June 19, 2012
May 21, 2012
30 Activities that can be Done in 30 Seconds or Less
- Greet the person by name.
- Make eye contact and smile.
- Shake hands.
- Ask someone to "show me" an object.
- Tease: "Mr. Smith, I just saw you eat dessert first!"
- Tell someone they are loved.
- Give a sustained bear hug.
- Give a compliment: "Wow! You look pretty spiffy!"
- Ask an open-ended question: "How are you feeling today?"
- Ask an opinion: "What do you think of my necktie? Does it match my shirt?"
- Play a quick game of catch.
- Notice an unusual bird or squirrel outside the window.
- Evoke a memory from a person's life story: "Tell me more about your dog. Did he follow you to school?"
- Give a hand massage.
- Share a new hand lotion and talk about its pleasing scent.
- Try on a new shade of lipstick.
- Blow bubbles.
- Slip a little treat to someone.
- Share a magic trick.
- Show off family photos of a new grandchild.
- Blow up a balloon and bat it around. (You can blow up surgical gloves instead.)
- Look at a flower arrangement and compare colors, textures and scents.
- Ask for advice on a recipe.
- Tell a funny story or joke. Clown around for a moment and make funny faces, throw your hands in the air and spin around once or twice.
- Do a quick dance to some fun music that is playing in the background.
- Sing a song or say a prayer together.
- Notice vivid colors in an unusual dress or shirt.
- Ask for help with a chore such as folding a towel, helping to make a bed, or polishing a piece of furniture.
- Try on a hat or hats.
- Step outside for some fresh air.
Reprinted from website www.HillCountryCareProviders.com
April 17, 2012
Stroke Indicators
Blood Clots/Stroke - They Now Have a Fourth Indicator, the Tongue
STROKE: Remember the 1st Three Letters...... S T. R.
STROKE IDENTIFICATION:
During a BBQ, a woman stumbled and took a little fall - she assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics) ....she said she had just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes.
They got her cleaned up and got her a new plate of food. While she appeared a bit shaken up, Jane went about enjoying herself the rest of the evening.
Jane's husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken to the hospital - (at 6:00 pm Jane passed away.) She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a stroke, perhaps Jane would be with us today. Some don't die. They end up in a helpless, hopeless condition instead.
It only takes a minute to read this.
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within 3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed, and then getting the patient medically cared for within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE
Thank God for the sense to remember the '3' steps, STR. Read and Learn!
Sometimes symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer severe brain damage when people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a stroke by asking three simple questions:
S *Ask the individual to SMILE.T *Ask the person to TALK and SPEAK A SIMPLE SENTENCE (Coherently), (i.e. It is sunny out today.)R *Ask him or her to RAISE BOTH ARMS.
If he or she has trouble with ANY ONE of these tasks, call emergency number immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher.
New Sign of a Stroke -------- Stick out Your Tongue
NOTE: Another 'sign' of a stroke is this: Ask the person to 'stick' out his tongue. If the tongue is 'crooked', if it goes to one side or the other that is also an indication of a stroke.
Peter Eatherley
61 Queens Court , Queensway, London W24QW
Tel 020 7034 0885
Mob 07818 405035
Verified by SNOPES.
December 3, 2011
If a drug existed that could improve your mood, help you lose weight, fight heart disease, increase energy levels AND improve your
blood pressure, would you take it? This wonder remedy exists not as a pill or in liquid form. Instead, it comes in a number of options that could fit your lifestyle. This wonder drug is exercise.
blood pressure, would you take it? This wonder remedy exists not as a pill or in liquid form. Instead, it comes in a number of options that could fit your lifestyle. This wonder drug is exercise.
We all know that exercise is good for us, but we might struggle with ways to include exercise into our daily routines, especially when
time, mobility, or other valuable commodities are limited. Some simple ideas include a daily walk with a friend or relative, playing with grandchildren or even some light stretching in the morning.
time, mobility, or other valuable commodities are limited. Some simple ideas include a daily walk with a friend or relative, playing with grandchildren or even some light stretching in the morning.
View the below articles for more helpful tips on getting moving:
This first one comes from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, and talks about “Easy Chair Exercises” that anybody can do:
Here is a link to the Senior Health guide produced by the National Institute of Health (NIH). Here you’ll find helpful articles and videos about exercise:
This article comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and focuses on Strength Training for Older Adults.
These articles provide great methods and suggestions for exercising, but ultimately it comes down to you! Just think, a little activity is the cheapest and most effective tool for increasing your quality of life.
October 28, 2011
GPS Shoes, for Alzheimer's Patients
GPS Shoes, for Alzheimer's Patients
These boots were really made for walking.
The first batch of 3,000 shoes with integrated GPS devices -- to help track down dementia-suffering seniors who wander off and get lost -- just shipped frommanufacturer GTX Corp. to the footwear firm Aetrex, two years after plans were announced to develop the product.
The company's first shoes -- dreamed up back in 2002 following the Elizabeth Smart case -- were intended to locate missing children. And safety is the driving force today behind the company's newest GPS-enabled shoe. The shoes will sell at around $300 a pair and buyers will be able to set up a monitoring service to locate "wandering" seniors suffering from Alzheimer's Disease.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2011/10/27/
October 24, 2011
My Mom said she didn't want us, her four children and husband, to tell her friends that she was on hospice care. She didn't want them worrying or fussing over her. We asked her what she would like us to do for her funeral. She said, "Don't go to any trouble, just bury my ashes under an Aspen tree in the mountains."
My Mom has always complained that she never gets things her way, she has to go along with what everybody else wants. Well, the fact that she was dying didn't change things.
We planned a potluck and invited all of her friends. Some members of the family are talented musicians, so we put the food and the songbooks out. And, then brought my mother into the room. "Surprise!!!!"
Her friends would sit down with her to chat and then move on to the food. All the while she was smiling and appreciating the music by making requests.
The next day, she couldn't stop talking about the party, "I was at my own wake," she laughed heartily. The hospice nurse came that day and heard all about it.
We had my mother's funeral a couple of weeks later. All the same people that were at the party were at the funeral. They all expressed how glad they were that they got to see my Mom while she was still alive.
We asked for donations of Aspen trees. We then planted them on some private property in the mountains and placed a handful of my Mom's ashes under each tree.
Now we go to the mountains and visit the Aspen grove that is planted there in honor of my mother, Ruth Brunskill Greiner.
My Mom has always complained that she never gets things her way, she has to go along with what everybody else wants. Well, the fact that she was dying didn't change things.
We planned a potluck and invited all of her friends. Some members of the family are talented musicians, so we put the food and the songbooks out. And, then brought my mother into the room. "Surprise!!!!"
Her friends would sit down with her to chat and then move on to the food. All the while she was smiling and appreciating the music by making requests.
The next day, she couldn't stop talking about the party, "I was at my own wake," she laughed heartily. The hospice nurse came that day and heard all about it.
We had my mother's funeral a couple of weeks later. All the same people that were at the party were at the funeral. They all expressed how glad they were that they got to see my Mom while she was still alive.
We asked for donations of Aspen trees. We then planted them on some private property in the mountains and placed a handful of my Mom's ashes under each tree.
Now we go to the mountains and visit the Aspen grove that is planted there in honor of my mother, Ruth Brunskill Greiner.
October 9, 2011
Visiting with Fortune Cookies
My Dad takes fortune cookies with him when he visits his friends in assisted living or at the hospital. They open two or three fortune cookies which gives them something to talk about right then and there. Then he leaves several fortune cookies with the person he's been to visit. He asks them to open one a day and think about the good fortune they've just been given.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
