Need solutions for the medication, medical appliances and/or medical travel that you can't afford? READ EMPOWER Yourself.
A Health Information Management professional, I survived a life-threatening emergency with information that only a person of my professional experience would know. And I’m sharing it!
B'SD 11 Iyar, 5778 Alzheimer's Disease is an exasperating, heart breaking situation in which someone's personality disappears over time. Loved ones ache at the impossibility of turning the clock back, of restoring memories and character traits while the person before them behaves unpredictably, sometimes in socially embarrassing ways. The Lost Kitchen blog is one woman's account of her mom's deterioration from Alzheimer's. The situation has reached a crisis point. Anyone going through this ordeal would appreciate being understood for the rollercoaster of emotions they experience, the undue sense of guilt, and more. See if you find the posts soothing, if you can identify with them, and calm down as you realize that "I'm doing the best I can with the tools that I have."
With the very first note, Mom was standing by the piano. As “Somewhere” from West Side Story took shape and became familiar, Mom started singing with such…
B'SD 26 Tamuz, 5777 My friend Miriam Green startles me every time she blogs about dealing with her Alzheimer's bewildered mother. The depth of character conveyed in each blogpost teaches the wider world that we must adjust our attitudes and behaviors with compassion when dealing with someone compromised by their medical and/or mental health reality. The name of Miriam's blog is The Lost Kitchen, an apt portrayal of her mom's state of mind, the importance of nourishing someone with kindness, and the human capacity to be increasingly good. I believe that I grow more insightful with every reading of Miriam's writings. Care to look over my shoulder at the latest update?
I think we should amend the idiom based on Psalm 8 to read, “Out of the mouth of babes—and Alzheimer’s sufferers—comes wisdom.” With Mom perhaps it’s not…
THELOSTKICHEN.ORG
Learn more about making your way through mind-muddling medical situations when you read the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your heart with soul.
B'SD 11 Adar 2, 5776 Purim happens later this week, and I'm baking or cooking holiday delights. Adar is a month of deep spiritual joy and miraculous rescue. Get into the holiday mood with an At-a-Glance look at some of Israel's latest medical innovations plus PCRM's look at the nutrition-arthritis connection:
Learn how to minimize, maybe prevent, complications with your Rheumatoid Arthritis by reading Foods and Arthritis. One more thing: The next time someone accuses Israel and/or her Jews of being racist, evil or cruel, share One Call Awaywith them. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your mind with empowering information and choices!
B'SD 11 Shvat, 5776 If you or someone you know is dealing with a relative or friend with Alzheimer's, let them know that they're not alone in the confusing situation. It baffles the best of us, as you'll learn from the blogpost below. My friend Miriam Green writes the exceptional The Lost Kitchen blog, packed with love, insight and good recipes. Get a taste of life when you click on the words "The Rain's Kindness" below:
How naïve I was to think I could weather this devastation that is Alzheimer’s and maintain my wits. Mom is disintegrating before my very eyes. She is a changed ...
THELOSTKICHEN.ORG
Learn insights into dealing with many types of medical, emotional and mental health situations. Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your plate with love.
B'SD 15 Tevet, 5776 My friend Miriam Green has a noteworthy blog about how she helps her mother, who has Alzheimer's. The blog is entitled The Lost Kitchen. It is heartwarming. and nutritious. I feel like a better person after reading each new blogpost. Miriam asked me to write a blogpost she could share, about my experience in such matters. Here we go:
In the USA I supplemented my income by working as a recreational therapist in a nursing home which had a designated Alzheimer's unit.
I would do warm-up exercises with people struggling to read, to remember names and faces. Once I had the crowd keeping a beat (usually with Madonna music), I would speak in a soft, sometimes funny banter to rev up their motivation to keep moving. Exercise oxygenates the brain and charges up its activity. We did stretches, bends, light aerobics and even a bit of dancing.
Sometimes I'd set up a frame to enable people with impaired balance or movement to use a lightweight bowling ball that knocked down pins within rather easy reach. The group celebrated successes together. Inevitably, someone would choose to keep score and boost morale by announcing them. LOUDLY.
If bowling bored the participants, I'd tease the men to play some poker and to show up a dumb broad. They'd eagerly let me deal the cards, declare the rules (I kept them simple) and then they proceeded to demonstrate their card-playing tricks, techniques they hadn't used or thought of in ages! Many smiles creased tired, careworn faces as a result.
Women sometimes baked with me. I'd use the aromas of our dough and various bottles of vanilla, mint, perfume, etc. to perk up long-ago memories. I learned of Brooklyn's background and the impact of the World War II in ways that no history book can teach. I heard of courtships, anniversaries, favorite recipes, and other celebrations of life. And I dabbed quite a few tears on several faces with handy tissues kept for the occasion.
At other times I placed a person's hands on the handle of a real shopping wagon, and walked through a mock supermarket with my Alzheimer's-afflicted companion. We'd select foods, discuss the freshness of the produce, pay the cashier, and put things away in a mock kitchen. Then we'd either cook or converse about life in an environment designed to resemble a private home.
By allowing these people with Alzheimer's to function independently, albeit with friendly, protective company, I learned of the power of confidence. It can bestowed and it can improve thinking skills. It is a most precious gift, a blessing.
Tears sometimes fell from my eyes after the group either cooked a good soup and shared it with one another, or made cakes and cookies. A hearty soup and hunk of bread make a deeply satisfying meal to gladden the heart and to heal the mind. Any recipe prepared with love and devotion can do the same. The people I worked with opened their hearts and spoke of long-ago memories. It was a remarkable experience.
Perhaps you'd like to prepare this pumpkin leek soup in the large white pot in the photograph. It is quite soothing:
Pumpkin Leek Soup
This soup is a crowd-pleaser on any cold day of the year.
1 LARGE leek or 3 small leeks (white part only or with finely chopped greens, per diner preferences) chopped
a handful of arame or wakame (2 different kinds of seaweed that add iodine to the soup) 1 LARGE onion, chopped 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 lbs pumpkin, cubed (use flat slices for easier cubing) 4 medium carrots, julienned in bite-size pieces or thinly sliced 1 tsp cumin ½ tsp ginger (nutmeg if you like stronger flavors) ½ tsp ground coriander Himalayan or ocean salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste 6 cups water (more for a thinner soup)
If someone who will eat the soup needs help with chewing, you can allow the mixture to cool slightly and then blend it with a hand-held blender before ladling it from the pot into soup mugs or bowls. Otherwise, let your diners enjoy the sumptuous texture they'll chew with their teeth. Medical evidence demonstrates that chewing different textures improves brain function.
Include a fresh-made or flavorful store-bought loaf of soft bread on the side and enjoy the hearty, heart-lifting meal.
Have you noticed the jars of home made sauerkraut in the photo?
They were prepared according to macrobiotic recipe.
The contents are delicious.
Friends ask me to prepare it for them.
If you want to learn of other health-promoting ideas, read
Making New Year's resolutions?
Start 2016 with a better approach to your health or a loved one's. Read the book!
Buy the E-book or print edition of EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge. Face Your Medical Problems with Dignity.
Face Your Future with Optimism.
Fill your meals with body-building, health-supporting food.
