EECP therapy – and wearing fun socks

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 14 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Happy Feet!“Do small things with great socks!”

So says Sharon Durbin, a 62-year old recently retired RN and heart patient from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, who has been undergoing a unique, non-invasive, non-drug and effective way to manage the debilitating symptoms of angina caused by coronary microvascular disease and cyclic spasms.  This photo shows Sharon’s view of her feet during the cardiac treatment known as Enhanced External Counterpulsation, or EECP.*  Sharon’s EECP sessions are held daily, and consist of a series of 35 to 50 one-hour appointments.  As Sharon explained recently in her This Old Heart blog article:    Continue reading “EECP therapy – and wearing fun socks” →

Let’s make our day harder – not easier!

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 11 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

Canadian physician Dr. Mike Evans – known to 3.6 million people as the creator of the video-gone-viral 23 1/2 Hours – has done it again. Here’s his 4-minute take on what he calls our “generational case of sitting disease”.  In a modern world obsessed with making things easier, consider his new movement to start making each day harder for better health – especially important in both preventing and treating cardiovascular disease.  Watch it now – Enjoy . . .

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Q:  How have you built in little ways to make your day a bit harder?

See also:

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Happy Heart-o-Ween!

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

hearts

Just some of the 23,000+ polymer clay hearts created by pediatrician Dr. Ron Lehocky, (known to his young patients as “Dockily Hockily” – but also  answering to Docky-Hocky, Doctor Ron, and Doctor Little Hocky). He’s been working with special needs children since 1974. Sales of his unique hand-made heart brooches have raised over $100,000 for the Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Happy Heart-o-Ween, my heart sisters!  And remember that dark chocolate (well, okay, in moderation!) is good for our hearts!

hugs,

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When patients are seen as “The Enemy”

~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 30 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥ @HeartSisters

My daughter loves her career as a probation officer. She is very good at what she does, and finds the work both challenging and rewarding. Yet her client case load includes some of the most unsavoury of individuals, found guilty by the courts of child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault or worse, many of them  living with added complexities like addictions or mental health issues. She’s been insulted and screamed at by distraught clients. Police are sometimes dispatched to her workplace to intervene in potentially dangerous crises. Few of us could even imagine working in her office every day.

Yet whenever I ask my daughter what kind of day she’s had today, I marvel at her continuing ability to truly care about the work she does, despite the many challenges of working within the criminal justice system, dealing with an often-desperate clientele, and an almost overwhelming legal bureaucracy.

Contrast that perspective with the collective unrest among physicians who seem to hate their jobs.  Continue reading “When patients are seen as “The Enemy”” →