Wellbeing

A Dream Come True, Sort Of

Growing up in the 60s, if you loved sports, as I did/still do, you spent hours listening to games on a transistor radio. There certainly wasn’t “Cable” television back then; heck, there wasn’t even color television, let alone “HD,” “interactive,” or whatever else television technology has evolved into. And of course, there were no “big screen” television sets either. We had a 19" Zenith black and white television and we received three channels: 4, 5 and 7 (in Boston), and as much as sports was/is important in Boston/New England, viewing options, given the limited VHF/UHF band frequencies, meant listening to games on radio – AM radio. Games were regularly televised on weekends, more so if the home team was playing on the road. As the decades have passed, so too have transistor radios, black and white televisions and limited viewing on only three channels. Between “Cable,” computers, and more recently, the introduction of hand-held devices, access to and familiarity with sports has grown exponentially. Add in the explosion of sports-talk radio and the abundance of sports-themed content on television (regardless of whether the games are at home or on the road) and one could be in his “man cave” for hours on end “channeling” his – or her – passion, for any team, in any city, at almost any time.

New Ultrasound System Comes to Fairfax

First medical facility in the nation to have the technology that drastically improves breast cancer detection.

Upon learning she had stage three metastatic breast cancer, Nancy Cappello was shocked, she said.

Column: Something New – or Old, to Consider

And therein lies the anxiety. Although, all things considered – and as you regular readers know, I like, maybe even need, to consider all things – the medical assessment of the most recent CT scan of my upper torso and thorax/lungs showed a new object in my left lung, “approximately the size of a silver dollar,” according to my oncologist. What this object is, exactly, cannot be determined at this juncture; technology prevents such clarity, unfortunately. Nevertheless, its appearance and location are possibly cause for concern, possibly not.

In Gratitude of our Community Partners

Last month Inova Alexandria Hospital celebrated our nurses for National Nurses Week May 6–12. While you would expect a company to recognize its own for outstanding work, I think it speaks volumes when members of the Alexandria community reach out to us to honor that outstanding work by supporting educational advancement opportunities for our nurses and staff.

Springfield Residents Save Neighbor’s Life

Mary Ager and Dayna Cooper receive Citizen Recognition-Lifesaving Award.

Michael and Carol Martinka, residents of South Run Crossing in Springfield, were clearing out their driveway yet again during one of the many snow days in Fairfax County this winter. Michael was clearing the driveway with a snow blower while Carol was at the front porch. All of a sudden, Carol heard the snow blower stop and found her husband lying face down in the snow. Panicked, she screamed for help.

Strawberries, Daisies and Doughnuts, Oh, My!

Buy fresh produce, meet neighbors at Vienna Farmers Market.

For fresh produce, flowers, crepes, breakfast tarts, candy, baked goods and piping-hot doughnut holes – in a cheerful atmosphere filled with friends and neighbors – the Vienna Farmers Market is hard to beat.

Love Your Body Yoga Festival Comes to Reston Town Center

Yoga studios and wellness centers of Northern Virginia will offer classes, services, and share information at Love Your Body Yoga Festival on Sunday, June 8 from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Reston Town Center, 11900 Market Street, Reston.

Healthy Cooking with Children

Local foodies say cooking with children can establish a lifetime of healthy habits.

From creating dough for freshly baked bread to squeezing lemons for a neighborhood lemonade stand, Michael Roll enjoys spending time in the kitchen with his children transforming ordinary food into nutritious culinary creations, particularly during the summer. He says that when parents cook healthy meals with their children they model behavior that can last a lifetime.

Team On Going

In anticipation of my next face-to-face appointment with my oncologist, the first in three months (as per usual) and considering a breathing issue I’ve been experiencing the last month or so, my wife, Dina (original Team Lourie member) asked if I wanted my brother, Richard (the other original Team Lourie member), to attend. Not that he wouldn’t attend if asked (he’s local); it’s more that I’m wondering if he really needs to attend, as in whether there will be life-changing, cancer-related decisions where all hands need be on deck. Of course, a week before the appointment I have no legitimate clue – nor have I received any suggestions from my oncologist – that anything of substance/recent changes that have occurred (I have also recently completed my quarterly diagnostic scans and am awaiting those results as well) will be discussed; and that’s the point of this column: how frequently, how/when does the patient/survivor know when team members should be present at these appointments?

Fisher Ortiz Leads Tennis Fundraiser for OI Research

He’s a “Kids Play for Good” ambassador.

Six-year-old Fisher Ortiz loves hitting baseballs, smacking tennis balls, and climbing high on a jungle gym. However, if he swings too hard, or misses a rung on a ladder, he could break an arm or leg because he was born with a rare disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI), also known as “brittle bone disease.”

Farmers Markets 2014

Buy fresh fruits and veggies from local vendors this summer.

Your guide to all the farmers markets in the Northern Virginia area.

Center Keeps Seniors Fit

The Walter Reed Community Center kicked off a 55+ Fitness Day with Boomer Boot Camp at 9 a.m. on May 14 and ended with an afternoon of meditation at the end of the day.

Column: Team Up

Just as “everyone knows Geico can save you 15 percent in 15 minutes,” that is, if you watch television, listen to radio, access the Internet or even sit on the beach at Ocean City and watch the single-engine planes flying by pulling banners; so too do people know that when your primary care physician tells you that you need to meet with an oncologist to discuss your recent medical results, you should bring along family, friends, advocates, doctors, lawyers, etc. (your presumptive “team”), because, well, you know why: your life may depend on it.

‘You Are Not Your Mistakes’

“She was one of the most disagreeable people I had ever met,” says paws4people Chairman and COO, Terry Henry, remembering his reaction to meeting Rebecca at Lakin Correctional Center, more than three years ago. Seeing her now with her earnest smile and a well-behaved puppy happily nestled in her lap, it’s hard to imagine the Rebecca he describes.

Possible Measles Exposure; Check for Symptoms

“Out of an abundance of caution,” Virginia Department of Health officials are investigating potential exposures to a second person with measles, May 11-15, in the National Capital Region.

The Connection