Picture Source:  MaxiAids.com

Peripheral neuropathy is nerve damage in the arms, hands, legs, and feet and can be a complication of HIV and diabetes.  Symptoms can include:  Numbness or tingling in the hands.  These symptoms can make simple daily activities, such as cooking more challenging.  All of us need to be careful that we don’t burn ourselves when cooking, in particular, those who may suffer from numbness in their fingers.  You can purchase heat resistant, non slip pot handle grips that can be easily slipped on over your pot handles.  They can be purchased through websites such as MaxiAids.com and Hearmore.com for about $7.

This week’s tip is actually a great website for grandparents, grandmagazine.com.  The site presents helpful information about grand parenting including grandparents’ rights, long-distance grandparenting, children’s health and development, family gatherings, and even includes photographs of grandchildren of the day. Submit your grandkids today!

Rebuilding Together is certainly very busy these days.  The organization just completed their The Fifty for Five project, where they planned to rebuild 50 homes in 5 days in New Orleans, between Tuesday August 24^th to Saturday August 28^th,, in honor of the 5 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Rebuilding Together is a nonprofit organization that provides free home rehabilitation and vital repairs for low income Americans.  Being able to age in place is a staple of Rebuilding Together.  They believe that the aging population as well as those with disabilities should be able to live safely and comfortably in their homes as long as possible.  They strive to revitalize communities and work so their clients can have affordable homeownership.  They also provide free home modifications and repairs and work to make homes more accessible and energy efficient.

Rebuilding Together has several National initiatives, they include

• National Rebuilding Together Day:  Volunteers and local affiliate leaders work together to fix and restore homes while non-profit facilities help to revitalize communities.
• Safe at Home:  The goal of the program is to address home repair and maintenance issues that can limit access to the home or cause safety hazards.
• Disaster & Relief Recovery:  The goal is to rebuild houses of low-income homeowners during times of disaster.

Veterans Housing:  The goal is to help veterans with needed housing modifications and repair services. Green Housing: The goal is to provide energy efficient, money saving repairs that result in safer homes. To learn more about Rebuilding Together and how you can help, visit Rebuilding Together.

Picture Source:  The Low Vision Store.com

People who have low vision can have difficulty with everyday activities including writing letters and addressing envelopes.  But,having low vision doesn’t mean you have to lose your ability to write letters to your loved ones.   A writing guide can help by allowing individuals to write within specific boundaries.  A letter writing guide can cost about $6 and a check writing guide can cost about $1.50.  They can be purchased online at The Low Vision Store.com

Too much cholesterol in the bloodstream, can result in deposits in the coronary arteries, the carotid arteries in the brain and arteries in the legs.  The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends that most men and women get their cholesterol levels checked once every 5 years.

The ability to age in place is important to both baby boomers and seniors.  Key to aging in place is the ability to age safely and comfortably in one’s home.  Sometimes however, falls can prevent safely aging in place.

Tripping over items and falling on the stairs are the top two causes of falls in the home.  Also, as we age, we can develop arthritis and other conditions that make going up and down stairs more challenging.  This was the case for Karl Schwengel, a 79 year old retired business manager who lived in a two-story Capitol Hill townhouse.   As Karl got older, his health declined, resulting in difficulty getting up and down the 17 steps in his townhouse.  So two years ago, Karl decided to get a stair lift installed.

A survey by the National Association of Home Builders states that 79 percent of buyers 55 and older would prefer a one-story home.   However, census numbers indicate that most of the country’s homes are two or more stories.  So having to use stairs to access the home is common.  For some people in a two-story home, modifications can be made so that all necessities are on the main level.  However, this may not be an option for many people; in these cases people may have to consider the use of a stair lift or an elevator.

A stair lift that goes up one flight of stairs can cost anywhere between $3,000 to $10, 000 depending on if it’s a straight lift or if it has turns or needs further customization.  The plus to the lift is that it can be fairly reasonable to install. On the negative side,  some people consider stair lifts unattractive.  On the other hand, an elevator in the home can be more discrete but also more costly (a 3 stop elevator can cost between $20,000-$25,000).

If someone wants to age in their current home, planning ahead while you’re healthy is a crucial step in aging in place.  If you do have a two-or three story home, think ahead to what you may need to do to your home if you can’t access all floors.  Would a stair lift work for you, an elevator, or can you make modifications to the main level of your home that would allow you to live comfortably on that level if you had to?

Source:  The Washington Post

Picture Source:  Imaginewood.com

Use an oven rack to check your pies and cookies while baking.  Some people love to bake but are afraid to because they’ve burned themselves in the past.  Burns can be devastating to an older adult, especially one suffering from diabetes. Using a pull/push oven rack will help prevent burns.  Prices range from $5 – $20 depending on the make and model.  Click here and here to see where you can order.

Picture Source:  Sears.com

Go green and conserve your energy.  Using the dishwasher instead of hand washing conserves your energy and can get your dishes cleaner while also reducing the amount of water used. So. load up.

A big part of aging in place is helping others.  Volunteering can be a part of a healthy lifestyle.  This weeks feature is from the AARP and discusses the steps involved in finding a match when volunteering.

Teaching a classroom of children in Nepal, caring for cheetahs in Namibia or studying sea turtles along Sri Lanka’s shores — exotic opportunities like these have made volunteering part of the growth industry in the travel biz. But the key to a good work experience is not the work you do on your trip. It’s the work you do before you ever leave home.  Ken Budd, from AARP The Magazine researched “Vacationing as Volunteer” and created a seven step plan for finding the ideal match.

Find the right trip for seeing the world while making a difference in people’s lives.

Full Story

To help make that ideal match, follow this seven-step plan.

1. Ask the right questions

Selecting an organization is a bit like getting married: There are plenty of possible partners; the hard part is finding Mr. or Mrs. Right. To narrow the often-overwhelming options, start with these three essential questions:

•What kind of work do you want to do?

•Where do you want to do it?

• How long do you want to stay?

2. Become a snoop

On a travel site called Worldhum.com, a blog about voluntourism led to this cynical post from a reader: “If you pay to volunteer, you are a total sucker.”

Snide as that may be, there is something odd about paying to perform free labor. But there’s a reason why most groups charge “program fees,” as they’re called. These fees typically cover not only the basics of your trip — lodging, food, security, local transportation — but also help pay the group’s basic operational expenses. To find out how your money is being spent, ask the organization for a breakdown or check its website: Most explain how the program fees are used.

Don’t stop your detective work there. To get a more intimate view of a potential assignment — the living conditions, the food, the work projects — contact previous volunteers. Obviously, the organization will put you in touch with people who had a positive experience, so if you want an unfiltered opinion, search for blogs that might be commenting on a particular organization, or check travel review sites TripAdvisor.com or IgoUgo.com — these commentary and community sites let you post questions and take advantage of other travelers’ expertise.

3. Gauge a group’s interest in you

When my wife and I volunteered in Costa Rica in 2006, we didn’t find out we’d be teaching English until a few days before we left home. Had we known further in advance, we could have brushed up on our teaching skills (which were nonexistent), talked with ESL teachers and developed some tentative lesson plans.

An on-the-ball organization will send you a skills audit or questionnaire before matching you to a placement. You should also ask for a job description.

4. Find out the group’s impact on the community

One of the big questions with any voluntourism trip is whether the work you’re doing actually benefits the people it’s intended to help.

Christina Heyniger, founder of Zola Consulting, a company that focuses on the adventure travel industry, says there are ways to see how committed the organization is to the local community. Do the group’s leaders speak the local language? Is the local community engaged in the projects (are they contributing time or money)? Is the voluntourism group creating dependency or are they building a self-sustaining program? Equally important is why the project was started.

5. Don’t overlook small organizations

With so many volunteer groups to choose from, the appeal of bigger, more-established (and pricier) organizations such as Cross-Cultural Solutions, i-to-i, Earthwatch or Global Volunteers is easy to understand. They’re safe. “They do what they do really well, and they’ve got it down pat,” says Doug Cutchins, co-author of Volunteer Vacations: Short-Term Adventures That Will Benefit You and Others.

But sometimes the more rewarding experiences come from smaller, lesser-known groups, says David L. Clemmons, who offers expert advice on his site, VolunTourism.org. Clemmons points to organizations such as Conservation VIP, Conscious Journeys, Go Differently, North By North East and Voluntourists Without Borders, which typically work in no more than a handful of countries.

Step one: look for nonprofits, says Clemmons. Most nonprofits will have to be registered with a governing body — the Internal Revenue Service, for example — and other countries have similar entities. You can also check up on them at sites like Guidestar.org or GlobalGiving.com.

If you’re considering a small for-profit organization or a tour operator, Clemmons suggests contacting tourism authorities or the governing bodies that represent those groups – the United States Tour Operators Association, Asia Transpacific Journeys and so forth — to see if they have information on the company. Have there been any complaints? Any reports of impropriety?

6. Watch for warning signs

• Find out how long an operation has been in existence. “If you cannot find this somewhere on a website, or in printed literature, stay away,” says Clemmons. A new group may be just fine, but it is more likely to be working out the kinks of its program.

• Realize that you may not get “true” answers from the company that you contact. If you can’t find information about the organization in articles or from other sources — if you’re going to Thailand and the local tourist authority has never heard of the group — this should be a clue that the organization is bit, well … mysterious.

• Be aware that an organization isn’t necessarily a nonprofit just because its website has a “.org” address. If working for a nonprofit is important to you, ask to see a 990 Form or an annual report.

7. Expect good customer service

A voluntourism trip in a third-world country is obviously not the same experience as a therapeutic massage weekend at a world-class spa. But the lack of pampering and plush five-star accommodations is no excuse for poor customer service.

Take a businesslike approach to the search process and you’ll have a much more gratifying experience.

Source:   AARP

Imagine one of Uplift’s electric Power Seats inside a classic wing-back chair, and you’d have the Risedale Lifting Seat Chair. Patented LeveLift technology lifts or lowers 100% of the user’s weight, up to 300 lbs. Since only the seat is raised or lowered, the Risedale is a great choice for small spaces, in corners or against a wall. The discreet, detachable power lever can be used on the left or right side of the chair. Blending into any décor, there is nothing medical looking about the attractive, discreet Risedale Chair! The Risedale Lifting Seat Chair has a suggested retail price of $499.95 and the storage ottoman is sold separately with a suggested retail price of $119.95. Both can be purchased online on sites such as www.amazon.com, www.csnstores.com, and www.improvelife.com. It can also be purchased throughout many home medical equipment supply stores or directly from the Risedale website, www.risedalechair.com. To locate an HME store carrying this product in your area please refer to the “where to buy” section on www.up-lift.com or contact customer service at 1-800-387-0896.

Risedale Lifting Seat Chair:

-U.S. Medicare reimbursable (visit www.up-lift.com for more information)

-Affordably priced

-Separate matching storage ottoman

-Brocade covering available in 4 colors

-Leg height can be adjusted by 1.5”

-UPS shippable

-Weight: 65 lbs

-Limited lifetime warranty on metal support structure and chair (excluding fabric and foam)

-Two year warranty on motor and electrical parts