This is a guest post from my cousin Stephanie who was recently hospitalized on Long Island. The only changes I made were to add the pictures. It is re-printed with the authors permission.
Recently, I started to not feel well, had a low grade fever. I spoke with my Dr. and because I am immunocompromised, I was given an appointment to be tested for COVID19. I was told to go home and self isolate in my bedroom. I had a horrible night, fever, chills, body aches , severe stomach pain. About 5 am I sent Gerry a picture of the thermometer reading 102.
This is a guest post from my friend, Linda Savarese Wrinn, who works in a skilled nursing facility in Massachusetts. One day recently she left work, pulled over to the side of the road, cried, and ferociously wrote and wrote before heading home to be with her family. The only changes I made were to add the pictures.
A report from the field
I’m not on the front line. I’m in that place where we can hear the gunfire in the distance. And that distance gets shorter every day. Every hour.
This blog is where I write about my pursuit of health, wealth and happiness. The podcasts and TED talks I listen to and the books and blogs I read contain so much more information that help me on my journey.
I incorporate what I learn into diet and lifestyle to help me live a healthy and happy life. I share that journey with others via this blog, hoping you use the information to take back your kitchen and your health. You deserve it!
I was once food ignorant and didn’t really think about the food I ate. I was a vegetarian so I figured I was healthy and eating good stuff. As a vegetarian, my diet was likely healthier than most American’s as I didn’t eat at fast food restaurants or eat a lot of junk food. I ate plenty of “healthy grains”, a ton of vegetables, tofu and meat alternatives. For me, those meat alternatives were the most processed food in my diet. They were not grown in the garden or raised on a farm; they were processed in a lab with ingredients that I couldn’t pronounce. They were not what I would consider to be real food.
I read a lot of non-fiction books and blogs related to medicine, to health, to disease and mostly to nutrition. This helps me to learn about this important topic and to stay on top of my health. The more I read and learn, the more convinced I am that all chronic disease including auto-immune disease are directly linked to diet and lifestyle. I am not saying that diet alone is responsible for causing disease but it is a driver and one that is easily modified to better mange health.
In my hometown there is a medical practice next door to a dialysis center next door to a wound clinic. It is like one stop shopping for people who suffer from diabetes. In the early stages of this chronic disease, people take medicine and check their blood sugar. As it progresses, it gets much more complicated and can result in wounds that won’t heal, amputation of body parts, loss of sight. It increases the risk for stroke, heart disease, kidney disease and nerve damage. People with advanced diabetes get a lot of expensive treatments that address their symptoms but none that address a cure.
I work as an Occupational Therapist and have been in the field for 20 years. I have worked in a hospital, in an outpatient clinic and in several nursing homes. I have met a ton of interesting people who have faced some difficult health challenges. When I was a kid, Mother Fran thought I should be a nurse. I always laughed at the notion and reminded her that I fainted at the sight of a lot of blood. Maybe I should have listened to her! When I look at job opportunities, the positions that are of interest to me often require an RN degree. I have no desire to go back to school but if I did, nursing school would be on interest. Like Occupational Therapists, they work in a wide variety of settings and with many different populations of people.
In my last post, I wrote about having company over for the holidays and cooking several dinners for up to 6 people. Whenever I talk about cooking, people naturally want to know what I made, how it turned out and if I winged it or followed a recipe. So this post will answer those nagging questions!
The holidays are here and that means many of you have been doing a lot of baking. I have been doing my part to keep up with the bakers by eating a lot of yummy cookies, brownies, fudge and cake. I would guess over the last week, I consumed quite a few extra calories per day and my pants are getting a bit snug. That is ok though because I know what to do. I also know I don’t go down this familiar path for as long or with as much intensity as I used to!
I am not worried about the extra calories or even the tight pants because my honey suggested we complete a Whole30 for the month of January. If you are not familiar with the Whole30 check out this page for more information!I have lost track but think this is our 4th or 5th Whole30 and I still love the experience. Maybe I don’t love giving up my wine but the rest of it is easy!
In my last post, The Power of Changing Your Beliefs, I talked about the importance of eating real food as a key component to solve the health puzzle. Eating right has become a habit when I am at home, cooking for myself and my honey. It isn’t hard to do and it causes me no stress.
This week, I will be traveling and that can easily disrupt my good eating habits. Can you relate? I mean, not having access to my go to snacks means I get too hungry and that can throw all of my good intentions out of the window. Going out to eat several times in one week makes it hard to choose health. If I don’t watch out, I will start ordering fries deep fried in a vat of vegetable oil. I will forget to “hold the roll” with my burger or order some delicious sounding pizza made with white flour and sugar. This will cause my sugar cravings to go into overdrive and my good habits will get derailed quicker than you can say “chocolate cone with chocolate sprinkles”!
