15 Things for 2015

In The Market For A Pick-Up Truck? How To Decide Which One To Buy

Chevrolet Pick-up Truck photo courtesy of Reedman Toll Truck Supercenter

Truck Basics

A basic pick-up truck can handle doing everyday jobs around the house for you, such as taking brush and trash to the landfill; hauling larger objects like a chest freezer home from the store; or taking camping equipment to the woods for a weekend holiday. A Chevrolet Canyon or a Dodge Ram 1500 would be perfect for these tasks.

How Much Can A Pick-up Truck Haul or Tow?

For a heavier job, you need a beefier, though. One of the best ways to figure out how much weight a truck can haul or tow is to look in the owner’s manual. You need to know for sure if that truck can handle the load before you buy. An RV dealer will tell you that your truck can pull a trailer or a fifth wheel because he wants to make a sale, but be sure you check the owner’s manual first just to be safe. You don’t want to find out while driving down the highway that your truck can’t pull 6,000 pounds. It won’t just damage the transmission—it is dangerous to haul too heavy of a load.

Passenger Comfort

Pick-up trucks also vary on how many passengers they can handle. A truck with a regular cab can only accommodate two or three people at most. A Crew Cab, however, can seat six people comfortably. Then you have to decide if you need a Crew Cab with two doors or one with four doors.

Type and Size of Transmission

Other things to consider when buying a pick-up truck are what type of transmission, manual or automatic; gear ratios; whether or not you want to include four wheel drive; and whether to include a towing package. When you have completed your purchase, though, if you have taken time to consider all the different options available, you will be happy knowing your new truck can handle the job you bought it to do.

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Making Your Care Wishes Known: Taking the Time to Plan

Karen · 9 Comments

This post is sponsored by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization

“According to a national survey by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, more than 90 percent of people think it’s important to talk about their loved ones’ and their own wishes for end-of-life care, but fewer than 30 percent of people have actually had the conversation. “

This subject couldn’t have crossed my desk at more opportune time. I was reading my email on my phone while I was sitting at the hospital where my mother-in-law lay dying of kidney failure. I know we had discussed this issue several times in the past, she and I, both in private conversations and in talks with other family members present. The problem we had at this precise moment, though, is that nothing had been written down on paper.

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When the doctor came in and talked with my brother-in-law, my husband, my daughter, and me, the question came up as to why they were still doing tests, still drawing blood, still offering medications, when we had been told that there was nothing that could help her at this point. The doctor’s answer stunned me: “She has not told us that she does not wish to be resuscitated. As long as there is no notation on her medical records, we HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING we can to keep her alive.” Mom told the doctor right then that she did NOT want any more medications, did NOT want to be resuscitated, and did NOT want to prolong the inevitable.

If you and or your family members are included in the many people who simply haven’t gotten around to talking about what your wishes are for your care at the end of your life, now is the time to start the conversation. Today. Or the next time you are together. Taking the necessary steps to crystallize what you and they want and formalizing it is sometimes a hard conversation to have. Sometimes it’s because people don’t know how to start the conversation with their loved ones.

It doesn’t have to be that hard. It can be made easier if you start the conversation by talking about what YOU want in the event you are hospitalized with a life threatening or terminal illness, and couldn’t verbalize what you wanted to happen to you. Here are some simple steps, suggested by James Mittelberger, M.D., Director and Chief Medical Officer, Optum Center for Palliative and Supportive Care:

Start with your loved ones. Honest communication can help families avoid the stress of guessing what a family member would want. You may find that you and your loved ones may see some things differently. That’s okay. It is most important that your loved ones know how you want to be treated and are willing to respect your wishes. Decide who you prefer to make decisions on your behalf in case you are unable to express your choice.

Think about what is most important to you. What are your greatest fears, hopes and goals? What do you most care about? Most people can be effectively treated for pain, but how much do you want to be at home; or avoid being on a breathing machine; or being dependent in a nursing home? How sure are you of your choices? Do you want your chosen proxy to have leeway to change your decisions? Discuss these topics with your loved ones to reach a shared understanding of your desires.

Use the resources available to get better informed and be sure to discuss your choice with your health care providers. You can find valuable resources to help you and your loved ones make decisions more manageable atwww.prepareforyourcare.org, theconversationproject.org, and agingwithdignity.org.

Make it official. Once you’ve had the conversation, it is essential to formalize your decisions by putting them in writing. Complete an advance directive. Special medical orders can be developed with your doctors to represent your care decisions for providers. Finally, assigning a health care proxy or agent identifies the person you trust to act on your behalf if you are unable to make decisions or communicate your wishes. Be sure to share your documents with your providers and your proxy, and to have copies available in case they are needed.

While it is still a difficult thing to arrange for hospice care for someone you love, it is better to know in advance that that is what they want for themselves. Take the time to start the conversation with your family, including everyone who is over the age of eighteen. End of life care is not just for the very old. You never know what is going to happen tomorrow, so get everyone’s wishes down on paper today.

Dr. James Mittelberger is the Executive Director and Chief Medical Officer of Optum’s Center for Palliative and Supportive Care. Optum’s Center for Palliative and Supportive Care brings together industry experts and Optum capabilities to lead the advancement of palliative and supportive care to ensure every patient facing serious illness lives their best possible life.

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We Joined A Gym: Silver Sneakers Makes It Free Through Medicare

Karen · Leave a Comment

Last year when we got our insurance cards in the mail from Humana, they also send us each a Silver Sneakers card. This was an unexpected perk for using Humana to provide our medicare advantage plan D coverage. The Silver Sneakers card allows the cardholder to join any gym for free that participates in the program. Fabgrandpa and I have been talking about joining a gym for several months now.

When I went to the endocrinologist last month, I discussed it with him. I told him I wanted to go so I could use the treadmill and the stationery bicycle, at least. He said it was a very good idea, and that it was better for me than trying to walk in the heat of the summer. Then, Fabgrandpa’s doctor at the VA said it was a good thing, too.

Using our Silver Sneakers cards to go to the gym!

We actually went to the gym in town and talked with them last month, and had a short tour of the facility. They have all kinds of machines, weights, and classes for exercise. But, we are mainly interested in getting moving. So, today, we went over there and actually did something for the first time.

I was able to make for 2 minutes on the treadmill, and then for 3 minutes on the bicycle. I also did about 5 repetitions with a weight thing that worked my upper arms. That was enough for the first day. I was moving, and that was what it is all about.

So, I have decided to put a little box in my sidebar, and update it every time we go to the gym. I’ll be so brave as to put my weight, and how long I made it walking, bicycling, and whatever else I do. Y’all can help me by leaving encouraging comments here, and I’ll put a permanent link to this post in the box, too. What do you do to get moving? If you are a senior, and on medicare, do you have Silver Sneakers? If you do, do you use it? Will you start?

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Just Some Miscellaneous Stuff

Karen · 6 Comments

This week has been a rough one. On Monday, I went to the doctor and found out my blood sugar was still not under control, and that I have to increase my insulin dosage. I don’t know what is going on, but I am not doing anything different than I was a year ago. Dr. Howell says my pancreas probably just gave out. Yay.$15.

A little later in the day, we had to get an exterminator to come out and treat our house for ants. Yes, ANTS. There were at least two kinds of them in here, crawling all over, swarming in the kitchen. They were not attracted to the Terro Traps we put out. Those things just sat there on the counter, making a mess.

The same guy that got rid of our yellow jackets in the wall last year came out to spray for the ants. When he got here, there were places on the kitchen counter that were just black with so many of them. He sprayed them and where they were crawling to, around the baseboards inside the house and around the outside of the house. They are gone now, but I am tellin ya’, we tried all the home remedies we told about and nothing touched them. $80.

On Tuesday, we had to go to Douglasville to take my mother to the doctor. Her appointment card said 2:15 6/23/2015. When we got there, they did not have an appointment for her in the computer. I KNOW she had one, because I was the one who made it the last time I took her. So, my 87 year old, 5 ft tall mother stood there and told them rather loudly that YES, she DID have an appointment and Dr. Desai WOULD see her because she was there already. And so he did. After we dropped Mama off at home we went to our favorite restaurant to meet up with some friends we haven’t seen in over a year. Nice.

On Wednesday, I got up about 5:00 a.m. because I was hot. I decided to take a shower to see if that would help but when I got out of the shower, I was still hot. So, I went into the hall to tweak the thermostat but it was blank. Nothing showing at all, not working. Due to the fact that it was forecast to be 96 degrees that day, we called Dwayne, the A/C repair guy as soon as we found out it wasn’t working. He couldn’t get out here until the next day, so we stayed at a motel in town.

The motel, Microtel, was reasonably priced, the beds were comfortable and clean, and the A/C was ice cold. But, the people upstairs from us obviously had a band of monkeys staying with them that jumped off the bed and ran heavily around the room until after 2:00 a.m. I didn’t get much sleep.$72.95.

Dwayne called at about 8:30 to say he was on the way to our house, so we got up and went home. It wasn’t long after we got there that he came out from under the house with a tiny fuse, like the ones that go in cars, that was blown. He had replaced it, and the A/C was working again. $69.

Thursday, we had to do some straightening up of the house, because the cleaning lady was coming. Yes, we do that. I took the sheets off the bed, laid out the clean ones for her to put on; folded laundry and put it away, and washed the few dishes that were in the sink. Fabgrandpa swept and did a couple other things that needed doing so that Reatha wouldn’t think we were complete slobs. She had scheduled us late in the day, and arrived about 5:00 p.m. $60.

While she was there cleaning the house, we went to the Mexican joint in Cedartown for dinner, then to Kroger to buy groceries. I had a bowl of chicken soup and two tacos, Fabgrandpa had a half order of fajitas. More than enough to fill us up. I can’t remember the name of the place, but the food there is really good, and almost authentic. $18.00

The grocery store was another big expense. I am determined to get back on a good healthy diet, so I bought lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and lots of fish. I’m trying out some quinoa and some cod fish. We’ll see how it goes. $167.

Today, thankfully, is Friday. I am not going anywhere today. I hope it is a quite, uneventful day. The best thing that happened all week, is that Enterprise Rental refunded the $70 we paid for 2 days car rental when we had the car worked on last month. I have no idea why, I just saw the refund in my Paypal account. Now that was a pleasant surprise.

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