Sometimes it’s so easy to get caught up in materialistic things, well, ’stuff’, really…’stuff’ that we will never be able to hold on to for long or take with us after we are gone.  This couple can not afford the ’stuff’ that the rest of us seem obsessed over some days.  This couple must pay for their medications, food on their table, clothing on their back (which they are certainly not buying at the trendy stores), and other bare necessities of life.  What they can hold on to is each other.  They expressed a love toward the other that was rare, it was unique.  They did not find joy in what the ’stuff’ they had and were not sorrowed by the ’stuff’ they did not have.  This couple found joy in one another and the mutual love they shared and their sorrow came from the fact that they were both ill and would soon have to be separated due to a number of needs factors.

Without getting into too much further detail for privacy reasons, I left their home with tears in my eyes, I called my husband, told him I loved him, and realized that my relationship with others and my personal choice to have a relationship with God was all that mattered.  It’s not the stuff that makes life meaningful…there is SO much more to life than that and for that alone, I am thankful!

If you have a life story to share, please e-mail me at info@pavelko.org

Ask your loved one who, what, when, and where questions and show a sincere interest by showing them that you are interested in what they are trying to tell you.  Perhaps they want to see their brother, but he has since passed.  Rather than creating anxiety and sadness by telling them that their brother passed away, ask them what they miss about their brother?  What did they enjoy doing most with him?

Any individual, senior or child, one with memory loss or cognitive ability need validated…they need accepted and acknowledged as a human being.  Naomi File is the founder of the Validation Technique.  View this incredible video with Naomi and Gladys Wilson.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrZXz10FcVM I hope you have gained as much from this video as I have!  Please feel free to share your own experiences and leave a comment.

The CLASS (Community Living Assistance Services and Support) Act Law, which is part of the Health Care Reform, will be set up as a voluntary national insurance program to help pay for long term care at home.  This    Both part-time and full time employees will have the option to take a payroll deductions, which again, will go towards paying for long term care at home.  They will be eligible for an average of $75 per day, should they reach the point where they are not able to perform the basic Activities of Daily Living, which include bathing, dressing, continence, toileting, transferring, and eating.   This money can be used to pay for a wide variety of services from non-medical to home modifications and more.   Keep in mind, an individual must pay into this program for five (5) years before benefits are payable.

Please use the following link as a resource.

http://www.lifecarefunding.com/blog/file.axd?file=2010%2f5%2fCLASS+Act+Summary+-+UNUM+5+10.pdf

Many of you are asking how the Health Care Reform is going to affect you, your families, our community, and nation as a whole.  The National Council on Aging, a nonpartisan, nonprofit service and advocacy organization, recently provided a document with some Straight Facts for Seniors that you can read here.

5 Facts Include:

• The law will provide health coverage for millions of uninsured Americans – plus extra protections for most people who currently have insurance.
• The law will not cut any benefits provided under traditional Medicare – and it will even improve some benefits.
• The law will help you find and afford long-term care at home.
• The law will improve care for older Americans in other ways.
• The law will reduce Medicare spending growth – and it’s fully paid for.

Click here to read more.  Feedback is welcome.