A Stroke of Luck
It was a cold and snowy January morning five years ago when I found a dear friend slumped in his chair, breathing but unresponsive, his empty coffee cup rolled away from him on the carpet. It was three days since I’d last seen him, hale and hearty on a bird-watching hike. When the ambulance team had him wrapped and strapped on a stretcher, I asked, “Do you think it’s a stroke?” “Probably,” was the terse answer. Six months later my friend was moved from hospital, after a minimum of therapy, to a care facility. Five months after that he was brought to my home for a holiday...
Read MoreALS Ice Bucket Challenge
What will it do to their brain … this is what I asked myself when I saw a few videos about the latest fundraising craze, the ALS Icebucket Challenge. Do people not know why we have health challenges such as arthritis, headaches, joint pain, strokes, tinnitus, and so on, as well as ALS, Alzheimer’s, Dementia and Parkinson’s? We have these problems because some cells in a specific part of our body or in our brain are unable to communicate with each other. This lack of communication, i.e. sending messages to each other, can be caused by many things, including stress, injuries,...
Read MoreStroke and Reflexology
What does success look like? When people come into my office at Centerline Reflexology, we have an initial discussion. We address goals and expectations. Sometimes people don’t realize that it may take a series of four or more sessions before they start to see and feel changes. Reflexology and foot massage always feel great, but results take time. In looking at studies worldwide, I can provide my clients with information on the typical duration of the healing process, but every body is different and results will vary. Barbara and Kevin Kunz have had success treating stroke clients...
Read MoreToo Exhausted To Care?
It is stressful for adult children to provide comprehensive daily care to their elderly parents, especially when one or both of their parents are not as independent any more. It’s usually the daughter caring for her elderly mother. The family caregiver can become mentally and physically exhausted, irritable and resentful. I was reading a very informative article about ‘caregiver burnout’ last week and noted that all the same signs and tips around caregiver burnout were the same as what someone may experience with any type of burnout. Do you want to check and see if you qualify? Are...
Read MoreRinging in the Ears
Often I have clients who do not even mention that they hear a ringing in their ears. They want help for their back pain, grief, anxiety, sleep problems, prostate, constipation and other problems and have no idea that Tinnitus is a serious sign that something is wrong and that there is help … the earlier the better. Years ago, I worked in the area of home support and had just finished my reflexology studies. An 80 year old gentleman told me about ringing of his ear. I was curious as to whether I could help and gave him a little reflexology session. He was my last client and I had the...
Read MoreReflexology Your Fitness Partner
To get the most out of reflexology as a partner to your fitness goals, balance must be considered. Sessions can be easily incorporated into your workout or running routine to enhance your physical well being and overall performance. A reflexology session enhances circulation and can assist in preventing many cramps, spasms, aches and pains associated with extended exercise/running periods. Since the blood stream is responsible for supplying the muscle cells with nutrients and oxygen, while also removing toxins and waste products (generated by extended muscle exertion), increasing circulation...
Read MoreMultitasking and Mobility Risks
Aging can be fun if you lay back and enjoy it. – Clint Eastwood In cognitive psychology, “cognitive load” is the load related to the control of our working memory. Theories say that during complex learning activities, the amount of information that must be processed simultaneously can overload the overall limit of working memory that one possesses. Working memory also includes the visual representation of pending body movements. The more a person attempts to learn/process in a shorter amount of time, the more difficult it is to process that information in working memory. For...
Read MoreFrom Field to Fridge
We all do it and most of the time, we do it several times a day … eating food, cooking it, buying it, and sharing it with family and friends. Most of the time, it comes in quick bites and the more convenient the better. Many people lead busy lives that don’t include time to sit down and enjoy a meal, instead choosing to eat on the run or practicing distracted eating while performing a handful of tasks at once. Maybe it doesn’t need to be like that. Give it time, time to think, time to choose, time to eat and enjoy. How much importance do you place on the food you put in your...
Read MoreWhat Reflexology is All About
The complimentary practice of reflexology has been around for thousands of years. The populace of Denmark, China and the United Kingdom have made reflexology an integral part of their health care. Stats Canada states that more people are now seeking complimentary services (like reflexology) than ever before. Still, many people may be wondering “what is it all about?” Here are some commonly asked questions and answers on the topic of reflexology. What is reflexology? Reflexology is a very specific type of gentle foot massage that works with the nervous system and connective...
Read MoreAfrican Grandmothers’ Voices
I sat , transfixed by her words: ‘Six years ago I was dead! I was sick with AIDS, abandoned by my family and afraid what would become of my grandchildren. And look at me now. I am alive; I am healthy; I can do anything! My grandchildren are going to school; they are no longer hungry; they are doing well. I work in the community garden and I teach sewing. I can do anything! I am not afraid of anything! And it is all thanks to the NLK organization and the Stephen Lewis Foundation.’ The woman was speaking in Amharic , and she had made eye contact with me. Subdued and a little shy at first in...
Read MoreA Lesson in Missed Opportunity
Opportunities are like sunrises. If you wait too long, you miss them. – William Arthur Ward Perhaps you saw in one of our previous articles about how Nurse Next Door’s Dream On Seniors Wish Foundation aims to make the dreams of elder seniors come true. We even had the opportunity to make one come true a few months back which was incredibly fulfilling. This story was supposed to be about another recent dream come true. But it’s not. It’s a sad story from this past week that was crushing. Here’s why… We connected with a number of individual seniors and their spouses in the fall...
Read MoreFrom the Bottom of your Foot
You’ve just woken up, thrown the covers off, had a good stretch, swung your feet on the ground and are about to embark on a new day! As the weight of your body shifts to your feet, you quickly realize something is wrong. PAIN! If this happens to you, and your first step of the day is the most painful, you are likely suffering from plantar fasciitis. On the bottom surface of the foot (the plantar), there is a thick fibrous band of connective tissue. Plantar Fasciitis is the name given to the breakdown and often inflammation of this connective tissue. People who have been walking on hard...
Read MoreFoot Savvy
How do your feet feel right now? Most of us may say, “They feel fine”. Let’s see how they are when they are activated. When sitting, try to circle your feet clockwise a few times, then counter-clockwise. Alternate pointing your toes up towards the sky and then towards the ground. Are you starting to get a sense of them now? Do you feel any pulling, aching or sense of tension during any of those movements? Do you have a full range of motion? We don’t often tune-in to how our feet feel – that is, until they start to really hurt. Those little exercises above are a...
Read MoreEverybody is I
“Everybody is I” … I read this phrase decades ago in the autobiography The Growing up Pains of Adrian Plass. It resonates even more deeply now as I attempt to be understanding of my mom’s skewed world. Her panic is rooted in dementia not reality, but it is not unfounded in her own mind and its effect is extremely challenging for me, the ‘I’ in my world. I am a therapist but I never have it ALL together. I’m not sure this is a bad thing – not sure that as a client, I would want to be sitting across from a chair in which sits someone who has it easy or is...
Read MoreThey Also Serve Who …
A few years back, a dear friend and I often commented on the ongoing construction of two care facilities in Parksville and Qualicum Beach, most often expressing our vehement desires to end up any place but … Fate was not listening though, and since a severe stroke, my dear friend has been a resident in one of these buildings for five years. I, on the other hand, have been a constant visitor to the facility, and though I most dearly cherish my health and freedom, I now appreciate the gap these facilities fill; the link between self-sufficiency and dependence in our community; and yes, the...
Read MoreRespite means Rejuvenation
Family caregiving is a part of daily life for many. It’s been said that over three-quarters of all caregiving is done by family members. Caregiving is a demanding, sometimes very difficult job and no one is equipped to do it alone. If you are doing it alone, consider some respite as a break that you deserve. It’s hard to step back and take a real objective look at a situation when we are so deep in it. So respite care can provide that short term break that relieves stress, restores energy, and promotes some balance in your life. Respite care doesn’t mean that you are dodging...
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