Today, I had the privilege of attending a free group training on Hands-Only CPR in Loveland, CO, a “Heart Safe City.” I met Tommy Lucero, a young man who, according to the Loveland Reporter-Herald, “Went into cardiac arrest during baseball practice in 2014 and was revived by two coaches. He has fully recovered and is a senior this year” at Thompson Valley High School (the same high school my daughter attended).
He would have died without the CPR. “Shortly after the incident, the Lucero family joined the then-newly formed Loveland Heart Safe initiative to help save lives. Since then, the partnership has raised money, knowledge and awareness.”
What is Hands-Only CPR? According to the American Heart Association website, “Hands-Only CPR is CPR without mouth-to-mouth breaths. It is recommended for use by people who see a teen or adult suddenly collapse in an ‘out-of-hospital’ setting (such as at home, at work or in a park). It consists of two easy steps:
“If the very word ‘fintech’ makes you flinch, you’re not alone.
A 2016 Federal Reserve study found that only 18 percent of people over the age of 60 use mobile banking services (vs. 67 percent between the ages of 18 to 29, and 58 percent ages 30 to 44). In fact, only about half of Americans over 65 own a smartphone or tablet, according to a 2014 Pew Research study.
It’s never too late to start learning to use smartphone technology. The immediate incentive is to learn texting so your children and grandchildren will stay in touch. You don’t have to give up your friendly flip-phone right away. Just ask your adult children for a smartphone with its own number on their family plan, along with a lesson in texting and Skype or FaceTime.
Your smartphone offers you the convenience of controlling your life as you move about your day. If you don’t have adult children nearby to teach you, contact your local senior center because many offer courses. Apple has free seminars in its stores.
Here are three steps to start using smartphone technology to manage important parts of your life. You may want to start learning the basics on your home computer, then you can graduate to using your smartphone to track your money, your meds and your life.
Online bill payment and account information: Stop writing paper checks and start using online bill payment. You can use your home computer and also download your bank’s app to your smartphone. Use official banking apps from your financial institution’s website or through Apple’s App Store. Most financial institutions have a link to a page with their official app where it’s described and can be downloaded, Nerdwallet points out.”
I downloaded my bank’s app two months ago and now I can deposit checks easily from home. If you can take a picture with your phone, you too can make deposits without going to the bank. It’s a fast, safe and easy way to deposit your Social Security or pension checks. Just call your bank and they will help you get started.
You can enjoy an active and fulfilling retirement with the right attitude and thoughtful preparation.
By Dave Hughes| Contributor to U.S. News & World Report Feb. 9, 2017
“If you are single, you probably have some concerns about your retirement that people with partners are less likely to experience. Married retirees may someday encounter these same issues if one spouse passes before the other. With awareness and proper planning, you can be better situated to enjoy a happy and secure retirement. Here are four ways you can thrive as a single person in retirement:
Cultivate a support network
Build your social network
Consider alternative living arrangements
Be willing to travel solo
…While being retired as a single person does present some challenges, you can still enjoy an active, happy and fulfilling retirement with the right attitude and thoughtful preparation.”
“Just weeks before Christmas some years ago, Shirley Rapp and her family faced the devastating news that she had what appeared to be a terminal illness.
But that didn’t stop Rapp from wanting to do one last round of Christmas shopping for her kids. Her daughter, Karyn Buxman, a self-described neurohumorist and RN, went along. When the mother-daughter duo stepped into a St. Louis-area stationery store, Rapp picked up a day planner that she admired, turned to her daughter and quipped: ‘If I make it past Jan. 1, will you buy this one for me?’
That’s when Mom and daughter burst into laughter that attracted every eye in the store.
For some folks, the process of dying comes with less stress when it’s something of a laughing matter. Not a yuk-yuk laughing matter. But, at its simplest, a willingness to occasionally make light of the peculiarities — if not absurdities — that often go hand-in-hand with end-of-life situations.
An aging generation of boomers, the oldest of whom are now 70, grew up to the background sounds of TV laugh tracks and are accustomed to laughing at things that might not always seem so funny. There’s even a non-profit organization funded by donors, conference revenue and membership dues, whose mission is simply reminding people that laughter is a core ingredient of all facets of life — even end of life (emphasis added).
On its website, the National Cancer Institute urges patients to build humor into their day-to-day lives, in ways as small as buying a funny desk calendar and watching comic films and TV shows.
Baby boomers are expected to retire later and live longer than previous generations.
By Emily Brandon| Staff Writerfor U.S. News & World Report,Feb. 12, 2016
“Senior editor Emily Brandon tells you how to get ready financially for retirement and to make your golden years the best they can be.
Baby boomers, the unusually large generation born between 1946 and 1964, are entering their retirement years and reinventing what it means to be retired. A recent Urban Institute data project examined how retirement is changing in America. Here’s how retirement for the baby boomers will be different from the generation that came before them.
I love the outdoors, especially the Colorado outdoors. I am blessed to live within an hour of the Rocky Mountain National Park since hiking is one of my favorite hobbies. I feel closer to God when I hike and, besides the exercise and sense of accomplishment, I feel at peace. The following article may give you a reason to enjoy some outdoor therapy:
…a walk in the country reduced depression in 71 percent of participants…
Photo by Dennis Smith / Reporter-Herald
The peace of wild places makes us happier, healthier
By Dennis Smith, Loveland Reporter-Herald
January 4, 2017
“I don’t know how many other outdoor lovers feel it, but I’m sure most do — even if they don’t recognize it for what it is. ‘It’ is the peace of wild places. And, in my opinion, the grandest form of emotional and physical therapy.
The subject came up on a deer hunting trip to the Platte River bottoms in eastern Colorado last month, but invariably, it comes up almost every time the boys and I hit the open road to go hunting, fishing or camping.
And it always comes up just about the time we cross into that zone where the signs of civilization begin to thin and where mountains and trees, deer and elk, or farms and ranches, cattle and coyotes begin to appear and the nerve-grating cacophony of cars, trucks, train horns, shopping malls, traffic signals and city lights vanish in the rear-view mirror.”
Dennis Smith is a Loveland outdoors writer and photographer, and his freelance work is published nationally. Smith’s Home Waters column appears on the first and third Thursdays of the month. He can be reached at Dsmith7136@msn.com. Reprinted by permission.
Uncomfortable pressure, squeezing, fullness or pain in the center of your chest. It lasts more than a few minutes, or goes away and comes back.
Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, neck, jaw or stomach.
Shortness of breath with or without chest discomfort.
Other signs such as breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea or lightheadedness.
As with men, women’s most common heart attack symptom is chest pain or discomfort. But women are somewhat more likely than men to experience some of the other common symptoms, particularly shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting and back or jaw pain.
If you have any of these signs, call 9-1-1 and get to a hospital right away.
We’ve all seen the movie scenes where a man gasps, clutches his chest and falls to the ground. In reality, a heart attack victim could easily be a woman, and the scene may not be that dramatic.
‘Although men and women can experience chest pressure that feels like an elephant sitting across the chest, women can experience a heart attack without chest pressure,’ said Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director for the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU’s Langone Medical Center and an American Heart Association volunteer. ‘Instead they may experience shortness of breath, pressure or pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen, dizziness, lightheadedness or fainting, upper back pressure or extreme fatigue.’
Even when the signs are subtle, the consequences can be deadly, especially if the victim doesn’t get help right away.”
