Survive and Thrive BlogFest

The blogfest is meant to bring awareness of disease prevention and early detection regarding medical conditions that may be averted or treated if caught in the early stages. Our desire is to motivate people to go in for early screening, and if a condition is caught early and treated, then our world just became a little better place to live.

The topics are wide open. You can post about a particular cause you support. Or you can share a personal or family experience that is near to your heart. What’s great about this Blogfest is you can inspire people to take care of themselves and their loved ones early enough to make a difference in their lives.

Hosted by

Stephen Tremp http://stephentremp.com/

Alex J. Cavanaugh http://alexjcavanaugh.blogspot.com/

Michael Di Gesu http://writing-art-and-design.blogspot.com/

L. Diane Wolfe http://circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com/

I waited in the car at the middle school for my 7th grade son, James, to finish basketball practice. He walked out of the school rubbing his the middle of his chest. I questioned him about it and he confessed to having chest pains at times during practice and had experienced them months before when playing football.  After a visit to the family doctor who did and EKG and offered no answers, we ended up at the cardiologist. The doctor shook my son's hand, looked him up and down and said he knew what was wrong with my son. After an ultra-sound, his diagnosis of a form of Marfan syndrome was confirmed. People with Marfan syndrome often die early from heart conditions that result from this connective tissue disorder. If I hadn't noticed my son rubbing his chest, he might never have been diagnosed until the worst happened.

Though it doesn't happen often, the sudden death of a young athlete usually makes headline news. Almost all those deaths are a result of some type of cardiac failure. The majority of those cardiac incidences are hypertrophic cardiomyopathy which is a condition where the heart muscle thickens. Many of these deaths could be prevented by EKG screenings done before play is permitted such as is required in some other countries like Italy and Israel.  An abnormality on an EKG would then require further testing. On the other hand some physicians group claim there are too many false positives that would prevent healthy athletes from participation.  No one argues with the cost of these screenings, only the necessity. 

Young Hearts for Life is an example of a program that promotes and performs cardiac screening for your athletes. According to their website, sudden cardiac death claims 60 young people per week. These victims are most often male and participants in football or basketball.  I know many of my fellow bloggers had children who are or will someday participate in sports. Does their school and recreation organization require cardiac screenings? Read what other parents think about it.

James at the Broadmoor

The loss of a loved one hurts more than can be said. When it's a young person, perhaps a physically fit athlete, it is especially heart wrenching and so often preventable. As for my son, James, he has some life-long restrictions but he's a very healthy person. He has participated in track and field, baseball and cross-country since his diagnosis. He runs nearly every day, 10-15 miles, and lifts weights though he's not to ever lift more than half his body weight. He recently graduated from Penn State as a golf professional and is employed at the Broadmoor Resort in Colorado Springs, the number one golf resort in the country for 2014. Every year he has an ultrasound on his heart and aorta and as long as his blood pressure stays down he's med-free. Not all parents have been as lucky as me. Is this a cause you could get behind?

We often think about health screenings as we age but there are tests we should insist on for our young people.  This blog hop was a super idea. Please read the other blogs and find some great causes to support and perhaps some health advice you should listen to.

Have you ever had an EKG? Do you know a young person with a heart problem? What health screenings to you believe are essential?

Coffee Hop

If you don't frequent the blog of Michael Di Gesu you are missing out. Besides being one of the kindest, most generous bloggers I've met in my writing life, he also entertaining and creative. His latest creative endeavor, The Coffee Blog Hop, fits right into one of my favorite things. COFFEE!

Late last night, I finished the final read through of the galleys for The Marine's Heiress, due to be released shortly. Time was critical as my publisher was running a bit behind. Coffee helped me through it. But Michael's idea for the hop called for bloggers to share a story about coffee. I'm sure there will be a lot of amusing and entertaining stories related to coffee but this wondrous group but I really can't think of a specific coffee story.

I will share a few lines about my coffee history. In my pre-writer life, I was a PE teacher. That meant I spent a lot of time outdoors in the cold and damp. I wasn't a coffee drinker going into that career though I chipped into the coffee fund for the lounge. I started getting cups of hot coffee during my planning period just to wrap my hands around a hot cup. At some point I started sipping it and that led me to today when I drink it every day. Probably the only extended time when I've given up coffee since those early days was during my four pregnancies and the months I nursed my children after their births. It was torture during that time to smell that wonderful brew but deny my love. I've never had a cup of decaf, now or then. I'm one of those people who can drink coffee at 10 pm and still fall asleep at eleven.

Thanks, Michael, for this chance to write and read about my favorite all day, any weather beverage. Michael is giving out a special, delicious prize. Check out the rest of the participants and that prize.

Get Healthy Blogfest

Thanks to these great bloggers who are hosting this Get Healthy blogfest. I'm hoping to learn a lot and you can too. Visit any of the hosts and find full lists of participants there.

Alex Cavanaugh
Stephen Tremp
L. Diane Wolfe
Michael Di Gesu

To be a successful writer, you have to spend hours with your butt in a chair unless you're lucky enough to have one of those desks that set on your treadmill. I still want one of those. Especially when you're on a deadline, personal or set by someone else, you'll find yourself relatively immobile for long periods.

I like to jog for my main workout though I'm much slower than I used to be. When I was younger, jogging meant five miles in about forty minutes, but it takes me a lot longer now.  My jogging now is rather pathetic but I enjoy it. The problem with slower paces is the lower level of intensity. Orthopedically, I just can't run like I used to. Too many knee surgeries, so I have to find different ways to keep the intensity up. I do that outside by heading for the hills. Up hill is so much harder than level, whether jogging or walking. But at my pace, I still need to spend a lot of time out there to get the workout I used to get by going faster. Being a writer, I don't always have that hour or hour and a half I need to get a good workout.   The answer, intensity. I can't go faster, so I climb those dang hills.  On the treadmill in bad whether, I really crank up the height angle so I burn a lot of calories.

Time limits on your workout = increase your intensity. You can burn more calories in a shorter period of time.

Do you make changes in your workout when time is short? Do you have a helpful hint to stay healthy? Have you changed how you work out as you get older or do you still go as hard as you did years ago?

A to Z Blogging Challenge: K

I love Fridays and here we are at the second one for the 2013 A to Z blogging challenge. Check out the list of other bloggers here. My theme this year is connected to my upcoming retirement from teaching. I have an entire list of ways I hope to advance my career as a full time writer starting in June. Most of the time I will be asking for advice and I've already received some useful stuff.

K: Kindness. The world in general needs more kindness. One of the things I've noticed about the writing and artistic community is the generosity and kindness shared between people who know each other only through online communities. People do things for each other. Ask a question and receive lots of free, expert advice. Need to get word out about a book release, ask and your shall receive lots of virtual ink. And hopefully we all pay it forward.

Another thing on my list once I retire is to do more pay backs. I've been blessed by the assistance of so many people since I started writing, I have a long list of debts. And today I'm receiving the gift of having Michael Di Gesu highlighting my book, The Keepers of Sulbreth, as his 'K' offering for the challenge. Michael is featuring a different book on his blog for every letter this month, giving lots of writers a boost. It also makes him the perfect fit for kindness day here and I hope you'll visit him at ... In Time.  Thank you, Michael!

What kindness have you received from a fellow blogger? Do you know Michael? How have you payed it forward?