Chicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence – Since 1991 • senior care servicesChicago's Geriatric Care Manager Center of Excellence

Follow Your Gut…You’ve Got No Choice
It was back in the sixties and seventies that so many folks embraced the mantra: “You are what you...
Read more
April 11, 2023
0
0
Long COVID’s Long List of Symptoms
The COVID pandemic is not yet done with us in the United States, and the story certainly is different...
Read more
February 7, 2023
0
0
To Sleep, Perchance to Dream
No, this isn’t a refresher course on Shakespeare and the famous Hamlet soliloquy. (Spoiler Alert – Hamlet was ranting...
Read more
January 2, 2023
0
0
Saying “No” May be the Right Answer
Saying “yes” when someone asks you to do something can be like eating candy. It feels right or good...
Read more
November 15, 2022
0
0
Become a Dementia Detective by “Talking the Talk”
Today we have a guest Post from Christina Padilla, a speech-language pathologist and Certified Dementia Practitioner living and working...
Read more
September 27, 2022
0
0
Diagnosing Alzheimer’s Disease
September is Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, and this is the second of four posts we’ll offer on the subject. A...
Read more
September 13, 2022
0
0
Food Fight
When you hear the word cancer a lot can come to mind such as “cancer survivor,” “living with cancer,”...
Read more
August 23, 2022
0
0
Before or After the Fall
I came across an informative piece in the Washington Post about a week ago, and it brought to light...
Read more
July 26, 2022
0
0
What You Can and Cannot Change About Dementia
Let me start with the short answer to a question we raised in the email announcement of today’s post. ...
Read more
June 21, 2022
0
0
Age and “Long Covid”
There seems to be a cliché for everything, so we’ll start with this go-to for COVID: “We’re not out...
Read more
June 7, 2022
0
0

In the Caregiver's Words

Recent Client Praise

Full Name:*
[text* fullname 75/ id:Full_Name]
Phone Number:
[text phones 75/ id:Phone_Number]
Email:*
[email* emailc 75/ id:Email]
Your Question:
[text question 75/ id:question]
Type the Characters Shown:*

[captchar captcha-220 class:contact-input]
[captchac captcha-220 class:contact-image size:m]

[submit class:ccm-send-btn1 "Get In Touch"]

Personally committed to you and your loved one's well being.

1 New contact form submission received from CreativeCareManagement.com - Roadmap to Alzheimer’s [fullname] <[emailc]> info@creativecasemanagement.com, lynda@llvirtual.com From: [fullname] <[emailc]> Phone: [phones] Message Body: [question] -- This email was sent via the contact form on the Creative Case Management website, http://www.CreativeCaseManagement.com. Your message was sent successfully. Thanks. Failed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method. Validation errors occurred. Please confirm the fields and submit it again. Failed to send your message. Please try later or contact the administrator by another method. Please accept the terms to proceed. Please fill the required field. The field is too long. The field is too short. Date format seems invalid. This date is too early. This date is too late. Failed to upload file. This file type is not allowed. This file is too large. Failed to upload file. Error occurred. Number format seems invalid. This number is too small. This number is too large. Your answer is not correct. Your entered code is incorrect. Email address seems invalid. URL seems invalid. Telephone number seems invalid.
I was very pleased this past weekend that my son and his wife invited my husband and me along to look at an apartment they’re considering as their family grows – oh, and did I mention that we learned just this past weekend that we are expecting our first grandchild?
But this is not about that. As we were wrapping up our tour of the rowhouse apartment, two Viet Nam era gentlemen (their hats told that story) were stepping out of the adjacent front door and greeted us. Well, it wasn’t so much a greeting as the beginning of a “getting to know you” conversation. They both pointed out where they lived on the block and the on-street parking challenges and how long they had lived there. They shared their inside jokes, and I am fairly certain they had each heard one another’s material before. They discussed their military service, and one of them stepped back inside his home to bring out his purple heart to help tell that story. All in all a very pleasant introduction to their neighborhood, and it also was a perfect summation about what researchers who study aging have told us for years. The two most important elements for older individuals are respect and inclusion. These gentlemen’s quick responses to the potentially new neighbors and their subsequent conversation certainly underscored the inclusion part of the equation. They further engaged us with stories of their pasts as well as the history of the neighborhood. They included us and we reciprocated which made for a fulfilling few moments for them as well as for my son and his wife – success. The respect certainly was already present, but the gentleman who ducked back into his home to retrieve his purple heart elicited both respect and awe. No matter one’s opinions of the Viet Nam involvement, this man had earned respect from the four of us and more. The Sunday lessons also encourage more proactivity, I think. Inclusion. As we all approach life in the “new normal” and begin to get out and about again, are we also including our older loved ones? You may not invite your older loved one to climb a mountain with you, but you can share a stroll and even the pictures you bring back from the mountain. Respect. We all work hard to achieve the goals we set for ourselves when young, but older adults crave respect even more. As much as I don’t view myself as an “elder” in the classic sense, I do know my son wasn’t just bringing me along for the ride to his potential new residence. He was showing me he valued my opinion…respect. It's not too late for New Year’s Resolutions, is it? Be it resolved that you show one more example of respect and one of inclusion with your older loved ones each week. Charlotte Bishop is a Caregiver Coach, an Aging Life Care Advisor, a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.
As geriatric care consultants, we always tell our clients that caregivers and the loved ones for whom they care can both work on and benefit from working toward healthier brains. We are what we exercise. Okay, we have all heard that we are what we eat, but there is a growing body of medical literature that points to exercise for seniors as being a critical element in maintaining a healthy and vibrant brain as well. We all see that the aging process takes an inevitable toll on most parts of the body, but mental decline is not inevitable. Now, the brain is not a muscle, but as with the biceps or triceps and the rest of the muscles in the body, the brain actually does shrink a bit with the cumulative effect of birthdays. But your brain does not have to lose its edge if you keep flooding it with oxygen rich blood such as comes from aerobic exercise. Increased blood flow is not a car wash for the brain; it is a nutritional floodgate that brings oxygen and all the other enriching elements of your blood to feed the brain. And exercise increases the flow. But can exercise really have an impact on staving off decline or enhancing neural health? A researcher named Dr. John Medina of the University of Washington School of Medicine cites data which show that regular exercise reduces the risk of Alzheimer's by fifty percent and the risk of other dementias by as much as sixty percent. It is not just the blood flow, but when the blood flow to the brain increases sufficiently, it triggers the release of brain food called "brain-derived neurotropic factor." This particular chemical stimulates the growth of new neurons in the part of the brain involved in memory, decision-making, planning and learning. It also helps repair damaged cells in the brain. The good news is that you do not have to be an Olympian to get the benefit of exercise to your brain. Anything you can do that increases your heart rate for some relatively modest amount of time will make for your healthier brain. If you can devote just thirty minutes a day five days a week to walking aggressively or whatever aerobic effort you prefer you will get the brain benefit. Remember all the usual cautions of warming up and cooling down with your exercise. When it comes to exercise for seniors, there are alternatives to brisk walks like swimming, machine assists like elliptical machines or bikes for those with knee or joint issues and more. Make it a priority for your daily schedule. And the real bonus is that while you are getting the brain benefit, you also may be able to drop some weight which will be great for your heart and your ego. Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are advocates, resources, geriatric care consultants and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.
I’ve posted a lot over the years on the factors that affect aging…and aging well so that when you are caregiving you know about what else may be going on with your older loved one. I have talked about diet and lifestyle, hereditary factors and even how to make home better support an older loved who ages in place. And I have shared what works against men to shorten their life span and add to what can affect their health in general as they age. Race is also one of those factors that in and of itself impacts how long and how well a person will live. The American Psychological Association has recently released some invaluable insights into how to address racial disparities in health and well-being … particularly among older people of color, and it could not be more timely. There are more than four million African Americans, and one of them could be your mom, dad or older loved one, friend or neighbor. And some of what negatively impacts their health is simply being African American. The American Psychological Association suggests some steps we all can take as we support or interact with our older African American loved ones:
- Show empathy – this is different from sympathy; empathy requires a lot more listening and being prepared to not “get” where someone is coming from, but to listen just the same;
- Support their spirit – find out what centers the older loved one … nourishes their spirit and you may be amazed at the strength spirituality provides them; again, listen;
- Steer Clear of Triggers – as much as we may all have been disturbed by the present news cycle, this past week’s news coverage will be profoundly distressing for anyone who has “grown up with racism;” again, listen;
- Get informed – appreciate that your own cultural tapestry comes from growing up differently; find forums and information that can help enlighten you about the culture as well as unique health needs or older people of color; again, listen;
- Celebrate and advocate – the more you learn, the more impressed you will be of the African American heroes and leaders who truly embody the concept of “self-made”; again, listen.
Okay, I have used the word listen a great deal here. I would be very interested in what you hear and what you learn. Please send me an email (click here) or call our toll free number (855.455.5118 ext 511) to share your story. And if you want more insight, please click through to the American Psychological Association’s advice as well as additional resources (click here). Charlotte Bishop is an Aging Life Care Advisor, Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. She also is the co-author of How Do I Know You? A Caregiver’s Lifesaver for Dealing with Dementia.
April is Parkinson's Awareness Month, and I thought it might be helpful to share some of the facts on this chronic and degenerative disease as well as dispel some misunderstandings. About a million people currently live with Parkinson's in the United States and another 6 to 9 million people throughout the rest of the world also manifest the condition.
1. While the one million may not seem like such a large number, it is more than all of the people who manifest muscular sclerosis, muscular dystrophy and ALS (or Lou Gehrig's disease) combined.
2. Parkinson's is most noted for its movement disorders, but as a degenerative disease, it can start out almost undetected as gastrointestinal, olfactory or sleep issues.
3. Men are more likely to develop Parkinson's than women. The relative incidence of Parkinson's increases with age, but about four percent of cases annually reported are among patients under the age of 50. Michael J Fox may be the most noted example of a young Parkinson's patient having been diagnosed when he was only 30 years old.
4. The overwhelming number of Parkinson's cases are not genetically linked, but there is a slightly greater percentage - about four to nine percent greater - of Parkinson's patients who have had Parkinson's in their families.
5. While the movement disorders that are the hallmark of Parkinson's are quite stark, there really is no standard test to diagnose the disease. Neurologists who are trained in movement disorders typically start by ruling out other conditions before coming to a diagnosis of PD.
6. There is no cure for Parkinson's but there are a number of medical treatments that help replace the dopamine the brain is no longer making as neurons die off as well as address the more severe of the stiffness or other movement disorders.
7. There has been a good deal of funding for research into Parkinson's Disease and other movement disorders, but there is not yet a cure. Sadly, the limiting factor to finding more effective treatments or a cure is that there are not enough patients volunteering for the clinical trials required to test these new options. To learn of the trial opportunities, go to: www.PDtrials.org. To learn what you can do to help the cause, go to: www.pdf.org/en/clinical_trial_inv.
Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Case Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to ccbishop@creativecasemanagement.com.
New research recently reported sheds some light on what we need to know about Alzheimer's as well as what we may not want to know. Please allow me to explain. You likely have heard of some of the genetic advances that now allow labs to identify certain individuals who are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease (AD) based on the apolipoprotein E ( APOE) ε4 allele risk factor for AD. Very simply, those who have this gene are at a higher risk of developing late-onset Alzheimer's, but how this happens is not yet fully understood. Scientists conducted a study among people with this genetic expression by dividing the individuals into two groups based simply upon whether they knew they had the gene or not. All individuals had the gene expression, so if they were randomly divided into groups one would expect that any person would have the same chance of having cognitive problems as any other individual. What the scientists found was quite remarkable. These study subjects were asked to rate their own memory performance and mental processing on a number of tests. Their actual performance was also quantified by the scientists. At the end of the testing, those people who knew they had the gene performed the same as those who did not know on the objective tests. When they scored themselves, however, those who knew they had the gene did worse than those who were unaware they had the gene. So, a person has to ask whether they will be better off knowing that they have a predisposition to AD or not? In a more upbeat bit of clinical research among Alzheimer's patients scientists offer a glimmer of hope for even those who may be predisposed to AD. It is a federally funded study and the largest and longest duration study of this type. Over a period of five to six weeks the experimental subjects were exposed to a number of hour long sessions in either reasoning, memory or processing speed, cognitive abilities that often decline as individuals age. All individuals were tested for cognitive ability at intervals up to five years from their initial training, and those who had been trained did better than those without the training. Even ten years out, there was a positive difference between the two groups, but the trained group did tend to decline somewhat from where they had been. So, if you are a caregiver to an older loved one, you may have one question along with one certainty. First, do you want them to have the test if knowing can be its own down side? Second, you should know that you want to encourage them to be socially active and intellectually challenged. Charlotte Bishop is a Geriatric Care Manager and founder of Creative Care Management, certified professionals who are geriatric advocates, resources, counselors and friends to older adults and their families in metropolitan Chicago. Please email your questions to info@creativecaremanagement.com.