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Meet Rose

Rose had a special relationship
with her soon-to-be-married
great-niece. Attending the
wedding was on her bucket
list but she was afraid if
she went she would be a
burden to her family. That's
when Professional Parent
Care stepped in to ensure
Rose could watch her great-
Rose Cohen
niece walk down the aisle. A
with Sandy Linden
personal companion from PPC
accompanied Rose on the plane, checked her into her
hotel and went to the wedding with her. The family got to
enjoy Rose's presence without worry — knowing she was
in good hands with her own 'personal valet.' Rose had a
great time celebrating the wedding.
"At Professional Parent Care, we want to enhance the lives
of our clients," said President Sandy Linden. "We'll go
above and beyond to help our clients live their lives to the
fullest while providing the best care. That's what we do."

• Utilize Low-Cost
Technology & High
Quality In-Home
Personal care

• Concierge Personal Care
Services, Around the Clock
if Desired

• Transportation &
Homemaking Services

• Experienced End of Life & Respite Care Services

We Understand..

It's All about Quality of Life, Dignity and Family Peace of Mind

Servicing Metro-Detroit families since 1977

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32

December 31 • 2015

Process Of Elimination

Expressing gratitude for the true miracle
that is a continous part of life.

I

n this fast-paced modern world, it's
before a blessing), and then reciting the
easy to miss simple pleasures. We're
verse after every trip to the toilet.
increasingly distracted, stressed
In fact, this blessing is still practiced
out and unable to focus. That's why
by observant Jews and has been called
mindfulness, or focusing on the pres-
an act of "radical consciousness" by a
ent, is now being taught in businesses,
modern rabbinical author.
schools and health clinics as a way to
boost productivity, manage stress and
WHY IS THIS KEY TO HEALTH?
create calm.
Research shows that gratitude
But while we may already
is crucial to our happiness. But
be beginning to understand
while we're often encouraged to
the importance of mind-
be thankful for our overall well-
fulness when it comes to
being, how often do we focus on
our sleep, meals and work
our digestive health?
life, there's one area we
As Dr. Prager wrote
often forget about: the bath-
in JAMA years ago, the simple
room.
miracle of urinating often goes
Dr. Joel K ahn unappreciated — until the kid-
Nearly 20 years ago, I
Special to the
read a moving piece by
neys, ureters or bladder malfunc-
Jewish
Ne ws
Dr. Kenneth Prager in the
tion, as happened to his own son.
Journal of the American
It's rare that we actually pause
Medical Association (JAMA)
and consider that the green juice
about the ancient practice of "mind-
you drank an hour ago has already
ful elimination" in the Jewish religion.
been absorbed by your GI tract,
That's right — paying active attention
entered your bloodstream, been filtered
to our pooping and peeing.
by your kidneys, traveled down your
To this day, Dr. Prager's arti-
ureters to your bladder and now passed
cle remains seared into my brain.
freely into the toilet.
That's because it contains lessons about
In a similar way, in heart health, my
health and gratitude that are even more area of medical specialty, the fact that
relevant today, no matter your religious we take up oxygen-rich blood from
beliefs.
the lungs, circulate it to the heart and
So what was this ancient wisdom?
other organs, and cycle the waste back
In the Talmud, there's a particular
for elimination is a true miracle that
blessing that shows appreciation for the occurs every second of our lives. As
miracle of elimination:
was written centuries ago, it may truly
<`... when one comes out of a privy
be "impossible to survive" if the heart
he should say: Blessed is He who has
arteries are blocked.
formed man in wisdom and created in
I believe that focusing on that mira-
him many orifices and many cavities.
cle can help us make smarter decisions
It is obvious and known before Your
about nutrition and what we feed our
throne of glory that if one of them were heart.
to be ruptured or one of them blocked,
The point isn't that you necessarily
it would be impossible for a man to
have to recite the Asher Yatzar after
survive and stand before You. Blessed
every bathroom trip. But with a
are You that heals all flesh and does
momentary consideration of what your
wonders:'
body is doing every time you eliminate,
The short verse, known as Asher
you'll encourage a feeling of gratitude
Yatzar, initiated an ancient practice of
that propels you to make healthier life-
elimination, washing hands (required
style choices every day. *