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'Cremated' father spotted on TV
John Renehan has been reunited with his father, John Delaney, after spotting him on television - five years after he thought he was cremated.
Delaney went missing in 2000 and when a decomposed body matching his description was found in 2003 he was identified by a coroner. However, it has since emerged that Delaney had actually been put in a care home after being found wandering around the town with memory loss. Unable to identify himself, he was given the name "David Harrison" and placed in the care home where he stayed for eight years. His family reported him as missing but appeals failed to uncover information about his whereabouts.
The body of a man, which had similar clothes and historic wounds to Mr Delaney, was found in the grounds of Manchester Royal Infirmary in January 2003. It was identified as Mr Delaney and a funeral was held.
More than five years after the cremation service, Mr Renehan, from Didsbury, saw a television appeal about finding the family of the man in the care home, who he recognised as his father. He contacted the authorities and DNA tests confirmed their relationship.
In a statement, Greater Manchester Police said the identification mix-up was a matter for the coroner, who is no longer in the post. But a spokesperson said: "Greater Manchester Police accepts that mistakes were made and that Mr Delaney's family has been through a traumatic ordeal."
An investigation is under way to try to establish the identity of the man cremated in 2003. John Renehan has been reunited with his father, John Delaney, after spotting him on television - five years after he thought he was cr... more -
Family Man
A story about Lou Provost and his struggles with age. Lou's story is unique and inspiring.
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Heavy Duty Lynn
Lynn's Heavy Duty Towing is open 24/7, towing everything from oil rigs to beached whales. The more difficult the tow, the more eager Lynn's is to take the job. Lynn Allen Menick, owner, sacrifices his 67 year old body and family life to keep up with the rigid demands of heavy duty towing. Lynn's Heavy Duty Towing is open 24/7, towing everything from oil rigs to beached whales. The more difficult the tow, the more ea... more
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Paedophile grandfather avoids jail after blaming medication
A 65-year-old Australian grandfather escaped a jail sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of indecent treatment of children under the age of 12 because his medication for a neurological disease reduced his moral culpability.
The court heard the man had taken his clothes off while swimming with various granddaughters in their swimming pool. He also asked an 11-year-old to grab his penis. The child told police it was “disgusting” and she tried to forget about it. The man also took off his shorts when two sisters, aged 7 and 10, were swimming in the pool but they told him to put his shorts back on. In addition, the man fed fish naked and asked the seven-year-old to touch his penis “and watch it grow” but the child refused and he got dressed.
He told each of them not to tell their grandmother because she would “go crook”.
Barrister Tony Kimmins handed medical reports to the court which suggested side effects of the man’s medication resulted in hyper sexuality. He said the man’s family had immediately sought help to explain his actions after they were disclosed and had taken steps to ensure the man was never alone with the children. Judge Keith Dodds said the reports pointed to defects in the man’s inhibitions and compulsive behaviour including hyper sexuality and increased libido as a result of the drugs he must take. He said the man had an otherwise unblemished and exemplary background and, if not for exceptional circumstances, would have faced a jail sentence.
The man must now complete three years of probation under supervision. A 65-year-old Australian grandfather escaped a jail sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of indecent treatment of children u... more -
Man spends night stuck on fence
A pensioner in his 80s is recovering in hospital after spending eight hours stuck upside down on a wire fence.
Kenneth Bain was crossing a stile on open land near Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands on Tuesday night when he fell and one of his legs was caught on the top of the fence. He was discovered the following morning by a farmer.
Mr Bain was said to be in a comfortable condition in Raigmore Hospital in Inverness. A pensioner in his 80s is recovering in hospital after spending eight hours stuck upside down on a wire fence. ... more -
Boarding a plane in style
AFP. An elderly woman misunderstood instructions while checking in at Sweden's main airport and was whisked down a baggage chute after she placed herself instead of her luggage on the belt, media reported.
The 78-year-old woman, who was not named, was preparing to fly from Stockholm's Arlanda airport to Germany on Tuesday when she lay down on an unmanned baggage belt in the belief she was following check-in instructions, the Upsala Nya Tidning local daily reported on its website.
She was quickly swept off to the baggage handling centre, where staff members helped get her back on her feet.
The woman suffered no serious injury and caught her flight as planned. AFP. An elderly woman misunderstood instructions while checking in at Sweden's main airport and was whisked down a baggage chute ... more -
Woman goes down baggage chute at Swedish airport
An elderly woman misunderstood instructions while checking in at Sweden's main airport and was whisked down a baggage chute after she placed herself instead of her luggage on the belt, media reported Wednesday.
The 78-year-old woman, who was not named, was preparing to fly from Stockholm's Arlanda airport to Germany on Tuesday when she lay down on an unmanned baggage belt in the belief she was following check-in instructions, the Upsala Nya Tidning local daily reported on its website.
She was quickly swept off to the baggage handling centre, where staff members helped get her back on her feet.
The woman suffered no serious injury and caught her flight as planned. An elderly woman misunderstood instructions while checking in at Sweden's main airport and was whisked down a baggage chute after... more -
EU's ageing trend to rise sharply
The EU expects to see a big increase in pensioners in the coming decades, with only two people of working age for every person aged 65 or more by 2060.
Deaths will outnumber births in the European Union from 2015 onwards, the EU's statistical office Eurostat predicts in a new report. By 2060, the UK is likely to have the largest population in the EU - 77 million, ahead of France and Germany. Despite migration, the EU's population is set to fall from 2035 onwards.
An increase is expected in the next 27 years - from 495 million in January 2008 to 521 million in 2035 - but thereafter Eurostat predicts a gradual decline to 506 million in 2060. The ratio of pensioners to working-age people is projected to increase, from 25% today in 2008 to 53% in 2060. That translates into only two people of working age for every person aged 65 or more in 2060, compared with four to one today.
The ratio is projected to be more than 60% in the newer EU member states, including Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Romania. It is likely to be less than 45% in Denmark, the Republic of Ireland, Cyprus, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom.
Eurostat expects big differences in population growth across the EU.
The biggest population growth is expected in Cyprus (+66%), Ireland (+53%), Luxembourg (+52%), the UK (+25%) and Sweden (+18%).
The sharpest declines are expected in Bulgaria (-28%), Latvia (-26%), Lithuania (-24%), Romania (-21%) and Poland (-18%). The EU expects to see a big increase in pensioners in the coming decades, with only two people of working age for every person aged 65... more -
Caregivers: The Second Victims of Alzheimer's Disease
NEW YORK, N.Y. -- On her wedding day, all Lorraine Ruggieri could do was worry about her father and the kind of outburst his Alzheimer's disease might cause him to have next.
As they drove from the church, Joseph Ruggieri burst into a fit, furiously yelling and screaming at the limousine driver for not following his wild directions to the reception hall.
The whole ordeal practically erupted in a fistfight. Lorraine sat back in her seat, listening to the argument--half laughing, half crying--thinking to herself, "This is the beginning of caregiving. This is what it's all about." ...
Read more at the above link.
Note: This is a story posted quite a while ago on WNBC.com. However, I still think it is relevent, and would be great to share with the Current community. NEW YORK, N.Y. -- On her wedding day, all Lorraine Ruggieri could do was worry about her father and the kind of outburst his Alzheimer... more -
Elderly patients starve in UK hospitals
Elderly patients are going hungry in UK hospitals as staff fail to ensure they are fed properly.
A study carried out by Age Concern looked at 110 English and Welsh NHS trusts and found 43% did not run protected mealtimes - where non-urgent work stops to make sure patients eat. The study also found that one in three NHS Trusts had not yet introduced a so-called red tray system, where meal trays are colour-coded to indicate which patients need help with eating.
Age Concern's Patrick South said: "Tackling malnutrition should be a top priority for all NHS trusts."
He added: "Our evidence shows unacceptable inconsistencies across the country. It's shocking that many older people still find themselves trapped within a 'postcode lottery of commitment' to improve nutritional standards on hospital wards."
The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) received more than 29,000 reports of incidents concerning patient nutrition in 2007. Elderly patients are going hungry in UK hospitals as staff fail to ensure they are fed properly. ... more -
Pensioner groups demand elderly road sign change
Groups of pensioners are forming together to demand the execution of the caution sign representing them for drivers (of which I did actually always find pretty amusing, though insulting myself) that has been with us since 1981.
These annoyed pensioners are mainly annoyed with the sign due to the fact: "Very few older people are hunched over, with a walking stick. They are assuming everyone who is old looks like that, and they don't..." said Lizzy McLennan, a senior policy officer at the charity.
Anti elderly-sign pensioners, I salute you! (After all, I'm 19 and have a pretty wierd back, the people on that sign look a lot more like me!) Groups of pensioners are forming together to demand the execution of the caution sign representing them for drivers (of which I did ac... more -
Mugger Attacks 85-Year-Old Woman; Steals Cane and $900
It was a stunningly heartless crime – an 85-year-old woman brutally beaten and mugged inside a Brooklyn (U.S.) elevator.
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102-year-old gran on Facebook
And she loves it!
Ivy Bean heard careworkers at her nursing home talking about this new, fangled Facebook thing and decided she wanted in on the action. She's since created her own page and her nurses even created the group 'Oldest person on Facebook' to post videos and news about the cyber-gran.
Showing she's truly up on the times, she said “I love being online and it beats writing with a pen." Apparently she's also thinking of buying a Nintendo Wii!
“I’ve only got nine friends on the net at the moment but I’m hoping for lots more. I’m going to put some of my photos on my page.”
I think she just made a new friend. And she loves it! ... more -
Evidence-Based Tai Chi Program Prevents Falls Among Older Adults
Research translates into successful community practice to improve elder health It is not easy to translate research into practice, and a therapy that works well in the sterile research lab is not always successful in the real world. Researchers across the country are driven not only to discover new treatments but also to make sure their treatments are designed to be used successfully in a variety of community settings.
In the July issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Oregon Research Institute (ORI) senior scientist Fuzhong Li, Ph.D., describes how senior community centers in Lane County, Oregon successfully adopted an evidence-based Tai Chi program to prevent falls among older adults. Based on this success, the Oregon Department of Human Services, in partnership with 4 counties in Oregon, has now adopted the Tai Chi program as part of its efforts to disseminate evidence-based interventions to promote physical activity and reduce falls among community-living older adults.
"Our results are very important from a public health perspective," says Li. "The U.S. population is aging rapidly and falls are a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among adults age 65 and older. Falls are associated with an enormous burden to individuals, society, and to the health care system. Tai Chi, as a proven fall intervention, may have much to offer in terms of reducing the public health burden of falls and the benefits accrued for prevention."
The study was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to determine how well the exercise program translated into positive results when taught in community centers by lay people. There is wide recognition within public health that proven programs must be translated, implemented and adopted to have widespread effects. In previously-funded research, the Tai Chi program developed by Li and his team showed positive results in improving balance and reducing falls among the elderly.
Twice-weekly 1-hour classes were held in local senior centers in for 12 weeks. Trained tai chi instructors delivered the program. Li and his team assessed several factors including how many centers adopted the program, whether teachers and staff were successful in implementing key elements of the program, and whether participants in the tai chi sessions experienced healthy benefits. Also of critical importance is whether the community center was willing to consider tai chi as part of its regular programs, and the extent to which participants continued their tai chi practice once the 12 weeks were over.
Results indicated that the all centers invited agreed to participate and all participating centers successfully implemented the program. Program participants showed significant improvements in health-related outcome measures such as balance, reduction in falls, and increased functional independence. Tai chi has been considered a low-cost exercise activity because no equipment and few facilities are needed. These results indicate that an evidence-based tai chi program can be implemented in urban and rural community settings. Research translates into successful community practice to improve elder health It is not easy to translate research into practice, and... more -
97 Year Old Women Saved By Cat
A 97-year-old woman says her cat's early morning yowling saved her from a house fire. Grace George, of Independence, said her cat Boo Boo's yowling from an open bedroom window early Wednesday woke her up from a sound sleep.
"I got so aggravated," George said. "I didn't know why she was doing that."
George picked up the black and gold brindle, a stray she had taken in about 15 years earlier, and felt her way through the dark house until she reached the kitchen.
It was just 4 a.m., and she wanted more sleep. So she started to put the cat outside.
Then she smelled smoke.
"I knew I had to get out of the house," said George, seated Thursday on a sofa in her daughter's house, just down the block.
George ran toward the street in the rain, and flagged down the third car she saw.
"Thank God it was a lady," she said. "All I had on was bikini underwear and a tank top."
Firefighters got Boo Boo out of the house safely and administered oxygen. A 97-year-old woman says her cat's early morning yowling saved her from a house fire. Grace George, of Independence, said her cat... more -
Nursing Home Rapists & Sexual Predators.
As Baby Boomers enter retirement and the demand for nursing homes swells, sexual predators are among those needing care, putting others in the homes at risk.
Sandra Thurston Banning brought the story of her mother’s victimization to Capitol Hill on Wednesday. Her mother, Virginia Thurston, suffered from dementia and was 77 at the time of her assault.
“I placed my mother in a facility to keep her safe and out of harm’s way,” Banning said.
Thurston’s rapist, an 83-year-old resident who relied on a wheelchair, had been arrested 59 times and was placed in the nursing home by an Alachua County, Fla., judge “because he was a danger to himself and others in society,” according to Banning’s testimony before a House small business subcommittee.
If she had known there was someone with such a record in her mother’s nursing home, “I wouldn’t have left her there for one day,” Banning said. The man who committed the rape was found incompetent to stand trial and was relocated to another Florida nursing home, Banning said.
Demand for long-term care services is expected to more than double by 2040, according to National Investment Center for the Seniors Housing and Care Industry. Meanwhile, staff, residents and visitors may not realize there are registered sex offenders living in nursing homes.
“Depending on state regulations, many long-term care facilities may not be aware of residents who are offenders,” testified Rep. Mary Fallin, R-Okla.
One issue is federal law, which requires states to pay for nursing home services for anyone eligible for Medicaid, whether or not they are convicted felons, according to Rep. Kris Steele, R-Okla.
When people with a criminal history require long-term care, “we are legally obligated to provide appropriate care and services,” said Tom Coble, president of Elmbrook Management Co. in Ardmore, Okla., who testified on behalf of the American Health Care Association. As Baby Boomers enter retirement and the demand for nursing homes swells, sexual predators are among those needing care, putting other... more -
Shigeo Tokuda: 74-Year-old porn star
Shigeo Tokuda, a former travel agent, is enjoying his “second life” after retirement. 74-year-old Tokuda is a porn star.
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Woman Crashes Car Into Pool
Elderly woman hits the gas, instead of the break pedal. What is the age limit for driving?
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Official: old people don't smell of wee
There is officially no such thing as the 'old person smell', research in Philadelphia has demonstrated.
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Better late than never: veteran, 91, gets PhD
A 91-year-old former Army officer has received his doctorate from Cambridge University for creating an atlas of railway stations built in Britain.
Michael Cobb, a former Colonel, from Devon, is thought to be the oldest recipient of a PhD from the University. Speaking afterwards, he said: "It's something I wanted to do and something I loved doing. I don't know what all the fuss is about."
Col Cobb was joined at the ceremony by 40 members of his family - some of whom had travelled from as far afield as Canada, Spain and Texas. His son, Stephen, 60, who flew to the UK from Canada, said: "We're all very proud of him. To get a PhD at 91 is incredible."
A University spokesman said "The Railways of Great Britain: A Historical Atlas" was Col Cobb's "magnum opus" and had involved 18 years' research.
Col Cobb, who lives in Plymtree, Cullompton, graduated from Magdalene College, Cambridge, in 1938, joined the Army before seeing action at Dunkirk, north Africa and Italy.
Dr Richard Smith, head of the university's geography department, said: "The atlas is a remarkable piece of scholarship. Col Cobb retired from the Army in 1965 and worked in mapping until his retirement in 1971. He began work on the atlas at the age of 62 and carried out the research in his own time.
It is thought the oldest person to receive a PhD was the Reverend Edgar Dowse who received his from Brunel University in 2004, aged 93.
(Excerpts / BBC News) A 91-year-old former Army officer has received his doctorate from Cambridge University for creating an atlas of railway stations built... more
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