This original piece of art is a creative expression by a person living in an ABHOW Grove.

No matter how much we may think that we are prepared and no matter how carefully we attempt to anticipate the future, “nothing ever goes as planned.” This is not just a saying but the truth. Rarely do plans ever go uninterrupted.We can always count on the unexpected. The only thing that stays the same is change – whether it is the cost of health care, the raising or lowering taxes, or importantly, the “elephant in the room” that we would rather ignore as though this would make it disappear - the disease of Alzheimer.

How do we deal with aging and our declining mental capacity to think, to dream, to relate? We would like to believe that our brain power is within our “sphere of control” forever the same. However, we must face it: There is scarce attention being focused on Alzheimer, it is something we are not planning for. It has been largely ignored. Dementia, memory loss or Alzheimer will likely interrupt your plans.

While there is a movement to create homes and memory support programs for those with Alzheimer, ABHOW’s Grove for example, more is needed. Everyone of us would like to count on a cure, a therapeutic environment, creative activities, and well-trained staff who will help us feel safe, secure and valued. However at this moment, today, we must consider these facts from the Alzheimer’s Association:

• While thankfully the death rates for cancer, heart disease and HIV/AIDS is going down, Alzheimer’s remains the only cause of death among the top 10 in America without a way to prevent, cure or even slow its progression.An estimated 10 million baby boomers will develop it.
• If you don’t know anyone with Alzheimer you will.
• If you don’t know of anyone who has had to care for some one with Alzheimer, you will.
• Alzheimer is a disease that will impact us all.
• In addition to the human toll, over the next 40 years Alzheimer’s will cost the nation $20 trillion, enough to pay off the national debt and still send a $20,000 check to every man, woman and child in America.
• The first baby boomers are turning 65 this year. And while Alzheimer’s is not normal aging, age is the greatest risk factor for the disease.

There is a free report that conveys the growing burden of Alzheimer’s and dementia on individuals, families, government and the nation’s healthcare system. To learn more about Alzheimer visit the Alzheimer Association’s website. And please learn more about ABHOW’s leadership in the concept of continuing care, the ABHOW Foundation and their recent innovations in memory support.

With an astonishing estimated one third of Americans qualifying as obese, it’s no wonder that we hear so much about healthy eating habits and physical fitness. Kids are young and strong and usually pursue a physical fitness program out of vanity. That’s OK, but there are many more benefits to being physically fit than good abs. Also, physical fitness applies to every age group. When you maintain a physically healthy body, you can avoid many disease conditions associated with overweight conditions.

It’s long been known that being overweight contributes to heart disease. A new study determined that fully 2/3 of overweight type 2 diabetics found that all signs of their diabetes disappeared when they underwent stomach reduction surgery and lost weight. Unable to eat as much as they wanted, they were thus cured! People who keep fit live longer and suffer less disease. So there should be no question as to the importance of physical fitness.

Keeping fit is not difficult. It’s one of those situations where slow and steady effort wins. You just need to do regular exercise. Choose an exercise regimen you enjoy. That way, you’re far more likely to stick with the program. Swimming and bicycling are two excellent activities, as you’re using most of your muscles throughout the exercise period, with the added bonus of burning plenty of calories. Roller or ice skating are also good vigorous forms of exercise. If you enjoy walking, walking just one half hour each day, five days per week, can reduce your risk of heart disease by half. If you live close to work, try walking to work a few days each week. You’ll save gas too. If you enjoy the sports and fitness club environment, join one. Since you have a membership fee, you’re more inclined to take advantage of the facilities.

Once you’ve begun a regular physical fitness activity, it tends to grow on you. If walking is your exercise regimen, you’ll soon find that if you miss your walk for one reason or another, you’re disappointed. People who enjoy jogging are known to become almost obsessive in their desire to run.

While regular exercise is an essential component of physical fitness, you must also employ good dietary habits. If you’re trying to lose weight, count your calories. In any case, eat recommended amounts from all the food groups, barring allergies or other dietary restrictions.

Our society has become far too sedentary, with fit people in the minority. Each of us can stand some physical improvement, whether by exercising more or eating more nutritiously. Everyone should do what is necessary to reverse this unfit trend, for ourselves and our loved ones.

Swedish women who ate one to two servings of dark chocolate a week had almost one-third fewer cases of heart failure than those who didn’t eat it, a new study reports, but the results suggest that there was no protective effect for women who ate chocolate every day or almost every day.

The study, published online Aug. 16 by the journal Circulation: Heart Failure, examined heart failure rates in 31,823 Swedish women aged 48 to 83 who had filled out food questionnaires as part of a mammography study and were followed from 1998 through 2006.

Women who ate one to three servings of chocolate a month had 26 percent fewer cases of heart failure, and those who ate one to two servings a week had 32 percent fewer cases. The authors speculated that chocolate might reduce heart failure by lowering blood pressure; other studies suggest the flavonoids in cocoa may benefit blood vessels and reduce inflammation.

That’s good news! On the other side, the research also said that if we ate  too much chocolate we would put on weight. (Yes. and your point is)… Nevertheless, I am interested in learning about the best chocolate candy companies especially those operated women entrepreneurs. As the seasons for giving approaches, any suggestions?  And what are your favorite recipes? Your favorite purchased selection? My favorite chocolate chip cookies are made by Debbie Paine. She introduced them at the Positively Powerful Women Awards at the Ritz in Phoenix. Yummmmm!

Why is chocolate so loved and beloved?

Chocolate. The product of the cacao tree has been winning fans since Aztec leader Montezuma introduced the beverage (chocolate candy as we know it didn’t appear until the 1800′s) to the Spanish conqueror Cortez, who subsequently took it home to Spain. (While the original drink was rather bitter, the Spanish made a few creative innovations – using sugar instead of chilies, and adding cinnamon and vanilla).

What is it that makes chocolate so irresistible? A large part of chocolate’s allure, of course, lies in the taste – a deliciously rich concoction that satisfies the most intense craving. But several chemical reactions are also at work. For one thing, chocolate stimulates the secretion of endorphins, producing a pleasureable sensation similar to the “runner’s high” a jogger feels after running several miles.

Chocolate also contains a neurotransmitter, serotonin, that acts as an anti-depressant. Other substances, such as theobromine and phenylethylamine, have a stimulating effect. However, the truth is that scientists are still not positive how the over three-hundred chemicals contained in chocolate make us feel so good.

Fact: Although deaths caused by breast cancer have decreased among white women, African-American women continue to have higher rates of mortality from breast and cervical cancer. Click here to learn about health disparities for your racial or ethnic group.

Fortunately I was getting regular mammograms and was diagnosed early through a biopsy.   (Prayers are still appreciated.) This is my one-year anniversary and I am celebrating it by writing this post. The idea for it came when a dear friend told me how much younger and beautiful I looked after we met each other recently when I a was a speaker at a conference. I saw her and wondered how her health was doing and what she was eating.

When my doctor told me the test results, she immediately put me on an agressive diet, one which with few digressions I am still on. If fact I’ve grown to love it! I am not a doctor and don’t play one on TV so check this out with a grain of salt (only one, because salt is no good for me and probably you either). Her agressive plan for me  was no dairy because of the chemical addititves. No fried foods. No sugars. lots of fresh fruits and veggies. One cup of coffee was okay. No alcolholic beverages. And…this was the big thing I was to learn…eat alkaline not acidic producing foods. “What?” I aksed. She explained that there are certain foods that cancer cells thrive/grow in and some where they do not. Interestingly enough – no surprise – these good foods are the alkaline foods and they seem to be low in fat.

God bless technology because my laptop became my best friend. When your life is on the line it’s amazing how creative you can get about educating yourself. I learned my stress, eating “diet” foods to lose weight,  and my bad eating choices (comfort foods) needed to change and quick! or else… (Source: click here). Read the below.

Human blood pH should be slightly alkaline ( 7.35 – 7.45 ).  Below or above this range means symptoms and disease.  A pH of 7.0 is neutral.  A pH below 7.0 is acidic.  A pH above 7.0 is alkaline.

An acidic pH can occur from, an acid forming diet, emotional stress, toxic overload, and/or immune reactions or any process that deprives the cells of oxygen and other nutrients.  The body will try to compensate for acidic pH by using alkaline minerals.  If the diet does not contain enough minerals to compensate, a build up of acids in the cells will occur.

An acidic balance will decrease the body’s ability to absorb minerals and other nutrients, decrease the energy production in the cells, decrease it’s ability to repair damaged cells, decrease it’s ability to detoxify heavy metals, make tumor cells thrive, and make it more susceptible to fatigue and illness.  A blood pH of 6.9, which is only slightly acidic, can induce coma and death.

The reason acidosis is more common in our society is mostly due to the typical American diet, which is far too high in acid producing animal products like meat, eggs and dairy, and far too low in alkaline producing foods like fresh vegetables.  Additionally, we eat acid producing processed foods like white flour and sugar and drink acid producing beverages like coffee and soft drinks.  We use too many drugs, which are acid forming; and we use artificial chemical sweetners like NutraSweet, Spoonful, Sweet ‘N Low, Equal, or Aspartame, which are poison and extremely acid forming.  One of the best things we can do to correct an overly acid body is to clean up the diet and lifestyle.

You will find a wealth of information on this. I like this source because it is all inclusive – it says why and what. I feel so much better post-surgery and diet, I’ve lost weight, started Zumba (I can jump around again) and I’ve been told I look great. My friend Susan gave me a termos bottle to take on flights and shared that if I put a piece of fresh ginger in it and ask for hot water on board, I’d have a healthy and refreshing drink. She gave me protein powder and flax and is a role model for a peaceful and loving way of being. My friend Abeba is a raw foodee. She turned me on to the delghts of this. And my daughter Cybel – well fortuantely she’s been eating healthy for a long time -and that’s a good thing for many reasons. She’s gotten me eating soy, quinoa, and veggie burgers. My husband Bob, cooks a great fish – not broiled or blackened. My business is doing better too. I do feel better  than before – this is my new normal.

Perhaps the poverty of some of the people is what you remember most thanks to the media.

The Haiti I knew and loved was vibrant, colorful, musical, beautiful artwork, historical. Do you know the book The Three Musketeers? Alexander Dumas was Haitian. There is so much more to learn about this nation. Here is a TED.COM video of Edwidge Denticat.  She opens with history and then moves to her evocative stories.

In the midst of an earlier crisis, Haitian author Edwidge Danticat reminds us of the contributions of Haiti’s vibrant culture and people. This reading offers a timely message for today — as the nation struggles in the aftermath of a devastating earthquake.

Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Edwidge Danticat immigrated to the United States at 12, publishing her first short story in a youth magazine only two years later. Spending her teenage years in a Haitian neighborhood in Brooklyn, Danticat was able to capture the isolation and memories of her experience with authentic eloquence in her first novel, Breath, Eyes, Memory, which was selected for Oprah’s Book Club.
Danticat has continued to share the stories of her past in the novels Krik? Krak!, The Farming of Bones, The Dew Breaker, and Brother, I’m Dying. She has taught creative writing at New York University and the University of Miami, and is a recipient of the prestigious MacArthur “Genius Grant.”

“We all have our traditions, which have both positive and negative repercussions. It all depends on how we integrate them in our lives and whether they serve us or hold us back.”

Edwidge Danticat

I began my work in this industry about 10 year ago when I won the ABHOW consulting contract. David Ferguson personally challenged me then when he said, “Joel, I want you to create the kind of home you’d want for your mother. With that in mind know that you are not alone. I am honored to be on this journey with you.” With those words I began. Since then, AAHSA granted Dave Ferguson its 2009 Award of Honor at the association’s 2009 Annual Meeting in Chicago in November. The award is AAHSA’s highest honor and recognizes “both (David) Ferguson’s recent contributions to the profession and his ongoing devotion to mission-driven service.”

Between then and now, I’ve created their Leadership Alignment training, worked with Leslie Warren – at the time their Vice President Human Resources – on the Diversity University, spoken before industry groups, and other activities. Though Mom never got to see one of their homes before her passing, I know she’d be proud of the work we’ve done together.

Some other people I would love you to meet are our ABHOW Board Chairperson, Randall L. Stamper, J. D. Randy has an effective way of facilitating our governance model and the contributions of the other experts from different disciplines who serve with me. Kay Kallander, Senior Vice President, Strategic Planning. Kay is one of my sheroes. Kay is designing ABHOW’s new Leadership Academy and is the catalyst for the highly successful AAHSA Fellows program. If not for her I expect a lot of memory support units would not have been created She is tireless! There is also Ancel Romero, Senior Vice President, Affordable Housing – a vitally important commitment to seniors. The incoming AAHSA Board Chairperson is Winthrop Marshall. I expect he’ll keep us all busy during his tenure. There are so many others I would like to name so visit the links to meet them.

What can you do? Contribute in whatever way works for you – donate, volunteer, serve on a board, attend an aging conference, ask the experts what else is needed and wanted, and take a stand for what you want done on health care. Also post your ideas for being proactive on aging with this blog. Beyond that, age gracefully with health and contribution. As my mother would have said, “consider the alternative.”

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• Use the client’s terms: Reflecting back shows openness and respect. Use the names, pronouns and body parts they use. For example, a person may use a name that is not their legal one. Ask them the pronoun they want to be called. The gender identity of younger generations, Loree told us, is not necessarily male or female. They may refer to themselves as gender neutral.
• Documentation, like health insurance forms, can change the “gender markers”
• Know and tell why you ask them a question. Some questions are inappropriate and also irrelevant. Others directly relate to the quality of care they will receive.
• She educated the audience on the transition from one gender to another. A public journey. Once completing the transition, the person may no longer view themselves as transgender.

When it comes to doctors advice or recommendations, I like most people become a lamb and just follow blindly along. Before swallowing that next pill I mean to find out what the side effects are, how the drug performed, how it interacts with the other Rx I’m taking. I want to know the same kind of information and do the same in-depth analysis I would if I were creating a fantasy team or buying audio equipment. My doctor has my best interests in mind but he or she may have other things on his or her mind at the time.

Yesterday a NY Times article on the cost of new cancer drug treatments points out something most of us don’t know and that is, how much does this thing I’m taking every day cost and how effective is it. …Really. If you look to catch up with the world news at 6PM you are bombarded with a slew of drug commercials all which contain important messages that we all ignore. As I watch them, I wonder is the cure worth the possible side effects of the drugs?

I recall an interview with a health expert who claimed that we are all living longer and possibly healthier because of two things, clean water and washing our hands. I noted that it wasn’t because of the drugs we are taking or the operations we are enduring. As I get older, and watch others age this becomes more and more of a concern.

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Ageing Creatively is a programme of practical art projects for older people who are unable to visit the National Gallery independently. Projects are delivered by artists and workshop sessions take place at an external community venues using prints of focus paintings as a stimulus for interactive discussion and practical creative work. We will also arrange for groups who are able to travel to visit the Gallery and see the real paintings.

It is known that the human brain is incredibly “plastic” or adaptive and there is a possibility (not certainty) that creative stimulas can have a powerful impact on quality of life.

For the family are givers out there, see if there a program like this in your area, they could be a source of support for you and those you care for.

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Gail Sheehy -Photo by Gasper Tringale

She spoke from the heart about being a care giver to her husband. She has an upcoming book destined to be as powerful as her book Passages titled “Passages in Care Giving”

Being a caregiver can be overwhelming.  Nobody can do it alone.  We need help before we get to the end of our rope — or our bank balance.  Presently, we are almost invisible. But we have a huge potential of strength in numbers. Gail Sheehy, AARP Ambassador

I am fascinated by the topic of care givers in that they are a complete demographic and need to be included in any study of Diversity. As the population of the United States ages the ranks of the care givers are growing. People are living longer but this does not mean they are living longer well and without the need of assistance. Often this assistance comes in the form of an untrained family member, who may need to place their career or family on the back-burner and they themselves become in need of assistance.  The discussion or focus on caregivers has almost been invisible in the Health Care debate in Washington. We need to be concerned as it impacts all of us in one way or other.

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