Spring fever is here. Some warm days off and on make it hard to be patient with your outdoor activities. It is important to keep in mind of your surroundings. Falls are more likely this time of the year. Watch your step! Be aware of the sidewalks with snow and ice. The cold increases sidewalks to crack and heave making it easy to fall. Melting snow from your roof during the day turns to ice at night and early morning. Once again a fall risk.  Are you wearing the proper shoes for the type of weather? These are only a few things to be aware of. Look around you, what else is a potential risk that you can fix now before it becomes a serious issue. Add your comments on how to mitigate fall risks.

Source: Waking Times – Home

Source: Which pre-existing conditions are not covered by Medicare? – PlanPrescriber

This week we had our cat, Junior, put down.

It was very heart breaking to make the decision; it was time for him to crossover. Although we have been expecting this for some time when the time arrived, we were not ready. It was so sudden that our goodbyes had to be short. It has been an emotional roller coaster and our family has run the gamut of emotions. From heart break to guilt to anger and depression and then back through the list again.

Junior was the kitten of our cat Mom. She gave birth to him 21 years ago. All our family life we have had cats in our home. These past 26 years we lived with five cats. All of them lived to be over 21. Each one we helped to crossover to the other side. One died 25 years ago and the other four died within the last two years. About every six months, we went through the emotional gamut again. Junior is the final cat to leave us and our home feels empty.

We decided not to take in any more companions. We are shattered. Our hearts are broken. Looking back, we cannot say that we regretted a single day having them underfoot with all their mischief.

They unconditionally gave our family as much love, as we needed and then some.

However, we realize this is how life is to be. You share only a small piece of your life with someone and then it is gone. We carry on. This holds true to all relationships. Eventually our hearts will heal and our memories will be full of love.

Take the time now to share your love with your companions and let them know it repeatedly. Life is too short.

Source: Immunotherapy is postponing hard conversations, sometimes until too late

Source: Hawaii Passes Law to Ease Responsibility of Elder Care – NBC News

Source: Explaining “In-Home Care” to Caregivers

Source: Old and Overmedicated: The Real Drug Problem in Nursing Homes

Now that a plethora of clinical trials have established positive responses from immunotherapies—immune checkpoint inhibitors, in particular—in patients with a variety of cancer types, one of the logical next questions is, are the responses durable?

Source: AACR Annual Meeting 2017: Immunotherapy Provides Long-lasting Responses to Certain Cancer Types – CANCER RESEARCH Catalyst

Source: Activities to Do With Your Loved One With Alzheimer’s – Blog | grandPad