So happy anniversary to us and happy May Day to the rest of you.  I hope it brings beautiful spring weather and flowers where ever you are!

We went for a short walk today to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, but I have to admit, I haven’t been following my walking plan very well since my last post ten days ago.  But here’s the deal.  It’s been cold and rainy, but I have tried very hard to at least do something active each day.  It may not be an actual walk, but doing a little housework or work outside also counts for getting the old body into shape.

Last week we took a three day camping trip around south central Washington and fit in a couple short walks.  Yesterday we went to Centrailia to watch our grandkids fish on opening day at a juvenile fishing event and that included a short walk around the fishing lake.  So I am getting some exercise even though not as much as I had hoped.  I don’t think I’ve lost any weight yet, but I do think my body is a little stronger.  So I’m not giving up yet – there are still lots more walks in my future.

Twenty one years ago I weighed 190 pounds and in January of 1990 I made up my mind to lose 40 pounds by my 40th birthday which was in July.  I had 6 months from when I started until my birthday and I did accomplish my goal. I walked religiously at least 4 miles every day and I drank 2 of my meals each day in the form of a protein shake along with a ton of water.  I also hiked, climbed and skied with my local Mountaineers club.  But then we moved to a new town and I lost touch with all my hiking buddies.  I also took a sedentary job and the weight started to creep back on.

In 2001 was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through about 7 months of treatment which included chemo-therepy, mastectomy, and radiation.  Throughout that process I became very inactive and my metabolism seemed to come to a stand-still.  Some people lose weight during chemo, but I gained.  And during radiation I was putting on about a pound per week.  I knew something had to have been out of whack!

Sometime after my treatments ended my docs discovered I was low on thyroid, so now I’m taking a daily dose of thyroid replacement.  I had hoped maybe that would be the cure-all and I’d start losing weight, but unfortunately it hasn’t been that easy.  Over the years my weight has crept up to 210 pounds and today I’ve finally made up my mind to so something about it.

For the past couple months my husband and I have been making green smoothies for breakfast.  I thought maybe that would jumpstart the weightloss – after all starting our day with nothing but fruits and vegetables seems like a good idea, right?  And I’m sure it is, but it’s not enough.  What we really need is exercise.  I’m 60 years old now and my metabolism is about zilch!  It’s time to start walking again.

Yesterday I was at my oncologist’s office for another one of those pesky check-back appointments.  Thankfully, everything remains good – no sign of a recurrence, but getting weighed and coming in at 210 pounds proved that I had put on about 10 pounds over the winter.  This has been my pattern for the past 5-6 years.  Lose 10 pounds during the summer while working in Alaska, then put it back on during the dormant period of winter.  Well, after 17 years of tour guide work, I’m not going back to Alaska this summer, so it’s anyone’s guess as to whether I’ll be able to lose the automatic 10 pounds again this year.  So now I’m thinking it’s pretty obvious I better have a plan!  Besides, I want to lose a whole lot more than 10 pounds – more like about 60!!

After my appointment I stopped into the little health care store at the clinic.  A small, inexpensive spiral bound book caught my eye and on impulse I picked it up and brought it home.  It’s called “Walking Off Weight – The 14-day, 14-step program for lasting weight loss”.  I know walking worked for me in the past, so I’m hopeful maybe I can get back into that routine and walk off the extra bulk I’m carrying around with me.

So today I read Day 1 in the book and went for a walk.  I even got my husband to come along too, which is good because he has a few pounds to shed as well.  My walk wasn’t long – maybe 1 mile – and I didn’t walk particularly fast, but it was a start.

I’ll try to check back often to keep you in-tune with my progress.  And if you’d like to start a walking program along with me, just post a comment to let me know.  Maybe we can support and motivate each other through it all.

When I walk I like taking my camera along.  I never know what I’ll find, but I can at least share some of the small details I discover along the way.  If you go for a walk today; notice the small things like wildflowers in spring, interesting rocks, interesting people.  Use your senses and discover all there to find along your route.

Why AED training? AED stands for Automated External Defibrillator. CPR keeps oxygenated blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs and tissues. Early defibrillation with an AED administers a shock that can allow the heart to restore an effective rhythm. Having an AED available and the training to use it could mean the difference between life and death for a sudden cardiac arrest patient. In 1991 The American Heart Association published a paper called “Improving Survival from Sudden Cardiac Arrest: The Chain of Survival Concept”. The links within this “Chain of Survial” include:

• Early Access to the emergency response system;
• Early CPR to support circulation to the heart and brain until normal heart activity is restored;
• Early Defibrillation to treat cardiac arrest caused by Ventricular Fibrillation; and
• Early Advance Care by EMS and hospital personal.

AED units are becoming more and more common as we travel. You’ll often see them in airports, hotels, malls and other places where large numbers of people congregate.

When our Alaska motorcoach tours are traveling the remote highways of Alaska and Yukon Territory, they are often hours away from professional medical care. That’s why we feel it’s imperative that our tour managers are trained in First Aid, CRP, and Automated External Defibrillation (AED).

John Hall, the owner of the company, decided that he wanted AED units installed on each of his four motorcoaches as well as in his offices in Minnesota by the summer of 2007. He tasked me with doing the research and making the buying decision for 5 AED units. I found that the AED Superstore was an excellent resource for learning about the different kinds of units available, and after much research we decided on the ZOLL Plus. We feel ZOLL best met our needs for a variety of reasons. The one piece pad unit makes it impossible to make a mistake when applying the electrical leads to the patient’s chest. It also has a longer shelf life than some other models. The ZOLL display unit is visual as well as voice prompted, so even in a stressful situation, the operator has clear step by step instructions. Another important feature is that the shelf life the the batteries is longer than most others, and the batteries are available over the counter instead of being proprietary to the manufacturer.

So What’s the Take Away?

AED units are expensive to buy – especially when your underlying hope is that you NEVER have to use them. But if someone suffers a cardiac arrest and you have an AED available as well as the training to use it, they can save lives. And in my mind, that makes them worth every penny invested.

Knowing CPR/AED and first aid can and does save lives. We recommend everyone enroll in a CPR/AED training class on an annual basis. Classes are offered by the American Red Cross, The American Heart Association, and many local Fire Departments.

Washington State Representative Shay Schual-Berke compares it to drunk driving, saying you’re injuring your children for life if you smoke with them in your car. Several other states, including California and Alabama, already have banned smoking in cars with children, and 27 others are considering a similar ban.

Dale and I agree wholeheartedly with this proposed legislation. Children have no voice of their own so we feel it’s up to us to protect them. The unfortunate part of the law as it’s being proposed is that you could only be sited as a secondary offense, meaning that you could not be pulled over for this offense alone. Offenders would have to be pulled over for something else, and then if it was determined that they were smoking with children present, they would face a fine of about $100. We’d like it taken a step further to make it possible to pull people over for this offense alone and we’d like to see fines set at a higher level.

Why do I feel so strongly about this issue? Well for one thing Dale’s mother, a non-smoker, died of lung cancer after being subjected to secondhand smoke for most of her married life. Dale and I have long been opposed to smoking and tried many times to get his dad to quit, to no avail. As I was preparing this article I was dismayed to have my own grown daughter tell me that when she was young, her grandfather often smoked in the car with her present. Today we have seven grandchildren of our own and thankfully they are not being subjected to second hand smoke by any of their relatives, but there’s currently no law to stop a friend from polluting their lungs if they’re riding in someone else’s car and we think that is wrong.

Did you know that when kids are confined in a vehicle with a smoker it’s like they are smoking one cigarette for every four that the smoker smokes? Secondhand smoke contains more than 250 chemicals known to be toxic or cancer causing, including formaldehyde, benzene, vinyl chloride, arsenic, ammonia, and hydrogen cyanide. (1)

Secondhand smoke causes irritation of the lungs, leading to coughing, excessive phlegm and chest discomfort. It also causes irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat. Children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to suffer from pneumonia, bronchitis, and other lung diseases. They are also more likely to have ear infections and develop asthma. Children who have asthma and breath secondhand smoke have more asthma attacks. (2)

There are an estimated 150,000 to 300,000 cases every year of infections, such as bronchitis and pneumonia in infants and children under 18 months of age who breathe secondhand smoke. These result in between 7,500 and 15,000 hospitalizations! (3)

So What’s the Take Away?

If you’re a smoker, here is what you can do to protect yourself and your family from secondhand smoke.

• Do not smoke in your car or allow others to smoke if there are children present
• Don’t smoke in your home
• Ask other people not to smoke in your home, especially baby-sitters or others who may take care of your children.
• Choose children’s day car centers, schools, restaurants and other places you spend time in that are smoke free.
• If you must smoke, try to smoke only in an open area away from your family.
• Quit for yourself and your loved ones…. Call your local American Lung Association at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) to find out more about how to stop smoking for good.

If you’re a non-smoker, write your state legislators and tell them why you believe there should be laws against smoking in public places and in cars when there are children present.

For more info on the effects of secondhand smoke on both adults and children, please read: Secondhand smoke: Avoid dangers in the air you breathe

Footnotes

1. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke. A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006; Available at: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/factsheets/factsheet2.html

2. The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke: Children are Hurt by Secondhand Smoke. A Report of the Surgeon General, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2006; Available at: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/secondhandsmoke/factsheets/factsheet2.html

3. California Environmental Protection Agency. Health Effects of Exposure to ETS. September 1997.