Brrr, it's cold outside and this is a good time to highlight a dangerous concept among older adults during winter -
hypothermia. We all know about the winter damages such as broken bones from falls on ice or slippery snow, however, there is something else to watch out for also. The cold weather and wind chill also lowers the temperature inside your body, which can be extremely dangerous if not treated quickly. Signs of hypothermia include: weak pulse or decreased blood pressure, chilly room temperatures, shivering or stifness in legs, slowed speech, confusion, or sleepiness.
There are several safety precautions to take to prevent hypothermia:
- Ask your physician how the medicines you are taking affect body heat.
- Make sure you are eating enough food to keep up your weight. Fat keeps heat in your body.
- Make sure your living environment is set to 68-70 degress.
- Sometimes you may need to put on more clothes to help keep warm.
- If driving, always start the car and allow it to warm up before driving in the winter months.
If you suspect hypothermia with yourself or anybody else, make sure to get the person to the doctor or hospital quickly.
Source: National Institute on Aging
This past week I got a handful of comments about a Wall Street Journal article titled "Your iPhone Just Called: Your Blood-Sugar Is High". Pretty neat concept, but the article really doesn't talk about the future convergence of in home heath monitoring/diagnostic equipment with personal health information repositories, as the title might imply.
Instead the article focuses on something much more accessible today - the use of mobile devises to view and even update personal health information. One family cited in the article actually uses such an application to help in caring for aging parents. The iPhone application in question is Polka. Polka, like nearly all the applications mentioned in the article, uses a central web application to house the personal health record. Polka is primarily and personal tool, but the "team" tools allow some sharing of information across a team or family in the case of senior health care.
Most of the applications mentioned in the article, including Polka, have a strong bias toward disease management. This is certainly an important issue in geriatric care. Polka also has some more holistic tools including over all well-being.
For easy reference, here are the products mentioned in the article with hyperlinks to their web sites:
Caregiving is always a challenge - especially remembering to take care of yourself. During the holidays, it is so important to take care of yourself. Today, I’m sharing a few tips for caregivers of someone with cognitive decline or Alzheimer’s.
How do you take care of your aging loved one and still enjoy the holidays? The National Institute on Aging has many tips to assist you, especially during this holiday season. Some key tips are to:
- Keep or adapt family traditions that are important to you. Include the person with Alzheimer’s Disease as much as possible
- Recognize that things will be different, and have realistic expectations about what you can do
- Encourage friends and family to visit. Limit the number of visitors at one time, and try to schedule visits during the time of day when the person is at his or her best
- Avoid crowds, changes in routine, and strange surroundings that may cause confusion or agitation.
You can also visit my previous blogs on caregiving and the holidays:
Caregivers' plans for the holidaysCaregiver stress and the holidaysOr, if you'd like to read about a caregiver's experience and hear her advice, read Karen Kelsey's blog post:
Christmas and caregiving.
If you notice a change in cognition in your aging loved one this holiday season, or worry about their mobility, safety, or health, please contact their health care provider or a professional geriatric care manager for advice.
Sometimes you think all the "predictions" of science fiction really will come true. Well here's more support for your case. GeckoSystems International Corp. announced limited trials of a "Mobile Service Robot" called Carebot. Really... "carebot".
This little guy can navigate through the home on it's own; provide assistance caring for aging parents with medication reminders, monitoring vital signs, delivering supplies, and other simple tasks. The system works thought independent computers and software that work together to deliver coordinated activity. GeckoSystems has gotten a bit cheeky by calling these GeckoSavants(TM). Each functional area has a "geckoname" like, GeckoNav(TM), GeckoChat(TM) and GeckoTrak(TM).
This version of the Carebot is not likely to replace a geriatric care manager or other caregiver any time soon, but GekoSystems has been solving some of the most difficult challenges to making robot helpful in the home. For example, Navigating independently in crowds or narrow spaces is something we take for granted, but it's actually a major challenge for a machine.
I'm looking forward to Carebot II.
I just returned from a wonderful weekend spent with four friends from college. We have been friends ever since we pledged Kappa Kappa Gamma in the mid seventies, some 30 years ago. We live in four different states and cherish our yearly “girl’s” weekend. Throughout the year, we keep in touch by cell phone and e-mail. However, there is nothing like being together, sipping wine and sharing family news, career challenges, and our love of new shoes. Discussing the pros and cons of reaching the half century mark always comes up too. Among us you will find wives and widows, mothers and stepmothers, and daughters of aging mothers and fathers.
In years past, our conversation revolved around our children. We looked to each other for advice and support as we coped with the terrible twos, middle school independence and aggravating adolescents. Something different happened this year. Caregiving was still a topic of conversation, but centered on our parents, rather than our children. We are all caregivers, with a parent or parents that are facing issues common among older adults: chronic illness, medication management, cognitive decline, financial concerns, fall risk, and driving conflicts.
Each one of us expressed concern and a willingness to help. We wanted to help our parents remain independent and honor their wishes. Yet, we had so many questions!!! All weekend long, we discussed and debated how best to help our parents. Without realizing it, we became a caregiver support group and were comforted by sharing our concerns, ideas and strategies with dear friends. We have continued the support by raising issues, asking questions, and providing updates via group e-mails. We haven’t yet joined the facebook revolution, but have formed our own informal eldercare exchange network to help us cope with our aging parents.
I feel incredibly fortunate to have such a caring group of friends. Their support has helped me through all stages of life and continues to prop me up when I’m concerned about my Mother and how best to help her. I encourage every caregiver to find either an informal or formal support group. Talk to your friends , neighbors and colleagues about caregiving. My guess is you will find someone else who is an active caregiver. Also, explore formal support group opportunities offered by organizations such as the Alzheimer’s Association, local hospitals and/or assisted living and long-term care facilities.
Falls are a serious danger for seniors, as they can lead to broken or fractured bones, and hospital stays. As we age, mobility often becomes an issue, and our balance can deteriorate. Many older adults rely on the help of assistive devices such as canes.
If your doctor or therapist has ordered a cane for you, this Veteran’s Day (November 11, 2009), Sam’s Club is giving away 25,000 canes to veterans. To find out more, please visit http://www.hugosalutes.com/. If you’re a caregiver who is providing care for a senior, you should work with their health care providers to make sure that your loved one has the assistance he/she needs. In addition, you can take actions to prevent falls and help ensure their safety in the home, such as removing throw rugs. For more on fall prevention, please see my previous blog (http://myhealthcaremanager.compendiumblog.com/blog/immobility/0/0/fall-prevention-).
Make sure to check with your health care provider before using a cane or other assistive device.
Sometimes, it is human nature to focus on what “is lost.” The focus can be on tangible things such as a job, a sporting event, a favorite item or it can be on intangible things like a train of thought, youth or innocence. When there is an Alzheimer’s diagnosis it becomes very easy to focus on what is lost, for example when your parent forgets how to get dressed, how to use the phone and how to pay their bills. Yet, focusing on what is lost isn’t helpful to anyone. It causes extreme frustration for the senior and sadness within the family. I’d like to suggest a new frame of reference for caregivers – to focus on things that are “still here” like a sense of humor, a smile returned and a love for movies and chocolate.
Earlier this week I participated in an activity with my Mother and her fellow neighbors at a memory care unit. The game was called Penny Ante and began with everyone receiving 25 pennies and a pot holding pennies in reserve. Everyone took turns drawing cards from a deck and following the instructions. For example – “Take a penny from the pot if you have
ever seen the Golden Gate Bridge” or “Give every player a penny if they have blue eyes. “ There was a lot of laughter as pennies were lost and gained. To be honest there was some confusion too. One player drew a card – “Take a penny if you have ever visited New York City,” but could not remember if she had been to NYC or not. This is when my Mother shined. For her response was “I bet you have, you should take a penny.”
When it was my Mother’s turn, she had to give a penny to everyone wearing blue. I happened to be the only one at the table wearing blue…which meant she had to give me a penny. She hesitated for a minute or two and I teasingly reminded her she needed to give me a penny…thinking she had forgotten that part of the game. She looked at me and said – “I know, I am looking for a shiny one for you.” A few seconds later, she pushed a shiny penny towards me, the best of the ones she had before her. My eyes filled as I realized she wanted to give her daughter the best she had….just as she had always done. In that moment, her love shined through the memory loss, the dementia, the falls and the frailty, to remind me that the Mother I know is “still here” shining bright as a new penny.
Fall is a great time of year to travel for the older adult - with school in session, fares drop and popular vacation sites are less crowded. When planning a trip, an important step is to always check for health and vaccination information for your destination. A great resource for this is the Center for Disease Control (CDC), where you can access health and vaccination information. For caregivers and seniors, travel may require a bit more preparation.
Certain vaccines are required 6 weeks before departure, so schedule an appointment with your health care provider to discuss any travel plans and any precautions you should take.
Also, ask your physician to write down any medical problem(s) that you have - and how they should be treated.
If you have pacemaker, steel plates, total joint or any condition that airport security needs to be aware of, have your physician provide you with the appropriate documentation. This should help you avoid unnecessary hassle or delays with airport security.
Visit the CDC travel site (
www.cdc.gov/travel/) for the latest updates and information.
Likely you have seen some variant or another of this article "
Helping the Elderly Keep Their Driving Skills" talking about helping seniors keep their mind sharp. Whole companies have cropped up like the one mentioned in this article, Posit Science, around the idea computers and software can help.
Certainly games like these are interesting and often fun, but their claims are largely unproven. Comments like the brain is "the most important muscle in the body" is, at best, metaphorical. The brain is, of course, nerve tissue not muscle tissue. "Exercising" the brain has little impact on senior memory loss brought on by Alzheimer's or other serious forms of dementia.
Driving is one of the big safety issues with seniors and for those people who are not facing serious cognitive decline, they may find these games fun and somewhat beneficial. Of course, physical limitations such as immobility are not impacted. At a minimum, I would expect some gains in driving skill just from the heightened awareness. Likely most of us could gain from that lesson.
See more on Posit at
http://www.positscience.com/.
We all hear day in and day out how beneficial exercise is to our overall health. But what about for older adults? Is it beneficial for them too? The answer is ABSOLUTELY! Exercise is one of the healthiest things you can do for yourself, young AND old. Staying active and exercising regulary can prevent or delay many disabilties and diseases. This is one healthy aging topic that keeps getting discussed within the health care world. Some older adults are afraid that exercise will be too strenuous or that physical activity will harm them. Older adults actually hurt their health by not exercising. Before beginning any exercise program, it is important to discuss the details with your physician and especially if you begin a program and you notice any symptoms or changes that were not there before.
So, what are some examples of exercises for older adults?
Strengthening Exercise: Build muscles as well as increase metabolism
Balance Exercise: Build leg muscles and prevent falls
Stretching Exercise: Gives you more freedom of movement to do the things you like to do
Endurance Exercise: Any activity such as walking, jogging, swimming, raking, which all increase your heart rate
Taking your pet for a walk in the neighborhood or parking further from the grocery store are just a few of the examples to incorporate in your daily routine. Increasing your physical activity for 30 days can be significant to your health.
Happy Exercising!
Source: National Institute on Aging
Last week I had the opportunity to present a paper at the Human-Computer Interaction International Conference. This was the 13th occurrence of the conference and the event was well attended by key researchers and companies concerned about how computers interact with people.
Jean Bandos co-authored the paper titled "Impacting the Continuum of Caregiving through Innovation in Informatics: Senior Care Navigation System (SCANS)". Other members of the SCANS team contributed, as well. You won't find the paper in the conference proceedings however, due to Intellectual Property concerns with the conference publisher's copyright requirements. In spite of those restrictions the paper and the presentation were well received.
What struck me about the conference on a general level was the amount of attention being given internationally to the challenges of older adults and senior health care. Conference attendees came from China, Japan, UK, Germany, India, Spain, and many other places - representing some 49 countries in all. Support for seniors living independently and dealing with challenges like immobility, well-being, and cognitive decline surfaced as a major sub-theme to the conference. World wide researchers are examining how computers can help with aging parents.
The specifics were wide ranging from topics like augmented navigation for assistive mobility devices to ontologies for adaptive user interfaces to cope with the specific needs of the elderly.
I was genuinely encouraged that so many top brains are looking for ways to improve eldercare services.
When I was a small child, a trip to my Grandmother’s house wasn’t very exciting. For my Father’s Mother was quite elderly and her home contained itchy mohair couches and an absence of toys…except for an old fire truck and Lincoln Log set, leftover from my Dad’s childhood. It meant getting dressed up and being on my best behavior. My education minded Grandmother had gone to college in the 1920’s – a very unusual thing for a woman to do at the time. She was the wife of a minister and a lovely, intelligent, caring person. However, it was intimidating when she asked probing questions such as… what are you learning in math, what books are you reading and where are you going to college…… when I was only in second grade.
However, I do have some favorite memories about going to visit Grandma K. She had these great pictures of my Dad and it was fun to see him as a child, as a member of his high school basketball team and later in a Navy uniform. The other highlight was the Humpty Dumpty teapot. The teapot was made in two pieces – the bottom section was a yellow brick wall and the top was a yellow, egg shaped Humpty Dumpty, painted with gold features. It was a thrill when this was taken out of the china cabinet and used when my Grandmother served tea. It was very, very special (I don’t think we were allowed to touch it) and it fascinated me. Chocolate covered graham crackers and pastel bridge mints were also part of every tea and to this day I think of my Grandmother when I come across these treats.
After my Grandmother passed away, my Mother and Father inherited the Humpty Dumpty teapot. It followed our family through a multitude of moves and always found a special place in our home. Today, due to space constraints, it sits atop my Mother’s refrigerator in her Assisted Living apartment.
On Monday, I took my Mother out to lunch. While walking from the car back to her apartment, she became short of breath and we stopped to rest. As she went to sit in the chair, she fell and although I had her arm…I couldn’t prevent the fall. Thankfully, she was okay, but it was another sign that her mobility has decreased greatly in the past few months.
As we reentered her apartment, I went to the fridge to get her a cold drink, while she rested in the den. I looked up and there was Humpty Dumpty looking down at me. I had a fleeting thought that my Mother had become Humpty Dumpty, as falls were becoming an increasing part of her life. I said a quick prayer that she wouldn’t experience a disastrous fall and gave the Humpty Dumpty teapot explicit instructions to watch over her… just as he has watched over our family for generations.
As a caregiver, the responsibility for decisions regarding your parent’s care falls to you. Often you wish you could discuss the options, choices and next steps with your parent, just as you discussed so many choices in the past…where to go to college, where to have your wedding reception, which neighborhood to select. But parents with Alzheimer’s cannot help with current decisions as their ability to reason, compare and choose has been ravaged by the disease. Sadly, dementia robs them of their ability to chart their own course.
So, what should caregivers do when faced with a variety of paths – how do you know how to choose what is best for your parent? How do you know when a parent’s living environment is no longer safe? How do you know when a parent needs more assistance?
Here are a few suggestions:
- Pay attention to your parent – they may be confused, but they will give you clues when things aren’t going well. They may seem more agitated, confused or disoriented. Their routine may change and a situation that has worked well in the past, now poses problems. For example, they may no longer want to eat dinner because they either can’t remember where the Assisted Living Dining Room is located, or they are afraid to leave their apartment.
- Check in with their caregivers – have other family members, a companion, assisted living staff or adult day care workers noticed a change in your parent? Are they concerned?
- Take your parent in for a check-up – have the Doctor evaluate your parent and review their medications and mental and physical health.
- Review your parent’s ability to complete Activities of Daily Living – things like bathing, dressing, continence, mobility, feeding. Has there been a change in their ability to do these things?
- Engage a Geriatric Care Manager – have them conduct an independent assessment to provide an unbiased view of the situation.
Once you have gathered the above information, spend time thinking and talking to others you trust about the findings. Choose the next step based on what you think is best for your parent at this moment in time. For instance, if you determine that they need more assistance, think about the pros and cons of providing additional assistance in their current environment vs. moving them to a new environment such as a Memory Care Unit. There is no “right” decision. Take comfort in the fact that you have been both thorough and thoughtful when you made the decision. Always remember that your parent is better off when you address concerns as they arise vs. postponing decisions until a crisis arises.
It is a myth that older adults need more sleep than younger adults. In reality, older adults need about the same amount of sleep as everybody else – between 7-9 hours each night. Typically, many go to bed earlier and wake up earlier than when they were younger. This could be due to the fact that their bodies are in a pattern of getting up early daily to go to work, etc. It is true that elders experience less “efficient” sleep, meaning they spend less time in the deeper stages of restorative sleep and feel less rested when they wake up. Hence, many older adults fall into a pattern of taking naps during the day. It is essential to get a good nights sleep every night as a part of healthy aging. Sleeping well will help you feel rested the next day along with being able to concentrate better. If you do find yourself not sleeping well, here are some tips to consider:
1. Follow a regular sleep schedule – Go to bed and get up at the same time each day – even on the weekends.
2. About 30 minutes before going to bed, do things to relax your body (read a book, take a bath, watch TV, listen to music)
3. Have a comfortable pillow
4. Exercise regularly but not within 3 hours of when you plan to go to sleep.
5. Do not have caffeine late in the day since it is a stimulant and can keep you awake at night.
6. Drink less fluids in the evening. Getting up throughout the night to use the bathroom breaks up your sleep.
7. Make an effort to get outside everyday to get some sunshine.
If you still feel tired and are not sleeping well it is important to see your doctor about this so you can get a good night’s sleep without having to count sheep.
My Mother has declined precipitously during the past six weeks. We’ve watched helplessly as her confusion increased, her mobility worsened and her sense of time and place evaporated. Yet, a routine Doctor’s appointment and lab work did not reveal any treatable physical changes.
Yet, everyone around her noticed the decline – my sister, the companion, her Health Care Manager (a geriatric care manager from My Health Care Manager) and the nurses at the Assisted Living facility. We were saddened to see my Mother struggle with this new stage of life and worked together to offer additional support. We all ASSUMED that this was the natural progression of the dementia.
Our Health Care Manager was puzzled by what my Mother was experiencing. She had worked with many, many seniors and felt that my Mother’s cognitive decline did not fit the typical pattern. She felt that the changes my Mother started to experience happened overnight vs. being a gradual process. It bothered her, so she sent a letter to my Mother’s physician and explained her concerns. This led to a conversation between my Mother’s Doctor and the Health Care Manager. As they reviewed my Mother’s case, a light bulb went off. My Mother had a medication change in December….was it possible that the med change was negatively affecting her current physical and mental state? Was it possible that the changes we’d noticed were not necessarily caused by the next stage of the dementia, but a medicine interaction?
Thanks to the Health Care Manager’s detective work and follow up with the health care provider, we’ve stopped the new medicine that was added to my Mother’s care plan in December. We have our fingers crossed that we will see a difference and that some of the decline will be reversed. It is possible that there are other causes – a series of small strokes, for example. But for now, we are addressing what the Doctor thinks is the most likely cause.
We’ve learned a good lesson. Never assume that even small changes are “normal” …question everything! And seek professional help whenever necessary.
Many older adults experience some type of persistent pain. When this pain is left unaddressed, it can affect an older adult’s quality of life and may lead to decreased mobility, decreased social interaction, and depression. Yet, it has been reported by the American Medical Association (AMA) that 25% to 50% of community-dwelling seniors have pain that interferes with their ability to deal with daily functions, and 59 - 80% of nursing home residents experience persistent pain (AMA: Pain Management: Assessing and Treating Pain in Older Adults, 2005).
Why is pain not addressed adequately? Many older adults are reluctant to report pain fearing additional tests and/or bills that they cannot pay. Also, they want to be seen as "good patients" or do not want to waste the health care professional's time with complaints about pain.
For caregivers helping their aging loved ones, it is important to help the older adult understand that they need to report their pain and deserve to have their pain controlled. One way for older adults to communicate with physicians is to keep a pain journal and track the following: When they experience pain; how long it lasts; whether it is a burning pain, a stabbing pain, or an aching pain; whether it happens with movement; what makes the pain better or worse; and what activities, if any, the pain keeps the older adult from participating in.
For more information, you can contact the
National Pain Foundation or the
American Pain Society.
When our weather changes, everyone is worried about the “winter dangers” such as broken bones from falls on ice (especially for older adults with mobility issues) or breathing problems caused by cold air, but cold weather is very risky for older people. The winter chill can lower the temperature inside the body and that can be deadly if not treated quickly. A dropped body temperature, hypothermia, can be caused by staying in a cool place. The normal body temperature is 96° F and it only takes a couple of degrees below the body’s normal to be dangerous such as causing an irregular heartbeat leading to heart problems and death.
It is very important for a senior to know his/her surroundings and prepare for the winter months. Changes in the older adult that accompany aging make it harder for them to know when they are getting cold. It is also harder for the body to warm itself. So it is very important for older adults to pay attention to the weather and how cold it is going to get.
Some general safety recommendations from the American Geriatric Society are:
- Stay indoors when it's very cold outside, especially if it's also very windy; and keep indoor temperatures at about 65 degrees or above
- If you have to go outside, don't stay out in the cold or the wind for very long
- Wear two or three thinner layers of loose-fitting clothing. (They are warmer than a single layer of thick clothing.) Always wear: a hat, gloves or mittens (mittens are warmer), a coat and boots, a scarf to cover your mouth and nose and protect your lungs from very cold air
- Stay dry; wet clothing chills your body quickly
- Go indoors if you start shivering- it's a warning sign that you're losing body heat.
- Know the warning signs of hypothermia: lots of shivering; cold skin that is pale or ashy; feeling very tired, confused and sleepy; feeling weak; problems walking; slowed breathing or heart rate. *Note: Don't rely on shivering alone as a warning sign, since older people tend to shiver less -and some, not at all-as their body temperature drops. Call 911 if you think you or someone else has hypothermia.
For safety reasons, remember: stay warm, keep your thermostat set above 65, and have a plan if you lose power.
**The following post is from my guest blogger, Natalie Langley, MSW. She is a Geriatric Care Research Analyst for SCANS (for more on SCANS, please see Eric Tinsley's blog by clicking here).**
Brrr, its cold outside, what can we do?
The winter months are often a barrier when it comes to being able to go outside and enjoy the weather. For seniors, this can restrict the ability to go outdoors for exercise and entertainment. Caregivers may be struggling to find activities for their loved ones to keep their spirits high during the winter months and avoid isolation. Below are some helpful ideas to help keep your aging loved one engaged.
- Reminisce with the person. Take out vacation, family, or wedding photo albums, and share memories
- Watch classic movies
- Play games or cards
- Invite friends/family over for tea and snacks
- Visit the library
- Have the health care provider recommend simple exercises for your loved one, which could help improve balance and mobility
- Attend a musical/play
- If arts and crafts are interests, go to the craft store and start a project (sew a blanket, paint a picture)
- Play CDs of all the person’s favorite songs
Driving is a key issue when it comes to the safety of older adults and the safety of others. A news release from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (www.iihs.org) focuses on older adults. As the population ages, 
there are more seniors on the road each year; however, from 1997-2006, the number of senior drivers killed in crashes decreased. During this time period, the number of seniors involved in fatal crashes also decreased. Many older adults report limiting their driving as they experience declines in memory, vision, mobility, and health, which may be a factor in the study findings. For more information, the full release can be found on the IIHS website at http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr121608.html.
Many factors can affect an older person's ability to drive including loss of vision, loss of mobility, slowed reaction times, and cognitive decline. It's important that caregivers monitor their aging loved one's ability to drive and address any concerns sooner rather than later. You may want to speak to your loved one's doctor, or even have your loved one complete a driving assessment. A geriatric care manager can help you address difficult issues like taking away the keys, and also help you identify alternative means of transportation in the area. For more about My Health Care Manager's services, please visit our website.
The next post will contain safety tips for seniors driving in winter weather conditions, so be sure to check the blog again soon.
I would like to talk about scams on the elderly. I am a board certified elder law attorney and am supposed to know something about the elderly and their problems. However, the susceptibility of the elderly to scams is something that greatly puzzles me and I do not have an answer for it. I just cannot understand the mechanism which makes smart people (who would never fall for a scam when they were younger) fall for the same scam when they are older. I remember a case last year in which the son of an elderly woman brought in 3 grocery bags full of scam mail his mother was answering. She had probably wasted about $20,000 on lotteries, sweepstakes, and con mail.
Right now on my desk are three files representing clients I have dealt with for a long period of time. I will call them Clients A, B and C. A was an executive of a company and had to be financially sophisticated to hold that job. He came to me a month ago with a letter saying he had won $1,000,000 but needed to send in a processing and handling fee to secure his winnings. He wanted me to authenticate his winnings. When I told him it was a scam, he seemed disappointed but said he valued my opinion. In his younger years, he would have thrown the letter in the waste basket. In his older years, he took it to his attorney hoping it was something. Why did age make him more vulnerable?
Client B was not an executive type but a blue collar worker. He was always very handy with everything around the house. He saved a lot of money by doing many things for himself. He once showed me a lake cottage he had built himself. I know he has saved several hundred thousand dollars - some of which I think is now at risk. His son says he has been answering scam mail and sending checks to various people to secure his winnings. He brought me an official looking letter saying he was very close to winning a large jackpot. I told him it was a scam but I don't think he believed me. The con is always the same. Tell someone they have won something and ask for some money back to secure it.
Client C, an elderly lonely gentleman, is about to be taken advantage of by a woman, who promises him companionship. In return, he will make her financially comfortable. He came to me for some legal documents regarding the new relationship. After I figured out what was going on, I respectfully declined to do the work. I said I just did not want to see him get involved and would not aid him. Again, I asked myself why his judgment had changed. Was it just being lonely or was the same thing at work that makes the elderly so vulnerable to sweepstakes?
I don't know but I sure have a ring side seat in watching it happen.
Eric Tinsley
Alan Stanford 
Jean Bandos
Karen Kelsey
Natalie Crohn
George Slater
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