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There were 19 new cases of coronavirus reported in Monterey County today, bringing the total to 43,057 cases, with no new deaths reported.  Nationwide, there were 65,025 new cases, for a cume total of 30.878 million. Deaths rose by 907, for a total of 558,815. In California, there were 2,170 new cases, for a total of 3.687 million. Deaths rose by 100 to 59,926. Please stay home and stay safe as much as possible.
Although many people have only used telemedicine, or virtual medicine, for the first time during the pandemic, this may become very popular going forward. However, some worry that doctors appointments that are not done in person may not allow the physician to pick up on telltale physical clues which can be masked by the camera. Body language can give a physician important clues to your health. Despite the pro’s and con’s, I think that going forward most patients will feel a mix of physical and virtual appointments will be the best bet.
There were 36 new cases of coronavirus reported in Monterey County today, bringing the total to 43,038 cases, with no new deaths reported.  Nationwide, there were 76,624 new cases, for a cume total of 30.813 million. Deaths rose by 530, for a total of 555,939. In California, we now have the lowest COVID-19 positivity rate in the entire U.S. There were 2,532 new cases, for a total of 3.685 million. Deaths rose by 85 to 59,826. Please stay home and stay safe as much as possible.
Please visit us at www.familyinhomecaregiving.com
Everyone wants to keep their brains working in full order as long as possible, and the key can be healthy living, getting the proper amount of exercise and social interaction. The latter is easier said than done given the massive spreading of coronavirus. Although board games can be fun, with COVID-19 many seniors are turning to video games. According to an AARP survey, 44% of adults over the age of 50 played video games in 2019 versus 38% in 2016. That’s 10 million more older gamers! About a quarter of gamers play multiuser games, which can increase social interaction which will hopefully ward off early onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. 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 Monterey police are warning local residents of a phone scam where callers identify themselves as law enforcement and demand payment, threatening you with arrest if you don’t comply. Some identify themselves with the actual names of local or federal law enforcement. They will ask you to buy bitcoin or gift cards and then read the serial numbers off of the cards. Your caller ID may show the call is coming from a local law enforcement agency, the FBI or the IRS. If you receive a suspicious call, you can contact the Monterey Police Department at 646-3830 or 646-3914.
More and more seniors are turning to Telehealth programs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “When you’re not feeling well, having to get up, get dressed and drive all the way to the hospital and then get in line and then possibly get sick from someone else is not all that appealing,†Marla Jo Fisher, a writer, told AARP Bulletin (November 2020, page 44). Medicare is expanding coverage of telehealth visits during the pandemic, changes which hopefully will remain in place. The Department of Health and Human Services recently reported that less than 1% of primary care visits in February were via Telehealth, a number which jumped to 43.5% in April. California has a bill going into effect on January 1 requiring all insurers to pay for Telehealth visits. If your doctor isn’t using Telehealth, talk to Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, CHOMP, on suggestions.
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:
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
Getting a good night’s rest is important to seniors, however, sleeping a consistent number of hours is important as well. A review of studies which was published in Endocrine Review found that a sleep shift of even an hour was enough to decrease insulin sensitivity. To get more helpful tips on diabetes, visit Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula, CHOMP’s, Diabetes and Nutrition website. You will find useful information about support groups, classes and more.
https://www.chomp.org/locations/location-profile/diabetes-and-nutrition-therapy/#.X9F3p9hKjcs
Another useful resource is Community Health Innovations. A full 45% of Monterey County residents have Diabetes or pre-Diabetes!
https://communityhealthinnovations.org/what-we-do/diabetes-prevention-management/
There were 18 new cases of coronavirus reported in Monterey County today, bringing the total to 42,979 cases, with no new deaths reported.  Vaccinations in the county continue to rise, with 35% of eligible county residents receiving at least one dose of the vaccine. Nationwide, there were 77,624 new cases for a grand total of 30.508 million. New cases rose for the third day in a row, with more than 15K more new cases than two days ago. Deaths rose by 1,441, more than double the 561 reported yesterday. In California, there were 3,836 new cases, more than double the 1,858 cases reported the day prior. Deaths came in at 259 (versus 95 yesterday), for a cume total of 59,492. These numbers are not looking good, please stay home and stay safe as much as possible.
Working in this industry really takes a toll on a person after a while and I have been working in this industry on and off for over twenty years. There is a lot of things that happen that surprises people that do not work as a caregiver or as a hands-on owner of a Home Care Organization like I have in Carmel, California. One such circumstance happened when I was working for a Skilled Nursing Facility on the Alzheimer’s wing (now it is call a memory ward). I was making my rounds in the early afternoon helping our patients with eating and getting cleaned up after lunch when all of a sudden, I heard a loud scream at the other end of the hall, so I took off to see what the commotion was. As I was walking fast down the hallway, I heard a thump as if someone fell to the floor. When I came around the corner and looked in the room, one of our patients was on top of her husband who had fallen to the floor. She was having a very violent episode and was attacking her husband and did not know who he was. I called for some help so we could stop her and get her back into bed and the nurse came in to give her some medication to calm her down. This might not seem so strange to those that know Alzheimer’s disease, but what made this surreal to me at the time was that his wife was only about 5’3†and weighed about 95 lbs. and the husband was a big man (about 6’2†and weighing about 190 lbs.), so to see him on the floor with her on top of him was a shock to me. After everything calmed down, I asked him what had happened. He said that he came into the room and gave her a kiss hello and then turned around to go open the window a little to get some fresh air. As he turned and approached the end of the bed, he heard her scream, by the time he turned around to see what was going on, she was standing on top of the bed at the end and jumped onto him causing him to lose his balance and fall down (fortunately no one was hurt) to the floor with her on top of him. She just keep hitting him until we were able to remove her. I am amazed at the things that happen when a person that has Alzheimers disease acts out. As regular readers of my blog know, I took care of my Grandmother in my home in Carmel Valley (used to be Salinas, they keep changing our zip code) for 5 years. She was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s when she was about 92 and there was times that she would go through stages of paranoia, screaming fits, trying to leave by calling cabs, and a variety of other acts that were very strange. The one thing that people that are working with family members, loved one, patients or clients, need to remember is that it is the disease that makes them act out in these strange ways. There are medications that can help. Once we were able to get Nana on a regimen of the correct medications and the correct doses, we were able to start having a better time, but it took a while to get there. Up until about the last month we were going out to dinners on Friday’s which she loved to do. She had her favorite places, some in Pacific Grove and Carmel-by-the-Sea, and Carmel Valley. So, for all of you family members that are taking care of a loved one that has Dementia or Alzheimers remember to take some respite, you need to take care of yourselves in order to be able to take care of your loved one. It is not an easy task. The emotional, mental, and physical tasks take a lot out of a person and you will not be in the best shape for your family member or loved one if you do not take care of yourself also. There are companies like mine, Family inHome Caregiving of Monterey, that can come in and take care of your loved one from a few hours a day and up, so you can take that time off to regenerate your batteries and come back refreshed and start anew. To learn more about myself and my company click here:
https://familyinhomecaregiving.com/the-history-of-family-inhome-caregiving-part-1-the-rocking-chair/
and here:
https://familyinhomecaregiving.com/the-history-of-family-inhome-caregiving-part-2-the-race-is-on/