Health Highlight

Winning the Fight

“Cancer didn’t bring me to my knees, it brought me to my feet!”

~Michael Douglass (Actor and throat cancer survivor)

            Yesterday, June 5, 2016 was National Cancer Survivor’s Day here in the United States, a day set aside to celebrate the joy of families and individuals who have faced the demos of cancer and survived.  I think it is a great idea to celebrate those who have gone through the agony of illness and have come out on the other side as a survivor…I think we should celebrate it every day.  I know for those who have survived their bout with cancer, I think in their own way, they do celebrate it every day in a manner the rest of us may not be able to fully understand.  If any of you ever read my blog on a regular basis, you know that I have a particular distaste for this illness because of its far reaching impact on all of humanity.  In the past I have written about those whose lives cancer has claimed and today I’m happy to celebrate about those who have survived. 

            If you were to google well known cancer survivors, you would be inundated with lists of celebrities who have survived and they would have mostly movie and television stars who have suffered through the struggles of cancer.  What you wouldn’t see are the names of all the grandparents, aunts, uncles, mothers and fathers or the names of sisters and brothers who have survived.  The National Cancer Survivors Day website shares the stories and the joy of those who have beaten back cancer.  I really recommend that you check them out at http://www.ncsd.org/index.htm.  This year marks the 29th year that this day has been celebrated and it celebrated on the first Sunday in June.  

            I think it’s important to keep in mind the daily challenges of those who fight this illness because it claims so many lives each year without impunity.  And those who survive are in many cases survivors who will bear the scars of their survival for the rest of their lives, but they will have a rest of their life to live their life.  A few weeks ago I wrote about an experimental treatment of brain cancer that shows great promise in not only treating brain cancer but several other types of cancer as well.  Do I think science will come up with a “cure” in my lifetime?  I’m not sure but I hope so.  Cancer, I believe, will be like a moving target always changing into different versions of itself but those who work and toil every day to beat it back will keep on fighting as hard as their patients.  I guess what I’m driving at is as we celebrate those who have survived, let’s not forget those who made that miracle happen as well.  Here is my hat off to all the people that work so tirelessly to eradicate cancer and to care for those who are fighting it.  For all the patients and all the doctors & nurses and all the researchers & techs I just would like to say thank you.

            Thanks for reading as always and I encourage you to share this post in order to share the good news.  If you have any questions please feel free to shoot me an email at wmreid@bhcshealth.com and I will get back to you right away.  I hope everyone has a good week, take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Just a Thought

Smelling the Roses

“The greatest gift you can give someone is your time because if you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life you will never get back” ~ Unknown

            Several week ago I bought a book to share with my kids, something to read at night once in a while when I tuck them in for the night.  The title of the book is Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and it’s all small stuff by Richard Carlson, and it is filled with little gems of wisdom that apply not only to adults who are trying to get a handle on life but little nuggets of advice that goes a long way in helping kids deal with some of the things that life throws at them too.  One of the little stories I read to my daughter recently shares the notion that life will always be in progress and our “to do” list will never, ever be crossed off.  Life happens each and every day and as soon as we cross one item off the list it seems like we are adding two more on.  As adults, we try and get just one more thing crossed off the list before we leave the office, or the shop, or the jobsite…there is always just one more thing to do.  Often we stay behind and try to diminish this Hydra-esque list of chores at the expense of our loved ones who have to wait for us to come home after work but the people (or pets) that care about us.  As a society we are so ingrained with the idea of getting our work done before we play some people never take time to relax and have recreation time with family, friends or pets. 

            Work will always be there, it’s called life and the chores list will never go away.  Set a reasonable goal of what can be reasonable accomplished in a day and then have the courage to put the list down for the day.  I’m not advocating for not doing any work or even being concerned about the things you would like to get done, we all have our “to do” list but I encourage you (and myself) to accept that despite our best efforts, sometimes we have to stop before we’re done and go home. The challenge is to stop focusing on our lists and look at what is truly important like family.  Time spent with family or friends are irreplaceable moments in which we share ourselves and create deeper and more developed bonds.  I’ll never remember how I felt mowing the grass or making that last phone call to a client but I will never forget the first time my daughter launched her first model rocket or caught her first (or hundredth) fish.  Spending time with loved ones gives more peace of mind than knowing that I was able to pull weeds in my garden.  Yes mowing the grass and pulling weeds are important to me but no nearly as important as my kids…it’s all about perspective.  The time and conversations I have with my kids will give them more to face life with than anything else I can do for them. 

             Take time this weekend and share your time and yourself with someone and build those memories that adds joy to your life and don’t sweat the small stuff because like Richard Carlson says, it’s all small stuff.  I highly recommend that you check out his book…get from the library or buy yourself a copy, it’s all good stuff.  Thank you for reading and I hope everyone has a safe and pleasant weekend.  If you have any questions, please drop me an email at wmreid@bhcshealth.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible.  Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this thing together.

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Just a Thought

A Day of Remembrance

“The soldier above all others prays for peace, for it is the soldier who must suffer and bear the deepest wounds and scares of war.”

~ General Douglas MacArthur

Memorial Day is celebrated on the last Monday in the month of May in order to honor and remember those of our armed services who have given their lives while serving their country.  You may disagree with the politics and policies in our nation’s capital and you may or may not agree in the manner of how our military personnel is deployed around the world but what we should all agree on is the bravery of those who have gone before and given their lives in payment for the freedoms we have today.  Memorial Day is a day that we have set aside to say thank you and to remember each in our own way.

            The history of Memorial Day dates back to the years following the end of the Civil War and it was known then as Decoration Day.  It was called that because organizations and groups would decorate the headstones of the soldiers both of the Confederate and of the Union.  This tradition of decorating the headstones was practiced throughout the United States and the date of May 30 was set aside in 1868 to “decorate” because no major battle corresponds with that date.  The Federal government recognizes Waterloo, NY as being the birthplace of Decoration Day and hence Memorial Day as the tradition started there in 1866 just after the Civil War.  After WW I the day became known as Memorial Day in order to recognize veterans of all conflicts who gave their lives in the line of duty.  The date of May 30 was changed to the last Monday in the month of May in 1968 by congress and went into effect 1971, the same year when Memorial Day became a federal holiday. 

            I would be willing to bet that almost everyone who is reading this post has known a person who has died in the line of service or has an acquaintance who knows of someone who has given their life in the line of duty.  We are all touched one way or another by the effects of war or police actions by our armed services around the world.  The members of our armed services sign on for this duty out of a love of their country and out of a love for their families.  These soldiers go into harm’s way when they’re told and they perform under brutal conditions to serve to the best of their abilities.  Many come home with deep physical and emotional scares that seem too much to overcome and many don’t come home except in a steel casket with an American Flag draped across the top.  These men and women who pay the ultimate sacrifice for their country deserve the respect and gratitude of all who call this country home. 

            Maybe you knew all this from the beginning and this is all old news, maybe for some of you this gives you new perspective on Memorial Day and what it stands for.  I hope for all that you have a deeper appreciation of the sacrifices too many have given over the years.  You may be a pacifist and disagree with what our military does day in and day out, but the men and women who serve at the sharp end of the stick deserve honor and thanks as from one person to another. 

            I pray that everyone had a safe holiday weekend and fairs well moving forward in the short week ahead, I hope it’s a good one for you.  Thanks for reading and I hope you will take a moment to share this and my other stories with the people you care about.  If you have any questions or comments, please drop me an email @ wmreid@bhcshealth.com and I will get back to you right away.  Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Emotional Health

Resentment…Forgiveness

“Holding on to anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die.”

                                                                                    ~Unknown

            Resentment is a wall that is slowly built between one’s own self and the rest of the world one stone at a time over a period of weeks, months or years.  Resentment is the process of where an individual feels that they have been unjustly mistreated and are holding onto that anger or hurt that they felt at that time.  Resentment builds as the effect of repeated emotional injury accumulates over time as each stone in the wall is placed by a person who hurts us by creating feelings of being devalued or pushed aside.  Resentments can build up against a single person or a group of people and the long lasting accumulative affect can lead a person to become emotionally shut off from the rest of the world, becoming angry and bitter at any slight perceived or real.  Anger takes over for the person who has built up resentments and their life slowly spirals down into a hopeless pit of despair, anger, bitterness and sometimes, violence.  No one wakes up and says to themselves, “Today I think I will develop resentment against my friends/family/coworkers and become hopelessly angry.”  It just doesn’t happen that way.  Disappointments (a very real part of life) and hurts (real or imagined) are all part of the path we walk each and every day and it is how we deal with these setbacks that determines our path forward.

            Resentment is like low intensity warfare on your body, it makes you tense but in such small way at first you may not even know it.  Clinching jaws, stiff necks, tight shoulder muscles?  You might have resentments building up in your mental wellbeing and not even know it.  Have a hard time of letting go of things that annoy you?  Do you recall every little hurt you’ve ever felt with such fierce emotions that you feel like you are reliving all the emotional pain again?  You probably have a wall of resentment right in front of you and can’t see it.  In the immortal words of the singer Idina Menzel, you need to let it go.  Let go of the anger.  Let go of the hurt.  Let go of the bitter feelings that creep up like poison ivy and choke out the happiness that is lingering inside.  I’m not saying you can’t experience your feelings in the moment, but after the moment is over you need to dump those negative feelings, pour them out before they poison your soul.

            One of the hardest things a person can do is to truly forgive someone for an emotional injury whether that person is yourself or someone else.  But forgiveness is the best way forward towards removing resentments.  Forgiving someone does not give that person a blank check to keep acting like an emotional marauding pirate to plunder your emotions at any given time but it does give the forgiver the ability to put the emotional hurt behind them and move on with life without bitterness.  Resentments not only keep a person in an emotional prison but the physical effects on the body take a toll as well.  There are several good article to read that go into greater detail about this state of emotional and physical siege and I encourage you to do a little extra reading on the topic.  Our mental health and our physical health are intertwined for our overall personal wellbeing we must always be on guard to protect both.

            As always, thanks for reading and I ask that you please pass this and my other articles on to your friends and family, you never know who you might touch and how it will impact them.  As we all head into the Memorial Day weekend, I hope that you all are safe as you celebrate the memories of those who have gone before us…lift up those who need it by lending a helping hand or just a shoulder to lean on.  Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Just a Thought

Wills, Trusts & Estates, Oh My!

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.

                                                ~Benjamin Franklin

            Benjamin Franklin must be considered one of the wisest of sages in American history for his endless ability to have the appropriate thought on any topic.  Today I would like to touch base on a topic that some may find confusing, fearful, or beyond understanding…I would like to talk briefly about what happens to your life’s wishes and work after you’ve gone.  Estate planning is a confusing bit of life that has an impact on all of us whether we realize it or not and I hope to shed a little bit of light as to the importance of talking with a qualified person to help put your mind at ease.

            Many people fail to have any estate planning in place because they feel they have no “estate” to plan with.  The word estate brings images to mind of a grand home setting atop a hill with a sweeping view out towards the ocean…or mountains…or city skyline…you pick the vista.  The reality is that if you have any type of asset at all, you have an estate and you need to plan what you want done with that asset after you have passed.  Most planning of estates (property, money, assets, etc…) are handled in the form of a will, a document that spells out the wishes of the person whose estate is being discussed.  If I want to make sure my kids get my house, I put it in my will that they each get a third share of the house or whatever asset I wish to pass onto them.  After I pass on, the Probate Court will get involved and they will see to it that my will is followed and that the assets are doled out in accordance to the will after taxes and other fees are paid out.  If you don’t have a will that stipulates your final wishes, a judge from the Probate Court will get to decide where your assets will go even if on your deathbed you say you want everything to go to the local Red Cross…the judge will have the final say.

            If you want to avoid Probate Court all together, there are different planning paths to take to avoid court and other expenses by creating certain types of trusts like a revocable trust.   Of all the articles I have read in preparing today’s blog, the one constant recommendation from all the experts is to find a solid and reputable estate attorney.  It doesn’t help to plan for after you’re gone if you’ve left the planning of your estate up to someone who isn’t up to scratch on the all the intricate details and understanding of the law.  You have worked too hard to have your labors get tied up in court and fail to help the ones you love and intend to help.  The other consistent piece of advice that the experts gave was to update the estate plan after major life events (births, deaths, marriages or divorce) and as time goes on (every four to five years) in order to review the plan to make sure everything is still as you would like it to be.  Planning for end of life events can be an uncomfortable thing but it can also add peace to the lives of those who know that loved ones will not have to fight through courts or red tape in a time of grief and sadness.

            As always, thanks for reading and I encourage you to share this article with friends and family…strike up the conversation and come up with a plan (or a better one).  I hope everyone has a good week, take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Just a Thought

“That” Parent

“PLEASE REMEMBER…

1)       These are KIDS

2)      This is a GAME

3)      The coaches are VOLUNTEERS

4)      The officials are HUMAN

5)      THIS IS NOT THE PROFFESIONAL LEAGUE!”

~Unknown

I think all of us at one time or another have been to a little league game of some sport or another and have heard the rantings and railings of a parent or two who really did think that their son/daughter was part of a million dollar contract at the professional level and was being cheated by the people who volunteered as coaches and officials.  Yelling at the top of their lungs at the refs, the coaches, their kids to do whatever they want in order to win the game, yelling obscenities at the top of their lungs that would make a sailor blush…parents who in short demonstrate the poorest form of sportsmanship to everyone including their kids.  As a fan of athletics and a parent of kids involved with amateur sports (7 & 10 year old soccer players) I am painfully aware of “that” parent who seems to show up no matter what sporting event there is.  This time of year, many parents have children playing organized sports at all ages and at all different levels of competition. 

Athletic are designed to be healthy for kids in as such as it teaches them many life skills like cooperation, how to deal with adversity, it helps to develop self-confidence and it also teaches kids how to win as well as how to lose.  Playing a team sport teaches kids so much more than a video game could ever hope to do and in order for a child to take in these important life lessons they must have a “coachable” attitude sometimes called a willingness to learn or a teachable frame of mind.  And this is usually where “that” parent starts to foul the process up for not only their child but it affects the entire team.  Some issues of being that parent are represented in a great article from the Wall Street Journal, The Best Way to Cheer for Your Child,  “Children often connect parents’ attitude about their sports performance to their value as a person…Criticizing a child’s teammate suggests it is OK for a child to dump on teammates too…Parents who react by coaching from the sidelines only confuse their children…The goal is to develop better athletes and better people, and trying to win is part of that, if your definition of success is that your kid’s team wins and your kid plays fantastically, you’re going to be disappointed a lot of the time.”

Some positive ways to avoid being the parent who embarrasses your child in youth athletics are as follows:

1)      Use Positive Encouragement: Cheer for the whole team, not just your child.  And if the other team made a great play, acknowledge it. What better way to exemplify sportsmanship than to acknowledge the athleticism of all players?

2)      Support the Coach: Attend parent meetings, read the rulebook, have your child arrive to practice on time, and pick your child up on time.

3)      Do Not Undermine the Coach:  When your child is playing, whether it is at a practice or at a game, let the coach do his or her job…and most times, the coaches are volunteers, keep that in mind.

4)      Teach and Model Good Sportsmanship and Behavior:  What we say and what we do is directly reflected back to us in the behaviors of the players on the field and on the bench.

Sometimes it’s hard, but as a parent I know that the greatest benefit I can give my kids on the playing field is my unconditional support for them, their team and their coaches.  The best part for me is to watch the pure joy of playing on kid’s face…they really enjoy what they are doing…they’re having fun and isn’t that what youth athletics is all about in the end?  Thanks for reading as always, I hope everyone has a great weekend and if you have any questions or comments, please shoot me an email.  Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Health Highlight

A New Hope

“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have”

                                                                        ~Cayla Mills

            I often don’t have a lot of positive thoughts or feelings towards the mainstream news media…not for several years because they seemingly only like to share horrid news that they can take advantage of to create public fear…it’s my own bias.  But I am a big boy and I am willing to give credit where credit is due and I would like to send out a thank you to the news program, 60 Minutes, for a positive story that they aired last night, a news piece that inspires hope…a new hope that could have a profound impact on all of humanity.

            Doctors at Duke University’s Cancer Center have found a promising treatment for a type of cancer called Glioblastoma, a fast growing brain tumor.  Once diagnosed with this type of cancer, most patients tend to pass in 6 to 12 months…this is the type of cancer that claimed my mother’s life.  Doctors have discovered a process by which introducing the Polio virus into the cancer patient seems to have a positive effect in helping to shrink and even break down the tumor.  In early trials some patients have seen almost up to a year more of high quality…and some are cancer free…for up to three years now.  The FDA has approved this trial process to continue on to the next stage of clinical investigation…and that is good news for all of us.  Right now the focus is on a particular type of brain cancer but there are promising signs of how this treatment process is working on other forms of cancer as well…like skin cancer, lung cancer and others.  Is this the early stages of finding a cure for cancer or is this just a really good treatment to help those afflicted with this terrible illness get better if only for a short while? 

            The doctors at Duke, the very same ones who treated my mother, are cautiously optimistic and curious about how the Polio virus is helping to kill cancer cells and further investigation is required.  We are years away from solid answers but as trials move forward, more and more people are being helped by this process and the hope is to get this technology out to other hospitals and cancer centers for further treatments and observations.  The more data that can be collected, the better understanding we will have in this fight against cancer.  I watched this program with mixed emotions because the topic is so close and personal to me.  Mixed emotions such joy for the families of the survivors, a feeling of awe as I listen to the science behind it all and sadness as I am reminded what I and so many others have lost over the years.  My hat is off to the good doctors of Duke’s Cancer Center, Dr. Freedman and Dr. DesJardian and a cast of thousands who care enough to do all they can to care for each of us.

            As always, thanks for reading.  If you have comments or questions, please feel free to email me at wmreid@bhcshealth.com or stop by our website bhcshealth.com to see what is going on with us here Best Home Care Services.  Cancer is a fight we must all deal with and we should all celebrate these first septs towards better care.  I hope everyone has a good week and take care of yourself and each other, we’re all in this together.

The link to the story:  http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/preview-breakthrough-status/

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Health Highlight

A Perfect Mess

“When you aim for perfection, you discover it is a moving target.”

                                                                        ~Geoffrey F. Fisher

            Perfection is a state that many of us hope to achieve in all that we do, there is a certain pressure on all of us to be as good as the next person at one or many different task.  I think of the humorous mems on the internet where there is a side by side photograph of some crafty item like a cupcake decorated as a snowman that would be worthy of a magazine cover…then the photo of a cupcake that looks like a scoop of ice cream left to melt in the mid-day sun…the epic caption over the blob usually reads “FAIL” in bold letters.  I, too, have been a victim of seeing some wonderful item online and giving it a try only to have it turn out far from the original finished product and then that feeling of inadequacy and embarrassment raises its ugly head and makes me feel a little dumb for trying it in the first place.  How many of you have ever experienced this?  If you’re not all nodding your head, you need to get out of your comfort zone more often!

            Perfectionism is a feeling that we all have at one time or another and what’s worse, we mistakenly project this feeling to be perfect onto our kids.  There is this pressure to be perfect at work, at school, and in play.  We are bombarded with images of other people living perfect lives and we feel that in order to be happy we must mimic those who we perceive to be perfect.  There is a fine line here, there is a difference between striving for excellence and expecting perfection.  Kids (and sometimes adults) get these notions mixed up and as you well know, no one is perfect and to strive for perfection only leads to a life of dissatisfaction.  Life is messy, life has ups and downs, we trip, we stumble, and sometimes we fall…the important thing to glean from these imperfect moments in life are to pick yourself up and learn from the moment.  A quote from Psychologytoday.com puts it this way, “In your tasks and activities, instead of pressuring yourself to be perfect every step of the way, see who you are and what you do as a work in progress, with flexibility for adjustments and refinement. Often times, it’s important and healthy to simply say that something you have done is “sufficient,” “acceptable,” “satisfactory,” or “a step in the right direction,” and move on without ruminating over imperfections. It’s helpful to let others know that this is your approach as well, to free yourself from the pressure (and trap) of having to appear perfect. Use terms such as “brainstorm,” “experiment,” “work in progress,” or “refinement process,” when describing your endeavors. There’s power in being flexible. The rigid is more breakable.”

            I love that last two sentences…there is power in flexibility because the rigid is more breakable.  Moving forward into the weekend, take time and explain the difference to your kids or stand in front of the mirror and explain it to yourself.  I think that if you can take the pressure off yourself or take the pressure off of your kids, you might all have a happier existence and isn’t that what we all want for ourselves and our families, for everyone to be happy?  There are many reasons to accept the frailties of our humanity…we all make mistakes…we must learn to accept this as part of life and then move forward with living life without the fear of failure.  I hope this post reaches that part of you that expects perfection and that you are able to think about the benefits of less stress and the happiness it might bring to you or your family’s life.  As always, thanks for reading, I hope everyone enjoys an imperfect and stress free weekend.  If you find these post valuable or informative, please, I encourage you to visit our Facebook page and sign up your email account and then I can send these post directly to you via email.  If you have any questions or have a topic that you would like me to write about, please feel free to drop me a line at wmreid@bhcshealth.com or visit our website bhcshealth.com.  Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.

 Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Provider Spotlight

A Helping Hand

“In a world where there is much to be done, I felt strongly impressed that there must be something for me to do.”

                                                                                    ~Dorothea Dix

            Happy Nurses Week 2016!  Nurses week started last Friday May 5th and goes through Thursday, May 12th.  I would highly recommend that if you know a nurse, please give them a hardy well done for all the incredible work they do each and every day…they are the heroes in the trench fighting for our health and welfare to bring comfort and healing to us all.  As I write this piece it seems to make sense to me that Nurses Week falls on Mother’s Day Weekend because in a way, nurses (female and male) take care of us as a mother would for a child.  They set aside their needs as they ply their healing art to help others as much as they can.  They are the ones who stop in throughout the night to check on patients in the hospitals of help clean up after a patient has an accident…they are the backbone of the medical field without doubt.  How did this all start, what was it that brought about the modern nurse and how did we get to the point we are at today?  Today I am going to mention some of the most well-known nurses who have gone before us and I will also share some links that you might find as interesting reading material at your leisure.

            “There are somewhere around 2,600,000 nurses today. These are individuals who have dedicated their lives to caring for others…While there are many people who certainly deserve to be on a list of influential American nurses, this list has been whittled down to just ten,” (nursingdegree.org).  The following excerpts are from the website nursingdegree.org and I make no claim on their intellectual property but feel it is important to share.

1. Florence Nightingale

The purpose of this list is to enumerate some of the most influential American nurses and, yes, Florence Nightingale is English. However, her contributions to nursing and indeed the world supersede any sort of national boundary. She cared for the poor and the ill, advocated for better health care for everyone and trained and mentored other nurses. While serving in the Crimean War, she found that many of the soldiers were dying due to poor sanitation and worked to improve conditions. Later, she and Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell opened the first medical school for women. For these reasons and many more, we celebrate International Nursing Day on May 12, her birthday.

2. James Durham

While we think of nursing as a predominantly female profession, there have nevertheless been men practicing nursing throughout history. Born into slavery, James Durham was the first African-American in the United States to formally practice medicine, although he never received any formal medical training. Owned by several doctors, one of his owners encouraged his interest in medicine. It was by working as a nurse that he was able to purchase his freedom in 1783 and open a medical practice of his own.

3. Dorthea Dix

During the Civil War, Dix was superintendent of Union Army Nurses but was relieved of her duties after some serious disagreement with Army doctors. Because Dix believed in caring for everyone, she and her nurses were among the only ones to care for Confederate soldiers. Her real contributions, however, lie in the mental health field. After taking an interest in how the mentally ill were cared for, she began petitioning Congress and drafting legislation on their behalf. She is credited with creating the first mental health system in the United States.

4. Clara Barton

Much like her contemporary Dorthea Dix, Clara Barton served as a nurse during the Civil War, caring for wounded Union soldiers. In 1864 she became the “Lady in Charge” of Union hospitals.

Like Dix, Barton is best known for her activities outside of the war. It was after a trip to England where she visited the Committee of the Red Cross that she was motivated to create a branch in the United States. The American Red Cross is still in operation and provides relief to disaster victims.

5. Linda Richards

Richards was the first student to enroll in America’s first nurse’s training school. Some of her most important work, however, was conducted at Bellevue Hospital where, appalled by the state of record keeping, she developed a system for keeping track of each patient’s medical records. Her system was adopted in both the UK and the US. In 1994 she was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame.

6. Mary Eliza Mahoney

Mahoney was the first African American woman to become a nurse in the United States. She went on to cofound the National Association of Colored Graduate Nurses. The organization later developed an award in her honor for women who contributed to racial integration in nursing.

7. Anna Caroline Maxwell

Known as the “American Florence Nightingale,” Anna Caroline Maxwell created the Army Nurse Corps during the Spanish- American War. She served as superintendent of nurses at a number of hospitals. Maxwell went on to become the first director of New York Presbyterian Hospital, later known as Columbia School of Nursing.

8. Margaret Sanger

Margret Sanger was the pioneer behind the women’s health movement. She disseminated information to women about such topics as menstruation, sexuality and birth control. Often in trouble with the law for her controversial behavior, she went on, in 1921, to found the American Birth Control League later known as Planned Parenthood.

9. Sharon Ann Lane

Sharon Ann Lane served as a First Lieutenant in Vietnam. One of only eight military nurses who died in Vietnam, she was the only one who died as a direct result of enemy fire. She stands as a symbol of the sacrifice made by women who serve in times of war.

10. Virginia Lynch

Lynch created the first Master’s degree program in forensic nursing at the University of Texas- Arlington.

            I encourage you to read up more on the history of these and other influential people of the nursing field in order to gain a better understanding of the passion these special people have and carry with them every day.  I really hope you take time to thank a nurse this week…(and every time you meet one!) I hope everyone has a great week and remember to take care of yourself and each other, we’re all in this together.  Thanks for reading!

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com

Just a Thought

Unconditional Love

“There are no words left that can fill the void.”  ~Me

            It’s been almost 11 years…10 years, 10 months and 23 days or just 3980 days ago that my mother passed away.  She was home surrounded by her children and grand-children in those closing moments of her life, the way any of us would like to go I think.  But the reality is that my mother didn’t want to go, not just yet anyway but cancer has its own timeline and really doesn’t care what the rest of us have to say about it.  I’m sad, very sad that my mom is gone but I’m not bitter about the passing of my mother.  Her pain and suffering from cancer was finally over, how could I be selfish enough to be bitter about that?  Still, I miss her each and every day.  What prompts the theme of my post today is that this weekend is Mother’s Day and I am fortunate enough to celebrate it with my wife through the eyes of my kids.  I also take this time to celebrate the memory of my mom with my siblings as we tell stories that exemplify my mother’s wicked sense of humor and her absolutely bottomless capacity for unconditional love and kindness.

            Modern science has found incredible reasons as to the strong relationships between children and their mothers…the data is incredible…but at the end of the day, most moms just love their kids and want them to be safe and happy.  As a child, it is all too easy to take things for granted knowing that mom will always be there.  When we are teenagers and we know all there is to know in the world, we argue with mom to explain to her how things are different now.  As young adults we are energetic and we feel invincible as we move out into the world because we know that mom is there to help if needed.  As adults, we realize how right our mothers were about all the things they had been trying to tell us for so many years and we begin to really recognize their wisdom.  Now that she’s gone, now that I have kids, oh the questions I have that I never knew I needed to ask her while she was still alive…

            The point of this post is that we all only have the one woman we call mother…be it biological, adoptive, or foster…this person has sacrificed for our benefit, has gone without for our benefit and has loved for our benefit.  Take time this weekend…visit, call, text, skype, have Scotty beam you wherever you need to be in order to be with your mother…put your arms around her and give her the same gift she has given you all these years, love.  I confess this post has been a little more challenging to write than my others but it is one that needs to be written.  My hope is that as a mother or a child we can all reflect back on what this day really means about a woman who has taken on the most challenging job ever, motherhood. 

            For some of us, these types of holidays bring back memories…some good, some not so good…but thus it is all part of this life we live.  People from all walks of life have a great impact on who we are if only for a moment…celebrate those and share the love given so freely and unconditionally.  As always, Thanks for reading and I hope everyone has a great weekend.  If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to drop me an email at wmreid@bhcshealth.com.  Take care of yourself and each other, remember, we’re all in this together.  Happy Mother’s Day!

Wm Reid

Best Home Care Services

325 N Eastern Ave

Connersville, IN 47331

765-827-9833

wmreid@bhcshealth.com