Happy Birthday Bart!

Bart is nine years old today! He is the sweetest little guy you will ever meet! And he loved the birthday cookies he got this morning. I'm so glad he's part of our family.

Happy Birthday Bailey

Bailey is one-year old today!

Back Home Again In Indiana

It's good to be back home, if only for a few days. I'm here for the NOW conference, which should be great fun. I'm also using this opportunity to catch up with old friends that I've reconnected with through Facebook. Also great fun!

This is an elections conference, where NOW members will elect officers who will serve for the next four years. I've only been here a few hours and already I can tell it's going to be quiet a lively debate!

On another front, my sister had quadruple bypass surgery last week and I'm pleased to say she is doing quite well. She came through the surgery like a trooper, and her doctors are now in the process of getting some of the other health challenges she faces under control.

I'm so glad she made the decision to come live with me. I think it may have saved her life. I'll update everyone again when I get back to DC.

Thanks to everyone who kept her in your thoughts and prayers.

You've Gotta Have Heart

As some of you may have noticed, I've been missing in action for a few days, so thought I would catch everyone up.

My sister Jane when into the hospital a little more than a week ago. She had gone to her cardiologist for a follow up visit, and was as pale as the sheet on the exam table. Her blood pressure had been dangerously low for a few days, and while she was doing all the right things to try and bring it back up it remained low.

Her doctor told her that he'd had finally received all her records and had a chance to review them -- and he thought her situation was much worse than what he had originally been led to believe.

They began running a series of tests, and then compared them with test results from Indiana.

We now know that she has a gall bladder full of stones, which could account for why she's been having trouble keeping food down. BUT, the surgeons in DC think they can improve her heart condition with surgery.

After reviewing the options with the surgeon she is now scheduled to have bypass surgery on Thursday, June 11.

She was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday, and is now relaxing comfortably at home. Her cat Sam, and my two dogs were sure glad to see her! It's nice having us all back under one roof again.

She will have the heart surgery first, and then a few days later the surgeons will remove her gall bladder. We are optimistic that all the surgery will go well, and that once done her quality of life will vastly improve.

I can't help but think the reason the surgeons here are so willing to do the surgery is because we live in an epicenter of stress! DC surgeons probably do a lot more of these procedures than surgeons Indiana.

I jokingly said to Jane, if Dick Cheney can survive open heart surgery, you can too!

The First Dog

Welcome Bo!

The new First Puppy's journey to the White House had a few twists and turns on the way!

Let's follow the trail.

The Obama puppy trail.

Why? Because it is our duty.

It starts at a doggie love shack on the bank of a creek in far western Pennsylvania and ends at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Along the way, the world's suddenly most famous puppy has had ups and downs. He has known rejection and the joy of newfound affection.

The White House tried hard, oh so hard, to keep 6-month-old Bo a secret. But the Obama girls' new pet, that cuter-than-cute Portuguese water dog with the lei around his neck, is a celeb now...

He began his journey as Amigo's New Hope, and then landed with a family in Washington who renamed him Charlie.

Eventually he was placed with a woman in Washington, Stern said. She renamed him Charlie. Alas, it wasn't to be a happy home.

The woman -- who has not been identified -- has an older Portie, Martha Stern said, and that playful little scamp Charlie was getting on the other dog's nerves. Charlie thought the older dog might be his mommy, and even attempted to nurse, Stern said. Finally, early in March, the woman decided enough was enough.

Charlie needed to find a new home.

Portie breeders tend to be a careful lot, and they insist on finding new homes for unwanted pups to assure they don't end up in shelters. Rejected by his first family, Charlie was about to set on a journey that took him to The First Family.

Charlie was tutored in good manners by Dawn Sylvia of Merit Puppy Training in Virginia.

This began the Super Secret phase of Charlie's life, which included a clandestine White House visit in which he won over the Obama girls and their parents. Then Easter weekend came, and his days of anonymity ended. The celebrity Web site TMZ.com, and The Washington Post published online pieces identifying the new White House puppy as a Portie. The Post disclosed that Sasha and Malia had renamed him Bo.

So the wait is over, the puppy is in place, and an election night promise fulfilled.

Pet Bonding

Just saw this on facebook and boy am I glad I don't subscribe to the New York Times. Can you imagine what would happen if Bart saw this? Yikes!

In Chicago, Kristyn Caliendo does forward-bends with a Jack Russell terrier draped around her neck. In Manhattan, Grace Yang strikes a warrior pose while balancing a Shih Tzu on her thigh. And in Seattle, Chantale Stiller-Anderson practices an asana that requires side-stretching across a 52-pound vizsla.

Call it a yogic twist: Downward-facing dog is no longer just for humans.

Ludicrous? Possibly. Grist for anyone who thinks that dog-owners have taken yoga too far? Perhaps. But nationwide, classes of doga — yoga with dogs, as it is called — are increasing in number and popularity. Since Ms. Caliendo, a certified yoga instructor in Chicago, began to teach doga less than one year ago, her classes have doubled in size.

Now I could get into a little doggie meditation. This looks quite comfortable. There is nothing better than cuddling with (wo)man's best friend!




But wait just a minute ... is that Bella?? Is she stepping out on me already??? Geezz ... is this what I get after three good years together?

ER

Thursday marked the end of a 15 year run for the program ER. That's an incredible accomplishment these days, when television programs struggle to last 13 weeks.

It was probably my frequent viewing of the program that made the trip Jane and I made to the ER last night less frightening.

As you know, my sister arrived in DC last Wednesday, and we had a series of things that needed to be accomplished quickly. I'm happy to report that we accomplished our goal, and had hoped to spend a quite weekend with good friends and great movies.

As mentioned earlier, Jane turned 60 on Friday, and we had a quite celebration on Friday. Saturday a few friends came over for a cookout to continue the celebration -- and we must have had too good a time, because Jane ended up in the ER on Saturday night.

She has been coughing a lot at night, and was a little tired after the party so she decided to rest. She did manage to sleep a little before letting me know she was having a hard time catching her breath. She also felt a pressure on her chest, so we decided it would be best to take her to the hospital.

I made my first call to 911, and was a little amazed by the whole process. I thought I was remaining calm, but when the operator answered and asked for the address for a split second I couldn't remember it! Amazing how the mind works.

I quickly pulled myself together and gave her the information. Took Jane's pulse for her, and followed instructions to unlock the door, make sure the pets were secured, and get Jane's medication together to take with us.

One of our neighbors was at the house so she stayed with Jane while I pulled everything together.

The emergency team arrived in a matter of minutes, and two really cute guys came in to attend to Jane. While one asked her questions about how she was feeling the other asked me additional information they needed.

Pretty soon two women came through the door as well, and they started the medical response. Once Jane was secured, we were out the door.

The guys carried Jane, who was strapped to a chair, down the steps and into the ambulance. One of the women got in the back with her, and I was instructed to get in the passenger seat. The other woman then got into the drivers seat and we were off. I couldn't see Jane, but I could hear her talking with the woman in the back. I felt a sense of relief just knowing we were with people who clearly knew what they were doing.

The woman driving was really wonderful. She kept taking to me, I think to keep me calm, and at one point said "what the heck -- let's use the lights and sound!"

I've seen drivers ignore emergency vehicles -- which ticks me off -- but it's particularly annoying when you are sitting in the ambulance. So please pull over and get out of the way when you see emergency lights coming your way.

Once at the hospital the doctors worked quickly to assess the situation, while I was taken to the ER waiting room. I wasn't there long before a nurse came to get me.

The good news is that Jane didn't have a heart attack, but she was clearly still having trouble getting her breath so her doctor ordered a series of tests.

I stayed with her for a few more hours, before it was clear she was going to sleep. At her encouragement I went home and told her I would be back on Sunday.

Her doctored came in to see her while I was there today and it seems she has some sort of infection in her lungs. They are treating it, and want to run a few more tests before sending her home.

Things I learned from this, that I would like to share with others:

1) Have your address written down somewhere next to (or near) the phone. In an emergency it's easier to read than to remember!

2) Make sure your house numbers are clearly visible from the street. Mine are during the day, but at night the porch light shadows them, making it impossible for them to be seen from the street.

3) If you, or someone in your home, is dealing with an on-going health issue keep a list of all the medications they are taking handy, so you can just give it too the medical team.

4) And if, or someone in your home, is dealing with on-going health issues (and if possible), keep medical records handy on a thumb drive so you can take it with you to the hospital.

5) And finally, take a deep breath and try and stay calm.

Happy Birthday Jane!

Please help me wish my sister a Happy 60th Birthday!

Yes, it's the big 6-0 ... yikes!!

Today

It's been a good first full day with my sister. We slept a little late after the "big day" we had yesterday! Sam the cat has made peace with the new litter box, but not with Bart -- who insists on barking at him every time their eyes meet. Bella is trying to make friends with Sam, and I think they will be the first to bond.

Jane and I headed out to Maryland Motor Vehicle today to get her MD ID. When I first moved to the state it took me three tries before they would give me a MD drivers license, so I was a bit apprehensive on the drive. We have a timetable for making things happen, and this was critical.

The stars were in alignment, and mom and dad must have been looking out for us, too, because we sailed through the process.

Tomorrow we visit the social security office -- so I hope those stars are still in alignment.

We just finished dinner and are now watching the final ER episode. Life is good at casa-BAC!

Not An April Fools Joke

My sister called a little while ago from the airport and will be here in a couple of hours. It's the beginning of a new adventure for the two of us.

The oxygen arrived yesterday, and there is new a self-cleaning litter box awaiting her cat Sam. Bart and Bella know something is up, but haven't quite figured it out. This is going to be a new adventure for them, too!

I'll keep you posted!

Unfinished

For the past 34 years I've had the same ritual. At around 9:30 pm I sit quietly for a moment and remember my mom. She was 56 when she died ... the age I am now.

Looking at the unfinished graphic above, I wonder how my life might have been different had she lived. Would I be living in DC, or would I have stayed in Indiana? What career path would I have followed? How would my life be different?

I'll never know.

What I do know is that she was my best friend, and I still miss her dearly.

.

Matters of the Heart

Last night my niece and I spent about a half hour on the phone talking about healthy food choices for my sister. Let's face it, we all need to follow a healthier diet so this was a good exercise! Today's New York Times would agree:

Most people think heart-healthy living involves sacrifice. Give up your favorite foods. Break a sweat. Lose weight. But some of the best things you can do for your heart do not involve deprivation or medication. Simple and even pleasurable changes in the foods you eat can rival medication in terms of the benefit to your heart.

“Almost everyone has something they can do in their diet or activity that will impact their risk of heart disease,” said Dr. Graham Colditz, adjunct professor of epidemiology at Washington University in St. Louis. “It’s not about taking anything to the extremes of major deprivation, extreme marathon running or becoming a vegetarian.”

Even so, many people are not getting the message. While doctors still advise patients to diet, exercise and stop smoking, the medical community has adopted an almost singular focus on cholesterol-lowering drugs as the fastest and best way to battle heart disease. Americans spend $18 billion a year on cholesterol-reducing drugs, making them the nation’s biggest-selling class of drugs. [...]

But an important lesson from the last 50 years is that when it comes to improving heart health, it is important to look beyond the medicine cabinet.

Just a few small changes — eating more fish, vegetables, nuts and fiber — can have a major impact on your risk for heart problems. For some people, drinking moderate amounts of wine may offer additional benefits. Even a 55-year-old man who is about 20 pounds overweight and does not exercise regularly will have a heart-disease risk far below average if he regularly consumes fish, nuts, fiber and vegetables and drinks moderate amounts of wine.

It’s hard to believe that such simple food changes can make a meaningful difference, but data from hundreds of studies show they can.

So what is your risk? Below are a few ways you can assess your risk.

Take this test to assess "Your Disease Risk"

My risk is above average: "Above average risk doesn't mean you'll definitely get heart disease. It's just an estimate based on your risk factors, some of which you may not be able to change."

Check out how your heart works here.

The American Heart Association offers a Learn and Live quiz. Take it now.

Check out the Beats and Breaths calculator here.

The beats and breaths calculator will amaze you … and may even leave you breathless. In a typical minute your heart beats about 72 times and you take in about 15 breaths. In terms of numbers for beats and breaths, that's more than 4,000 heartbeats and 900 breaths in an hour. And in your lifetime? Let us do the math with our beats and breaths calculator! By entering the month, day and year of your birth we'll estimate your beats and breaths so far.

Number of heart beats since my birth: 2,110,081,104
Number of breaths since my birth: 439, 600,230

Wow!

And finally, the Tailgater's Handbook for a healthy heart! Hummm ... now if I could only get my friend DCup and her family to move to DC, she could prepare some of these delicious items for me!

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This and That

If only it weren't so expensive I would certainly think about having Braco cloned. She was the best dog I've ever owned. How wonderful would it be to be able to have her around forever! Check out Beloved Pets Everlasting? in today's New York Times.

A report on the connection between blood sugar control and memory decline is the most popular article in the newspaper's heath section.

Spikes in blood sugar can take a toll on memory by affecting the dentate gyrus, an area of the brain within the hippocampus that helps form memories, a new study reports.

Researchers said the effects can be seen even when levels of blood sugar, or glucose, are only moderately elevated, a finding that may help explain normal age-related cognitive decline, since glucose regulation worsens with age.

The study, by researchers at Columbia University Medical Center and funded in part by the National Institute on Aging, was published in the December issue of Annals of Neurology.

“If we conclude this is underlying normal age-related cognitive decline, then it affects all of us,” said lead investigator Dr. Scott Small, associate professor of neurology at Columbia University Medical Center. The ability to regulate glucose starts deteriorating by the third or fourth decade of life, he added.

Since glucose regulation is improved with physical activity, Dr. Small said, “We have a behavioral recommendation — physical exercise.”

So maybe it's time to get up from your computer and move around!

And speaking of getting up from your chair, it's now official -- even having unlimited resources can't prevent some of us from holding on to those extra pounds. In New Year, New You? Nice Try Oprah Winfrey laments that:

“I didn’t just fall off the wagon,” she wrote in the January issue [of O magazine]. “I let the wagon fall on me.”

Here is a news flash for Jay Leno, and everyone else who loves to make fun of people who are overweight, obesity is an accident of birth. Children born to fat parents are genetically predisposed to be fat. In order to be normal weight an obese person must take extraordinary measures every single day to fool their body -- and that shit gets tiring sometimes. Even for Oprah.

It was explained to me that there are numerous mechanisms in the human body that control whether a person is normal weight, overweight or underweight. One of the reasons it's been such a challenge for researchers to develop one magic cure for obesity is that any given person it's a different configuration of these mechanisms that are working incorrectly. For an obese person, their body's set point might be 250 pounds, when they should probably actually weigh no more than 150 to be considered "normal" weight. Every day their body will fight to maintain that 250 pound weight. In order to alter that weight, the person must "fool" their body by consuming fewer calories than needed to maintain the weight, and engage in physical activity to help manage their metabolism.

“Most of us think that we can change our lives if we just summon the willpower and try even harder this time around,” said Alan Deutschman, the former executive director of Unboundary, a firm that counsels corporations on how to navigate change, and the author of “Change or Die,” a book that asserts that even though most people have the ability to change, they rarely do. “It’s exceptionally hard to make life changes,” Mr. Deutschman said, “and our efforts are usually doomed to failure when we try to do it on our own.”

In a season of change, in a year of change, most people who embark on a journey of self-renewal can expect anything but. Research shows that about 80 percent of people who make resolutions on Jan. 1 fall off the wagon by Valentine’s Day, according to Marti Hope Gonzales, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Minnesota.

The inability to "change" may seem "un-American" to people who live in "a country born of change (revolution), and our most cherished historical archetypes (the Pilgrims, the pioneers, the rags-to-riches entrepreneurs) are parables of reinvention".

But the numbers tell a different story.

Dr. Edward D. Miller, the dean of the medical faculty at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said more than 70 percent of coronary bypass patients revert to unhealthy habits within two years of their operation. Dr. Dean Ornish, the cardiologist and diet author, frequently cites a conclusion by a panel of nutritional experts convened in 1992 by the National Institutes of Health that two-thirds of dieters gain back any lost weight within a year.

The difficulty of changing may have evolutionary origins, said Marion Kramer Jacobs, a clinical psychologist in Laguna Beach, Calif., and author of “Take-Charge Living: How to Recast Your Role in Life ... One Scene at a Time.”

If one believes that human beings are social animals, our hierarchies within families, governments and businesses depend on people who know their roles and perform them dutifully.

“We’re hard-wired not to change quickly,” Dr. Jacobs said. “Think of what chaos would ensue if you could snap your finger and change instantly tomorrow. You would be one person today, someone else tomorrow.”

Okay, but can't I just snap my fingers and be normal weight for the next 50 years or so? Oh, and can my friend Oprah have the same wish?

Family Update

Now that she is getting oxygen 24 hours a day, my sister Jane is starting to look much better. Here she is with Jake, looking quite comfortable in grandma's lap.

Yesterday we visited the Social Security office so that she could apply for disability and then went out to eat. That was the extent of our activity for the day.

Today our cousin Dennis came up from Indianapolis and we walked to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We spent about three hours together, before Jane ran out of steam and needed to go back and rest.

Her home health care person had stopped by earlier to go over her schedule. Jane also made an appointment with her cardiologist for early in January, to find out if she will be able to travel. The doctor will also need to make the arrangements for us if she moves in with me.

I've done as much as I can do until she sees the doctor, so I'm heading back to DC in the morning. I will continue to monitor her from there.

My niece had the day off today, so when Jane woke up from her nap I went over and the three of us spent the evening playing Uno. At one point I found myself looking at the two of them thinking how nice it was to just spend time together, and wondered why we hadn't done this more often in the past.

Family Gathering

Good can come from a bad situation. Today, my sister and I spent the afternoon with one of our favorite cousins and her husband. It's been at least fifteen years since we have been together. My niece had a good time listening to all of our stories.

It's been a tough few days, so this was a nice break.

My sister has decided she will come live with me, so now we have to go through the process of making that happen. First a doctor needs to let us know if she can travel. We need to make arrangements to have oxygen at my home when we get there, and oxygen for the trip. And we need to make sure her medical coverage will follow her from Indiana to Maryland. Lots of things to do.

Given holiday schedules I don't think we are going to be able to make everything happen before I need to be back in Washington, so I have a plan. I'll drive home and then fly back to get her. A two hour flight to DC should be easier for her than what would surely become a two day drive.

We have a lot to work out.

I also need to make a few adjustments so that she can comfortably live in my basement apartment when she gets there. She agrees that we need to be able to have some space from each other for those times when we will certainly drive each other crazy.

My niece wants to stay in Indiana, so that will be another adjustment for my sister. The two of them have never lived apart. I have a feeling that my niece will eventually end up in Maryland as well, and that would be fine with me.

It's going to be quite a new year!

Now I remember ...

why I don't like to come to Indiana for the holidays. As you know, I'm here because my sister is facing a health challenge. The news is not good.

Her daughter and I were at the hospital (in Indianapolis) today, but needed to leave at 3 PM, so that we could get her back to Anderson for work.

It was hard saying goodnight, so we didn't actually leave the hospital until 3:30 PM ... just as an ice storm was starting. It took more than an hour just to get through the city to the interstate, and once on I-69 we spent the next four and a half hours in bumper to bumper traffic. I never got my car out of first gear!

We were still 10 miles from Anderson when I made the executive decision to exit the interstate, and take back roads the rest of the way. We literally just got back in time to get my niece to work. Unfortunately the only sleep she got today was about five hours in the car, and now she has to work all night. It's a good thing she's young ... but even so, I still feel for her.

She has been going through more than her share of crisis lately. Her father just died two weeks ago, and now her mother is in the hospital. Life can be so unfair.

My sister has major blockage around her heart. She needs a triple bypass, but her heart is not strong enough for her to survive surgery. At least six doctors have all weighed in, and none of them think she should risk it.

My sister's comment to me privately was "surgeons like to cut more than have sex, so if they don't want to do it I think I should listen."

It's her body, so she gets the final decision and right now all she wants to do is go home. I'm not convinced she is strong enough to leave the hospital, but if they are not going to do surgery they seem to want to rush her out the door. I have such a bad feeling about this, and so few options.

I love my sister, but we've had our challenges. I've not always been happy with some of the decisions she's made, but she's my older sister and has always been determined to live life on her terms. Now some of those decisions are coming back to haunt her. I think she understands it now, but unfortunately it's a bit late.

I have offered to let her come live with me, but I don't think she is going to do that. As bad as her current situation is, it's familiar. So here we are ... Merry Christmas.

No time for blogging ...

Blogging will be a little light over the next couple of days, as I drive to Indiana to take care of a family matter. My sister is having some health issues, and I need to be there for her.

Passages ...

I couldn't let the day pass
without mentioning that my
wonderful little Braco Lee
would have been 12 today.

I still miss her a lot.

What Would You Do?

Southwest Airlines passenger Joe David Jones was met at the gate by Dallas police, for refusing to get off his cell phone while the plane was in flight. Early media reports left the impression that Jones was just another obnoxious businessman, who thinks rules are meant to be broken.

But was that the case?

It seems the call was with a physician treating his father, who had just suffered a serious heart attack. The doctor need to speak with Jones immediately, to make critical life-death decisions regarding his father.

Police said Joe David Jones, 50, of Austin, was cited for disorderly conduct. Jones did not immediately return a phone call from The Associated Press seeking comment.

The Federal Aviation Administration bars use of mobile phones when planes are flying due to concerns about interference with navigation systems.

King said airlines can be fined up to $25,000 for allowing cell phone use, and passengers also can be fined.

If you were Joe David Jones, what would you have done?

In Remembrance

Every summer my mother and I would go to a strawberry farm not far from our home to pick strawberries. They are my favorite food, and if you picked your own they were only 25 cents a quart. We would go everyday and pick four quarts -- two for my family, and two for me. Mom would make homemade shortcake, and for the few months strawberries were in season I was in heaven.

As spring and summer approach I often remember this time we spent together.

I lost my mother 33 years ago tonight. I was 21, about to turn 22 at the time, and she was my best friend. It seems amazing to me that it's been so many years. I still think of her often, so this post is written with love in remembrance of my mother.