Health & Wellness

Nonprofit Rebuilds Stroke Victim's House

batch — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:05:12 -0600

When Verdell Sims decided to help Rebuilding Together Dayton on their annual Rebuilding Day last April, she has no idea she would be on the other side of the cause one year later.

Sims saw a group of volunteers fixing up a home in her area and asked if she could help, planting flowers, getting rid of debris and lopping tree limbs, according to the Dayton Daily News.

Horseshoe Dreams

admin — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:25:00 -0600

I looked out the kitchen window at the Sandia Mountains, glowing like embers in the New Mexico sunset. I could hear my wife, Carolyn, tearing open and unpacking moving boxes in the living room. She had made me rest a spell, knowing how easily I got winded since my recent heart bypass operation. But gazing at the lush juniper and piñon trees blanketing the mountain slopes only made me feel more old and tired.

Figure in the Doorway

admin — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 09:16:01 -0600

Recently, I received a letter from a man who had just read my story in the August 1983 issue of GUIDEPOSTS. I wasn't surprised, because I have been hearing from readers ever since the story appeared 14 years ago—several thousand letters so far, as well as innumerable phone calls.

Wrong Number, Right Answer

admin — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 11:13:34 -0600

That morning, February 28, 1992, my granddaughter Melissa fixed my hair at the beauty parlor where she works while I caught up on the local news I had missed during my recent hospital stay. On Valentine's Day, after a spell with my heart, I had had a pacemaker put in. I felt good now and I was glad to be away from all those doctors and nurses constantly fussing at me.

My daughter Rita picked me up at 11:30 and ran me back to my trailer. "Mama," she said on the way, "why don't you come over to my place and I'll fix you a sandwich and—"

A Pair of Heroes

admin — Sun, 01 Apr 2007 09:51:00 -0500

There's nothing like the crisp, clean smell of New England woodlands in November. The fields turn the color of toasted almonds. I'd been waiting weeks for a day like this. I rounded up my two yellow Labs, Lilly and Jack, and together we drove 45 minutes to Rhode Island's Arcadia Wildlife Management Area.

News To Use: About Strokes and Aneurysms

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 15:53:54 -0500

A stroke is a sudden interruption in the brain's blood supply. In the U.S., stroke is the leading cause of adult disabilities and the third-ranked cause of death. A stroke is usually caused by a blood clot or by the bursting of a swollen blood vessel in the brain. These swollen blood vessels are aneurysms. Strokes occur equally among women and men—usually more often in people over age 60—but are more likely to be fatal to women.

What If?

admin — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 10:28:00 -0600

Every day of the last 11 years my husband, John, and I have used the same prayer—for our family, for friends, for ourselves—the prayer whose answer is always yes. We learned it, as we learn most things, at a time of crisis. The story began in January 1996, as we set out from our home in New York on what we thought would be a typical editorial trip for GUIDEPOSTS. On the twenty-fourth—at a motel in Georgia—news reached us that our 45-year-old son Scott had suffered a major stroke.

The Facts: Strokes

admin — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 10:06:58 -0500

What to Watch For

Patients treated with an intravenous drug called t-PA within three hours of a stroke have a better chance at recovering more fully. Act quickly if you notice any of the following:

When I Opened My Eyes

admin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:05:05 -0500

Christmas is the season of surprises. I mean surprise in the deepest sense of the word—the miracle of the unexpected. The kind of miracle that happened to me one Christmas. Not once, but twice.

Christmas Eve, 2001, I was working at my daughter Susanne's jewelry stand at a Denver-area mall. The holidays were her busiest time, so I gave her a hand. It did me good too. With the carols playing over the PA system, the decorations in the store windows and the festive crowds, it was hard to feel lonely at the mall.