful. In addition, there were some handwritten cards from her "Santa's" family which were immediately placed on the door of her almost empty fridge. Included in one of the cards was a $25 gift card to Harris Teeter.

"Is this mine?" She asked.
"Of course." I replied.
"I can do whatever I want with it?"
"Yes."
"I think I'll give it to my neighbor. Last week my heater stopped working and he was nice enough to come and help me fix it. I didn't have a way to pay him but I want to make sure he knows just how grateful I am."

Telling the story a year later, I still find myself moved. I knew that her cupboards were bare and that the closest thing to security she had was trusting that the good folks from Meals on Wheels would bring her warm food on Wednesday. She gave out of her poverty. I hope that her neighbor had someone with whom to share Christmas. I hope he wasn't alone. Most of all I hope he realized that out of all the gifts under his tree, hers was the most precious.

"And he sat down opposite the treasury and watched the people putting money into the offering box. Many rich people put in large sums. And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which make a penny. And he called his disciples to him and said to them, "Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all gave out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on."" 
Mark 12:41-44  ESV


Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Opening the Door to Rationing Care

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/9835269/Councils-cutting-spend-on-care-of-elderly-and-disabled-says-National-Audit-Office.html

There are a host of topics to which I am particularly sensitive. Some people call them hot button issues. For instance, I detest the mentality which characterizes men as nothing more than bumbling oafs incapable of putting their pants on correctly. So prevalent is this thinking that it has become the punchline to many ad campaigns and the premise for entire sitcoms such as Everybody Loves Raymond. When I hear or read anything in that vain it makes my blood boil. Other people with other hot button issues may not even notice.

I was reading an article today and felt my blood begin to similarly boil over another of my hot button issues. The New York Times has a senior blog titled The New Old Age. It is a fascinating compilation of stories and articles related to aging and caregiving. Most of what I find there is top quality. Today's find left the door open to something I greatly fear.

This particular article was about trying to predict the aftermath of a fall. Falls are incredibly common among the elderly with one out of every three adults over the age of 65 taking a tumble each year. Falls are especially dangerous for the elderly due to lower bone density and thinner skin. Even a minor trip can be a life altering event for some seniors.

In the article, the author points to a study conducted by researchers at Yale who tracked almost 800 older adults over a period of 14 years. The subjects were tested and measured closely in order to track their levels of disability both before and after a fall. Not surprisingly, those individuals who were most active and had the least amount of impairment before a fall made the quickest and fullest recovery. Those who were physically struggling before posed a much greater challenge in terms of rehabilitation. All in all, the researchers found that predicting the aftermath of a fall was not a difficult task.

At this point in the article, I was still on board. I understand the realities of rehabilitation when it comes to seniors who are already struggling physically. At Home Instead Senior Care, encouraging an active independent lifestyle is at the core of what we do. It is critical not simply for the emotional benefits but also because of the physical resiliency it produces. However, there was one point in the article which really stood out to me and my hot button.
"With so little prospect of recovery for those with greater disability, however, “perhaps the goals of care should shift,” Dr. Gill suggested. Palliative care — helpful in reducing the pain that often accompanies fall injuries — might make more sense, while extended physical therapy might be of little help."
Let me first say that I am a strong advocate for palliative care. I have seen, first-hand, the blessing that palliative or comfort care can be in some of the most difficult situations.

To a passerby, this paragraph may not seem that insidious. It may not have even been intended in that manner. However, it is important to pair these remarks with the current socio-political climate regarding issues of aging in this country. We are facing unprecedented challenges. There are not enough facilities to house seniors who need significant living assistance. There are not enough hospital beds to accommodate the number of seniors facing chronic or traumatic illnesses. There are not enough geriatricians to treat the seniors desperately in need of doctors who understand the very different ways in which their bodies work. In short, something's gotta give. While the concept of rationing care has been recently tied to alarmist rhetoric, it is an almost certain reality unless substantial progress is made on these issues both in the United States and around the world.

To clarify, there are certainly times when an individual and their family must have the courage to acknowledge the trajectory of their situation. We do not have immortal bodies and at some point things just wear out. For some seniors, attempting an extensive rehab and physical therapy regime might not make sense. But each decision should be a personal one and not dictated by lack of availability or some economist telling a senior that they are too old or too frail to waste money on an attempted recovery.

Our seniors deserve better than a system whose only solution to dementia is confinement. They deserve better than being medicinally sedated when they become confused or unruly. They deserve a system which recognizes that dosing an octogenarian with narcotic pain relievers following a fall can have a life altering effect on a body that is no longer able to process those kinds of substances. All the way around, they deserve better.

Every day, I am blessed to partner with seniors who have refused to accept what the flawed system has presented them. They defy the overly-intelligent academics who attempt to dictate what their future will hold. They insist that a diminished quality of life is not an acceptable diagnosis. And they fight to prove to a increasingly doubting world that they still have worth and value despite their advancing years. This is their war and I am proud to fight by their side.

In truth, there is no perfect solution. There never will be. Life does not allow us that simplicity. It is, by its very nature, unpredictable. The journey is the adventure.. No study can predict it and it is to each person as unique as it is beautiful. How many adventures will we prevent by telling seniors to give up: that their journey has already ended?

To read the full article click here:  http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/11/15/predicting-a-falls-aftermath/?_r=0

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Singing Showtunes Improve Cognitive Function For Seniors With Dementia

http://www.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/p/keep-calm-and-sing-show-tunes-6/


Personal confession time.

I love showtunes. I said it and I am not ashamed. If ever you drive by my home while I am mowing the lawn there is a 92.7% chance that I am minding my turf to strains of West Side Story. When you're a Jet you're a Jet all the way. There is almost always a song in my heart and frequently I feel compelled to share my heart song with those around me. Before today, I could only explain those unexpected songbursts by attempting to claim some rare form of Broadway Turret's. Now, I will sing unabashedly knowing the health benefits which new research proves are brought by singing showtunes.

Researchers at George Mason University conducted a study of two groups of seniors, one group with moderate dementia and another with a more advanced form which required them to be housed in a secured facility. In both groups, tests were administered to ensure that all of the participants in each group were at a similar cognitive level. Vocal music sessions were then held three times a week for 50 minutes at a time where half of the group was encouraged to sing along with songs such as The Sound of Music,  When You Wish Upon A Star, and Somewhere Over the Rainbow while the other half of the group just listened. After the sessions, researchers found that the test scores for the seniors who sang along with the showtunes rose far more dramatically than the scores for the seniors who simply listened.

The implications of this research are obviously profound. I would be interested in seeing further testing done using musical theater pieces of varying difficulty and studying the outcomes. I would theorize that a senior singing along to the brilliantly complex music created by Stephen Sondheim would fare better in the post session testing than a senior singing more simple tunes like those crafted by Andrew Lloyd Webber. I digress.

In conclusion, I would encourage you, dear reader, to crank up the showtunes and belt out the 11 o'clock number of your choice. When those around you look down their noses in disdain, simply look them directly in the eye and try singing this...





For more on the study see below.
http://www.abstractsonline.com/Plan/ViewAbstract.aspx?sKey=c3d1c2d8-065c-4b92-9533-b6e7685ce64a&cKey=72397e83-498c-4e27-a769-81275de1c9f5&mKey={8D2A5BEC-4825-4CD6-9439-B42BB151D1CF}

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Dementia Dogs to the Rescue!

http://www.dogwallpapers.net/golden-retriever/cute-golden-retriever-puppy-and-flowers-photo.html

I love dogs. There is something about the unconditional love and acceptance that a dog gives that warms my heart. In senior care, many communities have begun to realize the benefits that dogs bring to their residents. Some facilities house a dog that lives on site and others will encourage outsiders to bring dogs in to visit their residents. In either instance, residents brighten up immediately whenever a dog walks into the room.

Increasingly, dogs are being used for a number of different service purposes. Dogs for the Disabled, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Dogs for Veterans, all offer tremendous benefits to their participants. At the Glasgow School of the Arts in Scotland, students came up with the idea of applying the concept of service dogs to dementia treatment. With help from Dogs for the Disabled, Alzheimer Scotland, and Guide Dogs Scotland, the students' idea is now becoming a reality.

'Dementia Dogs' are able to provide their owners with reminders to take their medications, they can help them wake up in the morning, etc. Additionally, one of the things that people with dementia suffer from is a difficulty communicating. The dogs don't mind if you tell the same story again or if your words don't come out in just the right order which makes them perfect companions. Dogs are also creatures that thrive on routine. And routine, for a person struggling with dementia, is tremendously important. Put it all together and you have a match made in heaven...or Scotland.





For more on this story: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-23270822

Monday, November 4, 2013

New Options for Senior Living

http://www.nohoseniorartscolony.com/

One of the blessings of working with seniors is the perspective it has given me on a number of things that people under the age of 50 typically don't spend much time thinking about. Having had daily, first hand experiences with the various senior living options available, I am more resolved than ever to stay on top of the direction my life will take as I age.

Thankfully, the options and resources available to seniors today are far more extensive than they were even ten years ago. From independent living communities, to group homes, to continuing care retirement communities, the game has changed for aging in this country. The game is changing still.

A new initiative in California has many in the aging community taking note. The North Hollywood Senior Arts Colony is a community in California comprised of seniors who have strong ties to the arts. Whether an artist, an aspiring artist, or someone who has been a long-time patron of the arts, the NoHo Senior Arts Colony offers seniors opportunities that they will find almost nowhere else.

Activities and classes include Zumba, painting, sculpting, poetry, writing, literature, song writing, drum circles, film making, and every other art you could possibly imagine. And all of their classes are taught by college-level professionals. In this community, the arts and creativity are common themes which unify the residents. One of the highlights of this imaginarium of possibilities is the presence of a professional working theater company, the Road Theater Company.

The NoHo Senior Arts Colony is the realization of a non-profit program gaining significant acclaim. "EngAGE is a nonprofit that takes a whole-person approach to creative and healthy aging by providing arts, wellness, lifelong learning, community building and intergenerational programs to thousands of seniors." EngAGE programs are provided onsite at senior apartment communities and are open to seniors from the surrounding community as long as there is room in the class.

There are several key components to an EngAGE program:

1. The class is offered at no cost to the senior.
2. The classes are all taught by college-level professionals.
3. The design of the classes is geared towards older adults. Seniors have a voice in how the classes and programs are put together through focus groups, surveys and meetings. This gives a real sense of ownership to the clients.
4. The classes are run like college courses and operate on a semester basis. This allows participants to advance through different levels of programs which fosters the desire to create and achieve lifelong learning goals.
5. The classes all culminate in some sort of event to allow the seniors to showcase their new skills such as art shows, poetry readings, staged performances or even radio broadcasts.

There are currently three senior arts colonies which showcase the pioneering work of EngAGE programs with several more in the planning phases. Perhaps one resident summed it best when she looked at her other options and said "I was seeing a lot of seniors just being seniors, not doing anything. I never liked the idea of getting old."

Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/columnist/brooks/2013/10/28/retirement-arts-writing-senior-theater/2954525/