Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
Reliable, Trustworthy Reporting, Capturing The Heartbeat Of Our Community
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As a patient, it can be challenging to navigate the healthcare system. This can lead to frustration and disappointment in the system itself. My intent with this article is to be both informative and alleviate some angst associated with seeking medical care. 1. Preparing for your appointment: This may be the most crucial step - whether the appointment is with your primary care physician or a specialist. As the patient, it is important to have the most important concern(s) prepared to address. As...
July in the garden brings on another pace for me. I sort of slow down and look at what is blooming out my kitchen window. I've hustled through the previous months planting, watering and weeding. The weeding and watering doesn't stop, but on this particular morning, the chores don't seem as demanding. Sitting under the patio awning I'm placing flower blooms on the paper of phone books. It's time to preserve some of those special blossoms. Pressing flowers is an old art and I'm hoping an...
From Dr. Marcus Welby and Dr. Meredith Grey to “Hawkeye” Pierce and Doogie Howser, MD, there have been a multitude of television doctors. You likely spend more time watching them than you do with your own physician. Television shows the life of a doctor as exciting, dramatic and glamorous; however, real life is often much different. On television, doctors can solve every medical mystery within the span of a single show. Rare diseases or unusual presentations are no match for the intellect or...
The patient was young, healthy and short of breath. She had not been sick recently, other than a minor cough. Her oxygen level was normal and her lungs sounded clear. Her heart rate was a little fast and she was breathing rather quickly, too. She was anxious about it, but she knew there was more to this than anxiety. Meanwhile, she was taking an antibiotic for bronchitis which did not seem to be helping. We did some additional tests, some blood work, to look for other possible causes. One test...
I previously wrote about how to save money on your grocery budget even though food costs are on the rise. I offered suggestions from Cami Wells, a Nebraska Extension Educator in Hall County, for foods in the protein, dairy and grains groups. This week, we'll learn ways to save money on fruits and vegetables. Vegetables "Check for sales and purchase those that are in-season," Wells said. "Most of us prefer fresh but canned and frozen vegetables are also healthy choices. Canned and frozen vegetabl... Full story
Many of us have likely been educated on how to be healthier, which includes the foods we should consume and the exercise we should complete on a daily basis, so we can achieve being healthy. This information is important to know, but have you ever been educated about the risks that your current diet and habits of daily living impose on your health? An unhealthy diet that is filled with excessive amounts of sugars, fast foods, fatty and processed foods, as well as alcohol, can increase your risk...
After long hours put in by multiple library workers and volunteers, a new online catalog, available at https://www.libib.com/u/clearwaterpublic is up and running. When a patron visits the catalog, one of the first things they will notice is that the library’s collection is divided into 15 smaller collections to make it easier to find what they are searching for or to make it easier to browse. . Adult patrons probably know the libary has books ranging from adult fiction and non-fiction, to westerns and large print. There’s so much more. The lib...
Marrying a farm kid has shown me the immense amount of pride in being part of the ag community. It is prevalent that the agricultural profession, while rewarding, is challenging. Running big dollar operations that are both physically and mentally demanding creates some serious strain on our mental health. Whether it's a co-op employee spraying chemicals or spreading fertilizer for 70+ hours a week or a farmer during planting or harvest, the demand never truly stops. In my practice, I talk a lot...
In a single word, yes. Our first teeth are important in so many ways. They require just as much attention and love as our permanent teeth. Not to mention that beginning with good habits is the best way for anyone to maintain those healthy habits. As parents, we know kids don't come with an owner's manual and that includes their teeth. One of the best ways to get the answers to all of your pediatric dental questions is to bring your little one to the dentist by age one, or six months after they...
It's hot. You're hot. And you want a cool treat to cool off. Preferably something that just came out of the freezer. Sure you can go to the grocery store and buy all sorts of frozen goodies: Ice cream sandwiches and bars, popsicles and a variety of novelty treats. But why not get a little creative and make your own? And some of these recipes are easy enough for kids to do on their own. Let's start with the classic ice cream sandwich and a recipe from Alison Ladman. "The classic combination of...
Midwest culture is unique. We "America's Heartlanders" are known for our outdoor hobbies, farming, winter survival strategies, hard work and country living. We are also known for our politeness. It is at times an autopilot response to hold a door open, greet another with a smile, drop off treats for a neighbor or when running into someone familiar ask, "how are you?" How often have we asked, "how are you" and heard the answer, "good" or "fine" or even answered this question ourselves this way....
You are probably familiar with drug commercials. There are all sorts of them showing people being active and smiling as they attend a birthday party, go biking, go surfing or shopping at a flower shop. At some point, they start listing some of the side effects and precautions, including some obvious and some scary statements. “Do not take this medication if you take nitrates for chest pain, do not take this medication if you do not suffer from a disease or do not take his medication if you are a...
Is there something about your health you'd like to change? For most Americans, this question usually triggers a wide range of responses. In my practice, most responses usually center on wanting to lose weight, being more consistent with an exercise routine or finally stopping smoking, drinking or vaping. What do these three lifestyle changes have in common? They are really, really hard to do. Behavioral modification of daily habits and routines is a very difficult process. Humans tend to get...
The first successful organ transplant was a kidney transplant in 1954. The donor was the identical twin of the recipient. The new kidney worked for 11 months. This was long before any anti-rejection medications were available. Cyclosporine, the first anti-rejection medication, was approved for use in 1983. The use of anti-rejection medications has significantly increased how long transplanted organs will function. A transplanted kidney from a living donor will last, on average, 12 to 20 years....
Like a car racing along the interstate, exiting onto a highway, and finally reaching the family farm along a dusty gravel road, our blood circulates inside our bodies. There are the major blood vessels, such as the aorta running out of the heart and there are the tiny capillaries allowing blood cells, one at a time, to carry oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in our bodies. The network of capillaries is so complex it is estimated there are over 40 billion in one person and, if stretched out...
Imagine how just over 100 years ago, nearly one-third of people in the upper Great Lakes and upper Midwest regions walked around with a goiter on their neck. A goiter is a lump on the throat, which could be as big as an orange, a grapefruit or larger. Actually an enlargement of the thyroid gland, a goiter can come from an overactive thyroid gland, an under-active thyroid gland or an autoimmune condition, but in the United States before the 1920s, the reason was almost always deficiency of...
It seems like I've been waiting for months for this. Now it feels so good as I open my front door and feel the heat of the spring sun on my skin. I know that the soil in my garden, too, is feeling that warm touch of sunshine. May, I welcome you into my world. So this week I celebrated May Day with not only my great-grandchildren but also friends. Small containers were filled with treats and, out of tradition, taken to their houses. The original tradition I learned, leaving the treats on a door s...
Spring is finally here in the Northern Plains and summer feels just around the corner. As all we Northerners know, as soon as the temperatures hit even a mild degree on the thermometer, most of us shed the jackets and long pants and our skin is front-and-center. The sunny season is prime season for mosquitoes and ticks, along with the itchy bites and all the unpleasant infections they can carry. Different species of mosquitoes and ticks can transmit different bacteria and viruses and, around...
Remember when pasta was pretty much spaghetti and elbow macaroni? Now we have rigatoni and bow-tie and cavatelli and manicotti and fettuccine and paccheri and ... well you get the idea. One website I found listed 35 types of Italian pasta. There are long pastas and short pastas and stretched pastas and filled pastas and soup pastas. And that's just from Italy. So. Much. To. Know. But for the purposes of this column, let's go back to the basics: Dried or fresh? Do you use cooked or uncooked...
American Indians face some unique challenges when it comes to caring for their health. Culturally, we view health in a holistic manner as a balance of our bodies, minds and spirits that allows for good health. Historically, women would have knowledge of herbs and men would be spiritual healers. Health care was one of the items guaranteed under the treaties. Initially, health care was overseen by the Army and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Then, Indian Health Service was formed in 1955 to oversee health care. Funding for Indian Health Service...
Johnny Nash may have started his song with “I can see clearly now, the rain has gone,” but what about someone with cataracts? They cannot easily see “all the obstacles in their way” and there are not “dark clouds that make you blind” like in the song, but cataracts do cause vision clouding. Cataracts is the name given to the clouding of the lenses in the eyes. These lenses allow light to pass through the eye to the retina, where the signal is sent to the brain so we can perceive the world aroun...
If you have pain on the bottom of your foot at the heel, especially when you take your first steps of the day, you likely have plantar fasciitis. One of the most common causes of foot pain, plantar fasciitis pain can subside with time, but sometimes the pain keeps people from doing what they love, whether that be running, walking or other pleasures of life. I once saw a young woman suffering from plantar fasciitis who got some relief from an injection. A few years later she returned wanting...
I recently asked my Facebook friends and family to tell me some of their favorite foods for Easter dinner. While it's always nice to add new dishes to the menu, there is something about holidays that screams "tradition!" In addition to the traditional ham, deviled eggs, strawberry shortcake, etc., a couple of other dishes were mentioned more than once. Those include Hash Brown Casserole, "Aunt Zina's Chocolate Dessert," (a reference to my Aunt Zina Turner, my mom's older sister), and a tasty...
It has been nine years since my medical school acceptance. I can describe my personal process in two words: arduous and lengthy. Now, this may not be the case for all people who apply to medical school. A few individuals may be able to apply directly out of undergrad and be accepted. I'll speak from my experience which had a few more detours involved. I am the first person in my family to become a physician. This added unique challenges while applying to medical school - I essentially had to bla...
As you plan your Easter gatherings, don't forget to include everyone's favorite holiday dish: the ham centerpiece. According to the National Pork Board, around 70% of Americans serve ham for Easter each year. But there is much more to know about it than "half or whole?" or "bone-in or boneless?" Here are answers to some frequently asked questions: Do I need a whole or a half ham? And how much ham will I need? A whole ham typically weighs more than 10 pounds. That's a large chunk to deal with in...
