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Courageous Voyage

Lakeland Man’s Journey Through Sickness and Transplant to Second Chance by MATT NORMAN, RN Heart health is something that we don’t often think about. Especially when we’re young. For Lakeland resident DeWayne Wilson, this all changed in 1999 when he received a life-changing diagnosis. That moment started him on a journey towards something bigger than…
Good for the Heart

Heart Walk Participants Explain Why Event Is So Rewarding by TERESA SCHIFFER According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), heart disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most ethnic and racial groups in the U.S., being responsible for one out of every four deaths, or approximately…
Convenient Care

Winter Haven Doctor Offers TAVR Treatment That Once Required Travel by TERESA SCHIFFER For patients suffering from aortic valve stenosis, there used to be little to nothing that could be done to restore heart health. As little as two decades ago, high-risk patients who experienced this narrowing of the aortic valve opening faced a very…

Editor’s Dose: Tips for minimizing back-to-school stress

IF YOU ARE LIKE ME, then come early July you were already thinking about preparations for the new school year. Parents and children in the community this year are getting ready extra early because Polk County public schools moved up their calendar by one week — day one of school is August 15.
Making the choice to breastfeed

THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH in Polk County (DOH-Polk) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) recognize August as Breastfeeding Awareness Month. This is a wonderful time of year to promote breastfeeding as a vital health activity and discuss the health benefits breastfeeding provides. Although every woman has their own…
Editor’s Dose: Keeping kids’ bodies and minds active this summer

WHEN I FIRST had the twins, my mom would say, “Have a schedule for them, or they’ll have a schedule for you.” Basically, she was cautioning that I’d better keep those little minds and bodies active, or chaos would inevitably ensue. Being a mother of eight children, I think she was speaking from personal experience.…