Are You Prepared for Long Term Care?

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Genworth. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.

Genworth #LetsTalk Tour

Do you have a long term care plan in place? With all of the health issues that our family has endured this past year, we’ve started talking more about aging and the future. Especially with my parents getting older, it’s a topic that I would like to discuss more with them. They’ve told me their plans for when they die, but we’ve never really touched on the topic of long term care as they grow older.

Seeing what the annual care costs on the Let’s Talk site has really opened my eyes. For example, the 2014 Illinois state median annual cost of a private room in a nursing home is $74,463, with the cost continually increasing. Our plan is to help take care of my parents and my in-laws as they age, but I know that my husband and I are not in a position financially to take on that type of annual expense when the time comes. Opening up the discussion will help us all transition into those years by having a plan of action.

Some helpful tools that are on the Let’s Talk website that can help in the discussion and planning are:

How to start the talk about long term care

Planning for long term care

Cost of care map

As a parent, I know that this topic is something my husband and I are going to discuss so we can make sure that when the time comes, our children will know how our long term care will be paid and what type of long term care we would like for us. It’s not an easy topic to think about, but ever since Jim’s stroke last year, we’ve been discussing these types of things more. The one thing we both agree on is that it helps to have a plan of action in place. Not only is it important for the individual, it’s also important for the loved ones around them.

The Genworth Let’s Talk Tour stopped at the Taste of Chicago earlier this month and here’s some highlights from the event:

The Genworth Let’s Talk Tour has a few more stops coming up, so if you are in these areas, be sure to stop by and see them for more information:

August 30-September 1: Los Angeles, CA

September 6-7: San Francisco, CA

October 2-5: Dallas, TX

Let us know how you are managing your long term care plans.

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5 Warning Signs of a Stroke

[tweetherder]Find out what are the 5 warning signs of a #stroke. @natlstrokeassoc[/tweetherder]

Anniversary Photo

This photo above was taken on our wedding anniversary this year. It was not how we envisioned spending our anniversary. Jim had a stroke while we were in Florida. The smiles you see on our faces is the fact that we are just grateful that he is still alive and with us today. To say that it took us by surprise and shocked us is an understatement, but the fact that we were able to get him help quickly aided in his recovery process.

While we were at his neurologist’s office, I picked up a bookmark from the National Stroke Association that listed 5 warning signs and symptoms of a stroke. I’d like to share these with you so in case you ever notice these signs and symptoms in someone, you should get them help immediately. What we learned from our experience is that every minute counts when someone has a stroke because there are certain medications that can be administered to possibly lessen the effects of a stroke, but there is only a small window of time after the stroke occurs that it can be administered.

The 5 warning signs and symptoms of a stroke are:
– Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm or leg, especially on one side of the body
– Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
– Sudden trouble seeing in one or both eyes
– Sudden trouble walking, dizziness, loss of balance or coordination
– Sudden sever headache with no known cause

On the bookmark was also this quick way to remember:
F = face numbness or weakness especially one side
A = arm numbness or weakness especially one side of body
S = speech slurred or difficulty speaking or understanding
T = time to call 911

How to reduce your risk of a stroke:
– Control your blood pressure
– Find out if you have an irregular heartbeat known as atrial fibrillation (AF)
– Control diabetes
– If you smoke, stop
– Control cholesterol
– Drink alcohol only in moderation
– Enjoy a lower sodium, lower fat diet
– Ask your doctor about stroke

Jim is currently going through rehabilitation therapy to help him regain more function on the side of his body that was affected the most. He spends 6 hours a day, 5 days a week undergoing therapy and he’s working hard at it. We were able to get him the help he needed quickly enough so the medicine to lessen the effects of the stroke was administered to him. We hope that by sharing this with you that we can prevent another family from having to go through this life-changing event.

Visit the National Stroke Association’s website, Facebook page, and Twitter page to find out more information and resources available.

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