more hope for the future, more rice

MORE HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

when i was in practice i had a family practice that included a lot 

of pediatrics

when i was in training for family practice i did so many rotations 

in pediatrics that the head of the pediatric department approached me 

once about switching over to pediatrics

but i loved family practice as i wanted to take care of the child

his parents his grandparents etc

as my pediatric patients aged i had more and more teenagers and 

young adults and college students

this mixture of young patients was just the right mixture for my practice

i tried to interact with them as much as possible finding out what they 

liked at school and what they wanted to do in the future

i realized despite what you hear in the media we may be in good hands

in the future

this weekend i worked with this group of kids from the key club

at leander high school

they helped my wife she and our friend and the new homeowner lance

do most of the landscape at his new house

they had to dig out 2 inches of soil in a large strip between the curb

and the sidewalk

then after this was dug out we placed black plastic and large rocks so 

that lance wont have to care for this difficult spot in his yard

we also added 4 larger boulders for a more natural look

pictures of the completed landscape will be posted later this week

these kids worked real hard on this area digging and talking all done in 

a misty rain and while being covered with mud and dirt

our version of a mud run

between my wife and i we knew each ones name and what they 

planned to do in life and what college they might be interested in 

what a great group of kids

we also scrapped off the dead grass from the front beds

these workers worked hard but also i think they had a good time

working and visiting with each other

at the end of the day we completed 90% of the landscape but 

ive decided to hold off on planting the shrubs since there is more

outside painting to do this week

when thats completed ill come back and plant them 

when i got home that day i thought about those kids who got all wet

and muddy since we had that misty rain

thought about how hard they worked real hard

it was an all female group i thought at first i wished i had some guys

to help me but this group proved me wrong on that one

thought about all the negative press we see on kids of their generation 

but when you get to work with them like we did this weekend and get 

to actually talk with them about the future

you realize there is much more hope for our future 

than what fox news cnn msnbc cbs nbc abc etc portrays

yes we will be left in good hands

MORE RICE

this weekend after working at the habitat house getting all dirty and 

sweaty and getting real sore i climbed into our hot tub to see if the 

heat and water would help my aching back and sciatica

actually aching all over

as i was catching up on my messages 

i was writing a reply to my sisterinlaw who had a question about 

my younger brothers-who has alzheimers disease-medication

he is not doing well and my thoughts are with him and his family 

in these difficult moments 

as i was typing i noticed i couldnt use the space bar

e ery few- days was all i could write

i looked down and dang if i hadnt dipped my cell phone 1/3 down into

my hot tub

heres your sign

i jumped out of the tub ran to my rice jar

wiped off the phone well after i removed my otter box

the phone was doing crazy things and wouldnt let me 

do anything to it

into the jar in went until the next day

then i charged it up and its working fine again 

i must have a cat iphone and i have used 2 of its 9 lives

the organicgreen doctor

tough choice

TOUGH CHOICE
 i am thinking today of my younger brothers family as they have
to make a difficult decision
my younger brother has alzheimers disease and it has come to a
point when a difficult decision has to be made as to whether it
is safe for him to stay in his home because this terrible disease
has marched on

he had a seizure which was probably unrelated to his alzheimers
disease
this placed him in the hospital and brought this social issue to a
head for his family

sometimes things happen for a reason

my wife she and i have already had this talk about what i want done
when i reach this stage
our decision has already been made
its to be made and no one is to look back and wished they had not
made the decision to put me in a long term care facility
there is to be no guilt as its the right thing for my family to do
the right thing for my wife she to do
all i ask of them and my friends is to come visit me when the time
comes and to support my family

my wife she and i are lucky as compared to my younger brother and
his wife as we got to discuss these issues years (i hope years) before
it happens
they probably did not get a chance to have an open frank discussion
about what to do as my younger brother when he was diagnosed was
probably cognitively impaired enough not to be able to
make the decision

i and my wife she are glad i have gotten an early diagnosis as we are
able to plan our lives
its almost cruel for families to not have that opportunity

this alzheimers disease is a cruel disease
it saps away a persons personality
they are not what they use to be
and it affects the family and friends sometimes the worst

i know i have a difficult time visiting my brother
as do some of his other siblings because we all know and me
specifically that we could be looking in a mirror at ourselves
its hard to do

again
good luck today my younger brother in your new transition to
the next stage of your life
we will be thinking of you today and every day
and
we will be with your family in spirit as they make this difficult decision
today to have you move on to this next stage
but
we know and i hope they know that they are making the right
decision for all involved
i feel like that my younger brother would want it this way also
just remember that
as
i know thats what i would want done also

the sad organicgreen doctor  : (

my younger brother he, tebow, shutdown

my younger brother he
my wife she and my historian brother he and i are going to visit
my younger brother he today
he is the one that is the late mid stages of alzheimers
he had changed a lot between the visit before last and the
last visit
a time span of just a few months
it was scary that this disease could travel that fast in a few months
made me think more about my situation and the
completion of all my ducks in a row

this visit will come just one day after i vist my friend gf who
has huntingtons disease
know it will be a depressing ride home for us when we
drive back to texas tomorrow

what is disturbing is that i know that in ten years that there will be
medicine that can be used to stop or slow down this disease so that
he and maybe i wouldnt progress to point that he is now and
i might be in the future
just born ten years too early
know that our kids and nephews and nieces will have something
available to help them

my historian brother will be disturbed by what he sees today as
he as not seen my younger brother he in several months
know i was disturbed as well as my rain water brother he
when we visited last month
but this visit needs to be done
know he will know who we are and will enjoy the visit with us

my brother he
sorry youve got this sucky disease
lets enjoy our visit today

TEBOW
tebow didnt tebow this weekend but brady tebowed tebow
didnt know he could spike the ball in the end zone like that
guess hes tired of tebow getting all the attention

ok cowboys dont let us down this weekend
if you dont watch out well change over to the texans

SHUTDOWN
we are driving back today from our sibling pre christmas road trip
we have to leave early because they who ever they are
will be closing the interstate south of dallas texas completely for
construction
at least they posted what time they will be doing this

why would they close down the interstate during the christmas
holidays as people are driving during one of the busiest time of
the year

am sure the decision maker was an elected official as this is the
type of decisions they make

hope we get there in time before the shutdown starts

the organicgreen doctor



the organicgreen doctor

my younger brother he

MY YOUNGER BROTHER HE
my rain water brother he and i will be visiting my younger brother he
today
havent written much about him in the past
he is progressing through a health problem that i did not want to
write about without permission from him and his family

i am glad am able to write about him now as he is part of this
alzheimers picture that i may have to deal with

he has alzheimers disease
he was diagnosed several years ago and has gradually progressed
with his disease

he is the mirror at which i see myelf in the future
i just dont know how long that will be
im hoping that some of the things im doing will slow the process
down some for a period of time

what may help
controlling blood pressure and lipids
exercise
maintaining a normal weight
maintaining a normal diet and or a
mediteranean diet
being socially active
moderate alchohol intake
controlling diabetes
no smoking
staying mentally active
listening to music or playing a muscial instrument
limiting stress
getting adequate sleep

taking aricept
maybe taking axona (smart powder) (alzheimers milkshake) ??
omega 3 fish oil
maybe tumeric acid (curcumin)
maybe vitamin d

although none of this will prevent the disease it may slow slow
slow slow it down some
so i can enjoy the next few years

here is the face of alzheimers disease
my younger brother he was the youngest of 5 boys
you know what his earlier life was like
he was always good at defending himself
(except for the time his white on white brother hit him with the piece
off the plow and blooded his face and made him get a lot of stiches
-you can still see the scar-)

he survived his child hood eventually
he spent years as a fireman and retired in his forties
he then worked for several years as a deputy sheriff until his
retirement from that job
he had two drug dogs that traveled with him in remote areas of
southern arkansas
he and the dogs arrested a lot dealers
they were involved in the rescue of a child once who was lost in a
wooden area thanks to the ability of the dogs he had trained
it would get calls frequently to travel to help look for a lost person or
an escaped prisoner
the prisoners usually gave up when the dogs caught them
those who did not suffered if they tried to fight with the dogs
dogs always won

after his retirement was when things began to unravel
i remember having him help me move my mom from her apartment to
the nursing home
he had difficulty getting the chairs through the door and got lost driving to
the nursing home

it was about this time he had an evlauation and was diagnosed with
alzheimers disease and was placed on aricept
the same medication  im on and the same medication our mother was on

his disease has progressed now faster recently it seems
this is such a sad disease
here is a fireman deputy sheriff who built his own house once and who
could take a car motor apart and put it back together
and now
it has difficulties just doing his daily activities at home

he has two daughers and has 3 grand children who love him
his wife works full time and also has started the difficult job of
being a caretaker
the caretakers always get forgotten in all of this

they are lucky in that they live in a small community where people
can help and are usually willing to help
it seems to be part of the culture and nature there to do that
many people with this disease get isolated socially
its less likely to happen there as much as in other places

but it does happen though as
people are afraid of this disease and dont want to look it in the eyes

it is such a sad disease
it devastates the person and his family both emotionally and eventually
financially

one thing ive learned through all this is to seize the moment
the moment is today when we get to see him and spend the day with
his family
whether he knows me and my rain water brother doesnt really matter
just that he knows that we were there today to visit him

sieze the moment before it passes

we love you my younger brother he who doesnt deserve this
terrible disease thrust on him and his family

the organicgreen doctor :(