WORLD HEALTH DAY APRIL 7TH, 2016!!!

With a WORLD FULL of terrible diseases, illnesses, syndromes, and places that lack healthcare, fresh drinking water, food, & even being able to live in more of a sanitized place, all seems impossible when so many of us take for granted clean drinking water, food, and being able to live where we are in more sanitary conditions.

Yet, with all of that said, look at HOW MANY OF US, even in the best of places, still have so many chronic health conditions, that often go untreated, and even undiagnosed for a very long period of time.

In a Nation, who is supposed to be a Leader of the Free World, and the amount of funds the pour into all types of Health Organizations, we still deal with cancer, all types of AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES, that have NOT even been really explained, and so much more needs to be known about them.

When you walk through your stores, you see all kinds of people, old and young, that are either obese, or are "appearing to be ill", or weak, and our pharmacies seem more full of those standing in line for prescriptions each day.

We still have many, many diseases that are not answered, we do NOT have a viable reason for why they exist, or why we cannot find a way to destroy them. With our "global' society becoming closer each day, with airlines, and fast transportation, severe diseases, such as the latest "Zika", or something such as measles, or polio that had once almost been eradicated from the free world, and many of our nations, NOW are coming back to our nation, and nations that thought they were free of dealing with something such as the whooping cough, or diseases that we only have to be inoculated from if we are traveling to certain countries. Scarlet Fever is another disease long thought been wiped off our continent, and yet in certain places it has reared its ugly head again.

Small Pox is another disease that we long ago were able to quit getting vaccinated for, yet in some of these countries where they have no way to be vaccinated, that live in horrid conditions where such types of viruses, diseases, and germs live, those illnesses can spring forth, and one day be a problem globally once more...

We feel like with all of our hand washing, laundering, keeping our homes as free of germs as we can with different cleaners, sprays, and viral fighting defenses, that we would stand to be more free of getting such illnesses.

Yet, look at the flu... it appears to mutate every flu season, and we stand fighting not just against one or two strains, but 3, 4 or more strain of flu, of pneumonia, and we find that we get a vaccine in place that may work for years, and once those viral or bacterial diseases "mutate" the vaccines we have may be useless to fight them.

So, give heart today for it being World Health Day! Think about our communities, and how we try and live as cleanly and "germ free" as possible. Then we can step into a doctors office, or a hospital, or just grab a basket at the local supermarket, and pick up all types of illnesses just by touching a handle where someone else ill has just touched it.... we have so many diseases that are airborne and are extremely contagious, that just being in the room with someone can cause you to become ill, even through hand washing and antibacterial hand wipes and so forth.


As our world continues to grow LARGER, yet we BECOME EVER CLOSER with our modes of transportation today, we become more susceptible to all types of diseases we may not even know or have a name for yet.


We can help to fight some of these off by trying to stay "healthy" as possible ourselves. Getting proper daily nutrition, getting some exercise daily or several times weekly, making sure we get enough sleep, trying to lower our stress levels, doing things to keep us from possibly catching some illnesses like the flu by having the vaccine, by washing our hands often, or grab one of those hand wipes at the store and wipe off the handle of your basket, and take time to be aware of symptoms of "sick people" who are sneezing, or show signs of not feeling well, and educating ourselves on the ways we can try and fight diabetes, cancer, heart disease, and other illnesses that we can try and prevent by doing a few smart things...

Most of all, try and add some "fun", laughter into your day. Whether it is petting your dog or cat, playing with your kids, having a good healthy dinner around the table with family all together, talking about your feelings, telling your physician about sudden new symptoms, there are ways we can try and remain as healthy and have as wonderful of a life as possible....


#HappyWorldHealthDay!


As I was writing this in my blog, I had thought about small things we sometimes take for granted, like changing out our toothbrushes often, or our sponges or towels we use in the kitchen, or I know for me, I put out a new "shower net" or whatever you want to call the shower netted balls... quite often ... wiping down things such as your keyboard, or remote controls for your home appliances, and at work as well, keyboards, phones, your desk, all places we may not think of but germs can lurk easily. Even for women our makeup. We should take heed of the advice of the experts and not keep foundations, eye shadows, mascara's and all of those types of things for too long without replacing them. My towel in my bathroom, I change sometimes twice weekly, especially in warm weather. Although I am sure there are things I forget or do not think about as much as I should, even wiping off my handles on the fridge, microwave,sink faucets, and oven, and knobs, I try and remember to do frequently.... I know as bad and humid as our summers are in TX, I also run bleach through my washer often with warm water, to clean out all of the mold or whatever maybe hiding, and it helps to keep tree roots from clogging your pipes I found out from a plumber that came out for me... I was having heck with a clog, and he said here that tree roots even through the pipes you would never think that they could get through can eventually the tiny pieces get into those pipes in the ground and cause clogs... so he recommended that I buy a cheap bottle of bleach about once a month, and pour some down my drains, and toliet, then I can get to my "cleanout" easy, and open it and pour the rest down into it... that would help to rid those tree roots from clogging my pipes.... anyway, we are all living in a "too busy" world... I know mine is, I feel I barely have to time breathe some days... but some of these "little things" could keep us from becoming HUGELY ILL!!!!

Stress Awareness Month - WEGO Health #HAWMC Writer's Challenge April 19th 2015

Definitely a great question for ALL of us that have to contend with a stressed filled, everywhere you look and feel world! Daily stress producing items are all around us. Whether you are "chronically ill or in chronic pain" or not, the news and medical world tells us that our daily stress levels are off the charts. This also means that stress effects us in so many different ways, especially when it comes to your physical and mental health.

Then you take all of that into consideration, jobs, families, travel, homes, cars, kids, and just what we see in the news daily, is enough to cause us an insurmountable bunch of stress. We have known for years that stress contributes to heart problems, it definitely effects our immune systems, allowing things that normally not make us ill, to sometimes makes us more ill than we think.

Now let's add in doctors visits, 15 or more medications a day, feeling overwhelmed already, yet due to chronic illness and the pain that comes along with it, the stress levels can be way over the top of the glass, and pouring down all around us in a puddle. Just having to deal with a drive to a doctor in Dallas, maybe two in a weeks time. Making sure all of my medications are filled properly, and with me so I don't miss any. Not feeling well some days, either with some type of "flare"; whether Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus, Sjogren's, and the list continues. Add those onto trying to keep a job, do errands, take care of a home, a yard, a car, buy groceries and prepare meals, do laundry, and all of the 1001 things that can pop up at any moment, to distract us from what else we are doing. Then our bodies all too often "revolt". So, now I am dealing with a huge amount of fatigue, severe headaches, my hips and lower back hurting, perhaps like last week for me, having the procedure done on Thursday - even though a "good procedure" to hopefully help reduce the horrid pain in my lower back, hips and legs, was still "stress". So I get up on Friday, with bright pink cheeks, feeling like a train had run over me, seeing everything piling up I need to do, and guess what, here is a flare. I would "assume" a Lupus flare, due to the pink hot cheeks and nose. That all too familiar "Lupus "The Wolf" Mask" we get when one of those comes on

So, I've spent over a week at doctors offices, having that procedure done, then coming home to know I am behind on everything. Now I feel lousy, the weather brings on a new set of stress on it own, and I now have a very low potassium situation they discovered last week when I had the Transforminal Epidural Steroid Injection done in my lumbar spine. My potassium was at an "dangerous" low. Most of the time at what mine was, and they even checked it twice, I probably should be getting IV Potassium to try and get it back up a bit, then follow up with pills. But, I didn't hear from my PCP even after calling at 9:00 A< Friday. So, I followed up with my Cardiologist, who immediately called in a script, told me to take two of them for two days, then one a day, and come in on next Friday so they can check the levels again.

Now, after all that being said, "How do I, did I, deal with all of the stress"? My first way to "deal" with stress is "listing" and writing down, what is "MOST" important to get done quickly, and what may be able to wait a day or two? That helps me a great deal, to literally "write down" a list, and prioritize things. Then I take stock in how I feel mentally and physically. If I am feeling very lousy, then I know I need to do absolutely what has to be done, and save others for later, when I feel better.

From there, I allow "time for me". Even though my to do list might be long, I still need to be able to either go outside, and do my walking. I enjoy baking. So, for me going into the kitchen and making a pie, cake, cookies, or whatever I feel like I might enjoy baking, I do that. There are days, that I may have to do one or two things, then sit down at the computer and write, or take an hour to watch a movie with my two pups. I also very often find if I go over to my Mom's, and just spend some times away, where I can talk, and "gripe" if I want to, Being able to express my stress is critical. If I can't write it down, or say it, or find some type of avenue to be able to "purge" some of the bad stress, then I really find myself unable to get much of anything done. I am too wrapped up in what I CAN'T, thus what I can does not come to me, when I don't just take that walk, talk to my Mom, write on my book, or post on my blog. Summer as I had mentioned in another blog post earlier in the week, tends to help. I can open up my home, and let the fresh air in, get some light streaming in, and I have a "renewed" feeling, that tends to be a great deal stress free.

Being ill with so many of these diseases, syndromes, and such do add a HUGE amount of stress in my life, but my husband, Mom, and others can "feel" that tension in the air. So, between all of us we try to keep me in check with stress. It may mean a day trip to Oklahoma and the Casino. Which in saying that, we are LONG overdue to go. It has been several months, possibly about 4 or more months since Mom and I made that 2 hour journey into "freedom" for a few hours at least.

Just a day trip away from it all, is an incredible way for me to get back to the matters at hand daily, and lead my body and brain into a new perspective.

Writing has always, and will always be one of my biggest ways, that I can "purge" out the stress, remain half sane hopefully, and try to carry on up that "mountain" always reaching out to attain a goal.

#HAWMC