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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…

Pre-Diabetes and the Type 2 Diabetes Struggle is Real— You Don’t Have to Manage It Alone

By DAWN C. HILL, DNP, ARNP, CDE Central Florida Health Care IF YOU ARE wondering whether or not you should be screened for Type 2 diabetes, then ask yourself these questions: • Am I aged 40 years or older? • Am I overweight? • Do I have high blood pressure or cholesterol? • Do I have…
Fighting the Flu

The flu season is here again and with it concerns for protecting not only ourselves but our loved ones. The most susceptible to the flu are children under 6 months of age, those with chronic illnesses, pregnant women and the elderly. The flu virus can mainly be spread through ‘droplet’ infection that is in the…
Oral Hygiene Routines

Yahira Ferrer, Dental Assistant October is National Dental Hygiene Month, an effort to celebrate the work dental hygienists do and to help raise awareness on the importance of good oral health. This year, the awareness month is focusing on four routines that can help people maintain healthy smiles: brush, floss, rinse, and chew. The ADA…