Education, Information, Status

STEPTEMBER FOR CEREBRAL PALSY

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If you are a health and fitness buff, this one is perfect for you. It’s a fundraiser for cerebral palsy research. All YOU have to do is take 10,000 steps a day in Steptember. You can skate, bike, climb, roll, walk, run, surf, swim, or cycle. You can use a fitness tracker, smartphone app, or pedometer to track your activity.

How can you get involved? Follow these three simple steps:

  1. Form a team of three friends, family members, or colleagues. Register your team online at https://www.steptember.us. Ask your family and friends to sponsor you.
  2. Wait for your Steptember pedometer and kit to arrive in the mail.
  3. Log 10,000 steps each day between Steptember 4 and October 1.

Funds raised go to the Cerebral Palsy Alliance Research Foundation, classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501 (c)(3) organization. According to https://www.steptember.us, participants in Steptember have raised $246,018.29 in the USA and $1,768,729.38 across the world.

What is cerebral palsy? It is a physical disability that affects movement and posture. One in three children with cerebral palsy cannot walk. One in five children with cerebral palsy cannot talk. According to https://www.steptember.us,

– 1 in 323 babies are diagnosed with cerebral palsy.
– 800,000 people in the U.S. are living with cerebral palsy.
– Every hour a child is born with cerebral palsy.
– 17 million people worldwide are living with cerebral palsy.

Although many people think of cerebral palsy as a childhood disorder, most children with cerebral palsy live well into adulthood. Assistive devices such as walkers and wheelchairs can help individuals maintain their independence. Private duty nurses and CNAs can provide nursing care.

If a member of your family has Cerebral Palsy and requires private duty nursing, call American Home Health at (630) 236-3501. The agency can provide round-the-clock nursing care by Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). Our service area covers fifteen counties in Northern Illinois including Cook, Lake, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, Grundy, Will, and Kankakee. American Home Health is licensed by the State of Illinois and accredited by the Joint Commission. For further information, go to www.ahhc-1.com.

—By Karen Centowski

To see a video How Steptember Works, go to https://youtube.com/watch?v=MAK88iKgqec.

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Private Duty Registered Nurse (RN) and Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) Positions Available

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American Home Health has positions available for RNs and LPNs. Cases close to home in Kane, Kendall, Grundy, DeKalb, Lee, Will, DuPage, McHenry, Lake and Cook Counties. Flexible schedule, competitive pay and benefits for full-time and part-time employees.

We welcome new grads!

Apply today at www.ahhc-1.com

Education, Information, Status

LIVING WITH ARTHRITIS

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Did you know that arthritis is the leading cause of disability among adults in the United States? In fact, according to the Arthritis Foundation, about 54 million adults have doctor diagnosed arthritis. In addition, almost 300,000 babies and children have arthritis or a rheumatic condition.

Who gets arthritis? According to the Arthritis Foundation fact sheet at https://www.arthritis.org, “Doctor-diagnosed arthritis is more common in women (26 percent) than in men (18 percent). In some types, such as rheumatoid arthritis, women far outnumber men. Almost two-thirds of adults in the U.S. with arthritis are working age (18-64 years). Arthritis and other non-traumatic joint disorders are among the five most costly conditions among adults 18 and older.”

The Arthritis Foundation fact sheet also states that “Arthritis is much more common among people who have other chronic conditions. Forty-nine percent of people with heart disease have arthritis. Forty-seven percent of adults with diabetes have arthritis. Thirty-one percent of adults who are obese have arthritis.”

Did you know that Medicare will pay for certain individuals receiving physical therapy or other services at home? There are certain criteria that must be met, including the following:

  1. A physician must prescribe home care.
  2. The patient must be homebound. Brief, intermittent trips outside the house are permitted.
  3. The care must be skilled. Medicare will pay for a nurse or therapist, but not for a home health aide.
  4. The care must be necessary and reasonable.

The Arthritis Foundation sponsors events to raise funds. Walk to Cure Arthritis, the largest arthritis gathering in the world, raised $6,652,872. The Jingle Bell Run, a festive 5K race with a USA Track & Field certified course, raised $966,602.

Bone Bash, a Halloween themed event, includes spooky decorations, costume contests, a silent auction or live auction, and entertainment including music, games, etc. Bone Bashes can range from informal concerts to elegant sit-down dinners or masquerade balls.

Other fund-raising events range from black-tie galas and tribute dinners to wine tastings and themed parties that benefit the Arthritis Foundation.

If you have a family member who needs private duty nursing, call American Home Health at (630) 236-3501. The agency can provide round-the-clock nursing care by Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). Our service area covers fifteen counties in Northern Illinois including Cook, Lake, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, Grundy, Will, and Kankakee. American Home Health is licensed by the State of Illinois and accredited by the Joint Commission. For further information, go to www.ahhc-1.com, or call (630) 236-3501.

—By Karen Centowski

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SQUATTERS TRASH AREA HOMES

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Imagine someone illegally living in a vacant house in your neighborhood. Worse yet, what if the squatter trashed the house, ripped out the copper pipes, left rotted food in the refrigerator, made holes in the walls, and broke the toilet into pieces?

According to “Serial squatter trashes Chicago-area homes with few consequences,” an article at https://wgntv.com/2018/08/06/serial-squatter-trashes-chicago-area-homes-with-few-consequences/, “Through open records requests, WGN Investigates discovered squatting is a common occurrence, especially in places like Lansing, Calumet City, and Dolton. In Calumet City, there have already been 20 documented cases of squatting this year.”

High-end property is not immune to squatters. A woman recently lived in a vacant, foreclosed $1.5 million home in Wicker Park for two years before she was finally removed by court order. The newly built home had five bedrooms, five baths, an in-home theater, a sauna, and a rooftop deck. In 2011, the builder lost the property in foreclosure. In 2013, MB Financial finally managed to get the squatter out of the residence.

How do the squatters find these empty houses? Sometimes, the squatter simply sees a realtor’s For Sale sign on the lawn. Then the squatter just moves into the property. In other cases, the squatter pays one month’s rent, moves in, and waits to be evicted. It can take months to formally evict the squatter. Meanwhile, the squatter has the opportunity to trash the place.

In the article at https://wgntv.com/2018/08/06/serial-squatter-trashes-chicago-area-homes-with-few-consequences/, Tromaine Langham, a former landlord, described the damage a squatter had done to his property: “The conditions when I got there were just deplorable,” Langham remembers. “I walked in and there was broken glass, broken windows, closet doors, bedroom doors smashed. Maggots were just all over the kitchen and in the stove area. I had to totally gut (it) and get that replaced.” All in all, he said, it was $52,000 worth of damage.

Squatters seem to feel no remorse for the damage they have done. A squatter in Dolton posted videos and photos to her Facebook page, bragging about her “new homes.” She also left a framed selfie in the bedroom of one of the homes she had trashed. A few weeks after she was formally evicted, she came back to the house, kicked in the door, and broke all the windows.

By Karen Centowski

To see a Channel 23 ABC News video called Woman catches squatters moving into her home—You Tube, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deIjxerh3s4.

Education, Information, Status

REMEMBERING THE MDA TELETHONS

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For over forty years, from 1966 to 2010, one of the most successful performers in show business hosted a Labor Day weekend telethon for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. The celebrity, Jerry Lewis, was a comedian, actor, singer, director, producer, filmmaker, and humanitarian. It had all started in the 1950’s when the Jerry Lewis Thanksgiving Party for MDA (Muscular Dystrophy Association) raised funds for their New York City area operations.

Jerry Lewis was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1926. According to Wikipedia/Jerry Lewis at https://en.wikipedia,org,, “he was known widely for his slapstick humor in film, television, stage and radio and was nicknamed the “King of Comedy.” In 1946, he met and teamed up with Dean Martin. For the next ten years, they were the top-rated nightclub, television, movie and radio act until their breakup in 1956.” After the break-up, Jerry Lewis appeared on television and wrote, produced, and starred in motion pictures. He headlined in nightclubs, and he sang in albums and recordings.

From 1966 until 2010, Jerry Lewis appeared on television every Labor Day as the host of the round-the-clock telethon to raise money to fight neuromuscular diseases. During his sixty-one years with the fundraisers, the Muscular Dystrophy Association raised $2.6 billion.

What is muscular dystrophy? According to the Kennedy Krieger Institute “Factsheet: Muscular Dystrophy,” the term describes a group of genetic disorders that cause muscle degeneration and weakness. The two most common types are Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy (DMD) and Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD).

According to the factsheet, DMD is usually diagnosed around 3-6 years of age. It primarily affects boys because the gene mutation is located on the X chromosome. BMD is less severe and generally presents in late teens to early 20’s.

Children with DMD will experience a delay in walking, frequent falling, and difficulty getting up from a lying down or sitting position. The factsheet describes what is known as the Gower’s maneuver: “When children with DMD have a hard time standing from a sitting or lying down position, they compensate by pulling to their hands and knees, raising their bottom in the air, then “walking” their hands up their legs until they can brace themselves.”

According to the factsheet, there is no cure for muscular dystrophy or delay of the progressive degeneration of muscles. By the age of 12, most children will need a wheelchair for mobility.

If you have a family member who needs private duty nursing, call American Home Health at (630) 236-3501. The agency can provide round-the-clock nursing care by Registered Nurses (RNs), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPNs), and Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs). Our service area covers fifteen counties in Northern Illinois including Cook, Lake, McHenry, Boone, Winnebago, Ogle, Lee, DeKalb, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, LaSalle, Grundy, Will, and Kankakee. American Home Health is licensed by the State of Illinois and accredited by the Joint Commission. For further information, go to www.ahhc-1.com, or call (630) 236-3501.

—By Karen Centowski

Information, News

ELON MUSK HAS TUNNEL VISION

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Say you’re flying into O’Hare Airport and want to get to downtown Chicago. What are your options? Currently, you have five options. You could take a CTA train for $5.00 or less and get downtown in forty-five minutes. You could take a taxi for around $40.00 and get there in twenty-five to ninety minutes. You could use the shuttle van services for over $25.00 and arrive downtown in twenty-five to ninety minutes. You could hail a rideshare such as Lyft or Uber for $35.00-$50.00 (surges to $140 or more) and get there in twenty-five to ninety minutes.

As early as the 1990’s, Richard J. Daley had envisioned a high-speed rail line between downtown Chicago and O’Hare Airport. In fact, according to a Chicago Tribune article published June 14. 2018, the city and CTA (Chicago Transit Authority) spent more than $250 million on the Block 37 “superstation,” a shopping center atop a station for the high-speed rail. However, “Daley ordered the work stopped in 2008, saying the technology was outdated and more than $100 million more was still needed for completion.”

In 2011, Mayor Rahm Emanuel resurrected the idea of a high-speed rail line from downtown Chicago to O’Hare and in 2016 hired outside engineers to help explore the possibility for the high-speed rail line.

On February 9, 2017, Mayor Rahm Emanuel held a press conference to provide an update on the state of Chicago’s infrastructure. He also endorsed the idea of a high-speed rail line from downtown Chicago to O’Hare. The rail line was expected to cost billions of dollars and would require major support from private investors. Emanuel announced that Bob Rivkin, who had previously served as general counsel for the CTA, the U.S. Department of Transportation, and Delta Air Lines, had been hired “to drum up support and find partners to make the new O’Hare express line a reality.”

Enter Elon Musk, the billionaire tech entrepreneur. On June 14, 2018, Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced that Elon Musk’s Boring Company had been selected from four competing bids to provide high-speed transportation between downtown Chicago and O’Hare Airport. Musk’s Boring Company would dig a fourteen-feet in diameter tunnel from downtown Chicago to O’Hare. Lined with interlocking concrete pieces, the tunnel would contain self-driving electric vehicles called “skates.” Each “skate” could transport sixteen passengers at speeds from 100-150 m.p.h. Under Musk’s proposal, it would take just twelve minutes for passengers to get from O’Hare to downtown Chicago at an estimated cost of $25.00.

The estimated cost of the project is almost $1 billion. Who is going to pay for this? Elon Musk says his company will pay for the entire project. “In exchange for paying to build the new transit system, Boring would keep the revenue from the system’s transit fees and any money generated by advertisements, branding, and in-vehicle sales,” Rivkin said.

Will Musk’s high-speed transit system ever get built? Critics point to numerous challenges such as environmental impacts, regulatory approvals, financing costs, and unforeseen complications. According to a Chicago Sun Times article “Mayoral challengers, academics raise caution flags about Musk’s O’Hare Express,” Joe Schwieterman, director of DePaul University’s Chaddick Institute, “gave the mayor and Musk high marks for dreaming big and aiming high. But he gave the project only a one-in-three chance of ever being built. And even if it does, he’s afraid Chicago taxpayers could get stuck with at least part of the tab.”

—By Karen Centowski

To see a video Elon Musk’s Boring Company To Build Express To O’Hare, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24yqz0jZVaw.

Information, News

SMASH-AND-GRAB

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A crime common in the 1930’s and 1940’s has returned with a new twist. Instead of an individual breaking through a store-front window to grab jewelry or other valuables out of the shop’s display, groups of thieves now are using cars and pick-up trucks to crash into shops. It’s a carefully orchestrated crime known as smash-and-grab.

These are not random acts of theft. High-end merchandise, especially designer handbags and clothing, is targeted. Think of Louis Vuitton handbags costing $2,000 to $6,000 and Salvatore Ferragamo shoes ranging from $300 to $700. Think of Giuseppe shoes for $1,000 a pair. Think of merchandise at GameStop.

Why do the thieves steal the high-end merchandise and ignore the inexpensive items? Robert Lombardo, associate professor of criminal justice at Loyola University Chicago, said thieves steal high-end merchandise because “that’s the stuff people want.” He explained that local thieves may attempt to sell the merchandise in the neighborhood. The merchandise stolen by professional criminals may be “bound for resale in other markets.”

Generally, the thieves target stores on streets rather than in malls. Wearing masks and gloves, the burglars drive a car or a van or a pick-up truck through the store’s front door or glass window. Then the thieves quickly grab as much high-end merchandise as they can carry, and they rush out the door. On November 26, 2014, the actions of one group of thieves were caught on a surveillance video in the store.

On April 17, 2018, a team of smash-and-grab thieves drove a stolen vehicle through the entrance of a GameStop in the 1500 block of North Cicero in the North Austin area of Chicago. The burglars stole cash and merchandise and then fled the scene. They left the stolen car embedded in the entrance of the store.

Stores in malls are not immune to smash-and-grab burglaries. On November 18, 2014, burglars drove through the outside entrance of the Northbrook Court mall and through a corridor before slamming into the Louis Vuitton store. The burglars were dressed in black pants and black hooded sweatshirts. They wore gloves and either ski masks or surgical masks.

A video surveillance system recorded the action as burglars with sledgehammers broke a hole in the glass, and the thieves climbed through the hole one after another to get into the store. They quickly gathered purses and bags from the shelves and from behind the counter, and then they ran into the mall.

A similar smash-and-grab burglary occurred September 7, 2014 at the Louis Vuitton store at the Oakbrook Center mall. Thieves rammed a minivan into the store and stole about $120,000 worth of merchandise. On November 4, 2014, a smash-and-grab occurred at the Chicago Premium Outlet Mall in Aurora. A minivan rammed through the front window of Salvatore Ferragamo. The burglars stole $40,000 worth of purses and luggage.

—By Karen Centowski

To see the surveillance video of a smash-and-grab in Chicago, go to the November 27, 2014 Chicago Tribune article, “Crash-and-grab burglars hitting high-end stores in suburbs and Chicago.”