Family News

Family News
New resource helps care home residents and families during pandemic

Care home residents and their families have been particularly affected during the pandemic. In response to this, a new online resource led by Queen’s University Belfast has been developed to bridge the gaps of information to enable carers and their families to make informed decisions around end of life care.

Advance care planning (ACP) is a process that supports adults at any age or stage of health in understanding and sharing their personal values and preferences regarding future care and realistic treatment choices.

The Covid-19 pandemic has raised particular challenges for care home residents, their families and the staff that look after them, a press release from Queen’s University Belfast said.

Lead researcher Professor Kevin Brazil explained: “Many families of care home residents have felt like they’ve been left in the dark during the pandemic, anxious that the needs of their loved ones weren’t being heard.

“Bringing together experts in ACP, this resource offers information for both families and care home staff to better understand how they can ensure the best standard of ACP is in place, helping to overcome obstacles that Covid-19 has presented.”

 

California twins born in different years

A set of twins born 15 minutes apart in California have very different birthdays – one in 2021 and the other in 2022.

Alfredo Antonio Trujillo came into the world at 11.45pm on New Year’s Eve in the city of Salinas.

A quarter of an hour later, on New Year’s Day, his sister Aylin Yolanda Trujillo was born.

The Natividad Medical Center, where the babies were delivered, said some estimates suggest there is a one-in-two-million chance of twins being born in different years.

“It’s crazy to me that they are twins and have different birthdays,” the babies’ mother, Fatima Madrigal, was quoted as saying in the statement.

Dr Ana Abril Arias described the births as “one of the most memorable deliveries of my career”.

“It was an absolute pleasure to help these little ones arrive here safely in 2021 and 2022.”

 

Apple becomes first firm to hit $3tn market value

US technology giant Apple has become the first company to hit a stock market valuation of $3tn.

The firm’s share price has risen by around 5,800% since co-founder and former chief executive Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone in 2007.

Apple has been one of the big winners of the pandemic, as coronavirus lockdowns saw spending on gadgets jump.

“Hitting $3 trillion is another historical moment for Apple as the company continues to prove the doubters wrong,” Dan Ives, an analyst from Wedbush said.

It took just over 16 months for Apple’s stock market valuation to rise from $2tn to $3tn, as the world’s biggest technology companies saw demand soar as people became more reliant on smartphones, tablets and laptops during lockdowns.