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Elder CareTips:
Mastering The Eldercare Maze™
February 15, 2006
When Someone You
Love Shouldn't Drive
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Yes, if you're going to be a safe driver you
need all your mental faculties operating at full capacity.
"Is he still driving?" is one of the first questions people
ask when inquiring about someone with Alzheimer's Disease or
another dementia.
What we tend to forget, and a lot of older drivers would
prefer to forget, is that driving demands a contribution
from the whole body, not just the brain.
Hearing: If a driver can't hear a train whistle,
emergency sirens, or the 18-wheeler coming up on the right
he or she is in danger, and dangerous, unless good
alternative coping strategies are used. Deaf and
hearing-impaired individuals can and do drive safely every
day. They do so because they acknowledge that they do not
hear well. They use their mirrors constantly and drive
defensively. If you know someone who doesn't hear well and
refuses to admit it, you may be looking at a dangerous
driver.
Sight: Not being able to see at all is obvious.
People with glaucoma,
cataracts, macular degeneration, excessive tearing, lack of
depth
perception and other vision disabilities also must be aware
of their
limitations and cease driving probably earlier than they
would like.
Read The Rest...
| If you think you're too
small to make an impact...try going to sleep with a
mosquito in the room.
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Too Bad They Call This a "Mortgage
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(Source: National Council on Aging) --
Reverse mortgages are loans that allow homeowners aged 62
and over to convert home equity into cash while living at
home for as long as they want. Borrowers continue to own
their homes, and do not need to make any monthly payments.
They can choose to receive the funds as a lump sum, line of
credit, or as monthly payments (for up to life in the home).
The loan comes due only when the last borrower moves out,
dies or sells the home.
The National Council on the Aging (NCOA) has published two
new booklets that help consumers understand how home equity
might assist them to age in place by paying for immediate
health care expenses or planning ahead for future in-home
service needs.
"Many seniors and their families are looking for creative
ways to pay for the assistance they need, so they can stay
in their own homes and remain independent for as long as
possible," said NCOA President James Firman. "These guides
help people learn about how reverse mortgages work and
understand their best use."
"Use Your Home to Stay at Home: A Planning Guide for Older
Consumers" helps consumers learn about the benefits and
challenges of using reverse mortgages as part of their
retirement planning. The other booklet, "Use Your Home to
Stay at Home: A Guide for Homeowners Who Need Help Now"
helps consumers decide whether tapping their home equity is
the right choice for meeting the financial challenges of
living at home with a chronic health condition.
Both booklets identify the different financing options that
may be available and include advice on where to go for more
information. To view or print copies of the brochure, go to
the
NCOA website.
Too bad someone didn't think this through before they named
it. If they hadn't called this financial tool a reverse
"mortgage" a whole lot more elderly folks would probably be
interested in learning more. They've worked too hard, and
for too many years, to pay off their mortgages. They aren't
at all interested in taking another "mortgage" on their
homes.
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Just A Little Food For Thought
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A baby elephant is trained at birth to be
confined to a very small space. Its trainer will tie its leg
with a rope to a wooden post planted deep in the ground.
This confines the baby elephant to an area determined by the
length of the rope - the elephant's comfort zone. Though the
baby elephant will initially try to break the rope, the rope
is too strong, and so the baby elephant learns that it can't
break the rope. It learns that it has to stay in the area
defined by the length of the rope.
When the elephant grows up into a 5-ton colossus that could
easily break the same rope, it doesn't even try because it
learned as a baby that it couldn't break the rope. In this
way, the largest elephant can be confined by the puniest
little rope.
Perhaps this also describes you - still trapped in a comfort
zone by something as puny and weak as the small rope and
stake that controls the elephant, except your rope is made
up of the limiting beliefs and images that you received and
took on when you were young. If this describes you, the good
news is that you can change your comfort zone.
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~ Jack Canfield
The Success Principles
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