Coming out of the "Dark Ages"

It has been a very enjoyable past three months. I had some eye opening experiences in all of my classes. I really didn't think that it would be so much fun to get back into school. At first I was afraid because I had been out of school for too long and then it became a challenge. There were some days when I wanted to give up and say "The hell with it all, I make good money and I don't really need to go to school." but, I kept going because I taught my children to never give up. I realized that money was not the reason that I decided to return to school; it was because I put it off for years to spend quality time with my children and now it's time for me. There were weeks when I had so much homework, I couldn't think straight but I completed it all. I had some major hurdles to jump over, when it came to online class assignments. Trying to adjust to completing my math and English assignments on the internet, instead of on paper was difficult at times. Math more so that English. The English lab was quite and serene but, the math lab was so noisy that I couldn't concentrate on what I was doing. I would end up in the math lab for two or more hours, trying to complete two homework assignments because of the noise and trying to take a test in there was almost totally impossible.

I started to feel like I had attended college in the past but, it must have been in the dark ages. My daughter thinks it's funny when I refer back to the times before computers and how I did my typing on a IBM Selectric Typewriter. We had computers on my job but, they were for running warrants and DMV checks. We didn't have computers for typing and storing data until the early 1980's. I wouldn't really call it a computer, it had a eight inch monitor attached to a typewriter and everything you wanted to save had to be saved on a floppy disk. But, we were on the move to the future of computers. I can't even remember when I first used a computer but, it was so amazing. It made my job so much easier because I could type even faster on a computer keyboard. The glare from the screen made my eyes hurt and water; then someone invented the glare screen. Where would we be without modern day technology?

This semester I have had met some very nice classmates and some very good teachers. It has been a joy to be back in school learning again and I look forward to my next semester of classes. I pray that everyone has a blessed Christmas and good luck in whatever life has ahead for each of you. Have a blessed and prosperous New Year.

Alzheimer/Dementia

I had a patient today with severe Alzheimer/Dementia and it amazes me how the disease can be one of the most debilitating mental disorders. Dementia is a neurological disorder in which the primary symptoms involve deterioration of mental functioning. The patients lose the ability to care for themselves and can lose the ability to recognize familiar surroundings and family members. It takes a toll on the family and most families don't understand the disease process.

Alzheimer is a form of dementia which is progressive and irreversible brain disorder that's characterized by a gradual deterioration of memory, reasoning, language, and eventually physical function. Our former President Ronald Regan was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease at age 83. Patients with a family history of Alzheimer disease are at greater risk. It is also revealed that older adults with Alzheimer disease are more likely to have cardiovascular disease than patients who do not have Alzheimer disease. Alzheimer disease involves a deficiency in the important brain messenger chemical acetylcholine, which plays an important role in memory.

As with many problems associated with health and aging, exercise may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer disease and some people say that Sudoku exercises the brain and may also reduce the risk. Some people say if you forget where your glasses are, it's okay but, if you forget that you wear glasses then you have to worry.

Many families become emotionally and physically drained by the extensive care required for the person with Alzheimer disease. Family members become depressed and higher levels of burden, as well as lower levels of well-being and physical health. The family members neglect their own care and well-being. Sometimes it's best to refer the family members to Alzheimer/Dementia units to place their loved ones. These units have the staff and expertise to care for the patient better and more efficient than the family could ever imagine.

Twilighted

I know, you're probably sick of hearing about it, but I did see Twilight recently. At first, I was apprehensive as I didn't really know what to expect. To be honest, I didn't know what it was about. When my daughter told me it was about vampires, I was a little... wary of what it could be about.

I was surprised to found that I actually enjoyed the film. Sure, I had plenty of questions throughout the whole thing like, "why do they play baseball in a thunderstorm?" or "why do they look weird?" and of course, "how can the kids date if they all live together?" All of my questions were answered until the vampire discussion began. These people defied just about everything I knew about vampires (which isn't much). I wanted to know why the sunlight didn't hurt them, why their eyes were... well, I don't know what the color was. Overall, it was very good but I think my daughter's upset with who I chose as a favorite character. I thought Edward was the best as he did all of those spectacular things in the trees and played the piano so masterfully. The other characters didn't really stand out to me. Now, I live with a girl who suffers from a different form of OCD that she calls "Obsessive Cullen Disorder."

I don't know where Twilight is going, but it's definitely taking her with it. Apparently, there are teams for favorite characters and I've been informed that I joined the millions of people on "Team Edward." As for my daughter? She's on "Team Carlisle" and I barely remember which one was Carlisle. I know he's the doctor and he looked like he needed a blood transfusion so he was in the right place. I just hope she finds something else to talk about soon... everything's about Carlisle with that one.

Thanksgiving

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. It was great to spend time with family that I haven’t seen in months. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone again for Christmas. It was also sad to see my ailing father, who’s suffering with metastatic Prostate Cancer to the spine. This may be his last Thanksgiving and Christmas on this earth. My dad has always been a very hard working Electrical Engineer and he would always have some huge remolding project going around the house to keep him busy. Now you see a man that’s frail and he sleeps most of the day away. It was very hard for me to watch him loose his balance as he walked around the house. He turned eighty this November 1, and it will probably be his last birthday but, he still tries to put up a front that he’s the same on dad. To sit there and listen to my mom talk about how bad off he is, it took everything I had to hold back to tears. This is a man that took on another man’s five children without even a blink of the eye. He has been more of father to me and my siblings than our own father. I overheard him talking on the phone to one of his friends from Detroit, saying that he didn’t like sitting at home waiting to die. That just broke my heart. He asked me to make him a sweet potato pie, and my mom overheard and said no, but I made it anyway. I told her that I know that he’s a diabetic but, he dying so let him eat a little pie. Once the pie was done, his eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning. We all spent time together just talking about any and everything. I love the holidays this is my favorite time of the year; being with family and friends that you treasure oh so dearly. People forget the true meaning of Christmas and get caught up in the commercialism of it all. Don’t get me wrong I like to shop just like anyone else; I just don’t care for the crowds of rude people. I can remember years ago standing in long lines at Toys R Us and Wal-Mart to get some new toy for one of my children. Standing out there at four in the morning waiting for the store to open so, I could get whatever it was that they wanted. I guess someday far away in the distant future, I will be standing out there for some toy that my grandchildren want.

Election 2008

November 4, was a wonderful and exciting day for me and I'm sure for many others. I got up bright and early in the morning to go to the polls to cast my vote. I was the first one in line at my polling place. It was so wonderful to see all the young adults out voting and excited about voting. As I stood in line waiting for the polls to open, I had many interesting conversation with people from all walks of life. I met a man who fought in the Vietnam War and he had very interesting stories to tell about all the years that he voted and the changes that have come about. I met a young man that rode his bike to the polling place in the rain just so he could vote and be a part of this history making event. After I got off from work, I went straight to my television set to watch CNN to follow the election. Every time Obama would win a state I would cheer. I became so wrapped up in the election; I would even cheer when McCain won a state. I became emotional when CNN showed Obama in a room watching the results come in with his Mother-in-law holding his hand. I thought about how his mother and grandmother would have loved to be there holding his hand and how blessed he was to have the closeness with his Mother-in-law to the point where she could step in and be there for him. The most excitement was when the polls closed in California and they announced Barak Obama as the President-Elect. I enjoyed McCain’s speech and I felt it was a very gracious speech. When they showed the people waiting in the Grant Park in Chicago to see the new President-Elect, my heart was overwhelmed with joy and it was a very emotional moment for me. As the cameras scanned across the overly crowed park and you see people crying with tears of joy; Oprah leaning on a stranger, Jesse Jackson with his fingers in his mouth and crying to the point of almost sobbing. It was so awe-inspiring, that one man could motivate so many people from all races; all walks of life; all educational backgrounds; and all ages. Before he and his family came out on stage, I was concerned about their safety, until I saw the bullet-proof glass on the stage and overheard the helicopters flying over the park. Obama gave a wonderful speech as usual, he wasn’t arrogant, he was just his same ole self. He didn’t say that he was going to fix the problems in U.S. overnight and try to be some miracle worker; he just stated that it would take time. It was great to see all of Biden’s and Obama’s family on stage cheering for the President-Elect and Vice President-Elect. After everyone left the stage I said a special prayer to keep them all safe, and help them make wise decisions for the American people.