Legacy Corps
January
February
Newsletter
Issue #1
Winter
Inside this issue:
From the Coordinator
1
Up and Coming!
1
Did You Know?
1
Aging with Grace
2
Our Place
2
Food for Heart Health
3
Parenting Parents
3
Sudoku Puzzle
3
A Laugh A Day
4
Power Outages
4
Notes from the Coordinator
A New Year! I’m sure
many were more then
pleased to hail good bye
to 2013. For some,
there was illness that
came on unexpectedly
and changed life as you
knew it, unsuccessful
therapies that promised
so much and weren’t as
successful as you hoped
for or failed, hospitalizations, loss of friends
and/or loved ones and
the list goes on. BUT,
if we can just focus on
the new, the hopeful,
the unknown in a positive way, you may be
able to really look at the
future as a blessing, a
new beginning. Most
times, no matter what
the problem or incident
that occurs, there is help
around the corner for us
to tap into. The Office
for the Aging is a great
resource to call and inquire.
work out successfully
— or not so successfully if we have a negative
demeanor.
There is so much to be
thankful for and I hope
that you will find the
necessary help when
needed.
We are certainly not
alone in this journey.
Many times, it is our
Happy New Year to
attitude towards the sit- you and
uations that makes them yours.
it
K
Did You Know?
Up and Coming!
10:00-noon-Public Safety Bldg.
January 30th — Rm B. Introduction to MS & How to Assist
February 27th — Rm. B.
Religious Diversity in Offering
Respite Care
March 27th — Rm. B. TBA
280 Phoebe Lane, Delhi, NY
That February is Heart Health Month? Your heart beats 101,000 times a
day, and about 70-80 times per minute. In the course of a lifetime it will
pump about 800,000,000 pints, that adds up to about 3 billion beats! Most
animals only get 1 billion beats (from mice to elephants), and science isn’t
sure why there’s such a large difference.
The heart consists of two pumps, each made of two chambers. The right
atrium takes oxygen-depleted blood from the body and passes it through to
the right ventricle which passes it into the lungs. The left atrium takes the aerated blood from the lungs and passes it to the
left ventricle, which pumps it out into the body.
A typical athlete's heart moves 6-8 gallons per minute. In comparison, the best man-made heart can only pump 2.6 gallons
per minute, and lasts just five years. So, take care of your heart,
and it will take care of you!
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“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”
Aging with Grace
While aging is inevitable,
there is no reason why
advancing years must be
associated with pain, disability or mental decline.
Aging gracefully isn’t always easy, but attitude
matters a lot.
In November Kit was contacted by
The Jacksto’s who were the custodians of the Marion
Matthews Fund which provided Christmas presents to
the residents of The Countryside Care Center on
It’s true that aging brings
Route 10. The presents were donated yearly to aid the
hardships, but remember
residents that weren’t able to get out and shop for
the old are survivors.
their loved ones, but still wanted to give gifts. Since
Wisdom, resilience and a the closing of Countryside Care, there were plenty of
mature perspective are
extra gifts, but nowhere for them to go. Legacy was
often cited as the hardoffered the stock for those that attended Our Place and
won prizes of aging, but
Kit extended the offer to Walton Food Bank particigrowing old itself is an
pants at the UPC in Walton. For three days the gifts
accomplishment.
were offered in the basement of the United Presbyteri“But if you get to be old- an Church in December on Tuesday & Friday during
er, you have survived a lot Walton Food Bank hours, and Wednesday operating
of threats to your physical hours of Our Place. It was a great success! Over 70
and psychological integri- individuals went home happy, able to give something
ty that have affected other to their loved ones, and maybe a few little trinkets to
people who are no longer decorate their homes with for the holidays. One gentleman even said, “we saved Christmas”.
around,” psychologist
Whitbourne says.
For the holidays, Our Place participants also made
others put up their dukes,
determined to go down
swinging.
“To age gracefully, one
needs to anticipate the
changes that are inevitable. People who think rigidly don’t do that. As they
encounter the natural
changes of life that are
part of aging, these things
are experienced as negative and add a lot of stress
and strain to their lives.
They can’t manage it, and
they get depressed,” says
Mark Frazier, PsyD.
Part of the challenge of
aging gracefully is that
Kirt Spandlin, a former
you have to continue to
electrical engineer from
California, took on moun- find things that are imtain climbing after retire- portant to you. These can
ment. Now at 79, he still include travel, spiritual
climbs mountains with his pursuits, hobbies, new
social groups, lifelong
wife, Donna, who is 80.
“People think we’re nuts,” learning, volunteering, or
he says. But for him, ag- recapturing time with
ing with a bad attitude is family if one lacked the
chance during the career
simply out of the question. The Spradlins have years, experts say.
grown old with astonishing grace and acceptance.
But depression is a real
threat among the old;
some drift into isolation,
bitterness, and a sense of
meaninglessness. Still
Our Place
recipes-in-a-jar. It was jam, soups and cookie mixes
galore for a week or two as Cheryl Starcher-Ceresna
helped us can and measure the ingredients. Cheryl
was our guest instructor, and is the Program Educator
at Cornell Cooperative Extension.
The Townsend Street School PTA held a craft Bazaar
on 11/30. Our Place was present and took several
crafts made by the participants.
On December 11th, the Townsend School’s Select
Choir children sang for us. See them at: http://
www.legacycorps.org/ourplace.html on the right-hand
side.
Corrie Nealis continues to offer our exerPlan for purposeful activicise program for Our Place. Each session is
ties before you retire. It
approximately 30 minutes long, and taishould be a transition. It
lored for limited range movements!
shouldn’t be, ‘Stop work
one day and fall off a
cliff.’ It’s time to follow
24 Hour Helpline: 800.272.3900
where your passions lie.
www.alzneny.org
— http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/features
Email: [email protected]
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“It is better to be hated for what you are than to be loved for what you are not.” — Andre Gide
Foods for Heart Health
February is American
Heart Month. Hearth
problems are becoming
a leading cause of death
and debilitation. Maintaining cardiovascular
health has become a very
important consideration,
but did you know that
you can actually improve
your health by eating certain foods?
Berries — Raspberries and strawberries are both
directly linked to
improved cardiovascular
health. This is because
berries contain high
amounts of flavonoids
and anthocyanins that
help in dilating blood
vessels and reducing
blood pressure.
Fatty
Fishes —
Particularly
saltwater fish, such as
salmon and sardines, contain a lot of fats, but these
are predominantly
healthy fats as they contain huge amounts of
omega-3 fatty acids.
These fatty acids are directly linked to reduced
triglycerides and reduce
the risk of heart conditions such as arrhythmia
and atherosclerosis.
Citrus fruits — Consumption of citrus fruits,
such as oranges and lemons are directly linked to
improved cardiovascular
health. Its flavonoids are
responsible for reducing
the risks of cardiovascular health problems such
as stroke.
Parenting Parents
In addition to holding
down jobs and parenting
their children, more people
are also caring for aging
parents.
Use community resources. Local adult day
centers, senior activities,
and even clubs may provide activities. You can
learn more about them
through local senior centers or the web.
29% of U.S. adults are
caregivers. On avg. each
individual provides 20
hours of care weekly. 75% Ask for help from family
are working while provid- members. Be specific
about the help you need.
ing care.
It’s easy to put a loved
one’s needs before your
own, but caregivers must
remember to care for
themselves too.
Cut yourself some slack.
Do your best, but don’t
beat yourself up when you
can’t do it all. No one can.
Eat smart and exercise.
Schedule time for your- Avoid junk food, which we
self. Put “dates” on the cal- all crave during stressful
endar — and don’t cancel times; find a fitness partner
and get together regularly.
them. Even a dog walk
will do.
Nurture your spiritual
Share you feelings with
Nuts —
your family and friends,
Virtually
and a mental health profesall kinds
of nuts have dietary fiber, sional if needed. Don’t
bottle up your emotions.
which is good for your
heart. Nuts contain an
abundance of omega-3
Dark Chocolate — A
Sudoku. The aim
direct link to chocolate
& fatty acids, which is
consumption and reduced directly linked in reduc- of the puzzle is to
risk of heart attack and
ing bad cholesterol levels. enter a number
from 1 to 9 in
stroke has been estabVirgin Olive Oil — Virsuch a way that
lished by different regin olive oil has an abunsearchers. This is because dance of monounsaturat- each row, column, and region
dark chocolate contains
ed fats. As a result, regucontains only one
high amounts of polyphe- lar consumption of this
instance of each
nols, a compound that
oil is linked to reduced
number. These
reduces blood pressure,
cholesterol and blood
puzzles can be
clotting, and inflammasugar levels.
solved only using
tion.
logic, not math!
health. Take mini mental
breaks throughout the day
to recharge. You might
consider meditation or
journaling.
— Nov 2013 Health Letter
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Delaware County
Office for the Aging
6 Court Street, Delhi , NY 13753
Phone: 607.746.6333
Fax: 607.746.6227
Website: www.legacycorps.org
Email: [email protected]
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.” — Oscar Wilde
Have a Laugh!
Weeks before his wife’s 75th birthday, a man decided
to buy her a new hat to wear to church on Sundays.
Unfortunately, he didn’t know her hat size and decided to check one that was in her closet. He retrieved
an old worn hat box from the top shelf of the closet
and almost fainted when he opened it.
Inside the box were two lace doilies and wads of
cash. He sat down and counted out the bills—all
$85,653 worth of them.
When his wife returned home that afternoon, she
found her husband sitting at the dining room table
with the money in neat little stacks and a confused
expression on his face.
“What’s the meaning of this?” he said.
“Every time I was angry with you I made a doily,”
she replied as she patted his hand and walked into the
kitchen to start dinner.
The husband looked to his wife of
over 50 years and his eyes began to
moisten. He held the two doilies in
his hand and smiled at her.
“And the money?”
“It’s what I made from selling the doilies.”
“To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of
intelligent persons and the affection of children; to
earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the
betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find
the best in others; to give of one’s self; to leave the
world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have
played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with
exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier
because you have lived—this is to have succeeded.”
— Bessie Anderson Stanley
Power Outages
When temperatures drop,
the power grid can’t always
keep up with the demand
for energy. Just like a heat
wave in the summer increases the demand, so
does a cold snap in winter.
powered life-sustaining device, it is critically important that the power
company is called immediately after an outage. People who need these devices
are rocketed to the top of
What do you have to have the list and power can often
be restored sooner for
to be prepared?
them. There is a registry
A Checklist — Always the list that you can be placed
best place to start: a list. A on, so the call will be uncomprehensive list will tell necessary in the future.
you what you have, and
where it is. Don’t hesitate Food & Water — How
long can you go without
on this one.
visiting the grocery store?
Communications — If the In a power outage, the food
power goes out, how will
you have that doesn’t need
you communicate? Most of to be kept cold is going to
us have cell phones, but do be gone through very
you have a way to charge it quickly. The food that
in case of an extended out- needs to be kept cold will
age? A car charger or a
be lost in an extended outcrank radio with adapter
age—unless preventative
will serve you well.
measure are taken. What
Heat — Perhaps the most will you drink if the taps
important for our cold win- don’t work? Water stored
ters. Extra blankets, a fire- in empty milk jugs and roplace (if applicable), and a tated only every six months
kerosene or other portable will keep you in good supply if the outage should last
heater will all keep you
more than a few hours.
warm in case of a power
outage. Always make sure
the fire detectors are in
working order. A generator
will also keep you warm, as
long as there is fuel in it,
and you can start it.
Especially for our rural area, power outages can be
common. Being prepared in
advance is an excellent way
to ensure your continued
health and safety in inclemPower — If you or a loved ent weather.
one is dependent on oxyFor more preparedness tips
gen, or another electrically be sure to visit:
http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/winter
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