Elder Care Information |
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When the Box is Empty
The King had a modest kingdom. He was Danish. This meant he was proud, tall, athletic and he enjoyed a quick wit. He was married to a princess from Great Britain at a very young age. They were both really just children when they began their own family. They had three children, two boys and a girl. The children all shared one common aim, to make the King proud. Each child vied for the King's attention and love, each using a different strategy. The eldest son used music to make his father proud. The middle child, the daughter used humor and dancing. The youngest chose sports, knowing his father had once been a great athlete, a champion in several sports. They had a modest castle, the King always worked hard to provide for his family. Demonstrating affection wasn't something he was ever comfortable with. So, in his own way, he captured treasured moments by making or collecting trinkets. Each little symbol represented a special family moment. Some were shiny, golden; still others were like little bells that made a sound when you picked them up. There was a story for each trinket. You see the King was a gifted storyteller. At dinner he would open up the box and hold up a trinket and smile. He would look up and to the right, and then tell a wonderful story that would have the children laughing, crying or shaking their head in disbelief. Telling stories became a family tradition. He encouraged the children to begin collecting their own trinkets and stories. As it is with most children, they obeyed their father and began filling up their boxes with symbols. Though the children were never very close, there were moments of family joy. They were all very busy trying to please the King with their respective gifts. As the years went by, the Kings Box became a giant chest, ornate, hand carved and full of trinkets. As the King grew older the quality and quantity of the contents of the chest improved. Soon the children had children of their own and they maintained the ritual of stories at the dinner table. One day, the King reached in his box for a specific trinket and found it missing. Thinking this somewhat odd, he thought perhaps he might have given it to his youngest son. He forgot about it. The next day, the same thing happened; a specific trinket was not to be found. What the King did not know was a thief had snuck in the night and stolen the shiniest trinket. The thief liked the trinket so much, the next night he took a different one. Because there were so many at first the King didn't notice. You see, this thief in the night was relentless, insidious, crafty and brutal. He was sneaking into his chambers and quietly pinching the King's most treasured possessions, his memories. One night the Queen heard a noise that startled her. She lit a match and held up the candle beside the bed. Holding it up high she saw the thief?it was a raccoon! He had a little bell in his hands. The light scared him and he scurried off with the bell. The queen had long since suspected something was wrong, now she knew. She gave it a name. That terrible raccoon. The King wasn't crazy and neither was she. Something really was taking the King's most treasured gifts. The next day they put a lock on the chest. That would stop the thief. The raccoon was too crafty. He picked the lock and kept stealing trinkets every night. The queen tried an alarm, a special light, and guard dogs, nothing worked. Each night the raccoon kept stealing the King's prizes. One day the box was empty! It was a sad day in the kingdom. The children came and sat at the feet the of the King and Queen and cried. There was nothing to do. All the memories were gone. The King had no more stories to tell. He was silent. He sat there with a far away look. That was how it was going to be. That is life when the box is empty. After a time, when the pain of the empty box came a little easier to accept, the Queen said to her children, go home, go through your chests, your boxes of trinkets. Choose the best ones. Each time you come to visit the King, bring a trinket and we shall put it in your father's box. We shall tell that story, and laugh, cry and enjoy it as something special. I will guard it. I will keep a constant vigil. In this way, the raccoon can never take your stories. When we get together we shall honor the King in this special way. So it was, once a week, the children would bring their children for a visit and drop a trinket in the box. This brought the children together in a way that never existed before. The raccoon was very unhappy about all this. He still tried to get in the castle, but the love of the family kept him on the outside, looking in. Though he tried to keep stealing as thieves do, he never took another trinket. Love does that. It's not something even the smartest thief in the world can take. That was the lesson learned in the Kingdom. The box was full until the day the King finally passed away. When he did, he was surrounded by children, grandchildren, stories, trinkets and love. Only one life that soon is past; only what's done with love will last. To people all over the world, that ever suffered the terrible pain of losing a loved one to Alzheimer's. I understand your pain. The night I read this story to my youngest son Evan, we wept together, holding each other tight. I pray science one day finds a cure for this terrible disease. In the meantime, may this little story bring you and your family comfort. May it bring your family a little closer together, as it has mine. Send this story to someone you know that is suffering. Perhaps it will heal the pain of loss for them or their children just a little bit. Grief is a form of energy and must find a way out. My hope is you make the time to put some trinkets in your family's box. It won't feel quite so empty. Love, Ugly Dog Publishing - Copyright 2005
MORE RESOURCES: Cracks in home care need filling NB Media Co-op Cree family worries about 97-year-old elder, needing long-term care far from home and culture CBC.ca Canada’s aging crisis and a call for reform in eldercare The Hill Times Ombudsmen and advocates join fight over nursing home staffing levels Iowa Capital Dispatch Nursing home staffing rule in limbo as Trump 2.0 approaches The Union Leader Anglican elder care specialist and advocate named to Order of Canada Anglican Journal All-inclusive elder care for aging at home: This nursing home alternative is on the rise The Laconia Daily Sun Rustad unveils plans for seniors’ care Prince George Daily News New business offers families ‘Peace of Mind’ with elder care The Turlock Journal MLA presses government on status of elder-care home work Nunatsiaq News Policies to improve child care, elder care exist, but political willpower needed, says panel Nevada Current 'Failure of government': Nunavut elder care needs to be brought home, federal minister says - CBC.ca Norbert Health and Lumina Care Announce Strategic Partnership to Transform Elder Care through AI Technology Business Wire Quebec is 'one minute to midnight before a collapse of the elder-care system,' provider says Montreal Gazette Nursing Home Industry Wants Trump to Rescind Staffing Mandate The New York Times With dementia rates projected to rise, northerners call for better elder care in Nunavut Nunatsiaq News Nursing Home Industry Wants Trump to Rescind Staffing Mandate HealthLeaders Media Perk of the Week: Employee Assistance Program (EAP) Northeastern University More New Long-Term Care Rooms Open in Mahone Bay Government of Nova Scotia Bonjour Résidences at the SMASH Conference in Las Vegas: Technological Innovations for Senior Care Bonjour Résidences Canadian grad's elder care app wins Apple's Swift Student Challenge, earns Tim Cook's praise MobileSyrup How to Get Medicaid to Pay for Nursing Home Care U.S. News & World Report Older solo adults rely on others for help Grand Junction Daily Sentinel Officials strive for quality elder care China Daily Evolutionary game analysis of building a sustainable intelligent elderly care service platform Nature.com Automation Solutions for an Aging Society: The Future of Elder Care A3 Association for Advancing Automation Long-term care home moves forward in Surrey Fraser Health Authority At Cozy Corner, DeKalb seniors gather for fun, relaxation Shaw Local News Network Elder Care Graduates in Hot Demand in China Sixth Tone B.C. judge orders $1.2 million home returned to victim in shocking case of elder abuse Vancouver Sun Free Flu Shot and New COVID-19 Vaccines Now Available Across Ontario Government of Ontario News Opinion | Alzheimer’s Can Be a World of Endless Second Chances The New York Times Georgia State University, A.G. Rhodes Launch Innovative Elder Care Partnership Georgia State University News Eskasoni, Province Celebrate Opening of New Long-Term Care Home Government of Nova Scotia Vt. auditor praises state regulators for improvements in elder care facility safety - Vermont Public Is India’s senior care sector ready to take off? ASLI Ageing Fest to address this The Times of India 'She was evil': Former B.C. care aide sentenced for stealing from seniors CTV News Vancouver Opportunities and challenges of integrating artificial intelligence in China's elderly care services Nature.com Ontario Building New Hospital in Moosonee Government of Ontario News Kenora site chosen for new Wiigwas care home NWONewsWatch.com Most of us are anxious about aged care. Here’s how to change that Sydney Morning Herald Wisconsin will need almost 10K more elder care workers to keep up with aging baby boomers Wisconsin Public Radio News When Elder Care Is All in the Stepfamily The New York Times Whatever Happened to All Those Care Robots? The Atlantic Festus nursing home loses Medicare and Medicaid funding KTVI Fox 2 St. Louis Simpson Residents Prove Impact Has No Age Limit: Celebrating Visionary Women Making a Difference Send2Press Newswire Innovative elderly care services, empowered by AI, to unleash greater market potential in China Global Times Aging population drives New York’s Long-Term Medicaid Care spending WETM - MyTwinTiers.com Could a robot keep grandma company? UBC IDEA lab experiments with AI for elder care - Ubyssey Online End-of-year CEO Q&As: Russell Egan – Superior Care Group Inside Ageing China aims to strengthen elderly care China Daily Government announces $354M to help seniors stay at home Times Colonist Nursing home resident advocates warn of growing crisis as Festus Manor closes Leader Publications Looking for affordable elderly care options Global Times Deducting Long-Term Care Insurance Premiums in 2025 ElderLawAnswers.com Providence Living poised to open Canada’s first public long-term care village based on the concepts of a dementia village The Daily Scan Elder Care Assistive Robots Market Size, Share Report, 2030 Grand View Research Nursing home industry wants Trump to rescind staffing mandate St. Louis Post-Dispatch Harris proposes expanding Medicare to cover in-home senior care The Associated Press |
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