In March 2015, Doug Nichols and his family traveled to Sanibel Island, Florida, for a spring getaway. During lunch on the second day, Nichols’ speech became slurred. The left side of his face drooped. While taking his dishes to the kitchen, he dropped a glass and his phone.“ My wife sat me down and said, […]
Health and Wellness
7 Medicines That Don’t Mix With Driving
You may be driving under the influence and not even realize it. We aren’t talking about alcohol or illegal drugs; we’re talking about common medicationstaken for everything from the common cold and seasonal allergies to anxiety to temporary aches and chronic pain. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), some over-the-counter and prescription meds […]
5 Surprising Foods That Can Spike Your Blood Sugar
Sugar is sneaky. Just when you think you’ve got its whereabouts figured out, you begin taking a closer look at nutrition labels, only to discover the sweet stuff is hiding out in any number of foods and beverages not on the cookie, candy and soda aisles. The unsavory truth: Sugar is used by all kinds […]
How to Set Boundaries as a Family Caregiver
Everyone needs boundaries in work and life, but in the world of family caregiving, the ability to make and understand your own line in the sand can be the difference between thriving or just surviving. Twenty years ago, when I was caring for my husband as he recovered from a traumatic brain injury, I was a frenzied, […]
New Medical Breakthroughs Older Adults Need to Know About
Richard “Rick” Slayman made history on March 16 by becoming the first living person to receive a genetically modified kidney — from a pig. The 62-year-old Weymouth, Massachusetts, resident had end-stage kidney disease and was running out of options. In 2023, the kidney he received about five years before from a human donor started […]
How to Stop Languishing and Start Flourishing
Feeling indifferent and unmotivated? Lethargic and unfocused? You may be languishing. So writes sociologist and Emory University professor emeritus Corey Keyes, whose new book, Languishing: How to Feel Alive Again in a World That Wears Us Down, explores why so many of us feel this “sense of low-grade mental weariness,” as he puts it, and suggests ways […]