From 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...
Read MoreWhen feet hurt …
Fallen arches might be caused by back problems. Are you surprised by this statement? It would have surprised me ten years ago because we are constantly reading and hearing that when we have foot pain we should buy orthotics, insoles and arch supports. When feet hurt, our first step is to get the right shoes and supports, but the answer to pain may be a step further. Consulting a foot health specialist can bring definitive diagnosis and treatment for your pain. In Germany this is called Senk-Knickfuss-Syndrom (fallen-arch-syndrome). The term “syndrome” means that nobody...
Read MoreAre you at Nutritional Risk?
“34% of Canadian Seniors are at Nutritional Risk … says Statistics Canada”. When I first heard this statement on the news last year, the first thought that came to mind was “I believe that statistic in reality is higher”. Additional highlights which the study found were: • 34% of Canadians aged 65 or older were at nutritional risk • 15% skipped meals almost every day • 18% ate fewer than two servings of fruit and vegetables daily • 23% never or rarely ate with someone • 18% found cooking a chore To how many of the above statements can you say “Yes, that’s me!”? The...
Read MoreLessons of Stone Soup
I recently discovered a new – to me – Island magazine Island Farm & Garden Resourceful Living. As a magazine buff, I was really impressed by the quality of both its format and its content. The publisher, Lesley Lorenz, has created a first class magazine and she should be congratulated. Another talented Island woman who makes the Island so special. It is available in print and online. The article below was published the winter 2013/2014 issue and is yet another example of the resourcefulness and tenacity of Island women. Please read this and then consider how we can emulate...
Read MoreListen to the signs
Our body gives us signs long before disease strikes … what are they? Are they easy to notice? Do we need tests? Do they have to be painful? Actually there is only one health problem and that is the inability of cells to communicate with each other. Depending on the area in which this occurs, the problem gets a name and these are the known diseases. The energy that travels throughout the body is called Chi or Qi. This energy is essential for our well being. It travels in channels, called meridians. When the Chi-flow is impeded, the cells cannot communicate properly. We all know...
Read MoreTop 10 greatest things about aging
“Life is a country that the old have seen, and lived in. Those who have to travel through it can only learn the way from them.” – Joseph Joubert Aging is great! We all do it, albeit at seemingly different rates, and we share this trait with each other with varying levels of grace. Wouldn’t it be great to celebrate aging more? Well, I’m not willing to stand by and wait … So here is a list of greatest things about aging, with tongue firmly placed in cheek, for you to enjoy: 1. Time. You have much time to enjoy, or do whatever you please with. All those fun and interesting things...
Read MoreMaking Dreams Come True
Back in summer we wrote about ‘Celebrating Aging’. In that column I wrote about the Dream On Seniors Wish Foundation and how the mission of this foundation is to make the dreams of seniors come true; to celebrate aging. Well, that isn’t the end of this chapter. During the summer, we at Nurse Next Door had the opportunity to team up with Vancouver Island University (VIU) in Nanaimo, with their MBA Program specifically, and raise awareness and funds in the community. The vehicle for the fundraising was a great idea proposed by VIU – an event based on the TV show ‘The Apprentice’,...
Read MoreAlternative Healing Directions
When we don’t feel vital, alert, and full of joy and optimism, our body wants to tell us something … no matter how old we are! Who of us is listening to what our body wants to tell us??? We are told that it is just a part of life or of getting older … and most of us believe this. What can we do to regain well being? We can take pills. The symptoms will go away but the true cause is mostly not addressed; therefore we have to take the pills until the end of our life. What is the true cause? It is most likely physical or emotional trauma, toxins or other environmental hazards that...
Read MoreLoss and Grieving
Three of our longer term clients passed away recently. They were wonderful people and will always be in our memory and a special part of our company’s history. They also made us think of the loss and grieving process in more depth. Grieving has five stages. Although everyone who goes through bereavement will experience all stages, the amount of time spent in each stage, as well as the order in which each stage is experienced, will differ by individual. The five stages are: Denial and Isolation The first reaction to learning of terminal illness or death of a loved one is to deny reality....
Read MoreMy Mom and Michael J Fox
I was surprised years ago by Michael J. Fox’s skill as a writer. I read ‘Lucky Man’ when it first came out in 2002 and wondered if the creative piece that informs his acting also contributes to his engaging writing. What was most notable, however, was his outlook: this was a grateful man. Years after his initial diagnosis of Parkinson’s, he is still feeling fortunate. Upon hearing that there might be what the media is calling an ‘optimism gene’ (based on research by psychologist and neuroscientist Elaine Fox [no relation to Michael]. See article in Maclean’s, August 7,...
Read MoreCelebrating Aging
You know what’s really amazing? It’s something that we all share! Aging. Ok, I’m being a bit facetious here … but isn’t it about time we started celebrating aging more? I mean, we’re all doing it at an alarming rate (especially over the age of 25 when time seems to speed up)! I’m not talking about a STAT day or anything (although June IS the only lonely month without a STAT…) – but celebrating aging with fun, every day! Well, as it turns out, one great new foundation is celebrating aging. The Dream On Seniors’ Wish Foundation aims to celebrate aging and make the dreams of...
Read MoreHow Sweet It Is!
The first pleasure of my mornings starts with drooling a spoonful of golden honey into that first cup of coffee. Only then do the lists and chores of the day follow the sweet sipping from a sturdy wide-bottomed mug. Beekeeping naturally precedes the collection of honey, and beekeeping has often been out of favour in urban areas. But with the growing interest in and appreciation of homegrown food, the option of keeping a hive or two of bees in one’s own backyard is again becoming part of a homeowner’s possibilities for providing her own food. Just this spring, Qualicum Beach adopted a...
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