Seniors Situation Room by Dawn Ford Mother’s Day & Hearing Aids MAY 5, 2016

 

Great news for anyone needing a hearing aid. Davidson Hearing Centers are offering rentals. There are three different levels and monthly fees. Good Performance Hearing Aids cost $59 monthly, Better Performance $79 monthly and the Best Performance $95 monthly. Included in the rental fee are batteries, repairs, office visits, computer programming, cleans and checks and a one- time loss and damage coverage. This program enables a user to upgrade to the latest technology every three years. Old hearing aids will be refurbished and then donated to those who can’t afford them in developing countries and our communities as well, which is, to me, a benevolent and humanitarian service. Kudos.

Call 613-932-4545- for info in Cornwall or visit their web site: http://davidsonhearingaids.com/funding/rental for more information. In Nepean call 613-721-8218. There are also centers in Brockville, Pembroke, Renfrew and two in Ottawa.

May 8th is Mother’s day and a wonderful time for us to appreciate our Moms. I remember a poem I read many years ago about a baby growing under the Mother’s heart. When I was working as a student nurse on Obstetrics an RN told me that one of the reasons that we place the newborn on the Mother’s tummy or in her arms after birth is so the baby can still hear the Mother’s heartbeat. The other one was so the new Mother can see her child. Always an emotional moment and wonderful.

I lost my Mom several years ago. I would love to be able to go in her door and see her beautiful smile and hear her say, “Hi Honey”, once more. She was the best Mother anyone could have had.

For all you Mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day

I was in Oakville recently to visit with relatives. One day I asked my great-nephew Ryan, who is 9 years old, what he wanted to be when he grew up. Very matter-of-factly he replied, “A Palaeontologist.” A Palaeontologist? You mean dinosaurs and fossils and ‘digs’ and stuff like that? Yes! He started telling me the names of a whole bunch of dinosaurs. I didn’t think a 9 year could pronounce Palaeontologist, let alone the long tricky names of dinosaurs. I didn’t know what a Palaeontologist was when I was 9. His sister Amy is 12 and she wants to be a Paediatrician. I went to school with Peter Gourley but I don’t remember hearing that his Dad, Dr. Ian Gourley was a Paediatrician at the time. We just called them baby doctors. The kids today are certainly knowledgeable and it is amazing that they have such definite goals at such an early age. When I was 9 and 12, I wasn’t thinking about a career and was still more interested in playing games like hop scotch probably.

tiger may 29 2015When I was away a friend babysat Tiger, my cat. I expected that Tiger would at least come to the door to greet me when I got home. Ho ho ho..’fraid not!! He raised his head off his bed and stared at me. I had to go to him and give him a big hug. Then he went back to sleep. I am that exciting, I guess. lol….I am the one who feeds him and changes and cleans his kitty litter and plays with him. If he were a dog he would have been all over me.

Cats are strange creatures. At the moment, though, I am not talking to him. Yes, I will clean his litter and feed him and brush him but I am not talking to him. He threw up in 8 places all over my bed right down to the mattress cover, two days after I had changed it all and had my bed spread cleaned. Do you know how much fun that is? No, we are definitely on the ‘outs’ and he can sulk all he wants. Cat for sale! Cheap!

Just kidding of course. He is just a big furry cat and does have hairballs sometimes despite medication. I just wish he was more selective about where he puts those hairballs….and my bed isn’t one of them.

DF 1 May 5 16Llama therapy? It is true. According to their web site, the Mountain Peaks Therapy Llamas and Alpacas are providing therapy by visiting children’s hospitals, senior communities, rehab facilities and educational presentations in schools in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA. These animals also attend theme decorated parties for birthdays, BBQ’s, weddings and other events. There is one particular Llama called Rojo who ranked as the No. 1 ‘Beyond the Showring’ PR llama in the world. The Therapy animals include Llamas Rojo, Smokey, Little Chap and Beni as well as Napoleon and Andre, Alpacas. Go to their website for more information and to see these amazing animals at : http://rojothellama.com

The Geriatric Day Hospital is available at our Cornwall Community Hospital. It is a voluntary service for people 65 and older according to their web site, and the person must be able and willing to participate as a group member in physical, cognitive and educational activities. The Medical team consists of a nurse practitioner, physiotherapist, occupational therapist and a mental health counselor. They work to promote healthy living providing physical and cognitive exercises, offer support and educational as well as addressing medical, functional and social concerns. Sounds like a wonderful program and probably lots of fun also. The Geriatric Day Hospital is located on level 4 east, room 4419 at the Cornwall Community Hospital’s McConnell Avenue site. for more information contact the director of the department at 613-938-4240, extension 4491.Their web site is : https://www.cornwallhospital.ca/en/GeriatricServices

James LadouceurI took my car in to have the winter tires changed. One of the staff, remarking on the low mileage of my aging car said, “You will probably have this car for the rest of your life.” I replied, “How old do you think I am?” So much for all the expensive face creams!! LOL

They say problems come in threes. Well how about 5? My printer started acting up and now I have to get a new one. The cat threw up all over my bed. The yellow engine light came on in my car. The garage man got it off and said it might be air in the gas line but..it may come back on. We will see. The TV froze during a hockey game. I couldn’t change any channels or even turn it off. The Cable man tried to fix it but it looks like I need a new box. So no TV for a few days. Last night I was typing at my desk sitting in a chair that has little wheels on it. I reached up to get a book off a shelf which I guess gave just enough momentum and the chair slid backwards, sending me flying on the floor. I ended up missing an important meeting. Am I sore today. So , as the old saying goes, some days it is better to stay in bed. However, my older and wiser sister used to say, “Could be worse.” True. could have broken my neck.

Here is a cute joke:

As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife’s voice urgently warning him, “Herman, I just heard on the news that there’s a car going the wrong way on Interstate 77. Please be careful!” “Heck, “said Herman, “It’s not just one car. It’s hundreds of them!”

Have a good week and a wonderful Mother’s Day to all our Mom’s out there.

3 Comments

  1. I miss my mom…

  2. Dawn, good column. Speaking of Dr. Gourley brought back memories. He used to make house calls in the evening. It seems like I was always sick around my birthday in March – favourite time for bugs., I guess. He used to come and take my temperature, listen to my chest , give me medicine and tell Mom to give me flat ginger ale or weak tea with milk in it.

  3. When I think of our mother’s nursing us through measles, mumps, chicken pox, Mom’s were very caring and hard working then. I never remember my mother complaining. I think that living through the 1930’s, then the war y, made our Mom’s just thankful for what they had.Pray for all the displaced families from Fort McMurray.

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