Don’t allow sexual issues sideline you from the pleasures of life. (For Spectrum Health Beat)
By Diana Bitner, MD, Spectrum Health Beat
Sexual health is a part of our overall health, and it impacts a woman’s (and a man’s) sense of self and feeling of being healthy.
Women who suffer from depression or anxiety are more likely to have sexual health concerns, and women with sexual health concerns are more likely to have depression and anxiety. It’s a vicious cycle—one that can be frustrating and difficult to break.
Chronic health issues or chronic health diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity or arthritis can interfere with a woman’s ability, or a couple’s ability, to have a healthy sexual relationship. And common conditions like pain with sex, low desire and relationship issues all play a part.
I recently saw a patient who came in for her second visit to our Spectrum Health Cancer, Menopause, and Sexual Health Clinic at the Lemmen-Holton Cancer Pavilion.
She shared her excitement about once again being able to have sex after we treated her pain. She told me that cancer had taken so much away from her, but she felt whole again now that she could be intimate with her husband.
I love sharing stories like this because it shows how committed we are to helping everyone live better lives—including being as sexually aware and healthy as they wish to be.
I recently found the following quote from the World Health Organization:
“The purpose of sexual health should be the enhancement of life and personal relationships and not merely counseling and care related to STDs and preventing unwanted pregnancies. Sexual health should involve (1) the capacity to enjoy and control sexual and reproductive behavior in accordance with a social and personal ethic; (2) a freedom from fear, shame, guilt, false benefits and other psychological factors inhibiting sexual response and impairing sexual relationships; and (3) freedom from organic disorders, diseases and deficiencies that interfere with sexual and reproductive functions.”
I share this quote with you because, as a physician, I believe in what it says, and I try to keep it in mind when discussing sexual health with my patients.
There are many causes of sexual health concerns, and they can be grouped in the following categories: interpersonal issues, physical issues and psychological issues.
When discussing interpersonal issues, we think about lack of intimacy, lack of respect and emotional abuse.
Physical issues include pain with sex from menopause and dryness, pain from history of pain and/or tight pelvic muscles, and medical conditions such as diabetes or arthritis.
Psychological problems include depression or anxiety, history of sexual abuse and poor self image.
No matter what your sexual issues include, there are solutions. Reach out to your medical provider for help.
If you have concerns about how to get your groove back, make an appointment to specifically discuss this topic and options with your doctor or a Spectrum Health Midlife and Menopause Clinic expert. Call 616.267.8225 to make an appointment.
Photo courtesy Michigan State University Extension
By Sara Keinath, Michigan State University Extension
As young people prepare for their future careers, it is advantageous for them to gain experience and confidence in a few key skills. Teamwork is often cited as one of the crucial skills that employers look for during an interview. The ability to work in teams is often rated as an essential skill for both employers and higher education. Michigan State University Extension recommends understanding what teamwork is, as well as looking at how to build your skills in this area while still in high school.
The ability to work well on a team involves interacting and communicating with others, understanding goals and priorities, and being able to contribute to the greater good. These skills can be demonstrated through respect for others, as well as being reliable and competent. There are many places teamwork is used in a workplace. Often, a project requires multiple skills to successfully complete it, a job requires working with different people on a daily basis, or management can see the benefits of a team approach. No matter what kind of job or career a young person hopes to pursue, employers are interested in candidates who can exhibit the ability to work well with others.
There are many ways teenagers can build teamwork skills while in high school:
Join a club. Many extracurricular activities such as 4-H, sports or band provide youth with many opportunities to work as part of a team.
Organize or join a community service project. This is a great place to practice leadership as well as teamwork in a setting similar to a work environment while doing something good for the community at the same time!
Collaborate with peers or community members on school projects, fundraising targets or civic issues. Pay attention to the skills needed to accomplish the task, as well as the outcomes when a team works together for a common goal.
Teens should document teamwork skills on a résumé. Whether or not the experience was in a work environment, these skills can be very appealing to potential employers, and including them may offer an opportunity to provide more detail about teamwork experiences in an interview. Sample résumés and related activities can be found on the Michigan 4-H website.
Michigan State University Extension and Michigan 4-H Youth Development help to prepare young people for successful futures. As a result of career exploration and workforce preparation activities, thousands of Michigan youth are better equipped to make important decisions about their professional future, ready to contribute to the workforce and able to take fiscal responsibility in their personal lives.
After clinching a playoff spot against Holland last week, the East Kentwood Falcons are going for their next goal: OK Red champs.
Hosting Hudsonville (5-2 overall, 3-1 in conference) this week, East Kentwood (6-1, 4-0) can secure at least a share of the title this week with a win. Combined with a win next week, in the final game of the regular season, also at home against Rockford (4-3, 3-1), the Falcons would claim the title outright.
Falcons Head Coach Anthony Kimbrough. (WKTV)
Both Falcons head coach Tony Kimbrough and his players know there is still a lot to play for in the final two games — as T’Shone Cutts, a senior middle linebacker for the Falcons, said “they are lasered in” for the rest of this season.
Unlike recent years, when the team struggled at times, Kimbrough, in his fourth year as head coach of the Falcons told the WKTV journal what changed in a early-season interview.
“We just got back to basics,” coach Kimbrough said. “The kids are playing good some really good fundamental and assignment football.”
Stephan Bracey, senior wide receiver for East Kentwood. (WKTV)
Stephan Bracey, a Western Michigan University football commit and senior wide receiver, also expressed high hopes for his team.
“We want to go all the way to Ford Field and get the dub there,” Bracey said, referring to a “W,” a win. “So, state champs is our goal.”
Cutts, one of Kimbrough’s defensive weapons, is confident in the defense he is one of the leaders on, despite the rocky start they had in the beginning of the season.
T’Shone Cutts, senior middle linebacker for East Kentwood. (WKTV)
“Our defense is looking good,” Cutts said. “We’re staying focused. We can’t allow teams to score the way they were in the beginning of the season.”
After giving up 30 points to Grandville in Week 5, East Kentwood has only given up 12 points in their last two games.
This week’s WKTV Featured Game and other sports events are cable broadcast either live, immediately after the event and/or in rebroadcast, on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 and on AT&T U-Verse Community 99.
WKTV’s featured football games are rebroadcast on the night of the game (Thursday or Friday) at 11 p.m. and Saturday starting at 11 a.m. See WKTVjournal.org/sports for complete schedules.
For many youth, getting a car can be an exciting major milestone. Car insurance needs to be a part of that education and milestone as well. It is important to have car insurance to protect your assets, satisfy lenders and comply with state laws that require auto insurance.
Take time to get three quotes. While this takes time, each insurer rates risk differently, so it is important to find out what they will charge you based on your circumstances.
Find out if your employer or any organizations you belong to offer discounts for insurance. Sometimes large organizations offer insurance plan discounts for their members. Insurance companies may also provide discounts or deals for students, good driving records or bundling of services. It might also make more sense for youth to be added to a parent’s insurance, if possible, because of the higher rates for insurance for teen drivers. The insurance company will often view the youth driver as less risky with the oversight from parents or guardians as opposed to the youth getting insurance on their own. (If added to a parent or guardian’s insurance, know that it will raise the premiums for those adults as well.)
Know what type of coverage you need, how much you can afford monthly, how often you need to pay your premium (and if you can meet that requirement), what deductible you can afford and the reputation or credibility of the insurance company.
Michigan State University Extension and Michigan 4-H Youth Development help to prepare young people for successful futures. As a result of career exploration and workforce preparation activities, thousands of Michigan youth are better equipped to make important decisions about their professional future, ready to contribute to the workforce and able to take fiscal responsibility in their personal lives.
Melissa Seide sits on the exam table, swings her feet and grins with excitement.
Her left leg hangs a couple inches shorter than her right. But it hangs straight―for the first time she can remember.
Melissa was just a baby when her leg was broken in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. When the injury healed, her calf bones remained bent at a right angle.
Now, recovering from surgery to straighten the leg, 6-year-old Melissa hopes to hear good news. She can’t wait to ditch the clunky black surgical walking boot. She has a pair of snazzy purple tennis shoes calling her name.
“Her leg is just in a really good position. And her joints feel fantastic. Her ankle joint had literally no movement (before the operation).”
I think what people don’t understand about Haiti is that if you can’t walk, you are in big trouble.
Jeri Kessenich, MD Pediatrician
And then he says the words Melissa longs to hear: “We can get rid of that boot and put her in regular shoes and see how she does with that.”
Melissa’s host mother, Betsy Miedema, makes sure Melissa understands. “No boot, Melissa,” she says.
Melissa presses her hands to her face. Her eyes sparkle.
“No boot,” Miedema repeats.
Melissa sits silent a moment, her hands still covering her mouth, as if she can’t believe it. She looks up. Grins. And whispers, “Thank you, Jesus!”
Soon, she stands on the floor, her purple tennis shoes laced up, and walks tentatively across the room. It takes a bit to get used to the new shoes―the left has a 2-inch lift to accommodate the shorter leg.
But the small steps add up to a big moment for this little girl far from home and family.
Adjusting to a new home
“She’s just the sweetest kid,” Miedema says. She and her husband, Eric, welcomed Melissa into their home in Walker, Michigan, serving as her host parents during her stay.
Since she arrived in August, Melissa has struggled with homesickness, longing for her family and home in Haiti. She eagerly shows a picture of herself with her mother.
But Melissa also has become attached to the Miedemas and their children, 10-year-old Evan and 7-year-old Alaina. She goes to school with Alaina and has learned so much English the family rarely needs an interpreter any more.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
The running and playing is going to make that calf strong. Being a kid is the best therapy there is.
Jeffrey Cassidy, MD Pediatric orthopedic surgeon
Melissa came to the attention of Healing the Children through a school created in Haiti by several Spectrum Health employees, the Power of Education Foundation.
The school’s medical director, Jeri Kessenich, MD, also is a pediatrician at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. She contacted Healing the Children, as well as Dr. Cassidy and the hospital, to see if they could help Melissa.
Dr. Kessenich is unsure how Melissa’s leg became injured―only that it was crushed when a devastating 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti in 2010.
Melissa could hobble for short distances―and with a lot of pain. Family members carried her when she had to walk far.
Her leg “was in pretty rough shape,” Dr. Cassidy says. It appeared someone tried to fix the break, but the leg never healed properly. The shin bones―the tibia and fibula―remained bent at a 90-degree angle.
In surgery, Dr. Cassidy had to shorten the bones about 2 inches as he straightened them. He also lengthened the skin and tendons in the back of the leg.
“At least we can give her a straight leg that is hopefully pain-free,” he says. “Hopefully, this will make a profound difference in her life.”
For six weeks after surgery, her leg healed and Melissa looked forward to the day she could wear her new tennis shoes. A local store, Mieras Family Shoes, donated the shoes. Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital added the lift to the left shoe.
Ready to run and play
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
As Melissa walks up and down the hall, testing out her new shoes at Dr. Cassidy’s office, Miedema asks if she should limit her activities. Should she protect Melissa from doing too much too soon? Usually, she uses a wheelchair to cover long distances and walks for shorter stretches.
Melissa will find those limits for herself, Dr. Cassidy says. The more she walks, the stronger her leg will become and the less she will need the wheelchair.
“The running and playing is going to make that calf strong,” he says. “I think she’ll get her strength back over time. Being a kid is the best therapy there is.”
“Run and play,” he tells Melissa. She claps and beams.
Melissa gives goodbye hugs to Dr. Cassidy and nurse Chelsea Ciampa, RN.
And it’s off to school. She arrives at West Side Christian mid-morning. As she passes a fourth-grade classroom, her host brother, Evan, comes out to give her a hug. Soon, a circle of big kids forms, admiring Melissa’s purple shoes.
At her second-grade classroom, a double treat awaits. Melissa gets to show off her shoes and the class sings “Happy Birthday” to her. It’s two days early, but school won’t be in session the day Melissa turns 7.
The kids show the journal entries they wrote about Melissa in honor of her birthday.
Her host sister, Alaina, talks about the Haitian Creole words she has learned from Melissa. She recites several―including “dlo” (water) and “bon” (good). She explains how to ask if Melissa’s leg hurts: “Fe mal?”
Mobility is crucial
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Melissa’s leg “is healing beautifully,” Dr. Kessenich says. And although there is a 2-inch difference in the length of her legs, that difference will decrease over time. The surgery will prompt the bone to grow faster in an effort to catch up.
The doctor hopes, through the school, to continue providing updated shoes with lifts to match Melissa’s growing feet.
The repair to the leg will make Melissa’s life much easier―now and in the future, Dr. Kessenich says.
“I think what people don’t understand about Haiti is that if you can’t walk, you are in big trouble,” she says. “You don’t have cars or money for motorcycle rides or taxi cabs. People walk―and they walk everywhere. If you are unable to do that, you are not going to be useful to your family.”
Being able to walk on two strong legs will allow Melissa to do everything other children do.
“This is going to change her life forever,” she says.
Nearly 65 percent of adult Americans are overweight and more than one in three are obese. It’s an epidemic putting millions of people at risk for a variety of serious health issues.
If you’re overweight or obese, knowing the facts can help you understand the dangers you face and allow you to take control of your options:
FACT: The scale only tells part of the story. It’s important to calculate your body mass index to determine if you are actually overweight or obese. A BMI of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight; a BMI of 30 or higher is considered obese.
FACT: Health risks associated with a high BMI are compounded by excess abdominal fat. A waist circumference greater than 35 inches for women and greater than 40 inches for men indicates a greater risk.
FACT: Obesity can be caused by genetics, poor eating habits, lack of physical activity—or often a combination of all three.
FACT: Conditions commonly linked to being overweight or obese include arthritis, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stroke, sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux disease, also known as GERD. It’s also linked to several kinds of cancer, including esophageal, gallbladder, pancreatic, colorectal, uterine and breast (in post-menopausal women).
FACT: A relatively small change can make a big difference. Losing 5 to 10 percent of your weight can lower your blood pressure and cholesterol levels and reduce risk of other conditions. And a 5 percent to 7 percent weight reduction can prevent type 2 diabetes.
FACT: If you’re ready for a change, set a weight loss goal of one or two pounds per week. A slow, steady loss is more likely to be permanent than dropping weight quickly. Before dieting, see your doctor for a check of your health and medical conditions.
FACT: Increased physical activity can help you lose weight and keep it off. Aim for 30 minutes a day most days of the week. You can sneak activity into your day by taking the stairs instead of the elevator, walking at lunch or using a treadmill at home while watching TV.
FACT: Most weight-loss drugs are intended for short-term use and will only help for about the first six months before losing their effectiveness. Discuss this option with your doctor, and if you choose a weight-loss drug, be sure to combine it with healthier eating and physical activity so you can keep the weight off.
FACT: If you have a BMI of more than 40, or a BMI of at least 35 plus other obesity-related conditions, weight loss (bariatric) surgery may be an option.
It’s now or never for the Kelloggsville football team.
Rockets Head Coach Don Galster. (WKTV)
Veteran head coach Don Galster knows his Rockets need a win Friday night against NorthPointe Christian keep alive realistic hopes of his team getting to the playoffs for the third year in a row. But a disappointing loss to Godwin Heights last week isn’t going to stop these Rockets from taking off.
Kelloggsville is now 3-3 overall and 2-1 in the OK Silver conference. Last season, the Rockets defeated NorthPointe, 36-21, as part of a 9-0 regular season.
Galster told the WKTV Journal how important these next few weeks leading up to the playoffs are.
“Our destiny is in our hands and we just have to rise to the occasion,” Galster said prior to the Godwin Heights game.
That point is also clear to a couple of key senior players for Kelloggsville as well.
Desmond Simmons, Kelloggsville football player. (WKTV)
For Desmond Simmons, a senior middle linebacker for the Rockets, these next few weeks will be the last time he plays football at the high school level. Hoping for the post-season, Simmons takes pride in how he and the rest of the defense has been playing.
“I think we’re looking pretty solid,” Simmons said. “We always try to go hard at practice even if it’s hot, cold, or we’re tired. We always try to go hard and hit somebody.”
This will be senior wingback Jaevion Willis’ last year as a high school football player as well.
Jaevion Willis, Kelloggsville player. (WKTV)
“We’re taking this week one step at a time,” said Willis. “We’re trying to get better and better every day. We’re looking forward to trying to step up and make the run and make back-to-back conference champs”.
Because this is their last season with the Rockets, both Simmons and Willis reflected on their time with coach Galster.
“It means a lot,” Simmons said. “It feels real good to be coached by him and have somebody that knows what their doing.”
“It’s very exciting, playing for coach Galster,” Willis said. “Or ‘The Goat’ as we call him.”
This week’s WKTV Featured Game and other sports events are cable broadcast either live, immediately after the event and/or in rebroadcast, on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 and on AT&T U-Verse Community 99.
WKTV’s featured football games are rebroadcast on the night of the game (Thursday or Friday) at 11 p.m. and Saturday starting at 11 a.m. See WKTVjournal.org/sports for complete schedules.
Perhaps there is no region of the world about which Americans “know so much, yet so little” than the countries of the Arabian Peninsula, that according to the World Affairs Council of West Michigan.
In response, the Council’s Fall Lecture Series will feature four presentations about four distinctly different Middle Eastern nations in a series titled “Shifting Sands in the Arabian Peninsula”, beginning Thursday, Oct. 18, with a free-to-the-public opening program. The series will take place at Grand Valley State University’s Seidman College of Business in Grand Rapids.
In the series, the public can learn why Oman is on many “safest countries to visit” lists, how Qatar is coping with the blockade instituted by its neighbors, what the loosening of long-standing cultural laws means for Saudi Arabia, and if there is any hope for an end to the war in Yemen.
“What happens in this part of the world impacts us,” a World Affairs Council release states. “Let’s be informed global citizens.”
The Oct. 18 lecture will focus on Oman and will be presented by Dr. Fahad Bishara, University of Virginia.
Fahad Bishara (UVA photo by Dan Addison)
According to his supplied biography, Fahad Bishara specializes in the economic and legal history of the Indian Ocean and Islamic world. His book, “A Sea of Debt: Law and Economic Life in the Western Indian Ocean, 1780-1950”,is a legal history of economic life in the Western Indian Ocean, told through the story of the Arab and Indian settlement and commercialization of East Africa during the 19th Century.
He is currently working on a history of the Arab dhow trade between the Gulf and the Indian Ocean during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, a project which takes on issues of global capitalism, international law, empire, mobility, and scale in historical writing.
The remaining lectures will be Wednesday, Oct. 24, focused on Qatar, with Ambassador Chase Untermeyer (ret.), U.S. ambassador to Qatar; Tuesday, Nov.13, focused on Saudi Arabia, with Dr. Abdullah Alrebh, Grand Valley State University; and Tuesday, Nov. 20, focused on Yemen, with Dr. Gamal Gasim, Grand Valley State University.
The cost to the public to attend the series is $10 per evening or $25 for a series pass. However, the Oct. 18 lecture is free and open to the public thanks to support from the Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center and the World Affairs Councils of America.
All programs are 7-8:15 p.m. and a special reception will kick off the series on Oct. 18 starting at 6:15 p.m. The Seidman College of Business’ Multi-purpose Room is located at 50 Front Ave. SW. Free parking in Fulton Street Lot. No RSVPs necessary.
Pick and stick to your personal mantra to gain control of your life. (For Spectrum Health Beat)
By Diana Bitner, MD, Spectrum Health Beat
The other day I had lunch with a friend at Panera. I had been craving my favorite Fuji apple salad and was really hungry when placing my order.
I have been avoiding simple carbs for quite some time, so I ordered an apple as a side—not the French baguette I love.
My friend ordered the baguette, and it looked so good! It was so fresh and warm, and I could tell it was crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside—exactly the way I like it.
I remembered my mantra and grabbed my apple.
My mantra is “lean and ease of movement.”
It means I can sit with my knees up like I used to when I was younger (and more flexible). It means no extra weight around my middle, and it also means feeling “light” as I move around. My mantra (and everything it represents) is so important to me.
When I am carrying extra weight, I hate the way my clothes feel—tight and restricted. It makes me feel trapped and reminds me of times when I had to sit and practice piano. When I am lean, I feel healthy and in charge of my health, and I don’t have to shop for bigger clothes (an added bonus).
Why do we make the choices we make? Choices imply active decision-making, but sometimes the decision is made by the act of not deciding.
When I was growing up, there was a sign on the wall in the stairwell of my home that read, “Not to decide is to decide.” I think that says it all.
For example, if I choose to not make my lunch or bring a snack to work, I am choosing to be without good choices throughout the day. As a result of not having a plan for lunch or snacks at work, I am choosing to eat fast food or unhealthy snacks, which are not the best for my mind, my mood, or my waistline.
So, what do you care about?
Do you care about your heart and really don’t want to have a heart attack at 50 like your aunt did? Do you want to feel and look great at 60, unlike your sister who smoked and chose not to exercise?
If you dig deep and get at what you really care about and create a mantra to fit, you will claim power over the day-to-day and significant situations that occur in your life.
It could be as mundane as choosing what to eat for lunch (healthy versus unhealthy) or whether or not to exercise when you don’t feel like it, or as important as finding the courage to quit your job to pursue a new career.
Here are a few questions to ask yourself when creating your mantra:
What do I really want for my life (or health) in the next six months?
When I think about what I really want, what does that mean to me?
What feelings do I experience when I look at what I really want for my life?
What mantra would capture the feeling of what I want?
In what situations would I need/use a mantra?
My mantra helps steer me in the right direction almost daily. Take some time to compose your own mantra and enjoy having more power over the choices you make each day.
Two teams are fighting for playoff spots this week as the Kelloggsville Rockets host the Godwin Heights Wolverines. Godwin Heights needs four more games in their win category to automatically qualify for playoffs; a feat rookie head coach Brandon Kimble says isn’t out of reach.
“Getting in the post-season was one of our goals, so it’s now or never for us now,” Coach Kimble told the WKTV Journal.
Godwin Heights coach Brandon Kimble, talking at practice this week. (WKTV)
The WKTV Journal caught up with Coach Kimble earlier this year to talk about his new job as head coach of the Wolverines. During the discussion, Kimble said “defense wins championships, but offense fills the stands.” And both sides of the ball have been performing up to Kimble’s standards.
“Our defense has been playing stellar all year. Every game we’ve been in, we’ve been in because of the defense,” Coach Kimble said this week. “And our offense has actually been playing really good, we’ve just been turning the ball over.”
This will be Kimble’s first game against Kelloggsville. His counterpart, coach Don Galster of Kelloggsville, has been with his team for 29 seasons. However, Galster says don’t be fooled by his younger opponent.
“It’ll be a tough game,” Galster said. “It doesn’t matter what the records are when we play Godwin. This will be my 29th Godwin game. They’ll be ready to go, but we’ll also be ready to go.”
Kimble gave mutual respect to Galster regarding the coaches tenureship at Kelloggsville.
“With Kellogsville, the coach has been there a long time. He know’s the conference and other teams very well,” Kimble said. “We expect to see a team that’s aggressive, a team that’s going to fly around, a team that’s going to be competitive.”
This week’s WKTV Featured Game and other sports events are cable broadcast either live, immediately after the event and/or in rebroadcast, on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 and on AT&T U-Verse Community 99.
WKTV’s featured football games are rebroadcast on the night of the game (Thursday or Friday) at 11 p.m. and Saturday starting at 11 a.m. See WKTVjournal.org/sports for complete schedules.
WKTV’s coverage of high school sports and select community events are also available on-demand within a week of the event at wktvondemand.com.
If you’re arguing with someone, anger can be like earplugs. It keeps you from hearing what the other person is saying and finding middle ground. (For Spectrum Health Beat)
By Robert Preidt, HealthDay
Anger isn’t just an emotional reaction—it can affect you physically, too.
It’s been shown to raise your risk for heart disease and other problems related to stress—like sleep trouble, digestion woes and headaches.
That makes it important, then, to diffuse your anger. Start by figuring out what it is that makes you angry.
Researchers from George Mason University, in Virginia, studied just that, and identified 5 common triggers:
Other people.
Distress—psychological and physical.
Demands you put on yourself.
Your environment.
Unknown sources.
Anger was more intense, the investigators found, when people were provoked by issues with other people or by influences that couldn’t be pinpointed.
Once you’ve identified the sources of your anger, take steps to change how your deal with it, the researchers suggested.
Decades ago, people often were encouraged to let their anger out. Primal screams and pounding pillows were suggested tactics. Today? Not so much.
Studies have shown that therapies that involve letting anger out in a rage don’t really help. They might even make you more angry.
Still, it’s important to not keep anger bottled up. But, managing it can keep you from saying or doing things you might regret once the anger has passed.
What to do?
Start by becoming a calmer person in general. Practice a relaxation technique every day—yoga or mindfulness meditation, for instance.
Also develop an anger strategy that you can draw on when you’re in the moment. The idea is to interrupt your response to anger before it gets out of hand and to have a menu of healthier ways to express your feelings.
Tactics like time-outs, deep breathing and self-talk can help you calm down and think before acting. Longer-term, reducing your stress level and building empathy skills can help.
If you’re arguing with someone, anger can be like earplugs. It keeps you from hearing what the other person is saying and finding middle ground. So instead of acting defensive and trading barbs, hit the pause button.
Ask the person to repeat what was said. Then reflect on it before you speak again. Try to figure out the real reason for the argument.
This lets you channel the energy of anger into finding a solution.
When you’re in a situation you can’t fix—like being stuck in traffic on your way to an appointment—use your rational mind to put the situation in perspective. It’s inconvenient, but more than likely won’t affect your well-being long-term.
If you find that you’re angry at forces you can’t identify, consider talking to a mental health therapist. Working together should help you uncover the root of your unhappiness and anger.
We recently asked Beth, a talent development instructor at West Michigan Works!, for some insider information on their free workshops. Beth has been teaching workshops for seven years and one of her favorite workshops to teach is Cover Letter Writing. This is what she told us about the workshop:
What is Cover Letter Writing?
Cover Letter Writing is a free, one-hour workshop open to the public. This workshop provides job seekers with the skills to craft a strong cover letter that presents them as a strong candidate for the job.
Why is this such an important workshop for job seekers?
It is crucial in today’s job market to understand how employers use ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) to screen cover letters and resumes for certain key words and skills related to the job. Job seekers need to know how to tailor their cover letter for ATS screening to get their application materials in front of an actual human. Participants will leave with a good understanding of:
what an ATS is and how they work. INSIDER TIP: the website jobscan.co gives an inside look at how ATS scans your application materials for key words.
the importance of using specific skills and keywords to tailor your cover letter for each job you apply for.
the basic format and content of a cover letter.
how to create an opening statement that hooks the reader and makes them want to keep reading. INSIDER TIP: If the first few sentences sound generic, it won’t set you apart from other candidates.Start with whatever you feel is the most impressive aspect of our experience (relevant skills or abilities, year of experience, etc.).
What is something job seekers tell you they were surprised to learn in the workshop?
Cover letters should not be intimidating or seem daunting! Once you have your first cover letter written, it is a lot easier to change or update key words/skills as you go. Remember that the skills you have in your 20s may not be the same skills you want to highlight in your 30s, 40s, and so on. Your cover letter will always be a working document.
Back in the winter of 2000, Rick Eding went to the Zeeland Community Hospital emergency room with a sinus infection.
The then-25-year-old never expected the experience to reveal a much deeper and mind-numbing problem: severe heart problems.
“I was totally blindsided,” the Hamilton, Michigan, resident said. “I had cough and cold symptoms and sinus pressure in my head.”
ER doctors gave him a prescription for Bactrim, an antibiotic he’d tolerated well in the past. He started on the medicine, but within a couple of hours, allergic reactions flared—red skin, lethargy, difficulty breathing.
His dad drove him back to Zeeland Community Hospital.
By the time he arrived, his blood pressure nosedived.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
“I felt like I had a brick wall on my chest,” Eding said. “I didn’t know what in the heck was going on. Basically, I went into cardiac arrest.”
Emergency response teams rushed him to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
“I bounced back alright, even with cardiomyopathy,” Eding said as he dropped his 15-year-old son off at Hamilton High School football practice.
But as the years went on, Eding’s weight went up. And his heart function went down.
Working as an electrician, he traveled across the United States and Canada.
“I just kind of wrote it off as, ‘I’m traveling, I’m not eating like I probably should. I’m getting older,’” he said. “It got to the point where I couldn’t do anything. I was probably 300 pounds. I had chronic fatigue, shortness of breath, all those classic symptoms.”
Diagnosis? Heart failure.
At 31 years old.
LVAD
“From 2006 to 2011, I really battled the heart failure thing,” Eding said. “I was constantly in and out of the hospital. In 2011, the decision was made to have an LVAD placed.”
An LVAD, left ventricular assist device, picks up slack for the heart and helps it pump blood as it should.
“Basically it got to the point where they needed to do a tandem heart,” Eding said. “It’s an exterior device that buys you time. They needed to do something within a day or two or there wouldn’t be any choices. It was very scary. I was young. I was married with kids and the whole bit.”
Doctors placed Eding on the heart transplant list. But the more he waited, the more he weighed.
His weight spiked to 330 pounds—60 pounds more than when he got the LVAD.
Then, in 2013, more devastating news.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
His growing weight made him ineligible for a heart transplant.
“The worst thing for me was hearing, ‘We need to take you off the transplant list. You’re too big,’” Eding said. “It’s like a kick in the teeth. It’s horrible. The glimmer of hope you had of having a good life … gone.
“Being so young, the goal of a transplant was totally getting your life back,” he said. “That goal was stomped on. It wasn’t even attainable at that time.”
Eding dove into research—diets, surgeries, “you name it.”
He tried a slew of diet plans with minimal success.
“I would drop 20 pounds and in some way or some form, I’d have a setback and ‘boom,’ the weight comes back on,” he said.
Shrinking appetite
Eding learned about patients experiencing similar frustrations with an LVAD, and how they had success with bariatric surgery.
He spoke with Michael Dickinson, MD, a cardiologist with the Spectrum Health Richard DeVos Heart and Lung Transplant Clinic.
“It was like, hands down, I’m ready,” Eding said.
He met with Spectrum Health bariatric surgeon Jon Schram, MD.
“We took our time to make sure everything was good, which was very reassuring to me,” Eding said. “The surgery was done at the Meijer Heart Center. He was confident in what he had to do and that made me feel real good. “
Dr. Schram performed a sleeve procedure last October.
“We removed about 80 percent of his stomach,” Dr. Schram said. “The stomach is shaped like a big flask. We changed the shape of the stomach to about the size of a small banana.”
That does two things. It limits how much food the patient can eat at one time and also limits a hormone produced by the stomach that regulates hunger.
“By removing that much of the stomach, we create a situation where he’s not as hungry all the time,” said Dr. Schram, who performs about 400 of these surgeries per year.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Dr. Schram said the unique partnership between Spectrum Health’s bariatric division, cardiothoracic division and advanced heart failure team gave Eding a second chance.
The weight loss results? Almost immediate.
“It was like a pound a day for the longest time,” Eding said. “Yesterday I was 268.”
Best of all: As of late January, he’s back on the transplant list.
“I’m just ecstatic,” Eding said. “It’s unbelievable this roller coaster I’ve been on, with the highs and the lows. I’m definitely flying high and so thankful and so blessed to be back on the list.”
Digging in
The father of six is feeling blessed to be living a more normal life while he waits. No more hospital stays and no harsh symptoms.
The LVAD seems to be doing its job.
That means more time for fishing with his kids, more time for coaching Little League baseball, more time to dream of a future that could be there if the stars align and he gets a new heart.
“He’s not being held up by his weight now,” Dr. Schram said. “He’s just waiting for a donor. He suffers from severe heart failure. The longer he goes without a heart, there’s a possibility his heart could give out.”
But giving in is not an option.
“A lot of people would have given up a long time ago,” Eding said. “But I dug my feet in and put my nose to the grindstone and really took it head-on.”
And he has another goal: swim with his children again.
Since the LVAD is an electrical device, he can’t swim with it in him.
A transplant, of course, could change all that.
“I can’t wait to go swimming again,” Eding said. “The kids all love to swim and go to water parks. I feel like I’ve robbed them of being able to do that with them. As soon as I get the go-ahead, we’re going to Great Wolf Lodge or Michigan’s Adventure and we’re hitting the water park.”
The East Kentwood Falcons take on the Grandville this week in WKTV’s featured game of the week as the Bulldogs (2-2) will be traveling and facing a streaking Falcon team as well as a fired-up East Kentwood homecoming crowd.
East Kentwood High School is known for its loud and engaged Homecoming crowds. (WKTV file)
“Anytime you have homecoming, you’re going to have a big crowd,” said head coach Anthony Kimbrough of what is waiting his 3-1 East Kentwood squad. “It’s an exciting week leading up to the game. As a coach, it’s kind of a hectic week for me, but the kids seem to handle it well.
Coach Kimbrough says the secret to his team’s success, and now 3-game winning streak, is simple — the players are responding well to the fundamental system he has implemented.
“We just got back to basics,” said Kimbrough. “The kids are playing some really good fundamental and assignment football. Just doing everything right in the key moments of the game.”
Falcons Head Coach Anthony Kimbrough. (WKTV)
East Kentwood is coming off of a blow-out win against West Ottawa, a team that was down 35 points at halftime to the Falcons. The only loss East Kentwood has had to endure this season was a season-opener loss to an undefeated Mona Shores team, falling only 10 points short.
Grandville, however, has won the last three times these teams have met, beating East Kentwood 28-14 last year. Kimbrough expects to see the same competitive Grandville team as last year. East Kentwood comes in at 2-0 in OK-Gold standings, but Grandville is 1-0.
“They’re a physical and tough team that believes in their system and runs their system really well. They’re well coached and they play hard. So we’re in for a battle Friday night.”
These and other sports events are cable broadcast either live, immediately after the event and/or in rebroadcast, on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 and on AT&T U-Verse Community 99.
WKTV’s featured football games are rebroadcast on the night of the game (Thursday or Friday) at 11 p.m. and Saturday starting at 11 a.m. See WKTVjournal.org/sports for complete schedules.
WKTV’s coverage of high school sports and select community events are also available on-demand within a week of the event at wktvondemand.com.
Matthew Stone didn’t need to look any further than the faces of his two children for motivation to lose weight and live healthier.
“You want to see these little people grow up and you start thinking about, ‘What’s going to happen to me?’” Stone said. “I realized that I cannot expect someone else to take care of me, I need to start taking care of myself.”
With the support of his wife, Kristin, and his two children—Henry, 6, and Evelyn, 3—Stone started making big changes.
In July 2016, at the age of 33 and pushing 400 pounds, Stone had gastric sleeve surgery to start his weight-loss journey.
He has since lost more than 150 pounds, weighing in at 232 pounds. He eats well and exercises six days a week, including lifting weights, running and cycling.
“I always say that it’s not that I didn’t have a good life before, but now I am living a better life,” Stone said.
Last year, when he laced up his running shoes for the Spectrum Health Danish Dash in Greenville, Michigan, it had been his first time competing in an official organized run. By the time he competes in the race again this year, on Aug. 18, he’ll have some other 5K races under his belt.
Making changes
Stone said he had always been a big but active kid. Growing up in Midland, he remembers shoveling his dirt driveway in the winter so he could play basketball.
He also played high school sports. As a sophomore, he was a 6-foot-1, 300-pound athlete.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
But the weight kept creeping up.
“It doesn’t seem like much each year, but then you look back and you’re up 50 pounds,” he said.
Over time it became more difficult to ignore the signs that something needed to change.
He married in 2007 and it soon became a growing challenge to keep up with his two young children. He couldn’t buy life insurance to protect his family—his weight made it cost-prohibitive. He had to take medication for high blood pressure.
He then experienced a liver issue, which turned out to be the start of fatty liver disease. His weight, meanwhile, restricted what he could accomplish in the weight room.
“At age 33 I was OK, but it was only a matter of time before I would end up on a bunch of meds,” Stone said. “My body was showing signs it couldn’t keep up.”
He tried to diet but success proved elusive. He’d get discouraged when he didn’t see results.
“I realized that you can’t out-exercise a bad diet,” Stone said. “I can do a lot more damage with my mouth than I can out-do with my body.”
Feeling like he was “chasing his tail,” he signed up for a consultation with a bariatric surgeon.
“I really felt like the surgery was the first step, because when you’re pushing 400 pounds, I knew I was limited, but I didn’t fully understand how limited I was by the weight,” Stone said.
He started off easy, first by walking and then going to the gym and jogging on the treadmill.
“From there, it has taken off,” Stone said.
His current routine is six days of exercise, including four to five days of 60 to 90 minutes of weight lifting at Fresh Start Fitness in Greenville. He also gets in one or two runs per week—each about 3 to 5 miles—and about 30 minutes of cycling on the Flat River Trail or the stair stepper at the gym.
He follows a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic diet. He recently eliminated all sugars, getting all his carbs from vegetables.
Transformation
Stone’s body has indeed changed. He went from a size 56 pants and XXXL shirts to a size 38 and large. He actually enjoys shopping now.
At the beginning, he would catch his reflection in a mirror and not recognize himself.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
But has he really changed? It’s one question he reflects on frequently. He looks to his wife to help him process it.
“I know that divorce rates are high for people who have big weight loss after surgery,” Stone said. “I ask my wife, ‘Have I changed? Let me know if you think I’m changing.’”
As an optimistic, outgoing person, Stone feels more comfortable in his skin now.
“I feel like my body matches my personality now, that it matches who I really am,” Stone said.
He works as a football coach at Greenville High School and as an associate pastor at Greenville First Church of God.
He said his faith and the strong support system from his family and community have helped him in this journey.
“I see this as part of being a better steward of who I am and what I have,” Stone said.
He also hopes he’s providing a good example for his children and his football players.
“For too many years, I just didn’t want to deal with it and make the commitment,” he said. “It’s good for everyone around me and good for me to see this is how we live better. Not that I didn’t live good before, but this is better.”
On the latest episode of WKTV Journal: In Focus, we continue our efforts to assist local veterans, this time with a new higher eduction program based out of Grand Valley State University.
In Focus is Tim Marroquin, the Director of GVSU Veterans Upward Bound program. The program provides academic and other services to military veterans with the goal of supporting their enrollment and success in postsecondary education. The program is new to the university and to Michigan, but there is a clear need of this service for our veterans.
The Upward Bound program is part of GVSU’s Division of Inclusion and Equity, so our first question is why veteran inclusion as important to GVSU as other “minority” groups?
“WKTV Journal: In Focus” airs on cable television in the Wyoming and Kentwood areas on Comcast WKTV Channel 26 and on AT&T Channel 99 Government channel. But all interviews included in episodes of WKTV Journal: In Focus are also available on YouTube at WKTVvideos.
Meet Nate: Nate had no work experience and a disability that made getting a job difficult. Through the Youth Employment Services program, Nate got an apprenticeship with a local electrical company after graduating from high school, attended community college and is on his way to a career in electrical engineering.
If you are out of school, having a hard time finding or keeping a job and wondering how to start a career, the West Michigan Works! Youth Employment Services program can help you, just like it did Nate.
How can Youth Employment Services help me?
The program offers free services to young adults, ages 16-24, who are experiencing challenges to finding employment. Participants can get on the path to a successful, long-term career through individualized employment and training activities.
Obtain your GED or high school diploma.
Use assessments and career exploration to develop a career pathway.
Participate in work experience to build your resume.
Get help removing barriers to employment/training like assistance with transportation, professional clothing, credit recovery and more!
Scholarships may be available for additional job training.
Do I qualify?
If you are a young adult, age 16-24, who is experiencing circumstances that make finding and keeping employment challenging, you may qualify. Eligibility is based on income in addition to many other factors.
How do I get started?
Certain documentation, like specific forms of ID and proof of income, will be required to enroll. Contact your local program provider to learn more and find out if you are eligible:
Bethany Christian Services
1530 Madison Ave NE Grand Rapids, MI 49507 616-254-7739
U.S. News & World Report ranks Calvin College #1 overall among Midwest regional colleges in its 2019 Best Colleges Guidebook. This marks the third consecutive year Calvin has topped its category.
Released online today, the report helps prospective students and their families evaluate colleges and universities based on 16 widely accepted indicators of excellence, such as first-year retention rates, graduation rates, and the strength of faculty. The report also takes into account qualitative assessments by administrators at peer institutions.
“Calvin’s mission to equip students to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world remains our constant source of motivation,” said Michael K. Le Roy, Calvin College president. “It is encouraging when independent sources like U.S. News & World Report recognize the exemplary work of our faculty, staff, and students.”
In addition to sharing the top overall ranking among its peers with Taylor University in 2019, Calvin also garnered U.S. News’ #1 ranking among Midwest regional colleges on its “Best Undergraduate Teaching” list, and appeared in the top five of its lists of “Most Innovative Schools” and “Schools with the Most International Students.”
Calvin was also listed as a “Best Value School” by U.S. News & World Report, and the college’s engineering program received special recognition as one of the best undergraduate engineering program in the country. The college tied for 71st among schools whose terminal engineering degree is a bachelors or masters.
About Calvin College Founded in 1876, Calvin College is a top-ranked, liberal arts college that equips its more than 3,700 students from 45 U.S. states, 65 countries and five Canadian provinces to think deeply, to act justly, and to live wholeheartedly as Christ’s agents of renewal in the world. Calvin is proud to offer 100+ majors and programs, including graduate-level offerings in accounting, education, and speech pathology and audiology. Calvin students engage in intensive internships, community-based service learning, and significant research that results in publishing and presenting alongside world-class faculty.
And the college’s 400-acre campus, located in the vibrant city of Grand Rapids, Michigan, serves as a launching pad for students who, in any given year, participate in 40 faculty-led off-campus programs on six different continents. Discover more at www.calvin.edu.
About U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is celebrating its 85th year as a digital news and information company that empowers people to make better, more informed decisions about important issues affecting their lives. USNews.com focuses on education, health, money, travel, cars, and civic, providing consumer advice, rankings, and analysis to serve people making complex decisions throughout all stages of life. More than 40 million people visit USNews.com each month for research and advice. U.S. News is headquartered in Washington, D.C.
A couple of weeks ago, I received a text message and several phone calls from a friend frantically trying to reach me, “I got a strange notice on my computer saying I had to call or they would disable me!”
When I contacted her later, I was relieved to hear she refused to give them her credit card number and they hung up on her. Too often, people who receive these pop-up notices on their computers, tablets or phones fall prey to these scare tactics, losing hundreds of dollars and sometimes their identity as a result. Tossing your computer out the window or smashing your phone with a hammer are not the answer. You can take steps to avoid falling victim to malware.
What is malware? When most people call for help, they say “A virus got into my computer!”. The mess that malware creates can certainly make us feel sick, but it is not a computer virus in the traditional sense. Malware, also referred to as Adware or Spyware, is a type of software that is usually embedded in something else. Whether it is a ‘free’ app you downloaded to your tablet, a ‘free’ software you downloaded to your computer, or a ‘free’ game you play through your internet browser, most likely you clicked ‘OK’ and, buried in the fine print you agreed to having the malware files downloaded to your device. When it comes to apps and software, nothing is free.
When these files get downloaded to our devices, strange things begin to occur. Like my friend, a message window might randomly open up saying we have a virus or claim that our computer has been hacked and requires immediate attention. We open our internet browser and without touching a key, it will begin bringing us to websites we don’t want to go to or the screen suddenly fills with 100s of popup windows advertising everything under the sun. We could even find our inbox filling up with messages to buy things that normally require a prescription or even our phone begins to ring with telemarketers.
What can we do to protect our devices from these types of software?
First, don’t download anything unless it comes through an official app store like Google Play or Apple and even then, use caution if it says are there advertisements in the app.
When advertisements pop up in your browser, be careful where you click. Many of these are designed to fool you by including a ‘No Thanks’ button or even a fake X button usually on the opposite side of the window. Close the pop up using the X in the upper corner.
If you make a mistake and download some malware to your computer, stay calm and know that any threatening messages you receive are not real. Microsoft, Apple or Google will not send a warning message to your screen demanding you call them ‘or else…’. If you’re getting these messages, it’s most definitely fake.
Do not call the 800 numbers that appear on your screen, give out any personal information, or allow anyone remote access to your computer.
You can often get free assistance by going to the manufacturer of the device. For a Microsoft device you can get virtual assistance at support.microsoft.com, an Apple device support.apple.com or a Google/Android device go to support.google.com.
Sometimes we need more than help articles; there are services you can pay for help. Best Buy’s Geek Squad offers support in-home, in-store, 24/7 online and phone support at (800) 433-5778. HelloTech also offers in-home tech support, online support at hellotech.com and help over the phone (888) 485-9455. These companies are reputable, established companies unlike the 800 numbers offered in the popup windows. You may have local tech support companies in your community.
Stay in charge of your devices! While your son, daughter or grandchild may seem tech savvy and well meaning, unless they are a certified technology support specialist, they should not be trying to fix your computer, tablet or phone. People of every age fall victim to malware and internet scams and our well-intentioned relatives might make matters worse.
When we run into problems like these, our inclination may be to give up on technology all together, especially if we’re new to it. Technology is engrained in every part of our society though and can actually go a long way in helping us remain independent as we age. Today we can order our groceries and have them delivered to our home, call for a ride, see our doctor through a video call, pay all of our bills and connect with friends and family using a smartphone, tablet or computer.
It’s worth sticking with it and to learn more. Local libraries offer technology classes for adults, as well as many community and senior centers. If you’re a member of a group who would like a class on learning about how technology like tablets and smart phones can enhance your life, Area Agency on Aging of Western Michigan will bring a class to your organization. You can contact us at (616) 456-5664 or aaainfo@aaawm.org for more information.
BySuzanne Pish, Michigan State University Extension
There has been a lot of controversy about whether or not young children should begin to play football. As a mother, it is hard to watch your child be under a pile of other players, wondering if they are going to get up and listening to coaches yelling at them. However, there are some great lessons learned from playing football that go far beyond the hitting and yelling. These young children are learning life skills that they can use the rest of their lives.
The social aspect of sports might be what entices children to play in the first place. Youth sports participation lets children spend time with friends in a safe environment while practicing social skills that are likely to last a lifetime. Aside from bonding with peers, kids learn to solve conflicts effectively, reach common goals and learn to be more assertive, all while getting much needed physical activity. A child’s communication skills are improved while playing a sport, giving a child needed life skills.
2. Competitive skills
Although there is such a thing as being too competitive, it’s important for a child to understand the positive aspects of competition. Adults are surrounded by competition, from getting a job to moving up in the work force. When children learn the basics of competition early, they have a better chance of succeeding. Sports participation helps children cope with competition in a friendly environment. Working to achieve a goal or being part of a team can help kids gain healthy competitive skills that they can use for the rest of their lives.
3. Sportsmanship
Sportsmanlike behavior is a lesson that children obtain from playing sports. Children learn to positively handle both the winning and losing aspect of playing a sport. Good sportsmanship is a trait that carries over from childhood to adulthood. Athletes who focus on mastering personal improvement have a good chance later on becoming good citizens and hard workers. A child who learns to be a good sport can translate that skill to better cooperating with others and making decisions based on their own morals rather than being ego-oriented individuals who behave badly, according to Education World, an online resource for educators .
4. Leadership abilities
Obtaining leadership qualities that range from being a good character to respecting others and being task oriented can be accomplished in both team and individual sports. A solid support system, such as a strong parental involvement and effective coaching can help mold a child into being a leader now, and later in life.
The coaching staff for my son’s team told them in the huddle that giving 100 percent on the field will help them to give 100 percent in whatever else they do in life. Do these boys understand that concept at this young age? Maybe not, but having the discipline to play as a team day after day and to give all they can to their team will certainly pay off for them in the long run as adults.
As a former smoker, Hasart qualified. He remembers the day 50 years ago he caught his older brother smoking.
“He made me start so I wouldn’t tell Dad,” Hasart said.
A few days after his appointment with Dr. Litt, Hasart went to Spectrum Health Gerber Memorial Hospital in Fremont for his CT scan. Within 24 hours, Dr. Litt’s office called. They had found a suspicious nodule.
It was an early catch, which is a big advantage in fighting lung cancer.
“The idea with the screening is that we can diagnose it when it’s more treatable,” said Marc McClelland, MD, a Spectrum Health pulmonologist.
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Lung cancer tends to have poor outcomes because it usually gets diagnosed at an advanced stage, Dr. McClelland said. The disease typically does not have any symptoms until it has advanced beyond stage one or two.
Since its creation in 2015, the lung cancer screening program has identified 33 cases of lung cancer and nine cases of other kinds of cancer, including kidney and liver. Nineteen of the lung cancer cases were found in the earliest and most treatable stage, stage one.
The program is currently following 728 patients with annual CT scans.
Harvey’s journey
A few days after receiving the bad news, Hasart met with the Lung Mass and Cancer Care Multispecialty Team. The group of cancer specialists includes a diagnostic radiologist, medical oncologist, pathologist, pulmonologist, radiation oncologist, thoracic surgeon, nurse and social worker, all coalescing to offer coordinated care for patients like Hasart.
The next step, a PET scan, revealed the nodule and a lymph node looked suspicious and needed biopsy.
Hasart’s case grew more complicated yet. Within days of his PET scan, he experienced chest pain on the golf course. He ended up needing a heart stent and he had to regularly take a blood thinner.
The multispecialty team thought it best to admit Hasart to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital for the biopsy, which allowed them to switch blood thinners and monitor his heart closely, Dr. McClelland said.
The results of the biopsy held more bad news: small cell lung cancer.
Small cell lung cancer makes up only 10 to 15 percent of all lung cancers. It is known for growing rapidly and spreading quickly, although it typically responds well to chemotherapy and radiation.
Dr. McClelland said the fact that Hasart’s cancer was small cell rather than the more common non-small cell cancer surprised him and the other specialists on Hasart’s team. It didn’t appear to be small cell originally, he said.
“That’s the beauty of the lung (multispecialty team),” Dr. McClelland said. “As long as I have been doing this, no case is the same as any other case. There’s no textbook in the world that could include the extensive variety and depth of what we see, so that’s why the team is so valuable.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
The team meets together on a regular basis to discuss each case, allowing for effective communication and more streamlined care. This ultimately means patients get answers faster, sometimes with same-day biopsies and results, Dr. McClelland said.
The week after Thanksgiving, Hasart started four rounds of chemotherapy at Spectrum Health Cancer Center. The day after Christmas, he started radiation. Both steps were successful fighting the cancer in his lungs.
When a scan then revealed a small lesion on his brain, the multispecialty team opted for him to receive radiation treatment to his brain, Hasart said. It’s common for small cell lung cancer to spread to the brain. In early May, a post-radiation brain scan showed the lesion was gone and there was no more evidence of cancer.
Serendipity
Hasart’s girlfriend, Deb Bisel, has been at his side throughout this journey. The two met online when Hasart lived in Wisconsin and Bisel in Newaygo, Michigan. They dated long distance a few years before Hasart retired and moved to Newaygo in November 2016.
Bisel lost her husband of 26 years, Ned, to lung cancer in 2011. By the time they found his cancer, it was too late to do much.
In a serendipitous twist, Bisel works for Spectrum Health as the manager of cancer program compliance. In this role, she helped develop the lung mass and cancer multi-specialty team. Bisel also helped plan a symposium for primary care physicians to learn more about cancer screening, including lung cancer. Dr. Litt attended that symposium.
“We are so thankful (Dr. Litt) ordered the CT scan, and we think it saved his life,” Bisel said. “This validates how important this stuff is.”
Those eligible for the screening program are active smokers with a history of 30 or more pack years and former smokers who have quit within the past 15 years. (Pack years is calculated by multiplying packs per day by years smoked.)
Patients with lower risk who do not meet those guidelines may speak with their doctors about whether they would benefit from screening outside of the program, Dr. McClelland said.
Patients like Hasart, who have quit smoking, can sometimes be forgotten, Dr. Litt said.
“This reinforces my faith in primary and preventive care,” Dr. Litt said. “You want to intervene before things go out of control, before things go in the wrong direction.”
Photo by Chris Clark, Spectrum Health Beat
Dr. Litt grew humble when she heard Hasart credited her with saving his life.
“I was doing my job as any good primary care physician should be doing,” she said. “I’m grateful and thankful he thinks highly of me, but mostly I am grateful he is doing well.”
Hasart is now focused on enjoying his retirement. He works part-time driving cars to the east side of Michigan for auto dealers. Most of the time, however, you will find him on the golf course or in the kitchen baking or cooking.
His last day of chemotherapy treatment was Valentine’s Day. He couldn’t wait to get home to make lobster dinner for Bisel.
That day, Bisel’s assistant, Diane Ivy, came down from her office in the cancer center with a celebratory gift for Hasart—a mix of cookies, a chocolate rose, a teddy bear and other goodies.
“I just wanted to come and see you for the last day,” she said.
The teddy bear, she said, was for “whenever you need a hug and Deb is not there.”
As Hasart readied to leave, a nurse wished him well and asked how he felt.
By Brenda Long, Michigan State University Extension
The majority of U. S. households, 63 percent, have equity in their own homes. For many, it’s the largest piece of their asset portfolio, according to U.S. Census data and University of Illinois Extension. Regular maintenance and repair should be in your plans so that you can retain the value of your home. It requires time and money, whether you do the work yourself or hire someone else.
Home maintenance should be done monthly, seasonally or annually, so the expenses should not be a complete surprise. Prepare by setting aside money each month toward a home maintenance fund so that it will be there when you need it. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureaumonthly payment worksheet says a common rule of thumb is to plan to invest one percent of your home value in home maintenance each year. For example, if your home’s market value is $100,000, then 1 percent is $1,000. This amount may vary depending on your home and needed repairs.
It’s a good idea to walk around inside and out monthly to visually inspect for potential issues. Look up as well as down. Use a checklist such as this one from the University of Georgia Extension.
Water Drainage/Damage: Rain (and snow in cold climates) can cause serious water damage to insulation and drywall. Be sure gutters and downspouts are working. Look for stains and mold growth, damp carpeting, loose tiles, and cupping wood floors.
Heating/Cooling Issues: Yearly cleaning plus regularly change the filters (monthly is recommended by experts) for both long life and efficiency of these systems. If you have a fireplace, annual flue cleaning is essential to prevent the considerably higher expense relining the flue.
Roof Damage: Heavy snow, heavy rain and high winds can influence roof quality. Look for signs of damage on the roof and in the attic for water leaks. Asphalt shingles generally last about 20 years, and aluminum or steel shingles last about 50 years. Avoid walking on the roof and do not store heavy items in your attic.
Windows: Although aluminum windows are less costly, wooden windows last about ten years longer. Check regularly for peeling paint, cracks and chips in the glazing.
Several government assistance programs are available to better afford repairing and improving your home. Home improvements such as the cost of insulation, energy-efficient exterior windows, and energy-efficient heating and air conditioning systems qualify for IRS residential energy tax credits. Installation costs do not qualify. Visit the Energy Star website, energystar.gov/taxcredits for details.
Plan ahead to fit home maintenance tasks into your schedule and expenses in your budget. Find tips in Jinnifer Ortquist’s article on Planning Home Improvements and Costs. Doing small repairs promptly can save you from large, costly repairs later. For example, small leaks in a roof can lead to significant damage in internal walls over time. Also learn about assistance programs and energy tax credits to stretch your dollars. For more information about homeownership in Michigan, go to the Housing link at www.mimoneyhealth.org.
Wyoming Lee football team at practice this week. (WKTV)
By Micah Cho, WKTV Sports Intern
ken@wktv.org
Wyoming Lee has something to prove this week against NorthPointe Christian, a solid team that finished last season with a 6-4 record. With a Rebel win this week, Coach Tom DeGennaro and his squad could be a team to look out for this season.
Lee could go 2-1, if their offense can protect the quarterback, an issue DeGennaro thinks won’t be a problem.
Wyoming Lee Coach Tom DeGennaro. (WKTV)
“Our offensive-line, especially on the right side, is really big and strong,” DeGennaro said to WKTV this week. “And they’re pretty seasoned. That would be the strength of this team.”
Despite their record in seasons past, DeGennaro is confident in his rebuilding Rebels.
Winning only one game in 2016, DeGennaro was able to bring his team to a 3-6 overall record in 2017. When asked what changed, DeGennaro said it wasn’t him.
“It’s just the kids buying into the system, working out in the weight room and committing themselves to being here every day” DeGennaro said. “It has nothing to do with coaching. All of the success goes to the kids.”
NorthPointe finished strong last season. And with a competitive team like the Mustangs, DeGennaro thinks that Friday night’s game will be a well-matched contest.
“NorthPointe is always a well-coached and well-disciplined team. They like to run the ball out of the spread, but it seems that they’ve been throwing it a little bit more. So we expect to see a pretty wide-open game.”
These and other sports events are cable broadcast either live, immediately after the event and/or in rebroadcast, on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 and on AT&T U-Verse Community 99.
WKTV’s featured football games are rebroadcast on the night of the game (Thursday or Friday) at 11 p.m. and Saturday starting at 11 a.m. See WKTVjournal.org/sports for complete schedules.
WKTV’s coverage of high school sports and select community events are also available on-demand within a week of the event at wktvondemand.com.
Get up close and personal with animals in West Michigan! Here, you’ll find animals that are native to the area, educational zoos, and even collections of extinct species. No matter what you’re looking for, West Michigan is sure to have a unique animal encounter for your entire family.
West Michigan zoos
John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids is home to over 1,400 animals including lions, tigers, grizzly bear, chimpanzees, penguins, and many more. During the summer months, they even offer a zipline, ropes course, petting corral, and many up-close animal encounters.
Boulder Ridge Wild Animal Park in Alto is a unique, hands-on experience for the entire family. The park boasts a distinct collection of exotic animals and reptiles, making Boulder Ridge anything but your average zoo!
Even if you’re visiting Binder Park Zoo in Battle Creek when they aren’t hosting an event, they’re still a great place to bring the family. Discover spectacular views of wild animals from elevated boardwalks, and get nose-to-nose with one of the largest giraffe herds in the country as you explore Wild Africa.
West Michigan wildlife hotspots
The city of Lansing is a great spot to take in some beautiful nature and unique animal encounters. From zoos and parks to exotic pet shops, there is something for everyone in Michigan’s capital city!
Looking to enjoy some Pure Michigan wilderness? Michigan State Parks are always a safe bet. From nature trails filled with deer and birds to lakes and rivers bursting with local fish, you are sure to see some astonishing nature on your next trip.
There are some great zoos not far from the city of Sault Ste. Marie. This summer, stop by to tour a couple of the state’s best zoos that the kids will surely never forget!
If you think that the bustling city of Grand Rapids doesn’t have much noteworthy wildlife to take in, then think again! Sit outside on the patio at JW Marriott’s restaurant, six.one.six, or The Kitchen by Wolfgang Puck to take in local dogs being walked, birds flying by, and even potential fish jumping out of the Grand River.
The city of Bellaire is the perfect place to get your animal and wildlife fix this summer! Stop by the Grass River Natural Area to catch a glimpse of rare birds, turtles, snakes, deer, bobcat, fox, and much more. Or, head on over to Shanty Creek Resort. With 4,500 acres to explore, the resort offers a variety of options to get outside and be one with nature. Grab a pair of hiking boots, walking shoes, or even a bicycle to enjoy the on-site trails.
Gull Meadow Farms in Kalamazoo will be opening this September and you will not want to miss out! They offer an exceptional petting zoo, family-friendly activities, an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, and more. This is the perfect spot to kick off your West Michigan fall.
The city of Charlevoix is a great spot to take in some beautiful West Michigan nature and animals! Whether you decide to brush up on your reptile facts and stop in one of the historic museums in the area, or simply go for a stroll through a park, you are sure to see some wildlife, along with everything else the beautiful destination has to offer.
Head on over to Muskegon to take in some wildlife like never before! The area has some great animal rehabilitation centers and animal sanctuaries that you will want to have on your summer bucket list.
Coldwater Country is home to some must-see animal sanctuaries and wildlife gardens. From being able to feed alligators to enjoying guided tours, there is something for everyone in the family to enjoy.
Other unique ways to interact with West Michigan wildlife
Critter Barn in Zeeland is the perfect spot to learn all about farm animals and have the chance to get up and personal with chickens, ducks, rabbits, sheep, goats, cows, and so much more!
Stop by Nelis’ Dutch Village in Holland to visit their adorable and friendly petting zoo and have the rare opportunity to take a goat for a walk!
This summer, take the family to enjoy pony rides, hayrides, fishing, barn animals, and feed the sheep and goats at Teusink’s Pony Farm in Holland.
Take the kids to the Grand Traverse Butterfly House in Williamsburg where they can learn all about the wonders of butterflies and their bug relatives. Stop by to take part in educational presentations, classes, outside nature walks, or even host your next private party or wedding in the beautiful and scenic garden!
Stop by Double JJ Resort in Rothbury for the horseback riding adventure of a lifetime! From riding lessons to scenic trail rides, there is something for every experience level.
Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park in Grand Rapids is sure to blow you away with their beauty! They have many informative animal exhibits, not to mention the hundreds of exotic butterflies fluttering around.
Cran-Hill Ranch in Rodney is the place to be this summer. This remarkable youth camp offers a variety of great outdoor activities, including fishing, a petting zoo, and local favorite, horseback riding.
Lauren Whitaker spent long stretches of her childhood in the hospital.
Minor colds turned into pneumonia. Even when she wasn’t hospitalized, “my parents basically ran a hospital at home,” she said. They treated her daily with lung exercises, breathing treatments and a special mechanical vest that helps move fluid through her respiratory system.
“I was kept away from kids, play dates, birthday parties,” Whitaker, 17, said. “And no preschool. They didn’t want me to be exposed to viruses. I was prone to getting sick often and for a long time. And it happened so much doctors were worried my lungs would become damaged.”
Whitaker was born with tracheomalacia, a condition in which the cartilage that keeps open the trachea, better known as the windpipe, is soft and frequently collapses.
The condition restricts airflow, which allows fluid to frequently build up in Whitaker’s respiratory system. And when Whitaker coughs, the trachea can close, which prevents the fluid from clearing out.
For every 100 children with asthma, about two or three have Whitaker’s condition, said John Schuen, MD, division chief of pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine at Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
There are no good surgical options, Whitaker was told. There are no long-term cures.
But after years of suffering—hospitalizations every four to six weeks, missing kindergarten, missing out on playdates with other children—Whitaker and her family found a remedy in an unlikely place.
The music room.
Whitaker learned to play the flute in fifth grade. She fell in love with it a couple years later. It has not only contained—and mostly solved—her medical issues, it has given her a life path.
“She’s really turned a disability into an ability, and it seems to be a tremendous ability,” Dr. Schuen said. “Now she’s on the cusp of launching a brilliant, brilliant career.”
‘Like beavers building a dam’
Dr. Schuen first met Whitaker at age 4. Her family had been struggling with her recurrent pneumonia.
“She was in and out of hospital, in and out of our office, in and out of her primary doctor’s office when we first met,” Dr. Schuen recalled. “This has been something that’s been ongoing ever since she was born.”
In a healthy person, Dr. Schuen said, the airways produce thin watery secretions, which are constantly moved and which provide defense against germs and trap inhaled particles such as dust and dirt. The secretions eventually move to the throat and mouth, where they’re coughed out or swallowed, thereby protecting the lungs.
“The airways are like tiny streams or streamlets that join up to bigger rivers, until they dump into Lake Michigan,” the doctor said. “That would be what’s normal.”
But with tracheomalacia, “it’s kind of like beavers building a dam in the middle of the river,” he said. “The water doesn’t move normally. It pools behind the beaver’s dam and it just stands there. It’s great for beavers trying to make a home, but not good for homeowners.”
The buildup of fluids in the respiratory system makes infections and bronchitis much more likely, he said.
Dr. Schuen had a suggestion: In addition to daily chest exercises and use of the vest, he recommended Whitaker learn a wind instrument. It could strengthen her lung function.
If the lung muscles were stronger and produced more air and pushed that air through Whitaker’s system more forcefully, she could more easily blow through that dam, reopening the river of air.
Whitaker and her parents took his advice.
In fourth grade, her school had a presentation about joining fifth-grade band. Whitaker jumped at the chance.
“Dr. Schuen said it would be a good thing for me to play an instrument,” she said. “He said the quality and quantity of life would be better with an instrument. But honestly, I just wanted to do it. Obviously there were health benefits, but I was like, ‘Oh, an instrument, that sounds cool!’”
She originally chose the clarinet, but couldn’t produce a sound. But she was one of only two children who could produce a sound on the flute, so she said, “Let’s do this one.”
By seventh grade she began taking it seriously, practicing more and more each day. And sure enough, her health slowly improved.
“I started getting less sick with colds,” she said. “It wouldn’t hit me nearly as hard. … When I get sick now, it’s just a minor cold, not 15 days in the hospital.”
Aiming for a career
Whitaker has turned her condition into a strength.
Before her senior year of high school, she enrolled at Interlochen Center for the Arts, a boarding school with an acclaimed music program.
“I went to their summer camp for one week and liked it so much I wanted to stay the whole year,” Whitaker said.
The flute program has only 14 students, half of them international. Only two are from Michigan. Most of the curriculum is arts-based. She takes two academic classes and the rest of her curriculum is courses like music theory, band, chamber music and orchestra.
She plays the flute as many as eight hours per day. She won two concerto competitions in 2017. And she was recently accepted into the prestigious New England Conservatory of Music in Boston.
She hopes to make a career as a flutist.
“We keep our fingers crossed,” said her mother, Laurie Whitaker. “It’s a very, very competitive field. But it’s really been neat. She got to play at DeVos (Performance Hall). She got to do a solo. It was quite an honor.
“It’s been a wonderful journey,” Laurie added. “Her health has been so great, partially because she’s playing a ton. When she gets sick, she picks up the flute and she feels like she can breathe better. And now she sails through colds and viruses like her peers. … I’m just so proud of her.”
Dr. Schuen called Whitaker’s story inspirational. The idea that a disability can be turned into an ability with the right mindset and commitment, he said, could resonate with a lot of patients.
“She’s turned a negative into a positive,” he said. “She could wind up going to Juilliard, Boston Conservatory, she could play with national or international fields.
“There are many people who have problems like Lauren. But she and her parents were, (1) proactive, and (2), very positive and innovative. When we made suggestions, they ran with it. … Lauren’s an incredible young woman. I’m really happy and excited for all of them.”
It is hard to believe it is time to start putting our gardens, lawns and flowers to rest for the winter. Michigan State University Extension offers these tips to make next year’s spring and summer vegetable and herb gardening easier and more fruitful.
As you pick and preserve your garden’s current crops, take time to prepare your soil for next year’s growing season. Remove all non-bearing, dead and diseased plants as you harvest your current crops. After frost has blackened the leaves on the remaining plants, pull them up and compost them. If they are diseased, take care not to add them to your compost pile, as many pests are able to overwinter and come back with a vengeance next spring.
Easy-to-do fall gardening chores for your vegetables
Remove all weeds and debris. This reduces homesteads for overwintering insects and diseases.
Till the soil. Fall is a great time to oxygenate the soil.
Tilling should be done once in both directions—a rough till is fine in the fall.
Tilling in the fall reduces the need for tilling wet, spring soil. Tilling wet soil is never recommended. Soil can be too sticky in early spring.
Adding organic matter, humus and manure in the fall allows time for it to become married to the soil. Organic matter is not immediately available for plants, so giving it time will have your plants functioning at peak performance earlier next spring.
Microorganisms are not as active in early spring; feeding them in the fall gives your garden a head start in the spring.
You may also choose to till in the organic matter.
A cover crop can be planted as an option to help improve your soil.
Winter wheat and cereal rye are good options for a Michigan garden cover crop.
If you have a very unruly area that has just gone to the weedy side, cover it with black plastic or cardboard and leave it until it’s time to plant in the spring to kill all sprouting seeds.
Easy-to-do fall gardening chores for your perennial herbs
Keeping your herb healthy during the growing season with well-drained soil, regular watering, fertilization and pruning is key to their winter survival.
Most herbs will also benefit from a good 2-to-4-inch mulch cover. Do not mulch heavily until after the first heavy frost—doing so before can actually weaken plants. Winter mulches help maintain soil temperatures and reduce frequent freezing and thawing.
It is a good time to cut dead wood from sage, oregano and thyme. Trim off dead flower heads.
Windbreaks or a covering of evergreen branches may also aid in the survival of many herbs, protecting them from harsh winds that tend to dry out less cold-tolerant herbs.
Professor Douglas Vander Griend of the chemistry and biochemistry department plans to conduct a symphony this summer, with the assistance of two student researchers and Calvin’s new supercomputer. Or at least, that’s how he invites those not well-versed in technical chemistry to understand his current work building a chemometric website for the modeling of complex chemical solutions.
The website software takes the spectrographic—or light—output of an experiment and tries to match it against a multitude of simulated experiments. When a similar simulated output is found, the software then shows the researcher what chemical interactions may have produced that output.
“Imagine that you’re in a concert hall, and you’re listening to instrumentalists play on a stage, but the curtain is drawn so you can’t see anything, and everybody’s playing instruments you’ve never heard before,” Vander Griend said. “So you can hear what they produce, and your job is with your ears to figure out how many instrumentalists are on stage and what type of instruments each one is playing.
“We do almost the exact same thing with molecules and light,” he added, “we make them play a song.”
Harmonizing distinct disciplines
Aiding him in conducting this obscure orchestra are student researchers Joyce Chew and Nathanael Kazmierczak. Chew is a junior majoring in math, and minoring in computer science and chemistry, while Kazmierczak is a senior majoring in music and chemistry, and minoring in ministry leadership.
Vander Griend points to both students’ backgrounds in multiple disciplines as a strength: “When someone can bring in a mindset and toolbox developed in a different area, they bring fresh insight into new problems.”
Both are thrilled with the interdisciplinary nature of the project. “I really like that this [research] integrates math, computer science, and chemistry, because those are my core three interests,” said Chew.
Kazmierczak views this kind of research as unique to Calvin: “as a liberal arts institution, Calvin has really open lines of communication between the disciplines;” he added, “there’s a lot of collaboration work going on in the sciences.”
In addition to being able to work within multiple fields, both also enjoy working with Vander Griend. Having done research with him for over two years, Kazmierczak identified his attitude as “a hands off one, which really helps you develop as an independent scientist.” Chew agreed; although this is her first time doing chemistry research, she said “he made it really easy for me to jump in, get into the literature, and get caught up with what was happening in his lab.”
Cutting-edge tools
Vander Griend’s ensemble is completed by Calvin’s new supercomputer. Access to the supercomputer, according to Vander Griend, is “expanding out the functionality” of the software, allowing for the automation of model construction, the building of a database for results, and extensive error analysis.
Vander Griend identified the error analysis specifically as one of the super computer’s key contributions to the project: “you’re talking hours and hours and hours [of computations]; the supercomputer can bring that down minutes.”
First United States Labor Day Parade, Sept. 5, 1882, in New York City.
WKTV Staff
ken@wktv.org
Today’s fun fact(s):
12, six and 1882
The average number of hours a day worked (12) and days a week worked (6) before the Adamson Act was passed in the United States in 1916, which established the modern 8-hour work day. That action came 30 years after the first Labor Day march for workers rights was held in New York City, on Sept. 5, 1882.
Labor Day parades? We’ve got two for you
Looking for a Labor Day parade? Celebrations in Holland at the Annual Labor Day Boardwalk and Pancake Breakfast, Monday, Sept. 3, focused in and around the beautiful Windmill Island Gardens, will include the annual Truck Parade downtown. The big rigs that carry locally-made products rumble through downtown Holland and Zeeland, complete their route by parking at the Holland Civic Center. Also on Monday, in Muskegon, the city will host its annual Labor Day parade. To get the details, click here.
The few; the proud; the very, very full
After 10 hearty seasons, 12,000 brave challengers and nearly 58 million gut-busting calories, the Fifth Third Burger is calling it a career. The Whitecaps will officially retire the Fifth Third Burger’s jersey on Saturday, Sept. 1, during their season-ending home stand against the Fort Wayne TinCaps. For more information on the burger’s last days, click here.
Need a good news story today? We have one
After a less than stellar history as a student, in high school and in college, Justin Mathes began working in education by tutoring youth at various schools, now he is a middle school principal. This is a story for people who need to find what they really, really want to do. For more on Principal Mathes, click here.
It’s the start of the school year which means the unofficial end of summer. Even though warm weeks are still ahead, use this change in routine to refresh your job search.
Employers are hiring! In fact, there are 6,400+ jobs in the Grand Rapids area available right now on mitalent.org. Here are some ways to help you get started:
Turn your job search into a job. Create a routine that works with your schedule. Repeat it every week day, just like a job. Wake up at the same time every day, shower and get dressed. Block a couple of hours to dedicate to job search tasks like: applying for jobs with a custom cover letter, tweaking your resume, scheduling informational interviews and attending free workshops.
Take advantage of free resources. Find free online trainings that will help you sharpen some of your skills. Take a workshop at a service center. Check out your library’s event calendar. This time is an opportunity for you to gain new skills. Make sure to mention the new skills you’ve learned in cover letters and interviews.
Make a new connection. Find an event to attend or professional development opportunity. Research companies you’d like to learn more about. Contact an employee for an informational interview. The interview is a chance for you to ask questions without the pressure of a job offer. Sometimes it leads to interviews, but it always leads to a new connection!
Not quite ready to restart the job search? Seasonal job hiring is right around the corner. Brush up on why these jobs are great for your resume:
By Terry Gibb, Michigan State University Extension
Water makes up 75 percent of the Earth’s surface; the human body is 60 percent water. We use water every day. And then we discard it down the drain to . . . WHERE?
According to the Michigan 21st Infrastructure report, 70 percent of Michigan homes and businesses are connected to a municipal sewer system that collects the dirty water in huge underground pipes, takes it to a treatment plant where it is cleaned, filtered and sanitized before being sent back into local water bodies for reuse.
That leaves 30 percent of homes and businesses that use another system for waste water treatment. For these, onsite wastewater (septic) systems are the only option because a municipal sewer system is too costly to connect to or not available.
What do you know about your waste water treatment?
Are you on a septic or municipal system?
Where is your septic tank and drain field located?
When was the last time you had your septic system inspected?
Do you have a drinking water well?
Is your well near your septic system?
What are some easy actions to protect your septic system from failure and your wellhead from contamination?
Many home and business owners don’t realize there is a problem with their septic system or well until it becomes a major one. A failed system can cost the owner thousands of dollars to repair, if it is even possible, or replace.
Michigan State University Extension is hosting a live webinar, “Septic (Onsite Wastewater) System Maintenance and Wellhead Protection” on Thursday, Sept. 20 from 3 to 4 p.m. This program will cover what a septic system is, how it works, best management practices to protect the system, how to identify trouble in the system, steps to take if a problem occurs and alternative system options. It also will include basic information about drinking water wellhead protection. The presentations will be followed by a live question and answer session via the chat box.
You will receive a confirmation email with login instructions upon registration. Registration is available right up until the webinar begins but please allow additional time to connect to the webinar.
One of the most frequent complaints women have about midlife and menopause is trouble sleeping.
Although not every woman walks through my office door saying, “My problem is poor sleep,” quite a few do.
Many talk about their sleeping issues in other ways. What they say usually goes something like this:
“I am so irritable, I do not like myself.”
“I cannot seem to remember anything.”
“Why am I so tired?”
But I know the real problem is they are either not sleeping well or enough.
Sleep disturbances are common and have many causes. And, although I am not a sleep doctor, I have learned about sleep during midlife and menopause.
First of all, just before your periods, the hormone drop can cause little night sweats, which disturb sleep just enough to be noticeable. Many women also describe falling asleep without any problems, but then waking up between 1:30 a.m. and 2 a.m. and not being able to fall back asleep.
Does this scenario sound familiar? If so, keep reading.
Your normal sleep consists of cycles that vary between deep sleep and light sleep. When you are in light sleep, you can usually get yourself back into deep sleep without waking. However, in midlife and menopause, you are more likely to be awakened by a full bladder, your bed partner’s snoring or a little hot flash.
Unfortunately, once you are awake and alert, your brain tends to go into overdrive: “Oh, no, I’m awake—what if I can’t get back to sleep? I have a big day tomorrow, and I have so many things to do. There’s that big presentation, cookies for John’s class and my mom’s doctor’s appointment.”
The worry machine goes into high gear and the adrenaline starts flowing.
Here’s how to fix the problem. Get out of bed, go to the bathroom, get a drink of water and go to a quiet spot in your home (not the bedroom) to practice metered breathing.
First, find a comfortable spot with just enough light so it is not totally dark. Glance at the clock so you can keep track of the time. The goal is five minutes. After you are comfortable, close your mouth, open your eyes and find a focal point—a spot on the wall or anything fixed and neutral. As Baron Baptiste says, “By focusing on one spot, it will send soothing messages to your mind.”
Then, just breathe through your nose, not deep or forced. Just be and breathe, focusing on the sound of your breath for five minutes. If you think of something that is worrying you, it’s OK. Focus for a second on the thought and then let it go.
Then go back to bed. If you find you can’t go back to sleep, get back up, go to your spot and repeat the metered breathing. It may take your body several times to retrain. Just be patient.
In addition to metered breathing, keep in mind the Seven Essential Elements of Daily Success (SEEDS) that will help you sleep better and be ready for your day. Not doing these things will trigger more night sweats.
Drink plenty of water
Get plenty of sleep
Take your vitamins daily
Eat a balanced diet with minimal sugar, caffeine and alcohol several hours before bed
Exercise regularly
Eat plenty of fiber
Start a gratitude journal
If you have tried the metered breathing and all of the SEEDS, and you’re still having trouble sleeping, it may be time to consult with a Spectrum Health Medical Group sleep specialist. Remember, sleep is everything.
Which is better? Fast food or sit-down meals? You might be surprised. (Courtesy Spectrum Health Beat)
By Spectrum Health Beat
We admit it. Most of the items in a grocery store bewilder us. We have no idea what to do with them.
We also know beyond a shadow of a doubt there’s no Julia Child or Martha Stewart gene in our DNA profiles.
And while we don’t feel destined for the drive-thru, we do eat out. A lot.
So just what are the health implications for those of us who eat this way?
At least one study finds fast food is actually no worse for your health than full-service restaurant meals.
In fact, diners consume more sodium in sit-down restaurants than they do in fast-food joints.
Regular restaurant meals also scored the worst on cholesterol content, containing an average of 58 milligrams of extra cholesterol compared with home-cooked meals. Fast-food meals only contained an extra 10 milligrams of cholesterol, the researchers said.
This doesn’t mean fast food is good for us, said Jessica Corwin, MPH, RDN, dietitian and community nutrition educator for Spectrum Health Healthier Communities, “it just means that certain fast food items can be the lesser of two evils when compared to restaurant items.”
Excess sodium, in the form of salt, poses a risk for high blood pressure and heart disease. Elevated cholesterol also hurts heart health.
To compare eating habits in different settings, the research team sifted through seven years of data collected by the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
Nearly 18,100 American adults were asked on two occasions to describe the meals they consumed in the preceding 24 hours.
If you’re watching your weight, eating at home wins out, hands down. The study found that on average, people who frequent fast-food places and full-service restaurants consumed nearly 200 additional calories compared to those who cook their meals at home.
An upside of dining in restaurants? The meals are actually healthier than fast-food meals or home-cooked meals when it comes to containing certain key vitamins (B6, vitamin E, vitamin K, copper and zinc), as well as potassium and omega-3 fatty acids.
“People do fuel up with more nutrient-packed meals at restaurants,” Corwin said. “But the added nutrition comes with more salt and cholesterol. That’s the downside.”
Food rules: An eater’s guide
Whether eating at home or out, choose fresh, seasonal, locally-grown, whole foods whenever possible, cooked from scratch. Granted, this isn’t always realistic for today’s hectic lives of dual working parents, Corwin acknowledges.
For days when we need to rely on ready-to-eat (or ready-to-heat) options, whether fast food, takeout or restaurant fare, here’s what she says to look for:
Foods or entrees that include fresh, steamed, baked, or grilled vegetables and lean meats
Fruits, vegetables, green salads with lean protein, and broth-based, beans or lentil soups.
Key words like grilled, fresh, baja, lean, baked, steamed
Size—choose the small option when available, or a kids meal for a smaller portion, with apple slices in place of the fries and a small milk or water rather than a soda or juice
“It’s tough to go wrong when you aim for the basics, with foods as close to the source as possible,” Corwin said. “A grilled chicken or bean-based salad with a balsamic/olive oil vinaigrette served on the side is a winner. I prefer an olive oil-based dressing over a low-fat or fat-free dressing as manufacturers tend to crank up the sugar as they remove the fat.”
Case in point? McDonald’s Newman’s Own low-fat sesame ginger dressing has more than 2 teaspoons of added sugars in a single 1.5 fluid ounce packet.
Finally, we should remember that ‘the customer is always right’ and speak up to ask for what we want, Corwin said.
“Ask for your burger to be served without the special sauce and cheese, choose a small chili over the large, or request that your chicken be grilled and your potato come without the extra salt, sour cream and butter,” she suggested.
If nothing else, she said, ask for the extras to be served on the side.
“That way you are the one in the driver’s seat, determining just how much will be added to your plate,” Corwin added.
Confronting a loved one about dementia can be a daunting task. While increasing awareness of dementia symptoms has led to earlier diagnoses, many individuals and families fall into a state of denial. As a result, the disease is left to fester until it has progressed significantly. If you’re concerned that a loved one may have dementia, don’t wait. Addressing dementia may be a sore point for your loved one, but it’s the best thing you can do for their well-being. Consider approaching the topic with these tips in mind.
Response
The idea of receiving a dementia diagnosis can trigger a powerful response. Often, the possibility of having dementia can cause extreme anxiety. Defense mechanisms such as minimization of impairments, avoidance of discussing the problem, or vagueness and circumstantiality when forced to do so are a common way of coping. At times it can be overwhelmingly frustrating when your faced with a negative or nonexistent reaction, but it’s worth tackling the issues to be able to see a loved one have a better quality of life.
Although a defensive reaction is a natural and common response, many have the opposite reaction to being confronted about dementia. A study done by West J. Med found that most of the participants with dementia declared they would like to know what was wrong with them or wished to get more information. Additionally, participants in this group engaged with doctors on ways to improve their current situation.
Communications Strategies
So why not take a proactive approach and start the appropriate dialog? Here are some ways to let them know your concerns:
Plan. Finding the optimal time to have the conversation is a crucial component for making the discussion a success. You want to be able to find a time that works with everyone’s schedule, this way you can properly focus on the conversation. Something to keep in mind when confronting dementia is that an approach that works for someone else might not work for you. Each plan needs to be customized to meet the needs of the individual.
Set a Goal. When you start to prepare for this type of conversation, it’s important to set goals. Deciding what your goals should be based what outcome you’re hoping to achieve. For example, are you trying to bring awareness to your loved one, are you trying to push them to seek medical advice, or is it time to discuss assistance and care needs?
Express Concern and Reassurance. Fear is a familiar emotion when facing a dementia diagnosis. One of the most important things we can do when talking to a loved is making sure they know your mission is to help and make sure they are okay.
Body Language. Being aware of your body language can make a massive difference in conversations success. One’s body language affects the overall atmosphere during your conversation. For example, crossing your arms or raising one’s eyebrow can be confrontational. Instead try opening your arms, softening your voice, and making eye contact.
Do Your Research. If you suspect that a loved one may have a memory loss condition, do your research. Be aware of the symptom by becoming familiar with what they look like and how they manifest. If you need additional information, there are many resources on the internet, library, and dementia helplines. However, visiting their general practitioner or another medical professional who works with them for help is the best option.
Understanding how to connect and communicate with our loved ones can be challenging, especially if they are suffering from a memory loss impairment. As a bystander, you might have conflicting feelings whether it’s your place to bring up it up, even if they are loved one. However, proactively addressing a debilitating illness such as dementia early on is better than addressing it when it’s too late.
Her son, Parker, was falling asleep in the car. He couldn’t stay awake during movies. He was failing his third-grade classes.
“His grades did not reflect what we saw his potential would be,” she said. “And I guess that’s kind of where I thought something was wrong.”
Parker’s school thought he might suffer from attention deficit disorder, better known as ADD, but Christina disagreed. She used to work in a hospital and the symptoms didn’t align with her understanding of ADD.
Christina and her husband, Phillip, paid for private testing.
“The psychologist doing the testing said, ‘His IQ did not come back as high as we were expecting. I’ve seen this in the other kids that have sleep apnea,’” Christina recalled.
The psychologist referred the family to John Schuen, MD, a pediatric pulmonologist with Spectrum Health’s Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital, for further testing. Sure enough, a sleep study showed Parker had sleep apnea.
Dr. Schuen recommended two things: surgically removing Parker’s uppermost tonsils, called adenoids, and putting Parker on a CPAP, a machine that helps certain patients sleep.
“His grades went from failing to straight A’s,” Christina said. “His brain was really shutting down from being so tired, so fatigued. …Within a week of being on CPAP, he was like a brand new kid.”
What is sleep apnea?
Sleep apnea is a disorder in which the patient’s breathing stops and starts throughout the night, which disrupts sleep. It affects children and adults in different ways: Children often experience behavioral issues, and adults often struggle with daytime fatigue.
“Clues that give parents a hint is kids’ snoring, gasping, pausing when they breathe, mouth-breathing, odd noises in the middle of sleep like coughing or choking … unusual noises like that,” Dr. Schuen said. “Sometimes there are morning headaches. When I say morning headaches, I mean they have headaches that wake them up in the middle of the night or upon waking up right away in the morning.”
There are two types of sleep apnea, Dr. Schuen said. Central sleep apnea is when the brain doesn’t tell the body to breathe.
The more common version, obstructive sleep apnea, is when the patient tries to breath, but something is blocking or obstructing the airwaves. Hence, the name.
About 10 percent of children struggle with persistent, nightly snoring, a sign of sleep apnea. About 3 to 5 percent have obstructive sleep apnea, Dr. Schuen said.
“When kids have obstructive sleep apnea, the most common reason behind the apnea is large tonsils and adenoids,” Dr. Schuen said. “Tonsils and adenoids look like golf balls in the back of your throat. The adenoids, (the uppermost tonsils), sit right above roof of your mouth. You can’t see them without special tools.”
Obesity, which leads to rings of fat in the throat or chest, can also cause obstructive apnea, Dr. Schuen said. But that didn’t apply to Parker.
When children exhibit possible symptoms of apnea, Dr. Schuen orders a sleep study.
“The study is this: We have specially designed rooms to help promote a good night’s sleep and let parents sleep next to the child in the same room,” Dr. Schuen said. “In the pediatric sleep laboratory, our sleep tech places different gizmos and gadgets on the infant or child or teen that let us assess what’s going on during sleep. During the course of the sleep study, we’ll measure an amazing amount of information: 16 different channels look at brain waves, the stage of sleep, how often they wake up, when they wake up, oxygen and carbon dioxide levels, and the sleep positions they’re in when possible apnea events occur.”
“And if they’re not breathing properly, we can determine the type of apnea and how often these events occur.”
Normal people tend to have four to six sleep cycles per night and will wake in between, Dr. Schuen said, but “you’re only awake a millisecond and don’t fully appreciate the fact that you’re awake—then, boom, back to sleep.”
But those with moderate sleep apnea can awake five times per hour, while severe sufferers can have 10 or more micro-arousals per hour.
“With apnea … particularly in kids, they might not always even awaken from sleep,” he said. “But because their oxygenation may suffer, their carbon dioxide levels may rise, or they may just shift their stage of sleep. It deprives them of good sleep.”
Sleep is closely tied to IQ and brain function. A recent study showed that kids who ate seafood slept better, and then performed nearly five points better on IQ tests.
During the daytime, kids who suffer from OSA may include “academic difficulties, problems paying attention, impulsivity and rarely, sleepiness,” Dr. Schuen said.
‘A dramatic improvement’
The sleep study showed Parker suffered from moderate to severe sleep apnea.
In July, Parker had his adenoids removed—“the typical solution,” Dr. Schuen said—but his apnea didn’t improve. Parker still struggled with focus issues and his behavior late in the day deteriorated.
Dr. Schuen ordered a second sleep study in September, which showed Parker still suffered from obstructive apnea.
He decided to put Parker on CPAP, a machine with a nasal mask that’s held in place by headgear. The mask is hooked up to a hose, which pushes air through the lungs and opens up the airways while the user sleeps.
The results for Parker were nearly instantaneous. Within a week, Christina said, Parker’s academic performance and attitude changed.
“He’s just a better child all the way around,” she said. “His behavior is better. He was acting out during that time, and that’s gone away. He was having some anger, especially toward the evening, and that has gone away. He’s sleeping all night long. Before he’d get up several times a night, but not anymore.
“And he can tell, if he goes somewhere and can’t use the CPAP, he comes home and says, ‘I need to wear the CPAP.’ He can tell the difference.”
Parker shared that he often fell asleep in class and couldn’t pay attention.
“I was so tired all the time,” he said. “Now I can stay focused longer. … I can concentrate for an hour now. It used to be 10 minutes.”
Parker loves extreme mountain biking with his father. He enjoys math and gym class. He can tell his body has changed with better sleep.
“I like gym because we get to run around and do fun stuff,” he said. “But I couldn’t really run as fast as everybody because I was so tired.”
Christina, who also suffers from sleep apnea, uses a CPAP machine just like her son. She notices similar improvements when wearing it.
“When I do wear it, I feel like I have more energy,” she said. “When I don’t wear it, I’m really cranky in the morning, even after a full night’s sleep.”
Parker says it’s a relief to no longer struggle in school.
“It made me feel really happy that I’m actually good at something,” he said. “Because I didn’t get much sleep, I couldn’t focus. It was messing me up.”
Learn more about the nationally-recognized pediatric pulmonology and sleep medicine program at Spectrum Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital.
WKTV’s 2018-19 high school sports coverage starts with prep football season opening night action at Godwin Heights High School as new head coach Brandon Kimble leads the Wolverines onto the field for the first time. (Don’t forget your sunglasses as the sun sets!)
WKTV interviewed Coach Kimble this summer; he talked football, mentoring young people, and more.
WKTV will cover all the local football teams in the first six weeks, including Tri-Unity Christian’s 8-man football team, before we start covering the best game available in October. Next week’s game will be the Thursday, Aug. 30, clash of Ashley at Tri-Unity Christian (8-man football at 5651 Gezon Court Wyoming.)
These and other sports events are cable broadcast either live, immediately after the event and/or in rebroadcast, on Comcast WKTV Channel 25 and on AT&T U-Verse Community 99.
WKTV’s featured football games on the night of the game (Thursday or Friday) at 11 p.m. and Saturday starting at 11 a.m. See WKTVjournal.org/sports weekly for complete feature broadcast schedules.
WKTV’s coverage of high school sports and select community events are also available on-demand within a week of the event at wktvondemand.com.
The complete local high school sports schedule through the end of the month is as follows:
Monday, Aug. 20
Boys / Girls Cross Country
East Kentwood @ Muskegon Orchard View
Boys Tennis
@ Wyoming – David Bentley Tournament
Kelloggsville @ Union
Boys Soccer
Wyoming @ Hudsonville Christian
Hudsonville Hornets @ Tri-Unity Christian
South Christian @ Holland Christian
West Michigan Aviation @ Union
Potter’s House @ Calvin Christian
Tuesday, Aug. 21
Boys Tennis
Catholic Central @ East Kentwood – Quad
Girls Volleyball
Caledonia @ East Kentwood
Wyoming Lee @ Potter’s House
Girls Swimming
East Kentwood@ Jenison
Boys / Girls Cross Country
Godwin Heights @ Kent City
Kelloggsville @ Kent City
South Christian @ St. Joe
Boys Soccer
Ottawa Hills @ Kelloggsville
Tri-County @ Wyoming Lee
Wednesday, Aug. 22
Girls Golf
South Christian @ East Kentwood
Holland @ Wyoming
Boys Soccer
East Kentwood @ Portage Northern
Godwin Heights @ Union
Zeeland West @ Wyoming
Calvin Christian @ South Christian
Zion Christian @ Kalamazoo Christian
Boys Tennis
Wyoming @ Holland
Kelloggsville @ Calvin Christian
Unity Christian @ South Christian
Boys / Girls Cross Country
Wyoming Lee @ Hesperia – Baker Woods Invitational
Thursday, Aug. 23
Girls Volleyball
East Grand Rapids @ South Christian
Tri-Unity Christian @ Godwin Heights
Wellsprings Prep @ Kelloggsville
Wyoming Lee @ West Michigan Aviation
Boys Soccer
East Kentwood @ Holland
Grand River Prep @ Kelloggsville
Wyoming Lee @ West Michigan Aviation
Tri-Unity Christian @ Hope Academy of West Michigan
Muskegon Catholic Central @ Zion Christian
Boys Football
Hamilton @ Godwin Heights – WKTV Featured Event
South Christian @ Greenville
Olivet @ Calvin Christian/Potter’s House
Boys / Girls Cross Country
Grand River Prep @ Kelloggsville – Rocket Invitational
