April 2017
Vol. 44, No. 3
Formerly Senior Focus
Published by The Daily Herald and Senior Services of Snohomish County
Senior Services to launch new brand Page 2
A house filled with pets — and love Page 7
Tips for boosting your recall ability Page 10
Program stimulates seniors with memory issues
www.homage.org
Page 12
Walker, 90, keeps on truckin’ Page 13
Columns
PUBLISHED BY THE DAILY HERALD AND HOMAGE SENIOR SERVICES
for Lorna Jenkinson at
Broadway Plaza.
By Caitlin Tompkins
Herald Writer
Pam Timm is standing door with a cart of brown at his front grocery bags. “She’s my favorite lady,” Mike Kerasotes, 67, said. Timm, 66, delivers meals to him each week. She has been a volunteer with Meals on Wheels for six months. During that time, Kerasotes has battled cancer. “When you get $80 in food stamps, it doesn’t go very far. Without you, I wouldn’t have made it through radiation,” he said to Timm. Last year, Meals on Wheels volunteers
and staff served more than ple throughout the county 1,000 peoof 152,000 meals. Senior — a total Snohomish County has Services of managed the local chapter of Meals on 42 years. Each of the meals Wheels for is approved by a nutritionist. Most are and have helped diabeticslow sodium blood sugar under control, keep their said Martha Peppones, director of the nutrition program.
“That’s 60 too many,” Peppones said. “Those are people who still need The program may be facing meals.” tial financial cuts if PresidentsubstanDonald Trump’s proposed budget approved. Nearly half of for 2018 is the program’s funding comes from the ernment through the Olderfederal govAmericans Act and Community Development Block Grants. The grants are removed under the budget slated to be plan. That would affect 150 meal recipients in Snohomish County, Peppones said. “Fortunately, it’s only a proposal,” she
| VOL. 44 NO. 5 | JUNE 2017 Learn about programs and services available to seniors by visiting www .sssc .org .
Since the program started, been a growing demand. there has Staff were able to bring the waiting list about 300 to 60 people last down from year.
Adaptation helps couple battle
“It just frees you up ... It’s between the two of us” Music wellness facilitator Noah Plotkin leads a drumming and singing session with Michael Folio as Cheryl Levin-Folio looks on.
(Mark Ukena, Chicago Tribune) NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID SOUND PUBLISHING 98204
SnoMentia, a community movement, empowers those with memory loss.
Formerly Senior Services of Snohomish County
Savvy Senior . . . . . . . . . . 3 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Washington Watch . . . . . 6 Travel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tech Talk . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Meals on Wheels volunteer Pam Timm places food (Dan Bates / The Herald) in the refrigerator and freezer
Meals on Wheels’ future uncertain under president’s propos ed budget
The Focus is a publication of SENIOR SERVICES OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY 11627 Airport Rd ., Suite B Everett, WA 98204-8714
Page 11
People who are aging deserve dignity — never elder abuse.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 15
early-onset Alzheimer’s
By Karen Berkowitz
Chicago Tribune
HIGHLAND PARK, Illinois Levin-Folio can’t anticipate — Cheryl milestone of memory loss every new as she and her husband, Michael Folio, navigate his Alzheimer’s disease. Sometimes quick thinking comes in handy, as it did when Michael forgot one day to take off his clothes before stepping into the shower. Rather than correct her husband, Cheryl joined him in the shower with her clothes on
for a laugh. “I think the next time we our clothes off,” she gently should take told him. “I made light of it,” she said. “I never correct him. That’s not fair to In the five years since Michael.” Michael Folio was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s at age 56, the Park couple has adapted Highland routine many times over. their daily They’d been together for years, but married less than four months, when CONTINUED ON PAGE 16
Music therapy enables stro to regain some languag ke patients e through song
By Rashod Ollison years, who sits within arm’s The Virginian-Pilot reach of him, nodding. They’re all in a small NORFOLK, Virginia — When the Johnny Cash room inside Fort Norfolk melody frustrates James Medical Center — RodriRodriguez, he chuckles, guez in his wheelchair and shakes his head and says, Bowdish on a low stool sandwiche d between an “I don’t know.” Tracy Bowdish gen- imposing keyboard and a tly pushes him, taking computer desk. Bowdish is his hand into hers as she a music therapist with Sentara’s Music and Medicine leans closer and sings in bell-clear perfect pitch lyr- Center. In a promotional ics from “I Walk the Line. clip for the program, she ” The goal is to get Rodri- mentions that her blindguez to find the words, still ness helps her to engage patients, to “see who they a difficult task since Music therapist Tracy J. his Bowdish plays the guitar stroke in summer 2011. are beyond the stroke.” As Bowdish holds Rodri- leads James “Jim Bob” Rodriquez in singing songsand But his progress has been during their session “remarkable,” says San- guez’s hand, singing lyrics in Norfolk, Virginia. at Sentara Neurology Specialists Rodriquez suffered a stroke dra, Rodriguez’s wife of 47 CONTINUED ON PAGE 16 2011 and Bowdish is helping him regain some in speech through music. (Bill Tiernan / The Virginian-Pilot)
Page 2
Older women rising to prominence in the marijuana business. Page 2
A father’s lifetime of faith teaches daughter a valuable lesson. Page 3
Good nutrition can improve our mood and emotions. Page 4
Pilot who gave his name to Paine Field known for his daring flights. Page 6
Malicious attackers may try to hook you with fake Facebook accounts. Page 10
Columns Washington Watch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Meal Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Savvy Senior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Volunteers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Tech Talk. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
NON PROFIT ORG US POSTAGE PAID SOUND PUBLISHING 98204
Learn about programs and services available to seniors by visiting www. homage.org
Seamstress Irene Anderson says counseling has calmed her and helped her deal with emotional and physical pain and begin to get her life organized. (Ian Terry/The Herald)
Peer counseling offers a source of reassurance By Jennifer Sasseen Special to The Herald Pain is a fact of life in Irene Anderson’s world. The 71-year-old Tulalip resident suffers from a host of ailments, including fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and, for at least the past five years, bouts of shingles that leave her feeling depressed and helpless; she never knows if she’s facing days or weeks of shingles pain. She is also pre-diabetic and has had three serious head injuries, the first in 1991, when she fell in front of a Lynnwood business complex and struck her head hard enough to lose consciousness. Fibromyalgia, which the Mayo Clinic says is “characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep, memory and mood issues,” can seriously disrupt a person’s life. Researchers believe it intensifies pain by changing how the brain processes pain signals.
“You feel like the nerves are on the outside of your skin,” Anderson said. There is no one cause for the condition, although researchers cite genetics, infection and physical and emotional trauma — and there’s no one treatment. Neither she nor her doctor “believe in pain medications or over-medicating,” Anderson said, so she lives with the pain and takes an antidepressant. “It calms me so that I can deal with it,” she said. “And it also keeps the nightmares away.” What it can’t do is help Anderson with two issues she believes are related to her pain: Anger around her older sister’s death in 2011 of pancreatic cancer, and an inability to organize her possessions in the house she shares with her daughter. An accomplished seamstress now working for a client on directions for sewing a snowboarding suit, Anderson sews, knits and crochets despite pain from her various ailments. She
has boxes of fabric in her sewing room and piled around the living room. Knitting supplies and unfinished projects share the space. For a time, it was overwhelming. “I could not finish a project,” she said. “I would start cleaning or something and walk away and do something else.” Then about two years ago, she said, a counselor at The Everett Clinic referred her to the Senior Peer Counseling program at Homage Senior Services, then called Senior Services of Snohomish County. Peer counselors, 55 and older, offer free emotional support and counseling to other seniors, according to the Homage Senior Services website. The peer counselor selected for her helped set her on a new path, Anderson said. The counselor, a volunteer near her own age who had worked through some issues CONTINUED ON PAGE 5
Imposters want your money and data
Homage is a publication of HOMAGE SENIOR SERVICES 11627 Airport Rd., Suite B Everett, WA 98204-8714
By Jason Erskine AARP Washington You get a call from someone who says they are from the IRS — and you owe back taxes. Do you? A pop-up on your computer warns your machine is infected and you need immediate technical support. Should you be worried? You get a message: “Grandma, I need money for bail.” But is it really your grandchild? “Imposter scams” have reached epidemic proportions. According to the Federal Trade Commission, reports of imposter scams have grown by nearly 500 percent in the last four years, totaling more than
400,000 reports nationwide in 2016. According to a new state survey from AARP, 79 percent of Washington consumers report being targeted in the last year by at least one of the seven most common imposter scams. But while most consumers (85 percent) felt they could spot and avoid a fraudulent pitch, AARP’s survey found 77 percent of them failed an “Imposter IQ” quiz. “We’re not surprised to see how many residents have been approached with some type of pitch,” said Doug Shadel, AARP state director. “However, we were alarmed to learn how overconfident Washington consumers are in the
face of increasingly sophisticated scammers. “The illusion of invulnerability can put people in real danger. If you think you’ll never be taken, you’ll likely leave your guard down.” AARP has joined with the state Attorney General’s office, Microsoft, the Federal Trade Commission and BECU to launch the “Unmasking the Imposters” statewide campaign. “When it comes to scams, awareness and prevention are the best protections for consumers,” said Attorney General Bob Ferguson. “Advances in technology make it easier for scammers to pretend to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 8