If you don't like cute animal stories, . . . read this anyway. You'll love this one.

A dog, Bella, and an elephant, Tarra, living on an elephant sanctuary, became best friends. They don’t let their differences (in this case their species) get in the way of their friendship. These animals have something to teach us about accepting each other’s differences and finding joy in unlikely situations.

Click below to see the original story, broadcast on CBS News by reporter Steve Hartmann.




Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com

After Keith Olbermann’s (CountDown With Keith Olbermann, on MSNBC) Dad went in the hospital, Keith and his family dealt up close and personal with end of life issues. Keith is passionate about everything he cares about, and that applies to the issue of living wills a.k.a. advanced directives, legal documents which state your wishes regarding end of life care issues and which control the type and level of care you receive.

Family members who are forced to make such decisions for their loved ones in the crisis of the moment, after their loved one is in the hospital, often feel terribly conflicted –-Are they putting their loved one through unnecessary pain and suffering at the end of life, with no real chance of meaningful recovery, or Are they giving up too easily, when their loved one might be able to pull through and return to a good quality of life? Once your loved one lands in the hospital, they may not be able to tell you their wishes. By having the discussion in advance of hospitalization, you will give yourself some peace of mind that you know your loved one’s wishes, and you will be confident of making the decisions they would want for themselves.

Click on the youtube link below to hear Keith’s impassioned pitch for discussing end of life issues with your family and formulating a living will expressing your wishes.



Although most states including California recognize living wills or advanced directives, the requirements vary from state to state. To see what the options are in your state, check out this article from Findlaw:

http://estate.findlaw.com/estate-planni ... wills.html

Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com

Director Stephen Walker, pictured here, has made a film for Indepedent Lens about a chorus in Northampton, Massachusetts.

Although the chorus members are in their 80s, the music they perform is anything but geriatric, unless the Clash's "London Calling" now qualifies as old folks music.(I think not). Although you're probably still skeptical, as I admit I am, you can tell just by looking at the film's poster, below, that it is something special.

Will Joe Strummer be rolling over in his grave when they perform "Should I Stay Or Should I Go?" Tune in tonight and find out. Here in the Bay Area, the program plays on KQED, Channel 9, at 9 p.m. PST. Click here to go to the Young@Heart website to watch a preview and check the time of your local listing.

Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com

A group of elderly adventurers are finding new ways to challenge and enjoy themselves in their 80s and 90s, and in the process changing the way society views the elderly. The New York Times just did an article Seeing Old Age As A Never-Ending Adventure profiling three adventurers, Ilse Telemanich, 90, Tom Lackey, 89, and Charles Smith, 89, pictured here.

Ilse goes hiking in South Africa, even on a sprained leg. Tom Lackey does "wing walking" -- flying over the English Channel strapped atop a single engine plane. Tom just took up the sport in the last 10 years, and has done 20 such flights. His goal for his 90th birthday this year is to be the first person of any age to wing walk across and back the English Channel. Tom,pictured wing-walking here, a self-described "adrenaline junkie," persisted with his new hobby even when members of his church saw his sport as nothing more than a "death wish." (They have since changed their minds, thankfully).

Paul Smith travels to exotic places such as the North and South Poles.

Paul, Tom, and Ilse are not alone. The percentage of elderly travelers going in for adventure travel has gone up as much as 70% in the last 6 years. In fact, Elderhostel, Inc. the travel company specializing in travel for the elderly, has changed its name to Exploritas, to keep up with the trend. One hospital in New York City has even started the nation's first medical fellowship in trauma treatment for the elderly, to deal with mishaps that the elderly may have on their adventurers.

When people hit a ripe old age, they often brag about it, and that is evidently true in the adventure travel area. Paul Smith told the Times that on his South Pole trip, "a woman got off the plane at base camp and started bragging about being 80. She was quickly put in her place. One of the fellows in our group tapped her on the shoulder and said, ‘I don’t want to prick your balloon, but there are three in our group who are older,’ ” Mr. Smith said. Ha!

I used to tell people that if old age did not agree with me, I would take up parachuting lessons, and one day not pull the string. Now I think I will have something to look forward to when I reach that point.

Wing walking may not be your thing, but individuals such as Paul Lackey remind us that, whatever your age, you can have fun and reinvent yourself by taking on new challenges and doing things you thought you would never do. Take it to the limit one more time.

To read the Times article, click here.

Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com

New York Times health columnist Jane Brody, pictured here, has done a series of articles recently that you should read if you’re concerned about preventing osteoporosis. One of Brody's articles in particular, "Exploring a Low-Acid Diet For Bone Health" is a must read, because of studies it describes showing that eating vegetables can maintain healthy bones. Bet your doctor never told you to eat vegetables to prevent osteoporosis, did they? Read on.

Brody’s article starts off from 2 surprising facts: 1) Osteoporotic fractures are rare in Asian countries such as Japan, even though the Japanese eat almost no calcium-rich dairy products and 2) Countries such as the U.S. which consume the most dairy products have the highest rates of osteoporotic fractures. The Japanese, it turns out, have better bone health than we do, eating little dairy products. How could that be?

As Brody explains it, it has to do with the fact that the large amounts of meat we typically eat in the United Staes actually deplete the calcium reserves in our bones. She explains that our bones are the “storage tank" for calcium compounds that regulate the acid-[alkaline] balance of the blood. When the blood becomes even slightly too acid, alkaline calcium compounds are leached from our bones to reduce the acidity of the blood. Some foods speed up the leaching process because they metabolize in the stomach to acid by-products in the blood. Other types of foods metabolize to alkaline by-products, which protect bone health. Thus if we eat too much acid-forming foods, and not enough alkaline-forming foods, our body will withdraw calcium from our bones to restore the correct acid-alkaline balance in our blood.

Acid-forming foods include meat, fish, eggs, and most legumes (beans and peas, except lentils, which are alkaline-forming). Sugar, coffee, alcohol, and most grains are also acid-forming. Alkaline-forming foods include virtually all vegetables and fruits, many nuts and seeds.

With a few exceptions, such as hard-cheeses, most dairy foods “are metabolized to compounds that are essentially neutral” even though they contain calcium. Because dairy-eating countries such as the United States tend to eat lots of meat also, experts have concluded that countries that consume the most dairy products have higher rates of osteoporotic fractures because they also consume the most meat, poultry, and fish, which are calcium-depleting.

What about calcium supplements? Should you take them? Brody cites a review of scientific literature published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, which says that most clinical trials show that milk, dairy foods and calcium supplements do not prevent fractures.

Bottom line: Replacing some of your meat and even fish with fruits and vegetables may be more effective than taking calcium supplements. Aim for at least 9 servings of fruit and vegetables a day. Before discontinuing calcium supplements, talk to your doctor (and bring a copy of Brody’s article -- many doctors will be unfamiliar with the low-acid diet but it will make sense to them if they read about it).

Brody has done 2 other articles about osteoporosis -"As Bones Age, Who's At Risk for Fracture" (on how to tell whether you’re at risk for osteoporosis) and http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/health/05brod.html ]"Options for Bone Loss, But No Magic Pill[/url](a review of osteoporosis medications).

To read the Brody article on eating vegetables to prevent osteoporosis, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/24/health/24brod.html]click here.[/url]
To read the Brody article on “As Bones Age ...”,click here.
To read the Brody article on “Options for Bone Loss ..." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/health/05brod.html ]click here.[/url]

Felicia Curran
www.ElderAdvocacyLaw.com