I love this! This is how we should age. It warms my soul to watch this couple. Now I just have to convince my husband to practice a routine of some sort so we can perform together. I'm leaning towards dancing. Enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI-l0tK8Ok0
Friday, February 26, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Lesson Learned
Sometimes we find a new outlook in an unexpected place.
I had a recent bout with the drug Topamax, a seizure medicine used to manage migraines in adults. This medication made me completely stupid. The neurologist said “it might cause some mild problems with word finding”. Obviously this doctor had never taken Topamax. In the beginning it felt as if I was living in a fog, it was very difficult to process information. Side effects forced me to adapt and cope, all in hopes that the head pain, the dizziness, nausea, and sickness, would go away if I used the medicine. The worst part was the long lasting result of word finding difficulties. As a speech pathologist I rely on my words. I teach people to talk and give seminars for a living. Seriously, words have to come quickly, flow easily, and nothing less is tolerable. My patients have these symptoms, not me. The meds were in my system for almost 4 months, and then I decided the side effects were too much. I was fortunate to have the luxury of being allowed to make that decision. My patients do not have the ability to stop their symptoms.
I stumbled upon an abundance of insight because of this experience. Even in the midst of my migraine and medication provoked stupor I gained a new understanding for the people I encounter each day. These people have dementia often in early stages, some highly aware of the tribulations they face, others beyond that awareness, but at times, still frustrated with changes in their thinking, slowed cognition, lack of ability to express themselves. For the first time I held a fresh perspective. The embarrassment, the lack of desire to speak, the tendency to avoid specific situations, was a problem I now faced. I love being a presenter, but I dreaded every seminar I had to give, certain there would come a time during the day long event that I would make a joke about my lack of appropriate word retrieval. I am lucky to be able to make these symptoms go away. Just stop taking a pill. Dementia does not forgive so easily. The people I meet, do therapy with, and talk to, tell me that the symptoms are relentless, frustrating, and almost impossible to deal with.
The journey of Topamax allowed for a shift to occur in me. I’ve always believed that dementia was a terrible disease but now I had a small taste, very small, not even comparable, off its manifestations. I did not like it, and could not accept it. A deeper respect for those suffering from dementia lies in me now, and I wonder what life will be like as I age.
Please feel free to comment about your own experiences that occur regarding aging, or other thoughts you may have.
I had a recent bout with the drug Topamax, a seizure medicine used to manage migraines in adults. This medication made me completely stupid. The neurologist said “it might cause some mild problems with word finding”. Obviously this doctor had never taken Topamax. In the beginning it felt as if I was living in a fog, it was very difficult to process information. Side effects forced me to adapt and cope, all in hopes that the head pain, the dizziness, nausea, and sickness, would go away if I used the medicine. The worst part was the long lasting result of word finding difficulties. As a speech pathologist I rely on my words. I teach people to talk and give seminars for a living. Seriously, words have to come quickly, flow easily, and nothing less is tolerable. My patients have these symptoms, not me. The meds were in my system for almost 4 months, and then I decided the side effects were too much. I was fortunate to have the luxury of being allowed to make that decision. My patients do not have the ability to stop their symptoms.
I stumbled upon an abundance of insight because of this experience. Even in the midst of my migraine and medication provoked stupor I gained a new understanding for the people I encounter each day. These people have dementia often in early stages, some highly aware of the tribulations they face, others beyond that awareness, but at times, still frustrated with changes in their thinking, slowed cognition, lack of ability to express themselves. For the first time I held a fresh perspective. The embarrassment, the lack of desire to speak, the tendency to avoid specific situations, was a problem I now faced. I love being a presenter, but I dreaded every seminar I had to give, certain there would come a time during the day long event that I would make a joke about my lack of appropriate word retrieval. I am lucky to be able to make these symptoms go away. Just stop taking a pill. Dementia does not forgive so easily. The people I meet, do therapy with, and talk to, tell me that the symptoms are relentless, frustrating, and almost impossible to deal with.
The journey of Topamax allowed for a shift to occur in me. I’ve always believed that dementia was a terrible disease but now I had a small taste, very small, not even comparable, off its manifestations. I did not like it, and could not accept it. A deeper respect for those suffering from dementia lies in me now, and I wonder what life will be like as I age.
Please feel free to comment about your own experiences that occur regarding aging, or other thoughts you may have.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Just a Phone Call Away
Last week I conducted a seminar in Tucson, AZ and had a great conversation with a course participant. This lady spoke with me about some of her greatest concerns caring for her elderly parents. She told me that the mother was in her late 80s and father in his 90s. They live at home and their children assist with their care. The adult children want their parents to have as much independence as possible, consistent with the aging in place movement we are in the midst of.
The lady expressed concern with use of the phone. What comes to mind initially? Large buttons due to eyesight problems, poor hearing interfering with comprehension of the conversation, both possibilities, but neither fit the bill. The main worry was the automated system that we all encounter. Even those of us whose brains are in our prime experience frustration, and at times just want to push 0. We hope that a person, a real live voice will help us with the problem. Think about the tribulations that may complicate the automated system phone task even further. Poor working memory… by the time “push option 7 for billing questions” comes along, the elderly person with memory loss will forget what assistance “option 2” might provide. Then they try to get the operator, instinctively touching the 0 button on the phone, and what do they hear “this is an invalid option, goodbye”, and back to square one.
In our world of evolving technology where paper bills are a thing of the past, customer support provided by a human being becoming obsolete, and the first thing we hear when calling customer service is redirection to a website, we must consider the generation who is not familiar with this system. How about a default option, 0 for operator, required for all customer service centers? Although the companies would have to employ more people increasing their costs, certainly it would be less expensive than providing services for the elderly at home to assist in maintaining personal finances. Perhaps someone could start a customer service company, a call center, and its primary function would be to service the aging population. They could then contract to utility companies and customers over a certain age would receive an alternate number to call, the ones who most need help would now have a better option. I don’t know of a quick fix. I think we have to look at changing the system on this one, but what a difference a simplified version of the complex customer service phone methods could make in the lives of our elderly and their caregivers.
The lady expressed concern with use of the phone. What comes to mind initially? Large buttons due to eyesight problems, poor hearing interfering with comprehension of the conversation, both possibilities, but neither fit the bill. The main worry was the automated system that we all encounter. Even those of us whose brains are in our prime experience frustration, and at times just want to push 0. We hope that a person, a real live voice will help us with the problem. Think about the tribulations that may complicate the automated system phone task even further. Poor working memory… by the time “push option 7 for billing questions” comes along, the elderly person with memory loss will forget what assistance “option 2” might provide. Then they try to get the operator, instinctively touching the 0 button on the phone, and what do they hear “this is an invalid option, goodbye”, and back to square one.
In our world of evolving technology where paper bills are a thing of the past, customer support provided by a human being becoming obsolete, and the first thing we hear when calling customer service is redirection to a website, we must consider the generation who is not familiar with this system. How about a default option, 0 for operator, required for all customer service centers? Although the companies would have to employ more people increasing their costs, certainly it would be less expensive than providing services for the elderly at home to assist in maintaining personal finances. Perhaps someone could start a customer service company, a call center, and its primary function would be to service the aging population. They could then contract to utility companies and customers over a certain age would receive an alternate number to call, the ones who most need help would now have a better option. I don’t know of a quick fix. I think we have to look at changing the system on this one, but what a difference a simplified version of the complex customer service phone methods could make in the lives of our elderly and their caregivers.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
