10 Reasons to Use Air Companions

1. Your disabled elderly parent needs to fly across country and you are too busy with the husband, kids, job and other commitments to do it. Air Companions with treat your parent as if he or she was their parents.

2. You are divorced and your developmentally disabled grown child visits his/her other parent out of state. You and your ex need someone you can trust to accompany your special needs child throughout the trip.

3. You live alone and are struggling with a chronic illness and need to travel back and forth to a hospital for regular treatments. The treatments are exhausting and you are unable to drive yourself back and forth.

4. You or a loved one winters in the south each year. You need someone to accompany you/your loved one to your destination, drive the car, help get settled and fly home. That is one of Air Companions specialties!

5. You have always wanted to take a train across country but feel very vulnerable doing it alone. You would prefer to have someone with some medical training accompany you. Air Companions loves trains.

 

6. You have always wanted to go overseas but you are physically disabled in some way and your are afraid of flying and navigating the airports alone. Air Companions would love to accompany you.

7. You are getting married next year and are planning a huge wedding. Many people will need to fly to the island in Maine where your wedding is being held. It's the breath taking setting that you have been dreaming of your whole life. You so want your dear grandmother to be there. But she is wheelchair bound and suffers from mild dementia. She needs someone to help her get dressed every day and to make sure she takes her medications. She hasn't flown in years. But, it just wont be the same if Grammy isn't at your wedding. Air Companions to the rescue!

8. You would love to send your aging parents on a 2 week cruise somewhere warm in January after the holidays. But, they need someone to go along to help them out to make things easier and more fun. Air Companions has been on cruises and seen that many elderly people would have a better time if they had a travel companion with some limited medical skills.

9. You or a loved one struggles with mental illness and find that you need to travel for whatever reason. You have difficulty navigating your way through airports and feel afraid in big crowds of people. Air Companions can cut your stress level in half!

10. You have an elderly disabled loved on in a nursing home in another state and you want to bring that loved one to your state to live in a nursing home closer to you. Air Companions has done this sort of trip several times and it has always been a success. So the next time one of these scenarios comes up I hope you will think of Air Companions. Remember we are not just "your guardian angels in the air" We are "your guardian angels everywhere!"

We Are Cruising Out of Miami

This week we are enjoying tropical weather to beat mid-Winter blues with a cruise around the Caribbean.  The photo above was taken as we departed from Miami Beach.  What a breath-taking place.

How To Stay Healthy When Traveling?

So it seems like EVERYONE around you is sick this winter. How do you survive when traveling? Especially when all the usual suspects for sickness are present: stress, lapses in good eating habits, lack of time to exercise, lack of sleep and a veritable pantheon of sick people around you.  Here are some common sense tips to help you stay healthy.

1. Practice impeccable hygiene. Wash your hands frequently with warm water and soap and use a hand sanitizer. Check out this amazing DIY natural hand sanitizer recipe!

5-10 drops lavender oil

30 drops tea tree essential oil

1 tablespoon witch hazel

8 ounces 100% pure aloe vera gel

several drops of vitamin E oil (this is a natural preservative which will extend the shelf life of this sanitizer plus make your hands soft!)

Add the essential oils and vitamin E oil to a small glass bowl or container (mason jar works great) and swirl to mix. Add witch hazel and swirl again. Add this  mixture to the aloe vera gel and mix well. Remember to shake well each time.  If you’re not a fan of lavender you can use another antibacterial oil such as rosemary, sage, sandalwood or peppermint.  You can put this in clean 3-4 ounce pump bottles that had commercial hand sanitizer in it. You can get all these ingredients through: www.mountainroseherbs.com

Back to impeccable hygiene – that doorknob you touched may have been visited by someone who just hocked up half a lung into their hand! The primary gateway to disease is the holes in your head; stay away from them. Do not let your hands near your eyes or mouth. Do not inhale after someone has coughed in your face.

2. Get your rest. Sleep is extremely important especially during times of stress.  Rest allows your body to renew itself and the circadian rhythm to do it’s thing in healing and restoration.

3. Eat well. At least the best you can. Your body was designed to be a microbe killing machine. It manufactures antimicrobial agents daily given adequate raw materials. Where do they materials come from? Mostly fruits and veggies. If  you don’t think your eating well enough, consider supplementation.

4. Move your body. There is no doubt that our immune system responds positively to exercise. There are more than 800 studies that support this. I’m not talking about going crazy at the gym, which itself can be a breeding ground for germs. Try light workouts at home like a stationary bike, treadmill, Pilates, yoga, exercise ball, medicine balls mixing in some free weights.

5. Tip the scale in your favor with evidence-based supplements. Bridge the nutritional gaps with a good multivitamin and extra vitamin C. I make it my practice to take1,000 mg of vitamin C three times a day.  Also take vitamin D.  There are thousands of studies already and more are emerging in vitamin D’s effect on the immune system.  A recent Japanese study showed a 40% lower rate of children catching the flu when given 1200 iu of D daily. Scientists at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that vitamin D is crucial to activating our immune defenses and that without sufficient intake of it, the killer cells of the immune system (T cells) will not be able to fight off infections in the body.

This blog is an abbreviated version originally posted by Nutrionist and Blogger Christine Wokowsky at My Complete Nutritionist.