Dean Barlow » Health

What do you mean it’s nothing to worry about?

Dean — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 02:09:52 +0000

My wife has been having a lot of bad headaches lately and she finally convinced her doctor to order an MRA and MRI to see if there is anything physical in her head that might be causing the headaches. She told me that the headaches feel like someone was stabbing her in her head with an ice pick.

Well, the results came back in that she has a small anuerysm in her brain, but the doctor said that it is so small that it is nothing to worry about. Well, I guess I’ll be doing some research on my own to see why the doctor would say that. I thought that all anuerysms were something to worry about!

Watch what you eat

Dean — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:55:48 +0000

Some people are just so stupid it is hard to believe. I was going through old newspapers and noticed a headline about people getting sick from eating a homemade stew. The story was that an ambulance had been dispatched to a residence because “a person was sick.” When the ambulance arrived at the house, there were a LOT of people sick, and they were all transported to the hospital. I don’t know how many ambulances actually were used, I just know that they all ended up at the hospital. They were calling it a “mystery illness.” Well, it turned out that the people took ill because they had all eaten a stew that was made with some herbs picked from in front of the house that had been sprayed with some kind of pesticide and was not properly washed before used in the food. I can’t believe that people are so stupid as to use pesticide on their crops and then not wash it off! To give them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they didn’t KNOW that pesticide had been used, but still for goodness sake you should wash your food before eating it, a dog could have passed by and peed on it!

So many choices

Dean — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 22:53:56 +0000

I never realized when Lisa told me that she needed to get a couple of sets of scrubs for her new job, that buying scrubs would involve so many different choices! I thought that I would surprise her with a pair or two for a Christmas gift, but when I went online to http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/ and saw all of the different ones to choose from I started to think that maybe the best thing to do for her is to give her a gift card to buy her own.

I think it is great that there ARE so many different patterns to choose from; it makes a visit to the hospital or to the doctor less frightening for children, and could be a conversation starter for other folks. It certainly lets the patients know that the nurses and doctors have a personality and a sense of humor! It’s good to know that the people in charge of your health care have a sense of humor! Makes the whole process a little less intimidating, you know what I mean?

I like to read other people’s blogs

Dean — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 22:51:19 +0000

One thing that I’ve been doing lately is spending more time on the Internet, reading other people’s blogs. My sister sent me a bunch of links to her favorite blogs to read, and I’ve been reading them. It really is very interesting and fun to see what other people are up to, what they are thinking and writing about. I’ve even left a few comments on some of the blogs that I’ve read here and there. I’ve also found some interesting sites about nature and science and news. I think I could easily spend most of my day on the Internet, just reading and absorbing all of the awesome information that is out there! I find myself clicking on links, clicking on more links, clicking on more links and before long I realize that I can’t even to remember what the first article was that I was reading about! Very entertaining!

Urban legend

Dean — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 23:03:24 +0000

I have loved Disney World ever since it opened. I was young teenager when it first opened. If I recall correctly my parents took the entire family down to Florida for Christmas vacation first year that it did open. That was my first experience with a large theme amusement park and I thought it was absolutely fantastic.

For that particular vacation I think my parents made a mistake by taking us to Disney World first because they also took us to other places such as Sea World, Cypress Gardens, and Busch Gardens during the same vacation.

I don’t know how it ever became an urban legend that Walt Disney’s body had been frozen using cryogenic equipment and was being stored on one of the Disney properties, but it was something I truly believed was correct! I was quite surprised and to be perfectly honest, but this appointment when I learned earlier today that story was simply an urban legend. Walt Disney was in fact cremated and the first known case of anyone being cryogenically preserved was a couple of months after Walt Disney’s remains were cremated.

To be perfectly honest I was rather disappointed when I learned that was an urban legend. I rather thought it was a romantic notion that the night in some future decade been brought back to life somehow!

Those pearly whites

Dean — Sun, 21 Aug 2011 19:41:23 +0000

I was really surprised when my son told me that his dentist said that he needed to see a Periodontist. Apparently he has been brushing his teeth with so much force that he has damaged his gum tissue, and that has lead to the exposure of the roots of some of his teeth. That in turn, is causing sensitivity.

One reason that I was surprised about that was because we all use soft bristle toothbrushes, not hard bristle. I would have thought that the soft bristle would have prevented that gum damage. I don’t really know what other options are out there to take care of this problem – I’m worried that he is going to end up loosing some teeth if this keeps up! Hopefully the Periodontist will be able to give us some good advice on how we can keep his teeth without losing an arm or a leg!

Popcorn popping

Dean — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:16:44 +0000

A few years back I heard that there was a large controversy about how bagged microwave popcorn was bad for you. The kind that was already buttered, that is. Well it seems that the people that worked in the factories were getting sick from something that was in the butter. People were freaking out and throwing their microwave popcorn away! I didn’t do that; I reasoned that people in the factories were exposed to a lot more of the “bad stuff” than the average home-owner that only pops corn on occassion.

I did, however, stop buying microwave popcorn. I figured it was the right thing to do. Last month my niece gave us a big jar of regular, unpopped popcorn. My wife has been hinting at me cooking it. I’ve told her that I would, but somehow it has just never happend. Imagine my surprise when UPS delivered a box today addressed to my wife, and when she unpacked it we found two microwave popcorn poppers! These things are individual serving size, and are dishwasher safe. They are in the dishwasher as I write. I wonder how the popcorn will turn out!

New Uniform Designs

Dean — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 01:41:32 +0000

The hospital is only about 10 minutes from my house and evidently a lot of people in my neighborhood have jobs of some sort in the medical field. I can tell because of the shifts that they work and some of them are still wearing their uniform when they get home after work. My neighbor across the street from me must work in some sort of pediatrics office, because she is always wearing a brightly colored scrubs outfit. I see here frequently when she gets home from work and stops at the end of her driveway to get her mail out of the box at the street. I wave and smile, but she has never made much effort to be more friendly than that.

Of course, you do not have to work at the hospital to wear scrubs. Anyone can buy them. They are comfortable and easy to wash and care for. I have a pair in my dresser even as we speak. I found the scrubs online at this url: http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women and see that the prices are reasonable. Plus, I don’t have to drive all the way to a major city shopping area to buy something unusual like scrubs. I can order online and they get delivered right to my door step.

Medical advances

Dean — Thu, 19 May 2011 16:25:23 +0000

I was always a big fan of the television show The Six Million Dollar Man. The progress that the medical field has made in respect to replacing damaged/missing body parts always amazes me. This video shows a demonstration of a young man who recently received a bionic hand. I can imagine that he is thrilled to have it!

What a Bond

Dean — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 21:16:46 +0000

Guest post written by Jamison Miller

The other day, I was looking up Digital Hearing Aids online, when I decided that I really wanted my wife and me to plan an event with our son Even. My son and I both graduated from the same university, and we both have that special bond that comes with sharing a similar life experience. We love our alma mater very much, and we are large supporters of our athletic program. Throughout college football season, my wife and I brought our son to several home games and had a really terrific experience. In another weekend or two, I would to take a trip with my son to our school’s basketball museum. Our school has ! had a very success team, and the museum has an extensive collection of memorabilia from over one-hundred years of basketball history.

I feel like going to the museum will get us geared up for the rest of college basketball season. I feel it will also give us a great sense of pride, remembering that we attended a university that has produced world class athletics and a program in the country. I think it will really be special trip for us!