July 14, 2003

From the Inside Out
AUGIE DOGGIE

I love animals, but I had more than the usual feelings for Augie Doggie, my son's Labrador, when we first met. I saw love and loyalty in his large brown eyes. My instinct was later confirmed.

When my son's third child was born, he and his family were moving into a new home. I welcomed the chance to spend time with the new baby and Sophie and Gerald, my other grandchildren, who were 3 and 2. We now know what we didn't know for the first years of Sophie's life — she suffers from autism.

From the beginning, it was evident she and Augie had a special relationship. They still do. Sophie's favorite toy is her doctor's set and Augie is always patient as he has his blood pressure taken and his imaginary injuries bandaged.

I remember the activity in the house that first day — the moving vans, the furniture being carried, the call of directions. Behind the new house was a wooded area — stands of trees penetrated by sunlight and containing a paddock for horses.

Armed with carrots for the horses, the children were happy to leave the bustle for a walk through the woods with grandma. As always, Augie accompanied us. Although he ran ahead, he waited for us to catch up, and barked at anything threatening, like squirrels.

The children looked under rocks and uprooted trees, and shared their discoveries. We happened upon a small stream where the activity of choice became throwing stones into the water. Augie retrieved stones, splashed and sniffed and generally became covered with mud.

Suddenly, Gerald stumbled into the half-inch of barely moving water and began to howl. I turned to rescue him and when I turned back, Sophie and Augie were gone. Dragging Gerald behind me, I hunted frantically along the paths we had traveled, but there was no sign of Sophie or Augie.

My daughter-in-law and I combed the woods to no avail, and then she phoned my son. An autistic child lacks normal fear. I don't know why Sophie ran away, but she ran through the woods until she reached the highway, and began walking on the side of the busy road.

Augie was with her every step of the way. Witnesses said he was "clipped" in the rear by cars, but wouldn't leave Sophie's side or move out of the way of traffic. Motorists stopped to help, but Sophie wouldn't respond. Even if she had, she didn't know where she lived.

The police investigation led to the mailman, who knew the address of a new family in the neighborhood. Sophie was transported home in a police car. Augie, I guess, found his own way home.

Neighborhood newspapers reported on the dog who protected a small girl despite danger to himself.

Augie's life is difficult now. He has arthritis, difficulty raising his hindquarters and moves slowly. The bittersweet truth of life's ending will have to be faced. Augie will not be there to run through the woods and splash in the water, to warn us of dangerous squirrels, or, the greatest loss, to love a little girl who finds something in him, as he does in her, that the less initiated of us do not understand.

Augie Doggie is not a "little" dog. His body is big. But in no measure as big as his heart.

~Geraldine Wierzbicki-Roach
Reprinted from Petwarmers.com

Yes You Can!
TREAT LATE LIFE DEPRESSION

Sure you live in a nice area of the world, but this does not necessarily mean happiness. Do you ever sit there and wonder why you feel unhappy? Do you find that you do not feel like going out of the house? Has sleeping become a problem? Have trouble reading or concentrating on anything, or just can't follow a conversation because your mind wanders? ? Do you find yourself eating more or eating less? Most important, do you have feelings of suicide or thoughts of death? If you have one or more of these symptoms then you may be suffering from depression or "Late Life Depression"

WHAT CAUSES DEPRESSION? The causes of depression are unknown. It can be brought on by certain stresses in life such as the death of a loved one, a stressful change in lifestyle or an overload of daily stresses. Late life depression usually occurs in older people after the age of 60. It can be caused by small stroke-like damage to certain areas of the brain or it can be a chemical imbalance in the brain.

It can also be an inherited family condition. If you have ever had a family member who suffered with depression, then this can put you at a higher risk. It is also thought that a decrease in certain chemicals in the brain or a misfiring of impulses in the brain can also be a cause.

Depression is a serious medical problem. A depressed person cannot fix the problem himself or herself. If you had diabetes you can no more fix this problem by yourself than you could depression. Depression can become a significant disability and worsen the outcome of major health problems such as heart disease, cancer and strokes.

The main thing to remember is that this does not make you a "nut case" and it can be fixed very easily. THERE IS HOPE!! A good doctor and medication can make a world of difference in a very short time.

THE GOOD NEWS: This is a condition that is very treatable. In the last ten years there have been many new drugs that have come onto the market that are extremely good at treating this condition. Over 60 - 80% of people with late life depression can be treated and can lead a perfectly normal life. And don't forget...it is a condition and does not mean you are crazy.

Medication treatment usually starts with a serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Many of these are advertised on television, but it is really something to discuss only with a qualified doctor. When a doctor prescribes one of these medications for you, it is important to make sure that they are aware of your other medications, to prevent drug interactions.

In conjunction with medication it may also be helpful to receive psychotherapy. A patient can explore different aspects of their life, past and present, and can be a constructive way to assess how you look at and deal with your thought processes. This can be cognitive-behavioral therapy, problem-solving or interpersonal therapy. These two therapies together provide the best hope for recovery.

HOW DO I GET TREATMENT: The first stop should be your family doctor. Try to get his last appointment of the day where he will be able to give you the extra time you need. Try to talk to him as openly and honestly as you can. Remember he is there to help you and you are not the first person he has seen with this problem. You are not alone. He should be able to help you locate a professional in your area who will have the knowledge to treat the condition. He will be specially trained for this.

If you have a loved one that has this condition, it is strongly advised that you do everything you can to get them to a doctor. They may not have the ability to see their problem clearly and may not have the energy to do anything about it. You must help them to help themselves.

Even if you go to the doctor alone and explain the situation, he should be able to help you. For the person who is depressed it can be very hard to recognize the problem and seek help. They are in a downward spiral, the same as a drowning victim. Please help them.

Help for depression these days is so much better than it was just 10 years ago. If you have it just take the step of going to your doctor. He really, really can help.

Author's Personal Note:
I had a friend who was suffering from depression. She is a much older
person, (in her 80's) and the thought of going to a shrink horrified her.
She insisted she was not crazy and was afraid she would be locked up.
Old memories die hard. She was having sleeping problems and the
family decided to get her help from a "sleep doctor".
That she was willing to accept.

Of course the doctor recognized what the problem was and treated
her accordingly, but always under the guise of her "sleep problems".
At 84 she is now very active, going to the gym 3 times a week, miles
of walking every week, out with friends and much happier
than she was a few years back.

~ Jean Sutherland, Columnist
"Medicine Cabinet" Ojo del Lago

Photo: The Great Hall

Winchester, England, is a town of Roman origin that was settled for over a thousand years before the Norman invasion in 1066. The top attraction here is the world famous Winchester Cathedral, which houses a 12th-century Bible. The Great Hall, created during William the Conquerer's reign, is the site of the trial of Sir Walter Raleigh in 1603. This thirteenth century hall is the only part of Winchester Castle that has survived time. What was long thought to be the legendary table of King Arthur and his knights has been hanging in the Great Hall for 600 years. The table was painted during the reign of King Henry VIII, some 700 years after the death of King Arthur, and depicts Arthur dressed in Tudor robes with the face of Henry VIII. ~Topic contributed by Julie in Winchester, UK

LINKS
THAT SHINE

"Caregiver Resource"

The Administration on Aging has compiled a thorough list of online caregiver resources, including government, nonprofit and commercial sites. Also included are state specific sites with caregiver information links and articles which are of general use to family caregivers.
www.CaregiverResource


CLICK FOR MORE LINKS

Fascinating Facts
THE BULGE IN THE BURBS (Part 1)

“We shape our buildings, and afterwards our buildings shape us,” Winston Churchill once said. Today, there’s new meaning to Churchill’s often cited quote: A growing number of public health researchers blame our sprawling suburban landscapes in part for Americans’ bulging bellies. No doubt you’ve seen the statistics on obesity in America. Perhaps you’ve seen them on yourself.

Arlin Wasserman, an anti-sprawl advocate formerly with the Michigan Land Use Institute, says that when he moved from his native Philadelphia, where he biked everywhere, to suburban Traverse City, Mich., he put on 35 pounds. “The move to Ann Arbor, where I logged 15,000 miles a year driving, gained me 15 pounds, even though I was still biking to work,” says Wasserman. “But the move to Traverse City gained me another 20.”

Americans are becoming less physically active, not so much out of laziness but because of changes in the “urban form” that are dictating more sedentary behavior, according to a new line of thinking in public health. Advocates of anti-sprawl “smart growth,” like Wasserman, say the theory adds ammunition to the arguments against suburban development, which has been blamed for loss of farmland and open space, as well as increasing traffic congestion.

“It’s not just a matter of our having “super-sized” our meals or that we don’t exercise enough,” says Thomas Schmid, a public health researcher at the Centers for Disease Control. We’ve also drastically reduced the amount of regular walking, biking or getting around under our own steam as part of our daily activities, says Schmid.

The scale of the epidemic — and the speed with which it has grown — seem to challenge the idea that laziness or genetics alone can be blamed, argues Schmid and other researchers, including Lawrence Frank, co-author of the recently released "Health and Community Design : The Impact of the Built Environment on Physical Activity" (Click for more info).

Schmid says a major reason why we’re so inactive is that we have built houses, streets, roads and schools too “spread out” to walk between, creating the type of low-density urban design known as “sprawl.” “We know that if you look at all the factors that have come into play during the last two decades, one of the most significant is that people are driving more and more and have less time for discretionary, leisure activities,” says Frank. (Continued next week)

~Francesca Lyman
YOUR ENVIRONMENT Columnist, MSNBC

What's the technical definition of a Sunset or Sunrise?

Click for Answer

Laughing It Off
LAWS OF CAT-OLOGY

Law of Energy Conservation
Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed
and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.

Law of Cat Motion
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really
good reason to change direction.

Law of Cat Inertia
A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by
some outside force ... such as the opening of cat food,
or a nearby scurrying mouse.

Law of Cat Magnetism
All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct
proportion to the darkness of the fabric.

Law of Cat Stretching
A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to
the length of the nap just taken.

Law of Cat Obstruction
A cat must lay on the floor in such a position to obstruct
the maximum amount of human foot traffic.

Law of Cat Acceleration
A cat will accelerate at a constant rate,
until he gets good and ready to stop.

Law of Rug Configuration
No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.

Law of Selective Listening
Although a cat can hear a can of tuna being opened a mile away,
she can't hear a simple command three feet away.

Law of Cat Embarrassment
A cat's irritation rises in direct proportion to her embarrassment,
times the amount of human laughter.

Law of Pill Rejection
Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy
to reach the speed of escape velocity.

Law of Cat Invisibility
Cats think that if they can't see you,
then you can't see them..

Law of Cat Composition
A cat is composed of:
Matter + Antimatter + It Doesn't Matter.

~Author Unknown

Untangling the Web

WHAT A SITE!

Lunar Orbiter Photo Atlas of the Moon...
(NASA SP-206) is considered the definitive reference manual to the global photographic coverage of the Moon. The images are excellent for studying lunar morphology because they were obtained at low to moderate Sun angles. This digital archive consists of the complete set of 675 plates contained in Bowker and Hughes.
www.LunarOrbiter

COMPUTER-EASE

Have Email & Internet Sound...
First, be sure sound notification is on:
1. On Outlook/Outlook Express
Tools menu, click "Options".
2. Click "General" or
"Advanced" E-Mail Options.
3. Under "When new items arrive",
or "Send/Receive", select the
"Play a Sound" check box.
Follow the same procedure on your
Internet Home Page Tools menu:
1. Click "Internet Options"
2. Click "Advanced" and
scroll down to "Multimedia"
3. Make sure "Play Sounds"
is checked.

Photo: Adlan Khasanov /REUTERS


Spanish performer Pep Bou does tricks ...
with giant soap bubbles and smoke in Moscow.
"The Theatre of Soap Bubbles," originates in Barcelona and is unique in combining the magic “dances” of colorful soap bubbles with charming classical music. The act is appearing at the Bufaplanetes Children's Show in central Moscow. ~MSNBC