Photo by: graur razvan ionut / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

When you are in the midst of a busy holiday season, getting enough sleep is something that can be hard to obtain. Yet for others, this is a year round problem if they have sleep apnea. It has been estimated that this condition, where a person has episodes of stopped breathing during sleep, affects about 18 million Americans (1 in 15 people) yearly. Not only does it contribute to daytime drowsiness and lack of energy, but could be potentially dangerous and affect ones health.…

photo by Maggie Smith

Arthritis affects the joints and muscles of the body and can affect people at different ages and stages of their life. It limits a person’s mobility and creates an emotional toll from losing the ability of fully participating in the things once enjoyed. It is this aspect of the illness that can cause another problem and is one of the hardest to deal with — depression. At times putting feelings of loss and hopelessness into words is difficult, and having others understand what you are going through…

A recent New York Times headline caught my attention: “Tennessee’s Summit Reveals Dementia Diagnosis”.

If you are not familiar with Pat Summit, she is widely considered the most successful college basketball coach of all time. Her recognition is well deserved after coaching Tennessee University’s women’s basketball team to a record eight national championships and more than 1,000 wins.

Sally Jenkins of the Washington Post writes:

“Denial was followed by anger. For the first few weeks, Summitt would barely even discuss the subject. She told her doctors, ‘You don’t know me. You don’t know what I’m capable…

Recently there has been a lot of talk in the media about childhood obesity. A recent book entitled Maggie Goes on a Diet, tells the story of a 14 year old girl and her challenges with being overweight. This story has caused quite a stir surrounding societies idea of weight, diet and the stigma involved with being overweight. Programs such as the Let’s Move campaign give parents and health professionals tools and information about the dangers of obesity in childhood and the importance of establishing good eating habits at a young age to…

Rising summer temperatures are right around the corner, which means the elderly need to take certain precautions prior to heading outdoors. Older adults can continue to enjoy outdoor activities and prevent heat related illnesses by following these easy steps.

1) Avoid walking between 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. — generally the hottest time of the day.

2) Begin your daily walk at a slower pace to prevent exhaustion and retreat to a cool place if you start to feel uncomfortable.

3) Wear light colored and loose fitting clothing.

4) Drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids to remain adequately…

When I wrote about organ donation in February, I knew of one example where a friend’s father donated several organs and my friend met one of the recipients. While the pre-visit jitters were not at all justified, I completely understood them.

In today’s New York Times, there is a wonderful article about a 38-year-old man who suffered a brain hemorrhage and whose wife agreed to donate his organs. In total, EIGHT people were given hope because of Julio and Mirtala Garcia’s selflessness. Mrs. Garcia met with five of the recipients last…

I blogged about the Joan and Melissa Rivers Campaign on Aging last December. It got me thinking about how I could initiate the discussion with my own mother about aging and advanced directives for health care. She becomes Medicare-eligible this month. My fellow nurse colleague, Paula Wilson, explains advanced directives in her blog.

I feel it’s crucial to have advanced directives, including a living will and a durable power of attorney or health care proxy in place, should my mother require hospitalization. It will take me some time to travel to her in such…

Recently, I read a story written by a nurse. It was about a patient who did not design a Living Will that accurately recorded her end-of-life wishes so that her family members could refer to it. The story recounted in vivid detail what the patient had wanted for the end of her life, and what was done instead. As a nurse who has worked at hospital bedsides for many years, I too have witnessed similar scenarios play out. In essence, such a story should remind us of how important it is to have…