The FirstLight Care Corner

Want To Feel Older Instead of Younger?

From our Care Blog

Without a doubt, our society is obsessed with being younger. More than $114 billion will be spent on anti-aging products by 2015. We’re always after the “fountain of youth”, a way to turn back the clock and eradicate the wrinkles on our face and maintain our youthful vigor. I remember when I was young and my Mom was 50. I thought that was ancient! Now that I am in my 50s, even 80 seems young. Your perspective totally changes. When my kids call me an “old lady”, I am offended by the reference. Wonder why our aging parents are always...

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Be Optimistic Even In The Face of Grim News

From our Care Blog

There are those who see the glass half full and others who see the glass half empty. At FirstLight Home Care, we always see the glass half full with hope. Did you recently receive a cancer diagnosis? Have a chronic debilitating illness? March is National Optimism Month, and as hard as it is, you have to try and maintain a positive attitude. You have to take all your negative thoughts and stuff them under your mattress where you can’t see or reach them. My Mom was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and lupus when she was 20-years-old and had a colostomy...

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Are You A Heart Attack Waiting to Happen?

From our Care Blog

Too often we ignore the warning signs of a heart attack, thinking it might be indigestion or the strain of a muscle. That’s why heart attacks are nicknamed “the silent killer”, because rarely do they just happen suddenly. Usually there are a number of warning signs that should never be ignored. More than a million Americans have a heart attack every year, and chronic heart disease is the leading killer of both men and women in the United States. A heart attack, or a myocardial infarction (MI) causes permanent damage to the heart muscle. Oxygen rich blood stops flowing to...

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Seniors and Alzheimer's

From our Care Blog

Improving Quality of Life for Seniors with Alzheimer’s Alzheimer’s is a particularly cruel disease, as it wipes away a human’s personality one day at a time until they become unrecognizable to us. And though it happens relatively frequently in seniors, almost to the point of expecting it, it still isn’t any easier to both cope or live with. How Alzheimer’s Starts Progresses, and Ends Over 100 years ago, in 1906, the disease now known as Alzheimer’s was first discussed by Alois Alzheimer. And today, a century after it was first described, almost 30 million people worldwide suffer from it, with the...

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Plan Ahead With Advanced Directives

From our Care Blog

None of us can predict when we are going to be suddenly incapacitated. You’re driving down the road, minding your own business and bam! Before you know it, you are in a car accident! Or maybe you find yourself in an unexpected coma. Although we hope it never happens, you have to be prepared. You want to be in control of your own healthcare options if you are too ill to express your own wishes. Advanced directives are legal documents that allow you to express your end-of-life wishes should the situation arise. In most states, these consist of two documents:...

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Hospice Care Doesn't Mean End of Life

From our Care Blog

It used to be that the term “hospice care” meant you were terminally ill and dying. It was a frightening word whispered under your breath so your parent or loved one didn’t think it was their end-of-life and give up. At FirstLight Home Care, we have provided hospice care for people who recover and rehabilitate and resume their normal lives. Basically hospice care can mean that dying is a possibility versus a guaranteed reality. Patients can go in and out of hospice care as needed. What Is Hospice Care? Hospice is indeed for those who have a limited life expectancy...

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Are You A Novice Blood Donor?

From our Care Blog

Did you know that every time you donate blood, you could be saving three lives? That you can store your own blood for future needs? There are many myths about blood donation and its safety after the initial scare in the 1990s when unsafe blood banking practices came to light due to people contracting HIV and hepatitis. However, the FDA put rigid guidelines into place to ensure sterile procedures and proper equipment disposal. About 5 million people get blood transfusions every year. They are often necessary after surgery, an injury, cancer treatments, heart surgeries, organ transplants or for those with...

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What Is Personal Care?

From our Care Blog

Actually, every service that FirstLight Home Care provides is personalized – whether it’s dementia care, senior care, respite care, care for people with disabilities, or care for the chronically ill. That’s because each of us is unique, with our own schedules, lifestyles and needs. At FirstLight, we call our home care aides caregivers, because that’s what they do – take care of you. You may have heard them called personal care assistants, companions, or personal support workers. No matter their title, they are passionate about helping you with the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), particularly those involving your personal, physical...

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Give Yourself A Much Needed Break With Respite Care

From our Care Blog

You may be burnt out. Stressed out. Like many Americans, you may be taking care of your Mom, Dad, or other loved ones. On top of that, you may also have a job and an immediate family of your own.  There is not enough hours in a day – definitely not enough hours to take care of yourself. You want to scream: can’t I get a break? As a matter of fact, you can and you need one. What The Numbers Say According to the National Alliance for Caregiving, you are not alone. In fact, more than 65 million people,...

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Ways to Make In-Home Care Easier

From our Care Blog

There's no question providing care at home for a loved one is a hard job. Having good resources at hand, both products and services, is a big help. Here are a few of the resources available for patients and for the people who help to take care of them. Oxygen Concentrators Oxygen therapy can be a difficult burden for patients and caregivers to take on, especially when first starting. Managing bulky tanks can be physically difficult and seriously limit patient mobility. Having sufficient oxygen supplies on hand is also a work-intensive chore. New oxygen therapy devices called oxygen concentrators are...

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