Prime Time Living 6.18.25 - Flipbook - Page 22
22 A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Wednesday, June 18, 2025
Museums, continued from page 20
Mary Young Pickersgill’s Story
Born in Philadelphia in 1776, Mary
and her husband moved to Baltimore,
where she became a widow at the age
of 29. She was a successful businesswoman, which enabled her to purchase
the Flag House, the building in which
she had her workshop and residence.
In 1813, she received the commission which cemented her in the history
books, the creation of the Star-Spangled
Banner flag. She remained in her home
until she died in 1857 when her daughter
inherited it.
What many don’t know about her
is that she was a generous humanitarian and benefactor. In 1802, Pickersgill
was elected President of The Impartial
Female Humane Society, a non-profit
focused on supporting indigent widows
and deserted wives who, through no
fault of their own, needed help. Almost
fifty years later, in 1851, under her leadership as their chairwoman, the orga-
Dementia, continued from page 6
nization built the Aged Women’s Home
to house the recipients of their aid. This
was followed a couple years later with
the Aged Men’s Home.
In the 1950s, the organization changed
its name to honor its former chairperson.
Today, 223 years later, it’s known as the
Pickersgill Retirement Community, and it
sits on land in Towson that the original
group of women purchased.
A visit to The Star-Spangled Banner
Flag House is fascinating as you, your
family and your friends explore Mary’s
home, tour the exhibit highlighting Mary
and her family, walk around the beautiful
rose garden and courtyard, and sit for
an interpretive film. Here you can learn
about the making of the most famous
flag to ever fly, what life was like for early
Americans, or even lounge in the sun
as you smell the roses. There are often
family-friendly events and even a children’s area to let imagination run wild.
tions (UTIs). Depending on the severity
of the infection, it can wreak havoc with
other bodily systems including simulating
dementia.
“Simple nutritional deficits, often due
to eating a poor diet for many years,
can cause a deficit in essential vitamins, usually B12, folic acid and thiamine (Vitamin B1). Thiamine can cause
mental and cognitive side effects. One is
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome.”
“Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome is an
unusual type of memory disorder due
to a lack of thiamine (vitamin B1) requiring immediate treatment. It most often
happens in people with alcohol use disorder and malnutrition. While there isn’t
a cure, healthcare providers can recommend treatments to manage symptoms,”
according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“There is an ongoing debate about
substance use in older adults,” Nowrangi
says. “Some research says alcohol use
can have a protective effect, but too
much can cause very real problems when
it becomes alcoholism.” More rehabilitation facilities are incorporating special
sections for older adults to quit substance abuse, such as alcohol.
“Another possible danger to all
older adults is polypharmacy,” explains
Nowrangi, usually defined as taking five
or more medications a day. When you
see various doctors, they aren’t always
aware of all the medications a patient is
taking and will provide refills long after
the original problem has passed. If you
are using more than one pharmacy, then
the pharmacist can’t point out problems
– contraindications – that two medications are working against each other or
have a dangerous interaction. Next time
you visit your PCP or your pharmacist,
bring either all the medications or an
accurate list of what you take, the dosages, how often you take each one,
and include any over-the-counter supplements and vitamins you use. Dementialike symptoms can occur as a reaction to
one medication or an interaction of two
or more medications.
“Doctors need to deprescribe medications and eliminate the ones that are
no longer necessary. If a person ends up
in the hospital for any reason, that’s when
these problems are often discovered.
At check out, there will be an electronic
medication record, and seeing that long
list of medications is a wake-up call. A
family member can help coordinate care
for an older adult and spot medication
redundancies. Some medications have a
cholinergic effect that may cause problems with memory and alertness due to
the action of the chemical acetylcholine
in the brain.”
This is not to minimize the possibility
of dementia, only to point out that your
overall health should be your concern.
We have to be our own advocates;
staying informed helps you recognize
when something is off and needs to be
addressed. Your primary care physician
is always a good place to start.
