Empty Nest – November 2021

Appen Media Group

November Special Section

2 | November 2021 | NorthFulton.com | ForsythHerald.com

EMPTY NEST• Sponsored Section

Giving thanks and giving back Brought to you by – Village Park Village Park Milton is embracing all of our residents’ diverse philanthropic passions this holiday season by being the host for various organizations’ drop-off donations. Every member of the community looks forward to giving back in their own ways. We are grateful to have the ability to provide for ourselves as well as others within the greater communities. From toys to used eyeglasses, we all have the ability to contribute and to serve others in need, take a look at the various organizations you can donate to at Village Park Milton.

• Toys for Tots: Established in 1947 with the mission to provide toys for children in need, Toys for Tots has its spot in Village Park Milton’s Blue Hen Bistro. The organization has distributed more than 604 million toys to date.

Anonymously assist your neighbors who may struggle purchasing gifts for their children by dropping off teddy bears, dolls, hula hoops and other childhood favorites.

• Children’s Development Academy: This non-profit organization in

Roswell, provides affordable early learning programs and childcare for preschool children in the area that may not be able to afford early education.

• Angel Tree: If you would like to know about a specific family you can donate to, an Angel Tree will be found on the main floor of the Milton community.

The Angel Tree tradition provides you the opportunity to anonymously choose a family to sponsor for the holidays. The names of families and children hallmark the tree branches. After selecting the family, you are given a chance to contribute to their Christmas.

• North Fulton Charities: In an effort to prevent hunger, North Fulton Charities is collecting non-perishable foods. A drop-off location for canned goods is located at Village Park Milton’s main dining room.

Recycle for Sight: On behalf of the Lions Club, Village Park Milton is also accepting used eyeglasses. In an effort to fulfill the urgent need for corrective lenses, the ‘Recycle for Sight’ program collects usable eyeglasses that will be recycled, repaired, and given to people in

Bungalows & Cottages City Homes Independent Living Assisted Living Memory Care Village Park Milton 555 Wills Road Alpharetta, GA 30009 470.509.4557

Village Park Alpharetta 12300 Morris Road Alpharetta, GA 30005 678.740.3499

the greater community.

Village Park Senior Living believes in connecting with our neighbors and giving back to those surrounding us.

Residents, family members, friends, and neighbors are encouraged to drop off their charitable donations at 555 Wills

Road, Alpharetta, GA 30009. Donations will then be picked up or delivered to the designated organizations. For more information on Village Park Milton and how you can support your community, give us a call at (470) 509-4557. We look forward to hearing from you.

EMPTY NEST • Sponsored Section

NorthFulton.com | ForsythHerald.com | November 2021 | 3

4 | November 2021 | NorthFulton.com | ForsythHerald.com

EMPTY NEST• Sponsored Section

Medicare Advantage Plan Checklist Brought to you by – Jay Looft, Medicare Insurance Broker, SeniorSource Medicare Solutions

The December 7th Medicare Annual Election Period deadline is quickly approaching. If you are currently enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan, your insurance company mailed you an Annual Notice of Change booklet for the upcoming year. This booklet usually arrives in your mailbox by October. This is an important document that will review the more commonly used plan costs, such as doctor copays, surgery copays, and hospital copays. However, there are additional important factors to consider: • Are my prescriptions still covered?

• Will my doctors still accept my plan?

• Is there built-in dental and vision coverage, or do I pay extra for this?

• Are there any extra benefits to my plan, such as hearing aid coverage, an OTC catalog allowance, gym membership, or transportation to my doctor?

• Are there any new plan options that I haven’t heard about?

These are just a few questions that everyone on Medicare should ask themselves each fall. During the Medicare Annual Election Period, which began on October 15th and runs through December 7th, take time to look over your Medicare plan and study the changes.

There are many good Medicare plans available, but finding the best fitted plan to your needs should be your goal. If you need help finding that right Medicare plan

for you this fall, give us a call. At SeniorSource Medicare Solutions, we are insurance brokers specializing in Medicare insurance. We represent most Medicare

insurance companies and are ready to serve you. Please reach out to us by going to our website at www.SeniorSourceMedicare.com or by calling us at (770) 596-6650.

Your Local Broker for Medicare Insurance Needs

Your Local Broker for Medicare Insurance Needs

Specializing in Medicare Advantage & Medicare Supplement Plans

Specializing in Medicare Advantage & Medicare Supplement Plans

Jay Looft Owner/Agent

Serving North Atlanta Seniors for More Than 10 Years

Serving North Atlanta Seniors for More Than 10 Years

Representing Most Medicare Insurance Companies

Representing Most Medicare Insurance Companies

• Experienced Medicare Insurance Broker

• Experienced Medicare Insurance Broker

• Provides Personalized Plan Analysis

• Provides Personalized Plan Analysis

• Annual Plan Updates, Including Upcoming Trends • No Cost to Use Our Services

770.913.6464

www.SeniorSourceMedicare.com

Logan Steele Agent

• Annual Plan Updates, Including Upcoming Trends • No Cost to Use Our Services

770.596.6650

www.SeniorSourceMedicare.com

EMPTY NEST • Sponsored Section

NorthFulton.com | ForsythHerald.com | November 2021 | 5

Did this ad catch your eye?

Your Local Broker for Medicare Insurance Needs Specializing in Medicare Advantage & Medicare Supplement Plans

Then imagine the MONSTROUS number of other readers that noticed it too!

Advertise your products and services in our newspapers and get noticed by our 232,500 readers every week in North Atlanta.*

Serving North Atlanta Seniors for More Than 10 Years Representing Most Medicare Insurance Companies • Experienced Medicare Insurance Broker

CONTACT YOUR MEDIA REPRESENTATIVE TODAY AT 770-442-3278!

• Provides Personalized Plan Analysis Paige Gorman Agent

• Annual Plan Updates, Including Upcoming Trends • No Cost to Use Our Services

770.315.8145

www.SeniorSourceMedicare.com

319 North Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009 | AppenMedia.com *Based on total circulation of 93,000 homes delivered x 2.5 readers per home (newspaper industry standard).

6 | November 2021 | NorthFulton.com | ForsythHerald.com

EMPTY NEST• Sponsored Section

On that most dreaded of diseases: Uncombable Hair Syndrome Brought to you by – Dr. Brent Taylor, Premier Dermatology This evening, I set to work planning to write an article that our local readers would find interesting and informative and began writing about a skin cancer case that I recently treated. But as the days are getting colder and COVID is still in the air, I thought, wouldn’t it be nice have something fun and pleasant for a change? Which leads me to…. Uncombable Hair Syndrome.

Yes, uncombable hair syndrome is an actual disease. First off, my sincere apologies to anyone afflicted with this malady if I misunderstand any distress it may cause. My only exposure to this condition was to a single case in my residency, the details of which I hope will excuse me for any seeming lack of sympathy: A beautiful couple presented to clinic with the CUTEST child you ever seen.

He was a delight, babbling and smiling and running amok trying to grab everything he shouldn’t have. At first glance, nothing appeared wrong. His arms were free of eczema. His moles looked normal.

He didn’t even seem to have a lick of lip licker’s dermatitis. Why was he in a dermatology clinic? Exasperated, his mom lamented, “I can’t comb his hair – you don’t understand it WON’T comb.”

She went on to explain. No matter the mousse, the hair spray, the shampoo or conditioner, his obstinate hair willfully sprung back into a tussled mish-mash of hairs going in every direction. These hairs had a mind of their own. Their position was not random. Instead, a certain hair would always try to go backward. The next, always forward. Push one in a certain direction, and it would spring back to the position that it preferred.

My attending physician exclaimed “your child has uncombable hair syndrome!”

Uncombable hair syndrome is a wellcharacterized medical condition. One can easily find information on the genes involved by turning to Wikipedia, but I strongly urge the reader to go to Google Image instead and type in “uncombable hair syndrome” and enjoy photos of the dandelion capped rascals running around with uncombable hair Several types of hair disorders are sometimes lumped together with uncombable hair syndrome but the classic disease occurs because the hair follicles have a notch or a triangular shape, and so the hair grows out with a ridge or a groove resulting in a stiff hair that can only fall one way. The Latin name is pili trianguli et canaliculi, which, if you are a Latin scholar, perhaps means something.

Children afflicted with this condition are typically towheaded with very light blonde

to white hair.

To be a syndrome, a disease must have two or more features that occur together as a disease “complex.” In this case, the two primary features are the uncombable hair of the child and the frustration of the mother. Scientists still debate whether the smirking laughter of the father playing on his phone in the background constitutes a third feature of this disease. This would make the syndrome a triad.

Fortunately for our patient, his disease has an excellent prognosis. The hair of uncombable hair syndrome typically becomes uncombable early in childhood and normalizes in early adolescence, often at puberty. Our patient was otherwise completely healthy without any signs or markers of other dermatologic disease.

Given that our patient is a boy, my attending’s advice was simple: “keep his hair buzzed until he’s about 13 or so.”

“So you don’t have any treatment?!” said the mother.

“Well, I thought the reassurance that it should normalize in 10-11 years and that you could buzz the hair in the meantime is a good treatment plan,” said my attending.

The father laughed. The mother remained frustrated. The child’s hair remained uncombable.

Please note that this syndrome should not be confused with the “wont comb his hair” syndrome as displayed by my son, age 2 (see photo).

If you or someone you love suffers from uncombable hair syndrome, consider Premier Dermatology and Mohs Surgery of Atlanta. Dr. Brent Taylor is certified by the American Board of Dermatology, the American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine and is a fellowship-trained Mohs surgeon and vein specialist. Kathryn Filipek, PA-C is a physician assistant with more than 15 years of dermatology experience and expertise in medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology.

EMPTY NEST • Sponsored Section

NorthFulton.com | ForsythHerald.com | November 2021 | 7

There’s Always Time to Connect Brought to you by – Addington Place of Alpharetta & Addington Place of Roswell As Cedarhurst communities, we’re faithful to one big idea: Every person should feel loved, valued, supported and able to safely live life to the fullest.

At Addington Place of Alpharetta and Addington Place of Roswell, we unfailingly respect every resident as an individual.

A Friend’s Helping Hand You want to rely on yourself, but with aging or health changes, sometimes routine tasks become annoying nuisances. And that impedes your pursuit of happiness because you’re fixated on what you can’t do instead of getting on with what you want to do. That’s awful, but we can help you fix it.

Our assisted living, personal care and memory care is like a friend who steps in at the right moment with just what you need. We help with the nuisances so you can turn your attention to where it belongs – and your community life, social outings, activities, and family visits can become undistracted joys again.

Our Respect Shapes Our Approach We’ll join forces with you, your family members, and your physicians to determine exactly when and where you need extra assistance. And then our trained healthcare professionals will unleash their kind and friendly expertise, assisting in just-for-you ways that bolster your independence, dignity, and

individuality.

of assistance for your particular needs.

Confidence Restored Is Our Goal Life as it should be – when you feel safe, valued, supported and eager for another day. That’s the entire point of assisted living, where you’ll get the right level

The Cedarhurst Promise We promise. If you’re not satisfied and decide to move out within your first 60 days, we’ll give you a complete refund. That’s the Cedarhurst Promise.

a tour

JOIN US FOR AND GET A ® WOLFERMAN’S BAKERY SAMPLER BOX. Schedule your virtual or in-person visit and get a Wolferman’s® $25 gift certificate or Bakery Sampler Box.

THERE’S ALWAYS TIME TO

CALL NOW TO

connect

.

schedule

ALPHARETTA 762 N. Main St. Alpharetta, GA 30009 AddingtonPlaceAlpharetta.com (678) 883-7378 Assisted Living & Memory Care

YOUR TOUR!

ROSWELL 550 Barrington Drive Roswell, GA 30075 AddingtonPlaceRoswell.com (770) 626-4724 Personal Care & Memory Care

The Cedarhurst PromiseTM We promise. If you’re not satisfied and decide to move out within your first 60 days, we’ll give you a complete refund.* Wolferman’s is a registered trademark of Harry and David, LLC and is used with permission. Offer valid through November 30, 2021. *Cedarhurst Promise™ program is only available at advertised community. Not applicable for respite or other short-term stays. Refund is available only if move out is a result of dissatisfaction with Cedarhurst community as documented throughout stay. Complete refund includes base rent, level of care charges, and community fee. Ancillary services fees (ex. additional transportation, pet fees and laundry charges) do not qualify for refund. Additional terms and conditions may apply. Please contact community for additional details. Void where prohibited.

8 | November 2021 | NorthFulton.com | ForsythHerald.com

EMPTY NEST• Sponsored Section

Get More News, Opinion & Events Every Friday Morning Stay in the know with Herald Headlines.

Join for free at northfulton.com/newsletters

A NEWSLETTER FROM