Compassionate Care For Your Loved Ones

Tips for Fighting the Winter Time Blues

The darkest months of the year are upon us. Many of us will find it noticeably more difficult to carry out our activities of daily living over the winter months. Our daily rhythms are driven by biological functions called Circadian rhythms. Research suggests that seasonal or winter depression is often a result of an imbalance between your body’s circadian rhythms and rhythms of the environment! Secretions of the hormone melatonin appear to be particularly important in winter depression. This hormone, nicknamed the “Dracula” hormone, is secreted by the brain’s pineal gland when our surroundings are dark, but not when they are light. Most people are able to adjust to these internal changes. For those who struggle with mood changes in the winter, however, the results can feel crushing.

Beware: Winter Hazards Could Cause a Hernia

Take care during winter activities to prevent developing a hernia or reinjuring a repaired one, warns St. Luke’s general surgeon Emanuel F. Nogueira,MD.“A hernia occurs when an internal organ or other body part protrudes through the wall of a muscle or other tissue that normally contains it. A strenuous activity, such as lifting and throwing heavy snow, or yanking the starter cord of a snow blower, can put extra strain on the abdominal muscles. This could cause a hernia or reinjure one that had been repaired previously,” says Dr. Nogueira, chief of surgery and director of the Hernia Center of Excellence at St. Luke’s Upper Bucks Campus. Dr. Nogueira has earned the Surgeon of Excellence in Hernia Surgery™ (SOEHS) designation by Surgical Review Corporation.

Medicare Open Enrollment Begins October 15

The Pennsylvania Department of Aging reminds consumers that the annual open enrollment period for Medicare beneficiaries will begin Thursday, October 15, 2020, and end Monday, December 7, 2020. Any new coverage selected takes effect January 1, 2021. During open enrollment, new Medicare beneficiaries can sign up for Medicare Prescription Drug coverage and health plans to complement Medicare, and current
Medicare beneficiaries can review and join, switch, or drop Medicare Advantage or Prescription Drug Coverage so that it better meets their needs.

Money

“Should I Sell My House Myself?”
This question goes through everyone’s mind at one time or another. Can I save some money and some...
10 Commandments of Selling Your Home
Whether you are buying or selling a home, it can be quite an adventurous journey. Here is simple...
5 Real Estate Terms You Need to Know
“In almost 40 years in real estate one of the most important things that I have learned is to have...
7 Deadly Sins of Real Estate
Advice to help your real estate transactions. Helpful tips that will make your real estate...
A Reverse Mortgage Makes Your Home Work For You
A reverse mortgage may help you pay off debt and provide breathing room John and Carol love...
Adjusting Your Home to Your Lifestyle
As the frozen ground relinquishes its grip on budding tulips, we take note of the regeneration around...

Health

What’s a Geriatric Assessment?
“The secret of staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age.” -- Lucille Ball...
“DIEP” Breast Reconstruction Restores Natural Looking Breasts
Microsurgical Procedure Uses Fat from Abdomen (Like Tummy Tuck) to Rebuild BreastMany women who...
A Father Helps His Son Step Up
Barry R. Ettl, Jr. of Allentown has a typical case of cerebral palsy (CP) but — at age 45 — he is...
A Safe Transition from Hospital to Home
COVID-19 has dominated not only the headlines, but also the headspace of people across the planet....
A Study of Loneliness, Isolation and Remedies
Loneliness and Social ConnectionsAARP conducted a national survey of adults 45 and older to gauge the...

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Lifestyle

Mission: Possible

Recapturing the selflessness that built America Based on an interview by Douglas Graves
“It would seem as if the rulers of our time sought only to use men in order to make things great; I wish that they would try a little more to make great men; that they would set less value on the work and more upon the workman; that they would never forget that a nation cannot long remain strong when every man belonging to it is individually weak; and that no form or combination of social polity has yet been devised to make an energetic people out of a community of pusillanimous and enfeebled citizens” (Alexis de Tocqueville, Democracy in America Volume 2).

In the Eyes of the World

In the eyes of the world, my father was just an average man — never invented anything, never made a speech, never sat on a committee, rarely ever gave his opinion to anyone. Truth is, I couldn’t tell you much about what he thought, or even what his political leanings were. What I do know about is his heart. He served in the Army Air Corps during WWII and was in an airplane mishap when everyone bailed out. His parachute malfunctioned and he ended up with a steel plate in his knee, one in his head, and blind.

Band of Brothers

The term, "band of brothers," has been made famous in literature, history, entertainment, and politics. Its first known use was in Shakespeare's Henry V: "We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother." The phrase was used in Wilhelm Tell, wound its way through both sides of the Mason-Dixon line in the Civil War, a WWII book and movie, and suffered a more contemporary resurgence with John Kerry in the 2004 election. It signifies fellows who share a close comradeship in a shared struggle, bonding as closely as actual blood ties can make them.