Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Bryan Golden We all grow up being indoctrinated with rules that limit us. The purveyors of this information are not malicious. They are simply passing along what they themselves have been taught. You are probably aware of one or more of the following rules. Decide for yourself if you have been limited by any of them. Don’t rock the boat -- This rule encourages conformity. Conformity offers a protection from criticism. But those who succeed don’t care about criticism. They become adept at new or better ways of doing things in spite of opi...
by Debra Johnston, M.D. Lately my teenager has been fascinated by medical dramas. Although my “doctor self” is usually rolling my eyes throughout the program, it’s often a good conversation starter. One recent show featured a pregnant woman who experienced one medical crisis after another. Her kidneys, liver, and lungs failed in succession as the team raced to identify the underlying obstetrical problem and find a treatment. At the climax of the episode, her heart stopped. Of course, being television, the correct diagnosis was made, the exper...
by Christina Young, Director for the Center for the Prevention of Child Maltreatment With the rapid rise in internet use among children, the dangers of online exploitation have grown alarmingly. Children’s access to the internet has become nearly ubiquitous, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Remote learning, online gaming, and social media are now integral to daily life, meaning more children, even preschool-age children, are regularly online, often unsupervised and unprotected. This new reality demands that we consider not only p...
by Andrew Ellsworth, MD Hearing loss affects millions of Americans. In fact, by age 75 over half of adults will have some form of hearing loss. Signs of hearing loss include having trouble hearing speech in noisy places, finding it hard to follow speech in groups, trouble hearing on the phone, listening makes you tired, or if you need to turn the volume up on the TV or radio while others complain it is too loud. To some, hearing loss may just be a minor inconvenience. If it is more severe, however, it can have a big impact on day to day...
by Bryan Golden Do you know anyone who always seems to have bad luck? Nothing ever goes right for them. Conversely, have you observed people who always wind up OK despite what befalls them? What differentiates these two types of people? Their attitude, thoughts and actions are as different as day and night. You are a magnet. Your attitude, thoughts and actions determine what you attract. Like attracts like. If you are negative, rude and inconsiderate, this is what you will attract. If you are positive, upbeat, courteous, caring and considerate,...
“The truth will set you free.” We’ve all heard this iconic sentence, but what does it mean, really? More importantly, what exactly is the truth? That depends on whom you are asking. Because I’ve come to believe that each of us has our own truth. What is my truth, with a capital T, may not be yours, in fact it probably isn’t. I know it isn’t. To complicate matters, your truth today may differ from your truth tomorrow, as will mine because we are ever-changing, ever-evolving beings. It’s a wonder we ever come to a consensus on anything - ev...
by Kelly Strampe, HSC Prevention Coalition Member Warning: This article does mention suicide. It is a personal story that emphasizes hope and healing; and seeks to reduce the stigma of talking about mental health and suicide. This Sunday, September 22 at 5 p.m. will be the 3rd Annual Suicide Prevention Awareness Walk in Thermopolis. This is a free and family event. It will be held at the Kiwanis Washakie Shelter in Hot Springs State Park. Come together as a community and enjoy food, music, and c...
by Jill Kruse, DO School is back in session so it is time for a little pop quiz. What is an item that almost every student carries? If you said backpack you are off to a great start. Do you know what it takes to be at the head of the class? Let’s find out if you are a star student or need to brush up a little on your backpack knowledge. Most students carry a backpack filled with their books at some point during their school day. Did you know a heavy back pack can cause neck, shoulder, or back pain. Those narrow straps can also compress on nerve...
by Jill Pertler We all want to be loved. I think that’s a universal statement - and there aren’t too many of them anymore. But I think it’s safe to say we all seek love. When I lost the love of my life, I lost a huge chunk of love. Of course it isn’t gone, because love never dies; but it often feels gone - in many worldly ways – for now. I live it on a daily basis. So, I guess it’s pretty logical that I spend a lot of time contemplating love. What it is. How to define it. What it means. Why it’s important. Why we seek it. Why it fuels us. Why...
by Bryan Golden Why do you have an aversion to certain people? Even if you are a saint, not everyone will be in harmony with you. There are various reasons why you may be dislike a particular person. It may be because someone dislikes you, treats you rudely, disagrees with you, takes advantage of you, is inconsiderate, has different opinions, is mean, acts unfriendly, is manipulative, is deceitful, or is malicious. Although the causes are virtually limitless, the effects are typically the same; stress and anxiety. Never waste a minute thinking...
by the late Richard P. Holm, MD It is miraculous to consider how much access and exposure we have to information through our computers, phones, televisions, radios and newspapers. Unfortunately, we need to be on guard because too much of this buzz can be false information. Marketing (sales) can be good and important as it moves commerce, and I’m not saying industry doesn’t sponsor credible scientific research. However, marketing can be harmful when selling a weight-loss program that gives false hope, when peddling virility pills that are ine...
by Jonathan Rice, MD, PHD Lung cancer is the second most common cancer (not counting skin cancer) in both men and women, only behind prostate in men and breast in women. Although it is the second most common, it remains the leading cause of cancer death in America. Approximately 1 in 5 cancer deaths a year are attributed to lung cancer. More Americans die every year of Lung cancer than colon, prostate and breast cancer combined. Lung cancer is considered a silent killer and is often diagnosed at a late stage, when treatment options are limited...
by Slim Randles When the world is hot and my skin is fried, scratching from the constant dry, let the clouds boil up – boil up high. And then shade the earth with the darkening sky and bring the secrets and the smell of rain. The heat and the blessed rain, again. Our land is brown but blessed, stressed in the heat, the shiny heat of day. The slender green of desert rivers slides along, striving to continue, to feed its own along the banks – the banks where the dust rises. Rises, powdery clomp by clomp as we walk – walk the shady way. Ours...
by Mark E. Bubak, MD True food allergic reactions cause anaphylaxis. Eating even a tiny bit of the allergenic food causes the patient to quickly develop symptoms that can include shortness of breath, hives, vomiting, diarrhea, throat swelling, passing out, and at times it can be fatal. The patient makes IgE allergy antibody to the food. The cause of the reactions can be determined by the history and confirmed by allergy skin or blood testing. Once we know the allergenic food, a treatment plan can be put into place. The three parts are...
by Jill Pertler “A quiet mind makes way for the soul to speak.” (Me) The mind is an abundant entity - spewing, spawning, spilling, speaking, squeaking, splaying, spraying, saying, replaying, spouting, sprouting, shouting, re-routing, doubting and outing our thoughts, often in ways that seem beyond our control. Just today, I was about to run to the store, but thought about something I wanted to do beforehand. Then I rinsed out my coffee cup and my mind had already moved onto a whole new topic and I’d forgotten what task, exactly, I needed to do...
by Bryan Golden As careful as you may be, you will make mistakes. Although it’s not possible to live mistake free, there are effective strategies you can use to recover from your mistakes. Let’s start by considering basic causes of mistakes. You are impatient and act too quickly. You lack knowledge or expertise. You don’t have enough information to make a sound decision. You make a decision based on wrong information. Regardless of the cause, you need to recover from your mistakes. Once you have recovered, you can identify and address the c...
by Curstie Konold MPH, LCSW, QMHP Everyone we know, meet, or pass in the grocery store has their own set of personal life experiences that are unique from our own. We all come from different places, have our own set of genetics, and have different parents or families, which is part of what makes us unique from each other. We can even have different experiences than our siblings who grow up in the same home as us. Our experiences are part of what help us learn, create adaptations to the world around us, and how we continue to grow into who we...
by Bryan Golden Is complaining an effective strategy for solving problems? Will complaining improve your situation? Do others enjoy listening to you complain? The answer to all three questions is no. Then why do people complain? There are a number of reasons a person complains. He or she may be looking for sympathy, assistance, support, or just letting off steam. There are also people who are habitual whiners who are never satisfied or content. In the case of sympathy, there is an erroneous assumption that if enough other people feel sorry for...
by Jill Kruse, DO Doctors are taught medical terms and jargon in medical school like a secret code. Many medical terms are rooted in Greek and Latin. Over the course of our training, these words become second nature and we become fluent in this medical “language”, although we are also expected to talk to our patients using simple terminology. However, most specialties in medicine still use the original Greek and Latin roots for their names. Once you know where these names come from, everything makes sense. Most names start with a Greek or Lat...
This week we celebrate Independence Day which is also commonly known as the Fourth of July. It’s a federal holiday commemorating America’s independence from the British empire which over the past 250 years has maintained a public display of pride and patriotism. This past Sunday at church we sang a heartfelt melody of patriotic songs that declared, America. America, God shed His grace on thee, Glory, Glory Hallelujah His truth is marching on, and God bless the USA! There were American flags at every entrance with beautiful decorations. Many wor...
by the late Richard P. Holm, MD My first experience with cardiopulmonary resuscitation was during the summer of 1969. I was an orderly in a Minneapolis intensive care unit (ICU) when my patient stopped breathing. I called for help and provided mouth-to-mouth breathing until the team arrived. Later the doctor told me I saved the patient’s life, further convincing me that medicine was my life’s purpose. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is the act of rhythmically pushing on the chest and breathing into the mouth of a person whose heartbeat and...
Summer is synonymous with relaxation and fun in the sun. Remembering these tips can help you enjoy summer as safely as possible. • Avoid heat-related illnesses: Hot summer days pose a significant threat if the proper measures aren’t taken to avoid heat-related illnesses. According to the National Safety Council, heat exhaustion, which occurs when the body loses excessive water and salt, and heat stroke, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes is marked by the body’s inability to control its temperature, can escalate rapid...
by Bryan Golden Everyone is conditioned to worry. Our conditioning begins as soon as we learn to speak. Since we see everyone around us worrying, we emulate their behavior. There are no limits to what you worry about. You worry about the past. You worry about the present. You worry about the future. You worry about what might happen. You worry about what might not happen. You worry about what other people think, say, or do. You worry about the opinion others have of you. You worry about making mistakes. You worry about what you say. You spend...
by Joanie Holm, RN, C.N.P. My name is Joanie Holm. I am a certified nurse practitioner in Brookings, South Dakota and I am the person fortunate to have been the life partner of the original Prairie Doc, Richard P. Holm, M.D. Rick and I were married for 40 years before his passing in March of 2020. During those wonderful decades together, if I could point to one powerful action that strengthened our relationship with each other, with our family, our community and with our patients, it would be the act of kindness. Thankfully, Rick was alive to...
Jake Goodrick, Gillette News Record There’s a flawed duality that fixes in many people’s minds when it comes to the rise in artificial intelligence. Often the rapidly advancing technology is viewed as either apocalyptic or a godsend, delivered to enhance just about every part of our lives where an inefficiency exists. The be-all and end-all, in either direction. Maybe this fallacy isn’t unique to AI, as it’s accompanied new technology throughout recent decades. New technology often comes with risks. So far, there’s been no apocalyps...
