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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER FEBRUARY 3, 20122+

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It’s February And that can only mean one thing: it’s Heart Month, bringing to the forefront for us all a heightened awareness of how vital our hearts are, and what we can do to keep them as healthy as possible. According to our informal research, February is the only month with a health observance (other than October) that is known to the average person on the street. Breasts are the October honorees, of course. As wonderful as they are, their work load is a walk in the park compared to the heart, which has been toiling away non-stop in pitch darkness since way before each of us was born. If you’re reading this sentence, your heart is pounding away this very moment. As important as the heart’s work is — its assignment is more or less life or death — it’s pretty amazing how many of us mistreat it. Let me illustrate my point with something I saw two weeks ago. Having fi nished writing and editing and laying out the January 20 edition of the Examiner, I had subsequently put on my World’s Oldest Paperboy hat. I was in the process of leaving a few copies in the waiting rooms of a local hospital’s dedicated heart and vascular center. Entering one waiting room I walked right into the middle of an unmistakable scene: an entire family was gathered around a physician or some other medical person who obviously was delivering bad news about a loved one. Given the setting, the bad news was most likely heart-related. It was to me a very sobering moment. My good mood instantly evaporated. I felt like I had intruded upon a very serious and somber private moment. It reminded me that hospitals aren’t always places where people are cured and patched up and sent on their way as good as new. Sometimes medical science can’t work the miracles we want them to. Sometimes the news is the very worst. I knew this was one of those times because several of the family members were weeping. That kind of scene can really get to me in a hurry. If I had stayed there for

fi ve minutes, I might have been crying too. When I entered I had skirted the

group, but as I left they were directly between the door and

me. I quietly apologized as I passed through the

middle of this sad cluster of people. I regret to tell you that walking through that group was like walking through an active ashtray.

The smell of cigarettes on the family was overpowering.

Now I felt even sadder. I walked away down a long hallway wondering if fi ve or ten years from now one of those very people will lie in a hospital bed hovering at the brink of death while a new generation of their family weeps at

the news of a devastating prognosis. Even more tragic is the fact that virtually everyone is aware of the damage done to the heart, lungs and vascular system by cigarette smoking. It’s not like bad news for smokers would be unexpected, or even that the poor health of their precious loved one arose overnight. The moment I walked in on had no doubt been brewing for years. Of course, I don’t even know if their loved one smokes. But by our very nature as humans, when death calls within our intimate circle, we often critically examine our own habits and resolve to make improvements. I hope that group of avid smokers will do just that. I wish they had done it long ago. True, it’s not like avoiding tobacco is some ticket to immortality. Sooner or later something gets all of us. I’ve heard smokers use that logic to defend their habit. “I’m going to die of something. Might as well be cigarettes.” That’s crazy. That is about as logical as walking down the middle of I-20. At night. Wearing black. “I’m going to die of something. Might as well be an 18-wheeler.” That’s crazy. So here’s a shout out to all of our combined efforts — during February and all the months that follow as long as we live — to take good care of our hearts. And our lungs and kidneys and brains and veins and arteries and everything else.

— Daniel Pearson

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER 3 +FEBRUARY 3, 2012

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Opinions expressed by the writers herein are their own and their respective institutions. Neither the Augusta Medical Examiner, Pearson Graphic 365 Inc., or its agents or employees take any responsibility for the accuracy of submitted information, which

is presented for informational purposes only. For specifi c medical advice, diagnosis, and treatment consult your doctor.

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The Medical Examiner’s mission: to serve as a central source of news within the Augusta medical community, to provide information on topics of health and wellness of interest to general readers, and to offer information to assist readers in wisely choosing their healthcare providers.

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Submit editorial content to [email protected]

Direct editorial and advertising inquiries to:

Daniel R. Pearson, Publisher & Editor

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P.O. Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903-0397

(706) 860-5455

www.AugustaRx.com • E-mail: [email protected]

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The Money Doctorappears exclusively in the Medical Examiner’s 3rd Friday

issue of even months, written by Augusta’s own Bill

Cleveland, a certifi ed fi nancial planner recently named

by Medical Economics magazine as one of the “150 Best

Financial Advisors for Doctors” in the U.S.

Read it and reap

NEXT ISSUE!

What’s your story? Nearly all of us — even doctors and nurses — are sometimes patients. Perhaps you were recently injured playing your favorite sport, or years ago you somehow got hurt without even leaving your favorite recliner. Maybe you were diagnosed with a dreaded disease, mugged in a dark and lonely parking lot, or you stubbed your toe in the safety of your own bedroom. On the other hand, perhaps you needed medical attention 5,000 miles from home. Whatever your medical experience, we’d like to hear your story for our Medicine in the First Person feature. It can be frightening or funny, ordinary or extraordinary, just a few paragraphs long or quite a lengthy tale. We’ll publish your encounters with the medical profession as often as we receive them.

Send your submissions for Medicine in the First Person to the Augusta Medical Examiner via e-mail: [email protected] or to

PO Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903-0397. (The Medical Examiner reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit any submission at its sole discretion.)

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Choose ____ six months for $16; or ____ one year for $32. Mail this completed form with payment to Augusta Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta GA 30903-0397

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Why subscribe to the Medical Examiner? Why would anyone pay for a subscription to a free newspaper? That’s certainly a legitimate question. The answer: as a major regional medical center, patients come to Augusta hospitals and physicians from all over the Southeast. The MCGHealth Medical Center alone sees patients from every single county in Georgia, not to mention South Carolina, Florida, and beyond. Add to that the regional reach of Eisenhower Army Medical Center and both Veterans Administration hospitals, the Joseph M. Still Burn Center at Doctors Hospital, MCGHealth Children’s Medical Center, Walton Rehab and University Hospital, and it’s clear that many people seeking treatment in Augusta are not local residents. Furthermore, some of our most loyal readers are in town only occasionally. Or their treatments and visits to Augusta are only temporary. Even local residents may fi nd it more convenient to walk to their mailbox than visit one of our many newsstands. Subscriber copies are mailed the day prior to the issue date so they will be received by most readers no later than the publication date printed on the paper. Copies are sent by First Class mail in a sealed envelope so they’ll arrive promptly and in crisp condition. Rates are $16 for a 6-month subscription (12 issues), $32 for a full year (24 issues). Complete the form below and drop it in the mail with your payment. Thank you! +

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“I could not breathe”M E D I C I N E I N T H E F I R S T P E R S O N

“I left the ER at 4:30 in the morning.”

o, I’m a social smoker…and of course I act like

cigarettes have no side effects whatsoever. But in reality they do… especially if you have asthma! I have suffered from asthma ever since I was a baby. My family and I have become accustomed to dealing with it and usually take the necessary precautions. My attacks can very easily be addressed with the use of an inhaler or nebulizer. Unfortunately, being a teenager who doesn’t live at home, I don’t always pay attention to prescription refi lls, etc. and I will not have the proper medicines handy. When that happens, I have to wait to call my doctor for a new prescription or rush to the emergency room. The last “terrifying” experience with my asthma was just the other night. I was home for the weekend to visit my friends and family, which I do pretty often. I decided to spend the night with one

of my friends…did I mention she lives in the country with horses, cats and dogs? I know I am allergic to most pets and usually using my inhaler will allow me to tolerate the animals. But combine my friend’s pets with my “social” smoking and we have all the makings of an asthma attack. Did I forget to tell you that my inhaler was almost empty? My allergies did bother me – a little – so I decided to stay at my mom’s the next night. Her house is pet free and “asthma friendly.” Around 9 o’clock that evening, my chest began to get very tight and I could tell I was starting to wheeze. I went to use my inhaler and realized it was completely out. Since this has happened to me many times

before, I didn’t panic and just assumed the “mini” attack would pass. I mentioned to my mother that I was wheezing and didn’t have an inhaler. She responded, “Well, Elizabeth, it’s already 9 o’clock on a Sunday night. There’s nothing we can do about it now. You’ll just have to wait until the morning to go to the doctor.” About an hour later, she went to bed and I stayed up trying to get my breathing under control so I could fall asleep. My breathing was becoming worse. I was starting to worry and realized this attack wouldn’t pass as easily as I thought. At 1 a.m. I was trying with all my might to get good deep breaths, but my muscles were becoming very sore from trying to breathe so hard. I kept telling myself, “You’ll get through this, just make it until the morning.” About 15 minutes later… I knew that I couldn’t. I got up and rushed to my mother’s room. I woke her See ASTHMA ATTACK page 16

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER FEBRUARY 3, 20124

Hope IS Possible

Stepping out of our comfort zones

t’s amazing to me how many people choose to stay in

their comfort zones. They’re satisfi ed with living in their little world and refuse to step out and see that the world is bigger than their block, neighborhood, and city or state. I don’t mean to be unkind by saying that. As a military brat, I don’t know any other way but to step out of

my comfort zones. Can you imagine living someplace for three to fi ve years and then having to move? You’ve made friends, gotten accustomed to your teachers, know where all the hang outs are and are pretty comfortable with your surroundings. And then your parent has another assignment and it’s time to move on. That was my lifestyle growing up. I had many pen pals over the years. I didn’t have any other lifestyle to compare mine too. But I loved it. Thinking back, I would do it all over again. Now, comfort zones go beyond just the places that you live. We have comfort zones in our mind. There are too many people, in my opinion, who prefer to live in the past. Growth of cities remain stagnant when communities have an excessive number of residents who refuse to look at the past as an opportunity to move forward and make the future better. And then

there are others who are not interested in expanding their cultural activities. I’m always amused when I hear people say there’s nothing to do in Augusta. Excuse me. If one was to pick up a copy of Verge, the Metro Spirit or the Augusta Chronicle they would be bombarded with such a diversity of events, the question will become “what can I choose this day or weekend to attend and/or involve myself with?” The choices are unlimited. Personally, I enjoy trying out different things. I have to admit, I’m not as ambitious when it comes to trying out too many different foods. I’ve still got to work on that. I believe our mental health or emotional well-being can be enhanced when we venture out to do something we’ve never done before. About a week ago I had an opportunity to attend an event sponsored by The Augusta Futurity. Mel Blount, former Pittsburgh Steelers football

player and NFL Hall of Famer, holds four Super Bowl rings and is a horse cutter. He held a FREE demonstration clinic and inspirational talk to about 1,000 children and adults at the James Brown Arena. I was honored with the opportunity to help promote and distribute the free tickets to youth and youth organizations all over the CSRA. Naturally a large percent of the people had never heard of horse cutting, never mind having seen this unique equine sport. And that was precisely why I was so enthusiastic about getting folks there. Having researched Mr. Blount’s website and read of his achievements after the NFL, I simply couldn’t resist the chance to get as many young people there to hear him speak. And boy was that one of the best things I’ve ever done. His message of hope, inspirational, work ethic, the importance of education and most especially to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ was profound, timely, relevant and so important. The crowd watched and listened in amazement at his words as he sat on a borrowed horse in the middle of the Arena and shared his story. Exposing our young people to diverse activities and people is so important, and based on the comments I’ve received since that event,

others feel the same way. The lives of our youth are in our hands, adults. The emotional well-being of our young people is also in our hands. I was honored to have met and talked with Mel Blount, took a photograph with him and have established a new budding friendship that may allow our shared interest in young people to explore other opportunities in the future. The Board of Directors of The Augusta Futurity was ecstatic about the impact this event made in this community and are already making plans for youth community outreach next year. I intend to be a part of that because I’m convinced that when young people are exposed to life beyond their block, neighborhood or city, they will be compelled and challenged to dream bigger dreams and achieve goals they’ve never thought possible.

Helen Blocker Adams is President/CEO of The HBA Group, Intl and Executive Director of the Southeast Enterprise Institute, Inc. Visit her website at www.helenblockeradams.com. If you like politics, visit her blog at www.projectlogicga.com. You can reach her via email at [email protected] Helen’s new book, Unlikely Allies: 8 Steps to Bridging Divides that Impact Leadership can be purchased by visiting www.hbagroup-intl.com or www.authorhouse.com

Helen Blocker-Adams

“He told me my hemogoblin count

is low.”

“She has to go barefooted because she has toxic sock syndrome.”

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by Bad Billy Laveau

Remember back when you were young and your hormones raged? Remember the crush you had on the girl down the street? Back then I didn’t know girls had crushes. I thought it was a boy thing. I thought girls only tolerated the lengths fumbling boys would go trying desperately to elicit a simple smile. None of us guys knew what we were doing, but we tried. We knew something was changing. We weren’t sure what, but we knew it felt important. Recording artists picked up on our emotions and recorded songs with pointed meaning for us, consciously or subconsciously. Only later in life did I become cognizant of the subtle sexual references, the insecurities, confl icts, and disappointments hidden so cleverly in the lyrics. Remember this one? (I quote loosely from memory)I roller skate, don’t drive no car. I don’t go fast, but I go pretty far.I’ve been all around the world, I’ve done alright for a girl.I got a brand new roller skate, You got a brand new key.Let’s get together, just you and me. That was bubble gum

music designed for 12-year-olds. Yeah. Right. It was an open invitation for the fi rst sexual experience for budding teenagers. It explored hormonal surges with infatuation turning into sexual activity without love or commitment. How about this one for late teenagers: I walk 49 miles of barbed wire. I wear a cobra snake for a neck tie. I live in a house on the hill make of rattle snake hides. Chimney make of human skulls. Now tell me baby, who do you love? Who do you love? (Bo Didley) He promulgates love forced by fear and intimidation. No wonder we have high rates of domestic violence. Or this one: If they take me and drop me in the ocean, I’ll swim to the shore and crawl home to you. Now, ain’t that loving you, Baby, and you don’t even know my name. (Jimmy Reed) He expressed love and admiration for a woman he felt he did not deserve. He expected nothing in return for his devotion. A true romanticist. (Now you tell me: If your daughter was bringing home your future son-in-law to meet you for the fi rst time, whose music do you want playing on his radio? Bo Didley? Or Jimmy Reed? If you have to

think more than 8.5 seconds to answer, go see your doctor. You need some Alzheimer’s testing done.) How about this one? Doctor, Doctor. What’s wrong with me? I’m itching like a man in a fuzzy tree. I’m in love. I’m all shook up. (Elvis Presley) That needs no explaining. It has no ulterior motive other than to say he has physiological responses to deep emotions. Or this one? He stopped loving her today. They placed a wreath on his door. (George Jones) He spoke of a man who loved a woman until the moment he died. We don’t have enough of those kind of men of devotion today. Or this one? I’m gonna get drunk, and I sure do dread it. I know what I’m gonna do. Gonna spend my check on some Old Wreck, and you better believe I know one or two. (Willie Nelson) He glorifi ed and

degraded drinking while belittling womanhood. How about this one: Hey, B@*%h. Come @!#$% my #!*%@. Yeah, B@#%h. Come @!#$% my &*%@. I know you can’t make much out of that, but those phrases and word usages are not in my vocabulary. And if they were, my editor would not print them. And if he did print them, you would be highly incensed and utterly appalled at both of us. Some say I am an old codger who doesn’t listen to RAP music (that stands for Rhythmic American Poetry, or so I am told.) Well, I do listen to RAP. At red lights. At gas stations. And at drive-thrus. The Constitution says everyone has freedom of speech and can say whatever they want, but where does it say you have the right to force me to listen to rapid-fi re ghetto thugs degrading

women? It doesn’t. I don’t like men who degrade women. Their words contaminate and sicken the world. And I don’t like men who kill women and call it honor killings because the women damaged “the family honor” by being modern. There is no love or honor in any of that. Words that we hear change the listener. Words that we hear shift the gears of our minds. Words that we hear shape our actions. Let’s hear some good words about loving one another, about being loved, about commitment, about tolerance, and about wellness of the body, mind, and soul. Find some Jimmy Reed, some Elvis, some George Jones ... and turn up the volume. You will be healthier and live longer. And so will the ones around you.

Bad Billy Laveau is a retired MD with a pointed sense of humor. Bad Billy speaks and entertains at public and private events for audiences not subject to cardiac seizure secondary to overwhelming laughter and glee [email protected] or 706-306-9397

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If you know someone who tries to drown their sorrows, you might tell them

sorrows know how to swim.

~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

any things can cause an allergy: foods, the environment, pets,

grasses, and medications. When you are asked about allergies at the doctor’s offi ce it is important to not only list what you are allergic to but also what kind of a reaction you had. Sometimes things like upset stomach or vomiting may just be due to taking the medicine wrong rather than a true allergy.It’s important to remember that once an allergic reaction starts it never goes away. Each time you are exposed to whatever you are allergic to, the reaction is worse. For example, when you fi rst contacted poison ivy you may not have reacted at all.

The next time you may have gotten a little rash, and each time thereafter it got worse. As the allergens build up in your system, the reaction becomes worse. The next thing to think about is the type of contact. Is the reaction due to something touched, like poison ivy or a bracelet and the reaction is only on the skin? Or is it from something eaten or drunk and the reaction may be systemic - all over the body? Is it through something inhaled like with an asthma attack, or swelling of the throat or lips or around the eyes from something in the air? All of these factors need to be noted so substances that are similar can be avoided.

If the reaction is bad the fi rst time you are exposed to something, say a bee sting, and then you may need to keep an epi-pen on hand in case you are exposed and unable to get to a hospital. Sometimes you can take a medication for years before an allergic reaction starts. It could be a rash or swelling of the face or trouble breathing. The problem then becomes deciding which medicine is the cause so the right one can be eliminated. It isn’t always the most recent thing. Products like Benadryl or any other antihistamine may help ease the effects of the reaction until you can get better treatment. Contact dermatitis or rash can be soothed by a cortisone ointment or Benadryl gel, but be sure to keep the ointment away from the face and eyes. Poison ivy on the face or hands usually requires an oral steroid. Make sure you keep a list of your allergies. An allergy alert bracelet may be a good idea if your reactions are severe.

HEALTH 101 – Information to help you make positive changes in your life to improve your health by Sandy Turner, RN, EdD, Family Nurse Practitioner, Director of the Good Samaritan House, A Free Community Health Center Open Mondays 1-5 pm. 213 N Main St., Dearing, GA 706-556-9080.


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WHAT SHOULD YOU DO ABOUT AN ALLERGIC REACTION?

Health 101

by Sandy Turner, RN, EdD, Family Nurse Practitioner, and Assistant Dean for Administration in the GHSU College of Nursing

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With 11 seconds left on the clock a 29-yard fi eld goal gives one team a three point lead. Their coach gets doused with a keg of Gatorade. “We’ve done it! We won the game!” Fans are about to rush the fi eld and celebrate this awesome victory. With two seconds left in the game a time-out is called. “Ready, set, hike” and the ball is back in play. It’s a Hail Mary pass, an unimaginable pass to be exact. It was a seventy-fi ve yard throw, the longest pass the quarterback had ever made. The ball bobbled and bounced between three defenders before awkwardly landing in the receiver’s hands. Amazingly, the receiver held onto the ball while escaping tackles and safely made it into the end zone for the unbelievable game winning touchdown. If you have no idea of what I’m talking about search sports highlights for the 2002 LSU vs. Kentucky game. Both coaches were in disbelief at the outcome. LSU Coach Saban said he felt bad for the losing Kentucky players, yet at the same time he was happy to have won. LSU was a serious underdog, but they never stopped playing. They expected the unexpected. I work in an environment where more times than not people are not expected to survive their diagnosis. As daunting and depressing as that may seem, I’ve learned to expect the unexpected. When you have no expectations you have nothing to reach for. On the other hand, when you raise your expectation level the achievements that can be made are innumerable. Several years ago when I was an active CASA volunteer (Court Appointed Special Advocate for children) I had a case of a young girl who was not given a good prognosis of having a typical childhood. She was severely developmentally delayed and not expected to accomplish much in life. It was wonderful to learn that she became potty trained within a weekend, began speaking in full sentences and started reaching age-appropriate milestones. What made the difference for this young child? A family that loved her and an environment that fostered growth and development. It changed her life. In my own life, it was the end of eighth grade and time for teachers to give their recommendations for which academic track students should take in high school. My teacher said I would not make it in the college prep track and she would only recommend the general or vocational track. Thankfully I had involved parents, and my mother’s expectations far exceeded my teacher’s. I graduated high school on the A/B honor roll and went on to earn Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Lastly, I’m also reminded of the expectations given to me while my son was in the hospital. Actually there were three families in similar situations given not-so-good prognoses. In short, we were initially told not to expect our babies to survive, and if they did their quality of life would be greatly compromised. My family conference consisted of “don’t expect him to walk, talk, or have good cognitive ability. Expect him to be severely mentally retarded, to lose his ability to eat by mouth, and to be in a vegetative state.” As diffi cult as it was to hear the doctor’s expectations (and even to repeat them now) I had — and still have — great expectations for my son. The other two families were given similar reports and I’m glad to say that their children are walking and talking and not in a vegetative state. Although my son has not reached many age-appropriate developmental milestones, he is progressing. I expect the most from my child and provide every avenue and chance possible for him to excel. According to science there are many things I should not expect of my son. Regardless of the outcome I will pursue life with expectancy. I will expect the unexpected.

Expect the Unexpected

Exceptional Living

Editor’s note: Exceptional Living appears exclusively in the Medical Examiner each month, addressing issues that all of us can benefi t from involving people with special — let’s call them exceptional — needs.

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www.AugustaRx.com

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINERFEBRUARY 3, 2012 7 +

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The Short White Coat

A med student’s notebook

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by Hevil Shah

For the average medical student, when you take into account both college and medical school, it takes eight years to prepare for the ultimate gamble. For someone like me who went to college, graduate school and then worked for a little bit, it has taken eleven years. But what is this ultimate gamble? It’s called The Match. For the past three months, senior medical students throughout the world have been crisscrossing the US in search of their perfect residency program. However, it’s not as easy as it seems. It isn’t just fi nding and plucking the perfect apple. The apple has to like you back. First off, lets talk about the application. The application is an enormous project that can take weeks to put together. One needs a personal statement, a transcript, test scores, a curriculum vitae that discusses prior education, research and work experiences, volunteer work you’ve done, awards and honors, recommendation letters from attendings and the Dean,

and a photograph. I’m pretty sure this amounts to a 30-40 page document per applicant. Some residency programs review the entire application before sending out an invitation to interview; others have a numerical cutoff based on the GPA or test scores or some combination of both that they use to weed out a number of applications before review. If you’re lucky enough to be invited, it feels like you’re on top of the world. But you’re brought quickly back to reality once you realize the logistics of going to the interview. First, you need to schedule the interview. The dates offered are taken up fi rst-come, fi rst-served, so you have to act fast. In an ideal world, you can coordinate all your interviews together so you can be in one region at a time (cutting down on travel expenses), but sometimes you will have to keep traveling back and forth between the east and west coast to fulfi ll all your scheduled interviews. You need to fi gure out how to get to each one. While some people fl y, I decided to drive. I enjoy long-distance driving and knowing I have control over when and how I get

there. Some programs provide lodging the night before, but for others you have to reserve your own hotel room. Luckily, all the programs where I interviewed provided lodging and as an added bonus, MEALS! Interview day is a pretty standard job interview. All the applicants dress in professional clothes, we’re introduced to the heads of the department, given a tour and a presentation about the program, and interviewed by one to three different people. As stressful as it could have been, this was probably my favorite part of the entire process. At all the programs where I interviewed, the interviewers were extremely welcoming and it felt like I was having a conversation with an old friend instead of going through a Q&A grilling. But in the end it comes down to the ultimate gamble. For the next four weeks, students will be sitting at their computers ranking the programs they interviewed with from their most favorite to their least. Similarly, residency programs will be ranking applicants from their most favorite to their least. These rank lists are due at the end of February, and

somewhere a computer in this country (although, how funny would it be if the computer was in China?) will match the rankings of the applicants with the rankings of the programs so that, theoretically at least, all the applicants can get into their top programs and the

programs can all get their top applicants. It is this mysterious and unknown computer that will decide my future as a resident. And come mid-March, everyone fi nds out where and who they matched. The ultimate gamble...decided by lines of binary code.

Hevil Shah, MPH, is a senior medical student at GHSU’s Medical College of Georgia. He may be reached at [email protected].

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Pharmacy 411Pharmacy 411EDITOR’S NOTE: Very little if anything about healthcare is inexpensive, and that includes medicine. Tiny pills can command large prices. Over-the-counter medications may be less expensive, but are they also less effective? Find the answers to lots of your drug store questions in this column written by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson exclusively for the Medical Examiner.

BOLL WEEVILS IN THE COTTON There are times in life that I have questioned why in the world I got into this profession. Anyone who knows me knows that there is a funny story behind how I ended up here, but we will call it fate since that is a story in and of itself. When I sit back and think about it, though, I realized that I live the life the way I do because of a couple of things I learned along the way. We have all that those professors or mentors who said something that sticks to us. It might be something profound and life altering or it might be something that at the time sounded so ridiculous that it just sticks. Either way, it becomes part of who we are and how we live. Good or bad. In my case, two things that I learned as a pharmacy student really stuck with me and essentially changed who I am in the process. “Treat everyone like you would want your grandmother to be treated” – Sounds so simple, this play on The Golden Rule, but it really makes sense. Go beyond how you would want to be treated yourself and you can’t go wrong. I use this daily, whether I am the pharmacist or the customer. I repeat this phrase to every student I get, just as that Revco pharmacist said it to me so many years ago. If everyone operated this way, the world would be a much nicer place to be. “Don’t forget to get the boll weevils out of the cotton” – While not as self-explanatory, this one has two meanings to me. The pharmacist who said this to me was teaching me to check the cotton plug that comes out of the stock medication bottles for any wayward pills, especially certain tiny ones, because they may get stuck.

Over the years, though, the boll weevil phrase has grown to take on a whole new meaning: DIG DEEPER as things are not always as they seem. People get mired down in the details of their lives and their situations can change

how they act and react on a daily basis. A person’s attitude can be dictated by how they feel, if

they have drama at home, if their job is going well, etc. So many things can

change how someone may act on any given day. For example, the lady that snaps at you at the cash register every Tuesday morning may have a chronically ill parent to take care

of and this is her time “out” of the house – you just happen to be the

one who takes the brunt of it. Through artful conversation and determination of the

issue, a different level of understanding is available. The customer often appreciates someone just smiling

and asking how things are going. (I’m not recommending being a busy-body and getting in everyone’s business, but in this business we get to know people pretty well.) How we act or react to someone can change their whole day as well. While sometimes people do just leave me scratching my head wondering what in the world they were thinking that day, most of the time I just check for boll weevils…

Questions about this article or suggestions for future columns can be sent to us at [email protected]

Written for the Medical Examiner by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson ([email protected] )

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“Researched, reformulated, redesigned, and always respected.” That’s how the American Heart Association (AHA) introduced their fresh new look for their nationally recognized nutritional icon, the Heart-Check mark. While the icon may be fresh, what really deserves the fanfare is the addition of several foods that are now certifi ed as heart-healthy, like nuts and fi sh. It’s the “researched” portion of the slogan that made the inclusion of these foods possible as studies have now confi rmed that some fats (the mono and poly unsaturated type) are actually part of a heart-healthy diet. But before you reach for the fryer and healthy oil, there are some guidelines to keep in mind. The fi rst guideline is that “more” is not always better. More money in your pocket is great, but more than the prescribed dose of medicine is not. While some fats may be better than others, too much fat is not healthy, even when it’s “good” fat (so yes, put the fryer back on the shelf). One reason for this is the caloric density of fat. Weighing in at about 124 calories in just a tablespoon (or 9 calories/gram) it would only take 4 extra tablespoons of oil a day to add a pound of weight in one week (500 extra calories/day x 7 days = 3500 calories or 1 pound weight gain). Since it is almost illegal to gain weight this close to a New Year’s resolution pledging weight loss, extreme control and substitution are in order. Control in the sense of the amount of fat consumed, and substitution in the type of fat eaten.

The American Heart Association recommends a diet in which only 25% to 35% of the calories come from fat. Nutrition labels can help you keep track of this (Look for “Calories from Fat”). The AHA is even more strict on saturated fat, which should be the source of no more than 7% of your daily calories. Calories from saturated fat aren’t separately listed on nutrition labels, but here’s a tip: there are 9 calories in any gram of fat. So if you see that a certain food has 1 gram of saturated fat per serving, that’s also 9 calories from saturated fat. For a daily 1500 calorie diet, 7% equals a daily limit of 105 calories (or 11.6 grams) from saturated fat sources. Keep an eye on this and work to stay under the recommended limits for optimal heart health. The next guideline applies to trans fat, which AHA recommends be limited to less than 1% of total calories. Less

than 1% is a very small amount. You wouldn’t bet on something with a 1% chance of winning.. Applying the 1% rule to a 1500 calorie diet permits just a single gram of trans fat per day. Something that warrants such tight restrictions certainly gives pause to the seriousness of its effect on health. You can’t apply any guidelines concerning fat intake without fi rst knowing the sources of the different types of fat. Often referred to as the “bad” fat, saturated fat is mostly found in animal sources (meat and dairy) and is solid at room temperature (butter, fatback). However, it may be a surprise to learn that some plant oils also contain saturated fat. These are the tropical oils – coconut, coconut oil, palm oil, palm kernel oil, and cocoa butter. A close inspection of the ingredients on prepared products like cookies and crackers will likely reveal these oils. Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, those designated as “good” fats, are typically found in plant sources and are liquid at room temperature. Examples of these fats are olive oil and canola oil. Finally, trans fats are the byproduct of a liquid oil that underwent the process of partial hydrogenation to make it solid at room temperature and more stable over longer periods. Shortening is a good example of a trans fat. With AHA recommendations in hand and knowledge of the different types of fats, it’s time to apply this information to eating. For number-phobic

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The Patient’s Perspective

individuals who fi nd all that calculating and subtracting detracting from the enjoyment of eating, don’t bail. There is another method. Simply look at the entire picture of your day’s intake and make wise choices to naturally bring the meals within the guidelines. A focus on fruits and vegetables without excessive or unhealthy fats, whole grains, and fi sh is a solid foundation. This, of course, means limiting the opposite: fried foods, fatty dishes, simple carbohydrates and fatty meats. If you need some help in this area there is no better place to start than the free University Hospital Heart Smart Cooking Demo at the Kroc Center on Feb 15 featuring Kim Beavers, R.D., C.D.E. from Channel 12’s “Eating Well With Kim.” Kim will demonstrate how to

incorporate the healthy fats, like Omega 3’s, into your diet with easy and affordable recipes. She will also focus on incorporating heart healthy fi ber (soluble) as a means of lowering cholesterol levels. Kim always has a fresh approach I think you will like. If you can’t fi t Kim’s presentation into your schedule, you may want to log on to the American Heart Association’s web site where you can learn more about the new check mark icon, heart disease, and nutrition for a healthy heart. Author Cindy Elia, M.S., R.D., C.D.E. is the Nutrition Specialist for the CSRA Area Agency on Aging, your gateway to aging resources. Got a question? Drop us a line: [email protected].

AHA web: http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/HeartSmartShopping/Heart-Check-Mark_UCM_300133_Article.jsp

by Marcia Ribble As she approached the end of her nursing studies, a young woman whom I would later meet had a stroke. After the stroke, the doctors told her that she would be in a wheelchair the rest of her life and said she retained the intelligence of a second grader. Her husband divorced her and the doctors suggested that after rehabilitation she be put in a nursing home. She refused and went home in a wheelchair with her two teenaged daughters. She could neither read nor write at that point, but together she and her daughters wrote her papers for her nursing school fi nals. She would tell them what to write and they would write it. She managed to fi nish her studies, but what then? Gradually, her eyes began to make sense of words again, and reading became possible. Writing was still pretty challenging with only one hand really functioning, but she learned to use a computer and with that one hand and she was able to write again.

One day she needed to use the bathroom and the hall was too narrow to accommodate her wheelchair. So she threw herself out of the wheelchair onto the fl oor and crawled her way to the bathroom, pulled herself up on the toilet and vowed to never use the wheelchair again. After using the bathroom, she crawled back down the hall to the wheelchair, dragged it to the front door, opened it and threw the wheelchair out into the yard. Because the doctors had diagnosed her as never being able to walk again, they discouraged her and told her to get back into her wheelchair “like a good girl.” Without their

support, and using only her “second grade” intelligence, she taught herself to walk again. Hers is a fairly typical story from an earlier period when doctors often believed they could accurately diagnose stroke and brain injury patients’ outcomes soon after the injuries occurred. Those injuries and their outcomes were expected to be permanent and patients who expressed frustration were often told that any and all efforts to improve their status would be fruitless. The assumption many doctors made was that patient’s outward language skills were matched equally by their inner language skills. But from what the patients I worked with told me, they were continuously gaining in linguistic skills, even when they could not articulate them, and they were still able to learn and remember things even when they could not speak, feed themselves, or use the bathroom. But for anyone to learn from those patients they fi rst had to listen to them after their language skills returned.

The same assumption was once made about babies, that until they could reproduce language independently they could not think. Famed psychologists declared it to be true and who would dare argue with them? After all, the medical marvels we have today to determine function in brain-injured adults (and assist in re-creating it) hadn’t been invented yet. Because patients were told they had lost their intelligence they talked with one another but not with outsiders, so they hadn’t told their stories before. A book we read in graduate school which said that people who couldn’t communicate fully were not fully human. I argued that the book was wrong about those people even when they had lost some of their communication skills. Apparently folks in the class had not followed actress Patricia Neal’s amazing self-directed recovery from massive strokes she suffered in 1966. I had, and I knew from her experience that even when the voice is silent and the body paralyzed, the mind is often actively aware. From 1998 to 2000, I worked with a group of middle-aged to elderly adults with brain injuries who were signifi cantly past their periods of optimal recovery, at least as far as their doctors, and sometimes their families, were concerned. Their fi nal prognoses had been bleak. Some fought against their diagnoses, while for others it limited the individual’s ability to reject the doctors’ claims. I spent hours with them

as a writing teacher helping them relearn their writing skills. What we settled upon after several weeks of struggle and frustration was oral storytelling. At fi rst the large room we worked in was pretty quiet, as their fears that I would be like other folks they had worked with in the past silenced them. That lasted until I asked them to tell me what had bugged them most about their recovery periods. Recovery was something they could and did talk about at great length. I will tell more of their stories in future columns. We discovered that although most of them had some level of short-term memory loss, most of them had retained many long-term memories from childhood and from their accidents or strokes through their years of rehabilitation. And they could still tell stories, really wonderful stories, of minds fully aware even when their voices had been silenced, their bodies confi ned to degrees of immobility. These stories can be enormously useful to caregivers, professional and otherwise, who can be alerted to a depth of intelligence and humanity in silent individuals.

Marcia Ribble received her PhD in English at Michigan State University and recently retired from the University of Cincinnati where she taught composition. She has taught writing at the college level since 1985, and loves giving voice to people who have been silenced. She can be reached with comments, suggestions, etc. at [email protected].

Talk is cheap.Not talking can be deadly.

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINERFEBRUARY 3, 2012 11

The blog spot+

Are you all right? Of course not. Like the rest of us, you’re half left. Literally. It’s no big deal. But for people who are half left and left-handed, new research has made some interesting discoveries. For instance, it’s curious that mothers who are exposed to unusually high levels of stress during pregnancy are more likely to give birth to lefties. Events such as job loss or death of a loved one during pregnancy were identifi ed as specifi c triggers likely to increase the odds of a left-handed baby. Southpaws make up about 10 percent of the population, but about 20 percent of people with schizophrenia are left-handed. Studies have also linked left-handed people to higher rates (or risk of) dyslexia, ADHD, and some mood disorders. People who are “mixed-handed,” who alternate hands with ease and don’t have a dominant right or left hand

tendency are even more strongly associated with ADHD.

Treating the complete man (Or woman.) That, says The Wall Street Journal, is an increasingly prominent goal of hospitals and medical schools. Hospital chaplains are nothing new, but recent studies show spiritual guidance can help improve a patient’s medical outcome and lead to shorter hospital stays. Other research indicates that as many as 40 percent of patients with serious illnesses grapple with some kind of spiritual concern, and those can impede physical and emotional healing and recovery. Patients consumed by negative thoughts — in brief, the “Why me, Lord?” Syndrome — have been found to be more likely to have negative outcomes than those with the ability to turn to their religion for solace. Chaplian visits can also lower patient (and family) anxiety levels.

Drumming up more business? Please ignore that facetious headline. We are not conspiracy theorists here at the Medical Examiner. But the fact remains that a recent UCLA/Rand Corp. study found that hospital cafeterias are a wasteland when it comes to healthful food. Researchers defi ned that as foods with no more than 800 calories and no more than 30% of calories from fat, and 10% or less from saturated fat. Of the 384 entrees or sandwiches served at 16 hospitals studied, only 7% could be classifi ed as healthful by the defi nition above. However, about 75% had salad bars, although only a bit more than half offered low-fat or fat-free salad dressings. The fi ndings are signifi cant: hospitals should be exemplary examples of healthful everything; also, many times the families of patients spend days at hospitals, particularly if they’re from out of town. They should have healthful food options.

theClipping File

+

Posted Jan. 17, 2012 at http://childrenarepresent.blogspot.com/

Tales of a school nurse I happened to be in the main offi ce of the school where I am the school nurse when the secretary answered a call. I could hear surprise in her voice as she said, “Yes, I’ll let her know.” She hung up and turned to tell me that the preschool needed me and that it was “kind of an emergency.” [This elementary school has a preschool site attached to it, for special needs 3- to 5-year-olds.] I jogged to the preschool building. Inside, I found the teacher and a 3-year-old autistic boy, and the teacher told me he had just had his fi rst grand mal seizure. I asked if 9-1-1 had been called already, and she said yes, that they had called down to the main offi ce who then called 9-1-1. I thought that was odd because the fi re station is literally across the street from the school’s soccer fi eld, but okay. I asked what had happened and when, because the boy was sitting up when I found him, and this was the gist of the teacher’s description: “He went into a shaking seizure ten minutes ago. It lasted about two minutes, and afterward he was unresponsive and his breathing was labored. He’s still not quite his normal self.” Within a minute or so the boy snapped to alertness, and I could hear sirens. The teacher said the boy’s mom was on her way, and that she had called 9-1-1 because it was his fi rst seizure of this kind - he normally has absence seizures - and I nodded in support. Soon enough, the fi remen and paramedics arrived, along with the mother. Off they went. In this particular case though, there were several things screaming at me that these people need in order to be better prepared for future emergencies. What went wrong?

Answers:1. Why did they ask the main offi ce to call 9-1-1? It is quite helpful to be directly observing the patient when dispatchers ask questions (e.g., Is the child conscious?). Not only that, it wastes precious time. The preschool has a direct outside line which they used to call the mother - but not 9-1-1.

2. Why did it take so long to call 9-1-1? They knew to call 9-1-1, but it took ten minutes to act on that knowledge.

3. Related to number 2, if a child is unresponsive after a seizure - his fi rst grand mal - now would be the time to call 9-1-1. The teacher also told me the child’s breathing was “labored” after the seizure. Tip: if a three year old without respiratory issues is having diffi culty breathing, please call 9-1-1. Immediately.

4. My own areas in need of improvement: turns out I don’t have a health alert list for the preschool kids. It would be nice to know who has seizures, and who has Epi-pens (yes, preschool-aged kids do have them). I’ll be getting that from the dedicated preschool nurse. Second, I wasn’t wearing a watch, which is tortuous in case of emergency, particularly related to a seizure. No one will probably believe this, but I noticed my naked wrist on my way into work and thought that with my luck I’d have an emergency. Murphy’s Law strikes again.

5. A child having his fi rst grand mal seizure is not “kind of” an emergency. That is an emergency.

“It took ten

minutes to call 9-1-1

”

+

We publish on 1st and 3rd Fridays. Our next issue: Feb. 17

From THE Bookshelf This is not a new book: it was fi rst published more than a decade ago. In that time it has already become something of a classic, at least in certain circles. It isn’t necessarily a happy tale, but it is one that is profoundly signifi cant. It teaches many lessons that patients, medical students, doctors, nurses, and even clerical workers and insurance clerks desperately need to learn. Imagine that through circumstances beyond your control, you are a refugee in a strange land. It is foreign in ways almost beyond counting: it’s literally on the other side of the world from your native land; its inhabitants speak a language you don’t understand; its culture is as strange and foreign to you as yours is to them. As challenging as all of that might be, add a life-threatening pediatric medical emergency to the mix, and the plot thickens considerably. These very things became the story told in this book, the tale of the Lees, a Hmong family who fl ed their native Laos after its fall to communism. They ended up in Merced, California. At three months old, their daughter Lia was diagnosed

with epilepsy. It doesn’t sound like the stuff of a complicated medical melodrama, does it? Well, the subtitle of this outstanding book is A Hmong Child, Her American Doctors, and the Collision of Two Cultures. Collision being the operative word. Your hospital or medical offi ce may be able to readily fi nd a Spanish interpreter, but Hmong? You probably don’t even know how to pronounce the word. (We had to look it up here at M.E. World Headquarters.) Granted, you might not have the need for a Hmong specialist on staff anytime over the next fi fty years — if that soon. But what happens when you’re presented with a patient

who has extremely limited education? What about Christian Scientists or any religionist whose healing focus is strictly on faith, not medicine? How about Jehovah’s Witnesses and their refusal to accept blood transfusions? And what about garden variety language barriers: what if a patient walks in who speaks only Chinese, French, German, or Japanese? It could happen tomorrow. This book expertly walks the line between the culture of medicine and of the Hmong people, teaching the crucial lessons learned without editorial comment. The outcome was tragic for Lia Lee, yet it’s noteworthy that one of the doctors profi led in the book said, “My team (Western medicine) failed Lia.” Yet of the story as told in this book he said, “Never have I felt so fairly treated in defeat.” There is no over-supply of empathy and understanding in the world. In medicine, miscommunications can be fatal. These pages have the antidote.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman, 360 pages, published in 1998 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux +

The Mystery Word for this issue:SURVACAL

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THE MYSTERY WORD

All Mystery Word fi nders will be eligible to win by random drawing. We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!

VISIT WWW.AUGUSTARX.COM TO ENTER!Click on “Reader Contests”

EXAMINER

SUDOKU

DIRECTIONS: Every line, vertical and horizontal, and all nine 9-square boxes must each contain the numbers 1 though 9. Solution on page 14.

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2012 All rights reserved. Built with software from www.crauswords.com

QUOTATION PUZZLE

DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each

vertical column to fi ll the boxes above. Once any letter is used, cross it out

in the lower half of the puzzle. Letters may be used only once. Black squares

indicate spaces between words, and words may extend onto a second line.

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2012 All rights reserved

by Daniel R

. Pearson © 2

01

2 A

ll rights reserved

� � � � � � � � ��

THE EXAMINERS+

1 2 3

Use the letters provided at bottom to create words to solve the puzzle. All the listed letters following 1 are the 1st letters of each word; the letters following 2 are 2nd letters of each word, and so on. Try solving words with letter clues and entering unique and minimal choice numbers (such as 4, 5 and 6 in this puzzle). A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.

Solution on page 14.

1 2 3

by Dan Pearson

1 2I

1 2 3

1 21 2 3 4 5 6

U1 2 3

— Eleanor Roosevelt

— Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 - 1968)

YET

ART

EUHN

YAB

NOOE

OTAV

DL

YE

LEDY

ABLE

VAL

IWFE

OSN

DRA

BE

Y1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 3 4 5

DOWN 1. Title of respect for God 2. Boorish oaf 3. Synonym for 17-A 4. Greek goddess of wisdom 5. Novelty 6. Brewer’s _______ 7. Image 8. Boy or man 9. Farewell 10. Coffee cup 11. Abdominal membrane or sac 12. HVAC system component 13. Wan 16. Source of cocoa 23. Certain Augusta Center 25. Lopsided, as a grin 26. Augusta native Jasper 27. Not appropriate 28. Manic-____________ 30. Republic in central Africa 31. Set on fi re 33. Type of alarm

34. Enclosed automobile 37. Incision 38. Hair ____ 44. Saturate; absorb 45. Neighborhood blemish 48. Brother’s daughter 51. Followed 53. Glossy 55. Open to bribery 56. Legal grp. 57. Career athletes 59. Royal intro 60. Common medical prefi x 62. Highly excited 63. New Haven medical school 64. Celestial body 66. Movie network (abbrev.)

ACROSS 1. New York & Georgia city 7. Offi ciating priest of a mosque 11. Small electronic organizer (in brief) 14. Baby’s sock 15. Medical symbol 17. Baloney 18. Believer in rule by an elite few 19. City in Europe (and Georgia) 20. Natal beginning 21. Sky follower (at least on Broad Street) 22. Clears 24. Smack; slap 26. Traitor 29. Israeli submachine gun 32. House covers 35. Single unit 36. Scrawny 39. Scotsman’s “no” 40. Lead in to hazard 41. Kidney output 42. Antiquity 43. WACG network 44. Barren 46. North American nation 47. ______grapher 49. Nevertheless 50. Red Sea republic 52. Drinks slowly 54. Level 56. Church recess 58. Monkey 61. Compositions 65. Andromeda Strain author 67. Candy kind 68. Small African parrot 69. Ring of light or color 70. Exploit 71. Upon 72. Account book

First Fifth Third Bank. I like it.With who?

First Citizens Bank is merging.

This whole merger thing is getting out

of hand. What now?

© 2012 Daniel Pearson All rights reserved.

They’re buying out Fifth Third Bank.


MEDICAL EXAMINER?WHERE DO YOU GET YOURIn Thomson:

Among our Thomson stops: McDuffi e County Hospital, Dr. Bieltz’ offi ce, Thomson Family Y, LMN Pharmacy, Moye Pharmacy, FMC Dialysis, Thomson Podiatry, and Thomson Health & Rehab. See a list of many of our newsstand and drop-off locations in the center pages of every issue.

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Tell them, “I saw your ad in the Medical Examiner.”

If you enjoy this newspaper...

...please support it by supporting our advertisers.

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MEDICAL EXAMINERSubscription cost: $32.00Feel like: $1,000,000.00Your savings: $999,968.00

By popular demand we’re making at-cost subscriptions available for the convenience of our readers. If you live beyond Augusta or miss issues between doctor’s appointments — don’t you hate it when that happens? — we’ll command your mail carrier to bring every issue to your house!

NAME ADDRESSCITY STATE ZIP

Choose ____ six months for $16 or ____ one year for $32. Mail this completed form with payment to Augusta Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta GA 30903-0397

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MEDICAL EXAMINER++

2312

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DON’T FORGET TO VISIT THE BLOG PAGE AT AUGUSTARX.COM!

VASCULAR

The Mystery Word in our last issue was:PAINKILLER


THE MYSTERY SOLVED...carefully hidden (on the pen in the cup) in the page 13 ad for

TELL YOUR STORYCongratulations to Mark Slivka, who scores a $20 Wild Wing Cafe gift certifi cate, two free movie passes courtesy of Health Center Credit Union, a free Top Notch Car Wash gift card,

and anything else we may be able to scrape together on short notice. Win this stuff! The new Mystery Word is on p. 12. Start looking!

...wherein we hide (with fi endish cleverness) a simple word. All you have to do is unscramble the word (found on page 12), then be the fi rst to fi nd it concealed within one of our ads. Click in to the contest link at www.AugustaRx.com and enter. If we pick you in our random drawing of correct entries you’ll score our goodie package: gift certifi cates from Wild Wing Cafe, Top Notch Car Wash, Cheddar’s, and movie passes from Health Center Credit Union! SEVEN SIMPLE RULES: 1. Unscramble and fi nd the designated word hidden within one of the ads in this issue. 2. Visit the Reader Contests page at www.AugustaRx.com. 3. Tell us what you found and where you found it. 4. If you’re right and you’re the one we pick at random, you win. (WInners within the past six months are ineligible.) 5. Prizes awarded to winners may vary from issue to issue. 6. A photo ID may be required to claim some prizes. 7. Other entrants may win a lesser prize at the sole discretion of the publisher.

The CelebratedMYSTERY WORD CONTEST

HOMES, APARTMENTS, ROOMMATES, ETC.

HOUSE FOR SALE 3 bedroom, 2 full bath, 2-car garage. Off Dyess Pkwy near Ft. Gordon. $99,900. Call 706-339-5548 or 706-210-4334

TOWNHOME large furnished room (dresser, bed, night stand, linens) for rent with private bathroom in convenient and very nice neighborhood near Doctors Hosp. $445 a month includes utilities and Internet service. Please contact 706-589-0238 ask for May.

APARTMENT One bedroom, one bath ga-rage apartment, $595/mo. TOWNHOME Two bedroom, 1.5 bath townhome, $645/mo. Quiet West Augusta area. 706.951.3598 or 706.855.5986 31612

TOWNHOUSE One bedroom townhome in Town Club on Berckman Road. Gated community with security system. Minutes from ASU. Gym & pool on site. Info: call 706-564-1107 21712

TOWNHOME Great location, everything new, 2 master suites, sunroom, all appli-ances. $98,000 (706) 504-4023

HOMESBYOWNER.COM

Sell • Buy • Rentals • 706.564.5885

WEST AUGUSTA Luxury 3 BR / 2 BA

Townhouse, 1-car attached garage lo-cated off Pleasant Home Road $725 /mo 706-228-4655

TOWNHOME 3 bedroom, 3 full bath townhome. 2 master suites, like new, end unit with extra parking, single garage, covered patio, $125,000. 706-799-0394

SERVICES

HOME HEALTH CHECK-UP Biological and chemical contamination will make you sick. Help your doctor! We Cure Sick Homes. 706-772-9898 www.comman-donow.com

LYNN’S CLEANING SERVICE over 20 years experience in the CSRA with an eye for detail. Call 706.833.2658 or email [email protected] 1612

SAY IT THE WRITE WAY Online editing, proofi ng, writing and drafting service. Visit http://sayitthewriteway.webs.com or email proofi [email protected] 12012

SPARKLING CLEAN Looking for offi ces to clean. No contract req. Husband & wife team have years experience and give FREE on-request estimates. Call 706.831.8552 or 706.831.8553

BIBLE BY PHONE - Free daily Bible readings; for Spiritual Encouragement and Growth. Call 706-855-WORD (9673)

NOTICE! ATTENTION! If any current or past employer has failed to pay you min. wage or time and a half overtime pay, you may be entitled to an order from US Fed-eral Court awarding you twice the amount of your unpaid wages plus atty. fees. For info, call Arthur H. Shealy, Attorney at Law, 803-278-5149, 1010 Plantation Rd, North Augusta SC 29841. You may be entitled to a similar award for unpaid wages if your employer required you to perform duties during your lunch hour, before clocking in, or after clocking out.

LAWN SERVICE Commercial, residential. Call Vince: (704) 490-1005

PERSONAL TRAINER Certifi ed by United States Sports Academy in Science of Bodybuilding and Strength Training for Athletes. Signifi cant improvements for all sports at all ages. Natural techniques for relief of all common sports-related injuries employing positioning and myofascial release. Rapid recovery and strength gains. One free session to 1st 10 applicants. E-mail [email protected] or call 803-257-5421

CAREGIVER/COMPANION Need a ride to the doctor, store, etc. or someone to come in to visit and help you. Great References, reasonable rates. Call (706) 589-1698 or email [email protected].

EXAMINER CLASSIFIEDS

QUOTATION

WORDS BY NUMBER“You must do the things

you think you cannot do.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

www.AugustaRx.com

The Sudoku Solution

QUOTATION PUZZLE SOLUTION: Page 12: “That old law about an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind.” — Martin Luther King

SENDING US A CLASSIFIED?

The new scrambled Mystery Word is found on page 12

USE THE FORM BELOW AND MAIL IT IN, OR GO TO WWW.AUGUSTARX.COM AND PLACE & PAY CONVENIENTLY AND SAFELY ONLINE. THANKS!

CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING FORMAugusta Medical Examiner Classifi eds

NameAddressWork number (if applicable) ( ) Home phone ( )Category of ad (leave blank if unsure):

In case we need to contact you. These numbers will not appear in the ad.

AD COPY (one word per line; phone numbers MUST include the area code):

.25

1.00

1.75

2.50

3.25

4.00

4.75

5.50

6.25

7.00

7.75

8.50

.50

1.25

2.00

2.75

3.50

4.25

5.00

5.75

6.50

7.25

8.00

8.75

.75

1.50

2.25

3.00

3.75

4.50

5.25

6.00

6.75

7.50

8.25

9.00

(Copy this form or continue on additional sheet if more space needed.)

Send this form with payment to:AUGUSTA MEDICAL EXAMINER, PO BOX 397, AUGUSTA, GA 30903-0397

Total ad cost by number of words as shown above:

Multiply by number of times ad to run:

Total submitted:

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$

The Augusta Medical Examiner publishes on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month. Your ad should reach us no later than 5 days prior to our publication date.

COFFEE IS GOOD MEDICINE

VISIT DRUGOFCHOICECOFFEE.COMFOR YOUR REFILLS TODAY

WHAT’S YOUR DRUG OF CHOICE?

(OURS IS COFFEE)SEE PAGE 12

THE PUZZLE SOLVED

Thanks for reading!

� � � � � � � � � � � ��

� � � � ! � � � ! � � � � � � �� ! � �� ! � � � � �� ! �� ! � � � � � � � � � � � � � !� � ! � � � � �� ! � �


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MEDICAL SERVICES DIRECTORY

TO ADVERTISE HERE CALL 706.860.5455

Family Care CenterPrimary & Urgent Care

No appointments • All major & secondary ins. acceptedGROVETOWN

(old Post Offi ce Building)Mon-Fri: 9am-6pm706.434.3500

3686 WHEELER ROAD(across from Doctors Hospital)Mon-Fri: 8am-7pm; Sat: 9am-6pm

706.922.6300NEW PATIENTS WELCOME • SIMPLY WALK IN

www.urgentmd.com

CENTER FOR PRIMARY CAREFAMILY MEDICINE

CPC-EVANS363 NORTH BELAIR ROAD

706.650.7563

CPC-CENTRAL3614-D DEWEY GRAY CIRCLE

706.868.7380

CPC-SOUTH2011 WINDSOR SPRING ROAD

706.798.1700

CPC-N. AUGUSTA105 HUGH STREET

803.279.6800

Evans, South, Crossroads, Central and North Augusta offi ces open8:30 am-8:00 pm Monday thru Thursday and 8:30 am-5:00 pm Friday

Aiken offi ce hours, effective August 1:8:30 am-8:00 pm Mon & Tue and 8:30 am-5:00 pm Wed thru Fri

CPC-Crossroads open weekends for CPC patients with acute care needs. Please call ahead.

CPC-CROSSROADS1701 MAGNOLIA WAY

(OFF DYESS PARKWAY)

706.922.6600

CPC-AIKEN410 HITCHCOCK PARKWAY

NEW CPC OFFICE AS OF AUG. 1

803.649.6941

26 PHYSICIANS • EVENING HOURS • 6 CONVENIENT LOCATIONS •

Knob HillASSISTED LIVING CENTER, INC.

A specialty care community offering: Spinal Cord Injury Care • Traumatic Brain Injuries

Respite Care • Specialized Rehabilitation CareSpecialized Dietary Requirements

Adult Day Care • Alzheimer’s Care

Approved for VA and Medicaidand private pay

Knob Hill Assisted Living Center is just off Washington Rd. near Windmill Plantation, approx. 3 miles from Evans WalMart

For more information or to make a referral, please contact us:KNOB HILL ASSISTED LIVING CENTER

Ryan Hunt • [email protected] Knob Hill Farm Road • Evans, GA 30809

706-860-0541

INDICATIONS AND USAGE

The Medical Examiner is a twice-monthly publication indicated as an adjunctive therapy to:• increase information about topics of general health and wellness for an audience of healthcare consumers and providers alike.

Limitations of UseThe Medical Examiner is not intended as a means of diagnosing or treating any illness or condition and is not offered as a substitute for in-person care offered by a medical professional. Statements in the Medical Examiner have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration unless otherwise specifi cally noted.

DOSAGE AND

ADMINISTRATION

• Dosage is offered in one 16-page tabloid sized newspaper printed on premium bright white newsprint. The Medical Examiner should be administered twice monthly. Do not discontinue unless under medical advice. Use all of this product.

CONTRAINDICATIONS

• Concomitant administration of the Medical Examiner and cookbooks containing less than healthful recipes may result in

adverse reactions.• The Medical Examiner should not be administered to individuals with an established hypersensitivity to any component of this publication, such as improved diet or encouragement to exercise.

WARNINGS AND

PRECAUTIONS

• Patients should be advised to consult their physician prior to signifi cant alterations of their normal exercise and/or dietary habits are outlined in the Medical Examiner.

ADVERSE REACTIONS

• The most common adverse reactions are diffi culties experienced in developing new and more healthful habits to replace practices that are not conducive to optimal health. A rash may occur.

To report SUSPECTED ADVERSE REACTIONS, contact The Medical Examiner at 706-860-5455 or via e-mail: [email protected].

DRUG INTERACTIONS

• There are no known adverse drug interactions between The Medical Examiner and any prescription or over the counter drug.

USE IN SPECIFIC

POPULATIONS

• The Medical Examiner is formulated primarily with and for patients located with the Central Savannah Area in mind. However, readers and subscribers in Massachusetts, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Nevada, Kansas and other states have experienced benefi cial results from application of The Medical Examiner.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

No purchase necessary. May be harmful if swallowed. No substitutions. Close cover before striking. Take with meals. Do not use near power lines. Season to taste. Do not attempt. Batteries not included. May become soggy in milk. Product may be addictive. Some assembly required. Do not freeze. Do not use while operating vehicles or heavy machinery. Safe around pets and children. Keep away from open fl ame. Certifi ed. Do not swallow. May contain soy. Do not drop. Suitable for indoor and outdoor use. Not dishwasher safe. Not to be used as a personal fl otation device. Use right-side up. You could be a winner. If vomiting or indigestion results, discontinue use immediately. This product not tested on animals. Life is short.

See store for details. Do not use in shower. Do not use while sleeping. If product gets in eyes, fl ush with water immediately. Do not use near fi re, sparks or fl ame. Not for internal use. May contain small parts. Warning: choking hazard if eaten. Some exclusions may apply. No stopping or standing. Payment is due by due date. May contain dairy products. Speed monitored by detection devices. If you experience sudden loss of hearing or vision or an erection lasting more than four hours, consult your physician. Shake well. No parking. May cause swelling of hands, feet or ankles. Product may have sharp edges. Do not leave unattended. Think outside the box. From concentrate. Keep out of direct sunlight. This is not a toy. Discard if seal broken. Slower traffi c keep right. Contents hot. Battery may explode. Use hearing protection. Refrigerate after opening. Color inside lines. Twist to open. Not for human consumption. May contain peanut products. For a limited time only. Waldo may be diffi cult to fi nd. If unsatisfi ed, return unused portion. Do not block intersection. Parental guidance suggested. Defrost before using. Test on small area. Some settling of contents may occur. Product of U.S.A. Recommended for mature audiences. To continue in English,

press 1. You pressed 1. If this is correct, press 1. Pass with caution. Use in well-ventilated area. May stain some fabrics. For best results use 12 to 16 inches from face. Safe for carpets. Do not discontinue unless directed by physician. Look before you leap. At participating dealers only. Pay it forward. Limited time offer. Employees must wash hands. Offer not valid in Pennsylvania, New Jersey or Michigan. All you need is love. Professionally dry clean only. Bridges freeze before roads. Keep away from water. Kosher. Electric shock hazard. Do not open. May contain up to 10% ethanol. If cloudy, discard immediately. Do not pass. Gluten free. Post no bills. Keep out. Always wear seat belts. Please pay in advance. Low clearance. Freshness guaranteed. May cause diarrhea. Discard after use. Please recycle. Closed course; professional driver. Use only as directed. Misuse may cause injury or death. Objects are closer than they appear. May cause blindness. No warranty expressed or implied. Sold for the prevention of disease only. Not advised for use as a home pregnancy test. Stop drop and roll. May result in temporary swelling. Use all of this product. Wear all appropriate safety gear. Your results may vary.

MEDICAL EXAMINER PRODUCT AND DISPENSING INFORMATION

THANKS FOR SUPPORTING OUR ADVERTISERS!��

Home Health CheckBACTERIA, MOLD, MYCOTOXINS, VIRUS AND VOCs

Cause Asthma, COPD, Fibromyalgia, Fatigue, Congestion, Eye Irritation, Respiratory Problems, Stuffy Head, Sore Throat, Skin Conditions and more.

39$ LOCAL HOMEINSPECTION

CALL TODAY!706-772-9898COMMANDO SERVICES


ASTHMA ATTACK… from page 3

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up exclaiming that I needed to go the ER. I told her I would drive myself if I had to because it was that bad. She asked me if I was sure I could drive myself and I just said yes. Even though I’ve had asthma all my life and she was used to it; she didn’t understand the intensity of this attack. The whole way to the ER I was wondering if my lungs were going to give up. Luckily I made it to University Hospital and I rushed in. As soon as I came up to the window, I told the nurse working I was having an asthma attack and I had no inhaler. Immediately they told me to go through

the following door to be checked in and be prepared for a room. They took all my information then set up a bed in the hall for me. The doctor on call quickly told the nurses to set up a machine for albuterol and that I needed

to be on it for an hour. I was given prednisone as well. Finally…relief!!! After a few hours in the ER, a new inhaler and a couple prescriptions later, I was home by 4:30 a.m. My mom heard me walk in and came to my room to see what happened. I was mad at her for not going with me even though I said it was fi ne. I felt like she didn’t care but then she climbed in the bed and lay next to me until I fell asleep. The next morning…or really just a few hours later, I told her more about the ER visit and how scared I was. It felt like I was trying to breathe through a Capri Sun straw. My mom felt really bad because I didn’t explain to her

how bad I was feeling. I am telling you this story for a couple of reasons…

1. If you have asthma – YOU MUST TAKE IT SERIOUSLY!!! You have to take the necessary precautions to avoid an attack.2. If you have asthma – DO NOT SMOKE!!!3. If you have asthma – ALWAYS KEEP YOUR MEDICATIONS HANDY!!!!4. If you are having an asthma attack – DO NOT SEE IF IT

WILL PASS! TELL YOUR FAMILY / FRIENDS YOUR SYMPTOMS SO THEY CAN HELP!!!

My mom stays on me all the time about not waiting to the last minute to tell her I am out of my inhaler or that I am wheezing. I have to start listening to her. She is actually right. Imagine that.

— Submitted by Liz Pearson, Columbia, SC

GOT A STORY?

Tell us about your medical experiences in Medicine in the First Person

Seriously, who doesn’t?

More info, page 3

Thursday evenings:

Wine & Tapas A sterling selection of

Chef Heinz’ unique culinary skills and Augusta’s most extensive

wine list. $25 per person

Friday evenings:

Specialty Martinis

Half price

ON TELFAIR

Our February Wine DinnerA 7-Course Wine & Food Experiencefeaturing superb Napa Valley wines

Sunday, February 12, 5:30 pmLIMITED SEATING

RESERVATIONS REQUIRED(BY PHONE OR ON OUR WEBSITE)EARLY RESERVATIONS SUGGESTED

$80 PER PERSON PLUS TAX & GRATUITY

706.722.4805 • 404 Telfair Street • Hours: Mon - Sat: 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm • www.LaMaisonTelfair.com

La Maison

Chef Heinz welcomes youCelebrating Chef Heinz’ 20 years at La Maison

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