The Columbia Press
Junee 24, 2022
Senior Moments
7
Here’s to Your Health
by CMH staff
with Emma Edwards
I could be an amaryllis Screening out men’s major health threats
I could tell it was going to be
a good day today.
As some of you know, I had
to shrink the number of my
beautiful violet plants down
to six this year. Some bad dis-
ease hit the others.
Well, here it is the middle of
the year and there’s still only
a few blooms as of last week.
Maybe I wasn’t paying enough
attention to them.
So today, when I checked
their need of water, three of
the plants had many blooms.
Well, mostly buds, but for
sure those three will live. Yay!
So why did they sudden-
ly have beautiful blooms? At
one time, I transferred all my
violets to a part of my home
where they’d have a southern
exposure. However, in dealing
with the dying violets, I relo-
cated them to their original
northern exposure. And it is
working!
It kind of reminds me of a
person relocating. Sometimes
a change really helps.
In the meantime, my other
violets could be referred to as
“shrinking violets.” My mid-
dle name is Violet and, for
sure, I don’t think of myself as
a “shrinking violet.” So, where
did that expression come
from? I learned from a source
that specializes in grammar
idioms that it has been around
since the early 1800s.
A shrinking violet is a very
shy person, someone who is
introverted and doesn’t en-
joy attention or engaging with
others. Some may say “that’s
no job for a shrinking violet” in
reference to a job description.
Have you ever thought of
yourself relative to a flower or
plant?
I asked two of my senior
friends and my editor what
flower they felt they were
most like. One friend said she
was like a gladiolus – a real-
ly fancy one – and the other
said she was a sunflower. Cin-
dy, my editor, would describe
herself as a daisy (uncompli-
cated, simple) most days and
a rose (formal, striving for
perfection) on others.
A common gift at Christ-
mastime is the amaryllis with
its amazingly beautiful flow-
ers that suddenly burst out
weeks after we plant that ugly
dark brown bulb. The stem is
strong and makes no struggle
to hold up the large flowers. If
I were to compare myself to a
flower, perhaps that is the one
I would choose.
Another flower that comes
to my mind is the lovely pan-
sy. And so that begs the ques-
tion how did we begin calling
a cowardly person or one who
lacks courage a “pansy”? Is the
flower of a pansy always beau-
tiful? Most would say yes, if
it’s properly cared for.
Another flower often re-
ferred to is the petunia. There
have been times when I’ve felt
out of place when in an un-
pleasant, uncouth or overly
aggressive group.
I suspect we can all remem-
ber times when we thought,
“I’m feeling really uncomfort-
able in this rowdy sports bar
(for instance), like a lonely lit-
tle petunia in an onion patch.”
I suppose we all could define
ourselves as one flower or an-
other. What would you com-
pare yourself to?
We seniors need to have just
the right exposure to reach
our utmost perfection. So stay
away from those places that
don’t help you grow.
Screening tests can catch
serious diseases in the early
stages before they do major
damage to your health.
We’re focused on men’s
health this month. All men
should have a few routine
screening tests. These tests
can help catch health prob-
lems before they’ve pro-
gressed enough to cause
symptoms. Treatment in
these early stages is more
likely to be fully effective.
You can get screened for
many diseases, but most men
only need screening for a few.
The diseases you need screen-
ing for, and how frequently
you should be screened, var-
ies according to your health
and risk factors. The follow-
ing tests are recommended
for most men:
• Blood pressure tests:
Health organizations, such as
the American Heart Associa-
tion, recommend blood-pres-
sure checks at least every two
years and more often if your
blood pressure is high.
• Cholesterol screening:
The American Heart Associa-
tion recommends cholesterol
checks once every four to six
years starting at age 20. High
blood cholesterol is a major
risk factor for coronary artery
disease.
• Colorectal cancer screen-
ing: Regular screening for
this cancer should start at age
45.
• Prostate exams: The
American Cancer Society
recommends talking to your
doctor about prostate cancer
screening when you turn 50
years old. Black men should
talk with their doctor about
the pros and cons of screen-
ing at age 45.
• Blood-glucose testing: All
men ages 45 and older should
think about getting screened
for diabetes. A simple blood
test can reveal if you have di-
abetes or its precursor, predi-
abetes.
Skin exams: Many doctors
recommend monthly self-ex-
ams to look for growths or
changes that could be skin
cancer.
Depression screening: If
you’ve felt down, hopeless or
uninterested in the things you
usually enjoy for two weeks
straight, it’s extremely import-
ant to ask your doctor about
screening for depression.
Contact your local CMH-
OHSU clinic to schedule an
appointment and get a head
start on your health care.
Clinics are in Astoria, Seaside
and Warrenton.
Here’s to Your Health is
sponsored by Columbia Me-
morial Hospital.
CMH nurse receives DAISY award
Kristin
Hooper,
The DAISY Founda-
an emergency room
tion was created in 1999
nurse
practitioner,
after 33-year-old J.
recently received the
Patrick Barnes died of
Columbia
Memori-
complications from an
al Hospital DAISY
auto-immune disease.
award for extraordi-
DAISY is an acronym
nary nurses.
for Diseases Attacking
Hooper
Hooper was nomi-
the Immune System.
nated by the wife of a patient.
Barnes spent the last eight
“Kristin came out of the ER weeks of his life in hospitals
at one point and sat with me while he was treated for his
in the waiting area and let symptoms. The nursing care
me unload the experience. I he received profoundly im-
was so grateful for her,” the pacted his family and they
patient’s wife said. “She re- responded by creating the
ally helped me relax and get foundation to honor nurs-
through this ordeal. We so es who provide outstanding
appreciated her kindness, care.
caring and concern. It was
Anyone with a great story
just what I needed to gain a about a CMH nurse can sub-
footing on my emotions and mit it to nlund@columbiam-
to deal with caring for my emorial.org or columbiame-
loved one.”
morial.org/daisy.
Special columns in The Columbia Press
Every week: Senior Moments with Emma Edwards
Week 1: Mayor’s Message by Henry Balensifer
Week 2: Financial Focus with Adam Miller
Week 3: Spotlight on the City
Week 4: Here’s to Your Health from CMH