Jim Klobuchar: Holding a Heart Held in His Hand
Another great read from Changing Aging contributor Jim Klobuchar:
He was leaving the congregation after serving it for more than a year as an interim pastor. This is a pinch-hitting role seldom coveted by career preachers who become part of the long-term fabric of the spiritual lives of their flock, dedicated equally to the flock’s salvation and the on-time payment the church’s bills.
He was largely unknown when he arrived, an appointee of the church’s regional service office. But he meshed easily and comfortably with the church members, which was basically an older group. He showed up at all of their socials and missions. And remarkably he delivered totally ad lib sermons that paid attention to the here-and-now, yet sparked enough smiles and rapport to make his message clear and credible.
He was, in short, popular, learned and approachable. After a year the congregation made its call to a new fulltime pastor. She was accepted by acclamation and seems destined to be a likeable choice. Approaching the Lenten season in his final service, the interim pastor dutifully followed the church lectionary and chose an appropriate sermon. But there was something else he wanted to say, drawn from his family history. He said it expressed not only his appreciation for having been welcomed into this church on his way toward retirement, but how tenderly that acceptance renewed for him a fundamental truth about our humanity: The need we have for each other.
He told a story. His son had developed a critical heart condition. It was at a time when the by-pass surgery that millions of us have successfully undergone was then years away from the high technology and skills that have made it the almost routine saver of lives that it is today.
His son had critical arterial blockage. It had to be relieved or it was going to be fatal. The operation went for 12 hours. At several stages, the surgeon came out of the operating room to explain to the parents what was being done and what progress was being made. The operation stretched through the day. What is relatively straightforward today was then one crisis after another. At length the surgeon returned to the couple, tired but smiling.
“He’s going to be fine,” he said, and then paused “At one point in the operation,” he said, “for several minutes, I held your son’s heart in the palm of my hand.”
The surgeon seemed awed and humbled by the wonderment of what he had experienced. Their son’s heart, in his hand.
The image seemed equally to move those in the congregation. Something in that story seemed to reawaken a gratitude for humanity when it is at its best, nurturing, caring and supporting. It may also have stirred a twinge of regret for the time of mounting social and political discord in which we lead our lives today.
Maybe the retiring pastor’s message went beyond that. The community we need in our lives goes beyond what we do together in a church or school or the book club or at the ball park. What we’re missing may be what we felt when we were together as a people and a nation, meeting needs, embracing the future, expanding our vision, sharing both our successes and trials, and sharing our bounty.
We don’t seem to be doing much of that.
The outgoing preacher struck me as a man of books and history. He might have come across a quote from Gandhi: “Whenever you are in doubt…apply the first test. Recall the face of the poorest and weakest one whom you have seen, and ask yourself if the step you contemplate is going to be any use to that person.”
The overwhelming humility the surgeon experienced, holding another’s heart in his hand, goes deeper than surgery.
About Jim Klobuchar:
In 45 years of daily journalism, Jim Klobuchar’s coverage ranged from presidential campaigns to a trash collector’s ball. He has written from the floor of a tent in the middle of Alaska, from helicopters, from the Alps and from the edge of a sand trap. He was invited to lunch by royalty and to a fist fight by the late Minnesota Viking football coach, Norm Van Brocklin. He wrote a popular column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune for 30 years and has authored 23 books. Retiring as a columnist in 1996, he contributes to Ecumen’s “Changing Aging” blog, MinnPost.com and the Christian Science Monitor. He also leads trips around the world and an annual bike trip across Northern Minnesota. He’s climbed the Matterhorn in the Alps 8 times and has ridden his bike around Lake Superior. He’s also the proud father of two daughters, including Minnesota's senior U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar.
Senior Services Rally to Be at Minnesota State Capitol May 3rd
You're invited to join others from around Minnesota in support of senior services at a Minnesota State Capitol Rally from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. on Tuesday, May 3rd. The rally will be on the Capitol's front steps. (In case of rain, the rally will be held in the Capitol Rotunda.)
The event will feature senior music group Alive and Kickin' and is a joint effort sponsored by the Long-Term Care Imperative, Seniors and Workers for Quality Care, AARP Minnesota, and the Minnesota Leadership Council on Aging.
Rally organizers are asking that attendees try to wear an orange shirt so that we can have a strong visual impact on this day.
Duluth News Tribune Story on Ecumen's Alzheimer's Initiative
The Duluth News Tribune had a good story this weekend on Ecumen's Awakenings initiative to reduce antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes. You can read it here.
Violet Smith Takes the Pitching Mound on her 109th Birthday
This might go down as the best opening day pitching ceremony in the U.S. this year. Violet Smith, pictured above, throughout the first pitch at the Great Lakes Loons' opening game last Thursday. To top it off, it was her 109th birthday. Here's more from WNEM-TV in Midland, Michigan.
Sandbagging Creativity of Ecumen Customers in Fargo
Above our some of the 50 sandbags designed by our customers at Ecumen Evergreens at Fargo. Thankfully, it looks as though our residents and team members will not have to evacuate this year from their homes as the water has met its crest in Fargo Moorhead. Good thoughts to others along the Red River.
Ecumen's Awakenings Alzheimer's Initiative Stories on Minnesota Public Radio and KBJR
Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Olson did a long story the other day on Ecumen's Awakenings Initiative to reduce antipsychotic drugs in nursing homes. That was followed by a TV story in Duluth on KBJR-TV. You can read more about Awakenings here.
The Kindle, IPad and Ageless Usability
.jpg)
The beauty of design increases when it and makes life easier and more enjoyable. Kudos to new technology that through design is creating appeal across generations. Take Amazon's Kindle, for example. The portable reader can appeal equally to a reader with 20/20 vision and someone who typically would rely on "big-print" books.
A limitation of big-print books, especially the hottest titles, is they can be difficult to get at the local library or purchase online. And the largest ones can be quite heavy. The Kindle solves those problems with adjustable print and ease of portability.
Apple's iPad is another tool that isn't just built for seniors or young people. But it's touch screen navigation, bold graphics and light size and portability make it highly usable for multi-generations and physical abilities to read, watch movies, and do everything else one can do on a desktop or laptop.
Here's to more technology that crosses the ages.
Americans Living Longer and U.S. Death Rate Falls for 10th Straight Year
We're living longer according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and death rate is falling. Life expectancy at birth increased to 78.2 years in 2009, up slightly from 78.0 years in 2008. Life expectancy was up two-tenths of a year for males (75.7 years) and up one-tenth of a year for females (80.6 years). The age-adjusted death rate for the U.S. population fell to an all-time low of 741 deaths per 100,000 people in 2009 — 2.3 percent lower than the 2008 rate, according to preliminary 2009 death statistics released last week by CDC's National Center for Health Statistics. This marks the 10th year in a row that U.S. deaths rates have declined.
Read the CDC news release here and full report here.
Raymond
This music video by country artist Brett Eldredge, entitled Raymond, beautifully embodies patient-centered care in memory-loss situations.
Innovation Emanating from Minnesota Nursing Homes
TIME Magazine hasn't yet had a cover story on "innovation in nursing homes." But that's been the subject of recent articles by Warren Wolfe of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He wrote yesterday about a new initiative by our colleagues at Benedictine Health System to reduce falls in nursing homes. And earlier Warren told a story about Ecumen's Awakenings initiative to reduce the use of antisychotic drugs in nursing homes.
In addition to how these initiatives are designed to improve lives, what's also common about them is that they involve multi-million dollar investment by government. Neat to see these stories of innovation and collaboration to improve lives coming out of The Land of 10,000 Lakes.