The News-Press 12/09/2014

Copyright 2014, The News-Press. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights , updated March 13, 2007.December 9, 2014 1:29 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

Icame up with a greatprayer last year.

“I have the pa-tience to accept andreach all peoplewhere they are. I

have the serenity to forgiveanyone who knowingly orunknowingly harms me. Ihave the strength to thrivedespite all loss and challengethat may cross my path.”

I’ve always been a fan oftriples, and I said this prayer(or intention, meditation,affirmation) for a week dur-ing my morning mindfulnesspractices, and I repeated itbefore I slept so it could seepinto my subconscious.

All hell broke loose.I found myself surround-

ed by people who disappoint-ed me, several of whomhurled slings and arrows

with malicious intent. Mean-while, loss and challengewere driving my freighttrain into a brick wall.

I tried to retract the pray-er like “Young Franken-stein’s” Gene Wilder beggingto be saved from the ram-paging Creature of his ownmaking. “Don’t you know ajoke when you hear one?” Ishrieked, and I pounded thelocked door.

Too late. The monsterbroke free of his chains.

“So, you want patience,serenity and strength? Howabout now?” The universebaited me.

Or did it?I get there is no reality

without consciousness. Iknow calming the fluctua-tions of mymind canreduce my

stress and yield physicalbenefits. But call me a skep-tic because I’ve neverbought into the New Ageaxiom that thought can rear-range the universe. I don’tbelieve that deities will mag-ically intervene on my behalfupon request. I chuckle whenpeople suggest that we canattract life goodies by mere-

KNOW THYSELF

It’s communication and communion with myself, rallying my perceptions

See PRAYER » D5

SECTION D » TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014 *

N E W S - P R E S S . C O M / H E A LT H F O R M O R E H E A LT H A N D F I T N E S S N E W SC E L E B R AT I N G S O U T H W E S T F L O R I D A’ S A C T I V E L I F E S T Y L E S

CONTACT US » AME/Targeted Content » Wendy Fullerton Powell » 239-335-0388 » wfullerton@news-press.com Section Editor » Brian Hubbard » 239-335-0396 » bhubbard@news-press.com

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Age is only a number

I had the pleasure of joiningmore than 2,000 people in CapeCoral on Thanksgiving to run

the annual Turkey Trot 5K tobenefit the construction of theGolisano Children’s Hospital ofSouthwest Florida. What a blast itwas to run with 2,000 people!

More significant than the num-ber of people running was thediversity of their ages. Therewere people in their 70s and therewere kids as young as 7. Iwatched a grandfather and hisgranddaughter running togetheras he kept talking to her and en-couraging her to run a bit faster.They crossed the finish line to-gether as did a mother and daugh-ter, mothers and fathers runningwith children in strollers, and anentire host of other people, somemaking it look easy and somestruggling but getting to the fin-

DR. SAL SAYS

Dr. SalvatoreLacagninaWrite to him atDr.Sal@LeeMemorial.org

TIP

Read Dr. Sal’s Daily Dose healthtip at news-press.com/health

See DR. SAL » D9

Joe Jansen is not onefor relaxing in the shadeand enjoying his retire-ment in Southwest Flori-da. Instead, he keepsbusy with volunteerwork.

So when Joe under-went triple bypass sur-gery after blockageswere found during hisannual visit with hiscardiologist in August2007, it was only naturalthat he would find a way— or more than one way— to give back to thosealso affected by heart

disease. Joe connected in2008 with the local chap-ter of Mended Hearts,the oldest peer-to-peercardiac support group inthe country (http://men-dedhearts.org/).

“We visit cardiac pa-tients after they comeout of ICU,” Jansen said.“We encourage them inthings like nutrition andexercise programs, heal-ing and rehab.” Joe origi-nally was only volun-teering as a visitor fourdays a month, so heasked to do more andnow spends every Fridaymorning at Health ParkMedical Center where,during operations, volun-teers check on the status,then meet with the fam-ilies of those who areundergoing heart sur-gery.

“We give updates, but

most of the heart opera-tions take three and ahalf to six and a halfhours,” Jansen said. “Iknow how we work, wethink the worst. So I re-port to them that thingsare going well and (they)are in good hands.”

But Jansen also be-came involved with theLee County Heart Walk.He walked with theMended Hearts team in2011, and then, in 2012,started a Heart WalkTeam in his home com-munity, Lexington Coun-try Club. The Heart Walkteam was a great fit forLexington Country Club,which has a strong fit-ness program and re-ceived a Fit FriendlyWorkplace designationthrough the American

HOLIDAY HEALTH

Hearts on the mend part of the story in fundraiser

By Anne ReedSpecial to The News-Press

ANNE REED/SPECIAL TO THE NEWS-PRESS

Members of the Lexington Country Club Heart Walk Team pose outside of the clubhouse atLexington Country Club. Pictured left to right are Sharon Nelson, Marie Dulzer, Joe Jansen,Colleen Jansen, Janet Douuiatt, Jamie Murray, Al Kinkle, Peggy Rosenberg, Kathleen Berda.

One man’spersonal journeyincludes annualHeart Walk

See HEART » D10

Well child check-ups are animportant part of your child’s oradolescent’s health care.

It is at these points-of-carewith your physician that you areable to discuss all of the impor-tant aspects of your child’s healthand well-being. The well childvisit is a good time to bring upquestions regarding your child’sdevelopment and behavior, tocheck on how much they havegrown since the last visit and toreceive scheduled vaccinations.

A “sick visit,” in contrast, fo-cuses on a specific problem, suchas ear pain or a sore throat. Wellchild check-ups encompass nutri-tion, growth, academics, behavior,development and safety guide-lines related to your child’s par-ticular age. A well child visit pro-vides the “garden” in which therelationship between doctor, childand family grows.

These visits focus on the key

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Q: What are ‘wellchild’ check-ups?

See QUESTION » D9

AngelaD'Alessandro,D.O.

NANCY B.LOUGHLIN

The News-Press 12/09/2014

Copyright 2014, The News-Press. Use of this site signifies your agreement to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy/Your California Privacy Rights , updated March 13, 2007.December 9, 2014 1:33 pm / Powered by TECNAVIA

F orming new habits toimprove your healthis a challenge for

anyone, even more so aswe age. Feeling weak,fearing injury or battlingillness, it’s understand-able why many prefer totake it easy.

However, you may besurprised to learn that

airing on the side of cau-tion may actually beworking against you.

Flexibility, strengthtraining and cardio arethe three major compo-nents of fitness. Eachbenefits the body in dif-ferent ways, crushing thebiggest misconceptionsabout exercise and aging.

» I’m too old to startnow. You’re never tooold! Keeping active turnsback the clock and is keyto staying independent,strong and healthy.

Most people becomedependent because ofinactivity, not because ofaging. Inactive peopleare more likely to devel-op chronic disease, men-tal decline and are proneto injury because theybegin to lack coordina-tion, strength and flex-ibility.

Flexibility is yourbody’s ability to reach,bend and move. Perform-ing a variety of stretchesregularly can improveflexibility and agility,making you less prone toinjury. Flexibility alsohelps with balance.

» I might fall or gethurt. On the contrary,exercise, especiallystrength training, keepsyou steady on your feet.It builds muscle, fightsbone loss, improves pos-ture and coordination,

and boosts your confi-dence. Everyday tasksbecome easier, you’reable to do more and re-main independent.

Weight training keepsthe bones, joints andmuscles healthy. It re-duces arthritis symptomsas well as the risk forbroken or fracturedbones. If using weightsor the gym seems intimi-dating, you can easilytrain at home. Try liftingwhile you’re on the phoneor watching TV, or forgothe equipment and per-form resistance exer-cises that use your bodyweight, like squats andpush-ups. The effects arelong lasting. Buildingmuscle helps you burnmore calories — evenwhile at rest.

» I need to save mystrength and rest. Truthis, the less you do, theless you’ll feel like doing.Regular exercise willgive you more energyand more drive.

As we age, our metab-

olism slows, making itharder to keep theweight off. Maintaining ahealthy weight improvesyour overall health byboosting your immunityand fighting heart dis-ease, diabetes, high bloodpressure and otherchronic illnesses. You’llalso breathe easier, havemore energy and sleepbetter. We often under-estimate the importanceof quality sleep. Thehormones involved im-pact weight loss efforts.

Cardio gets your heartpumping and your bloodflowing; burning caloriesand strengthening mus-cles. By improving car-diovascular health webuild endurance whichmakes everyday taskseasier and gives us theability to do more. Cardiocan be anything frombiking and walking toaerobics class or Zumba.The possibilities areendless, but the key is tofind something you enjoyso you’ll want to keepdoing it.

» I don’t know whereto start. Start by makingchanges that add activitythroughout your day.Take the stairs and parkfarther from entrances.If you smoke, quit. Theseare changes anyone cando.

Step it up with a work-out at home until you’recomfortable exercisingin front of others. Talk toyour doctor first. It’simportant to be as phys-ically active as you canwithin safe limits andgradually overcome anychallenges. Remember,the more you can ac-complish, the greater thehealth benefits — at anyage.

— Vasyl Kasiyan, M.D., specializes ingeriatric medicine and memorydisorders. He can be reached bycalling 343-9220.

LEE MEMORIAL HEALTH SYSTEM

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* THE NEWS-PRESS » TUESDAY, DECEMBER 9, 2014 » D9

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ingredients to promotinga child’s physical, social,emotional and devel-opmental health. To getthe most out of your visitwith your physician, theAmerican Academy ofPediatrics recommendsjotting down a few ques-tions beforehand withregard to areas of in-terest or concern for youand your family. This isgreat way to start a dia-logue with your physi-cian. Is it time for yourcheck-up?

— Dr. Angela D’Alessandro is apediatrician with Physicians’ PrimaryCare of Southwest Florida in theFort Myers office, 9350 CamelotDrive (239-481-5437) and the CapeCoral office, 1261 Viscaya Parkway,Suite 101, (239-573-7337).ppcswfl.com

Continued from D1

Question

ish line and raising theirhands in the air in vic-tory. What an amazingscene!

When it comes tohealth, age is just a num-ber. More important iswhat is in your head andin your heart. It is aboutdeciding what you wantto accomplish and thenworking hard to get tothe finish line. How youdecide to run the race iswhat really matters andit is the journey thatcounts; the experiencesyou have and the livesyou touch. That grand-daughter running withher grandfather willremember the lesson hetaught about the impor-tance of a life-long exer-cise habit. He was anexcellent role model forothers as were the other2,000+ people out thereon a chilly Thanksgivingmorning.

So disregard your ageand get out there and dosomething wonderful foryour health each andevery day. Be a role mod-el for healthy living andshow the world you areonly as old as the age inyour head and yourheart.

Continued from D1

Dr. Sal