Dementia Patients; many live at home

The following was posted by the Canadian Medical Association in July, I thought it was worth a second look

85 per cent of Canadians diagnosed with dementia and living at home relied ― at least in part ― on family or friends as informal caregivers, Statistics Canada said in a recent study.

Of these Canadians, just over 43 per cent also received some formal caregiving assistance from paid or volunteer workers provided by organizations, while just over 41 per cent relied on informal care exclusively.

That leaves 15 per cent of dementia households receiving neither formal nor informal caregiving, the agency concluded.

The StatsCan study revealed that dementia patients are far more likely to live in long-term care residences than in private households. Forty-five per cent of people aged 45 and older in long-term residences had a diagnosis of dementia versus an estimated 0.8 per cent of Canadians in the same age group living at home.

The prevalence of dementia in long-term care facilities rises with age at 12 per cent at ages 45 to 64, 42 per cent at ages 65 to 79 and 56per cent at age 80 and older.

By contrast, in private households, dementia among people 45 to 64 was just 0.1 per cent. Even in the age 80 and older group, prevalence was just five per cent.

Prevalence of other chronic diseases also increases among those already diagnosed with dementia, StatsCan found. For example, six per cent of the general population without dementia reported incontinence in 2011, while the likelihood in those living with dementia was 10-fold higher.

Released in May, the StatsCan study is a compendium of studies and data provided by a wide range of other organizations, compiled with the assistance of the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Remember our Service men and women today

This is an important day for me, my father fought in the second world war, as did my wife's father and grandfather. My Uncle served in the Army for over 20 years and during his time served as a Peace Keeper in Cypress. I also have a nephew in the armed services and this Remembrance Day  I know he is safe at home. Many of our armed service members are not, they are in harms' way, protecting our way of life. We remember and honor those people who are serving today and those who have fallen. 

In Canada, Remembrance Day is a federal statutory holiday as it is in many other countries in the world where this day is observed on the national level.

All government buildings fly the Canadian flag this day and people remember those who fought for Canada during a two-minute silence at 11am. Many people wear poppies before and on Remembrance Day to show their respect and support for Canadian troops. Poppies are generally handed out free but often a voluntary donation is given in exchange.In the United States, they call this day, Veteran's Day

We remember members of our armed services on this day, but what other interesting and important things happened on this day in history

1620 - The Mayflower Compact was signed by the 41 men on the Mayflower when they landed in what is now Provincetown  Harbor near Cape Cod. The compact called for "just and equal laws." 

1831 - Nat Turner, a slave, and educated minister, was hanged in Jerusalem, VA, after inciting a violent slave uprising. 

1851 - The telescope was patented by Alvan Clark. 

1868 - The first indoor amateur track and field meet was held by the New York Athletic Club. 

1880 - Australian outlaw and bank robber Ned Kelly was hanged at the Melbourne jail at age 25. 

1887 - Labor Activists were hanged in Illinois after being convicted of being connected to a bombing that killed eight police officers. 

1889 - Washington became the 42nd state of the United States. 

1918 - World War I came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice. This day became recognized as Veteran's Day in the United States. 

1918 - Poland was reestablished shortly after the surrender of Germany. 

1920 - The body of an unknown British soldier was buried in Westminster Abbey. The service was recorded with the first electronic recording process developed by Lionel Guest and H.O. Merriman. 

1921 - The Tomb of the Unknowns was dedicated at Arlington Cemetery in Virginia by U.S. President Harding. 

1938 - Kate Smith first sang Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" on network radio. 

1940 - The Jeep made its debut. 

1942 - During World War II, Germany completed its occupation of France. 

1946 - The New York Knickerbockers (now the Knicks) played their first game at Madison Square Garden. 

1952 - The first video recorder was demonstrated by John Mullin and Wayne Johnson in Beverly Hills, CA. 

1965 - The government of Rhodesia declared its independence from Britain. The country later became known as Zimbabwe. 

1965 - Walt Disney announced a project in Florida. 
Disney movies, music, and books 

1966 - The U.S. launched Gemini 12 from Cape Kennedy, FL. The craft circled the Earth 59 times before returning. 

1972 - The U.S. Army turned over its base at Long Bihn to the South Vietnamese army. The event symbolized the end of direct involvement in the Vietnam War by the U.S. military. 

1975 - Civil war broke out when Angola gained independence from Portugal. 

1981 - Stuntman Dan Goodwin scaled the outside of the 100-story John Hancock Center in Chicago in about six hours. 

1981 - The U.S.S. Ohio was commissioned at the Electric Boat Division in Groton, CT. It was the first Trident class submarine. 

1984 - The Reverend Martin Luther King Sr. died in Atlanta at age 84. 

1984 - U.S. President Ronald Reagan accepted the Vietnam Veterans Memorial as a gift to the nation from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. 

1984 - Gary Coleman, at age 13, underwent his second kidney transplant in Los Angeles. He had his first transplant at age 5. 

1986 - Sperry Rand and Burroughs merged to form "Unisys," becoming the second largest computer company. 

1987 - Vincent Van Gogh's "Irises" was sold for a then-record 53.9 million dollars in New York. 

1988 - Police in Sacramento, CA, found the first of seven bodies buried on the grounds of a boardinghouse. Dorothea Puente was later charged in the deaths of nine people, convicted of three murders and sentenced to life in prison. 

1990 - Stormie Jones, the world's first heart-liver transplant recipient, died at a Pittsburgh hospital at age 13. 

1991 - The U.S. stationed its first diplomat in Cambodia in 16 years to help the nation arrange democratic elections. 

1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin told U.S. senators in a letter that Americans had been held in prison camps after World War II. Some were "summarily executed," but others were still living in his country voluntarily. 

1992 - The Church of England voted to ordain women as priests. 

1993 - Walt Disney Co. announced plans to build a U.S.  history theme park in a Virginia suburb of Washington. The plan was halted later due to local opposition. 

1993 - In Washington, DC, the Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated to honor the more than 11,000 women who had served in the Vietnam War. 

1994 - In Gaza, a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at an Israeli military checkpoint killing three soldiers. 

1996 - The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund unveiled "The Wall That Heals." The work was a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial that would tour communities throughout the United States. 

1997 - The Eastman Kodak Company announced that they were laying off 10,000 employees. 

1997 - Roger Clemens (Toronto Blue Jays) became the third major league player to win the Cy Young Award four times. 

1998 - Jay Cochrane set a record for the longest blindfolded skywalk. He walked a tightrope between the towers of the Flamingo Hilton in Las Vegas, NV. The towers are 600 feet apart. 

1998 - Vincente Fernandez received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. 

1998 - Israel's Cabinet ratified a land-for-peace agreement with the Palestinians. 

2002 - Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates pledged $100 million to fight AIDS in India

Are You Working a Dead-End Job

Have you ever felt like you are working at a dead-end job?  If you think that you are, you are definitely not alone.  With that in mind, just because you think that you may be working a dead-end job, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you are.  However, if you would like a little bit of proof or verification, you may want to continue reading on.

One of the many signs that you may be working a dead-end job is if you find yourself in the same position, for years and years.  If you were hired with the intention of no advancement, your current position may be fine for you. With that in mind, if you have goals and have yet to see those goals accomplished, it may be a sign of a dead-end job.  You should never have your work go unrewarded, especially if you were employed by the same company for years.

Another sign that you may be working a dead-end job is if you have been working at the same pay level, also for a number of years.  In fact, many employers automatically give their employees pay raises yearly or even quarterly.  If you have been employed by the same company and for an extended period of time, you may be working a dead-end job.  There is good news though, if your only issue is pay, you may be able to turn your dead-end job into a great job.  You can do this by inquiring about a pay raise.  Many employers expect this, especially after an extended period of time without a raise; therefore, you may have nothing to lose by at least asking.

The above mentioned signs are just a few of the signs that you may be working a dead-end job.  As previously stated, however, it is important to remember that you don’t have to keep on working in what may be deemed as a dead-end job forever. There are a number of different steps that you can take to see success.  One of those steps involves speaking to your supervisor or supervisors.  This may involve asking for an increase in pay or asking for a promotion, should any positions be available.  In today’s society, you will find that not all individuals want the responsibility of a promotion; therefore, you will want to let your supervisors know that you are not one of those individuals.

Another one of the many ways that you go about getting out of what you may refer to as a dead-end job is by creating a stir, but in a good way.  Despite your possible frustration, you may want to consider giving your job, dead-end or not, a second chance. With that second chance though, you are urged to take action.  Be sure to do good deeds in front of your supervisors, volunteer to work late or cover someone else’s shift in an emergency and so forth. As previously stated, your supervisors may mistakenly believe that you are currently satisfied with your job.  You will want to show them that you want more and that you are capable of handling more.

Another option that you have, when looking to rid yourself of a dead-end job, is seeking employment elsewhere.  If you have a family to support or bills that must be paid, you may only want to use seeking employment elsewhere as a last resort, but it is still a resort that you may want to examine.

Plan Your Future without debt

Getting too deep in debt before is a very bad thing so learning how to plan for your future retirement, right now by understanding how not to get too deeply in debt is your key to a much more successful financial future. 

Understanding how severely debt can damage your retirement is very important because it is real, it is something that can happen when you least expect it, there is no doubt about that people. Those credit card payments that are draining you each and every month are going to be the death of you. Not literally but financially, it is not looking like a very bright or frugal future at all. 

Staying away from credit cards, or actually, staying away from TOO many credit cards, is and will be your wisest decision that you have ever made because your financial future will be much brighter because of it and who knows, you might even be able to save yourself some money each month because of not having an overabundance of credit card payments being mailed out each and every month, which would be absolutely wonderful!

Debt from credit cards, mortgages, medical bills and many other things, is all of the reasons why too many people are unable to go one single day without being stressed out about their finances. Debt relief from paying off all of those bills, or atleast some of them, will provide you with a much more comfortable feeling each and everyday, because of not having to worry about whether or not you are going to be able to pay your monthly bills. 

Finding help on the internet is another good source of getting the financial advice and information regarding all sorts of debt and why it is so very important to not let your debt ratio get completely out of hand. Letting your monthly payments get out of control is a very bad mistake that far too many people make and if you can learn how not to get in too much debt now, it will definitely help you have a happier financial future. 

Learning, no matter how it is you are doing so, is the best way to retain the type of financial knowledge that is needed to guide you in the appropriate path, so that you do not end up in debt trouble. There are plenty of financial and debt advisors out there that can provide you with the appropriate information, hopefully preventing debt crisis from occurring with you. 

Do not let debt control you, you learn how to control how much debt you allow yourself to have.