Greetings !
Our newsletter will now be seasonal, and SPRING has sprung!
Here at Always There Home Care, we are grateful you are slowing down to read our newsletter, which is full of items that relate to home care, home health care, aging & eldercare, as well as some useful tips for daily living.
Please enjoy in the spirit of community and cooperation in which this newsletter was sent.
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Please take some time to watch our video!
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Regina McNamara RN, MSN President & Kelly McNamara, Chief Operating Officer
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Photos in top banner: Easter in Canada! Ryan and Nora (Regina’s grandchildren); Mishelle and her new brother RJ; Grace (our Graphic Designer’s daughter) in her first ballet recital.
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FEATURE ARTICLE
21 Ways to Celebrate Life
After Nancy Rothstein’s son, Josh, passed away unexpectedly, she was seeking a way to offer a tribute for family and friends to honor his birthday. With each passing birthday, she adds one more item to the list.
Last April 16 would’ve been Josh’s 21st birthday, and true to her tradition, Nancy shared these 21 ways to celebrate life:
- Smile. Smiling makes you and those around you feel good. If you don’t feel good, a smile can trick your brain into feeling better.
- Eat ice cream.
- Run on the beach. If you can’t physically do this, use your imagination.
- Call someone who is ill or lonely. Listen to their story. Take the time. Tell them your story, if they ask.
- Listen to music that touches your heart and soul.
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Photo left to right: Darcey and Mishelle both taking naps; Mishelle and her cat (?); Ryan and Nora (Regina’s grandchildren) on Easter; Ryan’s family tree that he made.
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KUDOS from KELLY
Our Everyday Heroes
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Bernice Addo: Dr. P is a uniquely admired, loved and revered client of Always There Home Care. This 95-year-old retired cardiologist is fortunate to live out his years in his beautiful home in Farmington, as a member of Seabury At Home program.
For nearly five years. Dr. P. has been the recipient of a unique and special love by his full-time caregiver Bernice. In addition to her usual tasks, Bernice also observes and assesses him carefully for any impending medical issues.
Though his lovely home has many breathtaking views of the Farmington valley and Hartford, Bernice and Dr. P are most often busy with local road trips. With Bernice driving and Dr. P navigating, they enjoy lunches out, trips to the grocery store, ice cream parlors, and other local sites. They take walks in his lovely neighborhood and on nearby Hill stead museum grounds.
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MOM REMEMBERS DAD, BUT SHE ALSO HAS A NEW BOYFRIEND
Anonymous writes: My mother has been in a memory care center for 2-½ years. She has recently started kissing a fellow resident even though she still recognizes my dad when he comes to visit. Most recently, she has now been found in this other man’s bed twice. My dad and my sister are using humor to deal with the situation but I am heartbroken. I do realize that it is the disease and not my mom making these choices. How do you deal with these situations?
The first, and most important thing that we need to deal with is the issue of CONSENT. Consent is a really challenging thing to measure when people have dementia. Honestly, due to the fact that we don’t know exactly what is going on in the brain of someone with dementia (does she think that he is her husband? etc.) all we can ask ourselves is this: does she seem happy and willing to consent? Does the man in this relationship seem happy and willing to engage with this woman? If the answer is, “Yes, both parties seem happy,” then we can generally agree that the relationship is consensual.
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REGINA'S REFLECTIONS
Dear Caregivers...
How on earth do you all do it??
Please all caregivers…. Enlighten me on this one simple question……
How in the world do you manage to:
- Care for your children
- Find reliable child care
- Care for / manage husband / boyfriend / girlfriend
- Always look well-groomed and dressed
- And finally; perform amazingly well as a professional caregiver????
- Seriously… HOW???
For a mere THREE DAYS, Tom, I and Darcey cared for a 3-year-old while her mom and dad were busy having a baby. Due to Covid precautions, my friend Angie and her husband Ray, remained in the hospital for 3 days.
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WHEN INSULTS HAD CLASS... and lacked "political correctness"
These glorious insults are from an era before the English language got boiled down to 4-letter words.
A member of Parliament to Disraeli: “Sir, you will either die on the gallows or of some unspeakable disease.
“That depends, Sir,” said Disraeli, “whether I embrace your policies or your mistress.”
“He had delusions of adequacy.” - Walter Kerr
“He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire.” - Winston Churchill
“I have never killed a man, but I have read many obituaries with great pleasure.” - Clarence Darrow
“He has never been known to use a word that might send a reader to the dictionary.” - William Faulkner (about Ernest Hemingway)
“Thank you for sending me a copy of your book; I’ll waste no time reading it.” - Moses Hadas
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The sole purpose of a child’s middle name is so he knows when he’s really in trouble.
Did you ever notice that when you put the 2 words
“The” and “IRS” together it spells “Theirs?”
Aging:
- Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying
about your age and start bragging about it.
- Some people try to turn back their “odometers.” Not me.
- I want people to know why I look this way.
- I’ve traveled a long way and a lot of the roads were not paved.
- You know you are getting old when everything either dries up, sags or leaks.
- Ah! Being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
- Lord, keep your arm around my shoulder and your hand over my mouth.
May you always have:
Love to share,
Cash to spare,
Tires with air,
And friends who care
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PROVIDERS WE LOVE
We are privileged to have received referrals from and be able to coordinate care with many Assisted Living facilities, rehab facilities, and Medicare Home Care and Hospice agencies. Our growth is in large part due to the trust the staff in these organizations have put in our caregivers. We are likewise impressed with them and we are committed to referring to them on a regular basis
- Seabury Active Living Retirement Community, and Seabury at Home, Bloomfield
- Seasons Hospice and Palliative Care, Middlebury CT
- Masonicare Home Health and Hospice - Danielson, Derby, East Hartford, Mystic, Norwalk and Wallingford
- McLean Home Health and Hospice
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800.348.0485 ~ We are Always There
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