INSIDE Marsha Henry Goff

July 2016 Serving Active Seniors in the Lawrence-Topeka Area since 2001 Vol. 16, No. 1 INSIDE ENIO profile KEVIN GROENHAGEN PHOTO KEVIN GROENHAGEN S R Rosina Houle’s own experience with a kidney donation within her own family led her to start Save a Life, Inc. The goal of her non-profi t organization is to raise funds to educate people about the benefi ts of becoming a living donor. - page 8 Business Card Directory ...24, 25 Calendar ..................................16 MMarshaarsha HHenryenry Goff:Goff: Estate Planning ......................14 MMarshaarsha HHenryenry Goff:Goff: Goren on Bridge .....................32 Groen Zone .............................26 SSharingSSharinghhaarriinngg LLessonsLLessonseessssoonnss Health & Wellness.............12, 13 Humor ......................................28 Jill on Money ...........................15 LLearnedLLearnedeeaarrnneedd ffromffromrroomm thetthethhee Mayo Clinic .............................11 Memories Are Forever ...........31 WWrongWWrongrroonngg SideSSideSiiddee ofoofoff thetthethhee Pet World .................................29 Puzzles and Games ................33 Rick Steves’ Europe ...............27 SStethoscopeSStethoscopetteetthhoossccooppee Wolfgang Puck’s Kitchen ........30 SSeeSSeeeeee sstorysstoryttoorryy onoononn ppageppageaaggee tthreetthreehhrreeee Permit No. 19 No. Permit Lawrence, KS Lawrence, PAID U.S. Postage U.S. PRSRT STD PRSRT KAW VALLEY SENIOR MONTHLY July 2016 • 3 Goff pens guide on navigating healthcare system By Kevin Groenhagen nal-World when he was a high school senior, spent more than two decades at everal years after Marsha Henry The Washington Post, and then returned SGoff’s mother, June, died, Goff to the Journal-World in 1993. and her sister, Vicki Julian, were driv- According to Goff, she has the abil- ing home to Lawrence from Topeka. ity to get interested in just about any PHOTO KEVIN GROENHAGEN Goff had long blamed herself for her subject. After taking care of her mother mother’s death since she was unable for decades, learning about the medi- to fi gure out exactly what had been cal experiences of friends and mem- killing her. Hearing her lament one bers of her family, and undergoing time too often, Vicki said, “I think it surgeries of her own, Goff has become is your fault that Mom died, Marsha.” somewhat of an expert on the health- After a pause, Vicki continued, “You care industry. Wanting to share her could have gone to medical school and knowledge to help others, last year become a doctor.” she published Everything I know about Of course, Goff hadn’t gone to medi- medicine, I learned on the Wrong Side cal school. She is an author, editor, of the Stethoscope. desk-top publisher, and blogger who “I had been talking about writing the has written books primarily about book for a good number of years,” Goff humor and history. Her humor titles said. “My mother died in 2004, and I include Life is more fun when you live must have thought about that book it ... Jest for Grins and Human Nature almost since about that time.” Calls: Jest for Grins, while her his- Goff’s father, L. Lew Henry, an attor- Marsha Henry Goff tory titles include The High Schools ney and elected offi cial, died in 1974 as of Lawrence: A Nostalgic Look At the a result of a ‘benign’ tumor that prob- ing to Goff, her father may have been “My father died at a relatively People and the Times, 1855-1998 and ably developed from a head injury he saved if the tumor had been discovered young age,” she said. “He was just Lawrence Sesquicentennial: Images suffered during World War II. Accord- six months earlier. CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR of History Vol. II, both of which were collaborative works with the late Bill Snead. Snead began his career as a Bath Innovations Walk-In Bathtubs photographer at the Lawrence Jour- Therapeutic relief from fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions Kaw Valley SeniorMonthly Replace your old bathtub with an in-home spa! Kevin L. Groenhagen Editor and Publisher Ɣ Hydro-massage with water and Kaw Valley Senior Monthly is published air jets available. monthly by Groenhagen Advertising, L.L.C., Lawrence, Kansas, and is distributed at over Ɣ High quality installation in as 160 locations throughout the Lawrence- Topeka area. Any opinions expressed by our little as one day. writers are not necessarily those of Ɣ Made in the USA. Groenhagen Advertising, L.L.C. Subscription rate is $8.50 for 12 monthly issues. Ɣ Limited lifetime warranty. Ɣ Affordable pricing – financing Contact us: available. MAIL Ɣ Low approx. 2½ inch step-up. 2612 Cranley St. Ɣ Solid no-leak door w/dual locks. Lawrence, KS 66046 Enjoy luxurious, warm, PHONE / TEXT therapeutic baths in the safety 785-841-9417 and comfort of your own home! E-MAIL [email protected] Please call us for FREE “no high pressure” estimate! 913-912-1750 4 • July 2016 KAW VALLEY SENIOR MONTHLY “My mother’s death was the most Marsha Henry Goff diffi cult for so many reasons,” Goff CONTINUED FROM PAGE THREE writes in her book. “I think medical personnel failed her in not diagnosing Cooper'sCooper's 56. I sort of stepped in as the person that she was retaining urine and her to take care of my mother. My mother bladder was stretched to bursting. The didn’t drive, except around her neigh- hospital could not fi nd an oxygen mask Home Care borhood. She needed transportation to fi t her. A child’s mask was too small, Home Care to go to doctors. And she was so but just barely. The adult mask was so distraught after my father died. She large, they tried to cut it down to fi t, "An Alternative to needed help.” making the edges sharp and allowing Nursing Home Placement" Unfortunately, June, who had been oxygen to escape and blow in her eyes. an athlete in high school and college, My friend Martha, the RN who stayed Newly Remodeled and Renovated! began having health issues several with me that last night of Mom’s life, Ready for Admissions! years before her husband passed away. attempted to make the mask more com- In fact, she had to have surgery the fortable by pushing Kleenex under the very day he died. sharp edges.” Respite Care “It was the one day we couldn’t take After her mother died, Goff asked the Give yourself a break while assuring your loved nurse why her abdomen was swollen. her down to the intensive care unit to one short- or long-term quality care. see him,” Goff said. “They were on According to the nurse, they had mis- the same fl oor. Mother had just about takenly placed the oxygen tube in her Ask About everything go wrong that could pos- stomach instead of her lungs during the Lillian NEW ADMISSIONS DISCOUNT sibly go wrong. She endured a lot, attempt to resuscitate her. Cooper Available for a limited time. Call for details. and, consequently, as her advocate, I While June did suffer poor health learned a lot.” during her fi nal years, she maintained A Holistic Approach to Nursing The things that went wrong with her sense of humor, including while Care Providing Individualized, June and her health care included sev- experiencing a heart attack. Specialized service and eral errors during her fi nal hours. approaches, meeting the CONTINUED ON PAGE FIVE physical, social, spiritual, and medical needs of our residents in a home-away-from-home-like Your loved one never leaves our care. 2139 PENNSYLVANIA IN LAWRENCE atmosphere. Douglas County’s only locally owned crematory We provide: s Assisted Living s Day care s Respite Care s Long-term care s Critical and hospice care s Diabetic care s Care for all types of dementia Staff: Our family serving your family since 1920 s On-site eye examinations s Staff to resident ratio is 1:3 and follow-up care s Home physician and th 6 )NDIANAs s Glucose monitoring medical director s Physical and occupational therapists s LPN, CMAs, CNAs s24 Hour RN on duty Staff functions include meal preparation and dietary planning, personal care, ADL's grooming, in-home beautician, and routine recreational, social and therapeutic activities. Cooper's Home Care "An Alternative to Learnard Pennsylvania Nursing Home Placement" 22nd Terr 785-865-2525 Massachusetts www.coopershomecareks.com E 23rd KAW VALLEY SENIOR MONTHLY July 2016 • 5 Goff’s experience is a fairly common multiple sclerosis and diabetes (she has get inaccurate information out of med- Marsha Henry Goff one. In fact, according to data from the neither), had quit smoking (she never ical records,” Goff said. “That’s really CONTINUED FROM PAGE FOUR Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are smoked), and one of her siblings (all important because you don’t want to 40.4 million unpaid caregivers of adults female) had had a vasectomy. Lesta, a be on record having a disease or condi- “My mother and my sister Vicki were ages 65 and older in the United States. Caucasian, later discovered her medi- tion that you don’t actually have.” sitting there in the hospital room,” Goff Of that group, 90 percent are providing cal records showed she is Black/Afri- Despite her negative experiences said. “Vicki kept noticing that the heart care for an aging relative. A plurality can-American. with medical personnel, Goff strongly monitor was looking weird. That’s is caring for a parent. Goff’s goal with “I am betting that Lesta doesn’t believes most doctors are excellent at when Mother turned around and said, her book is to help have that mistake what they do and got into the medi- ‘I’ve watched enough Trapper John, those caregivers corrected,” Goff cal fi eld for the right reasons. In fact, M.D. To know that’s not right.’” be better advocates writes. “She is she dedicated Everything I know about And then there was the incident for their relatives’ likely looking for- medicine, I learned on the Wrong Side with the burning blanket.

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