Posts Tagged ‘assisted living Channahon’

A good belly laugh sure feels good, doesn’t it? Medical experts have known for a long time that laughter promotes well being and reduces stress for all ages. For seniors, it also generates positive thoughts and lifts sadness and loneliness. It’s just good therapy. It’s also free.

Laughter has been proven to reduce pain. From Laughter Remedy, Paul McGhee, PhD. writes, “A nurse once told me of a Methodist minister who had been in a serious accident and had to spend several weeks in the hospital. He had a lot of pain, and was given shots to reduce it. The procedure was always the same. When the pain got bad enough, he would ring a buzzer near his bed, and a nurse would soon come to give him the shot. One day, he rang for the nurse and then rolled over on his side (with his back to the door), pulled his hospital gown up over his exposed backside, and waited for the nurse to come in. When he heard the door open, he pointed to his right bare buttock and said, ‘Why don’t you give me the shot right here this time?’

After a few moments of silence, he looked up. It was a woman from his church! The minister, realizing what he had done, started laughing. He laughed so hard that tears were coming out of his eyes when the nurse arrived. When he tried to explain what had happened, he began laughing even harder. When he was finally able to tell the nurse the whole story, what do you think he noticed? His pain was gone! He didn’t need the shot, and didn’t ask for one for another 90 minutes.”

Medical experts tell us that besides reducing pain and stress, laughter can boost the immune system, relax muscles, lower blood pressure, and cleanse the lungs.

According to Dr. William Fry from Stanford University, one minute of laughter is equal to ten minutes on a rowing machine. Laughter stimulates heart and blood circulation like aerobic exercise. Laughter exercise is especially well suited for seniors, sedentary people and those who are confined to a bed or wheelchair.

In the field of senior care, we know that laughter clubs are popular in assisted living or retirement homes. And why not? Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict, and nothing works faster or more dependably to bring the mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens burdens, inspires hopes, connects one to others, and keeps a senior grounded, focused, and alert. With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for seniors to deal with their problems, enhance their relationships, and support both physical and emotional health.

Here are five great quotes about laughter as medicine.

“You cannot be mad at somebody who makes you laugh. It’s as simple as that.”
Jay Leno

“The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.”
e.e.cummings

“Laugh at yourself first, before anyone else can.”
Elsa Maxwell

“I was irrevocably betrothed to laughter, the sound of which has always seemed to me to be the most civilized music in the world.”
Peter Ustinov

“You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.”
Michael Pritchard

There is a nationwide public relations campaign going on to raise awareness of a little known government pension available to wartime veterans or surviving spouses. Many people are eligible for this, but they aren’t collecting because they don’t know about it.

According to VeteranAid.org, if you are a senior age 65 or older and served in WW II, Korea, Vietnam or the Persian Gulf or if you are the surviving spouse of someone who served, you may be eligible for a pension called the Aid & Attendance Improved Pension. This pension can provide up to $1,632 per month to a veteran, $1,055 per month to a surviving spouse, or $1,949 per month to a couple.

To qualify medically, a person must need the assistance of another person to perform daily tasks such as eating, dressing, undressing, taking care of the needs of nature, etc. Also qualifying are people who are blind or in a nursing home for mental or physical incapacity, or residing in an assisted living facility.

To qualify financially, your countable family income must be below a yearly limit set by Congress.

For example, a claimant’s physician must declare the veteran as housebound and in need of assistance from another individual which may include services offered by assisted living. Also the veteran must have served at least 90 days Active Duty with one day of the 90 during a war period.

If you think you may qualify for Aid and Attendance Pension, contact your local or regional Veterans’ Administration. There are a number of papers to collect and fill out, but patience now may make a significant difference in you or your loved one’s quality of living.

To gather information, some helpful websites are http://www.veteranaid.org/ or http://www.vetassist.org. In addition, some law firms specialize in filing for the Aid and Attendance Improved Pension.

The Timbers of Shorewood will present an informational seminar at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 30, 2009  at 1100 N. River Road Shorewood, IL. Robert Hart of the American Association for Wartime Veterans (AAWV) will present a free informational seminar about veterans’ benefits which may be available to qualifying veterans, widowed spouses or disabled adult children.

This seminar is free and open to the public. For more information, call Judy Malin at (815) 609-0669.

Seasonal flu is especially dangerous for seniors over 65 and others with weak immune systems. The viral infection can exhaust the body making it easy for life-threatening complications such as bacterial pneumonia to take hold. It can also worsen the symptoms of conditions like heart disease, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

With seasonal flu, seasons vary in terms of timing, duration and severity.  Each year in the United States, on average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized, and the combination of flu and pneumonia is the cause of at least 36,000 deaths. Ninety percent of these deaths are people over age 65.

However, this flu season could be worse because of the virus 2009 H1N1. The Center of Disease Control (CDC) expects both 2009 H1N1 flu and seasonal flu to cause illness, hospital stays and deaths this season and is preparing for an early and possibly severe flu season. However, the 2009 H1N1 (earlier referred to as “swine flu”) is a new influenza virus first detected in people in the United States in April 2009.

Swine flu is a virus infection which can cause a wide range of symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting. Like seasonal flu, swine flu can vary from mild to severe. Severe disease with pneumonia, respiratory failure and even death is possible with swine flu infection.

Certain groups may be more likely to develop a severe illness from swine flu, such as pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions. Flu viruses generally spread when droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air and land on the mouth or nose of people nearby. Flu viruses can also spread when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose (or someone else’s mouth or nose) before washing their hands.

Everyone age 50 and older should get the seasonal flu vaccine as soon as possible. Most seniors do not appear to be at high-risk for the H1N1 (Swine) flu, but they should get the H1N1 vaccine when it’s available to them. However, seniors who have health conditions associated with a higher risk of flu complications should get the H1N1 vaccine as soon as possible.

Three recommendations from the CDC:

• Get a yearly seasonal flu vaccine as the first and most important step in protecting against seasonal influenza. Ask your doctor if you should get a 2009 H1N1 vaccine.
• Take everyday preventive actions such as hand washing and covering the mouth during a cough or sneeze.
• Take flu antiviral drugs if your doctor recommends them. Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaled powder) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing.

October. It seems there are pink ribbons everywhere not to mention walk/runs, fundraisers, Sing for the Cure, Walk for the Cure, Taste for the Cure, all in recognition of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. These important events raise money for research, and it is working. Today, there are two and half million breast cancer survivors in the United States.

Over the past twenty years, great improvements have been made in the treatment of breast cancer. As a result, the number of breast cancer survivors continues to rise. The American Cancer Society’s most recent estimates (2009) for breast cancer in the United States are:

• 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer
• 40,170 deaths from breast cancer

Unfortunately, the chance of getting breast cancer goes up as a woman gets older. Senior women 65 years or older comprise half of the new breast cancer patients annually.

There are many conflicting reports about treatment of elderly breast cancer patients. If a 90-year-old is diagnosed, are surgery and chemotherapy too debilitating to contemplate? In many cases, physicians have a hard time knowing what to advise. In juggling decisions about treatment, clinicians and their patients are hampered by lack of clinical trial data relating to older women. But age is just one factor. Also vital to treatment decisions are functional ability, frailty and tolerance.

For instance, a 70-year-old woman in poor general health has a 9-year life expectancy, whereas a 79-year-old woman in excellent health has a 14.6-year life expectancy. The 79-year-old in good health stands to gain more from aggressive treatment than the 70-year-old woman in poor health. But it is also true that the 70-year-old woman in poor health may choose to accept the risk of aggressive treatment if it would result in even a modest extension of her life.

As stated before, there is documented evidence that older women get less intensive treatment. If there were more research about the biology of breast cancer in the older woman, it would help with decisions about tolerance, effectiveness and personal preferences.

For all women, the American Cancer Society’s recommended guidelines for early detection in all women without symptoms include:

• Mammogram: Women age 40 and older should have a screening mammogram every year and should continue to do so for as long as they are in good health.
• Clinical breast exam: After age 40, women should have a breast exam by a health expert every year.
• Breast self-exam (BSE): BSE is an option for women starting in their 20s. Women should report any changes in how their breasts look or feel to their health professional right away.

Hello blog readers, Welcome to Joliet Assisted Living dot com, The Timbers of Shorewood’s blog for senior care. We’ll be blogging about a number of different senior related topics in the future.

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Here is a little info about us:

The Timbers of Shorewood is an independent and assisted living rental retirement community located in Will County’s peaceful Shorewood, Illinois, just minutes from Joliet and Plainfield, and 45 minutes Southwest of downtown Chicago.

The Timbers began with the vision of two friends who wanted to create active retirement living in a community that would stand apart from others in both service and spirit. That vision and their experience of more than thirty years with senior communities served as the foundation in developing The Timbers of Shorewood, an exceptional senior community in an ideal setting.

The Timbers put out the welcome mat in 2002 and became not only an affable (and affordable) home for seniors but a great resource to Shorewood and surrounding towns such as Plainfield, Minooka, Channahon and Joliet. Timbers’ events and activities draw people of all ages. The large scale ballroom is frequently alive with “the sound of music” at monthly ballroom dances for residents and the public. The Timbers, an industry leader, provides unsurpassed services, amenities and programs.

The original vision continues to this day as The Timbers is still owned and operated by the same two men who created it. They remain involved and committed to excellence. Their strong support to the management staff ensures that The Timbers continues its legacy of distinction.