Chance Of A Lifetime
Imagine traveling eight thousand miles from home. The trip takes you three days. You've never flown on a plane, ridden an escalator, or eaten the food. You've never seen an American bathroom. And you're in pain.
That's what 30 year old Beyene (pronounced Bye-annie) Tadesse has experienced this week. He's from a small village hours from Ethiopia's capitol of Addis Ababa. He only left his village because the tumor was growing and he had been told maybe someone at the Catholic health facility in Addis Ababa could help.
For ten years he's watched the tumor on the right side of his jaw grow to the size of a grapefruit. Visiting surgical teams had tried to operate before, but no one could remove it.
Beyene was befriended by Dr. Rick Hodes. He is a story in himself. Dr. Hodes is an American doctor whose spent the last 20 years of his life practicing medicine in Ethiopia. He's adopted 20 children in that time. And he flies thousands of miles a year helping Ethiopians get medical care in the U.S.
Beyene will have two operations in the next six weeks at St. John's Mercy Medical Center. For the first time, this man who is illiterate, and whose parents are both dead, is hoping for a break in life.
I'll keep you posted on how Beyene is doing. In the meantine, check out his story at ksdk.com
Wii Feel Your Pain
I laughed when I was first told that some people who play the popular video games Guitar Hero or Wii experience shoulder, elbow, wrist or thumb pain hours and days later.
But a sports medicine specialist assured me that overuse injuries aren't just confined to people who do too much typing or play too much tennis.
Check out my story on "Guitar Hero Thumb" and "Wii-itis." The next time someone in your household wakes up with a sore hand or shoulder, you can ask them how much time they've been spending with the X-Box or Play Station.
My thanks to Elizabeth Tauben, Carlos Garcia and Michelle Lange for sharing their insights and guitar-playing skills. They were so good at articulating what it feels like to have this kind of pain. And I discovered something interesting while talking with them. Initially, none of them linked the pain they were having to playing video games. It took them a while to realize the pain went away when they played less, and came back when they played more often.
I enjoy working this beat because I often get to report on medical advances and new health findings. But every now and then, I love stories like this, based on anecdotal reports experienced by real people.
This story of mine won't help cure cancer, but hopefully it will give you a little chuckle and food for thought, like it did me.
Ten Toes Can Lead To Better Health
Check out my story on Ten Toe Express that aired during Healthbeat Friday. It's a great concept that should get you thinking about how to incorporate activity into your life a little more often.
A group called Citizens for Modern Transit is expanding its program called Ten Toe Express. Now, commuters will be able to join in. Ten Toe Express began as a way to get St. Louisans over 55 walking more often and using public transportation along the way.
Here's how it works. You can register on-line or in person at several sites over the next few weeks. You fill out a health survey because Ten Toe Express is funded by the Missouri Foundation for Health, which wants to see whether the program is really improving health.
Then, you receive a Ten Toe Express bag that includes a pedometer, maps and MetroLink tickets.
Check the schedule and join an organized walking group, or just go on your own. There are more than 80 suggestions for how to take MetroLink and Metro buses to locations ranging from the Zoo in Forest Park to Cherokee Street.
I went along on a walk/ride recently while gathering information for my story, and loved it. It made me feel like I was on vacation, since I often use public transportation and walk to sites of interest in cities I visit.
Grab the kids, pack up the jogging stroller, and give it a try. Or simply put together some excursions of your own. It's a great way to get in a work-out while having fun.
http://www.cmt-stl.org/tentoes/ten_toes.html
Cherishing Pregnancy
I had the fortune to find a unique group of women recently who reminded me of what a special time pregnancy can be. They're learning belly dancing as a way to enhance their pregnancies, labor and delivery.
Many moms continue dancing right into the postpartum period.
Stephanie Larson is the founder of Dancing For Birth. She's a certified doula, someone who accompanies women in labor for emotional, physical and informational support. She's also a child birth educator with a background in dance.
Most importantly, she's the mother of four children under nine, and that has given her a unique perspective on the birth process and how to use her love of dance to enhance it.
Larson started teaching belly dancing to prenatal and postpartum moms eight years ago, while living in New Jersey.
She moved to St. Louis in 2003 and started up classes in Maryland Heights.
She says women come for many different reasons. Some to ease their fears about delivery, others because they love dance, and some want to learn ways to enjoy their pregnancies more or enhance the birth process.
Larson found belly dancing really enriched her birth experience and she wanted to share that feeling with other women.
I want to remind any woman who is pregnant to check with their doctor before starting any new activity.
But what I love about the idea behind Dancing For Birth is that it puts a special value on a woman's body, and those precious nine months of pregnancy.
Too often we dwell on the extra weight or the aches and pains. But let's not forget that pregnancy can also be one of the most special times in life. I know it was for me.
Classes are $15 a session. They're held at the Maryland Heights Center at 2344 McKelvey Road.
For more on Dancing For Birth, including information on classes or becoming an instructor, call 866-643-4824.
Bring On Spring
In the spirit of full disclosure, I will tell you I grew up in Hawaii, and didn't see snow for the first time until I was 16. I was sitting in a social studies class in my junior year of high school in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, when one of my classmates yelled "It's snowing!"
It sure was, and the teacher even let me go outside to see it.
I can say that since that moment, the magic was pretty much over for me and snow.
So, it won't come as a surprise for you to learn that I'm not a big fan of winter.
Just like when I was 16, I enjoy the first snowfall of the season. Then, bring back the warm weather.
This has been a long winter for anyone like me. I keep trying to find the positives in all of this ice, snow and slush. It's been hard.
Sure, there was the morning when I took my son sledding on the hill of a neighbor's yard. That was a memory. It was fun, even as I worried about him crashing into something or hurting himself.
The dog seems to enjoy chasing snowflakes. That makes me laugh.
But it seems to bring out the worst in drivers. And then there's the whole issue of school snow days, and whether or not to call them.
Boots, hats, gloves, coats, road salt on the floors of the house, shoveling the walk and the driveway.
The only positive thing I can say on this topic: It's all given me a much greater appreciation for spring, summer and fall.
Take Care
What a sad few days it has been. The shootings at Kirkwood City Hall touch all of us, whether we were friends with one of those who died, or are trying to comprehend how something of this terrible magnitude could happen right where we live.
Even those of us who write for a living have found it difficult to put feelings into words over the past few days.
One of the most poignant interviews I did the night of the shootings was with Alanna Kellogg. She's the food writer for the Webster-Kirkwood Times, and I met her as she was walking her dog on the plaza in front of City Hall about two and a half hours after the shootings.
Like so many that night, she said she felt drawn to the area after hearing the news. As she walked to the heart of Kirkwood, she also said she struggled to find words to describe her feelings about what had happened. What would she say, if she had to write about what had happened? How would we explain the events to our children?
People like Alanna helped verbalize the confusion and grief so many of us were thinking that night. I'm grateful to each and every person who stopped to share their thoughts that night, and in the days since then.
These are truly dark days of February in more ways than one. From the tragic events in Kirkwood, to the bad weather, to the flu bug currently raging through our area.
One of the things that keeps coming to mind for me now is the need for all of us to be kind to ourselves. It may be a long time before we make sense of these troubling times, or find the words to describe our feelings about what has happened. Let's be sure we give ourselves the time to find them.
Stay-At-Home Versus Working Moms
Stay-at-home or return to work after the baby comes? It's one of the hottest topics on this web site. And if you're like me, it was the hardest decision you ever made.
My son was born six years ago. After nine months of pregnancy, the doctor put my baby in my arms, and I fell in love in ways I never knew were possible. How would I ever put him down, let alone go back to work after maternity leave?
There are so many complicated decisions that need to be made, whether you decide to stay home or go back to work. There's your own childhood experience. My mother was a loving, nurturing stay-at-home mom who left her career as a nurse to care for me and my siblings. There are the expectations of your spouse and your family. The list goes on.
Each and every situation is different for each and every Mom. I would never begin to question the decision of another Mom when it comes to this.
As for my decision, I can definitely say returning to work was difficult. Not just emotionally, but it's also physically demanding.
It has gotten easier over the years. The bottom line is, I love my job, and I love my son, husband and family. While I returned to work full-time after maternity leave, it's still the hardest decision I ever made. But I don't look at it as my job somehow "winning out." My family will always come first, no matter how many hours I spend at work each week.
