Daily Inspiration

Attitude Is Everything
by: Brian Cavanaugh, T.O.R., A Cup of Chicken Soup for the Soul

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?" Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.' "I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry.

"She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breathe and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them. 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Health Headlines 12/08/05

Molecule Links Down Syndrome To Alzheimer's ~> Click here.

Study Links Inflammation To Chronic Pain ~> Click here.

Some Breast Cancer Cells Once Fueled By Estrogen Can Be Killed By The Same Hormone, Fox Chase Cancer Center ~> Click here.

New Treatment For Pancreatic Cancer Allows Life-saving Surgery ~> Click here.

Stage III Colon Cancer Adjuvant Chemotherapy, Women And The Elderly Should Not Be Excluded ~> Click here.

Many With Colon Cancer Do Not Receive Chemotherapy, Study Says ~> Click here.

Daily Inspiration

Weakness or Strength
~ Author Unknown ~


Sometimes your biggest weakness can become your biggest strength. Take, for example, the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn't understand why, after three months of training the master had taught him only one move.

"Sensei," the boy finally said, "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?"

"This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you'll ever need to know," the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the sensei took the boy to his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match. Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

"No," the sensei insisted, "Let him continue."

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament.

He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

"Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?"

"You won for two reasons," the sensei answered. "First, you've almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grap your left arm."

The boy's biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.


Source

Health Headlines 12/07/05

Rheumatoid Arthritis, Role Of Type II Collagen, Study ~> Click here.

Impact Of Pain On Rheumatic Disease Treatment - New Insights Into Pain Mechanisms; Practical Advice On Pain Management ~> Click here.

New Drug Target For Alzheimer's Disease Identified, Gladstone Institute Of Neurological Disease ~> Click here.

New Evidence Supports Century-Old Theory Of Cancer Spread ~> Click here.

No Evidence That COX-2 Inhibitors Provide Greater Stomach Protection ~> Click here.

New Stanford Tool For Genetic Data Analysis May Improve Cancer Treatment ~> Click here.

Chemotherapy After Surgery Extends Survival For Patients With Advanced Endometrial Cancer ~> Click here.

Keppra® (levetiracetam) As Adjunctive Treatment In Idiopathic Generalised Epilepsy Patients With Primary Generalised Tonic-Clonic Seizures, New Data ~> Click here.

Catching up...

As you can tell, it's been about two weeks or so since I've actually written an entry in here. Just so much going on and I didn't have the ability to sit and type out everything. Had I been able to, my wrists definitely would have fallen off. They were so sore after the NaNoWriMo contest that I honestly didn't type much at all until about five days ago. I have been taking it one step at a time in getting back into my routines. Not to mention the fact that a lot of health problems have crept upon me without me knowing about them. I went to both my rheumy and my gp last week. On Monday, I saw my rheumy. I told the doc all about the feelings that I have been having, the depression, the fact that my muscles have been knotting themsleves up to the point that I get migraine headaches. On the good side of things, it's apparent that the Enbrel is working as my sed rate has dropped from 102 to 36 in just three months. So more bloodwork was ordered to double check the sed rate again until my next visit which is in January. The rheumy wanted to wait on the depression angle as I had yet to see my gp. I saw my gp on Tuesday. I had the usual female exam and no, I'm not going to bore you with the details. Let's just say that if I had a choice, I wouldn't get it done. But because of the female medical history throughout my family, I would much rather go through the exam once a year than to have to deal with something that could have been caught and/or prevented. I got the script for my birth control pills, not just for contraceptive reasons in case any of you out there were wondering. I have a chemical imbalance that they restore as well as the fact that with the medications I do take, it's absolutely necessary that I do not get pregnant. I also told my gp what the rheumy had said about the depression and talked to him about it a little. I agree that going without the level of hormones in my body has more than likely contributed to the way that I have been feeling. So we're going to give the pills a month to work and if I'm still having the same feelings and thoughts, then we'll go from there.

The family troubles haven't truly gotten any better either. No, I still haven't spoken to my aunt nor my cousin but I am planning to set down and write a letter to them both, explaining my position on the subject of my grandmother and how I feel. If they chose not to associate with me after that, then I am free of the guilt and heartache that I am feeling right now. I hate that my family is fragmented and hurting in all areas. But I can't always help that people make their own decisions, whether for the best or not. On top of all this my great uncle (my grandmother's younger brother) passed away this morning. He had suffered a brain bleed shortly before Thanksgiving and due to his age, health and other factors, there really wasn't much that the doctors could do other than keep him comfortable until he passed. I knew that it wouldn't be long after they had sent him back home that he would pass. In a lot of ways I am glad that he's no longer suffering as he would have been. Now he's able to rest without worries and I'm hoping that he will be able to keep tabs on his family better now that he has a better vantage point. I know that I will more than likely run into my aunt and cousin at the services but I will just have to cross that bridge when I get there. At the moment, I'm actually kind of numb. So we'll see how things progress.

I have gotten news also that a friend of mine in Colorado is battling cancer, though I'm not clear as to what type just yet. It seems like once you are touched in some way by the disease, it appears just about everywhere. I'm saying extras prayers/chants and sending positive healing thoughts to her way. I hope that you all will take a few seconds and do the same. I promise that things will get back to the regular schedule soon.

Until next time,
Kim

Daily Inspiration

A Thousand Marbles
By Jeffery Davis

A few weeks ago, I was shuffling toward the basement shack with a steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What began as a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life seems to hand you from time to time. Let me tell you about it.

I turned the dial up into the phone portion of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net. Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal and a golden voice. You know, the kind, he sounded like he should be in the broadcasting business. He was telling whomever he was talking with something about “a thousand marbles.”

I was intrigued and sat down to listen to what he had to say. “Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away from home and your Family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet. Too bad you missed your daughter’s dance recital.”

He continued, “Let me tell you something Tom, something that has helped me keep a good perspective on my own priorities.” And that’s when he began to explain his theory of a “thousand marbles.”

“You see, I sat down one day and did a little arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. I know, some live more and some live less, but on average, folks live about seventy-five years.”

“Now then, I multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3900 which is the number of Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime. Now stick with me Tom, I’m getting to the important part.”

“It took me until I was fifty-five years old to think about all this in any detail,” he went on, “and by that time I had lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.”

“So I went to a toy store and bought every single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to roundup 1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside of a large, clear plastic container right here in my workshop next to the radio. Every Saturday since then, I have taken one marble out and thrown it away.”

“I found that by watching the marbles diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your priorities straight.”

“Now let me tell you one last thing before I sign-off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until next Saturday then God has blessed me with a little extra time to be with my loved ones...”

“It was nice to talk to you Tom, I hope you spend more time with your loved ones, and I hope to meet you again someday. Have a good morning!”

You could have heard a pin drop when he finished. Even the show’s moderator didn’t have anything to say for a few moments. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had planned to do some work that morning, then go to the gym. Instead, I went upstairs and woke my wife up with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the kids to breakfast.”

“What brought this on?” she asked with a smile.

“Oh, nothing special,” I said. “It has just been a long time since we spent a Saturday together with the kids. Hey, can we stop at a toy store while we’re out? I need to buy some marbles.”

Health Headlines 12/06/05

MR-guided laser effective in treating liver tumors ~> Click here.

Activity of several embryonic stem cell genes is elevated in testicular and breast cancers ~> Click here.

Nursing home residents with dementia more socially active when given Tylenol ~> Click here.

New Edition Of The Joslin Guide To Diabetes, A Must Read For People With Diabetes ~> Click here.

Evidence Grows That Alzheimer's Is A Type Of Diabetes ~> Click here.

Breast CT Is More Comfortable Than Mammography And Maybe More Accurate, Research Shows ~> Click here.

Radiation Better Than Surgery At Preserving Speech For Patients With Head And Neck Cancer ~> Click here.

Iron Particles And MRI Could Replace Biopsies To Track Stem Cell Therapy And Deploy Stents ~> Click here.

Viewing Immune Cells At Work Helps Clarify How T Cells Control Autoimmunity ~> Click here.

Enzyme May Be Target For New Anti-inflammatory Compounds, Virginia Commonwealth University ~> Click here.

Daily Inspiration

The Perfect Gift
~Author Unknown~

It's just a small, white envelope stuck among the branches of our Christmas tree. No name, no identification, no inscription. It has peeked through the branches of our tree at this time of the year for the past 10 years or so.

It all began because my husband Mike hated Christmas. Oh, not the true meaning of Christmas, but the commercial aspects of it. You know, the overspending, the frantic running around at the last minute to get a tie for Uncle Harry and the dusting powder for Grandma, the gifts given in desperation because you couldn't think of anything else.

Knowing he felt this way, I decided one year to bypass the usual shirts, sweaters, ties and so forth. I reached for something special just for Mike. The inspiration came in an unusual way.
Our son Kevin, who was 12 that year, was wrestling at the junior level at the school he attended. Shortly before Christmas, there was a non-league match against a team sponsored by an inner city church. The kids were mostly black.

These youngsters, dressed in sneakers so ragged that shoestrings seemed to be the only thing holding them together, presented a sharp contrast to our boys in their spiffy blue and gold uniforms and sparkling new wrestling shoes.

As the match began, I was alarmed to see that the other team was wrestling without head gear, a kind of light helmet designed to protect a wrestler's ears. It was a luxury the ragtag team obviously couldn't afford. Well, we ended up walloping them. We took every weight class. And as each of their boys got up from the mat, he swaggered around in his tatters with false bravado, a kind of street pride that couldn't acknowledge defeat.

Mike, seated beside me, shook his head sadly, "I wish just one of them could have won," he said. "They have a lot of potential, but losing like this could take the heart right out of them." Mike loved kids-all kids. He understood kids in competitive situations, having coached little league football, baseball and lacrosse. That's when the idea for his present came.

That afternoon, I went to a local sporting goods store and bought an assortment of wrestling headgear and shoes and sent them anonymously to the inner city church. On Christmas Eve, I placed the envelope on the tree, the note inside telling Mike what I had done and that this was his gift from me.

His smile was the brightest thing about Christmas that year and in succeeding years. For each Christmas, I followed the tradition - one year sending a group of mentally challenged youngsters to a hockey game, another year a check to a pair of elderly brothers whose home had burned to the ground the week before Christmas - on and on...

The envelope became the highlight of our Christmas. It was always the last thing opened on Christmas morning and our children, ignoring their new toys, would stand with wide-eyed anticipation as their dad lifted the envelope from the tree to reveal its contents.
As the children grew, the toys gave way to more practical presents, but the envelope never lost its allure. Still, the story doesn't end there.

You see, we lost Mike last year due to cancer. When Christmas rolled around, I was still so wrapped in grief that I barely got the tree up. Yet Christmas Eve found me placing an envelope on the tree, and in the morning, it was joined by three more. Each of our children, unbeknownst to the others, had placed an envelope on the tree for their dad.

The tradition has grown and someday will expand even further, with our grandchildren standing around the tree with wide-eyed anticipation, watching as their fathers take down their envelopes.

Mike's spirit, like the spirit of Christmas, will always be with us.


Source

Health Headlines 12/05/05

Autoimmunity and pulmonary hypertension ~> Click here.

Research published in the NEJM challenges 30-year-old standard of care for lupus patients ~> Click here.

Evidence Supports First Non-Injectable Insulin as Alternative Treatment for Diabetes ~> Click here.

Short-term use of NSAID painkillers not linked to heart attacks ~> Click here.

New research targets treatment for dementia and brain injuries, Australia ~> Click here.

Dementia - Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA) linked to prion gene, study ~> Click here.

After cancer diagnosis many smokers don't get up ~> Click here.

New technology may help radiologists find more breast cancers ~> Click here.

Nicotine vaccine shows promise to help smokers give up ~> Click here.

Smoking After Cancer Diagnosis Affects Care and Research ~> Click here.

Acetaminophen poisoning now most common cause of acute liver failure in the USA ~> Click here.

Detecting cancers before symptoms become apparent ~> Click here.