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Saturday, 9 April 2016

Princess Health and April 9th, 2016 NBC, Here I Come. Princessiccia

Princess Health and April 9th, 2016 NBC, Here I Come. Princessiccia

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April 9th, 2016 NBC, Here I Come

Today has been crazy busy--even for a regular Saturday, add to it getting ready for my trip to NYC, and yeah-- it's no wonder...

I must drop in bed right now. I'll be at the airport by 4am. I'm looking forward to the Live-Tweet Stream tomorrow! I'll take you along. You don't need a Twitter account to see my Twitter feed. Just visit www.twitter.com/seanaanderson

If you have Twitter, I'm @SeanAAnderson

See you in New York!! Today on NBC, here I come!

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:




























Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean

Friday, 8 April 2016

Princess Health and April 8th, 2016 I'll Keep Checking On That Status. Princessiccia

Princess Health and April 8th, 2016 I'll Keep Checking On That Status. Princessiccia

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April 8th, 2016 I'll Keep Checking On That Status

Blessings are all around for me this week. I'm full of enormous gratitude. And these blessings come right in the middle of some of the busiest days I've experienced in a long time. I think that's good, actually. The busy schedule challenges me to be extra aware and reminds me to embrace the fundamental elements of my continued maintenance, tightly. 

Stability can be easily sacrificed in the middle of high stress and emotions. I mean, seriously--you're reading the blog of a professional stress/emotional eater! It really wasn't that long ago when my solution to almost everything was more food. The key to refraining from that sacrifice, for me, starts with acknowledging that food isn't a fixer. Food isn't a therapist. Food's only job is to nourish my body. And this acknowledgment pushes me in the direction of facing feelings--instead of stuffing them, and handling stress with action instead of retreat. Staying centered spiritually through my private/personal prayer and meditative time is imperative--and staying in regular contact with good one on one and group support connections is critically important for me in this process.

One of the big differences between my initial weight loss and my turnaround from relapse/regain is an awareness and appreciation of how the slip and slide can start. The humbling experience of regain cemented the fact that I'm never beyond relapse. My continued maintenance isn't guaranteed. I don't "got this," I only have the rails of support I've installed within my plan.

Taking what I do seriously, each and every day--while doing it in a way that makes it easy to laugh, smile and enjoy life along the way, and always remembering that I'm only as stable as my next good choice--keeps me well.

The outpouring of support surrounding Monday's Today Show appearance has been like having a birthday on Facebook every day, all week long. You know what I mean? Your birthday hits and suddenly your Facebook page lights up like the 4th of July and Christmas rolled into one! I'm immensely grateful for this level of support. At the same time, I struggle with the fact that sometimes, and especially of late, I can't keep up--because I want to personally say, "thank you" to each and every post--and every comment.

Today was long. I finished my morning radio show a few minutes early in order to travel twenty-five minutes away to a rare early-morning location broadcast. I grabbed some almonds and water immediately after because I knew lunch would come a little later than normal. I made my eye brow waxing appointment (omgoodness--my uni-brow is relentless. My eye brows grow at pace rivaling the late-great Andy Rooney from 60 Minutes), grabbed coffee and headed to the station for production work. I didn't leave the studio until after four pm. Kristin gave me a ride to the repair shop for my car--then it was home for a fast one on one support call--and a much needed nap. 

My head hit the pillow not too long after News Channel 4 in Oklahoma City presented a feature story on my weight loss and upcoming trip to New York. My phone immediately lit up with loved ones and friends congratulating me on the segment and also with Facebook notifications. I spent some time conversing with a few friends before setting a couple of nap alarms, insuring a well rested and productive Friday night. I prepared a good dinner and enjoyed a fabulous workout, too.

It's been a well rounded day!  

A big thank you to Lance West, the anchor in the following segment--and much gratitude to Lacey Lett and photojournalist Kevin Josefy for a superior job and a tremendous honor:

What a cool coincidence that this story started at precisely 5:05pm? 505 was my starting weight in September 2008.

Tomorrow starts early with a location broadcast from a big grocery store followed by packing and preparing for the 6am Sunday flight from Oklahoma City.

These are exciting times on the DDWL! I feel like I'm navigating it well. I'll keep checking on that status!

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:






































Thank you for reading and watching! And thank you for your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
Princess Health and Feds find security flaws in Kynect; state says no data breaches; problems also found in federal exchange. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Feds find security flaws in Kynect; state says no data breaches; problems also found in federal exchange. Princessiccia

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State health-insurance exchanges in Kentucky, Vermont and California had "significant weaknesses" in protecting their electronic information from hackers, the Government Accountability Office said in a report last month.

"These included insufficient encryption and inadequately configured firewalls, among others," said the report from the investigating arm of Congress. "In September 2015, GAO reported these results to the three states, which generally agreed and have plans in place to address the weaknesses."

Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar and Frankfort-based Adam Beam of The Associated Press report, "Vermont authorities would not discuss the findings, but officials in California and Kentucky said this week that there was no evidence hackers succeeded in stealing anything."

The report said the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversees the exchanges, had not fully implemented its oversight of their security and privacy protections.

"The GAO report examined the three states' systems from October 2013 to March 2015 and released an abbreviated, public version of its findings last month without identifying the states," AP reports. "Thursday, the GAO revealed the states' names in response to a Freedom of Information [Act] request from the AP. According to the GAO, one state did not encrypt passwords, potentially making it easy for hackers to gain access to individual accounts. One state did not properly use a filter to block hostile attempts to visit the website. And one state did not use the proper encryption on its servers, making it easier for hackers to get in. The report did not say which state had what problem."

Steve Beshear, who was governor until early December, told AP through a spokeswoman that "because of the time required to fix the technical issues, not all those issues had been addressed" when Republican Gov. Matt Bevin took over. "It is important to note that there were never any security breaches of any kind, and no one's information was ever compromised."

Doug Hogan, spokesman for the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, told AP the fixes "are in various stages of completion and implementation" and security is "of the utmost importance" to the Bevin administration.

Bevin is dismantling Kentucky's exchange, which Beshear branded as Kynect, and planning to transfer the 93,000-plus people who used it to buy federally subsidized policies to the federal exchange, Healthcare.gov.

"But Kentuckians' information might not be any safer on the federal exchange," AP reports. "According to the GAO report, Healthcare.gov had 316 security incidents between October 2013 and March 2015. Such incidents can include unauthorized access, disclosure of data or violations of security practices. None resulted in lost or stolen data, but the GAO said technical weaknesses with the federal system 'will likely continue to jeopardize the confidentiality, integrity and availability of Healthcare.gov.'"

Princess Health and Dr. Nikki Stone and mobile dental team in Hazard have helped cut tooth decay in the region 20 percent in a decade of operation. Princessiccia

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By Ann Blackford
University of Kentucky

When Dr. Daria "Nikki" Stone, associate professor at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry, became the director of the Ronald McDonald Care Mobile program in Hazard, she realized she was finally in the right place at the right time, where her piece of the puzzle fit in the big picture.

Growing up in Blackey, in Letcher County about 30 minutes from Hazard, she didn't know she wanted to be a dentist. She was always a good student and loved science classes in school but her passion had always been art. At her father's coaxing, she entered college as a pre-med major, and discovered through the UK Health Careers Opportunities Program that dentistry was a profession that merged her love of art and science.

Dr. Daria "Nikki" Stone (University of Kentucky photos)
"Now, I have a passion and love for what I do, preventing tooth decay in children in elementary schools, preschools and Head Start centers in Eastern Kentucky and advocating for underserved children," Stone said.

Stone married her high school sweetheart, Mark, and they have two children; Ana and Ian, 16 and 13. Her early career included part-time teaching and covering clinics in Prestonsburg and Hazard as a stay-at-home mom and working in New Mexico for the National Health Service Corps to retire a school loan. She got a transfer to be closer to family, and her last year with NHSC was just across the Kentucky border in Virginia.

She had been practicing dentistry for 10 years when UK hired her to head the Mobile Care program, coming full circle to the place she holds most dear.

"I love that I've been able to come home to Appalachia, there is no more beautiful place or more wonderful culture," she said. "I love the way my people talk and hug and laugh, and I love that we are a deeply spiritual people who are deeply connected to one another. My children are 10th generation Appalachians and I wouldn't want to raise them anywhere else."

UK's North Fork Valley Community Health Center's mobile dental outreach program celebrated 10 years of serving children in 2015. Stone has directed the program since its inception. She and several dental hygienists and assistants provide preventive dental care twice a year to 2,400 Head Start children in Perry, Knott, Letcher and Leslie counties and once a year to all public elementary schools in Perry and Knott counties. Children receive dental exams, cleanings, fluoride treatments, sealants and both classroom-based and individualized educational sessions. Dental education is also available to parents and teachers at various community events.

"Teaching is actually one of my favorite parts of my job," Stone said. "I also love the practical, day-to-day side of being with children, and I also love the philosophical aspect of why we're doing what we're doing. . . . Children are truly a blessing to work with; they are so very honest and keep us laughing all day. I love that we are preventing tooth decay before it starts and lowering the tooth decay rates in Eastern Kentucky, which has some of the highest rates of tooth decay in the nation."

Stone and patient Wyatt "Bebo" Goins at
Roy G. Eversole Preschool in Hazard
Tooth-decay rates in the center's service area have decreased nearly 20 percentage points, urgent dental needs have been cut in half, and treatment-completion rates for Head Start children with urgent dental needs have increased dramatically, from 8 percent to more than 60 percent.

"When the UK dental outreach team started seeing children in local schools and Head Start centers in 2006, over half the children in Perry County had untreated cavities and 20 percent had painful abscessed teeth," Stone recalled.

Stone said she has found her place in the world. "I once had a very spunky little girl come on the mobile unit and she was very excited to be there," she recalled. "She couldn�t stop talking and she spoke really fast, going from one topic to another without transition. She jumped up in the dental chair and asked me this question, 'Did you wish upon a star to be a dentist?' It really caught me off guard and I had to stop and think about it for a couple of seconds. I realized I probably had not ever wished upon a star to be a dentist, but for some reason God chose to bless me with the opportunity to be a dentist to this beautiful little girl anyway, and to provide preventive dental care services to over 10,000 children just like her who have come on the mobile unit in the past 10 years. And maybe some of them will wish upon a star to become dentists someday."
Princess Health and Nominations are being sought for award recognizing lifetime contribution to rural health in Kentucky; deadline is June 17. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Nominations are being sought for award recognizing lifetime contribution to rural health in Kentucky; deadline is June 17. Princessiccia

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In June of 2003, the Kentucky Rural Health Association began an award honoring a lifetime contribution to rural health in Kentucky. The first recipient was Dr. Dan Martin of the Trover Foundation in Madisonville. The annual award now bears his name and is given each year to an individual who has provided many years of service to rural Kentuckians. Last year�s recipient was Joseph E. Smith of the Kentucky Primary Care Association.

KRHA is seeking nominations for this year's award. The nominee�s contributions might be in direct patient care, health professions education, health administration, health promotion or public advocacy. To nominate someone, please download the nomination form here and e-mail it directly to linda.asher@uky.edu or to her at the Office of Rural and Community Health, 2195 Harrodsburg Rd., Suite 125, Room 1213, Lexington KY 40504-3504, or fax to (859)323-1043. The deadline for nominations is Friday, June 17.

The award committee ranks the candidates using established criteria and makes a recommendation to the KRHA Executive Committee, which selects the honoree, if someone is deemed appropriate. The award will be presented at the KRHA annual conference Aug. 25-26 in Bowling Green. Any KRHA member who would like to serve on the Dan Martin Award Committee should email linda.asher@uky.edu. "There are many dedicated, compassionate people at work in rural health in Kentucky and we look forward to being able to give them some well-deserved recognition," Asher says. "Now is your chance to help us thank someone that you think deserves recognition. We need and appreciate your input."
Princess Health and Exercise can help prevent or slow cancer, study suggests. Princessiccia

Princess Health and Exercise can help prevent or slow cancer, study suggests. Princessiccia

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Exercise may keep you from getting cancer and slow the growth of a tumor if you get one, according to a mouse-based study published in the journal Cell Metabolism by researchers at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark.

They report that training mice regularly on a wheel (the mouse version of a treadmill) decreased the growth of multiple types of tumors, including skin, liver, and lung cancers. Also, mice that exercised regularly had a smaller chance of developing cancer in the first place, and less cancer-associated weight loss.

The researchers linked the anti-cancer effects to the release of adrenaline (also called epinephrine), a hormone central to the mammalian �fight-or-flight� response. Exercise stimulates the production of adrenaline, which mobilizes immune cells, including one called a "natural killer." NK cells are recruited to the site of the tumor by the protein IL-6, which is secreted by active muscles. NK cells can then infiltrate the tumor, slowing or completely preventing its growth.

The researchers pointed out that injecting the mice with adrenaline or IL-6 without the exercise was not sufficient to inhibit cancer development, showing that regular exercise was needed to activate the hormone and the protein.

Thursday, 7 April 2016

Princess Health and April 7th, 2016 Their Imaginations. Princessiccia

Princess Health and April 7th, 2016 Their Imaginations. Princessiccia

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April 7th, 2016 Their Imaginations

Today was successful despite being extremely busy. I left the studio just after 4pm, headed to the store for a couple things--then home to freshen up, relax and enjoy a holdover of some sort until a later dinner--then it was off to an annual event I've been a part of for eight years through the radio stations I've called home.

Annual events tend to hold significance in my brain based on what I've experienced during the same stretch of time. Obviously, the last seven and a half years have been transformative for me--and every year, annual events like this one--and many of the people in attendance, see changes in me based on year increments. Regular attendees of the event tonight have witnessed me in every form along the way. From 500 pounds to 300 pounds, 230--then back up and up, and up a little more---then back down and now, where I find me, today. It's interesting to note that--no matter my size, I've always felt welcomed and appreciated--and truly, I've never had a reason to believe my physicality mattered to anyone, but me. Isn't that something? The struggle with that stuff in this specific situation--and in most other situations, lived exclusively in my head. Never before have I felt this level of confident peace.

This annual event thing is significant to me because there was a time when I couldn't stand being out in a large group of people who knew me almost exclusively from my radio show. For the majority of my broadcasting career, I didn't have the perspective I hold dear today. I loved radio for many different reasons--still do, but back in my heaviest days, I also loved the idea of listeners whom I hadn't met face to face, relying on their imaginations to determine my appearance. Appearing in public risked shattering those illusions. If I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase, "you don't look like you sound," I'd have at least twenty-eight dollars.

I'm hitting the pillow and allowing the Tweets to take it the rest of the way tonight.

I finished the day having met all of my personal goals.  

Today's Live-Tweet Stream:












































Thank you for reading and your continued support,
Strength,
Sean
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