Health

Residents slump over wheelchair armrests in the overly air-conditioned “living room.” The television blasts a folk tune hijacked for a diabetes drug. Off to the right and left, like airport runways, lights over patient rooms flank the corridors, because the staff has turned off the call bells. A woman alone in her room cries, “Help…

What was it like in Erie, Pennsylvania, during the 1918 pandemic (Spanish Flu, H1N1 virus, influenza)? Well, now that we can browse the Erie Daily Times online from the late 1800s to present, we can get a pretty good idea. Accessed through NewsBank and the Erie County Public Library, nearly 40 newspaper articles referencing influenza from late…

Social isolation because of the COVID-19 pandemic has been tough on all of us, but the elderly, and other vulnerable people, without computers, have suffered most. They need us more than ever. Months ago, I wrote a post about how computers are destroying humanity. In The Digital Age is Killing Humanity, I discussed the challenges that…

If only I could go back and hand this girl the list. . .

Breast is best, but what if you’re bottle feeding a baby? Even babies who are breastfed often take bottles from a spouse, a relative, or a caregiver. When bottle feeding, there are several ways to emulate breastfeeding that benefit the infant—in both body and mind. These days, many parents and caregivers hold the infant in…

A few months ago, I fell while running and broke my dominant wrist. The radius was in many pieces, but it somehow managed to stay intact. My surgeon decided to watch and wait, but four weeks later, even I could see on the X-ray that the bone was splitting lengthwise. It was time for surgery. This meant…

You’ll find a thousand tofu scramble recipes on the Web and in cookbooks, but none more easy and delicious than this one. I took my favorite recipes and combined them into a one-pan dish, ready in about 30 minutes. Best-Ever Tofu Scramble Total Time: ~30 minutes Yield: 4-6 servings Per serving: ~250 calories (Protein 10g, Carbs…

Recently, I fell while running in my basement and broke my right wrist. Yes, you read that right. I run [ran] 5K in an oval in my basement three times a week, because I’m afraid of falling off a treadmill or tripping in a pothole outside. . . That morning, I caught my toe on…

Here are seven bits of inspiration from the documentary, Martha of Lattimore, about Martha Mason, paralyzed by polio, who lived in an iron lung for more than six decades. Why am I sharing this list with you? I recently saw a post on Facebook about the iron lung, a massive mechanism invented to breathe for people who had become…

I recently began reading a book that I picked up at a library sale last summer, called Helen and Teacher by Joseph P. Lash. Within the first few pages, I learned about the woman whose education paved the way for Helen Keller’s fame. Here are seven facts about Laura Bridgman: 1. Laura Bridgman (1829-1889) was the first deafblind person to become famous,…