Category Archives: Wellness

Heart Attack at 25: The Struggle of Getting Better

Written on January 29, 2013 by homewatchcaregivers in Guest Blogs, Wellness

Guest Blog by Jeffrey Wolf, Content Writer for Homewatch International, Inc.

I was the youngest person there by at least 20 years, possibly by 40 – that’s what the nurses told me my third day in. At 25, I was among the youngest adult patients admitted to the cardiac wing of the hospital in a long time. A man in his 20s shouldn’t need cardiac care and shouldn’t have a heart attack. For several days, the doctors even danced around the term “heart attack,” saying they needed more tests to be sure.

But yes, I’d had a heart attack while lying on my bed reading the latest “Harry Potter” novel. I wasn’t your typical cardiac patient. I wasn’t an 80-year-old man in need of elder care, I wasn’t morbidly obese (although I was overweight), I didn’t have high blood pressure, and I didn’t smoke or take recreational drugs. My heart attack happened because I had a very rare illness as a baby called Kawasaki disease. I believe I was the 47th case in the country. In 50 percent of patients, Kawasaki causes cardiac problems later in life. So by the flip of a coin, my heart suddenly sped up on a July afternoon and I finished the new Harry Potter book that night in a hospital bed.

While I am decades younger than other cardiac patients, many things are the same. I take many of the same medications and I have an internal cardiac defibrillator (ICD) in my chest. The medications and my condition mean I have to eat a different diet. The blood thinners mean I can’t have too much vitamin K – the vitamin found in green, leafy vegetables. While I can eat asparagus, broccoli and spinach, I can’t overdo it. If I do, I get a splitting headache. It could also cause uncontrolled bleeding or even a stroke. It’s the same with alcohol, because that also manipulates what blood thinners do. While I miss having a drink with friends, the headache isn’t worth the booze.

Additionally, I have four stents in my heart. These little lattice-work cylinders keep an artery open and blood flowing properly. The blood thinners ensure the red blood cells don’t get caught and cause a blockage. I also take blood pressure medication, so I have to avoid foods high in salt. One of my favorite things to eat in the world is chips and salsa. But I don’t buy chips anymore because of the sodium. I sometimes indulge myself at Mexican restaurants, but I avoid the chip aisle at the grocery store.

When I got out of the hospital I went through cardiac rehab for several weeks. I wasn’t allowed to drive during that time, so friends and family drove me there three or four times a week. One time I took the bus. Several of the others in cardiac rehab also took public transportation, but I could tell it put stress on them. At the start of each class, old men surrounded me as technicians hooked up heart monitors to our chests. Then we’d exercise while they monitored us. Some of the men struggled and could barely go above a shuffle as we all built up our stamina. It wasn’t just the old men who had trouble. A heart attack, like any sort of heart disease, drains you. For weeks afterward I got tired very easily.

As we walked on our treadmills, the techs played videos about cardiac health, showing us what to do if something went wrong. Have nitroglycerin ready; make sure you take all your medications; eat well and exercise. It was stuff you always hear on TV, but now I was just like these old men, a very depressing realization. I found myself dwelling on the things I couldn’t do any more and the new limitations on my life because my body failed me. It didn’t help that some of the men in the class were on their second or even third time around. Is this what lay in store for me? I was only 25, not 85.

When you feel this way, you want to rely on friends and family, but the heart attack hurts them as well. My parents were fits of worry – my mom paced when I was around and my father couldn’t sleep. My friends shrugged awkwardly and didn’t know what to say. Many people around me treated me like glass.

I eventually got out of my funk and I am very happy now. The medications help keep me healthy and I exercise daily. But I still think about the old men who walked beside me on the treadmills. I was a young man and my friends weren’t 85 and sick like me. My family hadn’t moved out of town. What’s it like for the older heart patients who don’t have that type of support system? Now that I work for Homewatch CareGivers, I know that we can create a circle of support for those older people so they don’t have to recover alone.

A heart attack doesn’t stop when they stabilize your heartbeat in the emergency room. You always remember it and it changes how you live. You have a scar on your chest and a pill case in your pocket. You feel lonely, even if you have friends and family around who can help. But what if you don’t have that? It’s important to know there are trained caregivers who can help, giving you what you don’t even know you need. Seven years ago, my life changed on a Saturday in July when all I wanted to do was read how Harry Potter overcame his next challenge. It changes for heart patients every day, but it’s not something you have to face alone.

Jeffrey Wolf is the Content Writer for Homewatch International, Inc. in Denver, Colorado.

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Donating Blood: The Habit of Helping People

Written on December 21, 2012 by homewatchcaregivers in Wellness

For Christine Orr, it’s more than a habit. She’s done it for 37 years without being paid for it once. The most she gets is a drink and some cookies when she’s done, but she always leaves feeling good. She says she’s done something very special and it gives her a warm fuzzy feeling.

“To me, it’s a badge of honor,” she said. “Donating blood can be the best thing you can ever do for anybody, including yourself. It’s an experience that everyone should try. It’s like everyone should own a Volkswagen at least once in their life.”

Chris likes to donate blood (or plasma and platelets) every other week at the Bonfils Blood Center in Denver. She’s a United Airlines flight attendant and wants to reach her 60th gallon when she turns 60 in another year and a half. Since she began in 1976, she’s donated 448 pints of blood.

“They figure I’ve helped over 1,200 people, give or take one or two. I just know my blood is going to go somewhere where it’s needed,” she said.

January is Blood Donor Month and it brings attention to this much needed and easy-to-do service, even for older people. There is no age limit to donating blood – anyone who is healthy can do it. While there are certain conditions that keep people from being able to donate, most people can still donate safely. Often if they cannot donate “whole blood,” they can still donate plasma, platelets or white blood cells. People are allowed to donate up to 24 times a year, but must wait 56 days in between donations of whole blood.

When arriving at a blood donation center, people usually have to fill out a form that will tell the tech if the potential donor is eligible. Here are Bonfils’ pre-screening questions: http://bit.ly/Wjuny8. The questions help ensure the safety and quality of the blood supply. Certain medications and conditions affect blood in different ways. People exposed to possible infections or with other health conditions, like the chronic conditions that need elder home care services, aren’t able to donate, but that may not last forever.

While Chris was traveling in India, she was kidnapped and when she returned Bonfils told her she could not donate for a year.

“I was so upset. I didn’t even care about the kidnapping. I’d been donating for 20 years and if that ever happens again that I can’t donate, it is going to be tough. I’m just hoping that there’s never going to be that day,” she said.

Anyone with questions about their health before donating can also speak with a doctor ahead of time. Bonfils’ representatives can also answer many questions. Donating blood can also tell a person a great deal about their health. All the blood is tested before it is given to someone else.

“It made me think about my own health, to keep in shape, get my rest and try and eat better,” Chris said. “I love to ride my bicycle and I love to ski. Donating blood has been an eye opener to me to stay healthy. I just had a knee replacement and I couldn’t donate for a couple of months, but I’m back at it and I’m going to keep doing it as long as I can.”

While Chris usually doesn’t know where her blood goes or who it helps, she did get to meet one of her recipients several years ago. The family of the little boy getting the blood found out when she was going to be at the donation center and came to meet her.

“I was hooked up to a machine and it was pretty exciting. They could see who I was and they just wanted to say thank you. I was very touched because it just doesn’t happen that often,” she said.

Chris doesn’t necessarily need to know who she is helping – just that she is helping someone. That is why she thinks everyone should try it at least once.

“It’s a great feeling. I think that’s why I do it,” she said. “I always walk out feeling good that I’ve done something really special and kind of personal.”

To learn more about Bonfils, visit http://www.bonfils.org/. The American Red Cross also collects blood. To find a blood donation center in your area, visit http://www.redcrossblood.org/donating-blood.

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Stranded: Prenatal Home Care When the Doctor Puts You on Bedrest

Written on March 14, 2012 by homewatchcaregivers in Caregiving Advice, Wellness

After nine weeks of bedrest during her first pregnancy, Jennifer Spencer’s only regret is that she did not ask for more help.

“It was not at all how I imagined it,” Ms. Spencer said two months after her son was born. “It was hard to ask for help. It just feels weird when I’m used to doing everything.”

There are many reasons that women are advised by their doctor or other health care professional to rest and even stay horizontal for the late stages of their pregnancy. When this happens, many women are like Ms. Spencer and at first think they will simply work from home or knit baby booties.

“It was hard to ask for help because a lot of my friends that live nearby have young children or are also pregnant,” she said. “People are busy and I’m home alone and bored at 2:00 p.m. on a weekday and can’t just ask them to stop by and scoop out the cat’s litterbox or wash the dishes.”

This is the reality of maternity bedrest that inspired Darline Turner-Lee to found Mamas on Bedrest & Beyond.

“The thing I found is that people treat it like it’s a vacation, and it’s really not,” Ms. Turner-Lee said. “Your life just gets suspended in an instant. All of a sudden you have to figure out, who is going to walk my child to school? Who is going to walk the dog? Who is going to grocery shop? Who is going to do the laundry? There are so many little things.”

Ms. Turner-Lee spent time on bedrest herself and understands where women are coming from, but still can be mystified when a woman refuses offers of help. “I had a neighbor whose daughter’s class was right across the hall from my own child’s and she said, “No.” when I offered to walk her daughter to school with my own kids,” she said. “Don’t be too proud, ask for help! You can and you must because the life of your baby may really depend on you staying in bed.”

Sometimes when it seems there is no one to ask for help during a time of prenatal bed rest, women can look into hiring professionals, such Homewatch CareGivers. Even though Ms. Spencer had her husband there to make her breakfast and set up a cooler with lunch and drinks to get her through his workday, she still needed more assistance. If a doctor’s order limits activities or requires the client to be on bed-rest, Homewatch CareGivers can help manage the day-to-day tasks around the home, assist with activities of daily living, plan and prepare healthy meals.

Beyond the chores and working from home, women cannot literally sit still on the couch or bed for weeks on end. “What I would have really liked, because it hurts to lay on the couch all the time, was to get a pedicure or a massage,” said Ms. Spencer.

Ms. Turner-Lee recommends that women do get massages while on bed rest and ask their doctors if there is some safe exercise they can do. She has created a DVD of modified prenatal exercises for women on bedrest.

“I think a lot of people get wrapped up in the bedrest itself and ruminate on it,” she said. “It is not a fun diagnosis and it is stressful. But I tell women to use the time for planning for the baby–research childcare or music lessons–and also for themselves. Maybe they realize they don’t want to go back to their job so they can look into starting a business or freelance work, or can look into breastfeeding or pumping policies at their job.”

There are many books to read on the topic of bed rest, including the highly recommended “Days in Waiting: A Guide to Surviving Pregnancy Bedrest” by Mary Ann McCann. This book includes a chapter by her husband with advice for partners and spouses and tips from a physical therapist on how to stay physically and mentally healthy during the challenge of bedrest.

“It’s a very sudden and alienating feeling,” said Ms. Spencer of being put on maternity bedrest. “If all you need is help, get over it and ask.”

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Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Degenerative Eye Disease

Written on October 3, 2011 by homewatchcaregivers in Caregiving Advice, Research and News, Wellness

Degenerative eye disease affects millions of people worldwide, and the numbers are continually growing. One out of six adults age 45 and older will be affected by some type of sight-threatening vision problem. The most common of these eye diseases are macular degeneration, cataracts and glaucoma. Although the causes and progression of these diseases have many factors, a healthy lifestyle encouraged by family caregivers may contribute most to maintaining healthy vision.

Macular Degeneration

Macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in Americans 65 years of age and older. The center of the retina, called the macula, breaks down, causing a gradual or sudden loss of vision. Macular degeneration is classified as either dry or wet. About 90 percent of patients have the dry form, which may result from the aging and thinning of macular tissues, depositing of pigment in the macula or a combination of the two. The wet form occurs when new blood vessels grow beneath the retina, leaking blood and fluid. The leakage causes retinal cells to die and creates blind spots in central vision. Early signs of macular degeneration are gradual, painless and include: visual hallucinations, straight lines appearing wavy, fuzzy vision and shadowy areas in central vision.

In time, a person with macular degeneration may find it difficult or impossible to read, drive or recognize familiar faces. If a loved one is experiencing any of the signs or symptoms listed above, it’s important to seek professional help. There are new treatments that may help to slow or stop the progression of the disease. When vision loss is experienced, low vision aids can improve eye function and quality of life.

It’s important (and simple) to take steps to prevent macular degeneration. After considering other risk factors, a study of 4000 people ages 43-86 were found to be 70 percent less likely to have or develop macular degeneration if they led a healthy lifestyle, including a healthy diet, plenty of exercise and not smoking.

Individuals who smoke are up to four times more likely to have macular degeneration than non-smokers — quitting will decrease your chance of eye disease and many other health complications.

One study found that people who consumed the most vegetables rich in carotenoids had a 43 percent lower risk of developing macular degeneration than those who ate less of these foods. Maintaining a diet rich in antioxidants, such as lutein, vitamins C and E, zinc and copper can help decrease the likelihood of an eye disease.

It’s also important to eat fish or take a fish oil supplement. A recent study showed that senior men with the highest levels of fish consumption were 45 percent less likely to have macular degeneration and vision problems than those who didn’t consume fish. Another study found that participants who ate fish at least once a week were 40 percent less likely to have beginning-stage macular degeneration develop than those who reported eating fish less than once a month or never. The recommended amount is 500 mg/day of DHA/EPA essential fatty acids.

Glaucoma

Glaucoma classifies a group of vision diseases that can damage the eye’s optic nerve, resulting in vision loss and blindness. The pressure inside of the eye is similar to our blood pressure; there is a “normal” range, but when the pressure becomes higher, it can damage the photoreceptors we use for sight. Although glaucoma affects people of all ages, people 40 years of age and older have an increased risk of being affected. Other risk factors include hypertension, diabetes, lack of exercise and heredity.

It’s estimated that 4 million people in the U.S. have glaucoma, and about half may not even know they’re affected, as the early stages often have no signs or symptoms. This is a dangerous statistic, as the vision loss caused by glaucoma is irreversible. The testing for glaucoma is a standard part of an annual eye examination, so it’s important to make it to the eye doctor each year. If diagnosed, prescription eye drops are the most common treatment, but surgical intervention is sometimes necessary.

A healthy lifestyle can do wonders for preventing glaucoma. Researchers in Oregon have shown that aerobic conditioning can lower pressure in and increase blood flow to the eye, and a further, transient lowering occurs on an acute basis with exercise. If you are part of any high-risk groups for glaucoma, be sure to take care of your condition — being in control of health problems can lower the risk of development. Although there is no proof (yet), there’s increasing evidence that points to high doses of antioxidants benefiting some patients with glaucoma.

Cataracts

The natural lens inside our eye is the clearest at birth. With age and exposure to environmental elements, protein can clump together and begin to cloud, blocking the light that passes through. This creates a cataract, which may grow larger and cloud more of the lens over time, significantly impairing vision. Symptoms include cloudy or blurry vision, colors seeming faded, glare (headlights, lamps or sunlight may appear too bright, and a halo may appear around lights), poor night vision, double vision or multiple images in one eye, and frequent prescription changes in contacts or eyeglasses.

By age 65, about half of the human population has a cataract, and by age 75, almost everyone has a cataract. However, cataracts are highly treatable, and through advances in both cataract surgery and lens implants, more people are experiencing full restoration of lost vision than ever before. It is the most frequently performed surgery in the U.S., and will continue to benefit the older (and increasingly active population). Unlike macular degeneration and glaucoma, cataracts are “cured” by having surgery and will not recur later in life.

Many studies suggest that exposure to UV light is associated with cataract development. Wearing sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat while outdoors will reduce your exposure. Other external risk factors include cigarette smoke and air pollution.

Researchers also believe that good nutrition help reduce the risk for developing cataracts. A diet full of green, leafy vegetables, fruit and other foods high in antioxidants can help. Stay away from diets high in salt, and avoid heavy alcohol consumption.

If symptoms of cataracts appear, it’s best to visit an eye care professional. Being prescribed new glasses, strong bifocals, or using other visual aids can help. The doctor and patient can decide together when the time is right for cataract surgery.

As with most health problems, less risk of development is present alongside better overall health. Regular exercise, not smoking, wearing sun protection and eating healthily are the best things one can do for overall health and healthy vision. Just as routine doctor visits are important, so are annual eye check-ups — even if you don’t notice a change in vision. The American Academies of Optometry and Ophthalmology both advise an annual examination for those 60 years of age and older.

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The Walk to End Alzheimer’s

Written on September 26, 2011 by homewatchcaregivers in Guest Blogs, Homewatch CareGivers News, Wellness

Every year the Alzheimer’s Association draws national attention to its cause to end Alzheimer’s disease with the national Walk to End Alzheimer’s fundraiser. And Homewatch CareGivers is there every step of the way with a team of people to participate.

Carla Tressell, a software administrator who works at Homewatch International in Denver, did her third walk this year. Ms. Tressel’s own mother is afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease so it is a very personal and moving experience for her to be part of the walk.

“It was a beautiful sunny day,” she said of the Saturday in September when the walk was held in Denver’s City Park. “We were each given a pinwheel flower, with the different colors representing our relationship to Alzheimer’s disease—if we are caring for someone with Alzheimer’s disease, if we had lost someone to Alzheimer’s disease, and so on.”

Ms. Tressel said it was a special moment when an estimated 6,000 people simultaneously raised the purple, orange, blue and yellow pinwheel flowers. “As we were beginning the walk, the flower expressed how each were affected by Alzheimer’s,” she said. “Then when we all held up our flowers it was a beautiful garden of everybody supporting the fight against the disease.”

Despite dealing with her mother’s diagnosis of the disease (“She kept repeating the same phrases over and over again,” she said of her family’s realization of Alzheimer’s disease.), Ms. Tressel found the 3.1-mile walk to be a happy experience.

“I felt that the mood was really upbeat,” she said. “There were a lot of people who care who came out to show their support. Even if there is no cure, hopefully future generations will be able to detect it earlier and slow down the progression of the disease.”

Ms. Tressel has since put her pinwheel flower in her garden as a reminder of that walk. “I remember the purpose of it,” she said. “It makes me think of Alzheimer’s even more each time I see it.”

National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month is just around the corner in November. The purpose of a month devoted to this disease, which is sixth leading cause of death in the nation, is to raise awareness and funding for research.

The Alzheimer’s Foundation of America has created a National Memory Screening Day during November to coincide with National Alzheimer’s Awareness Month. “On one day we collaborate with hundreds of sites across the country to create one concentrated day with extreme focus on raising awareness of memory problems,” said Carol Steinberg, executive vice president of the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. “We have expanded it because of increased demand.”

Homewatch CareGivers participates in National Memory Screening Day and offers the free, non-invasive tests at various locations.

“The tests are for people who have a family history of Alzheimer’s disease,” Ms. Steinberg said. “They are modeled after diabetes or blood pressure screenings. Most of our audience is older adults, but unfortunately there are people in their 30s and 40s who can develop Alzheimer’s disease.”

Memory screenings and fundraising walks are just a couple examples of the many resources available to people whose lives are affected by Alzheimer’s disease.

The Alzheimer’s Association website provides everything from personal stories to the latest research news on the disease.

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