Not Just A Job

It is with profound gratitude flowing from my heart that I honour those people who work in health care for the love of caring for others. Specifically, men and women engaging in caring for the aging population.

One day last Spring I met a guy named Andy who owns his own office janitorial company and normally works at night.  He explained to me that he likes to visit with seniors and so he has kept an on-call position at a nursing home so that he can still work with people who remind him of his grandparents.

The seniors facilities in my city are full of people with similar stories, the only difference is that they work full time and not just once in a while like Andy.  The common link between janitor and care aid is the love for the residents. This was obvious last week when I brought my father back to the care home where he lives.  Dad had been away for several weeks in hospital and when I returned him to the same room they had held for him since his emergency departure, he received a hero's welcome!  From the lady who works in the laundry, to the cleaning staff, the care aids, the RNs, the activity workers, right up to the top brass, Dad was greeted with such love and genuine care that my heart sang.  My father was a bit overwhelmed --but in a good way--and quickly felt at ease even though he could barely remember staying there prior to the hospital stay.

As one of my former clients stated "Everyone knows the monkey, but the monkey knows no one". A very apt description when you think of a zoo with everyone peering in the primate house and getting super excited by what they see.  That's kind of how Dad must have felt, but the good thing is, he's not in a cage and it doesn't matter that he couldn't remember the names of the employees. The main thing is that they remembered him and were happy to see him come "home".

My family and I are so fortunate to have our patriarch in a place where he is respected and encouraged  to participate or not participate in the daily programs. If he wants to take a nap, they leave him to it.  If he wants to join in and sing with the music therapist or ring the bells in the bell ringer group, he is welcomed. Bar none though, his favorite activity which he doesn't bow out of is the afternoon ice cream social which happens one afternoon a week.

I can sleep at night knowing my father is in good hands with people who really love their jobs. You can see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices.  I bought a dozen roses and asked that they be placed in the staff room today and included a card that said how much they all are appreciated. Not really enough considering what they do, but a small gesture on my part will let them know that their spirit of service to others is what makes this world a better place.

No more Alzheimer's by 2025!

What a great headline!  Always refreshing to receive optimistic news for a change from the daily paper. It certainly caught my eye because the disease runs in my family.  My father, my grandfather, my great grandmother, uncles, aunts, great uncles, were all plagued with some form of dementia. We call it "the family curse." As a child, I heard it referred to it as "senility".

The term senile refers to losing one's mind.  However, there are more accurate terms which refer to the actual type of senility or dementia. Large strokes and smaller strokes referred to as TIA's (mini strokes), vascular dementia, Lewy Body disease, Alzheimer's are a few causes of dementia.

Fortunately, great strides are being made with researchers honing in on certain genes and identifying  those genes that are most likely to cause plaque on the brain. Recently, some scientists in Iceland took that gene research even farther and  discovered a gene that fortunate folks ( 1 in 100,000)  have, which deters Alzheimer's.  These are the people who will almost certainly not come down with the mind wasting disease.

http://www.wtsp.com/news/article/263580/81/Genetic-mutation-may-protect-against-Alzheimers

Medications are being created and tested that will actually reverse brain plaque and put an end to Alzheimer's Disease.  A medical breakthrough that will change people's lives forever so that families like mine will not have to dread the family curse.

I am not yet in the target range for  participating in research at my local university but in a few years I will be  of that 55 + demographic and will be sure to contact the Centre on Aging at the University of Victoria so they can track my predisposition to memory problems like those of my forefathers.

There are many studies currently being conducted and participants are needed. Some of the requirements are that you are in good health with no history of head injury or stroke in the last year.  If you're interested in what the Centre on Aging is doing right now, go to http://www.coag.uvic.ca/  and click on the "opportunities" tab.

I love sharing positive news with you and being the news junkie that I am you can be sure that there will be more of it in the blogs to come.  Please sign up to be a follower of my blog and you will be notified whenever I post a new entry.  It's easy to do, just click on "subscribe by email" at the bottom of this installment (you should see it near the comments section) or "follow by email" at the side of this installment.
In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying your summer.

  "In the garden of thy heart, plant naught but the rose of love"
~Baha'u'llah