Finally: An easy way to organize meals for friends

Posted on 24. Jun, 2010 by kchristieh in food

Over the years, there are several times that I’ve organized meals for friends who have had babies, had surgery, or lost loved ones to help ease their burden in difficult times. I’ve used Microsoft Excel and Google Documents, but neither of these has been as seamless for me and the people providing the meals as I’d wish.

I’m happy to report that there’s a new website, MealBaby, that finally solves the meal planning dilemma. You set up an account and include the dates available, dietary preferences and restrictions, and other relevant instructions. Then, send a link to the people who might like to provide a meal. Once they either register or sign in, they’ll see the dates on the calendar that are still available. They’ll also see what people are planning on cooking on the nights that are already taken. (After all, lasagne is wonderful, but you don’t necessarily want it every night. Unless you’re me.)

I signed up to make a meal for someone on Saturday night. I plan to make a great recipe for Tex-Mex Chicken & Rice Bake on AllRecipes.com, and will double it so my family can eat it too.

This is what 47 looks like…

Posted on 28. May, 2010 by kchristieh in health, my life

For me, 47 is…when I buy a pill box to help me remember to take my vitamins. And then forget anyway.

Picture taken on Friday. Note the pill in the Thursday slot. The problem is I’m supposed to have them with meals, not any time.

At least they’re vitamins, and nothing more serious.

“Building a Healthier Community” Fair 2/27

Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by kchristieh in health

Eat free food, listen to live music, meet local politicians and celebrities and get your H1N1 flu shot all at once. There’s even a drawing for great prizes. What could be more fun? Check out the “Building a Healthier Community” Fair this Saturday at LCPC. More details are below.

After spending Saturday being healthy, you can join State Senator Carol Liu in walking in the Chinatown Firecracker Run this Sunday, 2/28. See more information here. This is a great opportunity to get to know your State Senator. Download the pdf here and bring it on the day of the run along with a check for $22 made out to the Los Angeles Firecracker Run Committee. It’s a $5 discount off the regular price. Meet at Senator Liu’s booth at the start line on North Broadway, Los Angeles at 7am. Please RSVP to or call .

Cast away

Posted on 30. Nov, 2009 by kchristieh in health

Life is relative. When you’re about to get the 11th cast off that you’ve ever had, there’s no sweeter sound than the buzz of the orthopedist’s little round saw.

My son got his cast off today, and graduated to a brace. He’s still on crutches, but he took a big step on the Road to Normal today.

We’re all happy for him.

We pass by the Huntington Memorial Hospital ER every time we visit his orthopedist. I hope it’s a long, long time before I go back there again. But given our history, never say never.

One in six adults has mental illness

Posted on 21. Oct, 2009 by kchristieh in health, startling statistics, videos

According to BringChange2Mind.org,

1 in 6 adults and almost 1 in 10 children suffer from a diagnosable mental illness.

It sounds high, but when I think about it, it rings true. Think of how many adults you know who take anti-depressants, and how many children you know who have ADD or autism. It’s very sad that so many people suffer from mental illness.

The goal of BringChange2Mind is to destigmatize mental illness. They’ve made a great series of ads that shows teams of people who care about each other, where one person has mental illness and the other doesn’t. Some are famous, like BringChange2Mind co-founder Glenn Close, who’s featured with her sister, who has a bipolar disorder. BringChange2Mind is also a resource for people with mental illness to find resources and support.

I hope these videos get lots of airplay. There are lots of misconceptions about and biases against people with mental illness. Everyone deserves love and respect.

Over 60 Ways to Help a Sick Friend or Relative

Posted on 16. Aug, 2009 by kchristieh in health, religion

This weekend my husband’s youngest sister found out she has acute myeloid leukemia. She entered the hospital today, and if the doctors determine she’s up for it, she’ll start intensive chemotherapy tomorrow.

Unfortunately, she lives halfway across the country. We’re praying a lot for her, but we’d like to find more ways to help and support her. I’m not an expert in these matters, so I turned to Google and compiled the following list of ways to help a friend or relative who’s sick:

• Be supportive without expecting anything in return. In particular, don’t burden them with your problems.
• Listen more than you talk.
• Don’t judge them because of their illness. Have compassion.
• Don’t try to take over their life.
• Keep in touch, even via phone.
• Send notes and cards frequently.
• Allow the person to be scared, and to cry.
• Keep your emotions under control. You don’t want to add to their burden by making them worrry about how you’re handling their situation.
• If you talk for a long time and they’re in the right state of mind, share stories from your life, so that they can stay in touch with the outside world and have news to pass on to others.
• Take pictures or videos of family or social events they can’t attend.
• Learn more about the patient’s illness or disease so you can understand what they’re talking about.
• Offer to create and maintain a page on CaringBridge or CarePages that will help keep friends updated and will allow those friends to communicate their get well wishes on.
• Ask people who are in touch with the patient if they can think of anything you might be able to do.
• Offer to pray with the person, if that’s appropriate.
• Let the person complain about what their doctor has instructed them to do, but encourage them to follow the instructions.

If you can visit,

• Call first to see if you can come.
• Learn about the patient’s condition and about their illness before you visit.
• Wash your hands and sanitize them before you touch the patient or anything you plan to give to them.
• Don’t stay longer than 15-20 minutes.
• Avoid close contact so you don’t spread disease.
• Turn off your cellphone, or at least the ringer. Give your attention to the patient, not to your cellphone.
• Be willing to sit and listen. Even watch tv. Your mere presence will be appreciated.
• Ask to see what you can cook them for dinner. Bring it in disposable containers. Better yet, organize a calendar so that friends can make sure that food deliveries are spread out evenly.
• Offer to do specific tasks such as: minor home repairs, care for pets, mow the lawn, drive the kids, wash windows, buy groceries, help set up for the holidays, buy birthday gifts, etc.
• Ask the patient and their family “What needs to be done?” instead of “What can I do?” They might not realize the extent of your capabilities or connections to others who may help.
• Tell them when you’re available to help. If you say you’re available on Tuesday morning, for example, they might ask you to pick up a prescription that’s ready then.
• Offer to read to the patient.
• Patients interviewed on various websites mentioned that they appreciated when someone brought perfume, a coloring book and crayons (from a granddaughter), music, magazines, knitting supplies, candy, flowers, books, lotion, Chapstick, gum, socks, t-shirt, phone card, a notebook, and non-hospital food. Of course, make sure it’s ok for the patient to have something before you bring it.
• Offer to give the patient a manicure, a pedicure or a massage.
• Bring healthy snacks and non-alcoholic, caffeine-free beverages.
• If they’re not allowed outside, bring them fall leaves, winter snow or spring flowers.
• If they can go out, take them for a ride.
• Ask them if there’s anyone that you can contact for them.
• Give them frozen cookies or brownies that they can either eat when they’re feeling better or that they can offer to guests.
• Let them know they look great, all things considered.
• Let them know you admire their strength.
• Offer to write thank you notes and cards.
• Give the person a chance to discuss their spiritual concern by saying something like, “It’s difficult to be sick and not have control, isn’t it?”
• Offer a shoulder to lean on if the person needs to walk as either exercise or to visit the lavatory.
• If it’s appropriate, bring humor and a light mood to them. Laughter can be a terrific medicine.

If you visit them in the hospital,

• Speak to the nurses first to prepare yourself for the condition they’ll be in, and to see if there are any special instructions regarding what you can bring into their room.
• If the door is closed, check with the nurse before you open it.
• Don’t wake a sleeping patient before checking with a nurse first. It’s probably best if you wait until they wake up or if you leave a note and visit later.
• Give them privacy. If they’re being attended to by doctors or nurses, you should probably leave the room.
• Show respect for the doctors and nurses, no matter what your past experience has been.
• If the room is crowded, it’s probably best to come back another time.
• Sit down in a chair.
• Offer to refill the water pitcher, answer the telephone, or call a nurse if necessary.
• Ask doctors and nurses to explain things you don’t understand. Have faith in them.

Here’s a list of what NOT to do:

• Don’t ask them how they’re doing. This one puzzled me, but the explanation that Associated Content gave makes sense: “You already know how they are. They’re in the hospital and don’t need the extra frustration of having to answer a question that has an obvious answer. People naturally use the phrase “how are you” to start a conversation. Using that phrase when we know what the answer is going to be can be annoying and aggravating for someone who is ill. Also remember that the majority of people in the hospital are usually being administered pain medications. The effects of these medications alone are enough to irritate someone.”
• Don’t offer unsolicited medical advice. Of course, if they ask your opinion, give it. But be aware that they’ve already got medical professionals advising them, and what works for you or someone else you know might not work for them.
• Don’t second-guess the doctor.
• Don’t visit the patient or a hospital if you have symptoms of an illness that might be contagious.
• Don’t promise them that God will bring total healing.
• Don’t say “God wouldn’t give you something you can’t handle.” It makes it sound like the patient is being targeted with bad things by God.
• Don’t gossip or relay bad news.
• Don’t delve into their personal life.
• Don’t tell them you know how they feel. You probably don’t, and even if you do, who cares? It’s not about you, it’s about them. Just listen to them, and don’t be judgmental.
• Don’t visit if you’ll increase the patient’s stress or anxiety.
• Don’t expect the patient to entertain you. They should not be expected to keep you occupied.
• Don’t smoke, even if you step outside to do so. The lingering smell may make the person nauseous.

Remember, everyone’s different. Although the above suggestions may work for most people most of the time, remember that everyone’s personality and situation are different.

PS – If I’m ever really sick, please make sure I have a Kindle to read. Hopefully a hospital would allow it. I think that would be a great way to have books, magazines and newspapers without having to worry about the germs they might carry.

A healthy traveler is a happy traveler

Posted on 16. Jul, 2009 by kchristieh in health, travel

I don’t have fond memories of my trip to Madrid in 1985. I mostly remember doubling over in pain from a horrible stomachache that I probably got by drinking water with bacteria that my body wasn’t equipped to handle.

I’ve sworn to do all that I can to avoid that in the future, so that’s how I recently wound up at the Healthy Traveler Clinic in Pasadena, CA. Until I discovered them, I hadn’t realized that there’s actually a medical specialty of travel medicine. I was very impressed by the doctor, the staff and the office, and recommend Healthy Traveler to anyone traveling to an area where they might benefit from pre-trip vaccinations. My risk-aversion trumped my fear of shots, so I bravely submitted to three shots. The doctor also sent me home with chloroquine to prevent malaria and a prescription for an antibiotic that I should take at the first sign of another bad stomachache.

Hopefully I won’t need any of this, but at least I’m as prepared as possible. I have a sensitive stomach, lots of allergies, and am a mosquito magnet, so I figure I can’t be too careful.

If I do get sick, I wonder if a stuffed e. coli Giant Microbe would cheer me up. I don’t want to test it.

Save the babies + educate the kids = healthy society

Posted on 06. May, 2009 by kchristieh in education, feminism, inspirational people, international, non-profits, quotes

One of the biggest lessons Greg Mortenson has learned since he started to build schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan is to LISTEN. I think he’s learned it quite well. He’s listened to children, their parents and village elders who have asked him to build schools for their villages. He’s listened to mothers who have asked him to help reduce the infant and maternal mortality rates. And as a result, boys and girls are being educated in greater and greater numbers each year, and those children are coming back and helping their villages escape the cycle of poverty and ignorance that serves as a breeding ground for Taliban extremists.

I had the privilege of hearing Greg speak at the California Distinguished Speakers Series this evening in Pasadena. He’s just like how he describes himself in his bestselling book, Three Cups of Tea: just an ordinary, humble guy. But that’s what makes him so extraordinary. He’s made it his life’s mission to educate the children of Pakistan and Afghanistan, and is particularly interested in making sure that girls get an education. He said that when a girl learns to read, she is likely to teach her mother to read, to read newspapers to her family, and to someday deny her son the blessing that he requires to go on a jihad. Greg is the son of former missionaries, and doesn’t have much money. But he’s determined and passionate, and gets others excited about making a difference in the world.

One of the first slides he showed was of this African proverb:

Teach a boy and you teach an individual

Teach a girl and you teach a community.

At first glance it’s easy to dismiss that as being more applicable to Third World countries, but I found it interesting that he said that many of the American politicians and military readers who say they’ve been touched by Greg’s book say they read it because their wives encouraged them to. I was pleased to hear that the new administration is taking Greg’s ideas seriously. Maybe Barack Obama does read my blog!  ;)

Many thanks to Robin R., who gave me the tickets (my hubby accompanied me – I’d given him the book to read last summer!) since she wasn’t feeling well. I hope she gets better soon! Now I need to sleep and stay healthy to continue making a difference and to have the energy to do even more things!!

Pearls before swine flu

Posted on 01. May, 2009 by kchristieh in animals, health, my life, shopping

I’ve missed a few Etsy Fridays…so there’s no harm in pushing another retail establishment. One of my favorite birthday presents this year is a . He’s decked out with his own personal facemask, to protect him from swine flu. I was sick for most of this week (hence the absence of blog posts), so he was protecting himself. It worked! But he’ll probably keep it on until we’re no longer on emergency alert.

Pig is my favorite “Pearls Before Swine” character. His optimism and innocence remind me of myself. Here are a few recent examples:

One way to maintain that slim figure at a Mexican restaurant

Posted on 23. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in art, food, health

What is art? I know it when I see it. And these tortilla chips at Los Gringos Locos this evening were diamonds in the rough, blank palettes awaiting their Michelangelo.

Remember: the more chips you repurpose, the less you’ll eat.

Unless you have extra guacamole.

Can you tell what these are? Of course you can!

Top 10 tips to get a good night’s sleep

Posted on 03. Apr, 2009 by kchristieh in health, shopping

I have not been sleeping enough lately. I know, I know: that’s bad. But I have so much to do, and I get so much more done after the rest of the world goes to bed. Hopefully this weekend I’ll get some good sleep.

Here are my secrets to a good night’s sleep. They’re all low-cost and drug-free. They may be silly, but they work for me.

1. Wear knit gloves if your hands get cold.
2. Always wear socks.
3. Wear pajama pants that don’t ride up your legs.
4. Put a heavy blanket on top of the bedspread.
5. Don’t let your dog or cat sleep on your bed.
6. When necessary, have a good pair of earplugs by your bedside. I’ve tested many, and by far the best are the generic CVS brand silicone earplugs.
7. Close all shades, curtains and doors to the room to block the light.
8. Make sure all alarm clocks are on their darkest setting and aren’t set to turn on. (Mostly a concern in a hotel room.)
9. Leave your cell phone and laptop in a different room, or at least on silent and upside down / closed so they won’t light up the room.
10. If you have the luxury of sleeping past sunrise, wear an eye mask.

Which brings us to this week’s Etsy Find! I have an excellent travel eye mask I purchased at Distant Lands many years ago. It has a molded bridge that goes over the nose, so no light sneaks up to the eyes.

But it sure is tempting to wear the hand made “FREAK Them Out Sleep Eye Mask FreakyOldWoman Nightmare FOW” sold by FreakyOldWoman on Etsy.

Freaky, huh? But check this out:

Eeeek! Maybe this mask could work by scaring off your snoring sleep partner.

Actually, it does look like it’s a nice size, and I like the thick elastic band that holds it on.

Can you imagine how much you’d scare your children if you wore this in front of them? They’d be scarred for life.

STD rates among teens and young adults

Posted on 26. Mar, 2009 by kchristieh in education, parenting, startling statistics

Today my Parent Ed. class finished up a series about teens and sex. Besides the risk of pregnancy and adverse emotional issues, one of the big reasons parents want their kids to not have sex is so that they can avoid contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD). Which made us wonder…what are the rates of STDs among teens? I’ve heard they’re high, as demonstrated by these oft-repeated statistics:

One in two sexually active youth will contract an STD by age 25.

Half of all new HIV infections occur among adolescents. (5)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, here are infection rates for the major STDs. Where I could find them, I included the rates for teens and young adults.

Of course, these statistics vary greatly by socioeconomic class, ethnicity, living situation and other factors.

I was surprised to see that there were so many more HPV and genital herpes cases. I also didn’t realize that the vaccine preventable-HPV strain was such a small fraction of all HPV cases. When you add these together, and consider that some people are counted in more than one disease category, it wouldn’t add up to 50%. However, the statistic at top was for sexually active people, so that makes sense.

Whether you think you or your child is at a high risk or a low risk, it’s better to be careful.

Sources:
(1)    http://www.cdc.gov/std/stats07/adol.htm
(2)    http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/topics/surveillance/basic.htm#hivaidsage
(3)    http://www.cdc.gov/STD/stats07/other.htm#HPV
(4)    http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/g/genital_herpes/stats.htm
(5)    http://www.ashastd.org/pdfs/ASHA_05.final.pdf

Reminder to myself why I should avoid Diet Coke

Posted on 19. Feb, 2009 by kchristieh in food, my life

I’ve tried for awhile to stop drinking Diet Coke, but haven’t quite kicked the habit. Anyone who knows me well knows I don’t have many vices, so this has been my daily treat for awhile.

But since I started drinking Diet Coke, I’ve gained weight, my sleep patterns have been wacky, and (probably TMI here) my left foot gets itchy.

The Frontal Cortex blog recently reported that an article in Behavioral Neuroscience confirms that humans aren’t satisfied by artificial sweeteners such as Splenda. Here’s how the blog summarizes it:

The essential lesson is that the brain doesn’t like being tricked. When you give us sweetness without the caloric energy, we end up craving calories more than ever.

That pretty much sums me up. When I drink Diet Coke, I get an (often appreciated) energy boost, but I also become hungrier, and wind up eating more.

I also read recently (but can’t remember where, sorry) that many of the scientists who ran the tests to determine whether Splenda is safe refuse to consume it themselves. Even though their tests didn’t find any problems, they’re spooked by the complexity of the chemical formulation behind Splenda.

I’ll treat myself to Diet Coke every once in awhile, but I’ll try to remember this post and stay away from it.

Here’s a tip that may save your life next time you have a prescription

Posted on 10. Feb, 2009 by kchristieh in health, my life

Did you know that many pharmacies include a description of the medication on the bottle and paperwork? I have a friend who found out the hard way: she couldn’t figure out why her young daughter’s medication wasn’t working the way it used to, and she finally looked at the bottle and it described a completely different pill than what her daughter had been taking. She had it checked out, and it turns out her daughter was taking a medication used to treat Parkinson’s Disease. Thankfully, she was taking it at a dose that wasn’t dangerous.

Not all pharmacies provide this service, so I switched to one that does. I’ve circled how it’s noted on a prescription I had filled yesterday:

I love the warning in the upper righthand corner: “Do not lie down for at least 30 minutes after taking this medication.” Yikes! What would happen if I did?

I wish I weren’t allergic to penicillin, or I might be able to take more standard medications that might work better. As it is, my doctor’s trying a second round of antibiotics to knock out the cough I’ve had since just after Thanksgiving.

Is it against your religion to donate your organs?

Posted on 29. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in health, inspirational people

NO! According to organdonor.gov, all organized religions not only allow, but ENCOURAGE organ donation!

I learned this because Tina, one of our local Girl Scouts, has mounted a campaign to sign up people to be organ donors for her Gold Award project. I think that’s a great idea. Here’s a quote from the email I just received from Tina:

A common misconception is that people who are brain dead can come back to life. This, in fact, has never happened before – brain death only lasts for up to 48 hours before a person is actually dead. Most people get this mixed up with comas. A coma is when a person has lost consciousness for an extended period of time, and a few people have actually awoken from them. However, brain death is when all blood flow is cut to the brain, an irreversible action. No one in a coma will ever be asked to give up their organs.

Also, this has nothing to do with scientific research. Your body will not be dissected or taken apart – all useful organs will be removed from the inside, but your outside will look exactly the same.

So, if you’re not already signed up to be an organ donor, visit Tina’s site at http://recyclemeplease.info/ and learn how to donate. It’s shocking how few people sign up to donate, but it’s amazing how many lives it could save.

If you or a loved one were in need of an organ, wouldn’t you wish more people were registered?

Would you ever or never believe a faith healer?

Posted on 18. Jan, 2009 by kchristieh in disabilities, health, inspirational people, local news, my life, religion

This evening, three very dear, level-headed, grounded friends of mine arranged for a Catholic faith healer named Paul Miller to perform a service at our local community center. They had heard him before, and were so moved and so convinced that he’d change lives here that they flew him out from New Jersey to speak. They sent emails to friends they thought might be interested, and via word-of-mouth about 100 people attended.

When I received the email, I was pretty skeptical. I figured that I’d rather do just about anything than attend such a service, but I was curious about why these women whom I trusted would be so sure that this was true. Then I spoke to one of them in person the other day, and she told me about the first time she heard Paul speak. She said that when Paul laid hands upon her, she felt a “whoosh” pass through her body. That reminded me of what I sensed when my dog died. (I mean that only in a good way.) So, my curiosity was piqued enough to convince this Presbyterian gal gave up a Saturday night to hear a Franciscan faith healer.

I was impressed by Paul. He’s a very humble, sincere man. He spent about two hours telling his story, and it was clear that this was something he felt called to do, not something he had sought to do. As he related how he came to this healing ministry, he made it clear that he was just as skeptical at first as any of us listening. (Note: He NEVER asked for money, and there were no collection baskets or ways to even give money.)

After a short break, he laid hands upon people. This was way outside my comfort zone. Did you know that Presbyterians are sometimes called “the frozen chosen”? That perfectly describes me. I am not prone to emotional outbursts, speaking in tongues, waving hands, or dancing in the aisles at church. In fact, I don’t even like to clap to songs. These things embarrass me. Laying on of hands conjured up images of the old-time revival meetings run by charlatans that I’d seen in movies and tv shows. So, I was seriously hesitant about this whole thing. Even so, I was moved by what Paul had said, and didn’t want to be such a doubter that I’d never be open to a new way for God to communicate with me.

As I mentioned yesterday, I live in a town that’s small enough that I recognize lots of people. That was definitely true this evening. I probably knew half the people there, and nearly every person I knew went up front. I was amazed to see people that I think had just as many doubts as I did stiffen and fall after Paul prayed over them. When they got up, many of them were grinning ear to ear. I definitely felt something special in that room, and as a Christian I’d label it as the Holy Spirit.

It’ll be interesting to hear over the next few days, weeks and months about any healing that took place. Paul emphasized that he was there for both spiritual and physical healing, and that his true goal was to bring people closer to God.

That sounds good to me.

PS – I did go up front. It was very moving. No, I didn’t fall. (Since I know you’re curious!) But there are some things that are personal enough that I’d rather not blog about them. Thanks for understanding.

Donate blood platelets NOW!

Posted on 20. Jul, 2008 by kchristieh in health

When my son was in elementary school, one of the boys in his boy scout den was diagnosed with cancer. I rallied the troops and got lots of people to donate blood for him at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. I’ve always had a problem with needles, but I really wanted to donate, so I went too. Big mistake. I nearly fainted, and the head of the blood department came up to me and looked me in the eye and said, “I never want to see you here again.” I promised him that instead of donating, I’d get other people to donate.

It’s that time.

Chase Crawford-Quickel was recently profiled in the July 14th LA Times story, A mother blogs about cancer. Chase is an Orange County 18-year-old who thought that he’d beaten cancer several years ago, only to have it return. His mother’s blog says that yesterday’s surgery was delayed because Children’s Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) didn’t have enough platelets for Chase. Eventually they operated, even though Chase didn’t have as many platelets as the doctors wanted.

So here’s what you should do today:

1. If you live in Orange County, go to CHOC and donate platelets. There’s a 99% chance you’re not a wimp like me, and this simple act could save a life. Literally. Please designate that Chase receive the platelets, but of course, anyone would appreciate them.
2. If you don’t live in the OC, visit your nearest hospital or Red Cross facility and donate blood or platelets. Again, what could be more meaningful than saving a life?
3. If you haven’t already done so, register for the National Marrow Donor Program. It’s simple, and doesn’t even require poking. I’m registered. If I can do it, you can too.

Do it. Let me know. I’ll give you a virtual pat on the back.

CVS Minute Clinic saved us hours of waiting

Posted on 08. May, 2008 by kchristieh in health, local news

Yesterday was the third day that my teenage daughter was sick. The illness had progressed from fatigue to an earache to chest pain and a cough. I didn’t want to have to schedule an appointment with her pediatrician, since my schedule was wacky, and I didn’t want to wait for several hours at the urgent care clinic.

My “aha!” moment came when I read yesterday’s Wall St. Journal article about how some in-store medical clinics are closing down for lack of patients. I recalled seeing a banner for the Minute Clinic outside our local CVS, so yesterday evening we headed on down there. I’m a convert! She saw a wonderful, qualified nurse practitioner who checked her ears, her chest, etc. and then prescribed an inhaler, an antiobiotic and Mucinex. We walked a few feet away to the pharmacy, which had our prescription already on their computer, and we were out of there 15 minutes later. It doesn’t get any easier!

Although the Minute Clinic doesn’t take our insurance (HealthNet PPO) at the moment, hopefully they will soon. At any rate, they have a promotion where they’ll only charge you your copayment if your insurance doesn’t cover their services. They cover many tests and ailments, including: bronchitis, ear infections, sinus infections, swimmer’s ear, pink eye, cholesterol screening, mononucleosis, athlete’s foot, shingles, and a whole host of vaccines. You can see the complete list here.

Please visit them when you don’t want to hassle with other options! I want enough people to visit so that this local treasure doesn’t ever go away!!

The best part of the story is that the treatment is working. My daughter left for school today with more energy than I’ve seen in days.

Get in the Blue Zone and live longer

Posted on 26. Apr, 2008 by kchristieh in health

The Blue Zones Vitality Compass is the best web application I’ve ever seen for calculating life expectancy. Not only does it take into account basic body size/weight information, but it also accounts for whether you’ve ever been diagnosed with a disease and what your eating, exercising and social habits are. And it’s free.

Here are my results:

I can only hope it’s correct! (Kaynahora!!) Of course, it can’t take into account drunk drivers, natural disasters, undiagnosed diseases, terrorism, etc.

Unfortunately, to find out how I could add two years to my life I’d have to pay $9.99. But I can guess what they’d say: eat more nuts (but they don’t know I’m allergic), exercise more (I already exercise about 3x a week) and eat more than 9 servings of fish per month.

This site’s a good reminder to stick with or adopt healthy habits.

My husband might be a bone marrow match for a sick little girl

Posted on 26. Mar, 2008 by kchristieh in health, inspirational people, my life

My husband got a phone call this evening from the National Marrow Donor Program saying that his bone marrow might be a match for a 6-year-old girl with leukemia. Before they do further tests to determine compatibility, they wanted to make sure he’d be willing to be a donor if he’s a perfect match. Being the wonderful guy he is, of course he said he would. After all, wouldn’t you be willing to put up with a sore back for 4-5 days or slight flu symptoms for a week to save someone’s life? I HOPE SO!!!

It’s easier than ever to become part of the registry. Visit the National Marrow Donor Program website to see where you can donate. They’ll either swab your cheek or take a small blood sample. Then, just make sure you keep your contact information updated when you move.

He should find out if he’s a match in a few weeks. I hope that either he is or someone else is.

And I hope that if you’re not already registered as a potential donor, that you do so right away. After all, wouldn’t it be awful if someone died when you could have saved them? Or if someone didn’t register that could have saved you…or your child?!?

(By the way, don’t forget to become an organ donor either! Remember, you can’t take it with you…)

Trevor Kott, the cute little guy pictured to the right, died before a bone marrow match could be found. Let’s not let it happen again!

POSTSCRIPT:

In early May, we received a letter stating that circumstances have changed, and the patient is not ready for a transplant at this time. Hopefully it’s because she’s gotten better without it…

Going through high school with a conjoined twin

Posted on 11. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in disabilities, inspirational people

Here’s a featuring conjoined twin girls, Abby and Brittany Hensel, who were born in 1990 and live in Minnesota. They have two spines, two stomachs, three lungs and two arms. Even so, they lead incredibly normal teenage lives, and have great attitudes. According to Wikipedia, they play sports, play piano, and even drive. They’re on track to graduate from high school this year.

Before you eat that, read this

Posted on 10. Feb, 2008 by kchristieh in food, health, life lessons

Whenever I’m getting lax about what I eat, and start gaining weight back, I should read Gary Taubes’ PBS interview. Taubes, the author of “,” explains why a lower carbohydrate diet is healthier and more effective for weight loss than a low fat diet. If that’s not enough, read Taubes’ 2002 NY Times article, “What if It’s All Been a Big Fat Lie?”

It worked for him, and it worked for me. I just need to be reminded why every once in awhile.

When targeted ads are eerily accurate

Posted on 21. Dec, 2007 by kchristieh in health

Here’s the ad that showed up on Weather.com the other day when I looked up the weather for La Canada Flintridge:

Does this show up for every city in America, or just the ones in Southern California?

Both my kids were diagnosed with sports-induced asthma after playing soccer on our high school field, which is right next to the 210 Freeway. When my son was in 6th grade, I think about 2/3 of the boys on his club soccer team had asthma. I used to joke that we should get the company that manufactures Albuterol to sponsor the team.

Now that my son’s wrestling indoors, he no longer needs his inhaler. Unfortunately, my daughter still needs it before soccer practices and games. Ironically, in some ways she’ll be healthier when she stops playing soccer someday.

Vertigo: much better as a movie than as an illness

Posted on 17. Nov, 2007 by kchristieh in health, my life

When I awoke yesterday morning, I was slightly dizzy. I figured it was because I’d had a dream I was on a boat. As it turns out, I probably had the boat dream because I was dizzy.

I was fine the rest of the day, but started feeling tired and dizzy around 8:30 pm, so I went to bed early. I wound up developing a bad case of vertigo, along with an “aura” on the left side of my body, so I went to the Huntington Hospital ER as soon as I felt it was ok to wake my husband up.

They ran lots of tests, including a CAT scan, and thankfully, all turned out normal. They think I have labyrinthitis, and put me on meclizine. Hopefully it will go away on its own, but I do need to visit my primary care physican on Monday. Wikipedia says one of the causes can be an allergy. I had an allergic reaction to the hors-d’oeuvres at the conference I attended on Wednesday night, and took some Claritin for it. I just took some more.

The guy who had a CAT scan before me had been shot in the leg. The blood was seeping through his bandage. He was in a lot of pain even though he was pretty drugged up. The CAT scan technician said he sees about one shooting a week. He said he also sees lots of pedestrians come through that have been hit by cars. It reminded me of when I had my tonsils out as a kid, and shared the children’s ward with a boy who’d lost 3/4 of his limbs by playing on a train track. Nothing like seeing someone in worse shape to appreciate your own good fortune.

I was at the ER for about five hours. Thank goodness I remembered to bring my iPod.

It wouldn’t surprise me if I have a genetic predisposition for vertigo. My mom has had it, and my paternal grandmother had it for a few years before she died. Yuk. I shouldn’t complain, as there are far worse things I could have a gene for.

Note: The illustration above comes from Art Linkletter’s 1957 book, Kids Say the Darnedest Things. It was drawn by Charles Schulz. It perfectly captures what vertigo felt like to me.

Prescribing birth control to teens without parental permission

Posted on 18. Oct, 2007 by kchristieh in education, my life, politics, religion

If my daughter has a headache at school, the health clerk can’t give her Tylenol. She’d have to have a note from me, and probably from a doctor, to be able to do so. I’ve even had to sign permission slips to allow adults to slather sunscreen on my kids on trips.

Our school’s not unique in this regard: yesterday’s NY Times article, In a Competitive Middle School, Triage for Aches and Anxieties, reports that the Millburn, NJ middle school nurse has the same restriction:

Conversely, she is limited in what she can give on her own. In litigation-sensitive Millburn, a nurse can administer over-the-counter medications only if the parent has sent in the child’s own bottle, with a doctor’s note.

So I was surprised to read in today’s NY Times that

The Portland (Maine) school board on Wednesday approved a measure allowing middle-school students to gain access to prescription birth control medications without notifying parents.

…

According to the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care, about 30 percent of the 1,700 school-based health centers in the United States provide birth control to students, Dr. Patterson said.

Are there schools out there that won’t give Tylenol without asking parents, but will provide prescription birth control?

I have mixed feelings on this issue. If a girl is sexually active, but afraid to tell her parents, it’s probably good that she has access to birth control. On the other hand, as a parent, I want to know what medications are going into my child’s body. I also want to be able to counsel her on other ramifications of being sexually active, such as STDs and emotional issues. (Though parents should do that anyway.) Also, what if a family’s religious beliefs don’t accept birth control? I know some very conservative families who think it’s wrong.

Either way, it doesn’t make sense if a school can prescribe a prescription medication without parental permission, but can’t administer an over-the-counter drug.

Side note: I don’t think this would happen much in California anyway. Most districts can’t afford real nurses or school-based health centers. Sad, but true.

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Breaking my Diet Coke habit

Posted on 18. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in food, health

No one’s ever said Diet Coke’s good for me. But it’s the one vice I have, and I hate to give it up. I haven’t been drinking it for too long, but I really have been enjoying it. Unfortunately, I’m really starting to think it’s bad for me.

Here are the ingredients in Diet Coke, per McDonalds’ website:

Carbonated water, caramel color, phosphoric acid, sodium saccharin, potassium benzoate (to protect taste), natural flavors (vegetable source), citric acid, caffeine, potassium citrate, aspartame, dimethylpolysiloxane.

Scary stuff. Definitely not au naturel. I read about the dangers of sodium benzoate in this week’s Time Magazine, so I thought I’d check out the similar Diet Coke ingredient, potassium benzoate. Here’s what Wikipedia says about it:

In combination with ascorbic acid (vitamin C), sodium and potassium benzoate may form benzene, a known carcinogen. Heat, light and shelf life can affect the rate at which benzene is formed. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently (as of March 2006) performing tests, but the Environmental Working Group is calling for the FDA to publicly release all tests and use their authority to force companies to reformulate to avoid the potential benzene forming combination.^[3]

Potassium Benzoate (or E212) was recently described by the Food Commission, who campaign for ’safer, healthier food in the UK’, as “mildly irritant to the skin, eyes and mucous membranes”. ^[4]

Wow. Does that mean adding a lemon slice to Diet Coke makes it even worse?

Well, it looks like I need a new vice. Advice? Of course, it can’t be dangerous, cancerous, fattening, or evil. So, maybe there’s nothing that will qualify. Maybe my time spent blogging will have to count as my vice.

(Note: The image above comes from an excellent 1999 Salon.com article written by a woman trying to kick her diet soda habit.)

Tivo this: “Inside the Living Body”

Posted on 17. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in health, tv

I’ve seen lots of IMAX / Discovery Channel / National Geographic specials about the human body over the years, but the “Inside the Living Body” show we saw last night on the National Geographic Channel beat them all. Technological advances allow their videocameras to reach far into the human body and produce incredibly vivid images. Also, the computer graphics that simulate various cell and aging processes make complex concepts quite clear.

My “aha!” moment occurred when they explained that perhaps the reason we change as we age is that each time DNA replicates itself, it loses a little something in the process. It’s like making a copy of a copy of a copy…the last copy won’t resemble the original nearly as much as the first copy did. I also shrieked when they did the rapid age progression from 45 to 70. But, I guess it beats the alternative.

Anyway, I highly recommend this for anyone of any age. Not only did I learn a lot, but now I’m more determined than ever to treat my body right. The images of fat surrounding internal organs were quite frightening.

This must be Body Week at the National Geographic Channel: tonight we’re scheduled to start recording a series which includes The Science of Dwarfism, The Science of Conjoined Twins, Brain Child, The Science of Babies, The Science of Obesity and more. I think I learned about them by reading The Week. With the limited space on our old Tivo, it’ll probably start deleting all of those unwatched Colbert Reports soon!

Pain without morphine

Posted on 11. Sep, 2007 by kchristieh in health, international

My son winced last night when I told him that people in poor countries often don’t have access to morphine for their pain. He’s been given morphine each of the last two times he’s broken his arm, and he genuinely appreciated it. The first time he had it, he was in so much pain that they had to quadruple the original dose.

The New York Times is running a series of stories about how little access there is to morphine in poor regions. Yesterday it reported in Drugs Banned, Many of World’s Poor Suffer in Pain that morphine is routinely denied to impoverished nations because of the fear of addiction or the fear of increased drug trafficking.

At pain conferences, doctors from Africa describe patients whose pain is so bad that they have chosen other remedies: hanging themselves or throwing themselves in front of trucks.

Today’s article, In India, a Quest to Ease the Pain of the Dying, reports that of the 1.6 million Indians who suffer cancer pain each year, only about 0.4% get pain relief. A combination of bureaucracy and inadequate funding conspire to keep morphine out of the hands of Indians who need it.

Hopefully this situation will improve soon. Pain is awful, particularly when there’s no relief in sight.

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We should have thrown a cast party

Posted on 30. Aug, 2007 by kchristieh in art, parenting

My son got his cast off today! Hopefully he’ll gain enough movement in his wrist to be able to write once school starts next week. It’ll be another month before he plays soccer, however.

Here’s an anonymous artist’s depiction of my son, before and after:

Even if he can write, it looks like he won’t be able to hear the teacher…

Barry Bonds & the Chicago Bears: Growing Boys

Posted on 31. Jul, 2007 by kchristieh in health, inspirational people, movies, sports

Remember “Brian’s Song“? If you’re like me, the first few notes of the 1971 movie’s theme song are enough to make you cry as you remember Brian Piccolo’s spirit and courage, his deep friendship with Gayle Sayers, and the normal-weight Chicago Bears playing themselves.

Yes folks, those aren’t actors playing football players: the Chicago Bears played themselves. So when they get on the scale and the team doctor yells out their weights, “215″, “220″, etc., those are real weights. What a far cry from the current Chicago Bears! NFL.com says that the average weight of the current Chicago Bears player is 247 lbs., and the average defensive lineman weighs 319 lbs.

Of course, it’s only fitting that I’m reminded of this when Barry Bonds is here in L.A. to take on the Dodgers and possibly break Hank Aaron’s home run record. Did he take steroids? You decide. Check out this slide show that the Mercury News put together showing pictures of Barry between 1990 and 2004. The 1990 and 2004 pictures are also shown below.

Go Dodgers!!!

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