Goals and Bucket List for 2017

Highlights of the 2016 year include putting two new raps on YouTube ("While You're Still One" and "Rocket City Ditty"); finishing the dissertation "Finishing Strong With Dementia Caregiving", except I have to defend it; and walking again after breaking both feet in August.

Cast and boot in August

So what are my new goals that 

you all can hold me accountable for?

Technology

• Get a Fire Tablet or borrow an iPad for the Skype defense of my dissertation
• Learn self-checkout at Wal-Mart

Health

• My weight is on a plateau, but I do go to Weight Watchers so I didn't gain back the 40 pounds I have lost. Lose 10 to 15 pounds to add to weight I have kept off.
• Use walker when ice outside so I do not fall again.
• Use the gym at my apartment three times a week.

Spiritual

• 2017 Bible Reading Plan

http://www.bibleclassmaterial.com/BibleReadingSchedule2017forBCM.pdf

• Consistent prayer life. Ask others how can I pray for you. Continue going to my church prayer meetings once a week.
• Encourage others--give them warm fuzzies and only constructive criticism when asked or if wise.
• Visit the residents at the nursing home where I stayed for three weeks. 
• Join the church in Huntsville I am active in.

Intellectual

• Defend dissertation successfully.
• Read more books. 

Recreation/fun

• Visit sights in Alabama and maybe elsewhere. 
• Read novels.
• Find TV shows to enjoy. I really didn't watch TV much as a caregiver for my late husband.
• Wear hats to church often.
• Enjoy Southern culture.

Organizing

• Paper decluttering
• Clothes--get rid go them and only wear what looks good on me
• Kitchen--only keep what I use

Financial

• Consolidate four credit cards for a lower rate and pay off as much as I can this year. Used credit too much during my caregiving years.
• Save
• Use IRA withdrawal for dog Ziggy’s operation, etc.
• No new credit cards

How about you?

Do you have similar goals?

What Excess Weight Did to Kenny

Kenny Sexton , volunteer caregiver neighbor, was interviewed HERE last week. The reason Kenny lived in a nursing home and studied Alzheimer's patients first hand, was that Kenny was very overweight. When I showed him the above graphic, he said he experienced many of the above conditions.  Again we are sitting at the dining room table in our family room with hubby watching TV nearby. Kenny and  I prayed about this interview.

Carol: I am thrilled that you are so willing to be candid in this interview, Kenny. Why are you willing to talk about your 350 pound weight loss and all the health concerns?

Kenny: I do not want others to go through what I have gone through and I am happy to share what I have learned. I take 17 medicines and will continue to have medical problems, even though I lost all that weight. I also had to learn to deal with emotional eating and with gluttony as a sin. I had to learn that food is not me and that God can help me overcome. Most sin gives us attention or something we need.  I needed to practice getting my needs met through my faith.

Carol: Did anyone ever try to talk you into bypass or lapband surgery?

Kenny: Yes at the nursing home, but they told me I had to lose weight before that surgery, and as I lost it I thought I could just continue and not need that surgery.

Carol: What have been the subsequent health issues above that you are dealing with? Let's take them one at a time.

Kenny: Migraines was not the big thing for me, but depression was. Depression was a precurser to over eating, and then the more I ate the more depressed I became.

Carol: Can you identify triggers to depression?

Kenny: I felt worthless and others made me feel worthless. With Christ I have realized that my worth is in Him and God has given me strength to forgive and to overcome the depression. Then I was able to get the help I needed by living in a nursing home and being in a program for two years.

Carol: You told me that some of the conditions above you do not have (migraines, Dyslipemia Hypercholesterolemia, Obstructive Sleep Apnea, GERD, and Gout and of course Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome). But all the others you have and we don't know about mortality on the chart above, as if any of us know when we will enter our restored bodies and be with the LORD. Obviously your quality of life has vastly improved.

Kenny:  Oh yes. Seven years ago I couldn't even walk to my mail box and I was afraid I was going to die. I needed help and the nursing home and Concord Care near Youngstown, Ohio helped me gain my life back. I have kept weight off for five years now.  

Carol: Which of all the conditions above are causing the most difficulty?

Kenny: Definitely Type II Diabetes. No one in my family has had it and it is weight induced.

 

Carol: Explain.

 



Kenny's Leg Cellulites

Kenny: Diabetics take a long time to heal when they have a sore. I have cellulites, an infection of the skin. I go to have my bandages changed by a nurse at least five days (at one point seven days). Twice a month I see a foot doctor. I may loose a toe due to infections. My Venous Stasis Disease is not resolved yet unlike the above graphic. I have my diabetes under control with shots twice a day and pills twice a day, but this will continue as long as I live. I have learned that I can have sweets, but in a moderate lifestyle. I have learned to not do without certain food, but to plan wisely what I eat.

 

Carol: What about liver disease?

 

Kenny: When I first found I had Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease, I was in stage four. Before I had too much amonia in my blood, I would fall asleep and forget things.With medication my liver functioning has gone down to stage one.  At this point I do not believe I need a liver replacement, but will continue to have to take medicine for my liver. A lot of this change is that I watch what I eat and have never had a problem with alcohol even though I have this liver disease.

 

Kenny: I do have COPD (Chronic Pulmonary Disease) and Asthma and yet I have never been a smoker. They say this is from second-hand smoke from my father and four grandparents. Asthma comes along with the COPD. I didn't not have problem with Asthma until I was so heavy. The COPD was diagnosed later.

 

Carol: What conditions have improved since the weight loss?

 

Kenny: Cardiovascular and hypertension, urinary incontinence. Degenerative joint disease I still have, but not as bad because I have less weight. My joints hurt from it, and I hope to lose between 75 and 100 pounds to help with this. The more weight I lose, the less disability I will have. 

Carol: Again, Kenny, I am so grateful that our LORD is now using you with several Alzheimer's patients including my husband. Do you think when you legs clear up you may be able to get off on disability and work in this field.

Kenny: That is my goal. I would like very much to go back to work.

Music Therapy

Here is a helpful link: Music Therapy for Individuals With Alzheimer's and Other Dementias

From Pinterest

Music is the universal language. I am intentionally playing such music for my husband because I understand music is the universal language for our loved ones who happen to have dementia.When we travel in our old gas guzzler car, usually I put music on in the car through the speaker from my five year old iPod. An adapter plugs right into the old cassette slot and connects to that iPod. My husband and I listen to a worship playlist on Sundays on the way to church. The Sunday that I forgot my iPod, we sang hymns all the way to church.

Like Dolores' sweet husband David, DH loves country music. Our friends Sally and Jake have also introduced us to Blue Grass music.  I love playing our piano and need to do that sometimes also so I introduce this into our routine. That is, when my carpel tunnel wrists are better. Too much computer, folks, but I am using MSM from the health food store and wearing braces on my wrists at night.

There is actually an iPod drive for old iPods to benefit Alzheimer's patients. See here. Many people have those lying around because they have smart phones now. I have resisted getting an iPhone and even stopped texting to save expenses and to save my carpel tunnel wrists.

Even though my wrists are hurting these days, my legs are not. This will be the third fall that I am walking in the Alzheimer's Association event. So is Sally and I need to start raising money. Our husbands will hang out while we walk.

What I'm Learning About Senior Health, Part Two

I wrote about senior health in Part One below. Here are some more tips I am getting. If it is in red, click on it.

Coffee is okay for us--no more than three cups according to Dr. Oz.

Here is a link for Vitamin D  which is being studied. We take it.

Another link for Cocoa and chocolate.   which may be good for dementia patients and all of us!  Studies show a large amount may help. Maybe we can do our own research. Hubby does get chocolate with his coconut oil! Some Walmarts have dark chocolate and sugar free chocolate chips that work fine. That coconut fudge recipe comes from Dr. Mary Newport's book.

Now they say that Duacetyl (DA) in Popcorn, that gives it a buttery tast, is linked to making Alzheimer's worse. Plain popcorn is best. Wish I hadn't gotten rid of my air popper! I just threw out microwave popcorn with suspicious ingredients.

As I have written before, I wonder about all the additives that primitive cultures don't have. Some friends are into the Paleo and Gap eating, and there is a lot of wisdom to be found in studying what is best for us even if the studies have not come out that prove anything conclusively.

Exercise is so important for us, but we shouldn't jog. I now walk three times a week with my neighbor. My husband complains when he has to walk very far, but I do have to take care of me, his caregiver.

Red wine has benefits, but not too much alcohol as it can cause

Alcohol-related dementia according to this British study and other studies. Actually my husband forgets about his beer in the refrigerator and is happy with green tea, so good for us.

In addition to green tea, dark chocolate, tumeric and coconut oil which I regularly write about here, I have some other superfoods that I regularly use:

• cooked spinach
• tomatoes
• blueberries added to yogurt
• cinnamon added to sweet potatoes.

What are your superfoods?

How do you use them?

Note that this is the third year that I have been in an Alzheimer's Association walk. You can contribute if you click on the link at the top right. Thanks for doing this. My team is my Alzheimer's Association facilitator who has taught me so much.

What I'm Learning About Senior Health, Part One

Some of this information may not be new, but I decided to blog about it anyway, both for the lovegiver's health and the loved one's health.

A University of Massachusetts-Lowell clinical trial showed that drinking apple juice significantly improved mood and behavior among a group of patients diagnosed with moderate-to-severe Alzheimer's disease. Cornell University research also suggests that quercetin may be the compound in apples that protects brain cells against oxidative stress associated with Alzheimer's.

This was reported on The Alzheimer's Reading Room. Of course actual apples have more fiber than apple juice has. My husband regularly gets applesauce.

Get the proper rest you need according to a study here.  Research suggests:

1. Avoid going to bed and getting up at different times.
2. Don't do games and social networking before bed. These keep your mind racing.
3. Don't read or watch TV in bed.
4. Keep the light in the bedroom low. I do think that the Alzheimer's patient does need some light, however, so they can identify things at night.
5. Sleep helps fight off infections by releasing hormones in the body.
6. Energy is restored.
7. The brain is working to create new pathways. You know the expression, "Let's sleep on it."
8. While we sleep the heart rate and blood pressure are reduced.

I also wrote earlier on this blog about rest here.

How we process our food is important according to Kimberly Snyder. I have also pinned some of her health ideas on my Pinterest Board which you can follow by clicking below. Our loved ones need fiber from vegetables, fruits and whole grains. According to Kimberly, artificial sweetners aren't absorbed by our bodies, so they pull water into the intestines leading to loose stools. Stevia is the most acceptable artificial sweetner and I use a combination of real sugar and stevia for my husband. Murky pee could be a uninary track infection that caregivers are so concerned about for their loved ones; patients can go downhill with these infections but not complain I read on The Alzheimer's Reading Room (see link on side). So we need to check their pee.

The older we get, the less thirsty we feel and then the more tired. I have a friend, Shirley, who sends me wonderful e-mail and I discovered from that e-mail a strategy for drinking our water.
Drinking water at a certain times maximizes its effectiveness on the body:

• 2 glasses of water after waking up - helps activate internal organs  
• 1 glass of water 30 minutes before a meal - helps digestion
• 1 glass of water before taking a bath - helps lower blood pressure  
• 1 glass of water before going to bed - avoids stroke or heart attack

We also know that we wake up in the middle of the night and get a cramp in our leg because we needed more water or maybe the potassium in a banana. Older people need potassium, but I have heard that potassium pills need careful monitoring and the banana is as easier way to obtain that potassium. On Weight Watchers I can count a banana as zero points (as long as I limit them).

I also found out that a person needs to take CoQ10 with a stanine such as Lipitor or Crestor. Our chiropractor also recommended it as I wrote here.

Oh, and walk carefully so you or your loved one don't fall. My husband and I usually hold hands. Slows me down, but oh well! I get my exercise separately from my husband.

In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for ... ... It is of no use for you to get up early, and to go late to your rest, with the bread of sorrow for your food; for the Lord gives to his loved ones in sleep.  Psalm 127:2