Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Debra Johnston, MD Let’s call her Sarah, although that wasn’t her name. I’d had the privilege of delivering her, and the fun of watching her grow into a precocious toddler, with an impish smile and a joyous laugh. Then I had the responsibility of explaining her autopsy report to her devastated parents. She’d died from an infection that her young, previously healthy body just couldn’t fight. It hadn’t taken long; she’d started running a fever the night before, and her parents brought her to the clinic the next afternoon. The flight crew h...
by Bryan Golden Imagine carrying a heavy weight around with you every day. With it, you can’t move fast or far. Your back hurts. Your legs are sore. Your burden is exhausting. Would you continue holding onto this weight if you didn’t have to? Of course not, you would drop it as soon as possible. Without the weight, your quality of life would improve immensely. Too many people carry around the heavy emotional weight of worry and stress. This burden has destructive effects. When it’s held onto constantly, physical and mental ailments are commo...
by Jill Pertler I’m an observer of life. I think a lot of us are. Often, relationships are part of those observations. Life is filled with relationships. People come in and out of our personal world. Relationships soar and they fade. It all seems rather random, as does the way this process often begins: Your science teacher implements an alphabetical seating order and your future spouse ends up sitting next to you. A neighbor moves in next door, and you find you have similar interests and hobbies. You get a new job with a cubby next to a f...
by Becca Jordre, Ph.D., DPT If your joints ache after sitting too long or make crackling sounds when you get up, you’re not alone. More than half of older adults in the U.S. report having at least one arthritic joint, and while our understanding has improved over the past two decades, old myths still create confusion about how best to manage it. Is Exercise Safe? Many people fear that too much movement or vigorous exercise will wear out their joints and make arthritis worse. The surprising truth is that exercise is one of the most powerful w...
by Tia Gillespie September is Suicide Prevention Month - a time to raise awareness, share resources, and show support for mental health. But for many of us, it’s more than a campaign or a hashtag. It’s personal. Some of us have known what it feels like to not want to keep going. Others have stood by someone they love who was silently fighting battles we couldn’t see. And some of us, like me, have lost someone we never imagined would be gone so soon. I lost my brother, David, to suicide on January 28, 2014. He was my best friend. We were insep...
by Bryan Golden The way you treat others offers a window into the type of person you are. Your interaction with people, whose job it is to serve you, reflects on your character and offers a glimpse into the way they will react to you. When you behave in a condescending manner, you are sure to elicit a negative reaction. Immediately, the person you are talking down to will be put off, even if they don’t show it. You will squelch any inclination for the other person to go out of their way to help you. At most, they will do no more than the b...
by Debra Johnston, MD I had a friend in high school who was generally considered a bit odd. He didn’t dress quite right, never knew how to “read the room,” and often talked far too long and in far to much detail about computers— at a time when very few households even had one. The movie Rain Man, in which an autistic character is abducted from an institution by his greedy younger brother, had yet to be released, and certainly no one in my circle was familiar with autism. Once we were, it was Dustin Hoffman’s portrayal of Raymond Babbitt t...
by Jill Pertler Is your glass half full, or half empty? This is the question I’ve pondered during much of my life. I knew the correct answer that would lead to a happier existence. Or so I thought. Turns out, I’m not done learning. Or thinking about old things in new ways. The whole glass full or empty example illustrates our ability to choose positivity or negativity in life. It’s a great analogy. But there’s so much more to be gained from the glass. And the liquid within said glass. Not wine, although there is that. I’m talking something...
by Dr. Patti Berg-Poppe and Dr. Hsin-yi “Tanya” Liu Long before children say their first words or pick up a pencil, they’re learning through their bodies. They kick, reach, roll, crawl and explore - hardwired to interact with the world through movement. From the very beginning, motor and sensory experiences are how babies discover their environment and how their brains begin to grow and organize. Simply put, our bodies in motion are the vehicles through which we learn. When children move, their brains light up. Their senses, muscles, emoti...
Wyoming residents who get health coverage through the health insurance marketplace should expect differences when enrolling, including cost increases and a smaller staff at a nonprofit that provides free assistance with health coverage challenges. More than 46,000 people in Wyoming enrolled in 2025 health plans through the marketplace, which exists to make coverage more affordable and accessible. Since 2013, the nonprofit Enroll Wyoming has offered free help to those looking to find, understand, and sign up for health coverage. However, at the...
by Bryan Golden You have just completed a major work project before the deadline. Having worked diligently and spending your own time, you’re proud of the results and can’t wait to impress your boss. You show him the project and he immediately begins to criticize it and you. The criticism is completely unwarranted. What do you say to yourself? “I’ve failed again” or “He must be having a bad day, I know I did an excellent job”? You’ve thought of an innovative idea for a business that you really believe in. Excitedly, you tell your spouse who...
by Anthony P. Fiegen, MD Orthopedic medicine is truly a team sport; we have the opportunity to collaborate with nonsurgical professionals, including physical therapists, occupational therapists, athletic trainers, among others, to deliver comprehensive musculoskeletal care. While there are proven surgical options to help our patients where indicated, in many cases, patients are able to achieve pain relief and improved function with nonsurgical treatment options. Much of orthopedic surgical training is appropriately dedicated to the planning and...
We live in a quirky, weird, sideways, upside-down world where some things just don‘t make sense – or they make too much sense to be sensible. As humans we often perpetuate the nonsense. We accept things for what they are and go about our business without question. But sometimes I wonder. About small things. Big things. Random things like: Why do cats have to race you up the stairs? They can come out of nowhere just to get one step ahead of you. Sometimes my cats pause to let me nearly catch up before bounding upwards to beat me. Again. Whe...
by Mike Cavin One thing I loved about the lowgrounds back in North Carolina was the wild muscadine grape. Muscadines grew wild in the lowlands, and when they were ripe, I would be in the lowground fighting the squirrels for my share of this native fruit. Muscadines were large, almost black in color, with polka-dotted speckles. When they were ripe, I would grab a vine and yank, and the ripe ones would come sprinkling down to the forest floor. The skin of the muscadine grape is thick compared to store-bought grapes. I used to bite the skin...
by Paul Meyer DDS MS For much of modern healthcare, dentistry has existed apart from the broader medical system. Patients commonly have separate providers for medical and dental care, and this division is reflected in insurance models, education, and even cultural perception. Yet biologically, this separation is artificial. The mouth is a central part of the body, and its health is intimately tied to overall well-being. Studies of centenarians—people who live into their 100s—have shown a correlation between good oral health and longevity. Whi...
by Bryan Golden Dreams precede everything; all actions and all creations. Truly, everything does start with a dream. Dreaming is not an idle activity. It’s not an escape from reality. Dreams are the foundation of all creativity. The type of dreaming I’m talking about doesn’t just occur while you are sleeping. The thoughts occupy your mind constantly, while you are awake as well as resting. These types of dreams stick in your mind. They become a mental obsession. When your mind is focused on a specific detailed dream, it will lead you towar...
by Curstie Konold MPH, CSW-PIP, QMHP The start of summer brings a sense of excitement for many teens. Take a moment to reflect back to your teen years. As we reminisce, we can likely all say that our adolescent years were a unique and informative time of our life. Mental wellbeing habits are often formed during this time as teens strengthen their social and emotional skills, laying a foundation of habits for the rest of their life. Consider what habits you perhaps formed during this time and what supports you had or needed when you were a...
by Mike “Michael” Cavin It was heaven for me to walk into one of those old-timey bait & tackle stores. Even before opening the screen door, one could hear crickets chirping from the box inside. Most folks who fished with a cane pole owned a cricket cage–a wire container with a carrying handle. Crickets were ordered by the dozen, and the clerk funneled them from a screened box into a test-tube-looking contraption, then emptied them into the customer’s cricket cage. There was always that one cricket that clung to the outside of the cage while b...
by Dr. Kelly Evans-Hullinger “I am concerned your symptoms are due to Parkinsons disease,” is something I have said to numerous patients over the years. This is a degenerative neurologic disease which is common enough that most patients have heard of it or even know someone living with it. Most commonly, the patient or their family might have noticed classic symptoms: a tremor, difficulty with movement like walking, or balance problems. Importantly, not all tremor is Parkinsons, though that is typically the biggest concern my patients hav...
by Mike “Michael” Cavin On a chilly Carolina afternoon, I headed out to deer hunt with my muzzleloader, an old timey-like gun a person pours black powder down the barrel and rams a lead ball down on top of the powder. To fire the gun, a percussion cap is placed onto the port, also known as the nipple, of the firing mechanism. The gun’s hammer is pulled back until it stays cocked. When the trigger is pulled, the hammer strikes the percussion cap, sending a spark into the powder charge, thus making the gun go boom. Seeing as black powder is might...
by Slim Randles There’s something so satisfying about getting out of bed when the world is still dark and quiet and resting. Making the coffee gives us time to scratch and think. Well, scratch, anyway. Most of that thinking will start after about the third cup of coffee. But it’s a quiet time. A private time. When the world is dark, and there isn’t yet a hint of pink over the eastern mountains, it’s very good. We can relax. No one is expecting anything from us right now. Our guilt can take some time off, and we can listen to music or work a cro...
by Jill Pertler What’s in a name? My daughter, who is expecting a baby, is currently considering this question and it’s a deep one for sure. A name can connote so many things. It can remind you of someone you really like - or really don’t like. It can inadvertently rhyme with a swear word. An easy nickname could be associated with something negative. A name sort of sticks with you and that’s heavy duty stuff. With great power comes great responsibility. We learn our name at an early age. We identify with it. In many ways it becomes us and we...
by Michael “Mike” Cavin Okra. Just say the word a time or two. It’s easy to pronounce, the spelling is unusual, and the taste is pleasing and very different from anything else from a garden or a market. Okra is also a very versatile vegetable; however, the only civilized way to prepare it is through frying or pickling. Please don’t destroy the reputation of this plant by boiling it!!!!! For the life of me, I cannot understand why someone would boil okra or how they could ingest it once they did!!! Who on earth did get that started??? Was it...
Ready for some fun? I’m not talking about fun in an exciting roller coaster sort of way. That type of fun is always fun, but fun can be all sorts of amusement park rides. Some are like roller coasters - fast, thrilling and take-your-breath-away. But that isn’t the only type of enjoyment to be found at an amusement park. Sometimes happiness is uplifting like the ferris wheel, or well-rounded like a carousel. Sometimes it is unexpected like bumper cars, or refreshing like the flume on a really hot day. And sometimes, fun is simply hur...
by Bryan Golden You have no control over other people’s actions. But you do have total control over your response. Someone else can’t upset you unless you empower them to. “They make me so mad,” “they make me so upset,” and “they make me so unhappy,” are statements based on the false premise that other people have power over your emotions. Don’t empower others to upset you. Don’t make excuses which justify your becoming upset. Comments such as, “I have every right to be upset,” don’t help you. Anger, bitterness, and resentment, are all self-...
