International Eat an Apple Day

As the peak of apple season begins, it seems very appropriate to celebrate a day of eating an apple.

Apples are delicious. Believe it or not there are actually over 100 different kinds of apples!  You won’t see them all in the grocery store however.  What you will find are the most popular varieties in stores or in apple orchards.

Some varieties offered are Fuji, Macintosh, Golden Crisp, Red Delicious, Granny Smith and Gala to name a few.

The health benefits are tremendous.  Apples contain antioxidants, fiber and vitamin C. Apples may also support weight loss and heart health.  Likewise they show links to lowering your chance of Type 2 diabetes.

Unfortunately some growers use chemicals to keep them from spoiling. It’s important to be sure to wash your apples well in warm water before you eat them.   Talk to your grocer about where the apples come from or locate an organic grower if possible.

There are so many different ways for you to enjoy apples.  You can eat them with some peanut butter, make apple butter, use them in a Waldorf salad or in pancakes.  You might also try using them with roast pork.  Delicious. 

Additionally, you might treat yourself to an apple pie!  There are some folks who think either the macintosh or cortland apples are best!.  We’ll let you be the judge of that.

Private Home Health Care loves to enjoy an apple, especially during this peak season. Johnny Appleseed would certainly endorse that!

Encouragement

Can you think of anyone who doesn’t need encouragement at some point in their life?

One definition of encouragement is “to inspire with courage, spirit or hope.” Is there a time in your life when you were given hope?

It’s often natural and easy to give encouraging words to children or young adults.  We want them to succeed, so words like “great job” or “fabulous thinking” come easily.

What about as we get older?  Is encouragement still as important?  We say yes it is!

As you age activities can get more difficult.  Your mind may not respond as quickly.  Positivity and encouragement become even more important.

It’s easy to second guess yourself and perhaps even shy away from activities or events.  

Try to surround yourself with people that uplift you.

If you deal with an aging friend, try and share supportive words with them.  Check in and spend some time focusing on the positives.  

Life can get overwhelming at times and encouraging words can often make a person feel better.  When you feel better your outlook on life improves.

By being kind with our seniors it can make them feel still valued and important.  Words like “I value your wisdom” or “you make the world a better place just by being in it” are just a couple of examples of encouraging words.

Private Home Health Care respects our seniors and we strive to be encouraging to them as we administer care.  We hope you can find ways to be encouraging too.

September 11, 2023  

September 11, 2023 is a day of remembrance.

It was 22 years ago that the United States suffered its largest attack on our country. There were a total of 2,977 Americans who lost their lives.

You may have lived through that day and remember the awful images and news reports.  You could also be too young to actually have experienced it. 

No matter your circumstance, we all should work to remember this horrific event and those who lost their lives.

In New York first responders went in to try and save those people in the twin towers.  Many did not survive but for those who did there are ongoing health issues.

Tunnel for Towers is one organization that cares for the families of the first responders who lost their lives.  There are many other organizations still taking donations.  Be sure to check Charity Navigator and check the group’s rating before you donate.

In addition to financial donations you could visit the 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.  This is located on eight acres of the World Trade Center site.  It is a very moving memorial.

You might also travel to Pennsylvania to visit the Flight 93 National Memorial.  This memorial remembers the passengers on Flight 93 who stopped the terrorists from attacking another government building on that day.

On September 11 you are encouraged to take some time during your day to remember those who gave their lives.  We remember to honor those 2,977 people.  We hope and pray that an event like this will never happen again in our country.

Private Home Health Care will set aside time in our day to remember that day.  We extend our warmest thoughts to those people who lost a family or friend on that day.

#NeverForget

World Physical Therapy Day

The other day we wrote about chronic pain, the difficulties in living with that pain and raising awareness about it.

Today is a day to think about physical therapy and how physical therapy can help you and I with some of the incidental or chronic pain we experience.

For example, your issue may have been caused by an injury and you need help getting your body back to normal.

In other instances it may be that you’ve developed chronic pain and the physical therapy helps you manage the condition. Physical therapists are there to help in both cases.

Your personal experience with a physical therapist may have convinced you how important sessions with them can be.  Discussions about the pain and then strengthening muscles so you can better support yourself is usually the way to begin.

We know of a friend who was diagnosed with scoliosis or curvature of the spine later in life.  Walking distances had become painful and consequently managing day-to-day activities became difficult.

Sessions with a physical therapist focused on pain points and then strengthening the core and right hip muscle.  Manipulating areas of tightened muscles began the healing process. 

In addition, exercises given by the therapist were done at home.  What followed was a change in that person’s life. They could support taking longer walks and living life to their fullest.

Perhaps you are a person who has never needed physical therapy.  You are very lucky if that is the case.

For those of us who have been aided by a great physical therapist, we know how skillful they are and how much they can restore us to a stronger self.

Private Home Health Care supports the critical role that physical therapists share in private settings, hospitals and schools.  We salute their work today.

National Pain Awareness Month

Are you a person who lives with chronic pain?  This month of September is meant to bring awareness to those people who you come in contact with.  This could be your medical professional, family or friends.

Chronic pain can be difficult to diagnose. You may have experienced visits to multiple doctors to find out that you have arthritis.  

Fibromyalgia is another type of chronic pain.  Some days you feel fine and other days you are very achy and may even find it difficult to participate in your normal day.

Additionally, you could have feelings of misunderstanding and stigmas around your pain.  This month the goal is to help you and those around you understand how difficult it can be to live with chronic pain.

There are some things that you can do to help spread the word.

• You can try to have people listen and understand your pain.

• Your friend may be having a bad day.  Try to be aware that it could be caused by their chronic pain condition.

• Attend a webinar on pain management.

• Are there limitations caused by your pain?  If so, find out what they are and try to manage them.

• Find opportunities to share symptoms and feelings around your diagnosis.  

Private Home Health Care understands that many people live daily with chronic pain. We strive to learn and understand so that we can help with pain management.

#PainAwarenessMonth

We at Private Home Health Care would like to wish everyone a very Happy Labor Day!

You and I work very hard throughout the year so it’s nice to have a day off to celebrate.

Have you heard, like we have heard, that some of our younger people may not realize why we have this day off from work?  Just in case that is true here is a quick explanation of how hte day began.

The holiday has been around for about 129 years. At the beginning, the industrial revolution was in full swing in our United States.  Workers often had 12-hour days, seven days a week.  Children ages five and six were also working for lower ages.  Conditions could be poor.

You know there are labor unions for today’s workers. These came into existence to curb the overworking and bad conditions of the average worker in the 1800’s.

Unfortunately, the early unions had learning curves.

For example, at the Pullman Car Palace Company in Chicago there were bad conditions and then workers were told of reduced wages.  That strike was on and union representatives were fired.

If you look back in the history books, Pullman was the lead company in railroad transportation.  When there was a call for the whole Pullman company to strike you can imagine how that hindered railroad shipping across the country.

The next actions by the federal government trying to stop these strikes caused workers who were rioting to be killed.  This caused a huge rift with the US government.

As you can imagine, Congress quickly wrote a law making the first Monday in September a holiday for all workers.  Grover Cleveland was the President and he happily signed the bill on June 28, 1894.

You and I, along with our family and friends, celebrate this day and throughout the weekend each year.  Cookouts, trips, even some fireworks mark the commemorating all the achievements of the United States workforce.

We hope you enjoy it!

National Hummingbird Day

Have you seen any hummingbirds around your house lately?  The summer is the time of year for these tiny little birds so be on the lookout.  They are fascinating.

Tomorrow is National Hummingbird Day so the perfect time to share some information.

You can find over 300 species of hummingbirds in the world.  They have been around North and South America since the 16th century.

Hummingbirds are the smallest type of bird (I bet you could have guessed that) and thus they have the smallest egg.  Their eggs are only a half inch long, so smaller than a jelly bean.

I think you might find it interesting to learn that hummingbirds do not have a sense of smell.  Their eyesight on the other hand is phenomenal.

When hummingbirds fly they do figure eights.  This is what helps them hover over flowers while they enjoy their nectar.  They have also been known to feed on insects.

Have you ever noticed a little hummingbird walk or hop?  I think not because their feet are too small, however they do use them  to scratch or preen.

Last fact, a hummingbird flaps its wings between 10 and 80 times per second! Wow!

What can you do tomorrow on National Hummingbird Day?

• Look for a flower garden with lots of buds.  Spend some time and hopefully you’ll get a nice surprise.

• Do you have a hummingbird conservatory near you?  Plan a visit.

• See if you can learn more about these interesting and smallest of birds.

Private Home Health Care knows that hummingbirds love the nectar of the Rose of Sharon trees and bushes.  We love to watch and enjoy the hummingbirds as they drink.  We hope you get the chance to enjoy them too.

#NATIONALHUMMINGBIRDDAY

Be Kind to Humankind Week

We’ve blogged about kindness before on this blog but this week of being kind to humankind week is just too good to not mention.

In 1988 Lorraine Jara from New Jersey started this week.  In her hometown a young man passed away from a boating accident where people passing by did not want to get involved.

This sad story made Lorraine realize how important every life is and how important kindness is to each of our lives.  

The week runs from August 25 to August 31 each year.

Lorraine stated that this last week in August is: “a week of reflection and kind thoughts of others to make this world a better place. Of course we suggest practicing kindness daily, but this is the week you can take.” 

You can choose kindness at any time and anywhere of course but this week especially there is a path to follow to help guide you.   

Below are some of Lorraine’s suggestions for the rest of this week:

• Willing-To-Lend-A-Hand Wednesday – find a way to help someone you know today.

• Thoughtful Thursday – treat whoever you run into nicely.  You could do a favor also.

• Forgive-Your-Foe-Friday – ohh.  This can be hard.  Can you make up with someone you’ve had a disagreement with?

• Speak-Nice-Words-Saturday – you know what this means right?  If you can say anything nice stay quiet but if you can spread the love.

Private Home Health Care loves to share good thoughts.  We appreciate each of you and we hope you have a wonderful rest of your week.
#BK2HK

Thoughtfulness

Thoughtful is defined as “given to or chosen or made with heedful anticipation of the needs and wants of others”.  (Merriam-Webster.com)

What does it mean to you to be thoughtful?  Today is a day for you to focus on thinking about how you can be thoughtful to others.

Would it be thoughtful for you to try and help a senior citizen do their grocery shopping?  How about if you sit with someone and have a discussion.  A conversation can spur any number of things.

You could take a walk with someone and listen as you walk. What about sending someone a note to say hello?

To be thoughtful it really is all about thinking of another person over yourself.  This is not always an easy thing to do especially if you have any health or other life issues going on.

The good news is that by being thoughtful to someone you might feel good after.  You might also discover that you have a good deed done for you.

As the summer winds down, it’s always nice to have goals and to focus on different things outside of ourselves.  This day of thoughtfulness is the perfect solution.  

Expressing thoughtfulness is a win-win situation.  Here are some additional suggestions on thoughtful things to do:

• Bring a bunch of fresh flowers to someone you know.
• Share a book idea and even bring someone the book.
• If you know a child, bring them to a park for some fun.

Private Home Health Care works to be thoughtful in our care and we hope that you can find time today to show how thoughtful you can be.

#NationalThoughtfulDay

A Day of Remembrance

On this rather somber Black Ribbon Day you and I are asked to join Europe in remembering all of the victims of Stalinism, Nazism and fascist regimes over the years.

Many of you were alive during WWII and you recall the inhumanity of the Nazi regime.  Terrible atrocities were done to millions of Jewish people and we must never forget.

Likewise Joseph Stalin may have appeared to be a hero in WWII however during his reign from 1924 until 1953 again millions of people died.

Recently friends traveled to Eastern Europe.  They found thriving societies in Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Hungary.  

Were you to visit these countries you would also find bustling and happy communities.  In addition, you would see leftovers of communism in the architecture and some monuments and statues and perhaps some buildings with bullet holes visible.  

On your visit you’d learn how early it is for these countries to live a freer life.  It was as recently as 1989 that fascist regimes fell and the people took over.

Think of that.  So many difficulties to endure over so many years and now for a mere thirty-four years these countries have enjoyed the freedoms that we in America take for granted.

This day is set aside so all of us around the world remember the victims who died under these leaders.  

Private Home Health Care pledges to remember so that history does not repeat itself.

#BlackRibbonDay