The story of my life: I should write a book

 (Photo: istockphoto)

“The pen sometimes builds a more enduring monument than can the hammer or chisel.” Wise words from James Lendall Basford,  a watchmaker and jeweler in Massachusetts who published two books of his own aphorisms — Sparks from the Philosopher's Stone in 1882 and Seven Seventy Seven Sensations in 1897.

I think a lot about words; how they string together to form sentences and paragraphs and how those paragraphs, in a sequence, tell the who, what, when, where and why of a thing, imparting information to the reader. A recipe explains how to bake or cook something — chicken pot pie, for example. Who doesn’t like chicken pot pie? 

A set of instructions inside a big box, parts, all packaged in ziplock plastic bags, to what, once put together, will be a bicycle — a 6th birthday present. One must be able to read to assemble the parts so it may be enjoyed by the recipient. But what if Dad or Mom can’t read the instructions well enough to accomplish the task before them. That has to be so frustrating. Yet it’s a scenario that plays out day after day, in many households across this province and across Canda. 

Parents or caregivers who cannot read at all or who can barely read suffer with a deficiency that impacts every aspect of life; every interaction, every choice, everything. What’s heartbreaking is that there are innocent victims along for that journey. Infants, toddlers, pre-kindergarteners, preschoolers. They are victimzed because they aren’t getting what they absolutely must have in order to succeed, going forward. They must be formal school ready. Reading and knowing letters and words is critical, and if parents aren’t providing that instruction,  their youngsters are at significant disadvantage in the classroom. Reading readiness begins or should begin in the home. Children who are read to on a daily basis are more likely to become readers; life long readers. With reading comes knowledge, and it’s true — knowledge is power. 

Literacy lags in school are a significant problem in our province and across the country, but here in the picture province the situation is magnified due to our limited opportunities. Child and family poverty in this province outpaces that in others and that reality is a real kick in the stomach to parents trying to ‘get by’, providing themselves and their children with a no frills existence. They’re not really living if measured against how ‘the others’ live. A hand to mouth existence impacts the very core of self-esteem. No wonder literacy rates are down. Depression amongst parents is depressing advances in skills acquisition. When a child cannot advance, often through no fault of his own, he gets depressed. A vicious cycle.

There’s been lots of press about the problem with lots of programs being put forward with a view to resolving it. Nothing seems to be working. All manner of criticism in the form of comments to news stories about literacy and literacy rates. Blame the teacher. Blame the system. Blame the government. Blame, blame, blame!

I was an early reader by virtue of the ‘alone time’ imposed by formative years of growing up with CP.  Over my ‘youngster years’, I was gifted with many books, from The Bobsey Twins to the “Anne” books by L.M. Montgomery, the latter having survived a purge by my Mom many decades ago.

        Matching struggling readers with the proficient lends itself to nurturing a love of words and books in a stress free environment while at the same time forging potentially life-long friendships. As a 3rd grader, I was partnered with the banker’s daughter,  Libby, who lived with Down Syndrome. She learned how to articulate clearly because I did.  I was always very precise with speech; I didn’t fall into slang or the ‘you know’ saturated conversation. I was never a ‘slanger’. Libby mimicked me as best she could; I will always remember her sparkling eyes which let me know she was enjoying herself.  There was so much going on ‘in there’ that our community would never know about but Libby did.  Years after those 3 grade reading sessions I saw Libby again at the Stan Cassidy Centre for Rehabilitation. In my day, it was the Forest Hill Rehabilitation Center. She was at the reception area, in a wheelchair. I recognized her immediately and spoke her name; she looked up at me, without a word, but she knew me. As it happened she had a stroke. She was wearing a jogging suit, a totally foreign mode of dress for the girl who wore fancy dresses and skirts to school.  She’d been quite agitated and I mentioned the bygone schooldays dresses. Perhaps that would make her feel more comfortable, I suggested. 

Today, words and writing are a significant part of my daily life; learn something or several somethings each and every day. 

Are you a retiree with an hour or two each day that’s not taken up with your daily chores or hobbies? Do you often say to yourself  ‘I’m bored!’, or  “I wish I had something to do today.”, “I wish I had someone to go with me to the mall.” On and on. Do you like to read? Do you read newspapers? Do you read magazines? You  could become a reading buddy to uplift lives. Imagine!

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, a boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at Carla MacInnis Rockwell

There is no age barrier to friendship

(Photo: istockphoto)

OMG, I’m 70! 70! To be still uprightly mobile and independently living while aging with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy and able to maintain myself, my pets and my home without landing on my head multiple times a day is quite an accomplishment. So I raise a glass to me. It’s water, folks! I need to replenish the single malt supply; kong past due for a wee dram o ‘medicine’. Senior care facilities are not for me as my neurologically insulted brain couldn’t handle all the noise along with concern about being over-medicated. Under-staffed and overworked challenges even the most caring caregiver. They have needs, too!

Over medicating in care facilities, and self-medicating, or in some cases, over- self-medicating at home is not new and it’s not confined to the elderly, who are often thought to be forgetful and not ‘checking it twice’. Medication over-use and misuse is sadly, and often tragically a growing problem amongst all age groups.

Thankfully, when it comes to seniors and those of significantly advanced age, clinical staff in many care facilities are addressing the issues head-on and hands-on, examining what patients are taking and why. Very often, the ‘why’ is taken care of right away when drugs are no longer ordered as the condition for which they were required no longer exists. That should beg another question - why, in some cases, was a drug no longer required still being prescribed and dispensed? Along with that is learning how drugs interact with each other and how some drugs offer the same benefit as other drugs and taking away one cuts into ‘duplication of services’. 

The rationale of prescribing drugs that serve only to sedate should be examined more closely via conversations with the patient, as he is able, and anyone attached to him who has regular contact who knows how the patient lives/copes on a day to day basis. Once in assisted care, a lot of the routine tasks normally undertaken by the elderly person are charged to someone else - a nurse or other caregiver. That being so, some of the previously ‘required’ drugs, like those for pain management, may not be indicated. Again, conversations about the ‘why’ of pharmacological intervention is critical.

In the clinical care setting, there has to be an admission of culpability by hands-on clinicians that some patients are sometimes or even frequently sedated for the convenience of staff. If asked, I’m sure some frontline health care workers will admit to wanting to sedate ‘so-and-so’ ‘because s/he’s too needy, too demanding’, ‘always ringing the nurse’, and so on. 

Nursing homes across the province have gone a long way to enhancing quality of life of their residents; inviting the community to ‘come on in’ has been a huge success. Seniors in care have lost access to a big part of themselves and their identity - the community in which they live. They’re now relegated to a life behind brick walls. Certainly, facilities are  high tech, but they’re still ‘facilities’, and they are sterile no matter how much of ‘home’ is brought in to ‘pretty up’ a room. It’s the ‘people connection’ that will ultimately make a huge difference in the life of an older person in care, even if dementia plays a role in their daily interactions. Wouldn’t it be great if a hug could be pulled out of a bottle and dispensed at will? It’s long been demonstrated that a touch, a hug, a kind word, and a smile go a long way to lifting the mood. Make no mistake, a senior, even those lost in dementia, need all of that and more. Their need for connection doesn’t disappear the moment they pass through the doors of a care facility. In fact, it’s even more critical that they be made not to feel abandoned and forgotten. 

Planners of primary and elementary education are developing programs that include ‘friendly visiting’ at local nursing homes. Young school children are often removed from what goes on with the older persons in their community by virtue of age, certainly, but also because lots of children are still functioning in the ME mode, which is to be expected.  But, at some stage, they have to be guided into more WE activities and what better way to do that than to get them acquainted with serving the community, serving those who have lived and worked in the community for decades. The young meeting the old must be part of the circle of life, to coin a popular phrase. No one should live in isolation at the end of their days. That’s not humane. 

Youngsters, if given the opportunity, would enjoy spending time with older people, hearing their stories, listening to and singing their songs, sharing a meal. Those interactions are often stepping stones to careers for young people. 

Imagine what the lost art of actually making bread together could accomplish? Dough kneading has been proven to help persons recovering from stroke with the repetitive motion of hands and arms communicating with the brain to restore function. As well, on many levels, persons with dementia will ‘remember when’, if they are given opportunities to ‘get back in the kitchen’. The mutual benefits to a 7 year old and a 70 year old rolling up their sleeves to work together for a few hours a week are many and will create cherished memories. No pills required.

Carla MacInnis Rockwell is a freelance writer and disability rights advocate living outside Fredericton, NB with Miss Lexie, a rambunctious Maltese and Mr. Malcolm, a boisterous Havanese. She can be reached via email at Carla MacInnis Rockwell