I often hear people say that a person suffering from Alzheimer’s is not the person they knew. I wonder to myself – Who are they then?

–Bob DeMarco

The Present-absence and the long-good-bye of Alzheimer’s disease is heart-breaking. I sat with my once brilliant friend, Frances Gabe, holding her hand and longing for the excursions into the deep end of ideas that we once shared. But that is in the past; to quote Chuck Heston quoting Shakespeare in his statement, they bade farewell and “melted into air, into thin air.”

The unraveling of a life in the mind of a person with Alzheimer’s disease has been described as “the great unlearning,” the “demise of consciousness.” Just what does the disease uncover about the nature of being human? What’s left when memory dissolves “into thin air?” What role does the disease play in our fears of growing older and ageism?

To hear a engrossing and enlightened discussion on these issues listen to Krista Tippett, host of on Being for National Public Radio (click to listen): Alzheimer’s Memory and Being.

See also “Intimations of the Great Unlearning: Inter-religious Spirituality and the Demise of Consciousness which is Alzheimer’s” by Gisela Webb.

The Myth of the Unending Frontier

”The underlying basis of ageism is the dread and fear of
growing older, becoming ill and dependent, and approaching death. 
People are afraid, and that leads to profound ambivalence.  The
young dread aging, and the old envy youth.  Behind ageism is
corrosive narcissism, the inability to accept our fate, for indeed
we are all in love with our youthful selves, as is reflected in
the yearning behind the expression ‘salad days.’  Although
undoubtedly universal, ageism in the United States is probably
fueled by the worship of youth in a still-young country dominated
by the myth of the unending frontier…”

             -Robert Butler, THE LONGEVITY REVOLUTION

See

NIA Home Safety for People with Alzheimer’s Disease

I remember better when I paint

The Soul of BioEthics HR Moody

Aging in Place Technology Watch: Alzheimer’s and Caregivers

“The Aging of America: Triumph or Tragedy?”

Video:

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oX-zU9svReI

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nskLQBow7JI

 (Image Anton Christian)

Design is intelligence made visible.

- Alina Wheeler

Each year I attend the ASA conference on Aging and reoccurring themes begin to emerge and persist throughout the week; this session remained true to form. One mantra I picked up early; “Design is for all.”

Design on the Brain

Each of us has a brain equipped with a tightly bundled grouping of nerve cells about the size of an apple wedge located from the top of the spinal cord into the middle of the brain. This part of our brain contains about 70% of its estimated 200 billion nerve cells; or a total of 140 billion cells—and is called the Reticular Activating System (RAS).

Your RAS is a hockey goalie to consciousness—the gatekeeper screening the type of information allowed through and filters everything else that you don’t pay attention to. And it also hones in on what’s important to you. Buy a 1966 Mustang or the new Adison leather large Marielle drawstring shoulder bag, and you begin to magically see them everywhere. Why? Your RAS has now alerted your brain to bring them to your attention.

My RAS for the conference was programmed to “DESIGN” and I was rewarded; because design matters to an aging population.

Democratization of design 

Much of the discussion focused around “Inclusive Design” or “Universal Design” that will accommodate all users regardless of age or level of physical functioning. More than once I heard speakers say: “It’s not just design for the elderly, good design helps everyone.”

Not a new idea, in fact, the barrier-free movement in the 1950s began a process of change in public policies and design practices in response to veterans returning from service with disabilities. The movement has evolved as the democratization of design for all; both in structure and beautiful aesthetics.

Michael Graves, FAIA, famed designer and professor at Princeton University, became a reluctant expert in medical equipment design when an acute neurological disease left him unable to walk or do self-care. Graves turned this into a best-worst experience for design that functioned better (structure) and delighted the senses (beautiful aesthetics).

Graves was noted to have said while lying on a gurney in the hospital in the throws of his acute illness:  “I can’t die here, it’s too ugly.”

His point speaks directly to the heart and soul of the barriers to adoption of countless potentially life-enhancing tools. Gerontophobia (fear of aging) limits my own mother from using a walker which would make possible ambulation to strengthen her muscles, stimulate her brain with exercise, and facilitate balance—and what’s most personal is most universal, she is not alone in her desire to not look old. The sad irony is that this kind of stigma which leads to adoption-failure, actually is a “secondary ager” which speeds up the aging process (atrophy). 

Design Matters: OMHU

Design matters with caregivers and patient outcomes; this has been well established in the literature on environment and health effects. And with the proliferation of new technologies for aging in place, the same barriers in design concerning both structure and aesthetics apply.

One company, OMHU (means “with great care”) exhibited an empathetic understanding and nonpatronizing approach to mobility aids. They’ve successfully combined materials from the world of performance; bicycles, hockey sticks, skateboard, and high performance athletic shoes—and from these made a cane which delights the senses.

Emphasis is on performance; not disability and yet OMHU is not denying the need—after all it’s a cane. They get it, and the underlying philosophy which infuses this product is clever and evokes the will to live…and aren’t we all in this for a better experience of aging?

Robert L. Peters said: Design creates culture. Culture shapes values. Values determine the future. This is important because the demographic transition means a future filled with more and more old people. We live in a world that will never be young again—each generation will grow older than the one before. And I for one would like to see more emphasis on matters of design, not as a nicety, but as a guiding principle of gerontology; our future depends on it.  

See

Democratic Design

Adaptability: Universal Design Michael Graves 

Michael Graves on Medical Devices 

Michael Graves Design Group   

IDeA: Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access

Free Subscription to HealthCare Design

Universal Design:

Video #1

Video#2

Video#3 

Video#4 

Video#5

(photo senzumbrellas.com)

“Nothing builds self-esteem and self-confidence like accomplishment.”

 -Thomas Carlyle

Design with the Future in Mind

I was reading an on-going blog series about “Beth,” an active, 89 year old woman lives alone in her one level town home. She has lived alone for many years and has a good support network of family and friends from church. She is relatively healthy but deals with asthma.

The post is done by a colleague in the aging in place field, Alesha Churba at Design with the Future in Mind. What Alesha has done is put a human face on aging in place; and made the process accessible by doing so. The narrative is a delight to read as Alesha describes how Beth thinks through the process of making her beloved home accessible and safe to live in—I love this approach.

Self-Efficacy for Aging in Place

A theory that’s mentioned in the gerontological literature, as well as in other areas of inquiry, is “self-efficacy.” This is a very useful concept in describing what can happen as a side-effect of proactive change–the kind that Beth is making.

Self-efficacy simply means the belief that one has the capabilities to have a positive influence over their life; and can be measured on a continuum from low to high. Those with low don’t believe they can effect positive change; high levels equates to increased confidence to over come barriers in life.

For example, elderly with low-self-efficacy feel they have little control over the events in their lives—our culture has a way of infantilizing elders (not talking about Alzheimer’s here) with terms such as “senior-proof” and “elder-proof,” and learned helplessness is the outcome of cultural conditioning.

On the other hand, elders with high-self-efficacy believe they can command some control in life and shape their destiny. The implications for this are wide reaching from open heart surgery recovery success, depression in the elderly, to who participates in exercise programs—and many other aspects of aging.

Momentum of Positive Change

The elderly exert control over fewer and fewer domains in their lives and the importance of self-efficacy cannot be understated. Beth has taken the first small steps to make her home accessible—what she has also done is moved further along towards the high end of the SE continuum.

This spills over to other aspects of life her life and can have a momentum of its own. Now if she wants to take that European vacation she’s been putting off for fear of going alone, she might join a group and go, sign up for a dance lesson, or go to the movies—she can draw on the increased belief in her ability to effect a positive change in life. This is reinforced every time she interacts with her aging-in-place home improvements; as she grows more empowered.

Beth is potentially every senior and the small aging-in-place steps made can change lives in unanticipated ways; increased self-efficacy is one not to be over-looked.

See

Design With The Future in Mind

Self-efficacy: The exercise of control By Albert Bandura

Aging in ACTION: 10 Senior Living Trends

Fear of Falling and Low Self-Efficacy: A Course of Dependency in Elderly  Persons

What Are Old People For?

More Research:

Journal of Aging and Health: Self-Efficacy as a Mediator Between Fear of Falling and Functional Ability in the Elderly

The American Journal of Preventative Medicine: Intervention-related cognitive versus social mediators of exercise adherence in the elderly

Health locus of control and self-efficacy beliefs in a healthy elderly sample

(photo homecaregiverstore.com)

“A mother can take care of 5 children yet 5 children can’t take care of one mother.”

-unknown

I came across the film Make Way For Tomorrow (1937) by Leo McCarey. The movie is about an elderly couple, Barkley (Victor Moore) and Lucy (Beulah Bondi) Cooper, who are forced to separate when they lose their house to foreclosure; and none of their five children is willing to take both parents in.

Barkley is not able to find work due to his advanced years and with foreclosure eminent the elderly couple summons the adult children to break the news. A temporary solution is for the parents to split up and live with different family members; which proves to be untenable for all parties.

As Barkley continues to search for work so he and his wife can live independently, the scenario predictably deteriorates into a human tragedy:

When Lucy continues to speak optimistically of the day that he will find work, her teenage granddaughter bluntly advises her to “face facts”; that it will never happen because of his age. Lucy’s sad reply is to say that “facing facts” is easy for a carefree 17-year old girl, but that at Lucy’s age, the only fun left is “Pretending that there ain’t any facts to face…so would you mind if I just kind of went on pretending?”

-Wikipedia

Although the film ran over 70 years ago the topic is more relevant than ever as the aging population and the economic down-turn spell CRISIS for many seniors and their families.

Elderly Foreclosure

The global economic depression has hit boomers hard—as over 684,000 homeowners age 50 and over were delinquent, in foreclosure, or lost their homes last year. This is especially troublesome for the older adults who are on fixed income and limited time horizons for recovery. Not to mention the coming tough times for federal assistance programs for seniors; as pressure on aging services to poor and frail ramps up.

 3 Stories: The Faces of Foreclosure

For a growing number of Americans the “Golden Years” are a fanciful dream that died with a personal loss or economic fates; never to be realized despite years of working and planning. Here are three stories to put a human face on the hardship faced by older adults:

 Patricia 5 years in her home

 Cole 28 years in his home

Andree 20 years in her home 

These stories are heart-breaking, increasingly common place, and in need of solutions.

Saying Goodbye to Aging in Place?

We can discuss aging-in-place remodeling and elegant universal design options, but unless individuals like these have a “place” to age in–it does little good as they are evicted from homes where their dreams once resided.

In a review of Make Way For Tomorrow, Jamie S. Rich finds the film more hopeful because it shows us two people who can make the best of the worst times, who are resolute, and who never let go of what matters, even if they have to say goodbye to it.

Which many will have to do...

Watch the Film Make Way For Tomorrow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_MrZojHUdQ (10 parts)

See

One Away: Seniors in Trouble

911-Foreclosure UpdateForeclosure Threatens Elder-Care Homes

More Families Move in Together During the Housing Crisis

How to Cope with Elderly parents moving in

Equal Justice Works: Elderly Hard Hit by the Mortgage Crisis

How to Live With Needful Aging Parents

Lessons Learned By Moving an Elderly Parent Into A Boomer’s Home

 How to Prepare When Elderly Parents Move In With Adult Children

Help

NRMLA: ReverseMortgage.org

HUD Reverse Mortgage Frequently Asked Questions

Reverse Mortgage as a Foreclosure Intervention Tool

Legal Aide for the Elderly

The Elder-Care Team

Elder-Web Resources

Medicare.gov

Support Our Seniors

(photo http://www.classicmoviegab.com)                      

“Every human has four endowments- self awareness, conscience, independent will and creative imagination. These give us the ultimate human freedom… The power to choose, to respond, to change.”

-Stephen R. Covey

Stephen Covey’s seminal work on how to create a better human species titled “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” was first published in 1989 and has sold over 15 million copies in 38 languages since first its release.

The concepts are timeless and can be broadly applied as I have done here with aging in place. What follows is The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People Aging in Place:

• Habit 1: Be Proactive

Synopsis: Take initiative in life by realizing your decisions (and how they align with life’s principles) are the primary determining factors for effectiveness in your life. Taking responsibility for your choices and the subsequent consequences that follow.

Aging in Place: Be Proactive; day-in-and-day-out you are faced with “choice points” that will have a cumulative effect on your independence. If you choose what’s easy now (not take that walk and stay on the couch—or not install that light on the stairs and put up with the dark steps); life will be hard later.

Many people wait until a crisis to begin the aging-in-place remodeling projects; and crisis-driven interventions are seldom as effective as proactive ones.

Proactivity is being anticipatory and taking charge of situations; adaptivity is about responding to change, proactivity is about initiating change.

• Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind

Synopsis: Self-discover and clarify your deeply important character values and life goals. Envisioning the ideal characteristics for each of your various roles and relationships in life.

Aging in Place: Begin With the End in Mind is making the future a part of your current philosophy. According to the Aging in America study of several years ago, seniors fear nursing homes over death; so for most, independence is a deeply held value and goal.

Think seriously about how much you value the rituals and natural rhythms of your simple daily living at home that you’ve cultivated over the years. Coffee in the morning and reading the paper in your favorite chair perched in the front window; after you let the cat out. Or shopping at the grocer where the clerk knows you by first name—then imagine life without them.

Look around the house and determine what is going to potentially be a challenge in the coming years. Do an aging-in-place assessment and make a priority list of action items.

Is adding a bathroom on the first floor, installing a lift on the stairs, or an access ramp, something I can do now that will keep me in my home 5-10 years from now?

Hosting family over for traditional life events; and being able to have grand kids stay whenever you choose. Does being a grandparent mean having a home where grand kids can find refuge and a place to stay?

• Habit 3: Put First Things First

Synopsis: Planning, prioritizing, and executing your week’s tasks based on importance rather than urgency. Evaluating if your efforts exemplify your desired character values, propel you towards goals, and enrich the roles and relationships elaborated in Habit 2.

Aging in Place: Prioritizing remodeling goals with budget in mind. What are the “biggest-bang-for-the-buck” aging-in-place remodeling items?

Consult a Certified Aging in Place Specialist (CAPS);  Architect specializing in Universal design; or Ocupational Therapist trained in aging-in-place design.

• Habit 4: Think Win-Win or No Deal

Synopsis: Genuinely striving for mutually beneficial solutions or agreements in your relationships. Valuing and respecting people by understanding a “win” for all is ultimately a better long-term resolution than if only one person in the situation had gotten their way.

Aging in Place: Win-win means considering the concerns of spouses as well as adult children. Staying in one’s home may not be the best solution for all parties. Sometimes aging in place is not possible.

• Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood

Synopsis: Using empathetic listening to be genuinely influenced by a person, which compels them to reciprocate the listening, take an open mind to being influenced by you, which creates an atmosphere of caring, respect, and positive problem solving.

Aging in Place: Listen to partner/spouse and understand their wants and needs for aging-in-place remodeling; as well as to CAPS remodeling professionals for suggestions prior to making decisions.

•  Habit 6: Synergize

Synopsis: Combining the strengths of people through positive teamwork, so as to achieve goals no one person could have done alone. How to yield the most prolific performance out of a group of people through encouraging meaningful contribution, and modeling inspirational and supportive leadership.

Aging in Place: Synergize with other family members by sharing aging-in-place goals; ask for feedback and input; form a team-work approach with CAPS professionals.

Make the community part of your aging in place team strategy; employ senior services like meals-on-wheels; the local area agency on aging; AARP chapters; churches; See Aging in Place HELP for more resources.

• Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

Synopsis: The balancing and renewal of your resources, energy, and health to create a sustainable long-term effective lifestyle.

Aging in Place: Keep up on new technologies for aging-in-place; visit web sites for developments in universal design; and educate yourself about what’s available in the aging in place market. Aging in Place Technology Watch will Keep you up on the fast changing home telemetry sector.

Keep physically and mentally fit (your body and mind need to be available to you) for successfully aging in place.

These 7 habits applied to aging-in-place can be a guide to independence and a more rich-fuller expression of who you are in the years to come.

Now get started…

See

Stephen Covey: Do the BIG ROCKS first

World’s Leading Authority on Aging in Place

Interior Design With Your Future in Mind

Science Daily: Aging in Place = Reduced costs, improved mental and physical outomes

Dreams have only one owner at a time. That’s why dreamers are lonely.

-Erma Bombeck

Oregon Public Broadcasting has a morning show called “Think Out Loud,” and a recent topic was down-sizing a senior. A guest from AARP told a personal story of having to move her mother out of the family home she promised to keep her in. It was heart-wrenching to listen and the anguish was still palpable in her voice.

Her story reminds that for most aging-in-place is preferred—but for some, it becomes untenable.

Sensitivity to Telling Mom She Can’t Stay Home Alone Anymore

A common cry for help from an adult daughter living in Brazoria, Texas, reaches out for advice:

Mom is 82 and slipping in memory…she has recently been recommended to benefit from “assisted living”. I DON’T need ideas on how to keep her in her own home. We have exhausted ourselves providing company of ourselves which include her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, life-support lines, meals, cleaning and shopping, medical appointments, writing her bills, etc. In-home-health or assisted living is the next best thing…but it won’t come without breaking my heart and her’s. Please don’t suggest she come live with one of us…she did when the hurricane displaced her and she was miserable. I need suggestions how to be kind, but firm that she needs help…more than we can provide with her medical needs at this time of her life. She has CHF and COPD and is down to 70 + lbs. She has a nurse coming weekly and physical therapists, and occupational therapists, too. What do you say?? thank you for listening…

Aging in Place is Not So Easy

Howard Gleckman has written a thought provoking piece; Aging in Place is Not so Easy. His premise is that factors having to do with social issues, more so than medical concerns, are often the barriers to aging in place:

-Lack of qualified caregivers

-Lack of services such as basic transportation

-Lack of housing or funds for repairs

-Lack of social networks and isolation

Gleckman’s solutions include more flexible Medicaid programs (they pay for NH, but limited benefits for home care) and an emphasis on long term care insurance which will provide financial resources to care for loved ones.

His conclusion that we can’t keep everyone home (i.e. those with severe dementia) is realistic; but postponing institutionalization of the elderly, by even months or years, is a goal worthy of our best efforts.

Blessings

K.C. from Brownsville, Texas, provided this sage advice:

You just answered your own question. You–with all the love– tell her you are not able to provide the help she needs for her health issues. You will be there always and you love her and this is the best option for everybody. My Mom was 68 lbs when she died. She had COPD, renal failure and conjestive heart failure and has all the agencies coming in to take care of her. I lived down the street and could go there several times a day and we had a lady come in daily for 5 hours that washed and cooked breakfast and lunch. I told her I loved her more than anything and we would have to make some changes soon. My wonderful Lord would answer my prayers and took her home before I had to make the change. The elderly have a fear of being alone.

Remember the role reverses you become the parent and they become like children. Pray for patience and enjoy every moment you have with her and yes your heart will break when she is gone.

Blessings—

I agree keeping the dream of aging in place alive is not easy, and neither is telling a loved one they must leave their home…

See:

Listen to: Convincing an Aging Mother to Take a Hard Step

eHow How to downsize a senior

 Youtube: DownSize

Tips for an Move intelligent

(photo livinglifeasme.wordpress.com)

 

 Many people look forward to the New Year for a new start on old habits.

~Author Unknown

(eds note:  This article is NOT intended for the highly motivated population of people who find exercise, “doing health”……….enjoyable.   You all just go about your day doing the things that give some happiness, and life satisfaction.  I need to talk to your friends, family, coworkers, who haven’t found the secrets to a healthy lifestyle like you have.)

Okay. Now we can start.   It’s that time of year again.  In a few weeks, maybe a month we’ll be thinking about doing this New Year’s resolutions thing. I won’t ask for everybody’s age, but how many years have we been doing this now?  

This year let’s take a little bit different approach. Enclosed is a list of suggested strategies to look at for possible long term changes in your health plans for 12’. These strategies are based on the research of health psychologists who study what prompts people to make successful changes.

1.  If you make a resolution to start exercising again, lose weight; quit smoking, whatever it is, state the goal to a strong SUPPORT NETWORK. Family, friends, co-workers that will support and encourage you, as you make this change.  You may have pitfalls as you find your health or fitness style. You’ll need a good support system around you to encourage and motivate you.

2.  You don’t have to start on Jan 1, unless you’re training for an athletic event. Or in a fun type weight loss contest. Don’t put a strict time table on when you’re going to start.  Start planning and preparing but don’t take action until you’re really ready to go.

3. Keep the new or updated health and fitness plan simple. Take babies steps.  One day at a time. People that are “intrinsically” motivated; meaning their motivation to do a health and fitness plan that THEY have personally figured out will stay with it longer.  A lot of times this means starting small, simple, and then building from there. 

4. “Social Liberation”.  The knowing that you have a choice when to start sooner or later with a new health plan without external pressure is important. “Motivation” researchers tell us that people who successfully change a health behavior are more apt to change sooner when not pressured by external messages.  Start fresh with exercise or eating better when you’re ready.  There are great experts, with lot of good information, fitness plans for you, when the time is right.

5.  There is NO FAILURE.   It’s okay to try a different fitness plan, or daily eating style.  As I’ve stated for years highly motivated people enjoy their diet composition, or exercise routine. But it may have taken them years to create it.  There is no one way to be healthy.  There is no one perfect exercise plan.  The perfect plan is the one you enjoy doing today. 

Consider your 12’ New Year’s resolution to take a different approach to getting healthier. Consider changing the same script you’ve done every year with limited success. Give yourself permission to have fun, enjoy the experience, and the stated goals will take care of themselves. 

A fitness staff person can help you with this type of approach; sign up for a consult when YOU’RE READY to start.

Happy New Year

Mike

Mike Waters is Director of Health Promotion at Timberhill Athletic Club in Corvallis, Oregon.   He helps members of all ages (specializes on boomers and seniors) with motivation strategies to get engaged with a healthy lifestyle.  He can be reached at 541- 207 – 4368   or timberhill.mike@comcast.net  

 See

“Remember, you can take the time to be healthy–or you’ll have to take the time to be sick; Happy New Year!”

-Patrick

86 Year Old Female BodyBuilder

Jack Lalanne: STOP BEING SO TIRED  UnHappy People

 (photo Body & More)

“Like the wind crying endlessly through the universe, Time carries away the names and the deeds of conquerors and commoners alike. And all that we are, all that remains, is in the memories of those who cared we came this way for a brief moment.”

-Harlan Ellison

True story about Xmas by Christine Kinnard

Christmas Day
It was 6 a.m. on Christmas morning when a strange woman tapped at the door. She was dressed only in her night clothes. The lady was cold and dazed and Brian invited her in for tea.

Brian, a retired 84 year old doctor, rang his son to announce there was a rather good looking old woman in a night gown having tea in his kitchen. Brian’s son, who lived two hours away, thought Brian had finally lost his grip on reality so rang the police to check him out.

The police went to Brian’s house and sure enough there was a scantily dressed woman, now with a blanket wrapped around her, sitting by the fire sipping tea. Unable to give them either her name or address the police decided to go around the village knocking on doors to see if people could help with their enquiries.

A local shop owner suggested a house where he knew an old lady was staying for Christmas. Arriving at the house the police asked whether the lady was in. The old lady’s friend said she was but there was little point in checking as her friend was unable to walk far.

The police asked if she would check anyway and sure enough the bed was empty. Far from being in bed the old lady had left the house and, in complete darkness dressed only in her night clothes, had wandered for around a mile in freezing weather. On seeing Brian’s Christmas tree lights she simply turned up on the door step!

Having now finished tea, cereal, toast, some Christmas cake, the lady was finally collected by her flustered friend.

Things Don’t Count Anymore

The Holidays are so much about memories. Bill Thomas noted: Once past the age of 30, we become custodians of a past that has vanished from the world. This is especially true at holiday time.

Being a keeper of the Holiday stories and traditions requires memory of the past; but what if there comes a time when memory vanishes?

For many, Christmas and New Years will be spent not in the family home where memories were once created—but in care facilities where meaning making is moment-to-moment and melts away like icicles in the mid-day sun.

Reading an account of a woman whose mother had advanced stage Alzheimer’s and was living in a care center reminded me of a different Holiday scenario. She noted that residents have lost the concept of mine/yours – they wander into others rooms and take things. So – don’t give anything of value – it disappears quickly. Things like books or magazines are fine to carry around; but not to read. And “favorite” anything is erased from memory…Things don’t count anymore.

Present-Absence of Advanced Alzheimer’s

The person with advanced Alzheimer’s is there in body, yet lacking in memory; a “present-absence” that is heartbreaking for loved ones. What counts is a mindful presence, a hug, “I love you,” a walk together. Reminders that they are a part of a loving family, talk of good times, and how they made a difference in the lives of others and to listen.

Nothing to unwrap, no receipts to keep or take back, only moments shared in the spirit of the season. In time the disease carries away the names and the deeds of the past, what remains (for the keepers of the stories) is an opportunity to show kindness and to remember for them…

See

Bill Thomas  

Alzheimer’s Care 8 Tips for a Great Holiday Season

HealthCentral: Alzheimer’s Holiday Tips

I Remember Better When I Paint

(photo dailymail.co.uk)  

(photo guardian.co.uk )

 As we grow old, the beauty steals inward.

– Ralph Waldo Emerson

I recently had the pleasure of experiencing a Historical and Architectural cruise of Chicago with my wife and in-laws. The promotional quote notes: “If you have only two hours in Chicago this is how to spend it.” After the tour I can’t disagree; from start to finish it was a delight.

Adaptive ReUse

Pushing off from the North Pier Docks at River East Art Center, our enchanting tour guide (part professor/part stand up comedian) began with a discourse on “adaptive reuse” of the North Pier; he had me at hello…

According to Wikipedia;

Adaptive reuse is the process of adapting old structures for purposes other than those initially intended. When the original use of a structure changes or is no longer required, as with older buildings from the industrial revolution, architects take the opportunity to change the primary function of the structure, while retaining some of the existing architectural details that make the building unique. In local communities, unused schools or Post Office buildings have been adapted for reuse as retail stores or offices.

The analogy for aging is ripe with low-hanging fruit; the key is adapting…

Adapting the Self

Rethink the term “change,” we have a tendency to focus on what we’re losing, and not so much on what the potential gain might be (it’s the unknown). If  your old structures need adapting because they no longer serve the purposes initially intended, consider making “Adaptive ReUse” a new part of your vocabulary and a guiding mantra.

Remember, it’s about retaining some of your existing details that make you unique, while you change your primary function—in other words be a beautiful human example of Adaptive ReUse.

See:

The Purpose Project

Senior Corps

Golbal Action on Aging: Elderly Reinventing Themselves

Adaptive ReUse: Kennedy Elementary School

Dan Phillips Creating Homes from reclaimed stuff

Selective Optimization with Compensation Theory

One of the many lessons that one learns in prison is, that things are what they are and will be what they will be.

-Oscar Wilde

My friend and colleague, Emory Baldwin AIA, sent this thought-provoking piece his father shared with him; after contemplating the merits of institutional living. This will get you thinking about how society treats its “interned.”

Subject: Jail vs. Nursing Home

Food for thought:

Let’s put the seniors in jail, and the criminals in a nursing home.

This way the seniors would have access to showers, hobbies,
and walks, they’d receive unlimited free prescriptions, dental
and medical treatment, wheel chairs etc. and they’d receive money instead of
paying it out.

They would have constant video monitoring, so they could be
helped instantly, if they fell, or needed assistance.

Bedding would be washed twice a week, and all clothing would be
ironed and returned to them.

A guard would check on them every 20 minutes, and bring their meals
and snacks to their cell. They would have family visits in a suite built for that
purpose.

They would have access to a library, weight room, spiritual counseling, pool,
and education.

Simple clothing, shoes, slippers, P.J.’s and legal aid would be free, on request.
Private, secure rooms for all, with an exercise outdoor yard, with gardens.
Each senior could have a P.C. a T.V. radio, and daily phone calls.
There would be a board of directors, to hear complaints, and the guards
would have a code of conduct, that would be strictly adhered to.

The “criminals” would get cold food, be left all alone, and unsupervised;
lights off at 8pm, and showers once a week.
Live in a tiny room, and pay $5000.00 per month and have no hope
of ever getting out.

Justice for all.

See

Fault Lines:

Elderly in Prison part 1

Elderly in Prison part 2

ReThinking Nursing Home Design

(photo www.pinewswire.net)