I personally face a lot of the issues that I advocate for and speak about. In fact, recently I’ve been very involved with women’s heart health initiatives. And I openly tell people, I do take heart medication. I need them, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t exercise and take care of my nutrition because that’s really the most important thing and something you can do for yourself. But, heart health is incredibly important, especially to women. And we always thought it was a man’s disease, but it’s the number one killer of women. And it kills more women per year than the next seven diseases that women die from. It’s just unbelievable in the end. So, I’ve been very involved with that.
And as you know, I’ve talked about my mother having strokes. She’s in a nursing home, and now she’s stable and she seems to be having, believe it or not, some quality of life even though it’s hard for us to imagine. But, she smiles. She looks good. She’s enjoying the visits she has from people. And she has a little bit of language coming back, very minimal but now we’re going to take out one of the ideas somebody sent me in these blogs, the idea of teaching her a little bit of sign language. And we started with just having her lift her arm if it was “yes,” and leave it down if it was “no.” So, we’re just kind of going to give her a few bits of sign language that we can understand and so that she can communicate more. And then of course, my sisters who are dealing with an enormous amount of stress in taking care of my mother and trying to juggle their lives, and do all of that. So, this is something that I’m sure lots of people are dealing with too.



posted by Lynn1
Write in Guestbook
posted by crochetsandie
Write in Guestbook
posted by Akelei
Please take good care of yourself too, Jane. **smile**
Write in Guestbook
posted by suszee
Write in Guestbook
posted by MsLesley07
My real good friend developed a heart problem within hours of having her second child. She almost died from it. Unfortunately, I can't remember what it is called. She needs to take heart medication for the rest of her life and keep her heart rate down. She is one of the few that has an excuse for not exercising!
Blessings to your mom and family.
Lesley
Write in Guestbook
posted by bunnyflo
Write in Guestbook
posted by LuckBeALady
Rhoda
Write in Guestbook
posted by Wihake
Glad to hear your mother is improving. My mother recently passed away from pulmonary failure and heart disease. When she was hospitalized a few years ago with pnuemonia, she was intubated for a while and could not speak. She was so miserable that we feared she would not cooperate with her treatments. We devised a system of cues very similar to the sign language you describe - the use of her arms, moving her head and eyes for simple phrase. We also drew up picture cards that she was able to point to to make sentences. The ability to communicate on some level perked her spirits and I believe helped in her recovery. I do hope your mother is able to express herself so that she can let you and your sisters know how much she loves you.
Betty
Write in Guestbook
posted by boomband
Thanks for bringing this important information and your personal story to eons. My sister-in-law -- a wonderful woman and the first female president of a cruise line ever at the top of her game -- passed away from a heart attack last fall. She was in her early 50s. I quickly learned how simple things, like watching cholesterol, exercising, and paying attention to signs that could be early warnings of heart attacks are important ways to help avoid heart disease. There are many things we can't prevent, but this is a case where a little education and effort goes a long way.
Write in Guestbook
posted by dianna38
Write in Guestbook
posted by RLTabor
I love your Healing Hearts! Thank you for being an inspiration to so many people by sharing part of your life with us.
Your mother is in my prayers.
view link
Write in Guestbook
posted by Jiang54
Write in Guestbook
posted by notarysecretary
Write in Guestbook
posted by ct50
Write in Guestbook
posted by honeybee0852
Write in Guestbook
posted by DNeuville
Dick
Write in Guestbook