We all have our reasons for wanting to work on taking care of ourselves. For some, the list may be short, for others, long. But the bottom line, make it your list. Make that list be what is important to you. What do you want form your life? What do you want to accomplish? What do you want to be remembered for? Our lists can be as individual as we want it to be. My list always comes back to the basics: My family! I want to be around for them. I want to be a part of their lives. We have a lot of things to do yet, and I don’t want to miss out on anything. Now more than ever in this COVID pandemic, we need to take of ourselves. You need to take care of yourself!
This is easier said than done! The vaccine is now available, but limited. The Department of Health is following protocols and phases of distribution to get it out, but it will take time. We will all get a turn. But we need to be patient. What gets to me is listening to all of the anti-vaccine people just going off with all of their reasons to not take it. All I can say is: If you don’t want it, don’t take it! But then be quiet! I don’t need to hear you on Facebook or anywhere else 10 times a day ranting and raving about all the bad things about vaccines in general. If you don’t want it, don’t take it, and then shut up! Every one has a choice. Let those who want it, get it. I for one am taking it. I am at higher risk since my health problems a year ago, but am also at higher risk because I see it everyday! I see what COVID does. I see how people are when they come down with it. It is not just a “simple virus”. So when I hear people spewing out garbage about how it is not that big of a deal, or how the vaccine is worse than the virus itself, I just shut them out. You are free to make your own choice. Good luck with that, and good luck to everybody in your family as well.
Sarah and I work everyday trying to help take care of people. We are doing the best we can under the current circumstances. We certainly do not have all of the answers, but when solutions do come up, like the vaccine, then take it, or take your chances. I am definitely going to take it. If I don’t take it, how would I expect my patients to take it! I want to be around to see more of what life has to offer. I have a lot more pictures to take of sunsets and sunrises. I am in awe of the beauty that God truly has created. We just have to pay attention to what we see. Every one of them is different!
I pay attention more now than I every have. Whether I am out driving, walking, or running. I am seeing more than what I used to see. It was always there, I just did not have time for it! Make the time! Time really does go fast!
Spend time with those that are the closest to you. Make friends along the way. Every day is a new adventure. Appreciate the positives in your day. You never know what might happen, or what you might see!
Sarah and I were out running a week ago in the morning, and I had my phone with me. The sun was rising, and just like that, the colors in the sky opened up. I stopped to take some pictures. Later when I was looking at them closer, I realized I got the sun and the moon in this shot. I had them separate in several other pictures, but this was the one with both. Even then I missed it. Sometimes we have to keep looking at something to understand all of it, or better yet, to really see all of it! Pay attention! Many of the times it is right in front of us!
So control what you can to take care of yourself! Help you help yourself. Stay active, eat better, and do things that in general are going to help you be protected. Don’t make it more complicated than it is. Life is challenging enough! Enjoy the ride for as long as we can! Keep moving everybody!
Healthy Holidays! Wait that doesn’t sound right, does it? We all know that it’s hard to stay healthy during the holidays that fill the fall & winter months. Halloween sugar followed by carb and calorie dense Thanksgiving, then Christmas gatherings with family, friends, & festive foods. Here are some tips to help you through the festivities.
* Don’t skip meals: continue to have a balanced schedule, even though you want to save your appetite for the BIG meal, still eat a small breakfast or lunch that is rich in protein, low fat, and full of fiber.
* Reduce butter & other fats: fats add extra calories, so reducing them will help to reduce amount of calories in the holiday meal.
* Focus on Mindful Eating vs Mindless Eating: eat because you’re hungry, not because everyone else is—think about your hunger and fullness, try new foods being served, but enjoy what you are eating.
* Go for nutrient dense foods: sweet potatoes vs. regular potatoes, veggie tray vs. cheese/cracker tray, fruit vs. cookie/pies.
* Take a walk with the family or do an activity together between the meal and dessert.
*Most of all- enjoy your time with your loved ones! Merry Christmas! -Kelsey
Where can you make a difference? Who can you make a difference for? I know we make a difference at home with our retriever Dakota! She just wants to be with us. She does not care what time of day it is, or what is going on, she just wants to be with us. I have said many times we could all learn some things from a dog!
We are all struggling these days. COVID has truly brought out a lot of bad things in people, as well as a lot of sad things. We are all in this together. What can you do with what there is? Can you act better? Be kinder? Care about other people in your community?
I had some patients of mine, Mike and Paula, who dropped off a food tray on Friday this week to our care team. With it was a note of appreciation for all we are doing to help take care of people. I can’t tell you how much that meant to us! Instead of hearing about what we may not be doing, it was nice to hear something good once! It was appreciated more than you can know! And, there was enough food that we shared it with everybody who works at the clinic! Thank you!
I try to keep encouraging our clinic staff to keep going! We are there to help people, and we are making a difference. Maybe not everybody appreciates it, but we are making a difference!
A shout out to my son-in-law Tanner, as well as his Dad, Bob, and his brother Brad. Everybody pitched in to help build our new TV cabinet. I spent one weekend with them on the farm helping with this, and then we started installing in our living room Friday night, and got down by noon Saturday. It looks great! They do an incredible job with building. If any mistakes show, that was my part!
We could all learn a lot from this too. All those little things add up to something much bigger. Don’t lose sight of the future. This pandemic will be done some day. We just need to keep being as safe as we can, while living our lives, until this is over. We all need to keep making a difference. Pay attention to the world around us. I know I am definitely taking advantage of seeing things differently these days, no matter where I am. I definitely take the time to appreciate things more out on a run, or a walk.
The frost on the trees was so pretty to look at. Everything was highlighted. It made it once again to help forget about all of the turmoil going on in this world. Focus on now. One day at a time. Focus on what you can do to make a difference during this time. Our run group this AM took our picture out on the sleigh in town today!
Be safe. Spend time with those close to you. Take care of you, and others where you can. That goes for all of us, not just those in the medical field. We can all make a difference in this regards. This can all make us become better.
And remember, one person can make a difference. And, we should all try! Keep taking one day at a time. And, keep moving everybody!
Diabetes Support Group is Monday night and I will be your speaker!! Come join me to learn more about nutrition tips for the holidays! It is open to anyone–those with diabetes and support people! Please see the details below!
December 14 6-7 p.m.
Prairie Lakes Medical Office Building Conference Room: 401 9th Avenue NW Watertown, SD 57201
Participants must wear a mask to enter the facility.
Attendance is limited at these in-person events, so please RSVP here as these slots will fill up fast: https://www.prairielakes.com/…/diabetes-support-group.html
This is Sarah and I with our gear on whenever we have somebody coming into the clinic we need to see with symptoms of COVID. The patients are all screened at the door. If a fever, or symptoms of COVID, our nurses are notified to get them back to a certain room. We always have masks on to see all of patients since this pandemic started, but if they have symptoms, we gear up with everything else we have available to us. You don’t realize how hot and restrictive this stuff can be until you get to have it on the majority of the day.
This is my face after just the morning. All red, lines embedded in my cheeks. I have extra padding put in the nose section of my mask to help take the pressure off of my nose. It still hurts! Typical days are 10-12 hours a day at clinic by the time we get things done.
Sarah with her nurse Carly. There is a continuous rotation of putting patients in a room. Depending on what they are being seen for, gowns will go on, then off, back on, back off again. We are still taking care of all of the other health problems that come in as well, not just COVID. COVID is just throwing a gigantic wrench into everything, and the time involved seeing these patients, sanitizing, wearing our protective gear, and trying to keep them away from otherwise non COVID patients is a giant task in and of itself. So before anybody judges us, come on over and help. It is just much easier to complain. I am stating right now we have a great, and dedicated, staff. We are there to help, and I think we are all doing a fantastic job! We are all tired. We are all working long hours. Some days never seem to end. Then you get up the next morning and go do it again. Mayor Caron and the Watertown City Council have helped create a program called: Do It For Us! It is a means to get the word out for everybody to help us help you! Wear a mask! Stay at least 6 feet away from others who do not live with you! Wash your hands!
Each precaution may not be perfect at preventing spread, but they all add up to make a difference. Help us make a difference! By slowing the spread, we will help our healthcare workers. We can all do this together. We are there to help take care of you. We are asking you to help us! We can’t do it alone anymore. The first line of defense against this virus has to be from everybody else doing their part, not from us.
A typical day with my nurse Chris. She has been with me since I started at Brown Clinic 26 years ago. I would be lost without her!
We are a team working together. But, our entire clinic staff is working as a team to help during this pandemic. We still have all of the other health issues people have to be seen for, but when you now throw in COVID, we only have so many hours in a day. Our staff gets sick too. Even though we are doing everything we can to minimize the risk, when you are in the middle of it everyday, eventually we are going to get sick. If we can’t be there, then there is just that many less people to help take care of everybody else, and everybody suffers with that. We can’t work sick, and we won’t work sick. We are trying to take care of people, not spread it! We have strict clinic guidelines we follow if any of us come down with symptoms. First thing I do each morning is get a report on who is here, and who is not. What options do we have to have other people fill in, and where. Who is covering for who? Times when we may have had help doing things, we don’t anymore, and now we do it ourselves. That all takes more time…time away from actually seeing more people. So again, help us help you. If you “Do It For Us”, you are doing for yourself, and everybody else as well.
My scheduler Michelle sitting off in a far corner down the hall spending much of her day on the phone. When she does have to go in to schedule a patient before they leave, she is prepared too. We all follow the same guidelines. We all have a role to play. When any of us are gone, somebody else has to fill in the gap. We have so many contingency plans in place already when it comes to the number of staff we may have out, how many hours we can keep going, where we will see patients, etc. We have to had to adjust on the fly continuously. Everyday we have people that are rude, upset, and yes, they may be sick…I get it. We are doing everything we can. We have people call and complain that they won’t come in if we don’t mandate all patients wearing a mask, and the next call is somebody threatening that they will not come back if we mandate wearing a mask. We discussed having a mask mandate, but gave up on it when our people at the front door could not keep up with the abuse anymore. I GIVE UP!!!!! We screen everybody at the door. If they have symptoms or a fever, and they don’t have a mask, they are given one. If they refuse, then they can leave. We don’t have time for this. Families of patients, even other physicians, have called to complain about anything related to a mask. Do you not get it? Everybody thinks they have a better plan, yet the most simple one of wearing a mask can’t even be done!
So before everybody complains about how uncomfortable a mask it to wear, come spend the day with us, and then you can really have something to say about it. We are there for you. HELP US HELP YOU! DO IT FOR US!!! Like it or not, we are all in this together. We have had many people die from this already. Do the right thing, and take politics out of the equation. We don’t have time for this! It is time everybody acts like they care about somebody else. Prove it! I want to make sure everybody continues to do what I close every one of my blog posts with: Keep moving everybody! Let’s make sure we all get to keep moving!!!
The holidays are in full swing, which means festive food, and busy schedules. Many families are enjoying old traditions, or making new ones. Unfortunately also during these Christmas experiences, many people find themselves experiencing weight gain. Countless family gatherings and baking Christmas goodies all month are grounds for overeating, without any time to spare for exercise. By making few simple changes over the day, the holidays do not have to mean weight gain! Here are some simple tips to try out to make your holidays healthy:
1.An Early Resolution? – Rather than waiting for New Years to start a resolution, make it easier on yourself and gradually work up to your resolution by New Years. This will also help you to stay focused and maintain weight over the holidays, so you can see faster results after. If your goal is to lose weight, maybe you will try to walk two days a week now, and by New Year’s you will be built up to walking 5 days a week!
2.Stress less about Exercise- Rather than stressing about shopping and cleaning this year, think of this as a time to multitask. Housework is one of the best ways to get in a workout over the holidays. Whether it’s moving around the kitchen while you bake, or vacuuming before company…it all burn calories! Shopping through the mall crowds, standing in line, and bringing bags out to your car all are positive experiences now that you can count it as a workout, right?
3.Quality Time- Rather than taking away from family time to work out, invite your family to do something as a group. Wake up on Christmas morning and enjoy some yoga together before presents, or take the kids out ice-skating or sledding after the famous Christmas dinner. Just remember, building a snowman or looking at Christmas lights will also provide memories that last longer than the memories watching a movie would.
4.Think Before You Eat – Eat until you are satisfied, not stuffed. If you find yourself overeating at one meal, go light on the next. Try to fill your plate with the lower calorie items such as vegetable dishes, and lean proteins, then take smaller portions of the rich foods. Eat slowly, socialize, and enjoy every bite! Overall, it’s the holidays and you need to enjoy yourself! Don’t restrict yourself from family time and enjoying some of your favorite holiday foods, but be mindful and plan ahead! Stay healthy this season, then after the holidays, your mind and body will thank you! -Kelsey
