Health

Category

Waiting

WAITING

On the eve of Ron’s fourteenth chemotherapy treatment, he asked me if I wanted to write an update on how I was dealing with his illnesses.  I asked, “On what? The Big C., Parkinson’s, your heart issues, your shoulder pain, or your other issues?”  He said, “No really, my readers might want your perspective.”  I quietly answered, “I am labeled as a strong woman and for the most part, I am and can be, but I have my days and the gloomy...

The doctor will see you now

THE DOCTOR WILL SEE YOU NOW

Sesame Street character Elmo paid a virtual visit to X recently with a post that said “Elmo is just checking in. How is everybody doing?” The fact that Elmo is 43 years “old” means he has been entertaining and inspiring Americans for almost two generations. Thousands of people responded to him, though relatively few responses came from children. The respondents were clearly worn out, anxious, fearful and outright “down” in their prospects for a better life. Many families are stressed...

Is it almost time?

WHEN TIME IS TIGHT

Ladies with babies have almost always experienced labor, unless they were sectioned or their children were adopted.  The anticipation of childbirth while pregnant, the approaching date of confinement, the first contractions, bring joy to an expectant mother’s heart. Hurried visits to the clinic or hospital in the last trimester only to be turned away and sent home with a disappointing diagnosis of Braxton Hicks contractions otherwise known as false labor are on the other hand discouraging. Some women get very excited...

Time to mask up again?

TIME TO MASK UP AGAIN?

Because the COVID-19 severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus continues to circulate, but more importantly, because of an uptick in infections and hospitalizations, I’ve decided to start a new thread, since the old one is a pretty large file.  Let’s begin with a status check.  As of mid-August 2023 there were: U.S. Hospitalizations from COVID Deaths from COVID in U.S. Doses of vaccine given in U.S. 6,256,971 1,145,659 676,728,782[1] [1] As of May 2023. Variant Name R0 Value Comments XBB.1.5 Kraken TBD Emerged in Fall...

Your spiritual needs as you get older

YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS AS YOU GET OLDER

Early this morning well before sunrise, I had a period of sleeplessness. I had time to reflect on how I have been feeling, on upcoming appointments with my cardiologist, my urological oncologist, podiatrist, physical therapist and so on. I should mention that I’m six months beyond my seventy-fourth birthday. Or, as Jack Benny might have said, “I just celebrated the fortieth anniversary of my thirty-fourth birthday.” This post will examine your spiriual needs as you get older. Knowing when you...

SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) NEWS THREAD

When I launched this thread last May, Delta was just beginning to explore and infiltrate our communities. The vaccination rates were still climbing and many people–myself included–hoped we were out of the woods. But then the new case rate and the mortality rates climbed while the vaccination rates reached a plateau. Now, some epidemiologists are predicting another year or two of the pandemic. Note that I use the term “epidemiologist” and not “radiologist” or “opthamologist.” Doctors such as radiologists and...

DEADLY HARVEST: AGENT ORANGE & OUR VETS

On Thursday, January 18, 1962, I was in seventh grade. Chubby Checker had the Number 1 song in America, called “The Twist.” Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, the largest black university in the U.S. was shut down over civil rights demonstrations, and President John F. Kennedy gave final approval for the U.S. Military Assistance Command to proceed with Operation Ranch Hand, which was a “a massive effort to defoliate the forests of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos with an herbicide known as...

Fear and heart failure in Luke

FEAR AND HEART FAILURE IN LUKE

Today is the first day of December. At the moment, many Americans are nervously awaiting the arrival of the Omicron strain of the SARS-COV-2 virus. We’re told that it may very well evade the immune response in our bodies conferred by the vaccine. Some citizens are more bothered by the prospect of having to wear masks and the odds of another lockdown. But other Americans don’t care one way or another about Omicrom. They think they are invincible, or it...

The SARS-CoV-2 virus

WHY IS SARS-COV-2 SO RESILIENT?

Origins (as described on NPR One) Originally, the so-called wet markets found in Huanan and many other cities not only in China but in Laos, Thailand, SIngapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia were blamed for the begining of the SARS-CoV-2 in humans. At the markets, many common foods such fish, chicken and pork are displayed in close proximity to more exotic animals, which are often stacked in cages that create incredible stress on the animals, making them vulnerable to disease....

My Journey with Cancer Part 2. Cancer cells dividing.

MY JOURNEY WITH CANCER (PT 2)

To jump to the most current post, click HERE Welcome to Part 2 of my blog post My Journey With Cancer. I’m blogging daily with no understanding of when or how my journey will end. It might be ten years from now or it may be much sooner. But then, again, does anyone know the measure of time they been apportioned on Earth? And what is time? And what happens to us when that time runs out? The reason I...