Dear Fellow Caregiver,
Greetings from Colorado! Welcome to Sip of Soup, my monthly email of insights and lessons to help you live a more balanced life.
Positively Yours,
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Positivity Power
Medical evidence proves laughter is the best medicine. It lowers blood pressure and heart rate, improves lung capacity, massages internal organs, increases memory and alertness, reduces pain, improves digestion, and lowers the stress hormones cortisol and adrenalin. Yet sometimes during the hectic pace of our workdays, as we witness the worries and sufferings of others, we forget to laugh. We wonder if it is even appropriate. How can we laugh at a time like this?
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Lessons from LeAnn
The answer is in a true story from Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, Second Dose about a man admitted into the hospital where he worked. He was receiving IV therapy for a staph infection and was surprised when one of his pals from pharmacy hand-delivered the next liter....with three goldfish circling inside! He, his buddy, and his nurse laughed themselves silly. Then he schemed, "Don't tell the nurses on the next shift about the fish."
At the change of shift, he hung the bag on the IV pole and taped tubing from it to his IV line so it appeared to be connected. Then he pressed his call button. "My IV has a problem."
A newly hired nurse, recently out of school, entered the room and started checking the IV site at his wrist, as trained to do. Seeing no problem, she traced the line upwards, checking each connection. As she got half way up multiple tubes, the movement of one of the fish caught her eye. She shrieked so loudly that the patient jumped higher than she did! Even the fish jumped! Then they all laughed..and laughed...and laughed.
The day after, a patient from the adjacent room stopped at his doorway. "You know, I've been in the hospital a lot recently, but this was absolutely my best hospitalization."
"Why is that?" he asked.
"Because laughter is good medicine. Nurses and patients need a dose more often."
Now, I'm not advocating "fish therapy" or practical jokes at work. But I am advocating laughter to help us all heal.
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Sip du Jour
A Healthy Quote:
"A merry heart does good, like medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones" Proverbs 17:22
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Bring LeAnn to You
To find out more about having LeAnn Thieman bring healthy balance and inspiration to your staff or organization, Click Here.
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About LeAnn Thieman
Best-Selling Author, Nurse, Wife, Mother & Grandmother, National Speaker Association Hall of Fame.
Co-Author: Chicken Soup for the Nurse's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Caregiver's Soul, and ten other Chicken Soup for the Soul titles including the latest: Chicken Soup for the Soul: Answered Prayers. Author: Balancing Life in Your "War Zones - A Guide to Physical, Mental & Spiritual Health; This Must Be My Brother
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