Embracing Summer, part 3 with Daphne Davis

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

The following podcast is provided by pinnacles senior placements LLC and answers for elders radio, and welcome back everyone to answers for elders radio. And we are talking about embracing and letting summer in at full capacity as we come out of such a you know how many months, fifteen months, close to where our seniors have been isolated, and there’s a lot of things that have changed. Obviously Seniors, a lot of them, have just been in their homes for a very long period of time, and so now’s the time that you might want to be thinking about that family vacation. Maybe you have siblings or family members in another state. You might be going, you know, on a three four hour drive somewhere to a family reunion or different scenarios like that, and so definitely I’m really glad you’re here. We are here with Daphne Davis from Pinnacle senior placements, and Daphne, I want to talk to you a little bit about we talked about community and being out in your community or if you go to a lunch or restaurant or anything like that, but what about the bigger trips? What are some things that we need to think about. So first of all, think about how how can I help my loved one be less stressful? That’s kind of been a thing in this whole out and a room, and that might mean that you’re going to have to learn some new things and maybe call to an airport or talked to an airline. If you’re getting on an airline, that says I need to have an escort, we need a part for my mom. This has been a big a Hud. I’m sorry to my mom and she’s listening to be but we just discovered that that is a huge piece to having my mom moved from one gate to the other gate with an export and not having to be pressured about getting to the gate on time. My mom can walk, but can she walk fast en us if she have to worry about it? No, and so we now are having airport escorts for my mom. We discovered that it and just said, oh my gosh, I’m not worried anymore. So that’s that could be one thing. The other thing is as you’re transitioning, let’s see, you’re going on a bus or a train or, you know, you get to a destination and you’re getting on a boat or you’re going to do stairs in a stadium, always be thinking in terms of safety and I would have this conversation with your loved one before you even go on the event. In the event that they’re pushing back, saying no, I can’t do that, ask them why they can’t do that and nine times out of can it’s going to be fair of the unknown, or I don’t want to fall or I don’t want to be a bother or take too long in the line or etc. Etc. So if you’re going to your venue with tickets, let’s say you take care of the tickets. You know, don’t have your mom or dad holding onto the ticket and giving it to somebody walking into the mall game. I mean it’s just dilus it. Where did I put it? How come I don’t have it? Do I give them this into that at and I mean think about all the things that we take for granted because we do them automatically. But when the machine gets a little bit tired, sometimes they think through every little step and that’s just caused a stress. You definitely when they have to stay in line for a long time, you know, maybe there’s a you know, a type of a stool or something like that so that they could sit if they have to be in line to, let’s say, get into a stadium or something like that. Those are things right now. I’ve seen a lot of things out there that has like these. They’re like a disc until you unscrew them and it automatically comes out into this bond school and I thought what a great thing for a senior if they have to be on their foot to wait in line or, you know, if they’re at an event like going to a concert or something like that. Those are all important things that are invented that we could potentially use as a temporary and exactly, and I’m with it. Yeah, it doesn’t have to be a serious thing, like, Oh gosh, now I gotta remember this. No, no, Oh my God, a great tool for you out fun everything and see if, Milia, they didn’t think of bringing a full you know those kind. I think have fun with it. Also, remember hydration. hydration is so yeah, whether your ten or you’re a hundred and ten, hydration is important, but there is something to be said about keeping brainball gone, keeping light headed. It the way, having smacked and you know, your purse, having a cracker, having something, you know, a keep the candy, a butterscotch if somebody’s blood sugar gets too low. Just be thinking about all those things for comfort and for having fun, make up things that could potentially cause someone to feel anxious about about event. Right. And you talked a little bit in our very first segment about realize that everything’s going to take longer. I think that goes with you know, if you’re go going to check into the airport, you probably need to extra time to check into the airport. If you’re going to if you’re going to get on a courtesy van. I know that one of the things that I took one trip with my mother and I was wider than not to say we’re taking a courtesy van to the hotel, but I told them in advance my mom is in a wheelchair, so I made sure that she had that. The hotel knew that when they came to pick us up, they had proper staff to help her get it into the courtesy van, because you don’t even think about those things, right, and those whore those were some things that they actually brought a town car for her so that she could sit down and do that. So those are things, I think that we don’t necessarily think about. You know, we pop into a courtesy van from the airport to the hotel, think nothing of it. Well, those stairs to get into the courtesy van could be a challenge for for someone. Yeah, absolutely. It happened to my motherin law. You know, she’s just she’s leaving her assisted living building and she is wanting to go on an event. She’s getting into their little van from the assist the living has a little step to help you get on to the first step of the van and she didn’t step on it in the center. It tipped. She ripped the skin on our front and on her shin. I couldn’t go and then head you know the healing process. I would say also always offer an arm. You know, have let someone know that this arm is here. I know I’m for my mom. I have to say, MOM, here’s my arm. It’s okay to use that. You know, have a little prevention here. But but we thinking about that all the time. I mean we’re children with their parents. Sometimes that’s a hard thing to do. An acquaintance, a friend, someone that you don’t know, a service person, it’s easier to offer that arm. But it’s just thein for a family number to do that. Get away from the idea of parent son, parent daughter. Get a way to give that mom or dad has done this all their like. Well, they’d be a shame to do this. Well, my dad think that it’s ridiculous for me to give them an arm for some stability. Doesn’t matter. Have the conversation. Get it’s fun, Fun, Fun, fun. So what about medications? That could be a big issue. Obviously, with traveling, it can be one thing to really pay attention to. In the United States we have a bit of an issue with diabetes, and so really pay attention to that one. A lot of people have to even have oral medication or even insulin. Sometimes it’s just something to be checking their blue closed levels. But be sure that you have the equipment that you need or, if you don’t know how to do the things for diabetes, to have the nurse of the community to explain you how to do things. That’s where you want to pay attention to keeping blood sugar level, not spikes, not loves. So that’s one area to remember. Maybe there’s oxygen involved and to be sure to ask somebody for a portable oxygen machine. You know you can have a canister something that goes over their shoulder. It has a little bag to carry the canisters. The candles can be right there. But don’t let the oxygen peace stop you from doing things it. If don’t have portable oxygen available to you right now, talk to their doctors get an order for it. You certainly can do that. And again, our technology has gotten really good so that there’s really creative ways something to have a backpack with oxygenlutely you can keep living life. Yeah, but in the theme is deal with it, talk about it, don’t let it be the elephant in the room. Exactly. And and if your loved one is in a stenior community and they’re dealing with a medication from the being the nurses station, make sure you always have a list of your current their current medications and what they’re taking. You never know if it luggage gets lost or you know, something like that, you have to have something refilled. You need to have what are they on? If there’s an emergency someplace that that happens when you’re at the destination, anybody that treats them is going to need that current list. Isn’t that correct? And then, absolutely, I’m so glad that you’re talking about this because having there’s a signed medalist at a community of care that they will have and having a copy of that is really important because that confunction sometimes as a prescription, that there is a doctor that’s overseeing there’s it’s been dated and has the doses, has what it’s for in the medication listed as well. That will be very helpful in the event of an emergency, you know, having to go to the hospital or something. Yes, you could probably get online and check a my charter something with the insurance companies or with a hospital, but having that printed list would be so easy to have. So it’s a good practice. I mean just keep it in your wallet that you have a current medlist and and after the Community of care that your parents are had for an updated one ever so often. Yeah, I always recommend once a month, because those things can change. And what I did is I had my power of attorney and my and my mother’s current medalist together and it was in a Manila envelope and it was in the behind the driver’s seat pocket of my car. This I figured wherever I went, I would have it with me and that was where I kept it and it was really you know, if I had to go deal with her the hospital or whatever. I was driving myself and I always knew where that document was. So everyone’s different on how they did things. That’s how I did it. I’m trying to think of what. Oh, I had her all of her information as far as her copies of her Medicare card and all those things as well, in that in that envelope. So those are things that you can think about. You know, how can you have those documents with you? And I think those things are very important in the whole scheme of things. So in the meantime, Daphne, how do we reach you? You reach me at eight hundred and fifty five, seven thirty four one thousand five hundred. Again, that’s eight hundred and fifty five, seven three four fifteen hundred, or at our website, and you can see pictures of all of us on the Pinnacle Team and our Website at Pinnacle Senior Placementscom. And obviously daphite is here to help everyone and she is only a phone call or a website away and she will help just with any sort of questions that you have with your seeing senior loved ones. Her services are absolutely free. So all you need to do is pick up the phone and have a conversation and she can stare you in the right direction, whether it’s here and Watchington state or across the country. And next segment we’re going to talk about really embracing summer. What are some activities and things that you could do right now today that will bring some joy to your looks? So we right that set up to this. The preceding podcast was provided by pinnacles senior placements LLC and answers for elders radio. To contact pinnacles senior placements, go to Pinnacle Senior Placementscom.