Clay Center Community Matters August 2015 by Presbyterian Manors of Mid America

Commun ty Matters Clay Center Presbyterian Manor

What everyone 50+ should know about their thyroid

By Gayle Golden Catherine Horvath, 51, was feeling no symptoms five years ago when her doctor ordered a routine blood test to check, among other things, how her thyroid was doing. (Your thyroid is the butterfly-shaped gland low in your neck that influences metabolism, growth and development and body temperature.) The results showed astoundingly low levels of thyroid hormone — a sign her thyroid function was, as she puts it, “pretty close to being nonexistent.” If untreated, she was at risk not only for bothersome symptoms but for other serious diseases as well. The fix was simple: One pill a day to replace the thyroid hormone she wasn’t making. Within a year, Horvath’s levels were back to normal.

Former teacher shares one-room schoolhouse memories

August 2015

Horvath is one of the estimated 24 to 28 million Americans who likely have some form of thyroid disease, many of whom develop the disorder later in life.Yet according to American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists, nearly half of those with thyroid disease don’t know they have it or are misdiagnosed. That’s because thyroid disease — particularly among older adults, when

No matter your environment, teaching isn’t an easy profession. Especially when you’re Edna Rogge started teaching in the in a one-room school house where you’re early 1940s in a one-room school. not only in charge of instilling an education in the minds of children of various ages, but you’re also in charge of hauling the coal to warm the building. “Sometimes, I would just sit down and cry,” said Edna Rogge. Edna was a teacher in a one-room school house during the early 1940s. “I took normal training in my senior year, and I went to summer school at KState to get my certificate. Everything was so easy for me at K-State. It was just a repeat of what I had had my senior year. When I got my certificate to teach, I showed it to the high school principal. He said, ‘You’ll never get to teach at a school around here.’ I asked why and he said that the Lutherans wouldn’t hire a Catholic. I needed to teach class close to Palmer, so I applied at Spring Creek. They were all Lutherans and they hired me right away. They were always so nice to me,” said Edna. She taught two eighth graders, one sixth grader, three fifth graders and three first graders, “The thing I remember the most was trying to bring up the big chunks of coal to carry into the schoolhouse to stoke the fire. That was so hard, but I especially liked the teaching first graders. I thought their books were so boring, so I asked them to read the newspaper and to bring something to school to read to me. I remember a boy named Jerry Taylor got so good at reading the paper. His mother said she had never had one of her kids able to read the newspaper in the first grade,” Edna said. She also has fond memories of the Christmas program they put on every year. “It was a big event for everybody in the neighborhood. I hung a sheet for a stage and half way through the program the wire broke and the sheets came

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TEACHING on page 3

A common disease

Continued education supported at Manor

August is when yellow school buses line the roads and children show up bright eyed and ready to learn at the beginning of the school year. But children aren’t the ones who eagerly await the benefits of education every year. Employees of Presbyterian Manors are encouraged and supported as they pursue higher degrees during their employment. Education assistance is available every year to employees who seek degrees within their field. Marketing Director and Senior Living Counselor Heather Germann has a passion for helping seniors live their best life possible, and recently completed her Administrator license as

Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Clay Center Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org.

Mike Derousseau, executive director Heather Germann, marketing director To submit or suggest articles for this publication, contact Heather Germann, hgermann@pmma.org.

Telephone: 785-632-5646 Fax: 785-632-5874 Address: 924 Eighth St., Clay Center, KS 67432-2620

Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. ClayCenterPresbyterianManor.org

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part of an intensive program through Wichita State University while finishing her bachelor’s degree in gerontology through Fort Hays State University. “I spent my practicum at the Presbyterian Manor in Salina under then administrator Bill Taylor. It took 480 hours to complete,” said Heather. “Next, I had to take the state and national licensing exams.”

Heather Germann, marketing director and senior living counselor, values her education. She received support through Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America’s education assistance program.

Taking and passing these exams was no easy feat, especially the national one.

“My Manor family was very supportive. When I was stressed out with homework and taking boards, coworker friends from multiple locations and multiple levels within the organization encouraged me to keep going, I would say, ‘I can't do this. It’s too much.’ They would say, ‘Yes you can!’ Last spring and summer before I took my boards, they encouraged me. It’s not a cheap test to take and I didn’t want to fail. When I passed, my first phone call was to Bill Taylor, before even my husband!” said Heather. Now that Heather has her license, she looks at things differently. She wants to understand things better now especially when it comes to healthcare

regulations. In the future should she be an administrator, she will be knowledgeable at all levels.

“My PMMA friends and family were so wonderful. Charley, the marketing director in Kansas City, gave me a rock that said ‘Wisdom.’ She was so proud of me for having finished everything. I took the rock to Wichita with me and held it before the test. I couldn’t take it in with me but I held it in the vehicle and prayed with it,” said Heather.

Heather’s continued education was made possible thanks to the help of the Presbyterian Manor education assistance program and moral support from many coworkers, and will benefit not only her, but the organization and every resident she comes into contact with.

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the disorders can become more common — often masquerades as other ailments such as symptoms of fatigue, constipation, dizziness or weight gain as simply the price of getting older. An overactive thyroid, or hyperthyroidism, can look like heart rhythm problems, muscle weakness, anxiety or age-related osteoporosis. Thyroid lumps are much more common among older people, yet often can’t be detected without a neck exam. While most lumps are benign, some are cancerous and require treatment. As many as 10 percent of Americans older than 60 have some form of thyroid disorder, says Dr. Hossein Gharib, an endocrinologist with the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, who has most recently served as president of the American Thyroid Association. The thyroid hormone replacement drug Synthroid (levothyroxine), used for underactive thyroids or when the thyroid has been removed, is the second most dispensed medication in the United States, with more than 22 million prescriptions written annually. TEACHING

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A simple blood test will reveal whether your thyroid is doing its job. The thyroid’s hormones, known as T3 and T4, are released in response to the ebb and flow of TSH, or thyroid stimulating hormone, which is produced by the pituitary gland. If a thyroid is working normally, the pituitary gland gets the message to keep the TSH within a fairly tight range. But if a blood test shows TSH levels are too high or too low, that might mean the thyroid is having trouble. For older adults, this often means a sluggish thyroid, or hypothyroidism, with symptoms that include impaired cognitive function, fatigue, intolerance to cold, weight gain or itchy skin. Get tested

Women are particularly vulnerable. “Women get more thyroid disease of every variety than men,” Harrell says. “They outdo men 3- or 4-to-1 for everything.” About five years after her hypothyroidism diagnosis, Horvath Women at risk

down. Someone helped put it back, and we went on with the show. It was a lot of fun,” said Edna. “At recess we had lots of fun, too. We played handy over the schoolhouse, we chose up sides and stood on either side of the school house and threw the ball over. We played red rover red rover and, in the wintertime on snow, we played fox and goose. I see a lot of the kids I taught at family get-togethers because they are all related. They always have something that they remember from those years. I got $113 a month and would have gotten a raise, but I made my folks very mad and got married.” Edna was married to Buck, a local farmer, and had quite the adventure on the farm after she left her teaching career. She became the pupil, learning all about the business of animals and agriculture. “I was so dumb about everything. I know Buck couldn’t believe the things I didn’t know. I hated to gather the eggs

Your thyroid is the butterfly-shaped gland low in your neck.

developed scleroderma, another autoimmune disease causing a buildup of collagen that painfully stiffens and swells her hands, feet and arms. The condition has disabled her significantly, she says. “Autoimmune diseases do tend to run in clusters,” Harrell says, “and thyroid disease is the most common autoimmune disease.” The opposite of a sluggish thyroid, or hyperthyroidism, is less common among older adults. But Harrell and others say it’s a particularly dangerous condition because it targets key vulnerabilities in aging bodies. Lumpy thyroids

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because I couldn’t stand the chickens fluttering and throwing dirt into my hair, so I didn’t gather them often. A lot of the eggs went rotten. I don’t remember Buck ever saying anything about me not gathering the eggs. I think about this and feel so bad about it. Why didn’t I put a scarf on?” Edna said. The chickens weren’t the only animals that gave her grief though. “I also didn’t like the pigs because they were always out. One day when we were gone, and I had clothes on the line, they chewed on all my towels and ruined a bunch of them. I said I want these pigs out of here, and I don’t want any more on this farm. Buck got rid of all the pigs. What a good farmer’s wife I was!” We’re not sure which career Edna found harder, teacher or farmer’s wife, but we’re sure glad she shared her memories with us.

CLAY CENTER PRESBYTERIAN MANOR 3

Coming up in Community Matters:

How has music been important to you? In an upcoming issue of Community Matters we will be focusing on music and its role in making our lives better. If you’ve got a story about what music has meant to you, contact Heather Germann, marketing director,to share your idea.Your story may be selected for your community newsletter.

Vespers

August 2–Pastor Hallberg August 9–Pastor Siefert August 16 –Pastor Stewart August 23–Pastor Tessaro August 30–Pastor Graham

Chapel

August 4–Pastor Schoneweis August 11–Pastor Lingle August 18 –Father Weber August 25–Pastor Graham

Clay Center Presbyterian Manor 924 Eighth St. Clay Center, KS 67432-2620

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Within the past 15 years, the number of patients diagnosed yearly with thyroid cancer has increased dramatically, from 18,000 to 65,000. The good news is that, once detected, the vast majority of thyroid cancers are very treatable with surgery, with a high survival rate over years. Wondering how to boost your thyroid Cancer a possibility health? Lumpy thyroids carry an increased risk Don’t dismiss symptoms as just aging. of another thyroid disorder: cancer. Be sure your doctor checks for thyroid While the vast majority of lumps are health via a neck exam and regular benign, about 6 percent are not. blood screens. When your thyroid produces more hormone than the body needs, your metabolism goes into overdrive. Symptoms can include hand tremors and rapid or irregular heartbeat, leading to serious cardiac problems. Too much thyroid hormone can also leech away calcium in bones, leading to osteoporosis.

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Ask questions about your care. Be sure your doctor knows, for example, the TSH levels at age 70 won’t be the same as those for a 30-year-old. Do your own “neck check” exam. Stay consistent with your medications, particularly thyroid hormone. Don’t panic. If diagnosed with thyroid disease, realize it’s quite treatable in all its forms. The important thing is to take action.