Your source for news in Hot Springs County
Your source for news in Hot Springs County
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by Jill Kruse, DO On July 4, 1939 Lou Gehrig said these famous words at Yankee Stadium, “For the past two weeks you have been reading about the bad break that I got. Yet today I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth.” The bad break he was referring to was the diagnosis of a condition that would become synonymous with him - a neuromuscular condition called Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a disease which causes motor nerves in the brain and spinal cord to break down. This reduces the nerves ability to control muscl...
by Jill Pertler I just finished a visit with my littles, aka grands. They are five dollars, nearly three dollars and 25 cents, if we are counting in years. It was a giggly, playful, cuddly, I’m not hungry, I’m so hungry, I’m not tired, I just fell asleep sitting up, I don’t have to go, I have to go real bad, colorful. craft-filled, hug-filled, love-filled, sand-filled, sticky, spillful, wonderful set of days. We swam in the lake and rode in the boat. We splashed our toes at the beach. We visited the candy store and paid all by ourselv...
Scams are out there targeting children and teens. To help keep them safe, have a talk with your children and these and other possible dangers or scams. Artificial Intelligence (AI) – what are the kids learning? AI uses enormous data sets to determine patterns and provide answers to questions. You may be asking where those data sets come from and what is in them. The data sets are sold by companies that collect information from all over the internet as well as information that is sold to them by companies. Yep, that’s right – your perso...
by Nikki Eining CSW-PIP, QMHP Here it is, August. Summer has flown by and already there is Halloween candy roaming the shelves of Walmart. For most of us, August also brings the normal adjustment of transitioning back to the school year. It is normal for this to look differently for everyone, especially depending upon the age of your child. You may find yourself stressing to find the school supplies list, supporting your youth through two a day practices for athletic season or looking forward to getting back to the routine of the school year....
by Bryan Golden Do you conquer problems or do they conquer you? It’s attitude that determines whether you are a victor or a victim. Your age, education, financial status, or social standing don’t matter. There are victors and victims from every background. Victors are not special. They are not better than others. Victors know “they can” whereas victims are convinced “they can’t.” Whether you are a victor or victim is up to you. However, victims argue this is not the case. They claim they have no control over their circumstances. They believe...
by Zac Taylor That small town with long streets phrase? It resonated July 3 at the Wyoming Veterans Memorial Park in Cody, as everyone there was able to walk right up to their state’s top leadership, in Cheyenne and Washington, D.C., to shake a hand and chat. For most of the politicians, elections are not yet breathing down their necks. It was simply a chance for people to look their political leaders in the face and talk. No surprise, I’d say that’s still the best way to communicate, especially when it’s people you may disagree with. And, yes,...
by Bryan Golden Building mental and emotional walls is a common occurrence. We are used to living with physical walls so this progression is an easy transition. Furthermore, it’s a conditioned response that we learn from others as well as a result of our own experiences. There are a variety of reasons people build these virtual walls. They want to keep undesirable things out. They have a desire to prevent loss. They don’t want someone to leave. Walls may create a feeling of security. They offer a sense of protection. Walls are constructed as a...
by Slim Randles Doc smiled and felt really good inside when he heard the familiar bird song. “Hey there, Wheezer,” he said, “happy nesting!” For some reason, this mourning dove with the speech impediment comes around to Doc’s back yard every spring, and Doc thinks that’s just all right. If ol’ Wheez didn’t have that distinctive voice, Doc would never know if this bird favored his yard or was just another bird looking for a home. Let’s face it, Wheezer looks just like every other dove in town. But he was back and flirting with a good-looking la...
by Marissia Schaefer, CNP Many of us have likely been educated on how to be healthier, which includes the foods we should consume, and the exercise we should complete on a daily basis, so we can achieve being ‘healthy.’ This information is important to know, but have you ever been educated about the risks that your current diet and habits of daily living impose on your health? An ‘unhealthy’ diet that is filled with excessive amounts of sugars, fast foods, fatty and processed foods, as well as alcohol can increase your risk of acquiring high ch...
by Curstie Konold, MPH, CSW, QMHP Marrying a farm kid has shown me the immense amount of pride in being part of the Ag community. It is prevalent that the agricultural profession, while rewarding, is challenging. Running big dollar operations that are both physically and mentally demanding creates some serious strain on our mental health. Whether it’s a co-op employee spraying chemicals or spreading fertilizer for 70+ hours a week or a farmer during planting or harvest, the demand never truly stops. In my practice I talk a lot about focusing o...
by Bryan Golden Do you have problems, adversity, and obstacles in your life? If you said yes, then you are like everyone else. Even the most successful people are faced with challenges. What varies is how each person responds to their problems. Running away from problems is not only futile, it leads to a false sense of security. The erroneous premise is that your problems can be left behind by utilizing one or more strategies. The reality is, problems follow you until they are resolved. People attempt to run away in numerous ways. Although the...
by Mark D. List, MD Is there something about your health you’d like to change? For most Americans, this question usually triggers a wide range of responses. In my practice, most responses usually center on wanting to lose weight, being more consistent with their exercise routine, or finally stopping smoking, drinking or vaping. What do these 3 lifestyle changes have in common? They are really, really hard to do. Behavioral modification of daily habits and routines is a very difficult process: humans tend to get stuck in our daily ruts and s...
by Jill Kruse, DO The first successful organ transplant was a kidney transplant in 1954. The donor was the identical twin of the recipient. The new kidney worked for 11 months. This was long before any anti-rejection medications were available. Cyclosporine, the first anti-rejection medication, was approved for use in 1983. The use of anti-rejection medications has significantly increased how long transplanted organs will function. A transplanted kidney from a living donor will last on average 12-20 years. A kidney from a decease donor lasts...
by Andrew Ellsworth, MD Like a car racing along the interstate, exiting onto a highway, and finally reaching the family farm along a dusty gravel road, our blood circulates inside our bodies. There are the major blood vessels, such as the aorta running out of the heart, and there are the tiny capillaries allowing blood cells one at a time to carry oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in our bodies. The network of capillaries is so complex it is estimated there are over 40 billion in one person, and if stretched out in a single line they w...
Gardening season is finally here! You may be envisioning all the herbs, flowers, and vegetables you’ll harvest at the end of the season. But you’ll need to put in hard work – not to mention money – to make your dream garden a reality. To make a success of your garden and stay on budget, Better Business Bureau (BBB) recommends the following tips: Make a Success of Your Garden Plan ahead. If you are starting a garden from scratch, think carefully about what kind of plants you want to cultivate and where they will thrive best in your yard. You may...
Scams we all need to be aware of. Wedding Anniversary Gift: A Sheridan citizen who owns a small business has been receiving similar emails every couple of months, asking for information about purchasing products for a gift for an anniversary, a new home, and similar themes. The email asks for some pictures and details about prices, but it’s the same message each time but from different sender addresses. Donation & Support: A Wyoming non-profit received an email supposedly from Hy-Vee Construction, offering a donation but only through wire t...
by Sophie Two Hawk, MD; Arna Mora, MD; Carol Whitman, MD American Indians face some unique challenges when it comes to caring for their health. Culturally, we view health in a Holistic manner as a balance of our bodies, mind and spirit that allows for good health. Historically, the women would have knowledge of herbs and men would be spiritual healers. Healthcare was one of the items guaranteed under the treaties. Initially, healthcare was overseen by the Army and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Then Indian Health Service was formed in 1955 to...
Depression. Thoughts of suicide. Job loss. The unpaid role of being a family caregiver for a loved one living with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia comes with many risks and challenges, but it is one that increasing numbers of people are taking on as our population ages. More than 6.7 million people across the United States, including 10,000 Wyomingites, are living with an incurable disease: Alzheimer’s. Sharing the burden are the 11.5 million unpaid family caregivers (16,000 in Wyoming) who volunteer their time and resources and...
by Jill Kruse, DO Johnny Nash may have started his song with “I can see clearly now, the rain has gone,” but what about someone with cataracts. They cannot easily see “all the obstacles in their way”, and there are not “dark clouds that make you blind” like in the song, but cataracts do cause vision clouding. Cataracts is the name given to the clouding of the lenses in the eyes. These lenses allow light to pass through the eye to the retina, where the signal is sent to the brain so we can perceive the world around us. Common symptoms of...
by Jill Pertler Don’t ask me why I do what I do, but lately I’ve been growing crystals. Not the meth kind. I know, that’s a terribly bad joke. My crystals are purely legal and grown in a heat-safe glass jar in my kitchen. I feel like a kid in 8th grade science class. It’s all part of a larger, geode-making project that I’m involved in. The fake crystals will be part of the fake geodes. It sounds much less attractive than it is in real/fake life. Sort of like the housewives of wherever but without the drama, false eyelashes and botox. If you ar...
by Lance Izumi and Wenyuan Wu Submitted to Wyoming Press Assoc. Because critical race theory is the most divisive doctrine ever to threaten America’s schools, it has spawned a great parent revolt, which has turned ordinary moms and dads into extraordinary heroes. As opposed to classical Marxism, which divided people into oppressor and oppressed classes based on economic status, critical race theory uses race to separate people, with Whites being viewed as oppressors and non-Whites viewed as the oppressed. All across the country there are e...
by Kelly Evans-Hullinger, MD Many people find themselves being told, “your blood pressure is pretty high today!” You might be at the dentist’s office for a filling, in the emergency room getting stitches after an avocado mishap, or maybe you’re at your annual physical appointment. If you’ve never had high blood pressure you might be surprised at this news! Sometimes my own patients will call my office after such an event, “Doc, should I be on blood pressure medication?” When we get these calls our typical answer is: maybe, but maybe not. Bl...
by Bryan Golden Everyone wishes for good fortune and a problem free life. Yet many people are disappointed with their situations. Is wishing effective or is it overrated? The answer is yes to both. So what’s the catch? Wishing alone is unproductive. If you want results, wishing must be followed by action. Wishing without action is as ineffective as leaving your car in neutral. Without being in gear, revving the engine at full throttle will make a lot of noise but won’t move you an inch. Whenever you were told to wish for what you wanted, you...
by Kelly Evans-Hullinger, MD Frequently, my patients will come to a visit and bring up a major concern: “Doc, I think I might have dementia; my memory seems to be slipping.” They might give examples of having difficulty finding words, forgetting people’s names, or just feeling like their thinking is slower. Many of them know a family member who had dementia, and they are worried. My first response is to hear their concerns; of course, if a patient is showing early signs of dementia, we want to assess that and do our best to get to a diagnosis f...
by Bryan Golden It’s so easy to get into a rut yet difficult to get out. A rut is a regular habit, pattern, or expectation. There is a certain degree of comfort associated with being in a rut. It is consistent, familiar, and safe. We can fall into a rut unintentionally without realizing it. Although dwelling in a rut can induce feelings of frustration and dissatisfaction, not all people are unhappy being in one. There are those who are happy and satisfied with a regular, dependable pattern. If you are happy with your circumstances -- great. B...
