SILVERA GAMES 2016 Silvera residents got an Olympic workout at Aspen Community when the fifth annual Silvera Games took place on August 19. Silvera athletes participated in beanbag toss, shuffleboard, rollerball and bowling.
STAY CLEAR OF THE FLU! Influenza, the flu, is a serious disease, especially for those 65 or older. Every flu season is different and influenza can affect people differently.
Michael Smith and Barry Uhersky from Valleyview Community.
Elizabeth Chalmers and Marilyn Sisson from Spruce Community.
Wilfred Erikson, George Richter, Verne Biswanger, Anthony Barnes, Ken Brooks and Sheila Hansen.
Helen Bauer and Emerson Gingrich from Beaverdam Community.
Donald Robb from Bow Valley Community. Lizzy Petersson and Sylvia Sinclair from Aspen Community.
Leslie Shewan and Helen Yaunish from Westview Community. Shirley Ballard from Bow Valley Community.
Allan Fleck and Eunice Gomke from Shawnessy Community.
SILVERA’S GOT TALENT: JOHN BRISBIN Over the past seven years, resident John Brisbin has established himself as a popular trumpet player at Spruce Community. He says he feels that he lifts up residents’ spirits through entertainment, “because music heals the soul.” “I will take music to the grave with me because music gives me health. If I am terribly sick and I don’t feel good, then going to a rehearsal and playing music makes me feel better. It’s also medicine to a lot of the residents here, because it’s entertainment,” says John.
Other good ways to keep yourself healthy and prevent an illness outbreak in your community include:
Jessie Fleischman and friend Tom Sugden celebrated Jessie’s 100th birthday on August 16 at Westview Community.
#804, 7015 Macleod Trail SW, Calgary, AB T2H 2K6 (t) 403.276.5541 • (f) 403.276.9152 contact@silvera.ca • www.silvera.ca
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We ask that you do not feed the wildlife around the properties, as the food attracts pests such as mice.
FLU SHOT Q&A In preparation for this year’s flu season, Silvera Times sat down for a conversation about influenza vaccinations with Linda Rogers, Educator – Vaccination Services with Alberta Health Services (AHS).
Q: If I’m not a senior, should I consider getting a flu shot this season?
Q: Why is it important for seniors to get a flu shot?
Yes, you might not get influenza this year, but, if you do, then you expose all those people around you.
A: Many seniors have chronic health conditions that put them at risk of having more complications when they actually do develop influenza, including pneumonia and hospitalization.
During outbreak situations where people don’t get vaccinated, more people are ill and we have more complications and hospitalizations. Influenza still kills people and it still hospitalizes people. Musician John Brisbin plays the trumpet at Spruce Community.
Wildlife, including birds, squirrels, rabbits and other animals, are often seen around Silvera’s communities.
• Thorough hand-washing or using alcohol-based gels before and after eating, using the washroom, and sneezing, coughing and blowing your nose; and • Coughing or sneezing into your sleeve, not your hands, or cover your nose and mouth with a tissue and throw the used tissue away.
A: As we get older, our immune systems don’t function the same way as they did when we were younger. We know that seniors often don’t have the same response to the vaccine as those who are healthier and younger. Some protection is better than no protection.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: JESSIE FLEISCHMAN
Editor: Scott Ranson
An annual flu vaccine is the best way to reduce the risk of catching the flu and spreading it to others. When more people get vaccinated
against the flu, less flu can spread through that community.
Q: Why are there influenza outbreaks, even though most residents in our communities get flu shots?
John, 79, still plays music on the trumpet. For him, music, which he started playing at the age of six, is a creative outlet. He also plays the French horn, but, for health reasons, he now focuses on the trumpet. John enjoys playing music for Spruce Community. This past Canada Day, he not only played the national anthem for the residents, he also rearranged the Polish and Filipino national anthems, which made residents of different backgrounds and cultures feel at home at Spruce. “I wrote several of the arrangements for every single nationality, because music is medicine to me,” says John.
The “seasonal flu season” can begin as early as October and last as late as May. During this time, flu viruses circulate among the population.
DON’T FEED THE WILDLIFE
A: Yes. Not only are you protecting yourself, you’re protecting your elderly grandparents, you’re protecting your children and you’re protecting that child who your child goes to school with.
Q: Can I get sick from getting a flu shot? A: No, because it’s a killed vaccine. This means that, when it’s produced, it goes through a process in laboratory, that actually kills any live components to it. The vaccine causes you to produce antibodies to protect you against it, but it can’t replicate in your body because it was dead when we put it in there. You can have some side effects from the vaccine, but the influenza vaccine is probably the safest vaccine we give; it has very few side effects. Free flu shots will be offered this fall at flu clinics in Silvera’s Supportive Living communities, pharmacies, doctors’ offices and at the AHS public health centres.
SILVERA RESIDENT SIGNS UP COMMUNITY Over the past month, Jim (Rusty) Bent has been teaching sign language to other residents at Aspen Community. Rusty lost his hearing due to noise from heavy machinery in the oil patch and has since learned to read people’s lips to understand them. “I have learned how to use my voice and feel vibration going through the vocal chords,” explains Rusty. After he was asked to teach sign language, Rusty decided to start the course.
“The satisfaction that I get from teaching sign language is teaching people who want to learn,” says Rusty. “It is no different than when they went to school, because they learn their ABCs by using their hands while [I’m] talking to them”. Rusty teaches the class his method of communicating. He has to be patient with his students, telling him that properly learning sign language will take five years or more. “I told people that you are not going to learn this in a day,” says Rusty.
Aspen resident Rusty teaches American Sign Language (ASL) to his community. Are you interested in putting on an activity or volunteering in your community? Speak to your Active Aging Assistant or contact Danielle Rodney, Volunteer Coordinator, at drodney@silvera.ca or 403.472.5174. silvera.ca | 403.276.5541 3