Commun ty Matters Lawrence Presbyterian Manor
December 2015
Colds and flu are back in season
A celebration 40 years in the making
As we near the peak months for cold and flu season, it’s a good time to review tips for prevention and treatment.
Lawrence Presbyterian Manor is preparing for a yearlong celebration in honor of our 40th birthday.
Getting the flu vaccine is still one of the best things you can do for your health in wintertime. There is no truth to the myth that you can catch the illness from the vaccine. The injection contains only a killed version of the virus. People 65 years or older run a higher risk of complications from the flu, as do people with chronic medical conditions such as asthma, emphysema, heart disease, and diabetes. It can, however, take up to two weeks for the flu vaccine to take effect, so the earlier, the better. But they are usually available through February. Good hand-washing routines are another top defense against illness. Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 30 seconds, or use alcohol-based sanitizer, whenever you have been out in public -- especially in a community living environment. Viruses can live on hard surfaces for COLDS, continued on page 5
A year-long celebration in honor of our 40th birthday
In 40 years, LPM has become well-known to many in the Lawrence community and beyond. Generations of families have lived within our walls and enjoyed easy living in their retirement years. Grandchildren and great-grandchildren have run our halls, filling it with laughter and the sounds of little voices. All the holiday parties to celebrate family and fellowship each year. Educators, homemakers, professionals, artists, musicians and many others have created an exciting environment to live and work in.
Our unique sculpture still stands strong today. This symbol of love and concern is easily seen by all our visitors and those who drive by.
We have one goal – to provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. As one of two continuing care retirement communities in Lawrence, we are proud to provide the care and services our residents and the Lawrence community need. Over the years, LPM adapted services provided to ensure our residents had the best care available. And even with changes over the years, one thing is still the same – the rich and full lives of our residents will continue into the future. Below is a short article from the Manor Messenger, Summer 1977, talking about the artwork on the front of the building. Enjoy the story, and watch for more celebrations to come! Unique Sculpture Intrigues Visitors Many visitors have inquired about the interesting sculpture design which appears on the front of the Lawrence Presbyterian Manor. It is symbol which forms a cross. Robert S. Slemmons, the architect of the Lawrence Presbyterian Manor, commissioned John Whitfield from Topeka to do the work. The sculpture is based upon a passage of scripture, Rev. 2: 18-19, which reads, ‘This is the message from the Son of God, whose eyes blaze like CELEBRATION continued on page 5
Donate your vehicle to help senior citizens The season of giving is here. Wouldn’t it be great to know that your vehicle donation helped seniors who have outlived their financial resources receive the care they need this year? Turn that unneeded vehicle into holiday cheer and receive a tax deduction! We accept many donations types including cars, RVs, boats, planes and more. Donating your vehicle will help seniors who have outlived their financial resources at a Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America campus in so many ways. Call us at 844-490GIVE (4483) or visit LawrencePresbyterianManor.org/ Vehicle_Donations, fill out the form, and we’ll take care of the rest. Each year, Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America provides more than $4 million in charitable care. Our seniors need your support; a donated vehicle can help in so many ways ‘Tis the season, give for a reason.
Community Matters is published monthly for residents and friends of Lawrence Presbyterian Manor by Presbyterian Manors of Mid-America Inc., a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. Learn more at PresbyterianManors.org. Christi Patrick, executive director Angela Fonseca, marketing director To submit or suggest articles, contact afonseca@pmma.org. Telephone: 785-841-4262 Fax: 785-841-0923 Address: 1429 Kasold Dr., Lawrence, KS 66049-3425 Our mission: We provide quality senior services guided by Christian values. LawrencePresbyterianManor.org
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Community Matters December 2015
Merry Christmas
Potential treatments ahead for Alzheimer’s disease When geriatrician and neuroscientist Dr. Howard Fillit went to medical school in the early 1970s, he’d never heard of Alzheimer’s disease.
neurosciences at Stanford University, who won the inaugural Melvin R. Goodes Prize for Excellence in Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery from Fillit’s foundation.
Since 1998, though, Fillit has directed the Alzheimer’s Drug Discovery Foundation, which supports the search for effective treatments for the disease. “I’ve seen in my lifetime amazing progress,” Fillit said Tuesday at a press briefing to discuss some of the more promising research his organization is funding. “We have caught up… to understanding as much about the biological mechanisms of Alzheimer’s disease as we know about cancer and heart disease.” But although scientists have cured mice of Alzheimer’s hundreds of times, all the basic knowledge that they have accumulated has yet to translate into new treatments for patients, Fillit said. He predicts that is about to change. “In three to five years, we’re going to have potentially more than one drug approved that has some diseasemodifying effect,” Fillit said, noting that nearly 100 human trials of potential Alzheimer’s treatments are now underway. No Cure As of Now Alzheimer’s disease affects an estimated 5.1 million Americans 65 and older, according to the Alzheimer’s Association, which notes on its website that the disease “is the only cause of death in the top 10 in America that cannot be prevented, slowed or cured.” And since aging is the leading risk factor for Alzheimer’s, the numbers of affected Americans will only
“This is a highly robust disease,” Longo said, so you “can’t just chip away at the edges.” Thinkstock
explode as boomers get older, unless effective treatments can at least stave off the disease. In 10 years, the number of Americans 65 and older with Alzheimer’s is expected to hit 7.1 million – an increase of 40 percent over 2015, according to the Alzheimer’s Association. Much of the research focus has been on drugs to rid the brain of amyloid plaque, deposits of a protein whose role in Alzheimer’s has been widely debated. According to a 20-yearold hypothesis, the build-up of amyloid in the brain causes memory loss in Alzheimer’s. However, antiamyloid drugs have failed in large clinical trials, raising questions about the role of amyloid plaque in Alzheimer’s. “There are over 150 different kinds of amyloid, and many of those are secondary to things like inflammation and other problems,” Fillit said. “We’re going to need many other classes of drugs for Alzheimer’s disease.” The Forces at Play Together, aging, genetics, inflammation and amyloid trigger the degeneration of neurons in Alzheimer’s disease, said Dr. Frank Longo, chair of neurology and
He received the award for the development of drugs that can mimic normal brain proteins called neurotrophins. Neurotrophins promote the growth and survival of neurons, or nerve cells. New Medications One of the drugs developed by Longo and his colleagues is expected to begin Phase II safety and efficacy testing in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s in the second quarter of 2016, Longo said. Phase I safety tests in healthy people found no significant side effects, he said. “We’re affecting multiple (Alzheimer’s-related) mechanisms. We’ve treated mice at extremely late stages (of Alzheimer’s) and found true reversal,” Longo said. To make sure what they were seeing wasn’t related to the fact that the mice were genetically engineered to develop severe Alzheimer’s, he said, they also tested the drug in normal mice who had reached the ripe old age of 2 years, ancient for a mouse. With normal aging in both humans and other mammals, the numbers of certain types of nerve cells in the brain shrink, but the drug was able to reverse the decline in the aged mice that did not have Alzheimer’s, Longo said. Lawrence Presbyterian Manor
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Lawrence holiday memories
Jim Stokes: A tradition started in my grandmother’s home in the mid1930s in downtown Charlotte, N.C., to invite the neighbors for Christmas Breakfast. I was 10-11 years old. When the breakfast was ready to be served, my grandmother signaled my father, who set off Roman candles – telling the neighbors “Breakfast was ready at the Stokes home.” Usually they did not arrive at the same time. The tradition continued when the family moved to the southeast part of the city. The house was filled with our friends eating and visiting. Everyone had a glorious time with a Merry Christmas to all!
Pete and Joan Anderson: As families grow over the years, there is no doubt that Christmas celebrations grow, and there are traditions with these years. What once was a small gathering at the Andersons’ house has grown into a large gathering, usually about 20 people. Whew! A few years ago we had a wonderful idea: a gift game. This would make sure everyone had a gift and all wouldn’t have to buy something for everyone. Yep, save some money all around. So, here’s the way it works. On Christmas Eve we all gather at our niece’s large home, and after a fun dinner (everybody brings a dish to share) we gather around and everyone draws a number. The gifts are all piled in the middle of the floor and the excitement begins. Number 1 gets the first pick of
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Community Matters December 2015
the gifts -- much speculation and looking, no examining or handling, just guessing. Number 1 opens a gift and on we go through the numbers. NOW, if it’s your turn and you see something someone already has, you can take it, and they pick another. So far, we’ve never had anything live.
Each year I would buy ornaments for the children and grandchildren, so they now have those from years back. They and their moms come over to decorate the tree, and with 6-foot and 6-foot-8 grands, it means us munchkins need to take care of the bottom of the tree.
We try to limit the gifts to about $10, but people find all kinds of things and always something spectacular that everyone wants. So the game can go on and on until the last person has a gift. There is always one of those big tins full of popcorn. And, when all is done, it’s okay to trade if you want to.
Then, of course, we bake and decorate numerous cookies so flour and powdered sugar dusts all of the surfaces. Christmas music fills the air as we work. Then we have our first eggnog and cookies. Now days, the challenge is to find the time as they all are working, but we get as many together as we can and enjoy the experience. The family mainly lives within 40 miles of Lawrence, so we are very blessed to share church services and meals.
Beverly Burrows: One night during the Christmas season, I found our house cat sitting on the head rest of a chair near the front window – growling and tail switching. On investigating, we discovered our outside Christmas tree lights had been stolen! After that, she was called our Watch Cat. Pat Blair: I have always enjoyed all of the Christmas traditions of decorating, caroling and baking. Ken and I became engaged on Dec. 12, 1954, so that is when we set the date for decorating the house and putting the tree up. It became even more important to start early when I went to work at Owens Flower Shop as a designer. We were so busy at the shop that there was little enthusiasm for coming home and being creative.
David Dinneen: Christmas 1966. My wife and I and our three children were in Barcelona, Spain, where I was teaching on a Fulbright Fellowship. We had a small tree, and the kids found fun things to decorate it with, but we wanted to do something new for the manger, which we always felt was more important. We went down the Ramblas (the wide avenue on which people stroll up and down every Sunday) to look at a display of pesebres and decided to begin with collecting figures for our own manger scene (or crèche). We already had a few that we had bought in France, but not enough. Our oldest Katie (yes, the blacksmith many of you know), was just 10 years old at the time, but she made a papiermâché manger, and we placed it on a table top with some moss (molsa) around it, put Mary and Joseph on either side of the empty crib, and began adding new carved figures. MEMORIES continued on page 5
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MEMORIES continued from page 4
up to eight hours.
We purchased most of them on the Sunday before Christmas at the fair If you do get ill, follow these in front of the cathedral, a wonderful recommendations: experience in itself, with everyone • Eat what you can. This will maintain dancing Sardanas to the music of a small band. your energy to help your body fight the virus. If you don’t have much The tradition in southern France appetite, at least try simple foods like (Aix-en-Provence is particularly white rice or soup. well-known for its master craftsmen) and in Italy is similar to that in • Drink a lot of fluids, but avoid Spain, that is, to add to the usual caffeinated drinks like coffee and colas; they can dehydrate you further. three kings, angels and shepherds, santones, santons (carved figures) • Rest, so your body and mind can of everyday people in their local recover. costumes (fishermen, bakers, butchers, shepherds, many others) • Call the doctor if you have a fever as well as animals of all types – with that is not controlled by over-thecounter fever reducers, if you have a severe cough, or if you cannot keep any fluids or food down. • Stay home rather than coming to community meals and group activities. This will help contain the virus so you don’t spread it to others. All residents can request to have meals delivered to them, even in apartments.
no attention to whether they might have been in Bethlehem at the time of the birth of Jesus. They come in all sizes, and many are beautifully carved in wood (we have just a few of those). I have just one very large one, a fisherman from Marseille, given to me by a former student. Even though I do not get a Christmas tree any longer, I do continue to set up my pesebre and carefully place the baby Jesus in the crib on Christmas morning.
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Lawrence Presbyterian Manor CELEBRATION, continued from page 1
fires, whose feet shine like polished brass. I know what you do. I know your love, your faithfulness, your service, and your patience.” In a recent letter to David Slack, Manor administrator, the architect stated. “It seems to me that the Presbyterian Manor should speak to the community, some message of your Christian concern. This little portion of scripture says something that to me.” Manor residents, staff and all; those connected with the United Presbyterian Foundation of Kansas, are pleased and proud to display this symbol which expresses love and concern for those served through Presbyterian Manor.
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Community Matters December 2015
What’s your secret artistic talent? An upcoming edition of Community Matters will focus on Art is Ageless®. The Art is Ageless® program encourages residents and other area seniors to express their creativity through an annual art competition and exhibit, musical and dramatic events, educational opportunities and current events discussions. What talent have you discovered? If you’ve got a story about what inspires you to create, contact Marketing Director Angela Fonseca, and your story could be featured in an upcoming edition of Community Matters.