Frankenmuth, Michigan Happy Thanksgiving

This is my last week of holidays and it has been superb. Life is all about balance. I will continue with talks about Parkinson next week. I am in too much the holiday spirit. I spent some time in a Christmas town and I am certain to return. I didn't really feel like I was in the States, and I was thinking about that. I do love the States and grew up watching mainly American shows, though since, our own movies are more sophisticated, I watch them as well as a few British movies such as Fr Brown and Agatha Christie's shows. That is the limit of British. I was surprised of the amount of Canadians wanting to shop and aside from a few purchases at the Disney Store at the Michigan Outlet, I passed. Too much was made in China. I wanted to buy American and was disappointed when I brought my Disney Store items home and found that to be from China as well. The States has grown up stuff at Disney while Canada focuses on kids. Imagine that? The pocket calender I bought and will have as a keepsake is made in Korea, but it will remind me of the States with pictures of the National Parks. Is there anything made in Canada and the US anymore? We may suffer from this in the future. Let us not forget that China is a communist country with a sophisticated IA surveillance to monitor its people. I enjoy my freedom too much to buy freely from them. Have you ever tried to stop? I would like to travel throughout the States and Eastern Canada. There is so much to see and do. As you know I have commitments now which keep me grounded. I am not able to leave for too long, but there is travel in North American in the horizon. I do recommend going to Frankenmuth. I found myself up early at the Drury Hotel which is a pet friendly hotel. It met my needs. While having breakfast and listening to everyone talk about their dogs, I decided to speak out that I have two cats. Talk about total silence. One man was travelling with his four dogs. I felt like the only cat surrounded by dogs. It was rather amusing. It was nice walking through a town and at night the lights just sprinkle throughout the streets. Anyhow, I am now home, but fun is not over. I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. Next week I should be back to work. Talk then. Thank you so much for reading my blogs.

Robotic Pets Are Helping Dementia Patients (HBO)

Parkinson Disease - Research regarding caregivers

Last week I informed you that today I would record my notes for you regarding Rabbi, Dr Rena Arsinoff’s research. Her thesis was on Palliative Care. Her interest is taking Palliative and using it for chronic care. She affirmed that Parkinson Disease is chronic, progressive and degenerative, a neurological disease. Patients have tremors, though not all, rigidity and postural instability. There are many physical symptoms, emotional dysfunctions, sleep problems and falls. As the disease progresses, many experience psychiatric conditions and neuropathic pain. Patients have decreased dopamine. Synthetic dopamine is the drug of choice. There are five stages of the disease. Palliative Care is about living and not dying. There is little research mutuality or Parkinson with spouses. Mutuality is the quality of the relationship. With increasing commitment, a marital relationship shifts. Couple identity changes if caregiving becomes the predominant of the relationship. Research is needed on the lived experiences of changes in relationships, expression of feelings and mutuality in advanced stages of Parkinson. Research on caregiving is lacking and needed. Dr Arsinoff described how she conducted her qualitative research. You may look up my previous blogs where I explain the different types of research and how it is conducted. Dr Arsinoff had what I consider a small sample of seven care giving wives and five husbands. She was attempting to have an equal amount of men and women caregivers which is why the sample is small. The average age of the caregiver spouses is 75 years old. All are married and retired. The Spatiality Themes: Caregivers said: home is no longer the sanctuary it once was. You may leave your partner alone and find him on the floor. Where can we go? Motorized transportation for the patient - one caregiver said Tim Horton’s has a small washroom and therefore not able to use it so goes to the man’s washroom. (Study conducted in England). Dreams for travel has been dashed. Feels like a baby sitter. Feeling trapped at home. “I am in prison without bars.” One man said he feels guilty leaving his wife alone to go out and enjoy himself, so he doesn’t. One woman will not go on the balcony because she fears being pushed, due to cognitive diminishment. Partner has hit her or pushed her. Temporality Themes: Before I knew he was a kind person who helped people and me. After advance Parkinson, he is no longer the same. Now we look like a couple of recluses but that is not who we are. I just can’t do it anymore. Negative self regard over time. I’m more short tempered. Sometimes I feel dissatisfied. Most time is spent together now. “I don’t have time to be me.” One woman said, I am old now, I don’t know when I’ll become sick. Corporeality Themes: My body is falling apart. I’m also aging. Just wears you down after awhile…I will be cancer free in….. Hearing - it is more silent. One man caregiver said that the loss of hearing his wife’s voice was worse than the loss of sex. Smell - he pees. Touch - Sometimes five times a night, I must take her out of bed, like a potato bag. - That’s the only touch. Relationality - Challenge of finding enjoyment in each other. His sense of humour is pretty well shot. - Fun is a bit of a stretch. I have a husband but there is no one there. I feel the partner, the intellectual mental partner is not there. One man said, I kiss her sometimes but it is like kissing a baby. Love - “Well I get nothing (sexually) from him - a kiss maybe. One woman said it is hard getting a card because nothing expresses how she feels. One man said, “She’s my life.” It’s about what you are together. There is a loss of identity as a couple. One man said that Parkinson affects everything. (Hodgson et.al. 2004, Parkinson Disease is a couple disease). Sadness is common especially when cognitive changes occur. Care givers often feel ignored. To be continued next week………. Any possible errors in my notes, I claim as mine and not as those of the speaker.

Catch up - Bringing you up todate

It is a good thing that I took a break from work because boy have I been busy. Last week I signed and sold books at York University and handed out the rest of the chocolates from Hallowe'en. I kept the chips and cheesies, only because the boxes were too big. I had less than half of who usually come during Hallowe'en because of the weather. Those who did come were soooooooo cute. I had little police come, little swat teams come etc.....I thanked them for making me feel safe. I also went to a funeral of another friend who was such a fighter but could not defeat cancer a second time. I do hope they find a cure. We are so advanced in the medical field, yet we have far to go. Money is always needed for research and I do hope that can increase. I am also expecting someone to have a baby. That is the cycle of life. I attended another conference and have one more to go. I also wrote more of my fourth book and was getting a good flow but had to stop to work on my documentation for the college. I did that, and missed reporting a lot of the education because it was so tedious. I only reported the lectures rather than all of my readings and video watching etc.....That was sufficient to meet my minimum requirements. I am going to ask if there is a way to document continuing education on line directly rather than on my own lap top. If there is a way to manage time more appropriately I am all for it and for suggesting it (KISS). As my old prof used to say and now I repeat to him, work smart and not hard. I still have one ethics workshop to attend, a mini vacation to enjoy and to catch up on housekeeping paperwork and housekeeping in general. I still have to hang up all my tree decorations and I am waiting for a nice day to put up the lights outside. In my last four hours of professional education, I heard two speakers and have decided that I won't report both to you. What I will tell you about is the research report from Rabbi Dr Rena Arshinoff "Experiences of Mutuaality in the Spousal Relationship in Advanced Parkinson's Disease from the perspective of the Caregiving Partner. After the day, I called up my old prof and we went out to dinner to discuss the events of the day. My education simply continued during dinner. That is all for now. Have a great weekend. Though I am not seeing clients this month, I am taking appointments for December.

For Love of Country - Military Policewoman

I will be at York University, Vari Hall, showcasing, selling and signing my books, from about 0900 to 3:00 pm, Tuesday 12 Nov 19. Why not stop by and say hello. If you wish to buy a copy on line go to www.silvaredigonda.com “Silva, upon learning of your pending retirement from the Canadian Forces I had to stop and reflect at how old I am getting, since our days together in Germany. I remember many of the firsts within the trade which you were involved in: One of the first women in the Military Police, one of the first female Military Police in Europe and one of the first female Military Police with the Multinational Forces and Observers. Having survived Toronto for so long, I have no doubt that you will do well in retirement. MWO J. Williams The first in Europe… the first in the Middle East… not the first Military Policewoman… . We had been in for about a year already. Oh, Jim. You wanted to come up for a weekend and I was so busy with things to do; I must remember to call you. Bill did not seem to tire from reading the messages. I was sure that people would soon become bored. I had attended so many functions throughout the years. It does not seem that it has been almost twenty years ago that I met you. Upon receiving your retirement message, it gave me a reminder that we are growing older and eventually we all will have to make the inevitable decisions. While I sit and ponder what I should say, I reflect back on QL3 and QL5 and think of the good laughs and times we had during those days starting out, and of the different characters and personalities of the course instructors. There are some fond memories. I will not make an attempt at describing any embarrassing anecdotes and will just say that I personally congratulate you on your retirement and wish you prosperity, health and happiness for the future. ” Excerpt From: Silva Redigonda. “For love of country : military policewoman.” iBooks. Order on line today at www.silvaredigonda.com

CAMFT/ACTCF-AGM/AGA 2019

CAMFT/ACTCF-AGM/AGA 2019

Badge of Life Canada

Since I last wrote to you, I have attended two seminars/workshops, both having to do with Trauma. I shall talk a bit about both so I don’t fall behind. Next month I shall be attending more meetings, seminars and taking mini vacations etc……I will not be seeing clients but will be taking appointments beginning 2 Dec. I will also be doing paperwork required for my own college. I will be available all month except Sundays and holidays. Next year I shall take December off. I attended the Badge of Life, Best Practice For Organizational Wellness. There were interesting speakers from Homewood, from Australia, and from Police and Firefighters. I do encourage any veterans, and EMS suffering from PTSD to consider contacting them. I had attended a function two years ago but had to miss last year due to conflicting schedules. I usually book whatever conference I see first of interest, pay for it and then even though something more interesting comes up, I have already committed myself and my money. They did have a gala which I did not attend. There was another party I missed as well. This function was held in Woodbridge, bordering Etobicoke. The food was amazing though they didn’t have a vegetarian platter of sandwiches - my loss. The rice cheese balls were the best I ever tasted. It was held at The Jewel Event Centre, which I won’t forget. They certainly took care of our palate. I find that as soon as I venture from Toronto, vegetarians are forgotten, although that is rapidly changing. I had the honour of speaking to a Metis elder who educated me on some of my ignorance. I listened to stories from EMS suffering from Trauma which I won’t share because it is not my place to do so. It is their stories and for them to share with whom they wish. I listened to the psychologists speaking of their own stories and research. There is nothing really new that I haven’t shared with you. I was glad to learn that they too are using brain stimulation as those for the American Army though it seems slightly different. My own studies and text books were mostly from the Americans and when I asked why, it was simply not being written by Canadians. That is changing and I am just completing reading 600 pages of a text book regarding Personality Research Theory, which was written by Gordon Flett from York University. They have an excellent Psychology program and I don’t say that because that is where I earned by degree. I say it because it impressed Uof T Psychology department when I went to inquire. I ended up taking a Masters in Ministry and Spirituality at UofT simply because they called me first and accepted me immediately after my interview. I had actually been waiting for a response from Ryerson, psychology department as well. Snooze and you lose. Life is a book of knowledge. So, I want to break down some of the support Badge of Life Offers, incase anyone is interested. I know that there are veterans and EMS reading my Blog. If you feel you can benefit from any of these resources don’t hesitate to contact them. Badge of Life is led by Toronto Police veterans. I am always amazed and pleased how many people try to help their own and try to incorporate volunteer programs for those who have worn the same boots. I would also encourage other EMS persons who are now therapists to consider attending one of their meetings. I still find it routine that therapists, psychologists, etc…..though interested in helping EMS still do not fully comprehend the culture. I have talked about that before so won’t get further into it. Badge of life does have a web site: badgeoflifecanada.org. They offer weekend and six day programs according to their brochure for “first responders dealing with moral injury and operational stress injuries.” There is H.E.L.P Equine for Military, Police, Fire, Corrections-EMS-911 dispatcher. “Setting the standard for Equine-Assisted Psychotherapy and personal development for Military, First Responder and their families affected by PTSD and operational stress injuries. This is located in the country setting. If interested you may look up their web site at www.HELP-PTSD.com. “Badge of Life is a peer-led charitable volunteer organization committed to supporting police and corrections personnel who are dealing with psychological injuries diagnosed from service.” It was a full day for me listening all day and networking. Hallowe’en is coming up and so I have been taping horror movies. I am not into the slashing and dashing that is so popular nowadays. I do make exceptions for Stephen King. There is one of his movies coming out that I want to see next month. Anyhow, I was watching “Poltergeist” night and was pleasantly alone with one of my pets sitting on my lap. I was stretching out and sometimes I have both pets stretching out on my lap and legs as well. I am telling you this story because for the next work shop I used this as an example of my igniting my sympathetic nervous system. I am watching the movie and my sensories are increasing I am on alert, I then feel someone touching me on my left shoulder from behind and I jump. Do I flee, do I fight, do I freeze? It was my male pet placing his paw on my left shoulder, ready to climb over me. I was so fixed on the movie that I never noticed him. I didn’t think he had such a big paw. We all jump and the two ran out of the room. So, I begin laughing and of course they come back in once they know that they are safe. Safety is paramount. They had me laughing, a nice flow of recovery. So in this benign situation, I used it to explain the embodying of the practice of befriending our nervous system. This seminar was very technical with terminology which I won’t bore you with. I am a firm believer in KISS. I had a math teacher who treated us as if we could not figure out 1+1. I got my highest grade in high school that year. She was an author of teaching math books. She was actually amazing. In this seminar we talked about Complex Developmental Trauma in therapeutic work with clients, working with somatic practices and therapeutic interventions. It was a fun day and I picked up some tid bits which I can use in group therapy to encourage a safe place or with private clients suffering trauma. There was also some handouts to assess trauma. I also got to catch up with my previous supervisor and mentor, what an amazing man. Since there were all therapists in the room and we were sharing therapeutic techniques, I will use it for my practice. So, I hope some of this has been interesting. I don’t only work with trauma. I do not specialize. I work with everyone from what ever they are suffering from, it may be a specific problem such as problems with a co-worker, having anger issues, suffering from grief, shame etc…..I work with couples who want to work on their relationships. I won’t work with a couple if one is having an affair and won’t give him or her up. This is only because I don’t think you are serious about working on your own relationship with your partner. I also stop seeing couples if there are ulterior motives, aside from working on their relationships. I work with families as well. One thing I found interesting at the latter workshop is about EMTR. I don’t use that practice. I was talking to one young therapist at the Badge of Life who informed me that she uses it and has found it to be most effective. At the work shop where the psychotherapist has trained only in trauma and all clients suffer from trauma, said that one of her clients who had EMTR came to see her. She could not come out from that experience and it took a while. I found that very interesting. I am not saying that to discourage anyone but to alert you if you have had the same experience. You can come out of it with treatment if required. I had almost considered taking a course about that and have changed my mind. What I do mostly is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy. There are other therapies I use depending on the client. We are all different and what will work for one, will not on another. I focus on whatever research is happening and is effective. That provides so much promise and hope for people who are suffering. Have a nice week. I hope some references will be useful for you. Happy Hallowe’en. Keep safe. Who is that behind you? What do you think? Coffee break.