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
Now that Thanksgiving is over, and you are recovering from your food coma, what is there to do? Well, time to workout of course! We all need to get moving, and now more than ever. The weather has been great outside, so first, get outside as much as you can, while you can.
Hopefully, we all had some great food, and leftovers for days, but now it is time to get back to work, and in more ways than one. We are all stressed by covid, but we still need to keep living, and take care of ourselves as well. So now, time to get out and move!
Sarah, Megan, and I went out for our virtual Turkey Trot 5k the morning of Thanksgiving. This way we could enjoy our big meal even more knowing we had already put our run in for the day.
Later, and the last few days, we have been out walking, and taking advantage of the weather. The dogs are always ready to go. Go out on the trail, especially around the lake, and take in the views. We all need to be like our Retriever Dakota, who just turned one in August. She gets so excited when it is time for a walk, that she continuously gets herself tangled up in her leash for the first 10 minutes!
We then had a couple days when we went out to the garage to go do some resistance exercise, and lifting weights in the Reiflex Center. We all need to do something of weight resistance exercise to help maintain strength and balance. Move!
The walks along the lake have been great for the sunsets! You truly do not know what you are missing until you take it in. Go find out! Park at Jackson Park, or Sailboat landing, and start walking on the trail and see for yourself. Friday night was incredible. There were literally thousands of geese flying south. One large group after another, each a couple minutes apart, and continued for the 40 minutes I was walking.
Then in the evenings, it was nice to just sit down and read…for fun! I have been starting to do this when I am getting ready for bed to help unwind and fall asleep. I will read for about 15-20 minutes, and then I am ready to fall asleep. There are plenty of books to read. Take your pick, and read something you have been wanting to for a long time. I just finished another John Grisham.
We just got done with one holiday, and it will be time to get ready for Christmas. But, with Covid, it is just not the same. We have to be safe, be smart, and be careful. We have to make up for lost time with family next year. There are many ways to help deal with stress of the holidays.
Take care of yourself, and…help take care of others. We again are all in this together. Do what you can to do your part in helping with this pandemic. We all can make a difference, if you choose to. Keep moving everybody!
Thanksgiving will soon be here. It is a time when normally we would meet and spend time with family, and unfortunately, COVID is taking that away from a lot of people. Even though this whole year has been different, and Thanksgiving tomorrow may be different, that does not mean you can’t sit back and appreciate the 4 H’s in life: Home, Health, Happiness, and Hope.
Through all of this year, I still come to the same conclusion: There is no place like home. I hear it now more that I ever do, especially with many patients of mine being in the nursing home, or an assisted living. Home memories bring back times when we were young, and our kids were young. The happy times. And, just a place where you can relax, do what you want, and get away from everything else going on in the world. Nothing can replace Home!
Especially when our kids come back home to spend time with us!
Nothing like having fresh home made cookies, and having your kids wantto spend time with you again!
Pay the cost to keep ourselves healthy, or pay even more later when we try to get our health back. Invest in yourself early on, and the dividends are far more profitable. We feel better, we can do more, and will feel like we want to do more. I hear it everyday from patients who don’t have their health anymore.
Why do you think we work out every day? Is every day doing this fun? No, but I feel better when I do. Not every day is perfect. It never is. But the good days then are even better, and the days that would not have been good, turn out to be not so bad after all. Invest in yourself. What could be better than this? Everything you invest in yourself pays you dividends in the long run ( pun intended, for we do many long runs!) Work for what you have, including your health.
We can choose to be happy, or miserable. The choice is ours. We can also choose to do something about it as well. We are in the driver seat. Choose wisely! We have one life to live. Eventually this pandemic will be over. We have to have hope that there will be an end to this all. The sadness that comes from all of the people who are not surviving. We all have to hold one, and focus on the first 3 H’s by trusting in the 4th H.
I hear people everyday telling me how they can’t wait for this pandemic to end. I am right there with you. I don’t know if there will be a “normal” again, but there will be a new way of doing things. Can we learn from this? I HOPE SO. Can it teach us to appreciate things more than before? I HOPE SO!
Have a little faith. Spend times with the people, and pets in our lives. They are all right by our side through all of this. Dakota is always one to show love and always be by our side when we are having a tough day. Dakota never holds any grudges, never dwells on the bad days she may have. Every day is new adventure for her, and a time to look at the bright side of life. You know, we could really learn a lot from a dog! Focus on our home, work on our health, maintain our happiness, and know that hope still remains. Focus on the 4 H’s to get us through. Keep moving everybody! And have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is always a fun holiday enjoyed by all as we stuff ourselves and then resort to the couch to watch football or the start of the holiday tv shows. Here are some tips for you to get through the holiday without putting on all those undesired extra pounds.
•Survey the entire table before you take any food. Decide what foods are worth eating and what can be ignored, and then stick to that decision. Why waste calories on foods that don’t bring you pleasure?
•Eat a snack before you leave home. If you arrive at a party starving, you’ll be more likely to overindulge.
•Eat your calories instead of drinking them. Stick to lower calorie or calorie-free drinks (diet sodas, water, light beer, or wine spritzer) instead of punches, eggnogs, and mixed drinks that can have up to 500 calories per cup.
•Sip a large glass of water between every alcoholic drink or non-alcoholic punch or eggnog. This will help keep you hydrated and you’ll drink fewer calories by the end of the night.
•When you are the host or hostess, include nutritious and lower-calorie foods like fruits, vegetables, and lean meats on the menu. When you are a guest, bring along a lower-calorie dish to share.
•Try not to hang out near the food. Find a comfortable spot across the room and focus on people instead of eating.
•Watch your portion sizes. Don’t cover your plate completely with food. In most cases, especially when it comes to holiday sweets and alcoholic beverages, less is better. Use a smaller plate or bowl and have just a sliver of pie like the picture shows.
•Drop out of the “clean plate club”. Leave a few bites behind every time you eat, especially if you are eating something you don’t really care for.
•Enjoy your favorite holiday treats but take a small portion, eat slowly, and savor the taste and texture of the wonderful foods of the season.
•Skip the pie crust and go for the filling.
•Choose light meat over dark meat.
•Use home-made cranberry sauce over canned cranberries that are jam packed with added sugars.
•In soups, sauces, puddings, and desserts: Replace whole milk or cream with low-fat milk, evaporated fat-free milk, or nonfat dry milk.
Lighten up your recipes:
•To make dips and toppings: Use low-fat or nonfat cottage cheese or sour cream, or non-fat Greek yogurt.
•To make salad dressings: Use nonfat Greek yogurt or low-fat buttermilk.
•In place of 1 whole egg in recipes: Use 2 egg whites or 1/4 cup egg substitute.
•In place of regular cheese: Use fat-free or reduced-fat cheese.
•In place of full sugar: replace half with Splenda or reduce half completely.
•In place of fats: use unsweetened applesauce or oil (1-1 replacement), or prune puree (1 cup of fat=1/2 cup puree).
More importantly is ENJOY your family and friends and all that have to the THANKful for! Happy Thanksgiving!! -Kelsey
