Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Sorted by date Results 101 - 125 of 216
Before my junior year in high school, I returned from a Boy Scout canoeing trip to discover my sister had been killed in a car crash. I will never forget the sadness of the moment when I walked into the house that was filled with what seemed like half the caring and wonderful town of De Smet to find my mom and dad there grieving. It was near the end of that summer, but the beginning of a long period of mourning for my family and me. There were lessons that came to me after my sister’s death. I...
After 40 years as a doctor interacting with patients, in the last two and a half years the tables turned, and I’ve become the patient. Although most are good, I’ve found some doctors are detached, some are too quick, some would rather be somewhere else, some are even angry; but, when a physician who cares walks into the room, and I’m not exaggerating, the day becomes better, the pain becomes less and hope fills my heart. Scientific knowledge is important, but the ability to convey honest conce...
Confront the tough truth that each of us will eventually die? In my years as an internist caring for young and old alike, some people understand this early and some people never get it. In denying death, we intensify our fear of it. Usually, however, it is sometime during their 50s that people first look into the eyes of death. Put it off as we may, the hard certainty is that we are all aging and one day an end will come. Shakespeare described advanced age in his play "As You Like It," Act II,...
It's February and to no one's surprise, I have a severe case of spring fever. It didn't help that the Cuming County 4-H Extension assistant presented on the topic of basil at our recent garden club meeting. I can hardly wait to watch basil seeds sprout in my new seed-starting system and then to smell the fragrant leaves of the plant. There are so many ways to use basil. The herb isn't just for adding flavor. It can be used as medicine, an aromatic, spicing up food and yes, even for it's...
Many people find themselves being told, “Your blood pressure is pretty high today.” You might be at the dentist’s office for a filling, in the emergency room getting stitches after an avocado mishap, or maybe you’re at your annual physical appointment. If you’ve never had high blood pressure, you might be surprised at this news Sometimes my own patients will call my office after such an event, “Doc, should I be on blood pressure medication?” When we get these calls our typical answer is: ma...
If I asked you to name a chronic disease, you would probably think of conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, cancer or dementia. The odds are, one of the most common chronic diseases would never cross your mind. Worldwide, this condition affects more than 3 billion people and causes significant physical and emotional suffering. Annually, it costs the American economy upwards of $45 billion in productivity. Our children miss nearly 35 million hours of school. Our emergency rooms field...
Most people know that getting enough sleep is important for their health, but many do not realize that there are specific health benefits that come from getting a good night’s sleep. Getting enough sleep can improve your mood, help you maintain a healthy weight and reduce your risk of chronic health problems like diabetes and heart disease. Sleep can even help boost your immune system and improve memory. Despite knowing that sleep is important, according to the CDC, one in three adults do not g...
Recently I received a mailing from my clinic reminding me it is time to schedule my annual preventative care physical. Apparently, doctors need to go to the doctor, too, even when they feel fine. As a primary care physician, one of my passions is preventative care. Preventative care is focused on catching problems before they even start to cause symptoms, catching issues early when they are easier to treat. Whether you want to call it your annual physical, your yearly checkup or an annual...
Frequently, my patients will come to a visit and bring up a major concern: "Doc, I think I might have dementia; my memory seems to be slipping." They might give examples of having difficulty finding words, forgetting people's names or just feeling like their thinking is slower. Many of them know a family member who had dementia and they are worried. My first response is to hear their concerns; of course, if a patient is showing early signs of dementia, we want to assess that and do our best to g...
As I look out my kitchen window, I’m not only day dreaming in color for spring and summer, I’m also enjoying the fluffy capping of white as the recent snow covers the landscape. What a fun site as birds are fluttering around the bird feeders and winging their way to the bird bath. Mother Nature gave us this beautiful winter setting, although I know it also makes for a lot of extra work for farmers and road crews. My visions and dreams of color have been spurred by the seed catalogs that hav...
When I was a young physician, we talked with almost religious zeal about the "Golden Hour." Early on, this principally focused on the idea that within the first hour after an injury, a patient needed to receive definitive treatment in order to maximize the chances of survival and recovery. We usually interpreted this to mean that the patient needed to be in the hands of the trauma surgeon before this hour was up. We took ATLS classes so we could make sure that the patient in our emergency room g...
I know I've mentioned this in previous columns, but popcorn is one of my favorite snack foods. I bet it's one of yours as well. And our love of popcorn is just one of the reasons there is a lot to celebrate in the New Year including National Popcorn Day (Jan. 19) and the Chinese New Year (Jan, 22). It's hard to believe a snack food that tastes so good can actually be good for you, but it's true. Popcorn is a whole grain that is 100% unprocessed with no additional additives, hidden ingredients...
Writing about grief is like writing about life-huge! Where does one start? It is like describing love: basically impossible. The comedian and late-night host Stephen Colbert lost his father and two older brothers in a tragic accident when he was young, and said, about grief, "It is a gift to exist, and with that gift comes suffering. If I am grateful for life, I must be grateful for all of it. I hope that grief stays with me because it is all the unexpressed love I didn't get to tell you." So...
There are lots of dishes out there that are considered comfort foods (meatloaf, mac and cheese, chicken and noodles), but in my opinion, roasts - both beef and pork - have to be included on that list. Roasting is cooking meat or vegetables in the oven (or over a flame, technically) in an uncovered pot with no liquid, according to food writer Daniel Neman. The meat or vegetables are cooked entirely and evenly by the dry heat of the air around them. I have more experience with beef roasts than I...
At my house, classic TV is a given. My 93-year-old father-in-law enjoys watching reruns of westerns, Perry Mason, Andy Griffith and Gomer Pyle. With these old favorites come commercials targeting an aging population: Medicare Advantage plans, reverse mortgages, and miracle solutions for neuropathy, with free consultations for the first 250 people who call. Every time we see one of these neuropathy advertisements, my father-in-law looks at me hopefully. His neuropathic foot pain has been...
My son is one of the many Americans with cleft lip and palate. The specifics of each affected individual’s situation vary, but one thing they have in common is that they will be having surgery. Lots of surgery. Although most individuals with orofacial clefts, including my son, are otherwise healthy and lead normal lives, the process of restoring a normal smile, normal speech, normal chewing, involves many steps from birth into adulthood. Most of his surgeries have blurred together in my mind, h...
Tis the season to overindulge. Whether sweet treats, decadent desserts or cool cocktails provide temptation, now is a good time to strategize what to eat - and foods to avoid - to dodge the holiday blues. Now is a good time to adopt healthy eating habits. "Any time we overeat, the abudance of calories puts you in a state of needing to digest. Then you're sitting on the couch after Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner," said Angela Sucha, PA-C at Antelope Family Practice. "The extra calories are...
Merriam-Webster defines humanity as “compassionate, sympathetic, or generous behavior or disposition.” It is also defined as “the quality or condition of being human.” The first definition is what people want in a health care provider. We all want to be taken care of by a caregiver who is compassionate, kind, sympathetic and generous with their time and knowledge. Health care providers spend countless hours taking care of patients. In order to do this, at times we ignore our own needs for rest,...
We are familiar with the scene on television and movies: a person clutches their chest and drops to the ground, unconscious. Another character starts chest compressions and help is summoned. Although cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, is often not accurately portrayed in such productions, it serves as a good reminder to all that CPR can save a life. Cardiac arrest is a general term to describe any situation in which the heart stops pumping blood to other organs in the body, most urgently the...
For kids and adults alike, hot cocoa is often at the top of the list of favorite winter beverages. And with all the store-bought powdered packets available, it's certainly easy to prepare. But guess what? Making your own isn't that much more difficult, and the effort is worth it. And if you're having a party or family gathering, why not create a hot cocoa bar and let the guests add their toppings of choice? Topping musts for all ages include marshmallows, candy canes or peppermints, colored...
This year, nearly 250,000 patients will be diagnosed with lung cancer and 130,000 will die from it. In South Dakota, 660 people will be diagnosed, and over 400 will die, from the disease. Lung cancer accounts for the most cancer deaths in both the US and in South Dakota. Smoking is the most important risk factor for lung cancer and accounts for 80% of lung cancer deaths. Although smoking rates continue to decline in the US, in South Dakota there are many rural and tribal communities where the sm...
It's a cactus, so it should be easy to care for – I just water it sparingly and keep it dry, right? Wrong. Whether you have a Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus (or an Easter one, for that matter), you take care of them the same way. Keys to their care come from their native habitat, which is not a desert but the cloud forests of costal southeast Brazil. The high-altitude costal areas where they're from are cool, shaded, and relatively humid with the mists and moisture rich air. They are epi...
For years, I was all about Christmas cookies. Over the course of several days, I'd bake like 18 dozen of six or seven kinds of cookies. I'd make trays to share with friends and coworkers. I'd try new recipes, adding to the basic repertoire every year. It was always fun. And then something happened. I lost my Christmas spirit and with it, my desire to bake Christmas cookies. But recently, I decided enough was enough and I dug out the recipe box and whipped up several batches of old favorites....
Having guests for Thanksgiving dinner is great. Having treasured friends and family stick around for a couple of extra days is even better. But guests have to eat and you just spent a week (or more!) preparing that big holiday meal and you're simply "cooked out." Sure, leftovers will work for a meal or two, but eventually you're going to have to prepare something else. And don't forget that big football game coming up on Friday afternoon, with even more games on TV over the weekend. That adds...
Recently, while visiting from out of state, my father had a "health hiccup." As we navigated getting this problem investigated and addressed, he was very concerned that we keep his primary care doctor informed. As my dad has said repeatedly, "I give him more grief than any of my other doctors, but I also listen to him more than any of my other doctors. He's the only one looking out for all of me!" Like many Americans, particularly older Americans, my dad has a whole host of specialists he sees...
