When is it time to give up the keys?

Dear Bloggers,

This blogs subject is about driving and Parkinson's Disease

As baby boomers age and life expectancy rises, increasing attention is turning on how to determine when and if older people and people with severe health problems should stop driving. This topic is especially important in light of a agtng group in our country as a lot of them are on the search for injury prevention and we should get in control that our elderly people are involved by vehicle injuries. As the number one cause of injury related deaths for people aged 65 to 74, and the number two cause (after falls) of injury

related deaths for those aged 75 to 84. The issue that hits home for people with Parkinson's since both the symptoms of the disease and the medications designed to ease them can affect driving ability. If you are struggling with the decision of whether or not to stop driving, or if you are a caregiver for someone who is wrestling with this problem, this blog may help you explore your options.
 

 
How does Parkinson's disease affect driving?

People with Parkinson's disease may eventually experience a decline in both motor skills and cognition. These problems can make driving unsafe. For example, a decrease in visuospatial skill. Let me explain:This is the kind of skills that are necessary to determine distance and distinguish shapes which is not uncommon in Parkinson’s Disease. A driver with decreased visuospatial skills may be unable to gauge the distance to a stop sign or a traffic light or keep a car in the correct lane. Some people with Parkinson's also may have cognitive difficulties and at times become confused. 

Unfortunately, patients with dementia may not realize that their driving has become a problem and must rely on a physician, family members and friends to bring it to their attention. Another common symptomatic problem for people with Parkinson's is muscle tightness, which can make reacting quickly difficult. Delayed reaction time is dangerous because drivers need to be able to react swiftly, both mentally and physically, to avoid accidents and adapt to changing traffic patterns.

Additional complications come from the medications that are used to treat Parkinson’s Disease. Common medications including carbidopa/levodopa (Sinemet), amantadine, dopamine agonists and anticholinergics may produce side-effects such as sleepiness, dizziness, blurred vision and confusion. Anticholinergics are especially dangerous as they can cause confusion and sedation along with memory impairment. However, not every patient experiences these side-effects and they may be decreased with simple adjustments in dosage. You should note any changes and report these to your physician. It is your life and you decide.

 Assessment options for people with Parkinson's

It is important to remember that while not every person with Parkinson's experiences problems with driving, disease symptoms and treatments can make driving dangerous for you and others. Driving is seen as a priveliged right of independence and freedom and you may be reluctant to stop, but being responsible is also important. To help you determine your driving risk, the medical association advice is to report your Parkinson’s at CBR (the Dutch bureau for driving licences) Especially for older drivers with difficulties in traffic and they can give extensive information about diseases that may affect driving ability, such as Parkinson's. Although these guidelines were developed primarily for doctors, it will help laypersons to make their own assessment of their driving ability and determine a course of action.

The question is: “Am I a Safe Driver?” If you just take a driving lesson just to help you evaluate your driving. If you score poorly on this and you are still reluctant to stop driving, refer to the driving school to get some tips for safe drving and really consider speaking with a doctor about the issue. The doctor can run some tests on cognition, mobility, reaction time and visual ability for physicians to perform on patients to determine if a person is driving safely. Yes you might not only kill yourself but also someone else!

A less costly, although less thorough, option is to enroll in a driver safety class, such as the driving  schools are offering to elderly people. While these classes are not specifically tailored for people with Parkinson's, they can provide helpful tips for safe driving. An instructor will lead the class through various ways of enhancing driving skills and safety but often will not make individual assessments.
Finally, you can always visit the CBR and ask to take a driving test. Of course, if you were to fail the test, your license would be revoked.

What can family members and friends do to help?

Understandably, most people are reluctant to give up the opportunity to drive. Because of this, it is often up to family members and caregivers to spot a problem first. If you are a family member or caregiver for a person with Parkinson's and you think it may be time for them to stop driving, remember that this is a very sensitive issue and you must help the person see that his or her driving has become dangerous. Before bringing up the subject, look at the possibilities how to help this older driver, being prepared as they have a million excuses to keep their freedom which is extremely relevant for Parkinson's patients. This can help you determine if your concerns are valid and how you might address them.

Another way to help your loved one with this decision is by stressing that giving up driving does not mean giving up mobility. Your support is crucial in helping a person with Parkinson's admit that his or her skills have decreased without feeling stripped of power. To help people with Parkinson's with their decision to stop driving, provide them with transportation alternatives. The Getting by Without Driving tip is to highlight all other possible modes of transportation, including a partner that is still able to drive, taxis, buses, subways and getting a ride from family members. Some cities also provide travel assistance for people unable to use public transportation. (We got something that is called the Plusbus.) If you know someone with Parkinson's who has had to give up driving, provide him or her with bus routes, taxicab phone numbers, and offer to give rides. For more transportation alternatives, check on the internet for options in your region.This may help a person with Parkinson's to adjust and realize that stopping driving does not mean losing independence.

What's the bottom line?

Having Parkinson's does not necessarily result in giving up driving. However, whether you are a person with Parkinson's or a loved one, it is important to be responsible and remember the potential dangers that Parkinson's presents to driving. Ignoring the effects of the disease and its medications on driving will only create a more dangerous environment for you and other drivers. The best way to be a responsible driver is by paying attention to your driving skills and reporting any changes to your physician. If you have concerns, don't avoid voicing them out of fear of losing your license. Doctors and family members are often happy to help you exhaust rehabilitation options before asking you to give up driving. If it does come to the point where family, doctors and driving coaches ask you to give up your keys, realize that it is in your best interest to stop driving and explore other transportation options. They love you and don’t want to loose you.

The Old Sailor,
 

I had no idea asthma could be fatal.

Dear Bloggers, 

I let my thoughts go when I think up a worst case scenario as my wife is diagnosed with the final stage of Asthma. Something that was told at the doctors office a couple of weeks ago. 

Somehow it is waiting untill things go terribly wrong. I imagine it like this.
At 7.50am, my wife left for work in her car as usual, dropping off our youngest at the day care centre on he way. I had to start earlier and do my rounds with the bus.

She texted me: “Can you take care of diner today?”she tapped.

I phoned her back and we chatted about the plans for that evening. We ended the ­conversation as always by saying: “Love you.”

A couple of minutes later, she was dead.

She’d driven into the side of a lorry after suffering a fatal asthma attack.
For us the rest of the family of four, her death came as a bolt from the blue. Shocking are the  statistics as they show that one person dies from asthma every eight hours.

But a new review, that will investigate the cause of asthma deaths, is hoping to reduce that number to two or three every year so that cases like my wife’s will become few and far between.

The review will ask GPs and ­hospital doctors for information to identify factors leading up to an asthma death, including the ­medication a patient was taking and whether a patient had any attacks in the run-up to their death.

On the morning she dropped our daughter at day care, nothing was out of the ordinary.
“She’d taken her inhalers the night before and in the morning and she didn’t seem unwell,” just an other day. “It was only when her boss at the telecom firm where she worked called me to say that she hadn’t turned up! I really started to worry.

“I knew something terrible had happened because she was if it comes to work she’s ­always punctual. I had a broken shift and I went home during the break, worried sick hoping to find her in bed or something similair.

I rang the police to see if they knew of any accidents but they couldn’t tell me anything. Then, at 10.10am, two police officers turned up at the door.

“They told me there had been a road traffic accident involving my wife. The officers had taken their hats off and said they were really sorry. I knew then she was dead. 

It was like the whole world stopped. I went into ­automatic gear, phoning her workplace to let them know what had happened, then I went to the school to tell the children their mum was dead. It was probably the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.”

I never thought asthma would kill her.

She first developed the condition when he was 12 shortly after she went to another school it started being allergic to many things and she got some medication to stop it, when I met her she was 23 years old and her hands were a mess because she was reacting allergic to the Christmas tree. In Januari we bought a fake tree and I took her to her Phd. The evening before she had a severe Asthma attack and her lips turned blue due to the lack of oxygen. Her doctor was a bit hardheaded to admit that this would be asthma. So I pushed him verbally in a corner and he send us of to a specialist. A couple of weeks later she got a better life by having the right doses of medication.

 “We don’t know if this triggered her asthma but from then on she started to take Ventolin and Becotide inhalers,” the lungspecialist says.
As the years passed, She became increasingly prone to chest infections and I have to admit that after the breakdown after having our first child and several miscarriages, she began to smoke 15 cigarettes a day due to a lot of stress.

“She gave up for a while when we expected our second child and no I was not very supportive during those years but then she started smoking again. I was always nagging at her to take her inhalers when she was wheezy but she didn’t always listen.”

Her first wake-up call came in 2011 when she suffered a bout of pneumonia. She spent five days in bed where i still think she should have gone to the hospital. At the time she was taking a Ventolin inhaler and Seretide 250, a steroid preventer ­inhaler. Nothing really worked. After a Prednisolone treatment she recovered.

Her second bout came in February this year, when she had an attack of coughing syncope, a ­violent coughing ­episode which caused her to pass out.
A month later, she suffered a similar attack but this time he was behind the wheel of the car. It proved to be fatal.

“The postmortem showed a massive asthma attack, which means she probably passed out and drove into the lorry,” says the report. 
“She had all her inhalers with her in the car when she died.”

The lorry driver was totally blameless and it was an accidental death.

I am thinking back at our days that we met.  “It was a strange way to meet but we bumped into each other at the station and a few weeks later I took her out. We were both separated in a bad way in a former relationship. Eventhough I did not believe in love anymore after I was stood up again, creepy but after nearly five years of being single not wanting anything to do with women, I ­totally fell for her smile and a fair sense of humour.

“Asthma was always a problem for her and it did increasingly affect her day-to-day life. Simply running around with the children made her out of breath. But we thought her condition was under control and I still find it hard to believe that asthma could kill her.

 “Thank God we did many fun things together because we now treasure those memories if we would be losing her so unexpectedly. My point is even if your not that rich live life as best as you can. This is crucial and everyone must understand how deadly asthma can be.”

This story is just the freedom of my thoughs, It is still not too late for my wife as she is still around but this might be a realistic scenario. For her there might not be that many options left but it’s not too late for other asthma sufferers. 

“I want everyone to know that ­asthma can kill, because I didn’t know until it was told to me by a physician.

“I wish we’d known how deadly asthma can be because then, I would have made absolutely sure she took all her inhalers.” Here is a simple test: If you can breathe normal just put a straw in your mouth and try to breathe through it, don’t forget to block your nostrils as well. That is how many Asthma sufferers feel when they have an attack.

The Old Sailor,

Help the Red Cross or become a member

Dear Bloggers,

My wife is an active member of the Red Cross division in our neighborhood. http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ Every Tuesdaynight she is going to follow lessons with a diversety of items. They learn for example how to handle injured persons and also how to recognize bonefractures. Furthermore they learn CPR and how to use a walkie talkie as a professional which is needed when a disaster or a big event happens. Unfortunately the Red Cross in the Netherlands is getting short of (young and new) members, and we absolutely need these people for so many occasions. So I used all my sources to find out why I should write about them and I asked myself the following questions.

http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/
What is the Red Cross?
Most countries have a Red Cross Society or the Red Crescent but they have the same kind of background. The Red Cross can therefore (almost) anywhere in the world help people and children. Millions of volunteers who want to help, for example when an earthquake in Haiti struck recently the Red Cross in the Netherlands started to raise funds together with other help organisations, and they were sending people to help them. This is a specialized team that acts when disasters happen. The Red Cross consists largely of volunteers who do not get paid. Without all these volunteers the Red Cross would not exist. In the Netherlands there are about 34,000 volunteers.

http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/
The Red Cross has seven core values about the manner in which the Red Cross work is done. These agreements are called seven principles, I mention those seven lines, in my own words:

Humanity
Impartiality
Neutrality
Independence
Voluntary service
Unity
Universality

A full worked out version you can read on http://www.ifrc.org/what/values/principles/index.asp

The founding of the Red Cross.
In 1859 there was a battle of Solferino in Italy between the French and the Austrian army. After the battle were 40,000 wounded left behind, nobody took care about them. They had no water, food and aid. Henry Dunant was in the neighborhood as a coinkydink. He went to help the wounded and was taking care about them and he succeeded on his own course. He asked the help of Italian women from the villages nearby. They made emergency stations for sick and injured. When Henry was back in Geneva from his journey. Solferino he could not forget about it and wrote a book:''Un souvenir de Solferino''. In this book he proposed three things to avoid. The proposals were:
- In every country should be voluntary aid organizations be established to care for the sick and wounded.
- The wounded on the battlefield should be consider as ordinary people and should be protected.
- An international rule, these proposals will help the law and provide security for the wounded and the people who take care of them .
His book was widely read and many people were agreeing with him. In 1863 came from 16 European countries to a meeting in Geneva. They approved the proposal of Henry to set up associations of voluntary workers. On October 29, 1863 the decision was taken and there was a new organization founded:''''The Red Cross! With the creation of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant's dream was fulfilled.
In the years that followed there was a National Red Cross club. The Red Cross in Belgium in 1864 was the first national association. The Dutch Red Cross was founded in 1867. As we speak about today there are around 170 countries with approx 128 million volunteers.
For all the work Henry Dunant did he got in 1901 the Nobel Peace Prize later he got another four times the Nobel Prize.
http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/

The origin of the symbol.
The Red Cross is not just a symbol. Already in the 18th century was agreed that sick and wounded soldiers should receive protection and assistance If they wear a red cross symbol with a white background. All of this was agreed in Geneva in 1949. The founder of the Red Cross, Henry Dunant as a Swiss, Henry had chosen for this symbol, it is because when you turn around (the white cross and red background) was a Swiss flag. The sign of the Red Crescent association instead of a Red Cross a red Moon During wars, the symbol used for protection of the sick and wounded, and for those who help them. Many people know the sign of the Red Cross. This sign is very important in wartime. The countries have agreed with each other if someone or something wears the Red Cross symbol that it should not be attacked. Also the sign of the Red Crescent should not be attacked.
http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/

The Netherlands Red Cross.
Even if a disaster occurs in the Netherlands as for example the fireworks disaster in Enschede, the fire in Volendam, there are Red Cross volunteers are ready to help.
There are some special teams if they need to help the staff of an ambulance to treat injuries and ensure that the victims relatives are informed and will be mentally supported or even being picked up if necessary.

This so called Sigma team is being called in cases of bigger accidents.Furthermore there is group that acts in cases of disasters like in Haiti to find people in the aftermath of an earthquake.

Closer to home some volunteers will help disabled people to go on holiday onboard of the Mps Henry Dunant a specialized hospital ship for the ones who otherwise can not travel. For all this they have weekly education and training. At football matches, popconcerts, the Eleven city ice skating tour and so on there are always people of the Red Cross. They are also helping out with big vaccination campaigns as with the Swine flu pandemic.They are always there for us, what ever might happen to us people.
http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/

What does the Red Cross abroad?
The Red Cross helps people who have no food and drinkable water or who are without clothes, people who just experienced a natural disaster, and people who need medication in a war. In every country there are people voluntarily helped to get them medical care and drinking water. If it really is needed the Red Cross also from other countries that provide money, personnel and supplies.
Around Christmas time a Dutch radio station was raising money for mosquito nets against malaria one of the biggest killers in the world. And recently all stations reunited for the earthquake in Haiti.

Four of today's recognised symbols: the red cross, the red crescent, the red lion/ sun and the red crystal.
http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/

The Red Cross and Politics

When the founders of the International Red Cross met for the first time in 1863 in Geneva, they decided to establish an humanitarian movement of strict neutrality. Soon, however, it became clear that politics and ethics could not be separated. Humanitarian aid and (local) political circumstances are aspects of the same society. The present attitude of the generals in Burma, the recent closure of the World Food Program in North Korea or the deception by Nazis’in the concentration camp Theresianstadt are proverbial and notorious examples. Even symbolism did not escape from the religious and political division. The Red Cross and the Red Crescent are the most significant results of this discussion. The Iranian government launched a successful campaign to introduce in 1922 the Red Lion and Red Sun.  The recent discussions, however, concerning the Red David led to an astonishing compromise. On 14 January 2007, the Third Additional Protocol to the 1949 Geneva Conventions entered into force. With it, the additional emblem, the Red Crystal, was formally recognized as emblem. The possibility of using the Red Crystal will make it easier for national societies who do not wish to use the Red Cross or the Red Crescent. Under international law, the Red Crystal offers the same protection as the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. The Red Crystal is an attempt to confirm once more neutrality of an global humanitarian organization, surpassing local and regional human political follies and (military) struggles. The universality expressed by the United Nations, International Public Law and the International Court of Justice is symbolized by the Red Crystal, universality as close as it gets.

http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/ http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/

If you got interested in the Red Cross just have a look on these webpages

http://www.rodekruis.nl/

http://friesewouden.rodekruis.nl/

http://www.ifrc.org/



The Old Sailor,

Help Haiti now

Dear Bloggers,


Help Haiti now

With updates on an increasingly unimaginable death toll in Haiti coming in hourly, it is time to do something about it. That is why I choose to write a blog for the poorest people in the western hemosphere and I hope that other bloggers will either copy this story or make their own story on it. We are just making it easier for you to find ways to help.

Of course, donations to charitable organizations are desperately needed – but if you can find it in your heart to open your pocketbook even a little wider, there are many ways to give more and get a little good feeling in return.

So, if you’re a reader – keep tweeting, keep texting, and buying! If you’re a blogger – keep posting (and add a banner to a charity – like this one for the Dutch Giro 555 Programme – to your site)!

Novib
Nederlandse Rode Kruis
ICCO & Kerk in Actie
Cordaid Mensen in Nood
Tear
Terre des Hommes
UNICEF Nederland
Save The Children
World Vision

The least we all can do is spread awareness and give what we can to the people of Haiti at this devastating time.
If you want to donate from a country outside of the Netherlands use the following steps.

Begunstigde : SHO - Help slachtoffers aardbeving Haiti, Mauritskade 9, 2514 HD the Hague, the Netherlands.


Bank: ING bank NV, Financial Plaza, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Swiftcode bank: INGBNL2A

Accountnumber for European countries: IBAN nr: NL08INGB0000000555 (7times the number 0)

Countries outside the European Community (outside europe): accountnumber 555.


The Old Sailor,

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Geachte Bloggers,

Help Haiti nu

Met updates ieder uur over een onvoorstelbaar hoog dodental in Haïti, is het tijd om er iets aan te doen. Daarom heb ik ervoor gekozen om een blog te schrijven voor de armste mensen op het westelijk halfrond en ik hoop dat andere bloggers ofwel dit verhaal zullen kopiëren of ze schrijven hun eigen verhaal. Ik hoop dat het net daardoor het makkelijker voor u wordt om een manier te vinden om te helpen.

Natuurlijk zijn donaties aan charitatieve organisaties hard nodig? maar als je het kan vinden in je hart om je portemonnee te openen zelfs een beetje wijder dan anders, er zijn vele manieren om iets meer te geven en een beetje goed gevoel voor terug te krijgen.

Dus, ben je een lezer? twitter verslaafd, ga twitteren en blijf sms'en, en kopen (voor het goede doel natuurlijk) Als u een blogger bent? blijf dan hierover posten (en voeg een banner toe aan uw site voor een goed doel. Zoals deze voor de Nederlandse Giro 555-Actie)!

Novib
Nederlandse Rode Kruis
ICCO & Kerk in Actie
Cordaid Mensen in Nood
Tear
Terre des Hommes
Unicef Nederland
Save The Children
World Vision

Het minste wat we allemaal kunnen doen is onszelf beter bewust te maken en te geven wat we kunnen om de bevolking van Haïti te helpen in deze verwoestende tijd.
Wilt u doneren vanuit een land buiten Nederland volg dan de volgende stappen.


Begunstigde : SHO - Help slachtoffers aardbeving Haiti, Mauritskade 9, 2514 HD the Hague, the Netherlands.

Bank: ING bank NV, Financial Plaza, Amsterdam, the Netherlands Swiftcode bank: INGBNL2A


Accountnumber for European countries: IBAN nr: NL08INGB0000000555 (7times the number 0)

Countries outside the European Community (outside europe): accountnumber 555.

The Old Sailor,
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