Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Bear's Embrace

The Bear's Embrace by Patricia Van Tighem
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Brutally attacked by a Grizzly bear the author of this book, who's husband was also attacked, writes about many years of nightmares, uncontrollable pain, multiple surgeries and deep depression. A nurse, who becomes the patient, remembers how poorly she was treated by many in her profession, talks about her anxiety which would become so bad she would be sent to a psychiatric ward. Eventually she is given a new diagnosis "PTSD", which is more common now among Vet's. Her family life suffers and her kids try to go on living without their mother fully there.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good book, a survivor, someone in health care or with the dx of PTSD.
After reading the story, I looked up the author. Not many pictures can be found of her but I came across her obituary. She ended up taking her own life in 12/05. I was so saddened to read that, sad for her family that she left behind who may have mourned the loss many years ago when the bear attack took the person they knew away.

Finding a Place

When you come to the hard decision of admitting a loved one to a nursing home, or rehabilitation center you should do several things prior. Treat it as though you were inspecting a daycare for your firstborn. Visit a few in the area and stop by at all hours of the day, as long as they fall under visiting hours. Things that I think should be on the top of the list, one location. Why? Because if they are not conveniently located to the “visitor” then in reality how often are you going to go by? Ever heard of the saying “the squeaky wheel gets the grease?” Well how can you report things if you aren’t there enough to see concerns that should be addressed. Do you work full time? Is the place close to home or work, where you can stop by at least weekly? These should be considered highly. Another thing that you should consider, parking. Nothing like spending your lunch time trying to find a parking spot so you can have a ½ hour visit with someone. Trust me, this comes from experience, if parking sucks it will become an issue in time.
When you narrow your choices down by the easy things listed above, then you can work on the harder things, like good staff. Just because a place is new doesn’t mean the staff is friendly and caring. Also one bad apple doesn’t mean the whole basket is rotten. Getting a feel for the staff can be much harder than picking out a place with good parking. Observe how they are with other residents, are the patients well groomed and appear happy or at least have their needs met. Two things that can raise a red flag; language, unless the patient speaks something other than English you should only hear that. That is a big complaint, especially to the older generation. The other thing to look for; cell phones. Staff should not be using theirs in common areas.
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A resident at the Brevard Zoo...he's happy

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Mary Todd Lincoln

“Shattered Dreams The Story of Mary Todd Lincoln”
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I checked out a book about Abraham Lincoln and grabbed this one as well, good thing because the one about him I just couldn’t get into. Who doesn’t know that he was a great President? What I did not know was how disliked his wife was. Their family suffered one tragedy after another, especially in the loss of their sons, each separately. Mary Todd was self centered and materialistic, while her husband was described as a kid friendly person, who didn’t have many needs in life, but often was very melancholy. Perhaps that was due the life he led and how quickly it aged him.
I read the book fairly quick due to the short length but also the interest.

Life is So Good

“Life is So Good” George Dawson (and Richard Glaubman)
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It took me under a week to finish “Life is So Good”. I thought I would be reading a book about George Dawson learning to read at the age of 98, instead I read history through the eyes of man who looked at life as being good, all the time. I love old people, love to listen to them recall memories from so long ago when life was simple but times were hard. In this story I realized to a greater extent how much harder it was for a black person to live in America. I was saddened to read Mr. Dawson’s memories but quickly learned that he looked at life as a blessing and always, always found good in a situation.
I bookmarked one part; Mr. Dawson was answering some questions, because lots of us want to know “what’s the secret” when we meet someone so up in years, often asking advice. Once of his responses was so well worth noting. He said “Most people ask a question when they got the answer in mind that they want to hear. That’s not really a question. They just want you to help them prove what they already be thinking.”
I recommend this book to everyone.