Health & Wellness

Intensive Care

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:11:40 -0600

The thing that scared me most was the anesthesia. The fear was so overwhelming I couldn’t sleep the night before my surgery. I lay there in my room on the cardiac ward with the lights off, trying not to keep checking the clock on the wall. But I couldn’t help it. Every time I looked, only a minute or two had gone by. It seemed like morning would never come. I could accept that a surgeon would do the repair work my heart needed, but being “put under”? That sounded unsettling, close to being “put down,” what you’d do for a pet that was beyond help.

Choose to Live!

admin — Sat, 01 May 2004 13:27:00 -0500

Not again! My husband, Tom, in his usual spot—on his La-Z-Boy, remote control and a can of Coke at his side and a big bowl of ice cream resting on his belly. Even though it was December, he still ate ice cream. Did I say ice cream? That doesn't do the concoction justice. There must have been a pint of chocolate syrup, a shovel's worth of whipped cream and half a dozen maraschino cherries staining the whole mess a nearly fluorescent red.

Outside the Safety Net

admin — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 10:45:30 -0600

"Moving to Los Angeles? Have you lost your minds?" These questions echoed as the news spread that Texaco had promoted my husband, Howard, to quality coordinator for their western region. Now family members and friends, gathered at our house in Houston, watched silently as the moving van pulled away from the curb.

Howard and I took one last walk through the home where we had reared three daughters. Blinking back tears, I thought, Maybe they're right. Maybe we have lost our minds.

Winter Fruit Salad

admin — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 11:49:00 -0600

The beauty of this salad lies in the fact that you can prepare the fruit mixture ahead, then assemble the salad quickly at the last minute. The juices of the cooked fruit mingle with the vinegar for a simple, sensational dressing.

Ingredients

2 medium Granny Smith or Gala apples, thinly sliced

2 medium Bosc or Bartlett pears, thinly sliced

Running for a Cure

admin — Wed, 01 Nov 2006 10:56:00 -0600

On August, 15, 2006, Steve Bethune went for a run. The sixth-grade teacher from Northern California been running regularly for about a year. But this was different. This was the day that Steve set off from New York City on a 3,000-mile cross-country journey.

Heart Healthy

admin — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 09:21:00 -0600

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women in this country. One in three women will develop it in her lifetime. Scary statistics, to be sure. But because many of the factors leading to heart disease can be controlled or monitored, you can take steps to avoid becoming part of those statistics. You've probably heard the warnings against smoking, high cholesterol levels and couch-potato syndrome—all factors that put you at high risk for heart disease. Even if you're smoke-free, active and eating a low-fat diet, there are still some things you need to watch out for.

Hypnosis: Is It for You?

admin — Tue, 01 May 2007 06:57:00 -0500

It used to be that hypnosis was considered at worst, quackery, and at best, a silly party trick. You probably know the old image of a magician swinging a big gold pocket watch, putting an unsuspecting volunteer in a trance and getting him to crawl around on all fours barking like a dog. And that's before the sangria. But that sketchy past is quickly being eclipsed by mounting evidence that hypnosis has real and powerful effects on your health and well-being.

The Right Words

admin — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 10:58:39 -0600

After my brother's massive heart attack, he lay in a coma in the hospital's coronary intensive-care unit. Tubes and wires hooked him up to machines that kept him alive. A scope showed the wiggly lines of a faltering heartbeat. The only sound in his room was the rhythmical whoosh of the pump forcing air into his lungs. My sister-in-law stood by, helpless.

As a minister I had often been with families in similar situations. I had searched for the right words, the perfect scriptural passage, a phrase of hope, trying to comfort them. But this was a new experience.

I Want to Be Like Jay

admin — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:48:59 -0600

I was staring at my to-do list. In a few weeks our son Aaron was getting married in Iowa. My husband and I had decided to make the 16-hour drive with our youngest son, Jay, who is mentally disabled and has a severe heart condition that requires him to sleep with an oxygen tube. Now I was having second thoughts about subjecting Jay to all that travel. What if...? I kept thinking. I was about to cancel our plans.

Don't Let It End This Way

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 17:34:29 -0600

The hospital was unusually quiet that bleak January evening. I stood in the nurses' station on the seventh floor and glanced at the clock. It was 9:00 p.m.

I threw a stethoscope around my neck and headed for room 712, which had a new patient, Mr. Williams. A man all alone. A man strangely silent about his family.