by Dorian Martin
May 2nd, 2012 at 10:22 am
I first heard the term “palliative care” when my brother was caring for his wife, who had lung cancer. My brother thought that this type of care was very beneficial for his wife during her final days so I thought it would be helpful to learn more and share it with you.
So what is palliative care? According to GetPalliativeCare.org, this type of care “is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It is focused on providing patients with relief from the symptoms, pain, and stress of a serious illness — whatever the diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the patient and the family.”
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Posted in Caregiving | No Comments »
Tags: Caregiving | Palliative Care
by Dorian Martin
April 27th, 2012 at 12:10 pm
I recently visited a friend whose mother-in-law was placed in a wound treatment facility. While the medical staff focused on treating the wound, my friend was increasingly worried about her mother-in-law’s mental state. For instance, the mother-in-law called 911 several times while at the facility because she was confused about where she was. She also experienced paranoia and may have had hallucinations.
I saw some similar reactions with my own mother when she was hospitalized. I found Mom to be very wary, not sure what was going on around her. Furthermore, she experienced some mental decline when she was released from the hospital, although she generally rebounded.
Posted in Caregiving, Dementia | No Comments »
Tags: Cognitive Function | Hospitalizations
by Dorian Martin
April 24th, 2012 at 3:12 pm
In the past few months, the US has experienced an active tornado season. Once recently touched down in Arlington, Texas, damaging a nursing home. Having regularly visited my mother when she lived in a similar situation, I was terrified about the fate of the residents. Fortunately, everyone was fine when the “all clear” was sounded.
However, there is cause for worry. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) just released a study that assessed emergency preparedness and responsiveness of Medicare- and Medicaid-certified nursing homes that experienced disasters from 2007-2010. This report was a follow-up to a 2006 report that found that emergency plans were lacking for nursing homes that were in hurricanes.
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Posted in Nursing Home | No Comments »
Tags: nursing homes
by Dorian Martin
April 17th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
About six years ago, Dad and I went on a trip to visit relatives. In order to save money, we decided to stay at a hotel that offered suites so we wouldn’t need two separate rooms. That night, I ended up on the couch while Dad claimed the bed. It wasn’t a very restful night for me. I don’t know which was worse — the hide-a-bed’s really bad springs or my 80-year-old father’s loud snoring. When we returned home, I pleaded with Dad to see a sleep doctor, who diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea.
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Posted in Caregiving | No Comments »
Tags: Sleep Apnea
by Dorian Martin
March 23rd, 2012 at 1:03 pm
It’s never too late to start exercising. And seniors may want to embrace physical activity in order to maintain their mental capacity (as well as their physical health). Here’s the reason — a new study published in the February edition of Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise found that those who achieved at least a medium state of fitness were less likely to die from a dementia-related death.
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Posted in Dementia, Exercise | 3 Comments »
Tags: Dementia | Exercise
