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stories in this issue hit home for me—our health story. My sister had shingles that went into her eye. I asked her about her experience and want to pass what she wrote on to you. NE OF THE
"I am so pleased that Omaha Magazine is doing this article on shingles. I urge any of you who have not gotten the vaccination for shingles to do so as soon as possible. “Twenty-four years ago this month I got shingles on my right upper eyelid, which then went into my eye. I was 58 years old. When shingles goes to your eye it stays there. Hopefully it is controlled. My experience has been less than optimal. Two-and-a-half years later I had surgery for glaucoma, which was a result of the large amount of steroids I had taken to control the shingles. After that, even with great medical care, my cornea became very scratched and thin. This resulted in greatly compromised vision in my eye. In April this year I noticed that my eye felt 'funny.' I went to see my ophthalmologist, who advised me that I had a torn cornea. A cornea specialist tried several procedures to repair the problem without success and then sewed my eyelid shut. I am now taking a new eye medication to stimulate nerve growth in the eye. This nerve growth is necessary for me to be able to have a cornea transplant. Wish me success. "Fortunately there is now a very good vaccine available. Get that vaccine.”
Contributing Editor Carl Fosco OCTOBER 2019 • 60PLUS
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U N O Pr o fesso r has a Passio n fo r Teaching and Tr aveling
ACTIVE LIVING // STORY BY JANE GLAZER // PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN // DESIGN BY DEREK JOY
“I ’ VE BEEN ENAMOR ED
of traveling for a long time, I just didn’t start until I was fairly old,” says University of Nebraska at Omaha journalism professor Chris Allen.
He first travelled overseas to Russia for a reporting job in his 30s, but his job at UNO has enabled him to further his passion. The Middle East, where he has spent much time teaching and developing academic relationships, is a particularly favorite region. Allen travelled to Afghanistan in 2010, and has returned several times. He has been working with universities there to help expand their journalism programs. “Chris was the leading force behind our work with the Afghan professors,” says UNO School of Communication Director Hugh Reilly. “He oversaw the curriculum and made sure all the details were covered. At the completion of our program, the University of Kabul and Balkh University will be the first two universities in all of Asia that offer a major in communication studies.” Reilly says that many Asian universities offer degrees in journalism, but these two universities will be the first to offer degrees in communication studies. While Allen enjoys traveling and working in Afghanistan, he particularly enjoyed a trip to the Middle East during the 2011-2012 school year. He traveled on a Fulbright scholarship to teach a journalism class in a country most people know little about, Oman. Allen has a friend who lives in Oman, and decided to apply for the scholarship there after hearing his friend’s glowing reviews of the country. Once Allen learned that his application was accepted, his friend give him books to read about the country, and described it as open and friendly. He taught at Sultan Qaboos University for nine and a half months. His wife, Elaine, traveled to the exotic locale with him. “The great thing about going someplace… for that amount of time is that you have to become part of the society,” Allen says. “You have to do grocery shopping, you have to buy clothes, you have to get your hair cut. You have to do things in the Omani society, which is Arabic and Muslim. You have to learn how to live.” Although the Omani society was different from American society, Allen says he felt as though he belonged there from the beginning.
While in Oman, Allen taught two graduate courses in journalism and mass communication, as well as an undergraduate course in radio and television. His favorite part of teaching there was the students’ sense of humor, but their drive and ambition did not fall short. “They were so hungry for knowledge,” Allen says, noting that the women, in particular, were eager to learn. “They had opinions on things, they were always prepared, they spoke up, they were really fun people to have in classes.” One challenge for Allen was coaching the students to be better writers. As the students he taught were nonnative English speakers, it was difficult for them to write academic papers in English. “One of the battles I fought was plagiarism,” Allen says. “The funny thing is, it’s very obvious. Their English is not very good, you know. They would be writing these substandard paragraphs and all of a sudden it was absolutely pristine, perfect, academic English with no quote marks around it. I would warn them that they would have to change those passages. And in fact, one student did flunk my class because he just did not change the passages. I was heartbroken about that.” Despite failing one student, he enjoyed nearly every experience in Oman. “I learned to eat with my hands,” Allen says. “The guys in the room asked me if I wanted a spoon to eat with, and I had only been there about a week or so. I smiled and said ‘no, I will eat with my fingers, but you can’t laugh at me.’ And of course I did spill some, but I was watching how they ate and I learned how to do it.” Allen now uses his own experiences through traveling in the classroom with his students in Omaha. “The content that I can bring back into the classroom has been dramatic,” Allen says. “The way that things are done differently in some countries—censorship, there are examples of innovations, there are examples of good media and bad media…There is more than one way to do things, and not all of the other ways to do them are bad.”
His adventure to Oman quickly became a passion. Allen has now taken two groups of students to see the country. He believes that traveling in one’s youth can instill a lifetime love of exploring the world. “All the students I take say ‘that changed my life,’” Allen says. Allen explains that the press can be inaccurate about Muslim and Arab cultures, as they often cover the violent aspect of these groups. He describes Oman as a “wonderfully peaceful, tolerant, open country,” with warm and accepting people. “We were walking back to the car [one day] and this young man steps out from his compound and he had three children with him,” Allen says. ‘He looked at us and he said 'Hello, where are you from?’ I said ‘We’re from America,’ and he said ‘Oh America, please come in for some coffee.’ And when you go in for coffee (and we did) you get coffee, and water, and dates, and oranges, and apples, and grapes, and nuts, and juices, and I mean it’s just on and on and on. People were so kind. It changes your life, it changes your whole outlook on all of those things.” In fact, Allen loves Oman so much, he says if he could live anywhere in the world it would be there. He describes the country as being beautiful and modern, with internet, cellphones, highways, and grocery stores. Allen plans to travel to Pakistan in November. He also takes a group of students to London each year, and hopes to spend time in Australia at some point. The wish list of travels continues. “I dread the day when I can’t travel,” Allen says. “I just dread that day, when my body gives up on me, or when my mind gives up on me.” In the meantime, Allen plans to continue taking an interest and fascination in seeing new things and experiencing new places. “I haven’t done nearly enough,” Allen says. “I wish I had started sooner. It’s just so important to me to learn other cultures, to hear other languages, to eat other food.”
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FEATURE // STORY BY CHRIS BOWLING // PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN // DESIGN BY DEREK JOY
Cyb er Seni ors Weekly Computer Sessions Provide Learning and Friendship
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is abuzz with conversation at 9:30 a.m., and it is only 30 minutes into the weekly meetup. At tables around the meeting room, people huddle in front of laptops and phones as volunteers sit alongside, pointing at the screens. In one corner, Chuck Williams moves his hands back and forth as he describes to Ruth Muchemore how wireless technology communicates with devices such as her smartphone. O SPACE
Williams soon takes out his own smartphone to show how he’s wirelessly linked it to another device he and Muchemore both use: a hearing aid. “Enough to drive you crazy, right?” asks Williams, 72, as an exasperated but amused Muchemore, 87, shakes her head. These conversations are typical for a Wednesday morning session of Cyber Seniors, a weekly session at Omaha Public Library’s innovative tech hub on 72nd and Dodge streets. Here seniors bring devices and tech questions to receive help from volunteers, primarily other seniors, between 9 a.m. and noon. The program started soon after the nonprofit opened in 2011. Over the years it has become one of its most enduring and consistently well attended programs, in no small part due to the volunteers who run it. The 10 to 15 seniors who volunteer weekly are passionate and tech savvy, and being in the same age bracket as their students helps erase intimidation and levels the playing field for problem solving. “When a senior talks to a senior, they speak the same language,” Williams says. The goal to provide access and education to all has long been a mission statement of Do Space. The nonprofit aims to erase Omahans' barriers to understanding and using technology. Classes, communal workspaces, and access to everything from desktop computers to 3D printers are available to Do Space’s roughly 73,000 membership base, about 12,000 of whom are seniors over the age of 61, as of June 2019. Membership is required to access Do Space, however, registration is free. Bringing a city up to speed on tech does not have a one-size-fits-all solution. That is especially true in a membership that includes a sweeping variety of tech literacy and personal access to computers.
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“Especially considering that the technology we have here today, someone had to have built that,” Stavick says. “Guess what, it was the previous generation.” “It’s just comforting,” she says.
FROM PAGE 81 When it came to serving senior citizens, executive director Rebecca Stavick says Do Space opted for a community-led solution. Rather than define what they think seniors needed to know, administrators allow the seniors to set their educational parameters and pace. “We help people get coffee and doughnuts and then we make sure to get out of their way,” she says. When the adminstrators floated the idea for a workshop for seniors, Carl Fosco, who had been a Do Space tour guide until then, jumped on the opportunity to get involved. Fosco, 72, was a former director in human resources for companies like Blue Cross Blue Shield who retired in 2014. He didn’t have a career in tech like many of the volunteers, but he does have a penchant for people, and he’s always been an avid user of technology. While Williams worked with Muchemore, Fosco greeted every timid wanderer at the door, racing across the room to meet them with a smile as well as coffee and cake. This program is about much more than doling out tech advice. It is a collaborative experience that oftentimes leans back and forth between a club and a help session. “This place is kind of a perfect storm of social and tech,” Fosco says. That is clear during Williams and Muchemore’s conversation. Muchemore is a retired nurse who sported chic multicolored glasses and lavender nails that matched her iPhone case. She originally came to get help with her new Apple Watch, but stayed to ask Williams question after question about technology. Muchemore says this is the only place in Omaha she can get tech help without any level of intimidation.
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In weekly sessions, topics run the gamut from learning how to organize photo libraries to drawing whiteboard diagrams explaining how the internet works. That Wednesday morning, they even helped someone rid their computer of malicious software. It all comes back to a basic desire to help and make interacting with tech seem more friendly. Volunteer Steve Sidner, 69, says, “We want people to walk out of here like, ‘Golly, I had no idea I could do this.’” It seems to be working. The program routinely draws about 20 to 30 people every week, once swelling to 70 people, who occupied Do Space’s entire first floor. Weston Thomson, director of community learning at Do Space, says the difference maker is the volunteer help. “Without that,” he says, “Those programs would cease to exist.” He also says that of the approximately 100 Do Space volunteers who rack up 400 volunteer hours every month, the senior demographic is one of the most passionate and loyal. And they come from myriad tech backgrounds. Sidner, tall with curly white hair and a “Warren has a plan” T-shirt, spent years as a computer programmer and software manager before retiring in 2014. Williams, a retired Air Force member, worked at the Village Pointe Apple store and now offers one-on-one Mac tutoring. But their experience isn’t their defining characteristic. It’s their genuine interest in chipping away the notion that tech is unusable after a certain age. “Some people say, ‘I don’t understand this,’” says Keith Jones, 64, a retired tech worker who specialized in mainframes. “It’s not difficult, you just don’t have the knowledge to use it yet. So let’s give you the nudge.”
This program’s hallmark isn’t seniors gathering in a room every Wednesday. Its atmosphere is defined by curiosity and the attendees’ inherent desire to catch up with the world around them. Thomson says in addition to Cyber Seniors, it is common to see seniors sitting alongside youth in the computer lab, taking classes on coding or other subjects. Stavick says that should come as no surprise to anyone. No age group is more predisposed to understand a computer than another, she says, and the idea a senior can’t stay involved in tech doesn’t make any sense. “Especially considering that the technology we have here today, someone had to have built that,” Stavick says. “Guess what—it was the previous generation.” That’s the point of Do Space’s outreach to older generations, including Cyber Seniors: open seemingly closed doors by putting the right tools in seniors’ hands and giving them a push. While volunteers have no assumptions that one visit will make anyone a savant, they at least hope the sessions build up confidence. That’s been the experience for Elaine Wells, a 73-year-old, semi-retired marriage counselor and frequent Cyber Seniors attendee. Each week she brings a project to work on, and, little by little, she feels like she is gaining more of a footing in a tech world that could only become more isolating if she stood still. “What I don’t think a lot of young people realize is as old people, we may not be connected all the ways [they] are, but we’re still vital,” Wells says. “This is a place where we can actualize our potential.” Visit dospace.org for more information.
OCTOBER 2019 • 60PLUS
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PROFILE // STORY BY KARA SCHWEISS // PHOTOGRAPHY BY BILL SITZMANN // DESIGN BY DEREK JOY
Going, Going, Gone GOECKES HELP FRIENDS RIENDS OF OMAHA Public Library has long hosted book sales to help raise funds for the library, but as technology has advanced, so has its methods. In 2006, volunteer Polly Goecke was quick to nominate her husband, Joe, when the organization began looking into internet book sales. A retired Valmont executive, Joe helped research online booksellers and procedures to determine that online sales would be a viable option. He then worked with fellow volunteer Jeanne Spence (the 2019 Friends board president) to set up a computerized system for inventory management, sales, and shipping. The duo decided to use available programs for efficiency and accountability instead of creating a new system.
Fast forward 13 years, and Joe is still a Friends volunteer, putting in regular hours for the now-robust online book sales program. “We’ve had anywhere from five to eight volunteers doing all aspects of internet sales at any given time over the last few years. We appraise the value of the book and the condition of the book, we list it and we ship it,” Joe says. “It’s a good way to support the library.” The online sales augment the organization’s used book sales that take place at the W. Clarke Swanson branch at 90th and Dodge Streets every Thursday and the first Saturday of every month. Many of those books there sell for $1.50, but receiving and sorting volunteers pass along books with potentially greater resale value to Joe and the other volunteers working in online sales. The online group sells all over the U.S. and internationally through sources like Amazon, AbeBooks, and Alibris. Some books for sale are donated, but some are retired from library circulation. Ex-library books are not as collectible as books from personal
collections, as ex-library books contain interior cards as well as stickers and stamps, which can be hard to remove and damage the book. “But there is a demand and they do sell,” Joe says. The rates for online books vary, but they can often be found for $10-$15. Shipping rates are not included. “Every month or so we have one that sells for $100 or $200. We have some that sell upwards to $1,000, but not many,” Joe says. “The highest price we ever got was $2,800 for a book. It was an English book on floor plans and architectural drawings of English manor houses.” Joe favors reading nonfiction, especially history, and says he and other Friends volunteers enjoy the diversity of subjects and literature they see. “The variety of books that come through for appraisal is vast. It’s unbelievable sometimes that books were published on these subjects,” he says. Polly, who’s been with Friends around 20 years and has served as board president twice (her husband has also served once) and in other leadership positions, says she believes libraries are still relevant in the Internet age. “I’ve always loved libraries. I think they’re vital to the city,” she says, citing computer access, credible reference books, activities for children, and special events as some of the valuable features open to everyone in the community. Her first volunteer service was for a children’s summer reading program at the Millard branch, and she enjoyed it so much she signed on with Friends years later and has participated in virtually all of the support organization’s various activities. A reader who enjoys “a little bit of everything, but mostly fiction,” Polly also likes to encourage young
writers. She’s currently the chair for the Friends of Omaha Public Library’s Virginia Frank Memorial Writing Contest for students in fifth through eighth grades. “Every volunteer position for the library Friends is fun,” she says. The Friends organization is always looking for more members and volunteers, the Goeckes say. The book sales are an important discretionary funding source but membership fees beginning at $25 per year also support the library system. “We like to make a little bit of money for the library to buy things that the city can’t. And we are keeping books out of the dumpster,” Joe says. “It’s impossible to quantify how much Joe and Polly have done for Omaha Public Library.” says OPL Marketing Manager Emily Getzschman. “Even if we were to add up all of the hours they’ve spent volunteering at book sales and as board members and library advocates and all of the money they have helped to raise for the library, it still would not fully reflect the full impact of what they have done for the library and the community it serves. Volunteers like Joe and Polly are invaluable. Their commitment and dedication to seeing their library system flourish helps Omaha Public Library to offer more programs and services that it simply could not do without their support.” For more information, visit omahalibrary.org and friendsomahalibrary.org.
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HEALTH // STORY BY TAMSEN BUTLER // DESIGN & PAINTING BY DEREK JOY
Shingles Shingles Vaccinations Vaccinations
Two Shots Are Better Than Taking a Shot in the Dark
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LKHORN RESIDENT ANGIE
Jorgensen, 52, wasted no time getting a shingles vaccine upon turning 50. “I knew I would get the shingles shot the minute I turned 50 because my mother, who didn’t get the shot, got a horrifying case of it.” Jorgensen’s mother, Connie Gonyea, contracted shingles around six years ago in her late 60s ,and is still dealing with the effects. “She got her shingles outbreak on her head of all places,” Jorgensen says. “She has sensitivity in an area on her scalp still, years later. She also has some nerve damage from it. Even combing her hair bothers her in certain places.” Like many people age 50 and older, Jorgensen acquired chicken pox as a youngster. Many people retain vivid memories of chicken pox. The viral infection caused an itchy rash that blistered, and was often accompanied by fever, headaches, loss of appetite, and malaise. Chicken pox, however, rarely left nerve damage or sensitivity. Those who acquired chicken pox need to be aware of shingles. The shingles virus results from varicella-zoster—the same infection that causes chicken pox—and resides in anyone who experienced chicken pox. “The virus hides out in the nerves and decades later can reactivate and form shingles,” explains Dr. Rae Witt of Nebraska Medicine. Shingles is not life-threatening, Witt says, “but can cause serious side effects.” Those affected can expect some burning pain and a dermatome [rash] on one side of the body that lasts around a week. “Most people fully recover, but around 20% of people aged 60-65 experience residual pain for months to years.” That number increases to 30% in people over age 80. Shingles typically presents first as pain, or as Witt describes, “a weird burning on the skin,” followed by the dermatome, usually on the back or chest. // 86 //
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“Untreated, it will go away on its own,” Witt says. An anti-viral drug reduces the time affected and the severity of the pain. For best results, it is important to seek treatment as soon as people suspect they have shingles.
Shingrix vaccine, as long as they wait at least eight weeks after receiving a Zostavax vaccine. Shingrix is approved for people over the age of 50. It requires two doses that are given two to six months apart, and has a higher risk of side effects.
Shingles are not inevitable for those who had chicken pox earlier in life. “Lower immunity allows for an increased risk of shingles,” says Witt, adding that lifestyle choices such as “significant alcohol use, poorly controlled diabetes, high levels of stress for long periods of time, and even some medications” can increase the odds of shingles developing.
Donna Gilbert, 66, of Papillion, experienced minor side effects. “I got sick after the shot,” she says. "[It was] nothing terrible, and they warned me that might happen.”
People over 50 should get a shingles vaccination, Witt says. Anyone who skips the vaccine because they don’t remember ever having chicken pox are putting themselves at risk because, as Witt explains, “it’s impossible to say someone never had chicken pox.” Since chicken pox presents in a spectrum of severity, it’s possible for someone to have chicken pox and never realize it, especially as a child. The vaccine is a weakened virus, which helps the body recognize and fight the virus. “Over time, the body loses the ability to recognize the virus,” says Witt, explaining why the virus can lie dormant for so long within the body. Shingles rarely reoccurs, and if that happens, Witt says doctors will “look for an underlying cause.” She says there are two approved shingles vaccines: Zostavax and Shingrix. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Zoster vaccine live (ZVL, Zostavax) has been in use since 2006 and is approved for people over age 60. It is given in one dose, which gives protection from shingles for about five years. The recombinant zoster vaccine (RZV, Shingrix), has been in use since 2017 and is recommended by ACIP as the preferred shingles vaccine. In fact, the CDC suggests that even those who previously received the Zostavax vaccine get the
Witt says there is currently no shortage of either vaccine, leaving no reason to avoid getting immunized. There is, however, a high demand for Shingrix. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), the manufacturer of Shingrix, delivered about 8.3 million doses in 2018, and the CDC says production of the vaccine is being ramped up in 2019 in an effort to keep up with demand. The best way to acquire the vaccine is to schedule an immunization through a doctor’s office. On the day the first dose is given, the second dose should be scheduled to avoid a waiting period. The vaccine may be available via a pharmacy, but it can be difficult for many places to acquire the vaccine, so those interested in being vaccinated may want to call ahead and check availability at their preferred location. In some cases, especially at pharmacies, there is a waiting list for people to get the immunizations. It is always a good idea to check with one’s regular physician before getting the vaccine. The CDC says that someone who has a severe allergic reaction to gelatin or the antibiotic neomycin should not get the vaccine, but as this equates to about 0.1% of the population, it is extremely rare. Those with a weakened immune system due to cancer treatments or HIV/ AIDS will also want to check with their doctor before getting either vaccine. Shingles shots are sometimes covered by insurance, so those who are age 50 or older and have not yet been immunized should check with their plan to find out their best option for getting the shot.
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