Greetings!
Good morning! What a beautiful day (and weekend) it's going to be. I'm just back from a great workout with friends and now I've poured a wonderful cup of coffee (or tea). This mug full of antioxidants will help protect us from disease. Which disease? Too many to list.
Today is going to be amazing, but I have to be honest, the week didn't start this rosy. <Cut to harp music and wavy screen for 2-3 seconds>
The day is Monday and the dry cleaners have just returned my laundry for the upcoming work week. Somehow, and I've replayed the scene in my head a million times now, last Wednesday I had given the cleaners my Haggar No-Iron Dress Pants.
Let me take you back 11 months. It was a cool, overcast Thursday last November and I'm standing in Beall's Department store (I remember it like it was yesterday). I'm suddenly taken by an overwhelming awareness. I'm not sure why, but I quickly needed to find my way into the men's trouser section. The walk over from the neck pillows was a blur of nervousness, anticipation, bewilderment...and there they were!
It was almost as if they were glowing.
"What a perfectly decent pair of slacks!" - I fear I must have said it aloud. My worst fears immediately realized, they were priced at $42.97 - nearly 10 dollars more than their cotton equivalents! Almost involuntarily, I quickly started trying on various sizes. Due to all the walking with friends I found myself comfortably fitting into a waist I had only dreamed of (please tell me that Haggar doesn't have vanity sizing). Judy, you made me read this newsletter. Where in the Sam Hill is he going with this?
Long story short (too late Dr. Pantsman) 45 minutes later I take the leap! I justify the purchase by figuring I'll make it up over time in dry cleaning costs (Acme Cleaners - $4.75/pair).
So, fast forward to this week. I arrive at the hospital Monday morning with a cornucopia of emotion (guilt, embarrassment, carelessness, etc.). First thing our medical assistant says? "Nice pants" - like I'm in some Dockers' commercial. Judy, you're a nurse - is it possible for someone to spend a couple minutes too long in the womb and still make it through med school?
What does this have to do with walking with a doc?
Absolutely nothing (say it again).
But, but - it has everything to do with resilience, overcoming adversity to fight another day, and packing tuna fish 5 straight days to recoup $4.75.
Walk with a Doc wishes you a day filled with resilience, persistence, and the belief that the perfect pair of pants is waiting on the other side of the store.
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 Walking (with a doc)...Protects Memory
Check out this analysis by Liz Day (www.news.discovery.com)
Another study has joined the chorus that physical exercise may help prevent mental decline among older adults. The latest research comes from the National Institute of Aging and was published in the October 13th online issue of the American Academy of Neurology's Neurology. In the study, scientists recruited 299 dementia-free people. These respondents recorded the number of blocks they walked per week. Nine years later, their brains were scanned to measure brain size. At this point, the results showed that participants who had walked at least 72 blocks per week, roughly equaling six to nine miles, had greater gray matter volume than people who didn't walk as much. Walking more than 72 blocks didn't make brains any bigger. Four years later, scientists returned again. Tests were given to determine if anyone had developed dementia. Forty percent of the participants had developed cognitive impairment. However, those who had walked the most cut their risk of developing memory problems in half.
"Our results should encourage well-designed trials of physical exercise in older adults as a promising approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer's disease," said study author Kirk I. Erickson with the University of Pittsburgh. |
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 Walk with a Doc - This Saturday in Columbus
Our PR department has recommended that we have our readership check the website (www.walkwithadoc.org) for the specifics on times and locations for our various walks in Central Ohio.
That being said, this week Walk with a Doc - Franklin Park and WWAD Highbanks will be going off as scheduled (I will be taking care of patients in the hospital, but making every effort to join the surprise host physician at HiBx). WWAD Westerville has something very cool going on that will replace their regularly schedule walk. (http://www.walkwithadoc.org/sponsors/community-events/ ).
Please contact 614-714-0407 if you have any questions regarding this weekend's events. |
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Some Cool Stuff!
Over the past week we've been contacted by (and sent multiple toolkits to) a bunch of new locations.
A few of the more interesting ones include a realtor in Downey, CA who requested his two local hospitals start WWAD, a dynamo physician in Virginia Beach who will be a great leader with us, and a massive practice in Charlotte, NC .
This is possible through the help of Anthem and our staff that is here 24/7 to support all of you in your incredible efforts.
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Thank you to the Columbus Young Professionals and The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation!
All of us within the Walk with a Doc family (walkers, newsletter readers, med students, nurses, doctors, donors, sponsors, etc.) are very humbled to be honored in a joint effort of these two fantastic organizations (http://www.cypclub.com/ and http://www.cff.org/Chapters/centralohio/ ).
Working together, all of us continue to turn our vision into reality, and with Kathryn, we are doing it rather quickly.
If you have any interest in attending what looks to be a pretty fun night (http://celebratingvisionaries.com/event_details.html) - please contact the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation at (614) 846-2440
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2010 Columbus Marathon
We wish all of our Walk with a Doc family well in the 2010 Half-Marathon and Marathon this weekend in Columbus.
Your efforts make you very healthy and us very proud.
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