Thankfully, we can still run with everything going on now. COVID is so rampant now that every day brings a new challenge. It gets tough getting up every day to go into work. The first thing I check is to see if anymore of my patients have died. There has never been such a helpless feeling that we have as physicians wondering who will get it next, and will they be the ones to survive or not. We need to go run or walk every day after the day ends just to try to clear our mind, and gear up for the next day.
Focus on the things you can do to make a difference. Protect yourself, and help protect others. And, help all the people in the medical field do their job, and help in their job by keeping the social distancing, and wearing a mask!
Keep focusing on these on a regular basis. Be positive, and keep your chin up. Times are tough for all of us.
Take the views in, and forget about all of the stress life is bringing. This is where running, and walking, helps so much. Get outside, keep your distance, and be as safe as possible.
People are not the only ones feeling the stress of things. Even our dog Dakota knows things are not the same. You can tell by the look on her face some days that she is also worried about us too! She is always there by our side, ready to give a hug or a kiss.
But even she needs to spend some time with her bear for comfort as well.
Some days I wonder how I get out of bed. It is always the same thing, just more volume, and intensity. What bad news is coming today? Who am I going to find out now has COVID? Are they going to make it? Do we have enough people left at the clinic to help take care of everybody else? Am I going to get COVID today? These are the daily struggles!
When the going gets tough, the tough get going! Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t do! Put your head down, take a deep breath, and get going and do what you can to take care of people, just like we do everyday in the clinic!
It is easy to feel sorry for ourselves these days. But truly, quit saying “Why Me?” Turn it around, and say “Try Me!” Get ready to kick the door down and do what you can. We can all help each other. Wear a mask. Keep your distance. USE YOUR HEAD! Think about somebody else once, instead of just yourself. I have older patients who many of them have said when they were diagnosed with COVID, but not sick enough to be in the hospital, “I might as well go home and get ready to die!” Nobody should have to say this, or feel this. We all have a life, and want to keep living it. Be mindful of others, and put yourself in their shoes…not only the shoes of the patients who get COVID, but the shoes of all of us that are doing everything we can to help take care of them too. When we lose patients to this, they are friends, or family. It takes a huge mental toll on us too! The disappointment of losing them is getting incredibly tough to keep dealing with. Why? Because we care! We went into medicine because we care! We went into medicine to help people, and when you can’t, there is nothing more frustrating! I again plea with everybody: work with us, not against us! Help us help you! Wear a mask! Think of others, and the benefit you give to them. Be somebody who cares! Take care of others, and take care of yourself…keep moving everybody…safely!
The Diabetes Support Group will be meeting Monday night. This is a fantastic group to learn more about diabetes and support those with it. Monday’s speaker is Lance with Medtronic. Medtronic has a variety of technology options for managing diabetes such as their insulin pumps and continuous glucose monitor. He has a wealth of knowledge and a lot to share regarding diabetes technology. The group is open to anyone–those with diabetes and those who support them. The conference room in the basement at Prairie Lakes has plenty of room to allow for social distancing….please join us Monday!!
Meeting Time: 2nd Monday of the Month @ 6:00 pm
Location: Prairie Lakes MOB Conference Center
A group gathering for people with diabetes and those who support them.
With COVID going strong, we need to appreciate the days we have even more than ever. At the end of this week, I have now lost 10 patients to COVID–3 this week! 2 of them were gone in a couple of days! Live each day like there may not be a tomorrow. We are not guaranteed this by any means. We can’t live in fear, but we have to use our heads. Don’t take things for granted, and remember and appreciate the things we do have, not what we don’t have. Spend time with friends, like the above picture shows, but you can be smart about it too.
These two pictures are from our run club. The first one this Summer when we were supporting some of our friends when they did their first marathon. It was a virtual marathon, so they were basically running by themselves, with us riding by, or pedaling by to cheer them on. When we are outside we try to keep our space, and limit the actual time we may be together, like 30 seconds to take a picture! If it were not for these friends, this pandemic would be even tougher to deal with. We are like family!
This is where the sunsets come into play for me too. I am by myself, getting lost in nature, and just taking in all of the colors and beauty. Each one is different. It is my wind down time at the end of the day. Lately, it has been tougher to get to see with them coming sooner, and now with Daylight Savings last weekend, there is no way I can get there during the week now. I have Thursday afternoons off, so I have time then, and the weekends. I will still take them in then, but the rest of the days I will still be at clinic working.
Think about this for a minute. Let the meaning really sink in. By appreciating somebody else, and telling them, we not only make them feel good, but it obviously is a benefit to ourselves as well because they were helping us to begin with. Show that appreciation to others as well. And, don’t forget to appreciate those in our own households as well.
Dakota is such a good dog. She just turned one in August. She is always excited to see us, and ready to give hugs and kisses anytime, any day. She loves to go for runs/walks too. Many times she gets to go in the morning and in the evening.
And, I am so lucky to have Sarah in my life. I have no clue what I would do without her! I can only hope I will not have to find out for a long time! I appreciate her more than she knows! And so does Dakota!
So go out to the Lake and watch a sunset, or a sunrise. You won’t regret it! Let your mind go, and your problems as well. Just forget everything else going on right now. And get outside while you can! We got a break from Winter last month, don’t blow it! Take advantage of it for as long as we are going to be lucky enough, and blessed enough to have it. Don’t waste it. Anything that can wait doing inside can wait. You will have all Winter to work on those things. And remember…
Continue to keep reading this slide until it sinks in! With everything going on now, nothing can be taken for granted. Don’t waste anything. Remember to focus on what is truly important, and necessary. Sometimes we think things are important, but they are really not. Keep your perspective on what is TRULY important in your life. Strive to Survive! Keep moving everybody!
I have always said: Lead by Example! COVID numbers are increasing continuously. We are seeing patients with this daily! Yes, many people who get it recover without any long term ramifications. But, many do not. I even had a patient this week who has been off for the last month from work because he cannot get over the fatigue from COVID. He is angry and frustrated. He, like many, did not think initially this was a big deal…until he got it. I have been talking about wearing months for months. I have been on the Watertown Task Force for COVID, and have spoke many times. I have been criticized, sworn at, told to my face that I don’t know what I am talking about. That won’t stop me from doing what I need to do. I will keep talking about wearing masks until this is over. There is a new promotion going on now: #MaskUpWatertown. Check it out on Facebook. It has been in the news, radio, newspaper. It is a means of promoting the use of masks with the high numbers of cases we are having now.
Sarah and I went running with our run group Saturday morning for Halloween. Our costumes were shown above. You guessed it, we went as doctors! After all, we are doctors. We had all our gear on. We did not have to have a mask on running outside. We kept our social distance. We did it to prove a point. It can be done. It is not that difficult. You can also have fun with it.
Be creative. We can wears masks for Halloween, why can’t we wear one otherwise? Protect someone else. Have someone protect you. It is a 2 way street. The number of cases of people dying from COVID here in Watertown is climbing as well. You ask those people’s families how they feel. Is wearing a mask a guarantee that you won’t get COVID, or that you won’t give it to someone else? NO! When is anything in life a guarantee. Will it help? YES! Be like the Nike commercial: JUST DO IT! If we spent as much effort to wear a mask as we do complaining about it, it would not be an issue. I have heard so many excuses already to not wear one. But that is all it is: An excuse! Will I probably have some people complain about what I am writing here today? Absolutely! Do I care? NOT ONE BIT!!!!
We wear masks all day, every day at the clinic. We are seeing COVID everyday! Do I like wearing a mask? HELL NO! But I do it! By the time this is all done, I will have to keep wearing a mask just to hide the permanent marks being left in my face by our N95 masks! #MASKUPWATERTOWN! Just do it! Do it for those around you! Do it because you care about other people. If anything could help with reducing the number of people with COVID, why would you not do it? Every day! If you can’t keep social distancing, wear a mask! If you are shopping, wear a mask! If you are around a large group, WEAR A MASK! Our whole philosophy with this blog revolves around the concept of trying to Strive to Survive! JUST DO IT!! And, keep moving everybody…it truly helps deal with all of the insanity going on currently! Take care of yourself, but help take care of others also!
Happy Halloween on Saturday! Spider-Man (aka Corbin above) is super excited for today–trick or treating fun! We couldn’t get Super-Man (aka Carson to sit still long enough for a picture yet-he’s a busy 1 year old!).
Check out these tips below to help you and your kids have a safe and healthy holiday today! Full Reference: http://n411.consultant360.com/n411/toddler-kid-center-your-patients/articles/8-halloween-tips-trick-or-treat-night#main-content
1. “Have a plan to start the night: A group of hungry, dehydrated, excited goblins is a frightening picture for any parent! Make a plan for dinner and trick-or-treat start time, and ask for your children’s input. Agree on a nutritious dinner – perhaps with a Halloween theme, and plan it ahead of time with your children’s help. Let them know that you will eat early on Halloween night so that they will have all the energy needed for a successful Trick-or-Treat night. Make sure they drink enough fluid. Children can get overheated in Halloween costumes, especially when it is combined with running from house to house throughout your neighborhood.
2. Set limits in advance: Ask your children to help you decide on the route you will take, how many doors you will knock on, and what hour they will turn back into “pumpkins.” Having an end goal will help you avoid the “just one more” or “but we have not gone to…” meltdown that persists all the way home.
3. Agree on a candy consumption: limit Agree on how much candy your children can eat on Trick or Treat night and each day thereafter. You may want to make a similar confidential agreement with yourself. Note: “unlimited access” or “until the chocolate is gone” is not a good plan.
4. Provide healthy snacks: Keep healthy between-meal snacks in view and accessible. A bowl full of juicy red apples, bananas, or seasonal fruit is a better centerpiece than Skittles®, M&M’s®, and Tootsie Rolls®. Keep the candy out of sight. Assign a kids’ shelf in your refrigerator and fill it with low-fat yogurt, low-fat cheese cut in interesting shapes, and fresh-cut vegetables.
5. Teach and model moderation: Do not give candy more status than it deserves. In some instances, the more something is forbidden or overly restricted, the more desirable it becomes. Teach and model moderation. All foods can fit, if we are reasonable about the amount and frequency.
6. Do not attach emotions to candy: Try not to use candy to reward, bribe, punish, or convey love. By attaching emotions to certain foods, you may inadvertently set the stage for disordered eating in the future.
7. Begin some new family traditions: Try to take the focus of the holiday away from the candy. Make it a time to begin new family rituals, such as stuffing a scarecrow full of leaves for the front porch. Carve pumpkins and roast the seeds. Hold an annual scavenger hunt for fall items, such as acorns, pinecones, woolly caterpillars, animal tracks, and colorful leaves. Begin a new photo album that holds pictures of Halloween celebrations, past and present. After trick-or-treating, collect the extra candy and box it up to donate to military troops or participate in a Buyback program through a dentist’s office or local business.
8. Keep it safe: Above all, have a safe and fun Halloween. Your children are only small for a short while!”
We hope your day is filled with more tricks than treats! Enjoy! -Kelsey
