Pebble Beach, CA Seniors Need A Solid Exercise Routine

Three older women are holding pink dumbbells.


At Family inHome Caregiving we emphasize to our clients the importance of a healthy diet, the proper amount of social interaction—difficult during the pandemic—and the right amount of exercise.  Most seniors put walking into their routine but experts say they need to add strength training.  As you age, loss of muscle strength and power leads to declining activity, increased frailty and functional dependence, according to the American College of Sports Medicine.  Resistance training is an easy way to add strength training to a daily regimen.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that seniors participate in activities at least two weeks that strengthen muscles along with a minimum of 150 minutes a week of moderate intensity activity such as brisk walking.  We enjoy taking our clients for a walk on Carmel Beach, which is not very crowded with very few tourists in town.

 

Carmel, CA Retinal Implants To Restore Sight In Macular Degeneration Patients Shows Promise


A treatment where surgeons implant a tiny device in the retinas of patients which contain stem cells looks extremely promising for those with age-related macular degeneration (AMD).  Although it has only been done with 15 patients, many participants have passed the one-year mark with improving vision.  One woman who had the treatment said, “Shortly after the surgery, I turned to my husband while we were watching TV and said, ‘I can see all of their faces!’â€Â  Doctors say FDA approval is about five years away.  To see local specialists in macular degeneration, see links below.

https://news.usc.edu/trojan-family/stem-cell-therapy-macular-degeneration-usc-clinical-trial/

https://www.montereyeye.com/our-services/retinal-care
https://www.peninsulaeyecarecenters.com/low-vision.html

 

Monterey, CA New Hope For Seniors With COPD

A woman with glasses and a tie dye shirt smoking.


Living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) can be extremely difficult.  A new medical device called Zephyr, which is working miracles in some people.  The tiny lung valve needs to be  implanted in the lungs via a bronchoscope.  The one-way valve blocks air from invading the damaged part of the lungs, where it can get trapped and hinder breathing.  “The instant I woke up from anesthesia, I felt the difference,†said one woman who had the device implanted.  Cardio Pulmonary Associates on Garden Road in Monterey would have more information on the non-surgical device which 20K people have already been treated with.

https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2020/lung-disease-breakthrough.html

Monterey, CA Hope For Those With ALS, AKA Lou Gehrig’s Disease

A doctor and patient looking at a book


Lou Gehrig’s disease, or ALS, seems similar to Alzheimer’s disease but attacking the body rather the brain.  There is no cure for either disease, and the ailment just continues to progress and leave you more and more debilitated.  However, USA Today recently ran an article about three promising themes:

  1. A new drug—developed in part with money from the 2014 Ice Bucket Challenge—increased the average survival of patients in clinical trials by 7.5 months.
  2. A first-ever clinical trial is testing multiple ALS treatments at once; and
  3. Record levels of federal research funding are planned for this year.

Many are hopeful that Amylyx’s AMX0035 which got a $2.2 million grant from the $111 million Ice Bucket Challenge, will be approved by the FDA.  Findings for AMX0035’s Phase 2 trial were so promising that the ALS community is pushing the FDA to fast track approval.  They have gone so far as to ask the FDA to skip a Phase 3 trial, the only time in history that the ALS Association has asked the FDA to do so.  However, it’s a long-shot.  If you or a loved one are struggling with ALS, contact the Monterey Chapter of ALS here:

http://web.alsa.org/site/TR?pg=entry&fr_id=14647&NONCE_TOKEN=D30086CF168CADF46857EB53C986C9EA

Pacific Grove, CA In Home Dialysis Expands Under Medicare

A person holding a stethoscope in their hand.


Senior citizens with kidney problems will have an option of in-home dialysis care covered by Medicare.  About 1 in 3 Medicare patients that are struggling with end-stage renal disease will be enrolled in the new program.  In addition to being more convenient, it will reduce the risk of being exposed to people with COVID-19.  Medicare also announced that it will increase the amount it pays provider of home kidney treatments to help gain traction with the program.  About 92,000 Americans are currently on the kidney transplant list.  For more information, talk to one of our local dialysis centers in Monterey County which are listed here:

https://www.dialysisfinder.com/dialysis-centers/monterey/ca/100#.X9Kn79hKjcs

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver

A close up of many viruses on a red background


There were just 24 new cases of coronavirus reported in Monterey County today, bringing the total to 42,667 cases, with one new death reported.  Nationwide, there were 58,856 cases for a cume total of 29.599 million, while deaths rose by 574 to 538,134.  In California, there were 1,716 new cases, bringing the cume total up to 3.632 million.  Deaths rose by 145 to 57,016.  Please stay home and stay safe as much as possible.

Monterey, CA Alzheimer’s Sufferers Get New Hope

A purple background with the alzheimer 's association logo.


According to a study which was published in The New England Journal of Medicine, Eli Lilly and Company’s experimental drug could slow the cognitive decline of those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.  The downside, however, is that the drug is intravenous, not in a pill form.  An early clinical trial studied 257 with early signs of Alzheimer’s.  Of those, 131 received the drug and 126 received a placebo.  Researchers found that those who got the drug showed a slowing of cognitive decline and the ability to perform daily functions by 32% after 76 weeks, compared to those who received a placebo.   The study also looked at the build up of amyloid beta plaque and tau proteins, both of which are signs of Alzheimer’s disease.  At the 52-week mark in the Phase 2 Clinical Trial, almost 60% of participants who received the drug were amyloid-negative.  At week 76, amyloid plaque levels decreased by 85% in those taking the drug versus those who received the placebo.  Regular readers of my blog know that both my father and grandmother had this terrible disease when they passed away.  There are great people at our local chapter of Alzheimer’s Association in Ryan’s Ranch.  They also have a 24-hour hotline if you need support at 800-272-3900.

The History Of Family inHome Caregiving : Part 1 The Rocking Chair

A man and woman standing next to each other.


When I first started working with seniors, I was 18 years old and I worked at a skilled Nursing Facility in Tigard Oregon. I worked with normally 15 to 16 patients each day, getting them showered, dressed and ready for breakfast. After breakfast I would take some of the residents to break rooms where they could spend their time reading, playing games and talking to friends. There was also a courtyard where on nice days they could go out and enjoy the beautiful weather. There was one lady that I grew extremely close to.  She was a Native American who was a centenarian at 102 years old! And she had a lot of beautiful stories that she told me that I remember to this day. I would often sit in her rocking chair and have my lunch with her while she was eating. When I first started taking care of her, her children (one son and two daughters) would not let me get her out of bed. In the beginning, I did as they requested (after all they were all over 6 feet tall and built very strongly). However, after about a month went by, she started asking me to transfer her to the rocking chair because she would tire of being in bed all the time. So I relented and transferred her to her rocking chair. Of course, about 30 minutes later, her children came in and blew a gasket, yelled at me saying “we told you not to move her out of her bed, didn’t you listen to us”? I slowly turned around and looked at the Mom.  I saw that she was furious that they yelled at me, so she started yelling herself! “I told Richard to put me in this chair because I’m tired of sitting in that bed all day long and if you don’t like it, you can get out and don’t come back,” she said. Well, needless to say, the children backed down and apologized to me. I told them that I understood their concern and that I would make sure that nothing happened to her while she was out of bed, so they agreed. Now that the children were ok with me taking her out of bed, I asked her if she would like to get into a wheelchair and I could take her out of the room.  We could go to the courtyard and around the building to break up the monotony of staying in the room. She enjoyed being able to get out and experience and see other surroundings besides her two roommates and four walls. She was next to a window that looked out to the courtyard, so that is why she wanted to go out there. About six months into taking care of her and taking her out and around the facility, I asked her if she would like to get on the facilities tour bus that drove around the area for a few hours once a week. They had one trip that I thought she would really like, it was a tour through the Rose Gardens by the Portland Zoo.  It’s an incredibly beautiful area in the springtime. So, I asked her children if it would be ok and they said yes, absolutely. So, on the next ride that went to the Rose Gardens, we got her on the bus and she was able to experience this beautiful moment.  Unfortunately, I was not allowed to go. But I was there when she arrived back at the facility and the look on her face was all I needed to see. She told me about all of the roses they saw and the colors she had seen, and she started crying because she did not think that she would ever be able to have such an experience at 102. Unfortunately, she passed away about a month later.  This was a very sad day for me, but a day I have never forgotten, and never will. After her passing the children came to me at the home to clear out her belongings and asked if I would help, so I did. The last piece of furniture to go was the rocking chair that I used to sit in and listen to her stories. The son turned to me and said that their mom had made the decision that she wanted me to have that rocking chair, so I accepted it. Over forty years later, I still have that rocking chair, it’s been reupholstered a few times, but I will never give it away. That is when I knew that I wanted to be a person that worked with and for seniors, but it was three decades before I would fulfill my dream of starting my own in-home caregiving company.

Monterey, CA Check Out CHOMP’s Diabetes Self-Management Series

A blood glucose level chart showing the optimal levels.


Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, CHOMP, has a great Diabetes Self-Management Series and the cost of the sessions may be covered by Medicare if you have a referral from a physician.  Learn more about your diabetes and the day-to-day skills needed to live a healthy life and prevent complications.  Registered dieticians and nurses will hold one-on-one sessions with you and talk about monitoring your blood sugar levels, the best diet, medication and non-medication options to keep you healthy.  Call 649-7220 for more information.

Monterey, CA Coronavirus Update From A Carmel Caregiver

A nurse is smiling next to an older woman.


There were 541 new COVID-19 cases announced for Monterey County over the last three days, bringing the total up to 39,966.  There was also one new death reported.  Nationwide, there were 114,234 new cases, for a total of 26.523 million.  Deaths rose by 2,198 to 448,759, we are getting very close to the half of a million mark.  In California, there were7,669 new cases for a total of 3.357 million, while deaths rose by 336 to 41,917.  True, the numbers are slowing down a bit, they are still high.  Please stay home and stay safe.