The FirstLight Care Corner

Three Early Signs of Dementia

From our Care Blog

So, it’s a Saturday and you have just taken your mom out for a nice lunch.  Your elderly mom however cannot remember where she put her checkbook.  And, she tripped a couple times as you brought her back to her house.  You also noticed that she seemed distant at lunch, and you caught her staring off into nowhere several times. None of these things should be a cause for alarm, right?  Geez, even I misplace my car keys about once a day.  However, as our parents and loved ones age, the occurrence of these events could be early signs of...

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Keeping A Thankful Journal

From our Care Blog

It is an annual tradition in our family to go around the Thanksgiving table and have everyone express one thing they are thankful for. One of my favorites is when my nephew said he was thankful he didn’t have to clean up the mess! But too soon, Thanksgiving is behind us, the stomach ache from eating too much turkey is long gone and the rat race begins anew. We get caught up in the stress, the negative feelings the holidays can elicit and we forget about all the good things. For instance, this is my first holiday season without my...

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Apps for Seniors

From our Care Blog

There are millions of apps in iTunes and it grows daily. Here’s some apps that might help seniors make their lives a little easier. ICE (In Case of Emergency). The ICE iPhone application provides emergency personnel or EMT's vital information that might save your life.  This information includes what  medicine you are taking and the dosages, allergies or reactions and any emergency contacts. This app is free. MedReminderPro. This app from Wooden Apps Production is a good basic pill-scheduling program with few frills, and only costs $2.99 in the App Store. It’s compatible with the iPad and iPod touch as well as...

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The Great American Smokeout!

From our Care Blog

Today, November 15 is the great American Smokeout, a day initiated by the American Cancer Society to bring awareness to a habit that can be life-threatening. Did you know that one in five Americans still smoke? Or that using tobacco is the #1 cause of premature death in the United States? It's going to take more than warnings on cigarette packages to get people to quit. Although smoking has been banned in many restaurants and buildings, we know that people who smoke will always find a time or place to smoke. And even though a pack of cigarettes can cost...

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Prevent Type 2 Diabetes

From our Care Blog

November is National Diabetes Month and FirstLight Home Care would like to bring your attention to an illness that impacts millions of Americans every day. According to the National Diabetes Association: Nearly 26 million children and adults in the United States have diabetes. Another 79 million Americans have pre-diabetes and are at risk for developing type 2  diabetes. The statistic that is most startling is: Recent estimates project that as many as 1 in 3 American adults will have diabetes in 2050 unless we take steps to Stop Diabetes. Although Type 1 diabetes is not preventable, Type 2 diabetes is....

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The Sandwich Generation...The New Normal?

From our Care Blog

Have you heard of the term “The Sandwich Generation?”  Well, if you haven’t up until now, then you’ll probably start to hear it more and more.  Heck, you might even be a member of The Sandwich Generation and you don’t even know it. It’s a term that I find extremely accurate and descriptive once you understand the context of which it’s used.  So what exactly does it mean? The Sandwich Generation is a generation of people who care for their agingparents while supporting their own children. Dorothy A. Miller coined the term “sandwich generation” back in 1981, and Carol Abaya has...

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Alternatives to the Traditional Funeral

From our Care Blog

Guest blogger: Julie Grannan My mom passed away on August 2, 1997.  Only 54 years old, she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a short six months prior.  Being “younger” I don’t believe that she and my dad had really discussed their funeral/burial preferences.  But when terminal illness comes knocking on your door, this often times awkward conversation has to be had. I was 18 years old at the time, and I remember being quite surprised and unsettled in my emotions when I heard that my mom wished to be cremated.  However, over time and definitely as I fully entered...

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Tips For Communicating With An Alzheimer’s Patient

From our Care Blog

Here at FirstLight Home Care, we work with lots of families caring for loved ones with many different diseases and disabilities.  One disease that is particularly heart wrenching to watch and personally endure is Alzheimer’s.  I have asked myself this question many times…as I get older “would I rather lose my physical capabilities or my memory?”  That’s definitely not a fair choice to make.  And, unfortunately we don’t get the choice.  Life happens as it’s going to happen, and then in order to move on, we have to learn to adapt to a “new normal.”  But, after talking to many...

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Tracking Devices for Your Wandering Parent

From our Care Blog

A GPS tracking device for your aging parent?  I know, it sounds a little strange at first…  at least it did to me.  I had really only heard of tracking devices being used by search and rescue teams, the police, and possibly the nervous parents of toddlers and/or new teenage drivers.  But, then you throw in the additional word “wandering” before “aging parent,” and my curiosity was peaked.  Maybe there are more uses and benefits than I originally thought. So, I recently began to read up on the various tracking device options that are out in themarket. Similar to satellite...

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Wii by Nintendo: An effective way for seniors to exercise and have fun

From our Care Blog

Video games often get a bad rap, especially when it comes to how many hours young kids and teenagers can be glued to them.  Hours of sedentary sitting along with the less-than-nutritious diets of many children are a recipe for an overweight, unhealthy generation.  But, video game promoters and advocates can create a case for the positives of video games for kids. Are there also benefits for seniors?  The resounding answer seems to be YES! Nintendo has been around since 1985, and they continuously come out with new and improved video games.  Starting with the Nintendo Entertainment Systems, moving on...

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