I’ve been thinking quite a bit about Nelson Mandela over the past several days. Since he died last Friday (December 6, 2013), I’ve considered especially the moral courage he demonstrated during his 95 years as well as his ability to work with and lead others even as he aged into his elder (and elder, elder) years … Continue reading
Posted by Marti Weston …
Detached Retina: Another Vitrectomy Treating My PVR
I’ve just returned to the hospital for another surgery on my right eye. My retina condition has a name — proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR) — which basically means that, so far, my retina keeps detaching. When I last reported on my detached retina issues, I explained how oil was placed into my eye to hold the retina in place. … Continue reading
Keeping Elders Out of Hospitals as Much as Possible
Anyone who has spent time with an elder parent in the hospital knows just how easy it is for one problem to be solved only to have the person discharged with different problems. This is not necessarily the fault of the medical caregivers or the hospital itself — it’s a result of a system that … Continue reading
Low Sodium Thanksgiving – Third Year
I am reprising this post from two years ago when I cooked my first low-sodium Thanksgiving dinner — attending to sodium because of my father’s congestive heart failure diet requirements. Most preparations are staying the same, though I am dividing the stuffing this year into two parts. The first half I will prepare in a … Continue reading
A Better Old Age: U Mich Public Health Magazine Theme
The other day when I picked up a copy of Findings, the alumni magazine of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, I discovered that the entire fall 2013 issue focuses on how to age well and improve old age. My husband is a Michigan alumnus, but the magazine is freely available as an … Continue reading
When to Start Social Security?
When we offer any kind of support to aging parents, we learn quite a bit about Social Security along the way. One thing we discover is information about the various retirement ages that qualify for benefit payments. If other adult children are anything like me, they begin to think about their retirement years ahead and … Continue reading
One Person Out of Ten May Develop Diabetes by 2035
Lots of people may want to work at improving their diabetes risk factors if an article from TimeHealthland.com is any indication. The Health and Medical Resources blog excerpts the Time article and also features some extraordinary graphic visualizations (the prevalence of cases in various countries) from the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) Atlas sixth edition. Diabetes has increased across the globe, and it’s no … Continue reading
Uncle Sherman, World War II, and PTSD (Before We Called It That)
It’s Veteran’s Day 2013, when we remember men and women who fight and those who gave up their lives in wars — wars fought largely to maintain democracy and take stands against extreme hate and cruelty. Each year, I think about my Uncle Sherman, because while he did not die fighting, he made an ultimate … Continue reading
A Workplace Counters Ageism – National Institutes of Health
Last Thursday, on the Washington DC Metro, a woman sitting in front of me spoke to a seat mate about ageism, a term first coined by Dr. Robert Butler, the first director of the National Institute of Aging (NIA). As I eavesdropped, the woman on the Metro spoke about comments from younger colleagues, the tendency … Continue reading
Great Green House Homes Article in Mass General Hospital Publication
An in-depth article about the Green House Home model appeared in the Fall 2013 edition of Proto Magazine, a publication of Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston. The article, The New Nursing Home, by Cathryn Delude, describes the Green House model at the Leonard Florence Center for Living in Chelsea, MA. The report also goes … Continue reading
Pets and Patients: Can Pets Help With Healing?
Ever so often a blogger, in this case me, discovers a piece of news that’s old, but so interesting and relevant. When Best Friends Can Visit, appearing in the New York Times New Old Age blog, is just such an article. This report, written by Judith Graham, describes how some hospitals and medical centers have decided … Continue reading
Life Expectancy Growth in the U.S. – Slowing Down
When I read the article Americans Fall Behind in the Getting Older Race at National Public Radio (NPR), I was impressed by the graphics — and how easy they were to understand — so I decided to share one or two of them here at As Our Parents Age, along with more information about the report that … Continue reading
Time for a New iPad for Dad — iPad for Dad #24
It is time to purchase a new iPad for my father. If you have followed this blog for the past several years you know that three years ago we (my husband, my daughter, my son-in-law, and me) purchased an iPad for my father’s birthday. The iPad for Dad project, beginning in May 2010, has been an … Continue reading
Senior Moment or Alzheimer’s?
As the adult children of aging parents most of us are used to hearing friends and colleagues make the “senior moment” comment. Often when a person over 45 or so has difficulty remembering something, he or she will comment, “…oops, I’m having a senior moment.” I began noticing this in my late 40′s and now, … Continue reading
Google Goes Against Aging and Disease
Google wants to commit considerable resources and use them to fight against disease and aging. Check out other blog posts on Google at the end of this post. The mammoth digital company has already revolutionized our lives in countless ways, giving us access to the world of information, news, and communication. Ceding more and more … Continue reading
Scams Aimed at Boomers, Too
Although we worry most about scams aimed at aging parents, adult children need to be sure that they, too, have the wherewithal to avoid victimization. Check out the blog feature Top Scams Targeting Baby Boomers During the Government Shutdown over at EmaxHealth, an independent health news organization. The post, by Kathleen Blanchard, details some of the creative ways that … Continue reading
Aging Does Not Automatically Degrade Decision Making Skills
An aspect of ageism is how many people seem to believe that seniors make poorer decisions as soon as they begin to age. According to a recent study described in a Health Day article at Medline Plus, older adults performed decision-making tasks just as well if not better than younger people. Participants ranged from age 18 … Continue reading
Detached Retina – I’ve Got Oil in My Eye
This post is not a substitute for talking with your physician. Since oil was put into my right eye to hold my retina in place for several months, I’ve been humming an old Sunday School song, “Give Me Oil in My Lamp,” last sung, by me anyway, some time ago. The only difference is that … Continue reading
Wireless: A Primer for the Rest of Us (Including Aging Parents)
When we install wireless access in our homes or in the home of aging parents, it’s common for most of us to use it intensively while understanding few of the details about the equipment and how various components work. We usually know when it’s not working, but that’s about it. Bottom line? We should all learn … Continue reading
Grandfather First Refused Medicare Because of Scare Tactics and Misinformation
It’s funny how changes in health care policy seem to generate anxiety, anger, and all sorts of misinformation in the United States. Well, actually it’s not so funny. How is it that so few people can scare so many others when it comes to keeping many more people healthy? But that describes what has happened … Continue reading
As Our Parents Age So Do We 