Category: Health

Posted on

‘Life is not the same’: Manitoba couple forced to live apart after 71 years, care home won’t take them both – CBCNEWS

by Erin Brohman 

Allen Smith, 95, drives to his wife's personal care home in Brandon each day to spend a couple hours with her. He says after 71 years together, it's not the same.
© CBC/Lyzaville Sale Allen Smith, 95, drives to his wife’s personal care home in Brandon each day to spend a couple hours with her. He says after 71 years together, it’s not the same.

Two Manitoba couples who have been married for decades are calling on government to help keep them together despite health needs forcing them apart.

After 71 years of marriage, Dorothy and Allen Smith have only spent two weeks without each other. That changed in May when Dorothy, 92, was admitted to hospital, then to a long-term care facility in Brandon, after a fall.

Read this heartbreaking and gut-wrenching here.  This shouldn’t happen to anyone, let alone a couple together for 71 years.  Very sad.

Posted on

BBC News: Australia’s elder abuse scandal ‘beyond belief’

This is by no means just an Australian issue. Elder Abuse issues and cases continue to rise in Canada, the US and the UK. In Canada, there seems to be little interrst or momentum on the part of the Federal government for a National Elder Care Strategy. Wearhousing seniors in long term care facilities also seems to be the only policy framework provinces want or know how to follow.

Australia’s elder abuse scandal ‘beyond belief’ – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-45543804

Posted on

Opioids Are Now Responsible for 1 in 5 Deaths Among Young Adults

In 2016, one in 65 deaths in the United States involved opioids — and among younger adults, that number skyrocketed to one in five, according to a new study. Data has shown for years that deaths involving both prescribed and illicit opioids are rising sharply. They’ve nearly doubled since 2009, and have infiltrated all genders,…

via Opioids Are Now Responsible for 1 in 5 Deaths Among Young Adults — TIME

Posted on

The emotional & physical costs of loneliness & social isolation

Research has shown, again and again, that emotional and physical health are inextricably linked. There are significant health benefits associated with love and friendship, supportive marriages and feelings of gratitude, for example. And there are significant health risks linked to the opposite. A new study, published Monday in the journal Heart, looked at social isolation…

via Loneliness Can Actually Hurt Your Heart. Here’s Why — TIME

Posted on

Opioid Epidemic: Health, not economics

In 2017, Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton released an explosive research paper: “Mortality and morbidity in the 21st century.” Following up on research they published in 2015, the duo found that death rates for middle-aged white Americans without a college degree rose significantly between 1999 and 2015. Case and Deaton credited the increase…

via The opioid epidemic is a health issue, not an economic one — Quartz

Posted on

What can killer whales teach us about the menopause?

The taboo, perhaps mystique around menopause needs to be lifted, women need to talk about ‘the changes’ in a safe, healthy manner. We women need to own it!  Menopause is natural, liberating and self-actualizing  

What can killer whales teach us about the menopause? – http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-37025092

Posted on

You’ll never be able to reach your goals if you can’t forgive yourself for failing at them

Many of us will start out the New Year by making a list of resolutions—changes we want to make to be happier, such as eating better, volunteering more often, being a more attentive spouse, and so on. But, as we know, we will often fail. After a few failures we will typically give up and…

via You’ll never be able to reach your goals if you can’t forgive yourself for failing at them — Quartz