June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month–GO PURPLE!

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month (ABAM)–a time to shine a PURPLE  light for the millions of individuals world-wide and all the family members and caregivers locally affected by Alzheimer’s disease.  June is a wonderful time to honor those with the disease every day by mobilizing friends, families, neighbors and co-workers and customers to help bring an end to Alzheimer’s disease.  At Applewood Senior Living Communities, we are “Going Purple” on Friday, June 12, to show our support for the Southeastern Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Association, and those affected by Alzheimer’s. HERE ARE 5 THINGS THAT EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT DEMENTIA 1).  DEMENTIA IS NOT A NATURAL PART OF AGEING:  It is true that dementia is more common among over 65 year old’s, and some of us do become more forgetful as we get older or during times of stress or illness.  However, dementia is a different sort of forgetfulness.  The memory loss is more noticeable and may be accompanied by mood changes and confusion.   2). DEMENTIA IS CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE BRAIN:  Symptoms of dementia include memory loss, mood changes and problems with communication and reasoning.  Such symptoms are brought about by the number of diseases that cause changes in the brain.  The most common of these is Alzheimer’s disease, which changes the chemistry and structure of the brain causing the brain cells to die.   3).  IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT LOSING YOUR MEMORY:  Dementia is more than memory loss.  It starts by affecting people’s short term memory but it also can affect the way people think, speak, perceive things, feel and behave.   4).  IT’S POSSIBLE TO LIVE WELL...

Say “Thank You” to Dad

In addition to the third week in June being the official first day of summer, countries from around the world also celebrate Father’s Day this month.  The history of Father’s Day began in 1910 when a woman by the name of Sonora Smart Dodd came up with the idea of honoring and celebrating her father while listening to a Mother’s Day sermon at church in 1909.  Sonora felt that father’s equally deserved a day of praise just as Mother’s do.  Sonora’s Dad, William Smart, was a veteran of the Civil War, who was left a widower when his wife died while giving birth to their sixth child when Sonora was just 16 years old.  William Smart went on to raise the six children by himself on their small farm in Washington.  Sonora wanted to show her appreciation for all the hard work and love that her Dad gave to her and her siblings. Sonora began a rigorous campaign to celebrate Father’s Day in the United States.  The local Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) supported Sonora’s cause.  As a result, the first June Father’s Day was celebrated on June 19, 1910. After a protracted struggle of over four decades, Lyndon B. Johnson, through an executive order, designated the third Sunday in June as the official day to celebrate Father’s Day in 1966.  The Nixon Administration officially recognized Father’s Day as a national holiday in 1972. Sonora Smart Dodd was honored for her contribution at the World’s Fair in Spokane in 1974.  Mrs. Dodd died in 1978 at the age of 96. So as Father’s Day approaches, take the time to thank dads, grandfather’s, uncles, stepfathers...

THE MEANING OF MEMORIAL DAY

The upcoming three-day weekend is about more than barbecues, blockbusters, and the beach.  Technically, summer doesn’t start until June 21, but many people consider the upcoming Memorial Day to be the unofficial start of the season.  This year, we celebrate the holiday on May 25.  Many families will heat up the grill, head to the beach or take in a big blockbuster movie.  But, as many of us know, Memorial Day has the word “memorial” in it for a reason. The holiday got started on May 30, 1868, when Union General John Logan declared the day an occasion to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers. Twenty years later, the name was changed to Memorial Day.  On May 11, 1950, Congress passed a resolution requesting that the President issue a proclamation calling on Americans to observe each Memorial Day as a day of prayer for permanent peace and designating a period on that day when the people of the United States might unite in prayer.  President Richard M. Nixon declared Memorial Day a federal holiday in 1971.  It is an occasion to honor the men and and women who died in all wars. Remember to hold dear and honor those with the nerve to serve; they paid a price that can never be repaid, they along with their returning brothers and sisters in arms, cared enough to give of themselves for others.  Each active service man or woman, veteran, wounded service person or fallen hero has sacrificed for their families, the nation and freedom worldwide.  Most cities and towns have local Memorial Day celebrations.  Here are some ways that...

BRAIN, HEAL THEYSELF

Don’t think of our most important organ as a machine doomed to break down.  Mental and physical exercise can keep the brain fit and help it recover capacities lost to disease and trauma. Can the brain heal and preserve itself–or even improve its functioning as we get older? For some time, many scientists have tended to think of our brains as machines, most commonly as computers, destined to break down over time under the strain of age and use.  However,  research in neuroscience has begun to show that our brains, like our bodies in general, are far more likely to waste away from underuse than to wear down from overuse. In other words, “use it or lose it” applies to our brain functions. As people reach middle age, exercising the brain and the body to which it is attached–keeping both active–becomes more important. It is one of the few reliable ways to offset the natural wasting process and the damaging influence of our unnaturally sedentary modern lives.  It also points to new possibilities of the brain to heal itself in the face of disease and trauma. How does this form of healing work? Exercise triggers the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus.  It also triggers the release of “neurotophic growth factors”–a kind of brain fertilizer, helping the brain to grow, maintain new connections and stay healthy.  This may be one of the mechanisms by which exercise helps to protect the diseases such as Alzheimers. Recent studies also have found that exercise can reduce the symptoms of Parkinson’s–a degenerative disease that causes patients to gradually lose control of their...

Update on Climb for Hospice

Some of you may have read our most recent blog about Andy Land, a hospice nurse from Fond du Lac, WI, who recently began his journey to Mt. Everest.  Land was using his journey to raise money for The HOPE of Wisconsin, a hospice and palliative care organization.  Since Land began his climb, a deadly earthquake of a magnitude of 7.8 struck in Kathmandu, Nepal on Saturday, April 25th, killing at least 1,865, and injuring at least 4,700.  The earthquake collapsed modern houses and ancient temples, triggering a deadly landslide on Mt. Everest. Fortunately, Land and the rest of his climbing team survived the massive avalanche set off by the devastating earthquake.  The company’s base camp had been converted into a makeshift hospital.  On a website, that Land created for his trip, he wrote that “climbing the world’s tallest mountain evokes the courage, dignity, and determination that describe more than 26,000 patients and their families served by the hospices in Wisconsin.” For more updates on Land and his incredible journey, please see the Climbing for Hospice Facebook Page.  We wish Andy Land and his team a continued safe journey for such a wonderful cause.   Share this:TwitterLinkedInFacebookEmailPrintLike this:Like...