Help a family face childhood cancer.
September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness month; this disease affects many people every month. Each school day, 46 children are diagnosed with cancer – the equivalent of two classrooms full of children. Although long-term survival rates are steadily increasing, cancer remains the number one disease killer of children. When a child is diagnosed with cancer, the whole family suffers. You can reach out today to provide immediate help to a child living with cancer. Through CoolPeopleCare’s Premium Partner Gabe’s My Heart, your purchase of this gold-ribboned shirt will help families face this battle. Click here to get yours.
- Sam Davidson
One of my lifelong friends lives with kidney disease. She has had two kidney transplants (the first one taking place in high school, the second one in college). She is now needing another transplant and is about to start dialysis three times a week. Her older sister also suffered with kidney disease from an early age. She died at the age of 30.
According to the Tennessee Kidney Foundation’s website:
Over 26 million Americans, or 1 in 9 adults, suffer from chronic kidney disease. Another 20 million are at increased risk and most don’t even know it. Over 7,400 Tennesseans are in kidney failure and need a kidney transplant or dialysis three times per week to survive.
I have watched my friend, and her sister, fight this disease, struggle with this disease, and live with this disease. Often I have felt quite helpless because I wasn’t a “match” for them.
But, I am not helpless. I can make a difference in fighting this disease, and you can too!
Here are a few ways to help:
Other helpful sites:
Tennessee Donor Services
OrganDonor.Gov
- Malinda Moseley
Be a really cool mom (or dad) and take the kids and head over to your local Dairy Queen today for DQ Miracle Treat Day!
“$1 or more from every Blizzard® treat sale on Miracle Treat Day, August 5, 2010 will help sick and injured children in your local Children’s Miracle Network Hospital.* Since 1984, DQ has raised over $81 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.”
Make miracles happen while beating the heat!
Click here to find a participating location.
Children’s Miracle Network
I have been fortunate enough to give birth to two beautiful, healthy babies. And, I confess, I took the whole birthing experience for granted. I didn’t worry about whether there would be the appropriate medical supplies available for the doctor to use, let alone if they were sterile. But, many women in developing countries (where infant and maternal mortality is high) must give birth in unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
Here’s how one mother can help another. By donating $25 to IMA World Health, you can sponsor a Safe Motherhood Kit, which is designed to “provide a clean delivery and safe birth.” Included in the kit are sterile items for childbirth and warm clothes for the newborn. In addition, “IMA provides education on the importance of clean and sterile birthing procedures and training of the proper use of a Safe Motherhood Kit.” These kits are sent to Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo in Africa, as well as Haiti in the Caribbean – areas where infant and maternal mortality rates are among the highest in the world.
IMA World Health
Safe Motherhood Kits
- Malinda Moseley
Posted in Activities, Attitude of Gratitude, Development, Diversity, Education, Family, Health & Wellness, Healthcare & Medical Issues, Poverty, Safety, Volunteer
First, I want to thank Amanda and Joslyne for their posts on postpartum depression. I suffered PPD after my first child was born. In fact, it was such an ordeal for me that the thought of having another child and possibly going through the depression again paralyzed me. I did go on to have another child…four and 1/2 years later. I confess I was scared to death when I found out I was pregnant. I did not have the elated reaction my husband was expecting. It was because I was afraid of how hard postpartum would be. I must thank my OB/GYN and nurse practitioner for helping me come up with a plan on how the entire birth process would go. Because we were proactive, I had hope. My experience the second time around was much better than the first.
The other day I was listening to the radio when I heard a news blurb about Postpartum Depression in men. It’s something I never really thought about before. But, it makes perfect sense. According to Postpartummen.com, every day over 1000 new dads in the United States become depressed. In addition, if the mother is suffering from PPD, there’s a good chance the father is suffering from depression, too. In fact, up to half of men whose partners have postpartum depression are depressed themselves.
If you know of a new dad that is struggling, there is help and there is hope.
Here are a few resources that might help:
Postpartummen.com
Postpartumdads.org
Study Finds Dads Suffer Postpartum Depression
- Malinda Moseley
Last week Amanda Dixon wrote about Postpartum Depression. Thanks Amanda! And because I don’t think enough people talk about it or acknowledge it, I am going to share my story. Technically, what I had was Post-Adoption Depression but depression after a baby is depression after a baby. It sucks. Actually, it’s worse than that: It is suffering. It is shame. It is soul breaking.
I remember feeling like a shadow of myself – thin and stretched and so tired. I couldn’t summon the energy to talk to my husband, to coo at my daughter. At night I would rock my perfect little baby and cry, or just stare out the window at the street lamp, unable to connect with the tiny person in my arms. And then I couldn’t sleep. I was so tired and I couldn’t sleep. I would lay in the guest room so as not to wake my husband and I would cradle a pillow to my chest trying to keep myself together, trying to keep my aching and empty heart in my chest. I would think about what a terrible mother I was, what a failure. I couldn’t tell anyone how much I was hurting – I didn’t have the words, I didn’t have the energy, and I was so ashamed. How could I want a baby so badly – go through all that we did to get her – and then feel like this? How could I be such an awful person?
This went on for months. I thought no one knew. But people did. I know now that my parents and my husband noticed. But they were scared to talk to me about it. Finally my acupuncturist talked to me about it. He told me it was OK, it was normal, he told me I was not alone. And he told me I would be OK. I believed him. His words were a spec of light in the dark pit of depression. I did what he said – I made an appointment with my doctor, I talked to my husband and parents. And the relief was immense. It was huge. It was like the first warm sun of the spring.
I made some decisions. I went on medication. I asked for help. I talked about my feelings and fears a little more. And slowly I found my way back to the light, to myself, and to my daughter.
If you have a new baby, you might be feeling alone. Babies are cute but they are lousy conversationalists. No one tells you that becoming a mom is incredibly isolating. It is. If you have a new baby, you may be feeling sad. You may be feeling mad. You may be feeling worse than you have ever felt before. It’s OK. There are others of us who have been there. We can help you. Tell someone. Email someone. Reach out. There are lots of other moms out there waiting to grab your hand and pull you up into the light.
(Much thanks to Steve, my acupuncturist, and Niki, my first mom friend, who pulled me into the light)
- Joslyne Decker
For decades, books have warned parents-to-be about the “baby blues”, the feelings new moms have a few days to a week after their bundle of joy arrives. It’s hard to settle in and enjoy your adorable little one when you are sleep deprived and sore but most mom’s don’t know that if they stay blue or start feeling sad, irritable, anxious, or have irrational feelings that they may be suffering from postpartum depression. PPD affects 10-20% of new moms and can appear after second or third pregnancies or even later ones. Although healthcare workers are still learning about this disease, there are resources and help available. PPD is not the same as postpartum psychosis, a rare disorder that only affects 1/1,000 women.
Being a mom is the hardest job you’ll ever love but it’s even harder if you feel sad, anxious, or alone. If you think you have PPD, talk to someone you trust and get help.
- Amanda Dixon
Nashville Flood
City officials in Nashville are asking people to cut their water usage by one half. The math seems easy, but the call is too abstract. The intentions are great, but the call isn’t urgent enough – nor is it easy to understand.
After all, who out there can tell me – right now - how many gallons of water you use each day?Anyone? Of course not. It’s not something you normally keep track of. You never needed to. It was never a concern. You could easily tell me what you spent at Starbucks yesterday or how often you fill your gas tank. But no one knows how much water they use. How then can you know if you cut your usage by 50%?
Instead, the city needs to be direct on how to use (or not use) water. Don’t give me vague numbers. Tell me what to do. If they won’t, we will.
- Don’t wash your car. Don’t.
- Cut off your sprinkler system at home and at work (we’re looking at you, Bicentennial Mall).
- Smell your armpits. Do you stink? No? Don’t shower. Your friends will still be your friends.
- Don’t wash your clothes unless you’re out of underwear. Put on jeans and a T shirt and go to work. If your boss gives you crap, let him know there is a flood.
- Let the dirty dishes stack up. No one will judge you.
- Use and reuse the same drinking glass all day.
- If you must shower, get in and out in four minutes. Set a timer. Be diligent.
- Don’t shave. Armpits, legs, face, back, or knuckles.
- Your dog? He can also go without a bath for a few days.
- It’s time to use a bucket. Any time you turn the faucet on, catch the water and use it to wash what needs washing. Don’t toss it out or just let it run down the drain.
- Don’t use a hose to clean off debris and dirt from your sidewalk. Let it dry and use a broom. If you’re unfamiliar with what a broom is, click here.
- You don’t have to flush your toilet every time you use it. We’ll let you be the judge on how often you flush. Just see what happens if you let it mellow for a bit.
Chances are, if you do the above, you’ll cut your usage by more than half. But who’s counting?
- Sam Davidson
Posted in Activities, Attitude of Gratitude, Conservation & the Environment, Education, Family, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Healthcare & Medical Issues, Recycle and Reuse, Safety, Volunteer
TOMS, a company that usually wants to put shoes on your feet, today asks you to take them off in their annual Day Without Shoes campaign. Many children in the developing world (where TOMS donates shoes for every pair sold) grow up without shoes, leaving them vulnerable to disease and injury. By taking your shoes off today, or attending a local event, you’ll be letting people nearby know that we’ve got to do more to put shoes on more feet around the world . Take your shoes off – just for today – and walk a mile in someone else’s bare feet.
- Sam Davidson
Families are invited to join the YMCA of Middle Tennessee at Nashville Zoo for the 2010 Healthy Kids Day on Saturday, April 17 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
The event includes a special admission: One free child admission (ages 2-12 years old) for each paying adult.
Healthy Kids Day encourages children and families in Middle Tennessee to adopt new behaviors that support a healthy and active lifestyle. Taking place on the Zoo’s Festival Field, kids can let loose at Zumba, jump around in the bounce house and make their way through the inflatable obstacle course. Local vendors will be on hand with games and demonstrations that stress the importance of exercise, water consumption and healthy eating. Mayor Karl Dean and state health commissioner Susan Cooper will be discussing health issues affecting Tennesseans. All activities are included with Zoo admission.
For more information, visit www.nashvillezoo.org.
