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By Bill January 5th, 2012
Hand Surgery
Carol had hand surgery today. She has been bothered by pain in her right hand for about ten years, so she finally mentioned it to her doctor. The doc got some x-rays, said there is some arthritis in her wrist that was bone to bone, and surgery will fix it.
So, today after about four hours at a surgery center Carol is home with her hand and arm in a cast with a prescription for some pain medication. All is well so far. So what’s the big deal? Something doesn’t work too well anymore, so get it fixed. That is what we do as we get older. I am doing it as well. I’m sitting here with my titanium knee. My friend has a titanium knee as well, and his …
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By Carol October 18th, 2011
A few days ago Bill and I attended a lecture sponsored by our local aging in place Village, Washington Park Cares. Jennie Creasey from Jewish Family Services in Denver spoke on Reframing Independence as We Age. We discussed the paradoxical idea that asking for help is a key to maintaining independence.
Many of us, caregivers and elders alike, are strangely reluctant to reach out for the kind of help that the Village volunteers across the country provide, such as rides or help in the garden and around the house. The video below courtesy of the Columbia School of Journalism Brave Old World project points out that those who ask for help are providing a service too by giving helpers an opportunity to enrich their own lives through helping.
I had a chance to experience …
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By Bill October 6th, 2011
The Meeting
For most of human history, caregiving of elders took place within the extended family. With migration to cities, elders sometimes had no family to care for them as they aged. The burden often shifted to the state. Poorhouses, old folk’s homes, veteran’s homes, and other institutions were established. Religious organizations also provided care for seniors.
For example, in the late nineteenth century Denver became a center for consumptive relief. Tuberculosis was a major killer and many consumptives came west for the dry air and abundant sunshine. National Jewish Hospital in east Denver was a non-kosher resource for consumptive Jews. Orthodox Jews went to the Jewish Consumptive Relief Society (JCRS) in west Denver. Many church and fraternal organization-related hospitals and nursing homes were also established during this period. A significant charity-based infrastructure …
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By Carol October 4th, 2011
I am excited to realize that we have been publishing Inside Aging Parent Care for a year and a half now. In celebration of this most recent anniversary, here is our very first post:
For many of us, it begins with a phone call. In our case, the call came from my 89 year old father late in the spring of 2008. He had been released from Waterman Hospital after his third bout with pneumonia a few weeks earlier. “I’ve been thinking,” he said, “why am I here when you are there?”
We had often encouraged Dad to consider moving from his home at an assisted living facility in Central Florida to join us in Denver where Bill and I have lived for the past twenty years. Up until now he had always resisted …
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By Bill August 25th, 2011
Electrocardiogram
Today was to be surgery day for Steve, Carol’s son and my stepson. No food since Midnight for surgery scheduled for 3:30 pm. He gets to Pre-OP with his father (Carol and I are still working on the recovery from her surgery). The medicos do their checks, and Steve is having some atrial fibrillation. So, move from Pre-Op to the ER. No surgery today. It looks at this point that the fibrillation is probably stress-related, but no one is saying for sure. More doctors, more tests, and maybe surgery Monday.
The first time Steve went in for surgery it was cancelled because his blood pressure was too high. Months ensued before he could have the surgery. Overall however, he’s doing great and we hope this is just another bump in what is turning …
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