Arden Carmichael News

September 7, 2018 | www.valcomnews.com December 24, 2020 | www.valcomnews.com

Arden-Carmichael News — Bringing you community news for 29 years —

Senior Citizens Getting A Zing Out of Zoom

see page 5

w w w. va l c o m n e w s . c o m Artist Spotlight.............................................2 This ‘n’ That ................................................3 Home Improvement. .................................. 6 Classifieds................................................. 7

Though virtual, Physical Therapy Clinics Remain Hands-On See page 4

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Local Artist Spotlight: Dawn Greene

By Kristin Thébaud

Local resident Dawn Greene never saw the world like a sighted person, but it was not until she was struggling in school that her vision was tested. It turned out she was brilliant, but needed vision correction.

With glasses, Dawn was successful in school and became a real estate agent in New York. At 30 years old, Dawn was told she had high pressure in her eyes, but was not concerned about managing it. She moved from New York to West Sacramento to be with her ailing mother. But when she lost her mother and beloved aunt within a year’s time, the pressure escalated. Her left retina tore, almost completely detaching, and her right retina tore like a patchwork quilt.

Dawn managed to continue working in real estate and undergoing eye surgeries without telling anyone that she was losing her sight.

“I started compensating for the vision loss,” Dawn said. “I would schedule clients earlier in the day or on weekends because I had trouble seeing at night. My lenses got thicker each year. When it became harder to see houses, I would set up other agents to do walk-throughs and I would handle the phone calls.”

But when she made a significant financial error and no longer felt safe driving, she decided it was time for a career change and found Society for the Blind.

“It was a relief when I no longer had to pretend I could see,” she said.“I can’t tell you how awesome

it was for me to meet the people at Society for the Blind. You can feel the love as soon as you walk in there.”

Dawn attended Socity for the Blind’s Senior IMPACT Project and Core program, where she learned how to cook, stay mobile and use adaptive technology.

On one of her days with the Senior IMPACT Project, she tried to walk down the stairs and nearly panicked.

“It looked like a slide with my vision,” Dawn said. “One of my instructors immediately noticed and walked me through it. It was awesome and made me cry. I didn’t have to say anything; she just knew. Society for the Blind is the most positive place I have ever been.”

When the stay-at-home order hit, Dawn was especially grateful for what she had learned.

“I’m really thankful for those lessons because not long after, we were locked down in the pandemic,” Dawn said. “Before that class, all I would cook were sandwiches and salads. Without those skills, I think the stay-at-home order would have been a lot harder for me.”

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Arden-Carmichael News • December 24, 2020 • www.valcomnews.com

“Kissed By Starlight” By Dawn Greene, Acrylic on Canvas, 24×24

Dawn also visited a Low Vision Clinic that includes occupational therapy. There she discovered the tools she needed to continue her lifelong love of painting. Dawn thought her vision loss would mean never painting again, but our Low Vision Clinic helped her acquire a lighted magnifying tool and lenses.

Just this summer, one of Dawn’s paintings won a Juror’s Award at a KVIE event – the juror had no idea Dawn was losing her vision.

“I took my time on that painting and wanted to get it right because in my mind I was thinking this might be the last painting I get to paint,” Dawn said. “But I’m determined to keep painting.

Painting is my true love. My mind still sees color, and I’m thankful for my wonk-ish vision that helps me create my art. I’ve already got another painting in mind.”

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THIS ‘n’ THAT

by Carol Bogart

A Not-So-Merry Christmas?

I have to say I admire the … optimism … of those who refuse to allow Covid to dim their Christmas spirit. Who they are is evident by whether this year, like any other, they’ve put up their outdoor lights.

I’m grateful as I look around and see them. Within my apartment complex, you can tell which tenants expect Christmas company, such as grandchildren. A few have wound lights through the railing of patios and balconies. Good for them. Definitely cheery and I like it.

I, however, haven’t even put up my Christmas flags and banners. Nor have I so much as briefly considered dragging home a tree.

Even though a smallish shipment of Pfizer’s vaccine rolled our way last week and is now at UC Davis Med Center where, initially, health care workers were being vaccinated, I’m worried. Worried Covid-weary families who host Christmas gatherings will make such vaccinations necessary. So far, there isn’t enough vaccine for all of us.

And how about those who travel to such gatherings elsewhere in America. Not wanting an aged parent, perhaps, to be alone. Concerned it could prove to be the last time the kids see grampa. Will they encounter the virus in their travels? And bring it back with them?

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Yes, I admit it. These ponderings bring out the Scrooge in me. “STAY HOME!” says everyone from the CDC to politicians (who occasionally neglect to set a good example). We’re told by our folk hero, Dr. Fauci, this winter will be our darkest season if we ignore the virus danger in America.

Listen, as recently as the Christmas before last, I put out the Christmas decorations. No tree, I didn’t have the energy or will for that. But with Mike and his girlfriend coming, I tried to make it festive. When Mike was a kid, we’d go to a tree farm, tramp through the Colorado snow, choose a tree and tag it.

In Denver, after Mike was born, Christmas meant a visit from my mom and dad. (A new grandchild/darling toddler is, as we know, a magnet.)

Mike was born in October 1985. That December, in front of his first Christmas tree, was an old fashioned varnished wagon: slatted sides, red hubcaps and handle. Dad, notorious for frugality, SHIPPED it to Mike from Ohio! At 2+ months, Mike was too young for it of course. By the next Christmas, though, grampa could pull Mike in his “wangey.”

For dad’s last Christmas – Mike was 4 – I shipped Mike’s presents, and dad’s, to Ohio.

Christmas morning belonged to an eager child. Christ-

mas afternoon was grampa’s. That past spring, we’d lost gramma. Dad’s caregiver.

Worn out from his Alzheimer’s. The farm was sold. Dad went to a nursing home near my brother.

When I called my dad he’d sometimes ask, “Carol, is your mother there with you?” His last Christmas I said a prayer of thanks that he remembered Michael.

Mike turned 35 this fall.

He told me last month he and Ashley would spend Christmas with me; Thanksgiving with Ashley’s family.

Last week, I told them not to come. I know someone quarantining with the virus in West Sac. Am I an Asymptomatic spreader? I don’t know. I hope not. But why take chances?

And no more Christmas travel for me, either, with or without the virus. Nope, that’s done. Crowded airports?

Photos by CAROL BOGART

1) Mike, age 5, excited about Santa and his reindeer. No Covid Christmas with my now-grown son. 2) Santa at the mall with Mike, age 9. For this year’s kids, maybe next year.

Changing planes? The baggage claim? Oh no, no way.

Unless, of course, Mike gets a job far away … and I learn I have a grandchild.

This holiday season Carol wishes you as much merriness as you can muster. Maybe, if we’re very, very good; Santa will leave no lumps of Covid coal in our Christmas stocking. Questions, comments, glad tidings? Contact Carol at carol@bogartonline.com.

Call Melissa at (916) 429-9901 www.valcomnews.com

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Though virtual, Physical Therapy Clinics Remain Hands-On

By Dixie Reid CSUS Staff writer

The work is serious, but the process can be a lot of fun. Take the case of Rydr Rudgers, a 12-yearold boy who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and autism spectrum disorder.

“Rydr is a source of creativity for us,” said PT student Sarah Curd. “He is very aware that we work with him as physical therapists to improve his function, so he outright told us that in order to fight the dragons from Harry Potter, he needed to be stronger, faster, and more agile.”

To accommodate this imaginative preteen, Curd and her fellow PT students presented his treatments in unique scenarios. The

CROSSWORD

When she learned that Sacramento State’s pro bono Physical Therapy (PT) clinics would go virtual this fall because of COVID-19, Professor Katrin Mattern-Baxter ordered 32 baby dolls for her students.

“Because we couldn’t bring patients to campus, I thought that the students who work with babies and toddlers who have delays in their motor skills could develop hands-on skills with the dolls,” she said. “Many students have never held a baby before.

“We have a telehealth clinic where students see children with developmental delays, and they use the dolls, for example, to show parents how to position their hands when they want to get their child from sitting to a standing position.”

“If this is how they deliver online sessions, I can only imagine that in person they will be more spectacular.”

Children who attend the virtual pediatrics clinics have a variety of diagnoses, including cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, spina bifida, genetic syndromes, and other developmental disabilities.

CLUES ACROSS 1. Upright post on a boat 5. Sentimental person 10. Native American tribe 12. Wear away 14. Where you’re going 16. Doctor 18. Popular Chinese dialect 19. One point east of due south 20. Northern sea duck 22. Note 23. Wives (law) 25. Trigonometric function 26. A way to communicate (abbr.)

27. Swiss river 28. No (Scottish) 30. Commercials 31. Large instrument 33. __ Chantilly, __ de Menthe 35. Small, saclike cavities

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37. High and thin in tone 38. Treat extremely well 40. Famed track star Usain 41. Secure web connection (abbr.)

42. Rob of energy 44. Paving material 45. Cool!

48. Tip of Aleutian Islands 50. Indicates silence 52. Water in the solid state 53. Security interests 55. Popular hoopster Jeremy 56. Shed tears 57. Low frequency 58. Harmful bacterium 63. Common language: lingua __ 65. Standards of perfection 66. They consist of two parts 67. A detailed description of design

CLUES DOWN 1. More (Spanish) 2. A subdivision of a play 3. Japanese title 4. More jittery 5. Fabric 6. Luke’s mentor __-Wan 7. Cleaving tool 8. Ancient city of Egypt 9. 36 inches 10. Farewell 11. Second to last 13. Improved by critical editing 15. Defensive weapon (abbr.)

17. Fancy attire 18. __ Farrow, actress 21. Completely opposed 23. Supervises flying 24. Pouch 27. True firs

Arden-Carmichael News • December 24, 2020 • www.valcomnews.com

29. Mistake 32. Computing platform (abbr.)

34. Snakelike fish 35. Greatly horrify 36. Despicable person 39. Tell on 40. Ballplayer’s tool 43. Central Brazilian town 44. Court game 46. Land 47. “The Partridge Family” actress Susan 49. Retract a statement 51. Data executive 54. Capital of Yemen 59. Portable computer screen material 60. Electronic data processing 61. “Matt Houston” actor Horsley 62. Resinous substance 64. Rural delivery

Putting dolls into the hands of students was one of the adjustments made in support of not only their Physical Therapy education, but also in the delivery of services to members of the public receiving services through Sac State’s PT clinics.

(Photo courtesy of Katrin Mattern-Baxter)

standard stand-and-reach test, for instance, was presented as a storybook-like challenge: You are stuck in quicksand, but you need to punch the dragon.

“The students were absolutely amazing,” said Rydr’s mother, Elisa Rudgers.“They put so much time and effort into providing a detailed plan that included all of my son’s interests. They were able to get into his world and deliver a fun and engaging plan that he was eager to participate in.”

Rydr was so excited about his PT adventures that he asked to participate in additional sessions.

“If this is how they deliver online sessions, I can only imagine that in person they will be more spectacular,” Elisa Rudgers added.

The Department of Physical Therapy’s pro bono clinics have helped to improve the quality of life for countless men, women, and children in the community since 2006. Many turned to Sac State after exhausting their insurance benefits.

“Patients who attend the pro bono clinics are not being seen elsewhere,” said Michael McKeough, professor and department chair, who founded the clinics program to both serve the community and allow PT students to develop their skills under the supervision of licensed faculty.

“Once community interaction was shut down because of COVID-19,” he said, “our challenge became: How can we maintain some portion of that patientcare experience for our students prior to their full-time clinical rotations? Almost all health

care facilities instantly had to go to telehealth to maintain patient services.”

Sac State canceled the remaining springtime PT clinics after the University pivoted to online learning in mid-March. PT faculty spent the summer – when no patient-care classes are offered – preparing to teach students and serve patients virtually this fall.

Typically, Sac State offers faceto-face pediatric, orthopedic, adult neurological, and amputee and limb difference clinics, as well as STEPS, a pediatric treadmilltraining program. All take place on campus in Folsom Hall.

Because of the pandemic, the STEPS clinic, in partnership with Easter Seals Superior California, is on hold, as are the adult neurological clinics, out of concern for patient safety. Many in the neurological clinic have limited mobility and are at risk for falling. The PT department is planning for a clinic focusing on balance and fallprevention.

The switch to telemedicine has proven a boon for the amputee and limb difference clinic, which has picked up more patients – some from as far away as England – offering PT students a richer and more diverse experience.

“I’ve had clinicians from around the world come in and do smallgroup discussions with the students,” said Professor Toran D. MacLeod, who launched the amputee and limb difference clinic in 2015. “So students not only hear from me, in my syntax, but from see CLINICS page 5 Valley Community Newspapers, Inc.

Doing What Doesn’t Come Naturally: Senior Citizens Getting A Zing Out of Zoom

By Ivy Hendy

When the state of California first began announcing their quarantine orders, organizers of the Renaissance Society, a seniors’ life-long learning organization in Sacramento, started switching to a digital platform.

Despite the fact that the majority of the 1,600 members are over sixty, Renaissance Society participants have been meeting in classrooms on the campus of Sacramento State University for the past thirty-five years. Now, the group would have to offer their extensive classes and presentations online. Were they up to the task?

You bet! The members of this large senior citizen’s group were used to learning new things and educating themselves.

A big help was that the Renaissance Society community was already established and so once they had set-up tech support, they pushed each other to give Zoom, the video communications platform, a try. Right on cue, the Renaissance Society volunteer coordinators were able to recruit numerous members who were tech savvy and could offer technical help to others. Within a few weeks the group was transformed into a senior’s organization able to meet the moment.

Clinics

continued from page 4

someone with a different clinical perspective or a social worker who is an amputee, as well.”

In the local community, MacLeod has developed a cohort of 20 to 25 patients who come year after year to attend the clinic.

“Many of them, I am confident, we have kept alive, because we will encourage them to take action on something, such as wound care, and it probably saved their life,” he said.

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As a result of the fast-online pivot, the members of this volunteer organization have been able to continue to offer dynamic learning experiences.

With their feet planted firmly on the ground, the coordinators of the Renaissance Society understood that for a while their heads must remain in the cloud. The covid pandemic has reshaped the world and the new normal includes Zoom, a cloudbased communication app that allows for the set-up of virtual videos/audio meetups, and other collaborative capabilities.

Going Remote Needn’t Mean Being Cutoff Of the nearly 13.8 million Americans over the age of 65, about 28% live by themselves according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. There is always a possibility that seniors living alone may be susceptible to loneliness. But the feelings of loneliness are not limited to seniors who are single. The ramification of social isolation is an elemental problem spanning the ages. One of the most popular aspects of the Renaissance Society is that of going to their Friday on-campus classes taught by member volunteers.

Talk to their members and you

Sac State’s Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) is a threeyear program that prepares graduates to provide excellent, knowledgeable patient care in any practice environment.

Sac State has one of the few DPT programs with a stateof-the-art simulation lab to educate students to care for and respond to emergencies with patients in an acute-care environment.

In addition to learning clinical reasoning through actual and simulated patient care, students complete 36 weeks of full-time internships at three

will find that it has been an exhilarating experience. This popular weekly event allowed seniors to not only attend Renaissance Society classes and presentations but also to have spontaneous, organic conversations with a variety of people who they might not have met any other way.

For senior citizens who were involved in these on-campus, lifelong learning classes, the change to electronic at-home courses was as radical for them as it was for the younger students. At colleges that have gone remote like Sac State, there will now be a minimum of a year of online learning.

Though this pandemic is a oncein-a-hundred-year event, it might be slow in resolving itself.

Fortunately, trying a hand at a Zoom meeting can have its own form of enlivening and uplifting reward. Not surprisingly though, the research into older people taking at-home classes electronically indicates that at first there is a reluctance to switch to virtual learning.

The Three Stages Studies show that for people ready to take the plunge, there are three stages that they may go through as they process this new way to stay connected. The first stage is reticence about setting up

Public domain

Zoom for viewing a virtual classroom. The second stage is more hopeful as people get used to using Zoom at home and eventually like it. But in stage three, which comes 3 to 6 months later, many people start feeling isolated and missing some of the people they were used to being with. Ironically, some of the people who are missed are the ones who ruffled feathers and left people in a fit of pique!

Embracing the new electronic learning opportunity has proven fulfilling for the majority of the Renaissance members. For instance, it is possible with the basic membership fee to now sign up for many more classes and presentations. Also, the online format allows the physically challenged more freedom to participate. Discriminating factors such as physical appearance, hearing disabilities, race and gender are largely absent. The gist of the online courses eliminates most of the human foibles and interruptions

focusing on the material at hand.

A New Routine When this pandemic ends the coordinators at the Renaissance Society think that some members might still be nervous to return to the same on-campus routine. Preferred choices will differ, but there will be some who will want to continue with Zoom for their life-long learning experiences.

For senior citizens, the initial challenges of learning remotely are likely to get better with time; it can be expected that there will be more and more opportunity for high-quality experiences. Though electronic at-home learning won’t stop the pitfalls of being around the pesky apparatuses of the bed, the refrigerator, and the television, being able to navigate the deep ocean of online courses offered by the Renaissance Society continues to open new doors and can be central to a new-found confidence.

California hospitals or clinics before graduation.

The first graduating class of Sacramento State’s DPT program was honored in July 2015 with a formal hooding ceremony in Capistrano Hall.

Sac State secured its independent doctoral program three years ahead of the deadline mandated by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy and was the first CSU authorized to offer an independent DPT program.

Source: https://www.csus.edu/ news/articles/2020/12/8/It’svirtual,-but-Physical-Therapyclinics-remain-hands-on.shtml www.valcomnews.com • December 24, 2020 • Arden-Carmichael News

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