Gloria Ferris

Since my heart attacks, strokes and cancer two years ago,  I have paid much more attention to the role vitamins play in good health. Recently due to problems with muscle weakness and muscle pain, which I believe is due to a serious side effect from the statins—crestor and Lipitor, I have been taking. I have become very aware of Vitamin C’s role in heart health.

Now, today,  I read this article on Vitamin D’s role in cancer prevention, heart health and diabetes control.  At my six month check up, my primary doctor and cardiologist both said that my vitamin levels, enzymes and cholestrol readings were at good levels.  Next time, I intend to ask questions about the meaning of that sentence “What is good?” and “how could we enhance those levels”?  Vitamin K and I are already very good friends since the control of my intake of that vitamin is vital to my INR level remaining stable.  INR readings are used to make sure that your blood level stays within an acceptable range for clotting, and too much or not enough Vitamin K can alter those readings.  Obviously, Vitamin C and D are very beneficial to the health of the human body as well as the mind and spirit.  Optimally, getting Vitamin C thru diet is an option, but the “sunshine” vitamin not so much.  How could supplementing our bodies with these vitamins hurt us? Other questions I will ask my doctors’  are: What is the role of  the enzyme COQ10 in heart health  and how can I boost my body’s quotient?

May I suggest you ask your doctor these questions as well?  Granted, we have life giving drugs that can help us when  we are gravely ill,  but shouldn’t “healthy lifestyle” questions be part of every conversation with our doctors as we strive to become healthier and less dependent on “our drug culture”? It remains a mystery to me that our vitamin levels are based on studies made in the 30’s and 40’s when our society was much more agrarian in nature and the need to supplement vitamins was probably not the same as today in a fast paced world with little time for the outdoors and well balanced meals.  If this is not an endorsement for the ”local food” economy, I am not sure where else we could find one.  If we are to become the “healthy” society we can be, it starts with our conversations with our doctors and nurse practitioners.   I’m not sure that I am comfortable with a government agency relying on studies of sixty years ago and pharma companies dependent on the drugs they sell for revenue deciding how my doctor and I should control “my health”.  Are you?      

Two years ago today I started a journey that not only changed my life, but also the lives of my family and friends. Looking back, it seems hardly possible that two years have passed since that eventful day.  When I woke up in December after spending 20 days in ICU, I could not walk, use my left hand, or stay awake for more than a few hours.

Days, weeks, and months went by and I although some days the steps seemed very small I continued to progress . My amazing friends and family have stuck by me the whole way.The staff at MetroHealth everyone included still tell me at every opportunity that if anyone was going to pull through they thought it would be me because of the wonderful support group that called, visited, and sat by my side during my recovery.

And, that brings me to the perspective  of my post today—friends. Before going further, I want to explain that family are friends and friends are family.  The two have been interchangeable all my life.  My mother fostered that mindset from the time I was small. Since I was an only child, she made sure that I was surrounded by cousins and friends on weekends and in the summer so that I would not become bored and the handful that I could sometimes be.  Ask Tim, he can tell you a few of m “brat” stories as he call them.

When facing a health crisis, I cannot stress enough how important a support system becomes and is.  I am not going to chronicle those important people in this post because I wouldn’t do anyone justice, but I am sure that through the coming years I will write about many of them and those i don’t will know that the reason I do not write  a vignette about them is probably because the connection is cherished in my heart and I feel I do not have the words to properly express the encounter.

Being a friend to someone who is facing a chronic illness can be a challenge, but not if we each realize that one in three of us will face such an illness or be a bystander to someone we love faces the challenges of a health crisis.  Dropping a card in the mail, stopping for a visit at the hospital, taking a meal for everyone to share when the patient comes home , many, many things that take a lot of time or just a smidgen of time can make someone’s day brighter and sunnier.  I know because my days have been much fuller and richer by the random acts of kindness that I have received from friends.

Two years later, they are still supporting me with words of encouragement, conversations over coffee, and including me in projects and decisions they are making so that I can forget my limitations and focus on the possibilities of my life.    

The kickoff rally for the health and human services Renewal Levy will be12:30 pm at MetroHealth today.  This is a renewal and will not raise taxes but will continue services at  the  current level.  This levy is essential for people who need the miraculous services of MetroHealth (me),  the Alcohol and Mental Health Board,  reentry programs,children’s services, and too many others to name here  

Being a child of the Sixties, I have aged with this Hubert Humphrey quote in my mind :

“It was once said that the moral test of government is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life, the sick, the needy and the handicapped.”

and  The Golden Rule: 

¹²So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12

   I believe all religions  have a form of  The Golden Rule , and therefore, religious or not, we should be able to come together to support  our brothers and sisters that need us myself included.

I will be watching to see which county council candidates rise to the occasion and support a large chunk of the core mission of county government, not with words but with action.

I don’t think quoting the last paragraph of Glenn Close’s article on Huffington Post detracts from her insightful writing and knowledge of an illness that needs to be brought out of the darkness and into the light if we are going to find a solution together. Here it is in its entirety.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that by the year 2020 mental illness will be the second leading cause of death and disability. Every society will have to confront the issue. The question is, will we face it with open honesty or silence?

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/glenn-close/mental-illness-the-stigma_b_328591.html

We have certainly been aware of the magnitude of the mental illness issue for some time now.  When states agreed with human rights organizations and others that the bulk of patients locked up in institutions had no place there and could take their places in society, it was not out of compassion and the understanding that care would still be needed for these individuals outside ivy-covered walls, but rather it was seen as a cost-cutting measure to states’ budgets.

At the same time, insurance companies’ saw that mental health benefits were a back breaker to employer-backed insurance plans. Insurance plans with mental health benefits were almost nonexistent for individuals. Health care for mentally ill individuals  and support for their families became more and more elusive while our prisons often became the place of last resort because treatment options are so finite.

A caregiver at MetroHealth told me recently that a person who should be admitted to the psychiatric unit of the hospital must  have insurance, be rated, or have Medicaid BEFORE admittance.  It is the only area with such a requirement.  So, when a mental illness issue is identified, the person is instructed to come back to the hospital for a rating, and then, they will be admitted. How often do you think that person returns, gets a rating, and is admitted? What if you were the family member that finally convinced the person to seek help? How do you think everyone copes? 

Almost thirty years later, mental health budgets in the state of Ohio have taken direct hits as a budget cost-cutting measure. We as a nation continue to push this real issue back into the darkness as national suicide rates soar. In reality, the violence of mental illness is usually self-inflicted.  Rarely, is it focused outward and seldom do wives”blow away” the  “perp”.

One of the challenges for someone who needs to watch each bite that enters her mouth is to find recipes that are low fat,low in sodium AND controls the amount of Vitamin K she eats.  Basically, dining has become eating, and eating has become BORING.  Just recently I have been able to cook some again myself which is a great relief to Tim.  He has become rather tired of his “Martha” role.

Tonight I decided to try something different.  I went to the refrigerator to see what we had.  I found skinless chicken breasts, a tomato, green pepper, onions, mushrooms.  I then walked over to the computer and punched in the ingredients plus recipe.  It came back with a recipe for a saute recipe .  I am not competent with “top of the stove”  cooking yet, but my chopping skills are actually better than they were before my strokes.  So, I improvised.

I am sure this still could be “top of the stove, but my baked version at 400 degrees 45 minutes was quite tasty-stir once. I added a few herbs to the basic recipe to make it a bit spicier.  I am sure that you too could use some of your favorite herb combinations as well.

4 skinless Chicken breasts, one large tomato reserve two slices, one large green pepper, one medium onion, one pound mushrooms

Chop all ingredients into large bowl.  Drizzle three T Light Olive oil over top.  Add 1 tsp. sea salt, 1 tsp. pepper,1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. minced garlic, 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, Six tsp. basil dried or 2 sprigs fresh basil.  Toss together mixing well.

Spray 9×13 casserole with Olive oil lightly. Place in oven.  Prepare your favorite rice.

Cook’s note:  You could use 1/3 cu. chicken broth reduced fat or low sodium or both for liquid but it is not necessary.  Veggies without are more grilled like.   Fresh garlic would be a plus for someone who can eat fresh garlic.  That is not me.

  Remember the two reserved tomato slices.  Chop and add as garnish before serving.

I am actually looking forward to leftovers tomorrow.