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How a life-saving transplant transformed my life

| Annemarie Ward shares her journey of keeping hope alive amidst heart disease | NEARLY 15 YEARS AGO, Annemarie Ward was walking the family’s three dogs with her mother Polly and sister Emily when she collapsed. At age seven, Annemarie had suffered a heart attack. She was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or enlargement of the…
Pop Quiz: Maintaining optimal optical health

| Understanding the causes of low vision and taking precautions as you age | EYESIGHT is a precious thing, and unfortunately there are many threats to optimal optical health. One common eye problem is low vision, and it affects seniors the most. Low vision, in its simplest terms, is any vision loss that interferes with…
Celebrating Black History Month with a look at local African-Americans in medicine

ALEX ALEXANDER Registered Nurse Bartow Regional Medical Center As a black registered nurse from North Carolina, 56-year-old Alex Alexander has had his run-ins with prejudice. But he’s learned to remember who he is, treat others like his brothers and sisters, forgive, and … not believe everything he hears. “You earn things by your merit and…

Publisher’s Note: Putting our ‘safety’ cap on

BESIDES JUNE being Men’s Health Month, it’s also National Safety Month. How we hope to help make a difference in the community by bringing to light some safety topics that hit close to home, such as swimming and fishing. With all the access to water in and around Central Florida, these are two activities that…
Fishing safety tips to cast by

OUR SON has just turned four years old, and Daddy recently bought him a fishing pole. Our first mistake was that we only bought one for him, and not one for each of his three older sisters (we should have known that the hobby would catch on like wildfire). Fishing is a pastime that can…
Healthy Smiles: How well do you and your partner sleep?

SNORING IS NO is no laughing matter. We all know someone who snores. Snoring can affect the quality of your sleep, which can lead to daytime fatigue, irritability, poor behavior, trouble with relationships, and increased health problems. With four hours or less of quality sleep, daytime fatigue can mimic legal alcohol intoxication. It may be…