Reaching the Summit

Winter 2023/2024 Living Power Magazine

alan foster

Alan Foster isn’t the type of person to just sit around. Foster retired in 2009 from a career that included four years in the Air Force and more than two decades as a paramedic with Wake County EMS. After retirement, he took on a part-time role with Rex Hospital, where he currently serves as the director of emergency preparedness management.

While that work kept him busy, the desk job didn’t give Foster the same active lifestyle he enjoyed as a paramedic. So he began hiking and camping, eventually traversing part of the Appalachian Trail. As he got deeper into hiking, he looked for a new challenge and found it on Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa and the highest freestanding peak in the world.

“I had a high school friend who had done it a couple years prior, which sort of sparked my interest,” Foster says.”I started doing research and finally decided to do it.”

Foster’s oldest daughter and her boyfriend joined him on the journey to Tanzania, where Kilimanjaro is located, in September. Their trek up the mountain took seven days, hiking and then camping in segments to allow their bodies to acclimate to the altitude—Kilimanjaro towers 19,341 feet above sea level.

“That was sort of a life lesson, too,” Foster says. “Taking shortcuts and trying to do things too fast often leads to failure.”

Though they took their time, Foster’s daughter experienced altitude sickness that rendered her unable to complete the climb. Her boyfriend accompanied her back down the mountain, and Foster trudged on. By the time they’d reached the peak from base camp, several other hikers from their group also bowed out, leaving Foster with just two others reaching the top.

“[Summiting Kilimanjaro] was easily the hardest physical and mental challenge I’ve ever put myself through, and that includes military basic training that I did as a teenager in a much better physical condition,” he says.

While Foster says he won’t climb any other mountains soon, he believes the active lifestyle he’s kept up since—regular walks, swimming, and other activities—have helped him maintain the conditioning that allowed him to reach the mountaintop. As he prepares for his daughter’s nuptials—her boyfriend proposed on Kilimanjaro that day—he knows that healthy lifestyle will allow him to enjoy more of life’s big moments ahead.

“She’s got a wedding coming up, and I’ll be around hopefully to participate and be physically able to travel if I need to,” he says. “There are so many benefits of staying active and healthy and finding a challenge like a Kilimanjaro or an Appalachian Trail hike that will make you prepare and stay focused on your health and well-being.”

Use Our How-To Video Tutorials to Follow NCRGEA on Facebook

With Association members who range from the technologically savvy to those who have limited interactions with computers or mobile devices, NCRGEA has committed itself to a hybrid communication format – print and electronic – to address all member needs.

Why Facebook?

Our feedback reveals that Facebook is the social media of choice for our retired members. Consequently, if you’re on Facebook and not following the NCRGEA Facebook page, don’t miss an opportunity to stay up-to-date on news and events impacting members. Our page features breaking information, details about health benefits, special events, and more. 

Video Tutorials: How to Follow the NCRGEA Page

To make it easy, the Association has created two tutorials – one for our desktop/laptop users and another for those who prefer to use mobile devices. 

Computer/Laptop Browsers

Click here to view a video tutorial for desktop and laptop computer browsers.

Mobile Devices

Click here to view a video tutorial for mobile devices.

Issues with Video Quality?

Occasionally, some computers and other devices may deliver a lower-quality video playback due to YouTube Settings. We have created this step-by-step document for your convenience on how to change that setting to achieve a better experience.

The Way to (the Health of) Your Heart Is Through the Eyes

Maintaining healthy vision is important. That’s why AMBA offers a Vision Plan that provides comprehensive coverage at a reasonable rate. AMBA also wants you to better understand the importance of your eyes concerning your overall health. For example, how your vision can reveal potentially serious heart problems.

Your eyes aren’t just the window to the soul—they also can reveal a lot about your heart. Vision and heart health are more connected than you might realize. Detecting early warning signs during a routine eye exam can provide important clues about potential heart issues.

High Blood Pressure

Hypertension, more commonly known as high blood pressure, is when blood pressure is consistently higher than it should be. Hypertension can lead to a stroke or a heart attack.

High blood pressure can put pressure on the eye’s blood vessels and cause damage including blood clots, bleeding in the eye, blurry vision, and even blindness.

Your eye doctor can detect some telltale signs of hypertension. These include:

  • Damaged arteries in the eyes.
  • Arteries in the eyes are unusually smaller than the veins.
  • Swelling in the eyes. High blood pressure can cause the retina’s arteries to stiffen. This can lead to bulging (swelling) in the eye when pressed against a blood vessel. 

Blood Clots

Eye doctors can detect a blocked artery during a routine eye exam. Arterial embolisms, the medical term for a blood clot blocking an artery, are serious, especially if it’s in the carotid artery. Even a small blood clot can cause blindness, tissue damage, stroke, and death.

Your eyes can also reveal evidence of ischemia, a condition in which blood flow and oxygen are restricted or reduced in a part of the body. In the instance of ocular ischemia, the interruption of blood flow causes the cells in the retina to die. When retinal cells die, they leave behind visible damage called retinal ischemic perivascular lesions (RIPLs). Researchers discovered that people with cardiovascular disease had more of these lesions. RIPLs may soon become the standard method to identify cardiovascular disease and a patient’s risk for a heart attack or a stroke.

Diabetes

Diabetes has damaging effects throughout the body, including on the eyes. As the disease progresses, common symptoms can include cataracts, worsening vision, and even blindness.

Patients may show no symptoms of diabetes and can even have perfect vision. However, an eye doctor can find signs during a routine eye exam. For example, in 2017, optometrists discovered over 400,000 cases of diabetic retinopathy in patients who hadn’t even been diagnosed with diabetes! In many cases, a routine eye exam helped patients take proactive measures to save their vision and avoid potential blindness.

Diabetes can also lead to a heart attack or other types of heart disease. But if caught early enough, your eye doctor can help you prevent potential life-threatening cardiac issues. Just think of it: a routine eye exam could save your vision and your life.

Want to keep your heart healthy? Then get a checkup with your eye doctor. The Vision Plan from NCRGEA and AMBA covers annual WellVision exams. The plan also provides 100% coverage for most lenses, even progressives, and thousands of nationwide in-network providers. Sign up today – acceptance is GUARANTEED! – at www.AMBAdentalvision.com/NCRGEA or call 800-956-1228.

Source: https://eyewiki.aao.org/Ocular_Ischemic_Syndromehttps://www.aoa.org/news/clinical-eye-care/diseases-and-conditions/real-partners-in-diabetes-care?sso=y

Aging Un-Lonely

February 2024 Megan Smith, PhD. University of North Carolina at Charlotte

germinating plants

If you are feeling lonely, you are not alone. A Harvard study reported in 2020 that about 45% of older adults feel lonely. There is a lot of talk about loneliness these days, but what exactly is loneliness? Loneliness is the subjective experience of a mismatch between the number of quality relationships you would like to have and the number of quality relationships you feel that you have. A quality relationship is often defined as one in which you can talk to that person about anything. Social isolation is the objective measure of how many people you interact with within a specified time. There is evidence that social isolation is high among older adults for a variety of reasons, ranging from decline or impairment of physical and mental health, lack of access to transportation, living alone, and lack of social support from family and friends in due a decrease in frequency of interactions. Solitude, according to research, is the luxury of choosing to be alone while also feeling socially connected.

Loneliness is subjective, meaning people experience loneliness differently. Some people feel connected with a small number of quality relationships in their lives; let’s say three as an example. However, if one friend moves away, losing that one person creates a feeling of loneliness because there is a mismatch between the number of desired relationships and actual ones. Other people need many quality relationships to feel socially connected; maybe needing 25 close relationships and if they only have 20, loneliness results. There are variations in loneliness thresholds.

In May 2023, the U.S. Surgeon General declared Loneliness “Our Epidemic.” The wording implies that we all have the responsibility to work on reducing our own loneliness, if we are experiencing it, and/or helping others move through this experience to become more socially connected. Loneliness is very problematic as it increases the onset of chronic physical and mental diseases as well as mortality rates. The alarming statistic often provided in terms of loneliness and its negative effect on health is that feeling lonely is akin to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Loneliness results in several negative consequences for our physical health. Loneliness increases the likelihood of hypertension, which can affect the likelihood of strokes. Research shows that lonely people are more likely to develop chronic heart disease, diabetes, and even some cancers. Loneliness also decreases the effectiveness of our immune system to ward off viruses. Loneliness is a contributor to mental health problems too. People who report feeling lonely are four times more likely to develop depression. Anxiety is the number one symptom of loneliness and increases the longer that one feels lonely. Many lonely people perceive a variety of social circumstances as anxiety provoking when they are socially disconnected, which does not occur when people feel socially connected. Loneliness also increases the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s, other forms of dementia, and a variety of cognitive impairments.

One of the challenges though, is that many older adults may not initially think of loneliness as an explanation for feeling physically or mentally unwell. In the United States, we view health from a biomedical model, meaning our first thought is that there is a physical or biological issue causing health problems previously mentioned, but the overwhelming evidence consistently shows that loneliness contributes significantly to poor health.

Unfortunately, my motivation to study, publish, and talk about loneliness is based on personal experience. As a graduate student, I started spending a lot of time by myself reading and writing and spending time studying a group severely and persistently mentally ill people. I spent more time engaged in these activities as opposed to focusing on social connection. Prior to graduate school, I was gregarious and extroverted with many quality relationships. In short, I was quite socially connected. At some point during my PhD, I noticed changes in my behavior. I started to feel more anxious about my academic performance and perceived situations as anxiety provoking. I became critical of the quality of my own work. As the symptoms increased, my physical health simultaneously declined; I had migraines regularly, suffered from a host of digestive issues, and developed an autoimmune disorder. Doctors were unable to explain the symptoms as my lab was always “normal.” But there was a continuation of unusual behaviors. such as declining invitations even though I had no other plans, a common behavior of lonely people. I was not depressed, but I was not happy. I wondered if I was experiencing mental health problems. Despite proactive efforts to seek help, not a single doctor asked about my relationships with friends and family. Since I was not asked about my social connections, it never dawned on me that social disconnection was a root cause.

In 2018, by chance, I read a book titled “Lonely; A Memoir” by Elizabeth White. White shared her own experience with loneliness, her exploration into the current research (in 2011), and her unofficial qualitative research based on responses to her blog posts. It was the biggest “aha” moment– I realized my health issues over the years could easily be explained by being lonely. While it was difficult to accept the fact that I had personally made decisions leading to loneliness, the good news was that I could also get out of it.

Research suggests strategies to reduce loneliness in small steps. Small behavioral changes can make a significant difference over time. When we are lonely, we lose practice talking to people. Saying hello and asking about someone’s day such as a cashier, a neighbor, or a postal worker is a helpful starting point. The more practice with small talk, then research finds lonely people develop a comfort level to extend conversations. Joining a club or team- just one- such as bridge, pickleball, or a cigar club allows lonely people to interact more easily with others who have shared interests, birds of a feather flock together.

Dr. Vivek Murthy, the U.S. Surgeon General, claims that the most powerful antidote to loneliness is service to others. When we are lonely, we lose self-esteem and confidence. Helping others allows service to others and provides people with purpose and value. Identify ways that you can be of service, ranging from helping a neighbor to assisting local non-profits. These small changes and acts of service can end loneliness. One’s physical and mental health can improve significantly once social connection resumes. Loneliness is a challenging experience, no doubt, but please know that you are not alone and there are people willing to help and simple steps that can change how lonely one may feel.

As a researcher, professor, and public speaker on loneliness, I welcome the opportunity to speak to groups of individuals on this topic. Please feel free to contact me via email at ssmit392@charlotte.edu.

The Five Gardening Tasks To Complete in February

Take steps now to ensure a great fruit crop, get your roses ready, and prepare to start seeds

February is the shoulder season in many parts of the U.S. It’s been in the 50s the last few days, and the irises and tulips have started to emerge. For most gardeners, this fills some with both excitement and anxiety with a capital A—am I already behind? You’re not, because February is the time to catch up.

So in this, the shortest of all months, you have not one, but two jobs:

  • Wrap up all the things you’ve not yet accomplished for winter while preparing for spring
  • Get your fruit positioned for an amazing season

Work that will determine what kind of fruit harvest you’ll have

Start by pruning any fruit trees and shrubs you haven’t gotten to yet. This includes blueberries, currants, huckleberries, winterberries, and all other berry shrubs. Prune and train your grapes, and prune back your fall-bearing raspberries. Check with your garden center to see if it’s time to prune summer-bearing raspberries and other cane fruit. If you’re planting fruit trees or shrubs this year, the window is now open. It’s also the right time to relocate any trees or shrubs that might do better elsewhere. You can start planting rhubarb, too.

Once you’re done with the structural work above, it’s time to think about fertilizing all that fruit. Your garden center can help you with fertilizer specifically for fruit trees, vines, and the special acidic fertilizer that blueberries love.

If you’re up for the challenge, consider cloche-ing or wrapping your strawberries to encourage early fruiting.

Take care of your roses

As with fruit, now is the time to give your roses the late winter chop. If you’ve never really paid attention before, this kind of pruning helps encourage your roses to grow strong vines with prolific blooms. Just letting them grow without any pruning or training can result in scraggly and crooked vines. Check out a guide to pruning roses, sterilize your pruning clippers and wear arm protection. You’ll start to see roses in the garden center, and you can start getting them into the ground later in the month. All roses will benefit from fertilizer as well.

Now is the time to divide (some of) your plants

There are a wealth of plants in your yard that benefit from occasional dividing. Dividing gives plants more space to grow, more ability to absorb nutrients, and allows roots to flourish. They’re also two plants for the price of one. Now is the ideal time to dig into those herbaceous perennials and divide those suckers and relocate. To do so, you dig up the entire plant, generously going around the root ball. Lift it out of the ground, and then tease apart the roots with your hands or a sharp knife. You want each division to have at least three shoots. Replant them within the day, and give them a drink of water and a little shade for a few days. Now, this isn’t all perennials, but the fall-blooming perennials. Asters, astilbe, iris, bee balm, blanket flower, bleeding heart, daylily, phlox, hosta, lambs ear, agapanthus, ornamental grasses, and sedum are some common plants you could look to divide.

Resist the urge to clean up

The first week of 50-degree weather sends everyone into their yards, eager to be back outside. While you can embrace the feeling, resist cleaning up the leaves and woody stems you so graciously left in fall. The beneficial insects that are using the leaves and stems to hibernate aren’t ready to exit quite yet. You’ll want to wait until closer to summer. In the meantime, those leaves and stems are becoming useful mulch and compost. Redirect the energy into tuning up your lawnmower for the spring and hunting down every slug and snail that survived winter.

On the precipice of seeding

We’re still too far out to seed tomatoes, eggplants, and your summer vegetables. You can, however, get a crop of spring vegetables started, including broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, and other short crops. If you can find starts at the garden center, they can go in the ground about now, too. What can definitely go in the ground now are pea seeds, including sweet peas.

What you can seed right now is your earliest annual flowers: your petunias, portulaca, sweet alyssum and trailing nasturtiums, the flowers for your hanging baskets and window baskets. You can start your ginger and turmeric inside.

Mostly, you can use this time to get your seed starting supplies cleaned and sterilized with a mild bleach solution and ensure you have all the seeds you want for a bountiful year.

The Top 6 Dental Care Resolutions for 2024

Far more than any other time of the year, New Year’s is filled with gleaming, bright optimism to improve our overall health. Your resolutions can help give your teeth and oral health the attention and care they need. Want to raise the attractiveness of your smile and lower the costs of your dental care?

Our Top Dental Resolutions for the New Year

1) Brush for a Full 2 Minutes

Brushing your teeth is one thing. But brushing your teeth well is something lese altogether. Studies have concluded that most Americans brush for less than 60 seconds. Make sure you brush your teeth for the recommended two minutes. To ensure you’re brushing long enough, use a timer or an electric toothbrush with a built-in timer.

Pro-Tip: To add a little fun, try singing a “timing” song. For example, the Jeopardy! theme is a good choice. It’s 30 seconds long – so, sing it once for each quadrant in your mouth.

2) Floss Regularly

There’s always a good excuse not to floss – you’re tired, flossing is annoying, you’ll do it tomorrow. But there’s an even better reason to floss: –flossing can reduce your risk of gum disease and tooth decay. Plus, you’ll have fresher breath!

Pro-Tip: Choose a time of day that will make it easy to remember and stay committed to flossing regularly. If you find your rush in the morning, make the evening the time of day you floss. However, if you feel too tired at night, try to create a morning routine. The more you make it something easy to do, the more you’ll look forward to doing it!

3)  Stay Away from Staining Foods

Stained teeth have a big impact on your appearance (and self-confidence). While frequently irresistible and delicious, foods like chocolate, coffee, tea, cokes, red wine, dark beer, and berries can significantly stain your teeth. If you can’t cut these food choices out entirely, at least try to cut back – even a small reduction can make a big difference.

Pro-Tip: Teeth whiteners can have excellent initial results, but the improvement won’t last if you don’t stop consuming staining foods and beverages.

4) Stay Hydrated

In addition to cutting down on hunger and fatigue, staying hydrated also boosts your oral hygiene. When your mouth dries out, there isn’t enough saliva to consistently wash bacteria away from your teeth. As a result, it can increase the risk of cavities and bad breath.

Pro-Tip: A fancy new water bottle to sip from throughout the day can be the best investment you make for your dental hygiene!

5) Get Enough Calcium

Remember when you were a kid and were told to drink your milk so you can “grow up big and strong”? Even at this stage of life, adequate calcium intake remains a key nutrient for our bodies, bones, and teeth. Calcium keeps the roots of your teeth strong and secure in your gums.

Pro-Tip: You can still get calcium from milk, yogurt, cheese, broccoli, tofu, almonds, and dietary supplements.

6) Visit the Dentist Regularly

Another good resolution for the coming year is to see your dentist at least every six months for an examination and cleaning. Regular cleanings remove tartar and plaque, which cause cavities and tooth decay. And, if you’re prone to gingivitis or gum disease, routine dental visits increase the likelihood of early detection, making it easier to manage symptoms and reverse damage when possible.

Pro-Tip: NCRGEA and AMBA have a Dental Plan that’s right for you. Get coverage for routine checkups, exams, fillings, and many other procedures. Not only are you GUARANTEED COVERAGE, this plan also lets you see any dentist you choose with even bigger savings by choosing an In-Network provider! Enroll today at www.AMBAdentalvision.com/NCRGEA or call 800-956-1228.

Join NCRGEA with Meals on Wheels NC!

March for Meals logo

January 2024

NCRGEA is teaming up with Meals on Wheels NC again this year to encourage our members to volunteer during their “Community Champions Week,” March 18-22.

We want MOWNC and our communities to know that NCRGEA members are active and engaged and care about their communities. If you register to volunteer before February 16, we’ll send you a t-shirt to wear during Community Champions week and anytime you are volunteering for MOWNC.

The “Power of a Knock” from a MOWNC volunteer can transform lives, bring hope, health, nutrition and care to seniors throughout North Carolina, so please volunteer for this worthwhile event.

To volunteer and receive your free t-shirt, sign up online at tinyurl.com/4XARK4AX.

Click the video below to view volunteers from our 2023 MOWNC Community Champions Week!

Envisioning a New Future in Eyecare: Man Receives First Complete Eye Transplant Ever

Although surgeons have been able to transplant corneas successfully for years, the quest for a complete eye transplant has remained elusive. That is, until now.

Surgeons say Aaron James, who suffered a high-voltage electrical accident, is the first patient who has undergone the world’s first complete eye transplant on a man.

Although it is not certain James, a military veteran, will regain vision, this breakthrough is a pivotal moment in a decades-long search to restore sight to millions of people.

James, a high-voltage utility line worker from Arkansas, lost most of his face when it accidentally touched a 7,200-volt live wire in 2021. He had to have his left eye removed because of the pain.

A Dream Team To Do The Eye Transplant

In May of 2023, James underwent numerous surgeries. In all, more than 140 healthcare professionals were involved to help replace half of his face, provide him with a prosthetic arm, and – perhaps the most complex of all – the eye transplant.

The donated face and eye came from a single male donor in his 30s. During the surgery, doctors injected adult stem cells from the donor’s bone marrow into the optic nerve to encourage its repair.

Doctors say the donated eye is recovering well and looks remarkably healthy. The breakthrough surgery offers scientists an unprecedented window into how the human eye tries to heal. In fact, one of the reasons the doctors are most optimistic James may regain his sight in his left eye is that there is direct blood flow to the retina – the part of the eye that sends images to the brain.

He says he is “grateful beyond words” to the donor and their family for making the surgery possible and describes the eye transplant and its possibilities “life-changing”.

The future holds incredible breakthroughs and miracles for our eyes and vision. Even today, with the help of regular checkups and proper eyecare, maintaining healthy vision for our lifetimes is more likely than ever. That’s why regular eye exams are so important. The Vision Plan from NCRGEA and AMBA covers annual WellVision exams, 100% coverage for most lenses, even progressives, and thousands of nationwide in-network providers. Sign up today – acceptance is GUARANTEED! – at www.AMBAdentalvision.com/NCRGEA#vision or call 800-956-1228.

Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/surgeons-new-york-announce-worlds-first-eye-transplant-2023-11-09/

Rate Hike Proposed in 2024 for Homeowner’s Insurance

NCRGEA urges you to let North Carolina Department of Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey know your comments concerning the North Carolina Rate Bureau asking for an average statewide increase in homeowners’ insurance rates of 42.4%, with some rates as high as 99.4%. To see a specific table of proposed homeowners’ rate increases across the state, please click here.

You can provide your comments four ways:

  • A public comment forum will be held to listen to public input on the North Carolina Rate Bureau’s rate increase request at the North Carolina Department of Insurance’s Jim Long Hearing Room on Jan. 22, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Jim Long Hearing Room is in the Albemarle Building, 325 N. Salisbury St., Raleigh, N.C. 27603.
  • A virtual public comment forum will be held simultaneously with the in-person forum on Jan. 22, 2024 from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The link to this virtual forum will be: https://ncgov.webex.com/ncgov/j.php?MTID=mb3fe10c8f69bbedd2aaece485915db7e
  • Emailed public comments should be sent by Feb. 2 to: 2024Homeowners@ncdoi.gov.
  • Written public comments must be received by Kimberly W. Pearce, Paralegal III, by Feb. 2, 2024 and addressed to 1201 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, N.C. 27699-1201.

All public comments will be shared with the North Carolina Rate Bureau. If Department of Insurance officials do not agree with the requested rates, the rates will either be denied or negotiated with the North Carolina Rate Bureau. If a settlement cannot be reached within 50 days, the Commissioner will call for a hearing.

The North Carolina Rate Bureau represents companies that write insurance policies in the state and is a separate entity from the North Carolina Department of Insurance.

This rate filing follows the homeowners’ insurance rate filing that the Department of Insurance received from the North Carolina Rate Bureau in November 2020, where the Rate Bureau requested an overall average increase of 24.5%. That filing resulted in a settlement between Commissioner Causey and the Rate Bureau for an overall average rate increase of 7.9%.

The Rate Bureau has asked for the rates to become effective Aug. 1, 2024.

For a video from Commissioner Causey, on this rate increase, click the following link: https://ncdoi.sharefile.com/share/view/s5c733a53111e4cf68ff490ff5bd0f737

Rate increases affect everyone living in North Carolina; either directly for homeowners, or in increased rents as landlords pass the cost to renters. Don’t think that someone else will speak for you. Take action and let Commissioner Causey know how this will affect you.