Archive for April, 2009
Vision for Alzheimers/Dementia
I designed and implemented a special Alzheimers/Dementia website dedicated to my parents, Elwood and Alice Godfrey. My hope is to make it a Charity where donations and proceeds from my businesses go to help in the research for a cure or health management of Alzheimers.
I cared for my Mom and Dad for about 10 years, helping them in their own home for several years and then in a Secure Assisted Living facility for less than a year. Unfortunately, my Mom was placed in a sister facility (nursing home) and was damaged beyond hope in less than 2 days. We did all we could to bring her back to the way she was before she went into the nursing home but there was too much damage from lack of care, negligence, not following up with the doctor’s orders and much more. By the time I got her out of there and into a hospital, she was almost dead.
She was completely malnourished and dehydrated. The only hope we had was to put a feeding tube into her stomach. She lived another year and 3 month. And she did gain a tiny bit of recognition of her loved ones and a small ability to talk sometimes, but she never walked again and she was constantly in danger of aspiration/pneumonia/etc. I moved her to another nursing home (it was like night and day from the first home) and they loved her and cared for her like she were their own Mom. I am grateful to them.
We took my Dad home to live with us for the next 2 years. He had been diagnosed with Dementia, COPD, esophageal cancer, and finally with liver cancer. No one expected him to live as long as he did and in as good health as he was those last couple of years….but then, I am an alternative health consultant and advocate.
I finally did have to put him in the same nursing home (2nd one) that my Mom had been in and they cared for him and loved him so very much. He only lived another 6 months there. But I was with him so much of the time, just like I was for my Mom.
They are together now and I will continue my journey and mission to help others to live a better and longer quality of life. There is no excuse for suffering with terrible health when there are so many options for health and life.
Take care of yourself and your family!
Tags: alzheimers, Dementia, health
Health
Life is too Short!
Your health is your most important asset.
-Dr Carlos Santo
We all hear all the time that our health is important and that without it nothing else matters. However, how many of us really pay attention to that? When Dr. Carlos tells me that my health is my most important asset, I think, “Sure, he would think that, after all he is a doctor.”
When I think of my most important asset it ranges from people who are important to me like family and loved ones, to my skills like intellect and speaking. Of course I know how important my health is to me, but in all honestly in general my health is always good and doesn’t require much thought.
There is an expression about cigarette smokers that goes like this: cigarette smokers don’t believe cigarettes will kill them, the proof being cigarettes have never killed them before. That’s how we are with our health–because we have never faced an issue we think it will always be there. Then one day when it is not, you realize it truly is your most important asset.
Recently for six weeks I faced a vocal cord infection that simply paralyzed me. Yes, I could still walk, but a broken leg would have been easier for me to manage than a broken voice, not that I want that either. Why is that? Remember one of the things I listed as what I feel is an important asset to me, speaking. Well, all that came to a halt. I could not do my recordings, public speaking or sessions.
Why, because of my health. Well, I am happy to say, it’s back. Finally the battle feels over. This episode really reconfirmed Dr Carlos’s words. You see, at the end of the day all the assets you value have no value to you, or you to them, without your health. Without your health you cannot enjoy the privileges of life. Your emotional side might consider your loved ones your most important asset, but you are a drain on them and cannot enjoy them if your health suffers. The logical side might consider your job, your skills, or your physical assets as the most important. Once again, you cannot enjoy them or partake in them with fading health.
I can tell you that just because a cigarette hasn’t killed you, the likelihood is that if you smoke, it will. In that same light, just because you woke up feeling healthy today, it doesn’t guarantee that you will tomorrow. Don’t wait to face obstacles before you take action. The best medicine is preventative medicine.
Watch what you eat.
Take vitamins and supplements that fit your needs
Exercise
Sleep
Drink plenty of water
Laugh every day…very good for the health
And don’t be lazy, get your checkups
Do all that and more. In fact you know you can take better care of yourself, so do it. Think of it this way, what would you do with an asset that was worth millions of dollars? The answer is obvious; you would do all you can do to protect it and take care of it. So since your health is not only your most important asset, it is also a priceless asset, do everything you can to take care of it.
Author is Devlyn Steele
Tags: health
