The Blog

Most sneakers and shoe companies claim that wearing their product will provide you the comfort and safety your feet need. While this claim might be true, studies are showing that walking barefoot is good for your health. The soles of our feet are filled with nerve endings that help us differentiate between hot, cold, even and uneven surfaces or the texture of the material under our feet thereby allowing us to navigate our paths with the proper gait and balance. As we age, and if we have always protected our feet through footwear, the ability to read the signals our feet are sending to our brains is diminished significantly thereby leading to potential for falls.

After this barefoot discovery, I have started to walk around my yard and home barefoot. I have to say, reconnecting with mother earth, having the soil tickle my toes, experiencing the hardness of the rocks or the softness of the grass against the soles of my feet feels incredibly good. No more house slippers. I threw them out. Well sort of, I hid them for cold nights.

We all experience physical change as we age; we become overweight or underweight in some cases, and life’s challenges and stresses are etched into our faces. Mine is starting to look like a road map. The brain is not immune from age related changes and studies show that the brain shrinks as we get older. Autopsy of the brains of Alzheimer’s patients show they have significantly reduced brain mass, and the key to maintaining one’s cognitive function and minimizing the loss of brain mass is to consume foods high in vitamin B12. Foods such as fish, especially tuna and eggs are a good source of B12.

Terminal sedation, also known as palliative sedation, is whereby terminally ill individuals are given a sedative intravenously to render them unconscious or to put it nicely, have the individuals go into a deep sleep resulting in a peaceful transition into death. The purpose of terminal sedation is to alleviate the suffering of someone who is terminally ill so long as alternative treatments have been exhausted.
I have no idea what the statistics are on terminal sedation practices but I do know that it is legal in both Canada and the USA. The fact that this is legal even though physician assited suicide is illegal is indicative that our society is now open, more so than two decades ago, to having discussions on death, dying, and the individual rights during the process.
As an individual, care provider, and family member I welcome all legal opportunities for making the dying process easy for anyone who has a terminal illness. Terminal illness plus no known workable medical interventions equals perpetual pain and distress. Perpetual pain and distress is simply not the way life was designed to be. Matter of fact, I think it would be wholly unacceptable to prolong the suffering of any life, be it animal or human.
So, I applaud those who are actively trying to bring dignity, compassion, and love to the dying process and are actively advocating for terminal sedation where appropriate. To protect yourself, I would strongly encourage everyone to make their wishes known to their loved ones as to what you want done in the event something catastrophic happens to you. It would be helpful to your loved ones to have your input while you are cognitively intact as to whether or not you want to have your life sustain by any artificial means.
Please don’t ever assume the health care system is going to make the best decision on your behalf. If there is no living will, no indications as to what your preferences are in the event you can’t speak for yourself, you will be placed on default – all measures will be taken to sustain your life.
Read more: http://www.torontonursinghomes.com/articles/7-life/78-assisted-suicide.html

The child says, “When I am a big boy”. But what is that? The big boy says, “When I grow up”. And then, grown up, he says, “When I get married, but what is that after all? The though changes to “When I am able to retire”. And then, when retirement come, he looks back over the landscape traversed; a cold wind seems to sweep over it; somehow he has missed it all, and it is gone. Life, we learn too late, is in the living tissue of every day and hour.

Stephen Leacock. “Education eating up life” 1939.

Scientists in American are hoping to find a cure for breast cancer within the next ten years. According to the scientists they have developed a vaccine, currently being experimented on mice, to treat the protein found in most breast tumours.
The scientists are hoping to conduct trials on women by next year and are optimistic a safe vaccine can be ready in a decade. The goal is to have women receive a vaccination at age forty that will prevent the development of breast cancer.
In the experiment cancer-prone mice that was vaccinated with the antigen a-lactalbumin remain cancer free, but not for the mice that didn’t receive a-lactalbumin.
If I knew the name of the company that was sponsoring the experiment I would publish it, as it could potentially be a good investment to purchase stocks in the company now rather than another decade.

Need:
Resident is severely impaired evidenced by a MMSE score of 0. Resident is wheel chair bound with minimal responses to stimuli related to CVA and advanced dementia.
Resident is at risk for social isolation.

Goal:
Resident will communicate using simple words or sentences and touch (hand squeeze or stroking).
Resident’s risk for social isolation will be minimized.
Resident will be seen 3 x weekly / 20 minutes.

Strategy:
Identify yourself at the start of the visit.
Give a simple explanation of the purpose of the visit / program.
Encourage resident to communicate likes and dislikes through simple sentences or non-verbal cues.
Incorporate visual aids such as calendars and pictures to orient resident to the time of year.
In addition to one on one visit invite resident to small group settings as tolerated.

You are welcome to comment on this care plan and, remember to visit http://www.torontonursinghomes.com for all your elder care needs.

416-SENIORS (736-4677)

No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour. Who said cars are inanimate objects – obviously the car is going to be ticketed if found guilty.
Animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship. Call the cops if you see any four-legged homeless creatures getting frisky. I would like to see which one would receive the ticket.
California’s municipalities
Glendale: Movie theaters are only allowed to show horror films three days a week: Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. I am assuming that Friday nights it’s erotica and weekends must be comedy.
Burlingame: It is illegal to spit, except on baseball diamonds. Hopefully you don’t gag and die before you get to the nearest baseball diamond. And yes, you are forbidden from spitting in the bathroom sink too.
Chico: Bowling on the sidewalk is illegal. Driving a herd of cattle down a street is also against the law. I had no idea Chico still had cattle. The truth is I thought Chico was chewing gum.
Blythe: You are not permitted to wear cowboy boots unless you already own at least two cows. The rational here is that you are self-sustaining. If you need more boots down the road you have the cows to provide the leather – brilliant!
Baldwin Park: Nobody is allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool. I am assuming the exception here is for stunt actors.
El Monte: Waitresses are not allowed to consume drinks bought by their customers. Huh. Too bad I really wanted to buy the woman a drink with the last dollar I have.
Eureka: Men who wear mustaches are forbidden from kissing women.Thank goodness I no longer sport one.
Fresno: It is against the law to hold a private Bingo game. Imaginary slights can have real consequences so the next time any nursing home is having a bingo game for its residents, remember you need to invite the neighborhood too.
Fresno: No one may annoy a lizard in a city park. Ok. I will obey. No staring at the lizard.

It’s 17:46 and is too tired to think at the moment what to write today. Instead, I will share with you how to access the hottest searches online for Google and Yahoo. For Google, the popular searches of the day, week, month or year are under Zeitgeist. Here is the link for Google: http://www.google.com/press/zeitgeist/. If you are interested in accessing the trends from Yahoo the term used is Yahoo Buzz. And the link for the buzz is here: http://buzz.yahoo.com/.
According to the Yahoo Buzz – People want to know if romantic love can be a lifetime arrangement. The answer is absolutely! However, according to scientists the chemical in our brains that is responsible for the butterflies in our stomach, the feelings of ecstasy we will experience with our romantic partners will only last a year. Reality will kick in after that and love becomes work, yep – you have to work at it together to keep the joy, security, and passion alive.
Individuals who treat each other as equals, is committed to one another, and is willing to work together towards a common goal are likely to stay together. However, there is another equally important factor in the relationship equation – limited jealousy. I say limited, really limited, as it’s virtually impossible for any humans to be devoid of the emotion. In my opinion the best way to live is to enjoy all the beautiful people around you but stay loyal to the one you made a promise to love forever. Enjoy – what does it mean? That’s for you to decide.
I admire and have great respect for the spouses, children, and friends who frequently visit and advocate for their loved ones in long-term care homes – that is an example of lasting love.

Below is a copy of the Yahoo Buzz response to: Does money really buy happiness?

“No. Because happiness isn’t for sale. Many people get tripped up by this one, amassing wealth only to find themselves cycling into a bottomless pit of unsatisfiable yearning. Turns out, joy and misery are not that far apart when it comes to very big wads of cash. Consider the case of a Kentucky couple who won $34 million in 2000. Thrilled to be released from the demands of their boring old jobs, they frittered their fortune away on fancy cars, mansions, all the usual stuff — losing everything that mattered in the process. They divorced, he died of an alcohol-related illness, and she died alone in her new house just five years after cashing the winning ticket. When it comes to happiness, only people you love, and who love you, can bring it. If you have enough dough to buy yourself a luxurious yacht, but no real friends to sail with, you’re sunk”.

I don’t know how long bottle water has been around but it’s one of the most successful products in the marketplace. I have always been puzzled by how gullible some of the masses are in thinking they are actually getting pure, refreshing spring water. Most of the bottled water companies are reusing municipal waters but, coupled with pretty packaging and brilliant marketing they are raking in huge profits from consumers who are willing to accept their claims of fresh spring water.
A couple years ago Coca Cola in London, England was charged with false advertising for selling municipal water as pure spring water. The company admitted they were selling municipal water but claimed the water was purified to such a degree that is was equivalent to pure spring water. Huh.
I’m not opposed to the selling of bottled water as it’s convenient for road trips and other activities where tap water is not readily available, however, my preference will always be for tap water. Moreover, according to a segment on Global News a year ago the bottled water companies have less oversight than the municipal water treatment plants.
So, the next time you reach in your pocket for a dollar to buy bottled water you should look around for the alternative, tap water – you might be better off with the free stuff.

P.S > this blog is meant to air my thoughts on various subjects on any given day, not just long-term care services.

A few years ago I was having breakfast with an acquaintance of mine who indicated to me her dad had suffered a stroke a few months earlier and, given no known medication at the time was available to minimize the challenges of a stroke the family had decided to try human growth hormones (HGH).
According to my acquaintance HGH worked remarkably well in improving her dad’s mobility and his activities of daily living. Her dad still had challenges ahead of him but the family felt his progress on HGH was significantly more than the traditional alternative.
I never had a chance to have a follow up conversation with my acquaintance as we lost touch, but lately HGH has been in the news a fair bit related to a Canadian physician being charged in the USA for prescribing the drug to professional athletes. It has been alleged that a few of our famous athletes had at some point in their careers experimented with the drug.
Anyways, after reading and hearing all the recent reports about HGH I figured I would add my own spin on things. Firstly, I want to share with you some basics about HGH:

· HGH is a protein that is secreted by the pituitary gland and it stimulates muscle mass and cell production. As we age (meaning after 19 years) the pituitary gland produces less HGH and is only secreted during sleep.
· In addition to building muscles and cell production HGH is responsible for strengthening your bones, minimizing fat and, if you take HGH supplements it will firm up your skin / reduce wrinkles.
· HGH promotes rapid recovery to damaged tissues and maintaining a healthy immune system to combat diseases.
· HGH helps in regulating glucose and insulin levels.

Here are the potential negative side effects to taking HGH:

· HGH use can lead to swelling of the tissue around the joints and for men a chest that looks like a woman’s breast.
· HGH use can potentially cause liver enlargement, elevated blood pressure and swelling of the brain.
· HGH can also add to the waistline if overused.

HGH has some wonderful benefits but they are also some ugly side effects and since HGH was only discovered back in the eighties it’s hard to say if it’s worth the risks.
I will, however, say that anyone who is young or is a senior and is fairly healthy should stay away from HGH. On the other hand, if you are a senior and you suffered a massive stroke, is there any harm in trying HGH? After all, even with regularly prescribed drugs you are taking a risk and the outcome you are hoping for might never be achieved. The choice is yours to make now by having a living will in place while you still have your cognitive abilities.

According to my acquaintance her dad had explicitly said he was open to experimental drugs in the event his health was significantly compromised.