People Need People

Yesterday I found myself reading something about suicide.  I kept following links and clicking on related articles and it really made me feel so very sad way deep down inside.  Especially since this is the time of year that suicide touched me in an extremely personal way.

Every 40 seconds on a regular day someone commits suicide for a myriad of reasons.  During the holidays...that rate triples.

It seriously hurt my heart to think of people who feel that alone and hopeless.

I said something on FB about it and told people that if they ever needed someone to talk to just hit me up.  I'm sorry to say that more than a few took me up on that.  

During the holidays I hope you make yourself more aware of the people around you.  Try and smile a bit more and be nicer and kinder and gentler to folks.  You never know what folks are dealing with daily but we do know that the terrible feelings of loneliness some feel are greatly increased during the holidays.  You never know what that smile or kind word will do for a perfect stranger.

And you never know what receiving the same will do for you.

For Christmas this year I wish that everyone would simply be NICER to each other.  Open a door, give up your seat, pay it forward, give out baked goods to neighbors and/or coworkers, let someone in during traffic.  You know...simple stuff.

We have to help take care of each other.

Ebola Musings

I know this picture has nothing to do with Ebola but I stumbled on it this morning and it made me burst out laughing.  LOL!  Just a HOT.FONKY.FRIED.MESS!  NO MORE GOLF FOR YOU OBAMA!  

If I contracted Ebola...I wouldn't allow them to release my name while I was being treated.  And you're damn sure not getting a picture of me to put up on the screen every 5 minutes.

So...the bride-to-be didn't just fly on her own.  She took the proper channels and asked the CDC to be cleared to fly and only flew once she received clearance.  Seriously CDC?  And this is why I'm still not surprised that the first patient was misdiagnosed.  They were woefully unprepared.

But hey...the CDC underwent budget cuts for emergency services back in 2012 and well...that wasn't a Republican driven decision...that was something agreed upon across the board.  So yeah...dumb move by all.  DUMB.DUMB.DUMB.

Racist Uncle, "They bet not let that lil' Black girl die.  The White people didn't die.  They let that lil' Black girl die and that dude's cousin is going to be back in the news talking about a stupid c-o-n-spiracy."

And he's right...people will keep up the c-o-n-spiracy talks.  Now...it doesn't make it true...but he's right.  We all know that they caught all the other people's symptoms MUCH earlier.  They just all happened to be White.  Bride-to-be knew her co-worker had it before she rolled out to Cleveland so yeah...she probably had it in her system the same amount of time but didn't start getting treatment days later.  They don't know enough about the disease for me.  No telling what the early symptoms do.

I'm glad they took her to Emory.  I know she's glad too.  Damn shame seeing as though she WORKS in a hospital but they had to take her to another hospital for proper treatment.

*BLINK*

I saw a dude from her flight on the news.  He said he bleached his luggage.  How does one go about that exactly?  And...does the virus live on inanimate objects?  In his defense, however, ain't no telling what it does and doesn't do because CLEARLY the information the CDC has provided us thus far is not comprehensive.

Yeah...that's the word of the day.

Dallas is asking for disaster status.  Whatchall think?  Warranted?

Head of the CDC is going in front of Congress today.  Me feel like he's about to be whupped to death.  Poor guy.

Are YOU doing anything differently because of the Ebola?  How would you feel if you were one of those passengers on the plane with her?  Would you feel some kinda way if you were on the same plane, later in the day, that she flew on earlier?

I Beat Cancer...So Can You!

I tell everyone who needs to know that I'm a breast cancer survivor.  I tell them calmly and matter-of-factly.  I don't make it my life story because it isn't...but I do share when people need to hear it.  And I tell them how I did it.  I tell them it was a no-brainer because, I get my yearly checkups done EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR.

Because of this, nothing serious gets a chance to sneak up on me.  It takes a long time for something inside you to manifest into something that can kill you so if I got a good checkup last year and they find something this year...then I'm confident it won't be anything that will kill me.

EARLY DETECTION IS KEY.

And Imma do what the doctor I trust, Preston Sacks, tells me to do.

I beat cancer because my mother took me to the doctor yearly for my checkups and I continued that.  I do them every year around my birthday so I don't forget.  I was with doctors for my birth so it seems fitting that I'll be with doctors every year for the anniversary of my birth.

Some friends were discussing how their insurance only pays for certain tests every other year now or every five years.  Fortunately, because I'm a cancer survivor, my insurance can't do me like that but...if they did, I'd honestly pay for the tests out-of-pocket.

Why?

Because I love my life, I love living and I'm living proof that EARLY DETECTION IS KEY.

When's the last time you got checked out?  

What are the rules of your insurance company?

Have they changed recently regarding what tests are covered when?

Have you had any "scares" recently?

P.S.  If you're in the DC Metro and would like an EXCELLENT gynecologist,  Preston is amazing.  I can't sing his prayers high enough.  I don't know if he's taking new gyno patients but he takes my personal calls and emails and has never turned down someone I sent to him personally yet.

Alzheimer's Disease (Old Timers) & My People

“Alzheimer’s disease (AD), also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease, is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death. It was first described by German psychiatrist and neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1906 and was named after him.[1] Most often, AD is diagnosed in people over 65 years of age,[2] although the less-prevalent early-onset Alzheimer’s can occur much earlier. In 2006, there were 26.6 million people worldwide with AD. Alzheimer’s is predicted to affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.[3]”

— http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer's_disease

Unfortunately, my family has been affected by Alzeimer's disease.  We've lost loved ones to it and we have loved ones showing signs of it coming.  We sit and try and fix our face when a sign appears.  A simple question asked and discussed and then asked again within a couple of minutes.  With a normal smile.  No confusion.  Nothing to indicate anything else is wrong.   A good time being held by all and then...suddenly...that grip of fear squeezing the shit out of our hearts because we saw it.  We were there.  And we know what comes next.

And we're not ready.

“Everyone has occasional memory lapses. It’s normal to lose track of where you put your keys or forget the name of an acquaintance. But the memory loss associated with Alzheimer’s disease persists and worsens, affecting your ability to function at work and at home. People with Alzheimer’s may:

Repeat statements and questions over and over, not realizing that they’ve asked the question before
Forget conversations, appointments or events, and not remember them later
Routinely misplace possessions, often putting them in illogical locations
Eventually forget the names of family members and everyday objects”

— http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/alzheimers-disease/basics/symptoms/con-20023871

It starts out simple enough and gets worse.  Way worse than you'll ever be prepared for.  When you watched a beloved Elder furious and in severe panic because of their frustration in not knowing who are you any longer...it starts a crack in your heart that hurts.  FOR REAL HURT.

Because of how directly this disease has touched my family, I have a high interest in anything related to studying the disease.  I read something a long time ago which stated that since the disease was relatively "new" that the most likely culprit was diet.  As we progressed in the world of food preservatives, we regressed in many health related areas so it wasn't without merit that this was a very real possibility.  

I look at the diet of most of my family down South and I note the high fat content.  The dependence on processed foods.  The quick meals from fast food restaurants.  I think about how a body changes to adapt to nutrition starvation and begins to figure out how to fuel itself with the chemicals in the processed foods and then I think about the elders I have who aren't showing signs of anything except aging well.  And they eat mostly vegetables and fruit.  Lean meats.  They're not carrying around the belly fat.  Working out is a part of their daily routine more often than not and they are sharp with their New York Times daily crossword puzzle.  

We never really discussed why they eat differently than most.  They just always said, "I'm not eating that." and kept it moving.  Leaving it to us to make the comparisons and come up with our own plan.

Fortunately, my mother was very vocal about food and what she didn't trust.  Since my father didn't trust the government to do anything other than take from us...it was easy to become food paranoid in our household.

Back to Alzheimer's.

Yesterday I read this article and it was the first time the things I'd been thinking had validity:  UCLA STUDY: NON-DRUG TREATMENT MAY REVERSE ALZHEIMER'S

The standout?

“In the UCLA protocol, patients made dramatic lifestyle changes. They avoided simple carbs, gluten and processed foods. They increased their fish intake, took yoga and meditated. They were instructed to take melatonin, get adequate sleep, incorporate vitamin B-12, vitamin D-3 and fish oil.

Within six months, nine patients saw a noticeable improvement in memory. One patient, who was in the late stages of Alzheimer’s, did not show improvement.

UCLA researchers say the findings suggest at least early on, changing a person’s metabolic processes can bring back memory and cognitive function.”

I sent this article to all of my Elders with the following message:  

“Thought you’d find this article interesting. I don’t know about you, but with so many of my elders having suffered from this disease, it makes me very nervous.”

Do you have it in your family or your family history?  Does it make you nervous?  Is it something that you will focus on preventing? 

Symptoms of Ebola

Symptoms of Ebola include

• Fever (greater than 38.6°C or 101.5°F)
• Severe headache
• Muscle pain
• Weakness
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Abdominal (stomach) pain
• Unexplained hemorrhage (bleeding or bruising)

Symptoms may appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure to Ebola, but the average is 8 to 10 days.

Recovery from Ebola depends on the patient’s immune response. People who recover from Ebola infection develop antibodies that last for at least 10 years.

From:  http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/symptoms/index.html