The Minute Magazine 2016 Sept Oct

Sept/Oct 2016 Volume 11, Issue 5

Let’s Kick Cancer

magazine

A look inside a mother’s

FIGHT

to survive

6th Annual Issue & Event sponsored by:

Mr. & Mrs. Skip Holtz Ruston Daily Leader

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magazine TIFFANY BYRAM

Owner/Publisher/Editor/Graphics/Layout

VICKI CASKEY Sales Manager COVER MODEL

Ginger Pickett of Arcadia, La

PHOTOGRAPHER

ShaRelle Gutierrez of ShaRelle Studios Photography in Shreveport

JENNY REYNOLDS Founder

Office Phone: 504.390.2585 Ad Sales: 318.548.2693 Address: P.O. Box 961, Belle Chasse, LA 70037

9 My Fight: Ginger Pickett

by Ginger Pickett/Chalaine Scott

16 St Baldrick's: Monroe Goes Bald 24 Diet & Breast Cancer

by Dr. Manish Dhawan

28 Seeing Red by Melanie Moffett 34 Bladder Cancer

by Dr. David C. Osafo

36 Live on Purpose by Leslie Albritton 39 Teri Lee by Leslie Albritton 44 Breast Screenings Save Lives

FIND US ONLINE!

For a list of locations near you, or to catch up on past issues, like us on Facebook or visit

www.theminutemag.com Interested in writing for The Minute or have a great feature story idea? Email Tiffany Byram at

theminutemagazine@gmail.com

The Minute Magazine is distributed throughout Caddo, Bossier, Claiborne, Bienville, Ouachita, Webster, & Lincoln Parishes in Louisiana. They are FREE for you to enjoy.

Take some to your friends, relatives or anyone else who needs a refreshing, enlightening “minute.�

Copyright 2016. All rights reserved. No part of this magazine may be copied or reproduced without permission. The Minute Magazine cannot be responsible for unsolicited materials.

The editorial content of The Minute is prepared in accordance with the highest standards of journalistic accuracy. Readers are cautioned, however, not to use any information from the magazine as a substitute for expert opinion, technical information or advice. The Minute cannot be responsible for negligent acts, errors and omissions. The opinions expressed in The Minute are those of our writers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher.

The publisher has the right to accept or reject any advertising and / or editorial submitted.

Leslie Albritton Vicki Caskey Barbara Durbin Winnie Griggs Melanie Groves Yvette Hardy Wesley Harris Elizabeth Hines Penny Jones Jason McReynolds Kathy B. Nelson Rachel Pardue Chalaine Scott Rosemary Thomas Darla Upton

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elcome to our 6th Annual WIGGIN'OUT Issue. This year's theme is "LET'S KICK CANCER" and Ginger Pickett, our cover model and survivor, truly embodies that motto. Her inspiring story can be found on page 9. The pages of this issue are filled with inspiring stories of individuals who have personified courage, strength and determination in their battles with cancer. We know that WIGGIN'OUT is changing peoples' lives and we hope that in reading these articles you are encouraged, enlightened, and inspired.

This year's Gala will be held on Thursday, September 29th at 6 p.m. at Louisiana Tech's Davison Athletics Complex. To purchase tickets or for more information, cisit their website at WWW.WIGGINOUT.ORG or find them on Facebook (Wiggin.Out.LA), Twitter (@WigginOut1), or Instagram (@wigginoutla).

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Speak It! written by Kathy B. Nelson

Road Trip, "The Swimmin' Hole"

laugh and then realize what a little rebel I was and the mercy shown me in my blatant disobedience.

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We would be so tired after swimming all afternoon. But, if it was a Saturday, everyone would all get a bath and then some of us would get our hair curled so we would be ready for church the next morning. My Saturday night ritual was having my hair put up in ‘pin curls”.

Mother would gather a little bit of hair, wrap a toilet paper square around it, curl it up and secure it with two bobby pins crisscrossed over the curl. One of my cousins had her hair rolled up in orange juice cans. She was older so we thought that was the cool way to roll your hair. I looked forward to the day I was old enough for that style.

emember when ‘…Billy Joe McAllister jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge”? Well, his was more out of despair, but our favorite bridge to jump off of was brought on by pure joy!

I had to share a few fun memories from our recent trip to Mississippi to visit special places and remember who lived where and who was related to who and where they are now. With a van full of kin folks: Mom, Aunt Carrie Lee, my cousin Jane, my sisters Connie and Lisa and my niece Sarah, we had to go to our favorite swimming place… really our only swimming place. Daddy always said it was the best “swimmin’ hole” around. It was a small bend in the Amite River, so it moved swiftly at times and was cold as ice. The Mary Wall Bridge went over it and that was where the diving board was. It was just a railroad cross tie that protruded out a little bit from the side. Just long enough to walk out on it and jump. Someone always had to climb down into the river at the big tree entrance and swim out to the area where we would jump in to make sure the water was deep enough to jump from the bridge. Because the river was always moving, sometimes you could walk all the way to the bridge and the water never got above your knees. That would have made for a sad day, had we jumped without checking.

Maybe more like a ‘Billy Joe McAllister” day. We loved swimming here. It was also where I decided to show my family the new bikini I snuck and bought when I was visiting my cousins in Dallas.

Now my parents NEVER let us three girls buy a bikini…ever. We could get a one piece anytime. We could even get a tankini or a “baby doll” swimsuit (which sounds even creepier now than a bikini), and maybe a two-piece, which is cool and ‘vintage’ now, but then you may as well swim in your clothes.

Which is what I had to do once they saw the only swimsuit I brought was the hot-pink bikini. Mike and June would not be usurped. When we were leaving the river, they let me take of the over-clothes and immediately wrap a sheet size towel around myself that left me looking more like a mummy than a swimmer with a towel wrap. When I look at the pictures from that day – I

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I remember it was one night during a Christmas vacation and all of the girl cousins were sitting out on the big front porch in the rocking chairs and on the floor in our pajamas and our curlers. I loved the red light that my grandfather had put in the light fixture on the front porch as a Christmas decoration. He had a green bulb in another place as well. I remember cars would pass and slow down, some would honk. It was dark so we couldn’t really tell who the friendly people were passing by, so we would all just wave and enjoy the attention. It wasn’t until years later that I learned that a red light with girls sitting under it doesn’t always mean Merry Christmas.

My word of encouragement for you is to share your life experiences. Share your story. I know some things are not so good memories, but some are great ones. I experienced a lot of love and laughter. If there wasn’t very much of either of those in your life – make it

different for those whose lives you have influence over. Bring love and laughter in to their lives. Give them a better story. I believe you will find that when you make their story better, yours gets better, too.

Just one more thing – Two of the road trip companions, Aunt Carrie Lee, and my mom are both survivors of cancer.

Aunt Carrie Lee has won a couple of rounds. In honor of their bravery, warrior faith and tenacious hope and in honor and in memory of the thousands more who have demonstrated the same, I want to say a profound “thank you!”

Your testimony – in life and in words have impacted my life in a way that I did not anticipate. You have helped me not be afraid as much as I use to be should I ever get the diagnosis no one wants to hear. Your life stories have increased my faith and contributed to my peace.

What words are sufficient for such gifts? I join with The Minute Magazine in celebrating and honoring all of you.

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Kathy is an author and speaker that loves to bring a word of encouragement to anyone that will listen.

Founder of Speak It Ministries, she has been sharing her faith and teaching God's Word for over 30 years.

She is a wife, sister, mom and Mimi to some great people and loves spending time with each of them.

You can follow her on FaceBook, Twitter @cckahy, Goodreads and Wordpress. She is best described by having a desire to live life, love people and laugh out loud.

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PHOTOGRAPHER ShaRelle Gutierrez of ShaRelle Studios Photography in Shreveport

SURVIVOR Ginger Pickett of Arcadia, La

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Ginger Pickett's Story Edited by Chalaine Scott

MY IGHT: A lookfightinsideto kicka mother's cancer I watched my youngest son walk across the stage to get

his diploma last year. It’s such a bittersweet moment as a mother to see your baby handed the paper that sends him from teenager to adult, the document that throws him right into the world and out of the four walls you’ve protected him under all these years. But I prayed for that moment, for that day, for so long that it was way more sweet than it could ever be bitter. For this mother, at least.

My boys were practically still toddlers when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Having a 3 and 5-year-old is a lot to handle, but being told you’re going to die is unbearable to handle. It was November 1999 when the doctor told me this would most likely be my last Christmas with my boys.

They say when you’re about to die, your whole life flashes before your eyes. I suppose that’s true, because my son’s whole lives flashed before mine. The lives I’d miss. The Christmases and birthdays and baseball games and boo boos. The first prom dates and graduations and “mom can I take the car?”

Their lives had just begun, how could mine be ending?

I thank God every day that I never had to miss those moments, I can’t be upset or sad, I don’t have the right to

be. The only thing I can be is overjoyed to have been here for all of them. I survived. I’m living in 2016, I’ve watched my little boys grow into men and have celebrated years of birthdays I never knew if I’d see.

I was 29 when I thought it all would end, when the growing up and growing old would cease. I was a very busy wife, a mommy, a church goer and school taker, a RN worker and a making-ends meet-er. I didn’t have time to be sick. I was too busy. Being tired was just a part of my everyday life that I had become used to.

Tired was my normal, but I knew something wasn’t right.

I made an appointment, explaining symptoms of fatigue, lack of energy and extreme itching. When the diagnoses was “hormones and woman stuff” I believe it because I don’t have time for anything else. Three months later, my symptoms worsen. Deep breaths hurt and knots have formed in my neck. I book another appointment, a different doctor diagnoses strep throat. Another three months passes, the days seem longer and my breaths feel shorter.

I can barely pick up the laundry and have to lay down for a nap in my office just to get through the day. Another appointment booked, a new diagnoses given: “eat better and start exercising.”

More months pass. Nothing is getting better and I’m feeling worse. I can barely start the day and my cough won’t stop.

I book another appointment. They do a chest X-ray and tell me to call my husband and have him come in. Next, I’m being admitted to the hospital.

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Doctors. Tests. Blood work. Nurses. Specialists. X-rays watch baby sons grow into handsome teenagers and walk held to lights and needles poked on skin. Surgery booked. across stages to earn their diplomas. You get life.

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Cancer in my lymph nodes. Cancer spots on my liver, lungs and spleen. A mass sitting on top of my lungs the size of a large cantaloupe. A mass that had grown “fingers” and wrapped around my esophagus and wind pipe. A disease that was taking my life. But I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I had a husband to love, two babies to raise, a whole life still left to live.

Game on, cancer.

The days after you defeat cancer still require doctor visits, frequent CT scans post treatments. The days after you defeat cancer require putting life back together and learning how to get back your normal. And just when you’re starting to feel like everything is fine again, the cancer comes back to try and mess it up again.

Two years passed and they found a spot growing again in my chest. Once again with the scans and tests and appointments. Once again with another game plan and a new prognosis. Because we’d treated it so aggressively the first time, our options were limited. “Salvage” treatment, they called it. I stayed positive and kept the faith that God would see me through this once again.

I sat with my oncologist and we made a game plan. He told me there were no guarantees but that aggressive Chemotherapy and Radiation were my best options.

Bi-weekly chemo appointments were scheduled. Daily radiation therapy followed. Hours in hospital rooms fighting to kill the disease that was overtaking my body.

I went in for my last set of scans and tests before beginning the “Salvage” treatment. They rush to tell me they can’t see I prayed that God would give me strength, and He anything on my test results, that the tests show nothing. answered. He gave me the courage to meet the treatments The results were clear. The cancer was gone! They could head on and prepared me for battle. It didn’t take long for no longer see the growing mass that was there before. The the battle scars to begin, for my hair to start falling out and doctors were astonished. Everything was put on hold with the weakness to start creeping in. The chemo was draining the tests to be repeated in three months. Three months and took its toll. Even post-chemo, days later, I could taste later, the test results remained clear. Our prayers were it on my tongue, smell it on my skin, see it in my urine and answered and God worked a miracle again. feel it through my body.

Cancer would not defeat me. The chemo had killed the My mom was by my side at every appointment and for cancer cells in my body, but it also weakened my heart every long drawn out chemo session. She sat with me, muscle. The Radiation obliterated the tumor, but did the prayed with me, cried with me, laughed with me. She held same to my thyroid, scared my lungs, and damaged the my hair back when I was sick, she cared for my kids and vessels in my heart. But cancer did not win and only made tended to my house. She was my rock. My chemo nurse, my faith stronger and my testimony louder.

Dianne, became my lifelong friend. She encouraged me and showed me patience and made me believe I could get I have tried to live the best life I can and I do whatever I can through anything. Without their support, and my husband, for others. I am reminded on a daily basis how very blessed mother-in-law, family and friends, there’s no way I could I am. I find it as easy for me to laugh and make the best of have gotten through. They were always there for me and I my situation now as it was to cry and dwell on things that I learned just how very blessed I was. had no control over in the past. As with many other cancer survivors, I draw strength from my family, friends and faith. I By the end of my chemotherapy I was tired, bald, and am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and swollen. But despite how I looked and felt, I was determined that God has a plan for each of us. to not give up.

I have dear friends and family who went through the cancer Cancer could take my hair, my soft skin, my energy. But fight during the same time as me and some after me. cancer would not take my joy. And cancer surely would not One friend carpooled with me back and forth to radiation take my life. Radiation was next. I traveled to Shreveport treatments, we’d laugh together, making plans we’d do every day for two months, following a specific treatment once we weren’t sick anymore. Plans that never got to plan. The radiation was just as bad or worse on me as the happen. She didn’t get the privilege of seeing her children chemotherapy. It made whatever hair I had coming back graduate. She didn’t get to share her battle story or hear fall out again. It burned my skin from the inside out. By the the word remission. Cancer is horrible and unpredictable. end of the treatments, my skin was literally sloughing off. I’ll As a survivor, sometimes the guilt of living can be so never forget that smell, and I hope I never have to endure overwhelming. My friend’s funeral service was brutal it again. and the guilt was almost unbearable. At her service, the preacher said something that spoke to me and that I will By the miracle of medicine and more importantly, the sheer never forget. grace of God, my cancer responded to all the treatments.

“Extraordinary” the doctors called it, amazed to see my “Your tombstone is engraved with two dates. People will follow up PET scan come back clear. see the date you were born, and the date that you died, but neither of those dates are significant. What is significant is This is what happens when you don’t serve an ordinary the dash in between. Make your dash matter.”

God. You get amazingly unordinary blessings. You get to

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PICTURED: Ginger's boys Zack (Left) and Dylan (Right) wearing mommy's wigs. Middle Photos: Dylan Right Photos: Zack

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ith telling my story, I want to stress to men and women, KNOW YOUR BODY. Listen to your symptoms. Do not settle for blanket answers when you know something is not normal. Take for yourself and never get too busy. Nothing is more important than taking care of your healthtime following up on symptoms/appointments. Schedule your routine checkups not just for you, butand for your family and friends who depend on you and love you dearly.

To the men and women who are going through cancer, know that nothing is impossible.

Yes, overwhelming and the cancer fight is NOT easy, but it is doable. Keep positive, jump throug h whatever hoops they throw at you and always remember‌.YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK YOU ARE!!

To the love ones who are watching their family and friends go through this struggle, remem how important you are and that your support and encouragement is crucial. I know it canber awkward not knowing what to say or do, but just reaching out and letting them know you care be are in their corner will make a difference. We are the same people before, during, and after and the treatments and we need family and friends to be also.

To the survivors who have fought the battle. Thank you for the strength, dedication, encouragement you give others. You are helping pave the way and helping others. Be proud and and live the life you love.

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blissful chaos written by Yvette Hardy

Beauty Shop Talk

I

went to the beauty shop the other day to get a new “do”. This was about a 3 hour job! Yes, beauty doesn’t come quick…or cheap! My girl is close to a miracle worker but near miracles take time!

Anyway, lots of customers come and go in 3 hours time as I move back and forth from the chair to the rinse bowl, to the dryer and back to the miracle working chair. Customers from all walks of life.

But everyone seems to have one thing in common at the beauty shop. They talk to their stylist…..A LOT! It’s as if when we sit in that chair, we’ve just laid down on our therapist’s couch.

I find that we’ll tell our beauticians things we barely share with our spouses. And there seems to be a sacred code that we women engage in as we enter the shop. We have just left the cold outside world to enter a warm inviting safe haven that “gets” us. A place where we can just be…a place to let our hair down (no pun intended). Somewhere that no one looks down on us because we’re not perfect, where we realize we all have struggles. Somewhere we can go to “fix” more than our hair. We can gripe about our husband, our children or even our best friend knowing it stays in those four walls and that some woman there has a better story than ours.

It’s where we can get advice from the lil blue hair ladies that come in every other Friday to get their hair done. The ones that have put up with their men for 50 years and have seen every problem known to motherhood!

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It’s where we can go to see the future of our world in our young people and their ever changing lifestyles, hairstyles and world views (sometimes more than we want to)!

There is a bond between the women at the beauty shop and it's practically a religious appointment of sorts. We talk to everyone like we’ve known them all our lives. We dish about men, other women, kids, finances, and life in general. Basically, it’s where we come to remember we are all in this journey called life together.

Secrets? Not in the beauty shop.

This is where we divulge the best of them. This is where we learn whose doing what and with whom. We learn financial spreadsheets of families and how marriages have stayed together and why they’ve broken up. We learn of spiritual and moral dilemmas that our neighbors are facing that we didn’t even know they had before we went to get our hair done!

We all cringe when a man comes in, trying to engage him in small talk to the point that he believes he’s contributed to the conversation in a meaningful way. But knowing his wife has already shared more than she probably should have on her last visit! We know more

about what’s going on in that home than he probably does.

It really is kind of like Truvy’s in Steel Magnolias. Except the cast of characters have different faces each time. But you can usually pick out the Ouisers, Clairees, M’Lynns, and the Shelbys while the Truvys and Annelles work on us.

In those 3 hours I laughed, I cried, and I laughed TILL I cried! I saw old friends and made new ones. I heard things I shouldn’t, saw things I didn’t wanna, and learned life lessons in that shop.

I heard how the lady in the chair next to me has a son that is gay and has just proposed to his partner and her thoughts on that situation. I learned that love knows no bounds and just because we don’t see eye to eye on things doesn’t mean we can’t love well.

I learned about a young mom who lost her newborn less than a month after delivering him and simply COULD NOT do even the smallest task of fixing her hair for the funeral so my beautician did that for her. I learned grief can take us to a place where we can’t function.

I learned that I wasn’t totally crazy in that I’ve gone through many firsts this

Yvette is a mom to 3 brown-eyed beauties, a wife to a hard-working "Louisiana oil-man," a sister to two crazy gals, an aunt to many, and a child of the One True King.

These are just some of the titles she holds humbly, and near & dear to her heart. She's still chasing a few dreams (even at her age), and trying to live intentionally! Yvette is a lover of all things old, southern hospitality, a gypsy at heart and happy in boots or heels! She is a nurse and the owner of Fashion on the Fly online boutique with a mobile fashion truck on the way.

year without my dear momma like Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother’s Day and the hardest yet, the one year anniversary of her death. And didn’t understand why sometimes I felt like I was standing on shifting sand, or being engulfed by the sadness around me.

I learned that we all have certain times of the year that are tough to deal with and that, once again, grief makes it hard to function properly but doesn’t make us crazy.

I learned who in the shop has “good hair”, who doesn’t, who has “Donald Trump” hair, and whose side of the family it comes from! I learned roots run deep.

I learned you should NEVER EVER toggle through someone’s pictures on their phone, even when they say it’s OK because maybe there are things on there that they may have forgotten about. I learned what takes place behind closed doors should probably be left there. I also learned sometimes we “share” too much!

I learned how we spend our money on what is important to us. What we can “afford” is relative to what we value. Some of us put our value on education for our kids or vacations rather than a big, fancy house in the best neighborhoods, knowing the first two (or memories of) will outlast the latter. Some of us are willing to be stretched thin and work harder to obtain the things we want in life like a camp on the lake, a new vehicle or that dream vacation. And while one woman’s “thing” wouldn't push me to work one extra hour overtime, my “thing” would! I learned we all have “things” and different desires that drive us.

But one really big thing I learned is that really we are all still the same on the inside, just different versions!

As you get your hair washed, snipped, dried and styled, you can really feel like a new person as you leave the chair. But you can also relate some of that treatment to your own life in another way. Sometimes we wash away our ways of thinking about a particular issue, we cut away at the things that bother us most and we feel a refreshing wind blow in our direction when we realize we’re all just different versions of one another.

Going to the beauty shop is therapeutic to say the least. And sometimes you can learn a lot if you just listen…but who can do that???!!!

Our beauticians charge a respectable amount for their services and they’re not always easy to get an appointment with. But the next time we feel this is too expensive or crazy to have to wait that long, remember there’s a lot more than a good haircut going on. Life is going on in between those four walls. Life that can teach us something. Therapy is in session!

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a collage of southern stories and recipes:

seasoned moments written by Barbara Durbin

Erupting Blueberry Muffins with Avalanche Topping

I

lived in Washington State when Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. Although I was ninety miles from the mountain itself; it was a catastrophic time for those who lived there. The eruption continued vigorously for about nine hours and it was probably the most economically destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States.

Blueberry muffins hot from the oven were on my table when I felt and heard what I thought was a sonic boom around 8:00 a.m. The windows even shook in their casings.

The sound didn’t have a great significance at the time. We had both air force and army bases nearby. I assumed the reverberation to be just another of their military maneuvers in and over the Yakima Valley.

It was a little more than an hour later, while walking from a relative’s house, that I noted a very dark ominous cloud in the west. It appeared to be a thunderhead much like those we have in Louisiana; except, I had never before seen so menacing a cloud originate west of the Cascade Mountains.

I increased my pace and had nearly made it to safety when the torrential down pour began. Only it wasn’t wet, it was ash; heavy, dry and very damaging to the lungs.

Once safe within the confines of my home, I ate muffins and drank milk as I watched a Sunday morning quickly change to dusk dark by1:00 p.m. Street lights blinked on and their hazy glow gleamed through the continually falling

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plumes of ash.

For the next week travel was halted and volcanic debris was shoveled from roof tops to stop the collapse of buildings. Life was centered on the news media and their view of the mass destruction triggered by the volcanic fallout.

Eventually, I left the Northwest and moved home. I did hear that for several years after the eruption, all crops in that state were bumper crops. Purportedly, the rich mineral content left in soil by the fallen ash was the cause of the prolific yields.

While I’ve not lived in Washington State since that time, I have lived in Alaska.

In my sojourn there, I once again endured a volcanic eruption. (What are the chances of being in two separate volcanic eruptions, right?) Mount Spurr chose 1992 to shed its blanket of ash across the city of Anchorage. I watched the disruptions of “normal” life from my kitchen, while I canned pink salmon in jars.

I survived an ash cloud a second time around, and then proceeded to bring me and my canned fish home. Personally, I prefer the south: hurricanes, tornadoes and all that goes with it. There are presumed to be no volcanoes here… and no, California doesn’t have enough gold to get me there.

---------------------------------------------------Erupting Blueberry Muffins 3 3/4 c. all-purpose flour 1 2/3 c. sugar 5 t. baking powder 1 t. salt 2 c. blueberries 3/4 c. milk 2 eggs 2/3 c. melted margarine 4 oz cream cheese * Avalanche Topping: 1/4 c. oatmeal 1/4 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. chopped pecans In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Stir in blueberries. Add milk, eggs, margarine and cream cheese. Mix just until dry ingredients are moistened, do not over beat. Stir in blueberries. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups. Sprinkle tops with avalanche topping. Bake at 400 degrees until tops spring back to touch.

About 20-25 minutes. Serve warm with margarine. Makes 24 muffins. *May substitute 2 mashed bananas in place of the cream cheese.

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Barbara Durbin is a legal secretary and a published newspaper and magazine columnist.

When not at her "real job", she works on her baskets filled with vintage books/china for "The Vintage Bee." She loves a walk in the woods and her time with God. Barbara and her husband have four children, five grandchildren and a dappled dachshund named Bella. Look for her on facebook and follow her "Pocket Full of Moment" comments.

Upcoming Events Fire Brigade Benefit Classic Car Show (September 10th) City Wide Rummage Sale (September 30th - October 2nd) 32nd North Texas Norton Owners Association Motorcycle Rally Jefferson Railway Runaway Fright Train (Every weekend in October)

Burn Benefit--Continue the Ride (October 7th - 9th) Texas Sounds International Music Awards (October 13th-16th) Big Foot Conference (October 15th)

903-665-3733

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October 1st - Kiroli Park, West Monroe - 3-6pm St. Baldrick’s Day 2016

is almost here and you still have time to be part of this event! The third year in a row that this event has been hosted in our community, event organizers say there is a new and exciting change of venue for this year’s event.

“We are so excited to be joining forces with the Northeast Louisiana Celtic Festival this year,” shares volunteer event organizer Justin McLeod. “It’s a natural partnership given St. Baldrick’s St. Patrick’s Day-based founding and the folks at the West Monroe/West Ouachita Chamber of Commerce have been wonderful to work with on this year’s event.”

Always a fun time for individuals of all ages, from children to senior citizens, this year’s event will be no different. Among the fun activities will be a balloon artist; face painters; a magician; and some fun games throughout the event. The Celtic Fest will, of course, have their signature musical acts and dance groups throughout the day, as well.

The 2016 St. Baldrick’s event will honor several local children who have fought or are fighting cancer, and will specifically be in tribute to Katie Joyce, who passed away last fall after a courageous battle against cancer.

McLeod says there are many ways people can sign up and help, including participating in St. Baldrick’s signature event of head-

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shaving. “Anyone who would like to join us in going bald to raise money & shave in solidarity with the kids who are fighting is more than welcome to sign up online or at the event itself,” he says. “We also know that that isn’t something that everyone is willing to do, but we definitely do have a place for everyone – we still need people to serve as volunteers and to raise money to help us help the kids!”

Anyone interested in signing up to participate or in donating can go to www.stbaldricks.org/events/monroegoesbald2016 or call Justin McLeod at 318.351.1439

About Us What started as a challenge between three friends in 2000 has grown into the world’s largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants.

Since then, over 10,000 events have been held where more than 400,000 volunteers have shaved their heads in solidarity with kids fighting cancer.

Childhood Cancer Treatments Need Childhood Cancer Research

How Big Is The Problem?

Every 2 minutes a child is diagnosed with cancer worldwide.

Childhood cancer is the #1 disease killer of children in the U.S.

In the U.S., 1 in 5 won’t survive, and those who do often suffer long-term effects from treatments too harsh for their developing bodies.

3.7%

$5.196 BILLION

Even when kids get cancers that adults get — like lymphoma — they must be treated differently. Children are not simply smaller adults!

One study shows that by the time they are 45, more than 95% of childhood cancer survivors will have chronic health problems, and 80% will suffer from severe or lifethreatening conditions as a result of the treatments they received.

Funding gap: In 2011, the National Cancer Institute budget was $5.196 BILLION. Together, all childhood cancers received only 3.7% of that.

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FRI DAY, OCT 7 TH FRI 7RS TH 6 –9 PMDAY, | $ 50 OCT PE R PE ON 6 –9A PM RARE | $ 50 CULINARY PE R PE RS O N

COLLABORATION A RARE CULINARY OF AWARD-WINNING COLLABORATIONCHEFS OF AWARD-WINNING CHEFS Hosted

by West Monroe Convention Center

Hosted byRidge West Avenue Monroe West Convention Center 901 Monroe 901 Ridge Avenue West Monroe (behind West Monroe City Hall) (behind West Monroe City Hall) Locals and visitors intermingling among Locals and visitors among tremendously talentedintermingling celebrated chefs from tremendously celebrated chefs from across the Gulftalented South and representatives of across the Gulf and representatives of the top wine andSouth beverage brokers as well as the top wine and beverage brokers as well craft beer enthusiasts and brew masters in as an craft beer enthusiasts masters in an aromatic room filled withand livebrew music, laughter and aromatic roomdelicious filled withdelicacies. live music, laughter and delicious delicacies.

OCTOBER 7, 8 and 9 OCTOBER 7, 8 and 9 presented by presented by

SATURDAY, OCT 8T H OCT 8T HN 8SATURDAY, –1 0 AM | $ 3 5 PE R PE RSO

8 –1 THE 0 AM CENTURYLINK | $ 3 5 PE R PE RSO 5K N DASH-N-DINE/WALK-N-WOBBLE THE CENTURYLINK 5K DASH-N-DINE/WALK-N-WOBBLE Chipped timed walk/run with food and libations Chipped timed walk/run with libations across the Ouachita Riverfood andand through across the Ouachita and through Downtown Monroe River & West Monroe.

Downtown Monroe & West Monroe.

6 PM

STRAUSS THEATRE CENTER 6 PM STRAUSS DINNER THEATRE THEATRE CENTER DINNER7 PM THEATRE RARE CULINARY 7 PM COLLABORATIONS RARE CULINARY COLLABORATIONS at Restaurant Sage and The Fat Pelican

To benefi t Nor theast To benefi t Nor theast Louisiana Ar ts Counci l Louisiana Ar ts Counci l

at Restaurant Sage Pelican Celebrated Chefs willand pairThe withFat a few local Celebrated and Chefs will pair with a few local restaurants venues to offer exceptional restaurants to offer exceptional meals pairedand withvenues fine wine offerings.

Some meals paired wine a offerings.

Some restaurants willwith be fine donating portion of their restaurants willtobethe donating a portion of theirof proceeds back area arts organization proceeds back totheir the area arts organization of choice. their choice.

SUNDAY, OCT 9TH SUNDAY, OCT 1 1 AM –2 PM 9TH

1 1 AM –2 PM Fried Chicken & Champagne Brunch Fried Chicken & Champagne at Restaurant Cotton Brunch at Restaurant Cotton

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D o you feel your age? Or do you feel younger than you are? I know some people who talk, look, and act like they're "old", and I know a lot of people who are the exact opposite. I think a large determining factor in how old you feel is your mindset. As Jon Gordon says, "The story you tell becomes the story you live." What story are you telling yourself?

Age is just a number, and the way you see the world determines the world you see. With all of the circumstances that could potentially "age" you, rise up and be a victor over them, not a victim. Don't just accept your life! Lead it! Here are 3 tips for how to A.G.E. well:

1. Focus on your

Written by Melanie Massey Groves

Attitude

Do you consider yourself to usually be optimistic or pessimistic? From a systematic review of over 160 research studies, scientists from the University of Illinois concluded that positive people live longer and have an enhanced quality of heath. Just sayin'...

2. Remember to Have

Gratitude

What are you thankful for about your health? Who are you thankful for in your life? Gratitude will always help you have a more complete perspective about your age.

3. Be aware of your

Energy

What energizes you? What are the areas of your life where you are currently pursuing excellence? Keeping your energy and enthusiasm up will constantly help you feel younger and more alive. You have to keep developing your grit, passion, and tenacity to make your positive energy big enough to overcome any negative energy around you!

Use your gifts!

As a physical therapist and entrepreneur, Melanie Massey Groves owns and operates 5 outpatient therapy clinics across north Louisiana. She also owns MoJoy Art Studio, teaching self-awareness and confidence in an environment of creativity, and MoCo, a coaching, speaking, and training company which helps individuals and businesses develop culture, influence, and achieve their maximum potential by using their individual gifts. With 30 years of experience, Melanie is a certified coach, speaker, and trainer with The John Maxwell Team, and her mission statement, “Joyfully use your gifts to brighten the lives of others” sums up her life’s calling. Contact her at MoJoyStudio.com.

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Your Diet & Breast Cancer

Dr. Manish Dhawan, M.D. B

reast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer and the leading cause of cancer death in females, worldwide, accounting for 23% (i.e. 1.38 million) of the total new cancer cases and 14% (458,400) of the total cancer deaths in 2008.

Survival from breast cancer is dependent on stage at diagnosis. Some evidence suggests that rural women are more likely than urban women to be diagnosed with advanced stage disease. A systematic review and metaanalysis compared the stage of breast cancer at diagnosis between women residing in urban and rural areas. Twentyfour studies from 1951 to 2012 that included 879,660 patients were reviewed. Evidence indicated that patients residing in rural areas were more likely to be diagnosed with more advanced breast cancer. The results of the metaanalysis showed that rural breast cancer patients had 20% higher risk of late stage breast cancer compared with urban breast cancer patients.

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Dietary and Non Dietary Risk Factors for Breast Cancer Well established, nondietary risk factors for breast cancer include hormone replacement therapy and exposure to ionizing radiation especially during puberty and adolescence. The risk is also increased by several reproductive and other factors that are not easily modified including:

Age

(65+ versus <65 years, although risk increases across all ages until age 80), family history of breast cancer, early menstruation (<12 years), late menopause (>55 years), late age at first full term pregnancy and lack of breastfeeding.

Diet

The majority of the caseâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;control studies conducted in the last decade have observed significant and inverse associations between total fruit and vegetable intake and breast cancer risk while studies done prior to that were inconclusive. Fruits and vegetables contain a wide range of constituents which may have cancer preventing effects including antioxidant vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin E, folate, dietary fiber, dithiolthiones, glucosinolates, indoles, isothiocyanates, protease inhibitors and phytochemicals (lycopene, phenolic compounds, flavonoids etc.).

There is good evidence that obesity and weight gain during adulthood are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer among postmenopausal women.

Alcohol intake is widely recognized as one of the behaviors most consistently associated with breast cancer risk.

The available literature suggests that soy food intake seems to be inversely associated with the risk for breast cancer.

Water

If you don't drink enough water, Energy cannot be burned and it will turn into fat. Secondly in the absence of adequate water intake, our body will get water from food and will make us eat more. It is advised that one should drink 8 ounces of water per waking hour. Tea, coffee and alcohol need to be compensated with additional water. For each cup of tea/coffee and for each drink of alcohol, add a glass of water. You should also add a glass of water for each soda you consume.

In Eastern thought, food energy is divided into Alkaline or acidic. An 80/20 ratio of Alkaline to Acidic is preferred. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●

Alkaline foods

All fruits are alkaline even citrus fruits.

All nuts are alkaline except peanuts. They need to be soaked.

All vegetables except onions and garlic are alkaline.

Fresh juice of all vegetables are alkaline.

Milk yogurt and buttermilk are alkaline.

Green tea is considered alkaline.

Tofu is alkaline.

Almond milk and soy milk are alkaline.

Acidic

● All grains and beans are acidic but they turn alkaline when sprouted. ● Meats, eggs and fish are all acidic. ● Cottage cheese/ butter/ mozzarella cheese are considered acidic. ● Honey is acidic. ● Black tea, coffee and commercial chocolate are all acidic. ● Coke and Pepsi are highly acidic. ● Sugar is acidic. The American Heart Association advises no more than 6 teaspoons of sugar per day for women and 9 for men. The American average is 22 teaspoons per day, One can of soda has 11 teaspoons of sugar and one supersized glass of soda has 45 teaspoons of sugar.

It is advised to avoid Sugar, sodas, and fried foods and to increase intake of fruits, vegetables and yogurt.

Eat an Overall Healthy Dietary Pattern that Emphasizes:

● A variety of fruits and vegetables ● Whole grains ● Lowfat dairy products ● Skinless poultry and fish ● Nuts and legumes ● Nontropical vegetable oils

Limit saturated fat, trans fat, sodium, red meat, sweets and sugar sweetened beverages . If you choose to eat red meat, compare labels and select the leanest cuts available.

In words of Mahatma Gandhi, "Make your diet your medicine".

--------------------------------Dr. Manish Dhawan, M.D. is a board certified Hematologist/Oncologist at Highland Clinic.

Highland Clinic Oncology is a local cancer care provider offering state-of the-art offices with highly trained and motivated nurses and medical staff.

They provide on-site chemotherapy and other non-chemo drug infusions. Their providers work very closely with other community physicians to provide consultative services at the local hospital. Their patients receive comprehensive and compassionate care that is second to none.

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A Mission to Spread Blood Cancer Awareness article by Melanie Fuglaar Moffett

S

out in to tears. “They just told me I have leukemia.”

My whole world was shattered. What does that mean? What do we do? Who do we call? Is he going to die? Is this something genetic that the baby could get? You name it, it crossed my mind. I remember lying on the bathroom floor crying for hours.

eptember is national Blood Cancer Awareness month. For my family, every month is September. Blood cancer is an umbrella term for malignancies of the blood, bone marrow or lymph nodes that affect normal blood cell production or function.

Every 3 minutes someone in the US is diagnosed with a blood cancer. In July 2012, one of those was my husband, Andrew.

We were still newlyweds, a month away from our first wedding anniversary and three months away from becoming parents. We had planned a road trip to Dallas to celebrate and were looking forward to catching a few Rangers games when Andrew became sick. He felt like he was getting a sinus infection and not wanting our trip to be ruined, he went to a local family clinic to get an antibiotic. We went to Dallas as planned, but Andrew spent most of the weekend sleeping. On our way home,

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we got a phone call. He needed to go back to the doctor for more bloodwork because something “didn’t look right.”

At this point, we still thought this was nothing more than a sinus infection.

Nothing about his symptoms seemed like cancer. So Andrew headed to the doctor – alone.

He was gone for over an hour and as soon as he walked in the door, my gut told me something wasn’t right. He walked into the living room and burst

We received Andrew’s diagnosis on July 3 and we were told we would be contacted in a few days to discuss treatment options. When you find out your husband has cancer, a few days is a few days too long. Fortunately, we had friends call in favors and we were in an oncologist office on the 5th. They confirmed what the doctor had already told us. At the age of 28, my husband had Acute Myeloid Leukemia.

By that afternoon, he was admitted to LSU-S and started chemo the following morning. Nothing can prepare you for something like that. The first hospital stay lasted 28 days and I spent 90%

of that with him, working as much as I could during the day from a satellite office. You do what you have to do and make it work. There was no other option in my mind. If he was going to be there, so was I. His cancer was classified as being “intermediate risk.” For us, this meant if one of his siblings was a bone marrow match, he would have a stem cell or bone marrow transplant. If not, we would hope and pray that chemo could knock it out. Neither his brother or sister were a match.

The next few months were a waiting game. Waiting for chemotherapy to start. Waiting for his counts to go back up before they could start another round. Waiting for his immune system to bounce back.

At the end of September, our daughter Georgia was born.

Thankfully, his immune system was strong enough at that time and he was able to be there for her birth and stay with me at the hospital. A week after she was born, he started his third round of chemo. This was by far the hardest part for all of us. We survived that two weeks with lots of FaceTime and help from our families. He was medically declared in remission on October 10th.

of mine was able to donate to a sevenyear-old boy with AML. Just last month they got to meet for the first time. How awesome is that?!

Most people don’t realize how easy the process is. To join the registry and see if you are a potential match for someone with leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma or other bone marrow disorders, you just need your cheek swabbed! It’s all based off of your Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) tissue type, not your blood type.

If it looks like you might be a match for a patient in need, then you will get called to do further blood testing. Once approved to donate, the patient’s doctor will request one of two donation methods: peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) or bone marrow.

Every year, approximately 14,000 patients need to find a compatible donor outside their family. People between the ages of 18 and 44 to join Be The Match Registry® online or at a community donor drive for free. To find out about local drives in our area, visit facebook.com/bethematchnla.

You could be the match. You could be someone’s cure. It’s not every day that we get the opportunity to possibly save a life. You never know when life will throw you a curveball and you could be the one in need.

The week before Thanksgiving, he had his fourth and final chemo treatment. A few months later, he was able to go back to work. Just as fast as it had came, it was gone. It really is surreal looking back on it. Just a big speed bump. It was the hardest six months of our lives, but we made it and we’re stronger because of it.

This October will put him in remission for four years. With checkups every few months, his bloodwork is still closely monitored. Our life is relatively “back to normal” and we proudly just welcomed our second daughter, Sydney, into the world.

We were so incredibly fortunate that he did not have to go through the transplant process, but there is always a chance that it could come back and that would be the route we would have to take.

I had heard of people joining the National Bone Marrow Registry before, but never gave it much thought. It honestly sounded kind of scary to me until I looked into it. That fall, I joined the registry at bethematch.com. It became my mission to spread awareness about the program and educate others that also had the same initial perception I did. If I could have the chance to save someone’s life, why not? It certainly changes your perspective when you’re spouse could possibly be on the receiving end of things.

I may blow my friend’s social media feeds up with posts about bone marrow donation or local drives, but that’s just part of me now. Knowing that someone joined the registry because of me makes it all worth it. Last year, a close childhood friend

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Written by Vicki Caskey

Wiggin'Out In 2011 WIGGIN'OUT was created as a partnership by and is still

supported by Louisiana Tech Athletics, The Minute Magazine & Northern Louisiana Medical Center.

Six years. Have we really been Wiggin’Out for six years? My how time flies, when you are having the time of your life serving others. Thank you to everyone who supports the efforts of Wiggin’Out, making it possible to serve those fighting cancer in North Louisiana.

The need is great in our communities. Over the past year, in my family alone, my mother has battled bladder cancer, my stepfather is fighting bladder cancer and potentially looking to have his bladder removed, my cousin has just finished chemo and radiation treatment for breast cancer and a dear friend’s husband had cancerous tumors removed from his bladder. Everyone knows someone who has had or has cancer. Sad but true.

Having had three people close to me be diagnosed with bladder cancer this year I decided to reach out to Dr. David Osafo in Ruston and ask him to share some information on bladder cancer with our readers. You will find his article in this issue. It will provide you with insight into this particular cancer and it is my hope it will encourage you to listen to your body and act on anything that feels out of sorts.

Over the past six years I have met many remarkable people who have shared their cancer stories with me. What an honor and privilege it is to share some of those with you. Each of them have touched my soul and given me even more will to serve wherever I can in whatever capacity I can. On our cover for this issue you will meet one of my dearest friends, Ginger Pickett. I have been trying for six years to get her to share her story and finally she agreed. Please take the time to read about her fight to survive. She too will encourage you to listen to your body and to never give up.

On behalf of the Wiggin’Out Board of Directors, thank you. We could not do what we do without your support.

A big thank you to our 2016 Title Sponsors: Mr. & Mrs. Skip Holtz, JPS Ford, and Louisiana Oncology. We would also like to thank the many of you who have purchased tickets and tables for this year’s event. Our annual fundraiser enables us to serve those in need.

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Mission Statement

Wiggin’ Out is a non-profit entity that provides wigs (or other appropriate headwear), lymphatic garments and prosthetic bras to current and recently former cancer patients throughout the I-20 corridor in North Louisiana through donations and other fundraising events. Our goal in that endeavor is to help ease the financial and psychological burden and strain for individuals fighting cancer.

Purpose and Action

Our purpose is to raise money in order to provide a philanthropic benefit to underprivileged women, men and children in North Louisiana that are battling cancer and have little to no support in purchasing wigs, headwear, lymphatic garments and prosthetic bras. Approved applicants (limited to a one time award per person) will be granted a gift certificate or redemption certificate at one of our partner organizations to receive the cost of or partial cost of the purchase of those items.

Our Board of Directors all serve on a 100% volunteer basis and all monies donated stay in North Louisiana. Board Members include: Vicki Caskey, Tami Davis, Jessica George, Jennifer Holtz, Elisha James, Mandy Miller, Marisol O’Neal, DeShae Pardon, David Pillen, and Elizabeth Turnley For more information, apply for assistance or to make a donation please visit www.wigginout.org.

Together, we are making a difference in the lives of those fighting cancer.

Vicki is a Louisiana native enjoying small town life in Arcadia with her husband Wayne. She is the mother of one grown daughter, Ruby.

Her free time is spent with family and friends, baking, reading, traveling when she can and playing with her dogs. She loves Jesus and is quick to tell you, without him she would be nothing.

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Written by Dr. David C. Osafo, M.D.

B

ladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in both men and women affecting about 60,000 people yearly; approximately 45,000 men and 15,000 women. It is primarily a disease of men older than 65. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s expected that about 13,000 of those affected will lose their lives to this devastating disease (9,000 men and 4,000 women).

Superficial tumors are 5 times more common than bladder muscle invasive tumors and it affects caucasian twice as much as African Americans.

Environmental factors are postulated to play a role in development of this cancer as it is more common in urban compared to rural areas. Cigarette smoking is by far the most well known causative factor with a directly proportional incidence in relation to the amount and duration of exposure, contributing to more than half and more than a third of bladder cancers in men and women respectively. The latency period from time of initial exposure to the development of cancer is about 18 years.

Smoking cessation decreases the risk but a high chance of bladder cancer remains for about 10 years after that. Work in the dye, rubber and leather industries and exposure to chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and benzidine have been implicated as well. High consumption

34

of fried meats and fats are associated with bladder cancer.

Other not so common causes including cyclophosphamide; a chemotherapy drug and Schistosomiasis; a parasitic infection seen mostly in many developing countries are well documented.

At presentation, 75% of tumors are superficial, involving the inner lining of the bladder wall only, 20% invasive involving the muscle layer of the bladder wall and 5% metastatic indicating spread outside the bladder. Most people present with urinary bleeding but urinary frequency or a reduction in bladder capacity are other common symptoms. Rarely, pain from bone involvement may be the presenting symptom.

Providing a urine sample to look for cancer cells (cytology), x-rays after intravenous injection of contrast material and CT scans is included in the initial assessment of a patient who presents with urinary bleeding. An MRI may be required to assess lymph node involvement and a bone scan to evaluate the possibility of spread into the bones.

The main diagnostic test is a cystoscopy, a direct look into the bladder under anesthesia to look for tumor growths and determine the size, number and exact location. Biopsy specimens are taken from clearly seen tumors to ascertain the presence of cancer and how deeply it invades the bladder muscle in its wall. Biopsies of the seemingly normal bladder lining are also taken, as this will eventually provide important information regarding bladder preservation when surgery is being planned.

The most common type of bladder cancer is called the transitional cell carcinoma occurring 90% to 95% of the time.

Bladder cancers may be classified into low and high-grade tumors. This pertains to how aggressive they are. All these tests aid the physician in accurately determining the stage of the cancer upon which treatment recommendations are provided. Recurrences may occur at the same or separate sites from the site of initial diagnosis. Currently there are no specific tumor markers used in the management of bladder cancers.

Treatment is prescribed based on whether it is superficial, invasive (both non metastatic) or metastatic.

Superficial cancers are treated with removal of the tumor followed by monitoring once every 3 months as itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s estimated that more than half of these patients will have a recurrence within 5 years. Injections into the bladder of BCG (the tuberculosis vaccine) are used for prevention of recurrences (prophylaxis) of treatment of incompletely resected cancers.

Invasive cancers referring to tumor invasion into the muscle layer of the bladder may be cured by cystectomy (surgical removal of the bladder) alone or at times without cystectomy but without compromising cure rates. Quite often other treatment strategies including chemotherapy may be required to treat supposed microscopic cancer outside the bladder in addition to cystectomy to achieve cure.

A surgical resection could be by removing the tumor itself, a partial bladder resection or removal of the whole bladder.

This depends on the extent of involvement of the tumor in the bladder. The first two methods are to preserve the bladder, the disadvantage being that recurrences may occur in the retained bladder. Radical cystectomy with urinary diversion is the treatment of choice for patients with muscle invasive disease. For patients unwilling to undergo a radical cystectomy and urinary diversion, a complete transurethral resection of the bladder tumor (TURBT) combined with radiation therapy and chemotherapy may offer an alternative muscle-sparing approach. Cisplatin based chemotherapy before surgery may be indicated and should be considered in appropriate patients.

Metastatic bladder cancer is not curable but is treated with several different chemotherapy agents palliatively mostly to extend life expectancy as compared to untreated metastatic cancer.

Although a vast majority of patients have an objective response to first-line therapy, a significant number eventually progress and may be candidates for second-line chemotherapy. Patients with lymph node only metastatic disease have a significantly better survival rate than patients with metastases in other organs such as the lung, liver and bone. Importantly, a small proportion of patients

with distant metastases in nodes or lung may be cured by combination chemotherapy. There are no standard second-line chemotherapy agents for patients failing on their initial regimen. No dramatic survival improvements have been identified from recently introduced novel toxic and targeted agents, and thus area requires a great deal of innovative work.

The primary aim of treatment in general is to render the patient tumor free either with chemotherapy alone or with chemotherapy followed by a surgical resection of residual tumor.

In the Unites States, radiation therapy is usually reserved for patients unfit for surgery due to multiple coexisting illnesses or for complications such as severe bleeding not responding to medical or conservative management. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not as effective as surgery because of the difficulty in rendering the patient tumor free with radiation alone and also due to increased risk of development of new tumors in the retained bladder. Newer much more modern radiation techniques have improved these rates of success. Complications of the radiation therapy including inflammation of the skin and bowels could also occur but can be effectively treated.

Post treatment surveillance after cystectomy is with laboratory studies (urine cytology, liver and kidney function tests) every three months for the first year, every six months for the second and third years and annually up to year five. After this, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s based on clinical indications. If lymph nodes were involved at surgery, scans every three to six months are reasonable. In patients treated with bladder preservation TURBT or partial cystectomy, serial cystoscopies with urinary cytologic evaluations every three to six months for the first two years with intervals after that based on clinician discretion.

--------------------------------Dr. David C. Osafo, M.D. has been a board certified Hematologist/ Oncologist at Green Clinic in Ruston Louisiana since 2005.

---------------------------------

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LIVE ON

Written

by Leslie Albritton

PURPOSE SCOTT CALDWELL

A Kentucky boy who was no stranger to the daily chores of farm life, Scott Caldwell grew up to become one of the most beloved

trainers in Northeast Louisiana. His infectious optimism for fitness drew people of all shapes and sizes, while his unbelievable spirit and energy turned them all into friends.

Scott was proof that anyone can achieve exceptional fitness. At one point he weight over 360 pounds and wore a size 48. He turned his life around with healthy eating and exercise and wanted to help others do the same. He started Max Results Boot Camp in 2002 with the goal of inspiring and helping people live a happier and healthier lifestyle. Since that time more than three thousand people have attended his boot camps.

“He knew exactly what to say to make you push harder and be stronger during the workout and at home. Through all of the ups and downs he became one of my most trusted friends. I hope everyone can have at least one person in their life that can be as inspiring as he was to me and so many others.” Jenny Swafford, a Max Results boot camper recalls.

I met Scott ten years ago when I signed up for one of his boot camps. I was hesitant but decided to give it a try and go at least once. Scott had me laughing within minutes of meeting him. I was instantly put at ease and began to look forward to working out with my new coach. His upbeat personality and innovative exercises cut through all my self-doubt and after a few short months I was in the best shape I had ever been. One of my favorite things about boot camp was when Scott ended the session with an inspirational life lesson, usually a story that coordinated perfectly to the workout we'd just completed. One of the stories he told was about a little pet turtle that had an average life living in a cardboard box. The little turtle was watered and fed daily and life seemed to be pretty okay.

Until one day the little turtle got a taste of freedom outside of his small cardboard home and began to actually live and experience life! No longer satisfied with the ho-hum of an average living, the little turtle now had a purpose to strive for an exceptional life!

You see to Scott it was not about losing weight or gaining muscle.

It was about finding a purpose and creating an extraordinary life.

‘Live on purpose’ was his motto and one that he encouraged all of his boot campers to do. He stressed the importance of staying positive in every situation. “You can choose to feel hurt, sad or angry or you can choose to turn it around and focus on the positive.” I remember him saying after a particular grueling workout one hot and humid summer afternoon. He would soon come to live out those words a few years later.

A week after Thanksgiving 2015, Scott was diagnosed with an

36

aggressive form of anorectal melanoma. A 6% survival rate and death within a year is what he was given. This was devastating news for Scott as he was relatively young, in his early forties, and was the father of a precious two-year old little boy named Weston.

The grave diagnosis never kept him from living. It fueled him. And, in true Scott fashion he used his cancer to send a positive message and be an encouragement and motivation to others.

“Things like this don’t happen for negative reasons, they happen to help bring out more positivity. It’s not about what happens to us, it’s about how we react to it. I have been given an opportunity to show on a bigger scale how positivity works and that negativity serves no purpose. Beyond blessed!” Scott wrote on his Facebook page Christmas Eve. Scott walked through his battle as a giant. He did not lose his battle with cancer; instead he lived graciously and courageously with it until the end. In many ways he won it by being an encourager and an inspiration to so many. His strength, determination and positivity were on a level I cannot begin to comprehend. Scott’s contribution to the community will not be forgotten; he changed a lot of lives in the small amount of time he was with us.

Holly Sanders attributes her being alive today living a happier and healthier lifestyle to Scott Caldwell. “I was so unhealthy and so sad with myself that I truly just went through the motions of life. The very first day I met Scott; he had a huge smile and welcomed me with open arms. There was no judgement. He met me where I was physically and emotionally. I went from stopping in the middle of the park and sitting down because I could not breathe to building my core doing eighty pushups nonstop. I even ran two half marathons and a few 5ks. The health benefits alone were astounding, but what he did for me on day one was not judge me. That changed the course of my life. Without him and his encouragement, I would not be alive today. I was a heart attack waiting to happen. Scott gave me encouragement and taught me to believe in myself. I am a different person and forever changed.

"Being diagnosed with cancer definitely catches your attention. But, it doesn’t define who you are. I have tried to live a life showing others how to attack life in a positive manner. Now I simply have a grander stand from which to deliver my message. Life is exactly what we make it. I hope you choose to make yours extraordinary. Live a life that you design for better and for good. Live on purpose." ~ Scott Caldwell.

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Written by Leslie Albritton

Ithree first met Teri Lee years ago after

being hired as a marketer for a sister facility she worked for. With spiky red hair and a contagious laugh it was hard not to be drawn in by her love for life and compassion for others. We soon became fast friends and ate lunch together at least twice a week. I knew Teri was a breast cancer survivor and attributed her outgoing personality to being thankful to be on the survivor’s end of such a devastating disease. Many lunches later I would learn the catastrophic impact cancer played in her life and how her faith sustained her through it all.

Some of us meet the love of our lives early in life; for Teri it took forty-six years to meet her knight in shining armor, as she affectionately calls him, and less than three years for cancer to steal him away. Steve was diagnosed with stage IV prostate cancer at the young age of fortynine. After countless trips to Houston, never ending chemo treatments and failed trials they soon realized time was limited. Squeezing every ounce of shared time together, they began to live each day to the fullest. Teri had now become the caretaker of her knight and was thankful for each precious minute she had with him, even on the very worst of days.

On July 1, 2011, Teri was dealt a devastating blow. She was diagnosed with Stage III breast cancer. Never had she felt so utterly lost then after hearing those words. The doctors initially tried to diagnose her at Stage IV due to spots on her lungs too small to characterize or biopsy. Holding tight to her faith she refused to claim those spots making her doctors ultimately relinquish and downgrade to Stage III. A month after her diagnosis Teri found herself too debilitated from the cancer treatments to drive Steve to his Houston appointments. It broke her heart to stay behind and rely on a friend to make the trip with him. It so happened that she had a follow-up appointment the same day Steve was to leave for Houston. On the way to her appointment Teri realized she left important paperwork inside of her van and returned home to retrieve it. After grabbing the papers she dashed into the house to give Steve one more kiss knowing it would be two days before he would be back from Houston. She never imagined that would be the last time she would see him again; the night before they held hands and talked all night long. Steve told her that night that he knew he was not going to make it, but she would. Steve died two days later in Houston.

“I was not there to hold his hand nor say goodbye. But, I know Jesus was there holding one hand while God was holding the other. I could not believe I was not with him when he drew his last breath. That was not in the plan. My heart hurt so,” Teri said remembering her beloved Steve.

With no choice, she continued on with her fight, now alone without her knight in shining armor.

After Herceptin, chemo and radiation Teri beat cancer, but her joyous celebration was short lived. On her last day of radiation in February of 2012 she would learn that her mother had Stage IV breast cancer. This was to be her mom’s fourth and final time to battle cancer. Within a year Teri lost her mom.

I met Teri only three shorts months after her mom passed away. How can this lady be so happy and carefree, I often wondered after hearing her story. And, this is what she had to say: “I am surrounded by countless friends that no one person deserves. My closest are the ‘Willis Sisters’ as we call ourselves.

We went to school together, graduated together and at the age of 55 still remain very close even taking yearly vacations.

I am a third generation breast cancer survivor and I had two wonderful people in my life that showed me how to fight one of the hardest battles one will ever face. Many have asked how I kept my sanity, God and the word of Jesus. Oh, what FAITH can do! He never left my side. I would have never made it through any of these trials if not for my Lord above. I dare not take even one day for granted. I give thanks for being able to eat, something for so long I was unable to do, for being able to see my grandkids graduate kindergarten and play ball and to be able to get out of bed and serve him each day.

When asked these days how I’m doing, I respond ‘If I were doing any better I would be dancing in heaven.'Some days we shall smell the roses, other days we will feel the thorns.'

Sometimes we have to go there to get here. We all have our appointed time. We are living one stop sign to the next. Life is truly comprised of the choices we make in our circumstances.

What we must remember is to give God the glory for the good and the bad while living our dash from the time we are born until the day we draw our last breath. One day we will all see each other again if we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Regardless of what curves life throws us, that is what is important.”

Leslie Albritton is a simple girl living in a country world. She is married to Brent and lives on a small farm in Farmerville with their daughter Nicole. They raise mini donkeys, mini horses and mini goats, hence the "small" farm. A runner, biker and kayaker she enjoys all things outdoors, especially the furry and four legged kind.

39

a fresh perspective from rosemary's kitchen written by Rosemary Thomas Curious. Like a Chicken.

B

ack to School Time. I remember it well with mixed emotions. School supply lists, spiral notebooks, new shoes and backpacks tangled up with excitement and tears. I always hated to see another summer’s promise come to an end, although by August I was ready to get on with it already. I knew the kids would have new adventures, but yet I did not look forward to the inevitable drama surrounding unrealistic homework assignments, inappropriate school attire and the dreaded science projects.

All this talk of Back-to-School has me thinking how so many adults (including me sometimes) undervalue the importance – and delight – of learning new things. We are so caught up in the cogs of the machine – going to work, paying the bills, never-ending chores and errands – that we don’t seem to be able find the time, money or energy to simply be curious. (I know that “cogs of the machine” reference sounds a bit like I am trapped in a 1972 hippie revolution Twilight Zone time warp. I apologize, but you have to admit it does seem that we are bound to some invisible machine that we cannot extricate ourselves from.

OK - maybe still a little dramatic… but you understand what I am saying if you are a breathing, working, adult spouse, and/or parent).

I am curious. Like a cat. Or like a chicken. Chickens are pretty curious actually. If something new is in their coop area, they will all want to check it out.

That being said, there are some things I am not curious about. Not one iota. OK, now I am curious about the saying “not one iota”, so I looked it up. (An iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet.

The expression comes from the Bible – Matthew 5:18 – “For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished”).

Things I am not curious about include celebrities and sports figures and their personal relationships, fashion sense, or their plastic reconstruction surgeries. I just do not care. Not. One. Iota. Also not curious about astrophysics astronomy stuff. My little brain cannot get wrapped around Black Holes and millions of light years. Maybe that makes me unimaginative or shallow or intellectually

40

lazy – but the bottom line is, I don’t care about something that happened a trillion years ago, or a star that will implode a billion years from now. Sorry. Not Sorry.

So, I asked myself what things I have recently learned. And the list is short.

Dismal. Sad. What I have learned lately is as follows:

• That I can make a picture frame using a miter saw all by myself.

• That stink bugs can bite you. I already had a deep loathing for stink bugs and I now I realize they are the devil.

• Throwing horseshoes is harder than it looks – and I am really, really bad at it.

• It takes what seems like all day to pick a quart of blueberries.

• People can be disarmingly kind and giving and resilient.

• My niece’s husband hates frogs (but doesn’t know why).

• A baked sweet potato topped with sautéed greens or kale and a fried egg sounds really weird…but tastes delicious, and makes a great, nutritious dinner in 5 minutes.

• Cucumbers can be incredibly and disgustingly bitter.

• A reputable contractor is worth his weight in gold.

• Inchoate means just beginning to form, as an idea. Ex: while pondering the eradication of the stinkbug, she had an inchoate idea concerning a blow torch and can of gasoline.

• People are so afraid. They are afraid of so many things. Mostly they are afraid of each other.

• I learned the origin of the phrase “not one iota”.

• A picture is worth a thousand words.

More specifically, a picture of me in a bathing suit is worth a thousand unspoken, gasping, unintelligible words.

• A tomato that rolls under the back seat of the car and rots will make you gag. More than once.

• Vituperate means to speak or write in an extremely negative way about

•

•

•

someone or something. Ex: She vituperated about the disgusting stinkbug at every opportunity.

I learned that one should always look for ant beds before laying in the grass to remove a cable that is twisted around the blades of a riding mower.

I learned a recipe for the best cobbler topping – in the world: Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 cups melted butter (cool just a bit), 1 1/2 cups flour and 1/4 tsp. salt to form a soft dough (add more flour if needed) and pat handfuls of the dough into thick palm-sized disks. Lay dough disks on top of cobbler. Extra topping can be crumbled in corners.

Bake 35 – 45 min. Tastes like a sugar cookie and a pie crust had a delicious sweet baby.

No one wants roosters. I have roosters… PLEASE… someone take my roosters …………

You see? Pretty scant in the New Knowledge/Skills Department.

I am thinking this is possibly because I am constantly re-learning things I already knew. Maybe I am spending so much time on re-learning, I don’t have much left to absorb new information. Maybe not. There is only one thing to do: make a list. This is not a shock to those who know me. I will make a list outlining the lists I need to make. Maybe if I have a list of what I want to learn, I can make a little more progress.

Here are things I want to know, activities I want to do, and concepts I want to understand: • • • • •

I really (really) want to learn how to speak and read Hindi.

I would love to grow different types of mushrooms.

I want to learn how to appreciate the taste of fennel. I feel like that is holding me back somehow.

I want to keep bees and harvest my own honey. (Need to take that class from Jennings Apiary).

I must learn how to kill stink bugs without killing bees.

Rosemary Thomas is an avid cook and gardener who enjoys the challenge of owning a restaurant and working with her daughter. She is an RN and continues to work several days a week in Shreveport where she lives with her husband, three dogs, two cats and 80 chickens.

• • • •

• • •

I would love to learn more about cooking Thai food.

I need to know why dogs eat poop.

I want to learn how to play the harmonica. It is kind of like horseshoes – harder than it looks.

I really need to understand why my cat lets me pet her, but yet a split second later she acts as though I have violated her in a deeply personal way and viciously attacks me.

What is that about?

I want to learn how to cook more Indian food (Just another reason to travel to India).

I would like to learn new gardening techniques like straw bale gardening or keyhole gardening.

I would like to learn some line dances. It looks like so much fun!

What do your lists look like? What have you learned in the last few weeks? Did you learn a new skill or cooking technique? Did you learn something about yourself or your child or spouse? Did you learn a new vocabulary word or a bit of history? Hopefully you learned a little more than I did.

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What do you want to learn in the next few weeks/months/years?

Maybe you want to learn how to make a wreath for your door or a Mexican Flan. Maybe you have always wanted to learn French or you want to try hydroponic gardening or read up on the Great Depression or the pyramids of Egypt. Maybe you want to learn how to roast your own coffee beans, sew you own table linens, or make a Greek Gyro. Perhaps you want to learn how to bake sourdough bread, study up on Medical Terminology or Supreme Court Decisions, how to make your own pickles, paint with watercolors, or learn to sing. Absolutely endless opportunities. Incessant. Infinite. Limitless. Perpetual.

Unfathomable. Endless.

School is back in session!

Curious. Like a chicken.

Value learning and always stay

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41

Life Outside the Boot written by Elizabeth Hines

Death Is Not Always Ugly

I

’m sure I’ll catch hell for this one.

But just read it through to the end.

The truth is, it’s just not. Death is heart breaking. It brings out emotions that we don’t always know how to handle.

It shows us how strong, or sometimes, how weak we are. It brings families together and it tears them apart. It reminds us that one wrong turn, one doctor’s visit, one test, one decision, one chance happening could lead to the day that is our last.

I used to have this annoyance about cancer. I’m an emergency medicine girl. I love the broken bones, stitches, and car accidents. I love handling a screaming mother, toddler, sibling and stomping father with a calmness usually only my mother possesses. I would get frustrated because after a few years of working in the hospital I would often say “cancer gets all the glory”. Kids with cancer have their faces plastered all over TV. Celebrities flock to them.

Those units get tons of donations. They have the most extravagant camps.

While this is still often true, I say it with less bitterness after it touched my life one night in the emergency room.

He was 17. He felt his feelings hard.

He was being raised by a single mom. They had little money and few resources. They lived an hour away from the hospital. He didn’t know how to express himself in a healthy way. When I first met him he had a bloody hand, he was fighting with his mom in the waiting room, and EMS worker was dodging him, and they had called security. I knew who he was right away.

He had been issued a death sentence the month before. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In teenage boys, the survival rate is low. Devastatingly low. We had discussed him in rounds, in child life meetings, with staff. We had come up with plans for what to do when he had outbursts. They had threatened to put him in the adult units if he didn’t “behave”. Because they thought 17 was old enough to be an adult. They thought before he was able to legally buy alcohol or rent a car, that he should act like an adult. They thought that they could take away the possibility of seeing his 18th birthday and expect him to act like an adult.

42

There are only a few patients who have changed my life, and this is one.

I did not work closely with him more than twice, but for some reason I saw something in him. I saw myself. I saw a kid that at 17 had no idea how to control their emotions and anger. A kid that just felt their feelings a lot harder than others. A kid that just wanted to be mad sometimes. A kid that was just frustrated. But he had a lot more to be frustrated about than I ever did.

That night in the emergency room I fought for him. I made security back off. I asked him and his mom to be separated. I sat him down in a room just the two of us. We never said the word cancer. We talked about music.

We talked about movies. He told me he hated school. He asked me to heat up his sandwich. He said he got in a fight because someone was teasing him for being sick. He apologized for yelling and fighting with his mom. He cried. He told me how mad he was that he got sick and it was hurting his mom. He apologized for being sick. He told me I had no idea how hard it was to live his life.

And I just listened. I told him he was right – I had NO IDEA. Most of us don’t.

We will never understand what it’s like to be a teenager that thought they were gonna get out of the ghetto and do something with their lives. We will never understand what it’s like for our teenage love to dump us while we are withering away in a hospital bed.

When he died I cried. I knew it was coming. I knew it was going to be horrible. We all knew his mom was going to have to be sedated.

But we were wrong. It was terribly sad, but at the same time, it was beautiful.

We saw his mom in a peace we never expected. We saw his mom lay and hold her dying son with an acceptance no one saw coming. We saw his mom hug every single staff member and thank them for their support. At the funeral we saw another woman emerge. We saw a pillar of strength stand and speak at his funeral with an elegance and grace we had never seen inside the hospital walls. Today we have seen a grieving mother support other parents in ways no staff member ever could.

You see, the beauty was not in the illness, but in his death. A woman struggling with anger and addiction issues became a woman who was someone other mothers were turning to. She became a woman with answers.

A woman who could help. And a woman she never thought she would be.

To me he is always going to be the patient that pushed me out of what I was comfortable with. He is always going to be the patient that made me realize I would rather be the one to help than to walk away because it makes me uncomfortable. He will always be the patient that told the doctors how it was – and I LOVED it. He will always be the patient that brought weed brownies in for an admission. He got 3 down before anyone knew what was going on. He will always be the patient I used to explain to medical staff that kids are not ‘bad’ – there is often a much bigger picture.

Death is horrible. But it’s also beautiful if you choose to look close enough.

Liz is a typical southern girl who is taking on the world. After following the scenic route through college at Louisiana Tech she moved to New York to work as a Child Life Specialist. Recently she took her next big leap by travelling to the other side of the world to live in Kenya, Africa.

What's next? Who knows! She is currently back in the big apple and training for child life disaster relief. Wherever she ends up outside of the boot, a part of her will always be here. Follow her at tradingbootsforpearls.blogspot.com

BIG CREEK TRADE DAYS

43

Breast Cancer Screening Can Save Lives O ctober is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month BUT anytime is the

perfect time to discuss the importance of mammography. Because breast cancer is often detectable in its early stages when thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good chance for a cure, breast cancer screening is essential to early detection.

Most significantly, mammography is an important line of defense against breast cancer because it can identify tumors even before they can be felt.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, aside from non-melanoma skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the United States.

It is also one of the leading causes of cancer death among women of all races. In 2008 (the most recent year numbers are available), 210,203 women in the United States were diagnosed with breast cancer, and 40,589 women died from the disease.

The National Cancer Institute recommends that women age 40 or older have screening mammograms every 1 to 2 years. If a woman is at high risk for developing breast cancer, her doctor may recommend screening at a younger age, along with additional imaging studies.

Northern Louisiana Medical Center is proud to offer a variety of breast cancer screening techniques.

44

Screening and Diagnostic Mammography Breast Ultrasound A conventional screening mammogram is a low-dose X-ray test that creates images of breast tissue so doctors can check for lesions or other abnormalities. The x-ray images make it possible to detect tumors that cannot be felt, and can find microcalcifications (tiny deposits of calcium) that sometimes indicate the presence of breast cancer.

A mammogram used to check for breast cancer after a lump or other sign or symptom of the disease is called a diagnostic mammogram. Besides a lump, signs of breast cancer can include breast pain, thickening of the skin of the breast, nipple discharge, or a change in breast size or shape; however, these signs may also be signs of benign or non-cancerous breast conditions.

Digital Mammography At Northern Louisiana Medical Center, women who undergo routine mammograms also have up-to-date diagnostic technology available with digital mammography.

While digital imaging feels almost identical to conventional mammography, its benefits are a shorter exam time than traditional mammograms, and less chance that patients will be called back for repeat exams.

Digital images tend to provide doctors with better visibility of the breast, chest wall and dense breast tissue. Through computer-aided technology, radiologists are able to enhance certain areas of the digital images to get a more precise picture of a patient’s condition. The digital images can also be stored electronically, and later retrieved to share with other doctors if needed in the future.

For women with private insurance, the cost of screening mammograms is usually covered without copayments or deductibles, but women should contact their mammography facility or health insurance company for confirmation. In addition, Medicare pays for annual screening mammograms for all female Medicare beneficiaries age 40 or older.

If you have had a physical exam or a mammogram, and your physician detects there may be an abnormality, a breast ultrasound can provide additional information. It can also assist the physician in determining whether a breast abnormality is filled with fluid (a cyst) or if it is solid.

A breast ultrasound is an imaging technique that uses sound waves to form a picture of the breast tissue. A small handheld unit (transducer) is gently passed over the breast in a back and forth motion, creating the breast tissue image and displaying it on a monitor. This sound wave technique can capture views of breast tissue that can be difficult for other imaging tests to obtain.

Stereotactic Breast Biopsy Stereotactic breast biopsy is a minimally invasive, nonsurgical method of assessing abnormal breast tissue that is detected on a mammogram or ultrasound.

During the procedure, the woman lies on a special mammography table while an X-ray machine helps guide the physician’s instruments directly to the site of the suspicious tissue. Using a thin needle and a small vacuum, one or more samples of tissue are cut and gently removed for analysis.

Multiple tissue samples can be withdrawn during a single needle insertion if needed, which minimizes any potential discomfort for the patient.

The professionals at Northern Louisiana Medical Center are ready to provide the breast screening technique that is appropriate for the individual woman. For more information on various breast diseases and conditions, the anatomy of the breasts, other screening tools and more, visit www. northernlouisianamedicalcenter.com, choose the “Health Resources” tab and type “Breast Health” in the search box.

NorthernLouisianaMedicalCenter.com

45

strangers at my

coffeepot

written by Darla Upton

Keep Calm & Wig Out

S

ome people complain social media makes us less of a friend.

We hit "like" or make a comment and move on to the next cat video. Some would argue social media friendships are superficial and lack true intimacy and therefore, hold no true connection.

Personally, social media helps me stay connected! It enables me to see what friends and relatives are up to that I may have lost touch with after graduation, a move, a divorce, or job change. It also introduces me to friends of friends and while we may not have a common history or share geography we develop a bond over pictures, funny comments, and interesting tidbits.

So, last year when Hugh and Atticus ran into a store and the lady behind the counter recognize them from pictures I had posted and struck up a conversation, it was like seeing an old friend because they had heard me talk about her, too. She was a friend of a friend turned new friend. Two different cities, two different lives, same struggles and same humor. She is a friend. I know her. I don't know it all but I know enough to like her and smile when I think of her. That's why when the post popped up her son was sick and

46

they would be heading to Children's Hospital I immediately thought, "How is she gonna do this? How does a family get through that grief, that distance, that expense, that uncertainty, that news that turns a life upside down in a blink of an eye?"

it is just a blip, hopefully. In their long, healthy life it will be just a blip of time they had to struggle.

Looking at one of her pictures smiling with her son, I remembered what my sister had said after my niece was hit by a malfunctioning firework resulting in burn care I wasn't sure I could have stomached. When I asked, "How did you do it?" My sister looked at me and said, "You just do it. There really isn't an option. It's your kid. You'd be surprised what you can do if it means getting them better."

When I applied the same theory to my friend, I understood she would get through this because there's no choice.

Her son needs her and she is there.

She's tired but she's up! Right there wheeling him into chemo even though the day before he was distant, weak and in pain from the stupid chemo.

Her shoulders leaned in, pushing him to another round of treatment because she knows one day soon he won't be sick anymore. When he can't smile, she smiles at him. When he is sick, she holds his head. She doesn't have a choice. She just does it. She has to.

He's her baby. And it's only going to be a blip in his long, long life. He's not a baby but he is still so young, not even out of junior high. As the parent this is more than a blip, he is her world and has been since he got here, but he is in the first decades of life. He has a long road ahead of him. How often do you look back on your pre-driving teenage years? By the time he makes his own life and looks back --it's a blip for him.

She explained when someone says to you that you must do something to get your child better, you simply do it. It is your job to do the awful and hard things to get them better. There's no one else.

You keep reminding yourself for them,

This summer I had to take Atticus to Children's Hospital. Nothing serious. A brace in a couple years will fix him right up! I want to mention the incredible job being done by Children's. From the call to schedule the appointment, to valet

In what seemed like less than a week she posted a diagnosis, uprooted to Dallas and treatment began. It was going too fast for me and I was only a social media bystander. My life was still normal. She was the one living it. I was the one that couldn't get my head around the diagnosis and she was already unpacking her toothbrush and talking about his counts!

parking, to the information desk, to the nurses and doctors and every staff member we ran into in between it was the best hospital experience we've ever had. No one rushed us.

All questions were answered with detail. Atticus was spoken to and asked real questions about his body and his feelings about what was going on. I've only experienced Children's so that's the name I used, but I'm sure there are other hospitals providing the same. It is a true testament to a hospital for it to get an entire building of staff to all show up ready to not only tend to the sick but to be helpful and understanding to family members. And not just today, do it tomorrow and the next day and the next.

One parent to another, I hope you never find yourself taking your child to one of these hospitals, but if you do please remember: You can do it. You have to. It's your kid. You don't have a choice. Breathe in and out, smile, hold hands, clean up the puke, watch them sleep, do it again and again, until the day you don't have to do it anymore. Then, you can look back at that blip. Just a blip. A survived blip.

Thanks, Dylan and Tera for letting me share your story. Hang in there, Dylan! People you have never met are praying for your blip to end soon. Tera, brush your teeth, change your shirt and put some moisturizer on, you look like hell! Oh, and we love you!

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You’ve known her for so long. Now, suddenly, something has changed.

You’ve known her for so long. Now, suddenly, something has changed.

If you or a loved one is experiencing changes in the ability to cope with daily living, Senior Care at Minden Medical Center is here to help.

Senior Care is available to persons age 55 and over with a mental or cognitive decline that hinders daily life, who has become a threat to self or others, or is limited in selfcare ability. Our mental health professionals are available through our 24 hour referral line to discuss treatment needs and are devoted to helping patients get back to their optimal level of functioning.

Our services include:

• Free initial consultation • Thorough assessment • Customized treatment plans • Group, individual, and family counseling

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You’ve known her for so long. Now, suddenly, something has changed.

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Senior Care is available to persons age 55 and over with You have a choice when it comes to caring for your health. Make it a smart one, a mental or cognitive decline that hinders daily life, who and choose the area hospital that was named one of the nation’s top performers Hope is only a phone call away. has become a threat to self or others, or is limited in selfDarla lives in Jefferson, Texas, on key quality measures two years in a row. care ability. Our mental health professionals are available where she raises her son, through our 24 hour referral line to discuss treatment Atticus We’re Gregory, her proud towith be recognized

by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor significant other, Hugh Lewis II. needs and are devoted to helping patients get back to healthcare organizations in the nation, for our achievements in quality… but Prior to ofbeing a self-employed, www.MindenMedicalCenter.com their optimal level of functioning. we’re even more Medical Center stay at home mom she wasproud a to be chosen by you. Minden #1 Medical Plaza | Minden, LA Civil Litigation Paralegal a understands whatformatters most toOur patients and their families – safe and services include: defenseeffective firm in care.

NorthWe Carolina. are committed to providing the highest quality care possible, After leaving North Carolina, • Free initial consultation Management of secondary along with the expertise technology that you expect at • larger she lived in Houston for a shortand leading edge • Thorough assessment medical needs hospitals, all conveniently close to home. time. She eventually returned • Customized treatment • Continued care planning to her hometown of Texarkana,

plans and referral assistance Texas, where she met Hugh while • choose Group, individual, and working at the Texarkana Gazette as a production Whateverassistant. your healthcare need, Minden Medical Center. family counseling When they met, Hugh was the owner/operator of the AlleyMcKay House Bed & Breakfast. Girl meets boy, girl fallswww.mindenmedicalcenter.com in love with boy, girl has a baby and gets a bed and breakfast?

It happened. But after 10 years they decided to get out of the For more information business. They purchased a historic building right smack in or to schedule a free, the middle of downtown Jefferson and started over. Renting the bottom portion to businesses and living upstairs means confidential assessment, lots of opinions from the locals about everything from paint call us at 318-371-5646. colors to flowers to plant. Darla now spends a lot of time attempting DIY renovations and yelling off her balcony at friends passing by below. Her once hectic life in hospitality Hope is only a phone call away. has now slowed to gardening and gossiping. Atticus Gregory who was once the Eloise of the bed & breakfast is starting to show signs of a mustache, has a voice deeper than his father's and is getting texts from little girls. Luckily, no matter what life hands her, she has a good sense of humor, www.MindenMedicalCenter.com vodka and her typewriter. #1 Medical Plaza | Minden, LA

Senior Care is available to persons age 55 and over with a mental or cognitive decline that hinders daily life, who has become a threat to self or others, or is limited in selfcare ability. Our mental health professionals are available through our 24 hour refer al line to discuss treatment 47

bringing back

the past

written by Wesley Harris MARCHING THROUGH LOUISIANA: Touring

Northern Louisiana's Military Museums

O ne way to tour the great state of Louisiana is to plan stops around a

theme. You can visit a selection of state parks, art galleries, or antebellum homes. A number of planned tour routes are available online, including at LOUISIANATRAVEL.COM, a site maintained by the state’s Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

The traveler in north Louisiana might consider a tour of the museums commemorating the state’s contributions to the nation’s military efforts.

Four fine museums north of Alexandria form the basis for an excellent themed excursion.

The Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum is an often overlooked museum located in Camp Beauregard in Pineville. It preserves the story of the Louisiana Maneuvers— war games conducted to prepare hundreds of thousands of troops and their commanders for World War II. Housed in a replica of a WWII military barracks, the museum pays tribute to the soldiers and civilians involved in the maneuvers with exhibits displaying uniforms, equipment and maneuversera armament, with contrasting presentations of horse cavalry next to tanks. Experimentation in new forms of mechanized warfare took place in the maneuvers here. The Maneuvers performed here revealed Louisiana to be an excellent training environment for America’s armed forces.

Also included are displays of uniforms and equipment dating from the Louisiana colonial days up to the conflicts in the Middle East.

48

Named after Confederate General Pierre G. T. Beauregard, the camp was established during World War I, training many soldiers who were sent to France to fight during the war. The camp closed after World War I for active use, but National Guard units trained there until it was reactivated as a federal facility in 1940. Today it is used by the Louisiana National Guard as a logistical base and training base for engineer and aviation units.

The Barksdale Global Power Museum is not only a memorial to American success in battle, but a recognition of the many years spent training to deter war. The peacetime history of Barksdale Air Force Base is as significant as those years at war. The outside exhibits include some of the American military’s most famous aircraft, including B-17 and B-24 bombers of World War II; along with the P-51 Mustang. Also displayed are the several versions of the plane Barksdale is best known for, the B-52 Stratofortress as well as the highest and fastest flying jet aircraft ever, the SR-71 Blackbird.

Inside, visitors find six exhibit galleries that tell the story of the Barksdale Air Force Base from its dedication as Barksdale Field in 1933 to the present.

Barksdale was named for Lieutenant Eugene Hoy Barksdale, a Mississippi native and U.S. Army Air Corps pilot who lost his life August 11, 1926, while flight testing an observation airplane

near Wright Field, Dayton, Ohio.

Barksdale continued to serve as an air training base during World War II, and shortly after the war, became the home of Headquarters Army Air Forces Training Command. New pilots continued to earn their wings as the base was renamed Barksdale Air Force Base in 1947. In 1949 the base began to undergo the transition to a new mission to support Strategic Air Command operations. The activation of 2nd Air Force Headquarters at Barksdale on November 1, 1949, marked the start of a significant role for Barksdale in the development of massive, long-range striking power. In 1957, Barksdale received its B-52s, the aircraft most associated with the base.

The Louisiana Military Museum in Ruston chronicles American conflicts from the Civil War to the present day with an emphasis on local personalities.

Housed in a nondescript two-story building surrounded by huge pieces of military hardware from helicopters and jets to tracked vehicles and cannons.

But inside, an awesome collection of militaria serves to illustrate the close ties between this small community and America’s armed conflicts.

What makes the Louisiana Military Museum unique is how it tells the story of the response of common men and women when their freedom is threatened. The museum connects real

Wesley Harris is a native of Ruston. Among his books are FISH OUT OF WATER: Nazi Submariners as POWs in North Louisiana during World War II and GREETINGS FROM RUSTON: A Post Card History of Ruston, Louisiana, available from amazon.com. Check out his Louisiana history blog at http://diggingthepast.blogspot. com. He can be contacted at campruston@gmail. com.

people and every American conflict since the Civil War. It’s not just a collection of guns, uniforms, and other relics, but a history of a community’s willingness to serve.

Many exhibits include a name and a photograph to accompany a uniform full of medals or a weapon. The stories of heroism come alive for many locals when they recognize a soldier, sailor, airman, or Marine as the same man or woman they see at church or the grocery store.

One of the local heroes honored with a large exhibit is Navy Commander Guy Bordelon. Bordelon received the highest military decoration of any local serviceman. He was awarded the Navy Cross—the nation’s second highest medal for valor— for his record as a naval combat pilot in Korea.

Bordelon’s record as a pilot is unique. He was the only U.S. Navy pilot to become an ace in Korea. Flying off the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Princeton, Bordelon was credited with shooting down five enemy planes. All Bordelon’s kills came at night— the only Korean War pilot with such a record.

Commander Bordelon is just one of many faces this museum places on the men of war. The enemy is given a face, too.

There are manikins in Japanese and North Vietnamese uniforms. Nazi weapons and medals from World War II are displayed.

The Chennault Aviation & Military Museum’s story begins in 1986, when those who trained at Selman Field during World War II and their descendants held their first reunion. Attendees vowed to work with the City of Monroe to establish a repository of Selman Field artifacts and memorabilia. A museum was opened in 2000 in one of the last remaining World War IIera buildings used by the Air Corps’s largest school for flight navigators.

The museum has grown to encompass more of the rich aviation and military history of Northeast Louisiana. The museum gives honor to all our U.S. veterans, and features exhibits on all wars from World War I through Iraq and Afghanistan.

Featured prominently in the museum is the story of General Claire Chennault who grew up locally and commanded the famed “Flying Tigers” in China during World War II. Chennault is still a hero to the Chinese and the museum has developed connections with China leading to many international visitors to the facility. Chennault’s granddaughter is director of the museum.

Check the websites or Facebook pages of the museums for operating hours in planning your visit.

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Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum Camp Beauregard, 409 F Street, Pineville

Louisiana Military Museum 201 Memorial Drive, Ruston

Barksdale Global Power Museum

Barksdale AFB, 88 Shreveport Road, Bossier City

Chennault Aviation and Military Museum

701 Kansas Lane, Monroe ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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the journey written by Jason McReynolds B.A.C.O.N.

I

t’s the most delicious food on the planet. It’s the meat in the BLT. It makes your cheeseburger so much better. It should always accompany the eggs for a balanced breakfast, right? I’m more than willing to go through the pain of having the grease pop out of the pan onto my arm for a taste of that delicious pig meat. Thick cut. I like it thick cut w/ as little fat as possible. But it’s a pig so there’s gonna be fat. My mouth is starting to water as I write this. I’m not sure I can make it through this article.

Ok. I'm back from the kitchen... Bacon has always been amazing to eat. Did you know that people love bacon so much right now that you can buy things like bacon soda, bacon pretzels, and bacon jewelry? And at the risk of sounding Bubba Gumpish you can buy bacon jerky, bacon chocolate, bacon brittle, bacon popcorn, bacon cheese, bacon pancake mix (w/ bacon syrup, of course), bacon coffee, bacon hot chocolate, bacon tea, bacon bloody marys, bacon seasonings, bacon condiments, and bacon business cards (no lie!). Those talking dogs in the Beggin’ bacon flavored strips commercials are right! We gotta have bacon! But why has bacon become so popular all of a sudden? It’s been around ever since pigs have. What has happened?

Here’s basically what happened. A guy recently loved bacon so much that he became known for his love of it. He started a business to tell others how great bacon is, even though everyone already knew. Then it woke the rest of America up to get on board the bacon “movement.”

The problem is that there is a downside.

In a few years somebody will rain on the bacon parade and tell us about the cholesterol content, the sodium content, and the fat content. We aren’t stupid.

We know there’s too much of that stuff in there. But we also know they are right.

We should only eat bacon in moderation because too much is bad for us.

So here’s my question… why don’t we look at Jesus in the same way? I know, this took a crazy right turn but if you saw my bio below you know that I’m a pastor in New Orleans so you had to know

50

this was coming sometime, right? But seriously, why isn’t Jesus greater than bacon to America? What happened to Jesus that He isn’t the greatest thing before sliced bread? Well, there are a few things. Let me lay them out clearly.

1. His people can be bad. This is true. Christians sometimes don’t live up to Jesus’ reputation because that reputation is perfection. Jesus was perfect. We are not. We are far from perfect. It hurts worse when a follower of Jesus hurts someone else badly. The problem is that we attribute their bad behavior to Jesus when we should chalk it up to imperfect sinners. If that person really follows Jesus then there will be repentance sought and forgiveness requested. If they don’t then maybe they aren’t really following Him. 2. He asks us not to do stuff. This is true.

Nobody likes being told what to do. But you know that people aren’t always out to get you, right? Most people are trying to help you when they tell you not to do something. We still don’t like it though.

It’s even more frustrating when people tell us what to do and we know they are right! This is the hard part about following Jesus. He tells us things that are for our benefit long-term but we still don’t like it because we can’t see the future. Now here’s the kicker… Jesus never forces us to follow Him even when He asks us to not do something. This is the hardest part of choosing to follow Jesus – obeying Him when you really don’t want to. So you always have a choice. You are never forced to follow Him but you’ll definitely gain wisdom and live a life of peace and contentment if you do.

3. Too much of Him makes us weird. This is false. We all know weird, pushy, or outof-touch christians. How do they get that way? We all wonder if we’ll be that way.

Will we be like crazy great-aunt Gertrude who does nothing but watch the 24 hour

news cycle and make others feel bad for not following Jesus? The solution isn’t in leaving Jesus but in actually doing what He says more. Following Jesus actually makes us normal, clear-headed, and joyous. Whether you talk to others about Jesus with compassion or with aggravation depends on you and your control issues. It doesn’t normally help when you badger people about Jesus.

We’re more apt to listen, be open, and respond when we know that person loves us & is putting us first.

After we get past these 3 lies (& possibly a few others) we are left with the truth. God sent His Son, Jesus, down to earth & He gave His life in place of ours. Sin condemns us. He took our condemnation. This was free for us.

We certainly didn’t deserve it. The only thing our Heavenly Father asks is that we follow Him. And when we follow Him He leads us in the best all-around life that we could possibly have. He gives us the best life physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually that we could ever imagine. Who does that? Only a God who loves those that He created no matter how many times we turn away and run from Him. Jesus died on a cross and rose from the grave for that very reason. This is the most amazing thing in the world! Who else will give you a wonderful life here and, oh yea, an incredible life with Him for eternity after we die? With Jesus there is no downside!

So we can believe these lies that are given to us or we can see Jesus as better than bacon. Why shouldn’t we be people who love Jesus so much that we become known for our love of Him? Why shouldn’t we tell others how great He is, even though deep down everyone already knows. Maybe we will wake the rest of America up to get on board this movement. Because Jesus is better than bacon.

Jason McReynolds is the pastor of New Orleans Community Church.

He and his wife, Liev, have two boys and one little girl. Jason enjoys hanging out with his family and friends, watching and/ or playing any kind of sports, and taking his wife out on dates. To learn more about him, or NOCC, visit: www.neworleanscommunitychurch.com

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tep SRight

Up

EARS Y 0 11

Prices

presents

Oct. 27 thru Nov. 13 Closed Mondays

Gate Admission: $10 Pay One Price: $40 (includes gate admission & carnival ride armband) Fun Pass: $75 (includes gate admission & carnival ride armband all 16 days of the Fair)

Special Rate Days

Free Fair Days Tues, Wed, Thurs. & Fri. 10 a.m.-3p.m. (Free Parking & Admission) 2-Dollar Tuesdays & Thursdays ($2 Parking after 3pm, $2 Gate Admission after 3pm & $2 Rides Noon til close Half Price Wednesdays ($5 Gate Admission after 3pm & $15 Carnival Ride Armbands Noon til close) Oct. 27 Senior Day Nov. 13 Veterans & Military Appreciation Day

(Closed Mondays)

Tues, Wed, Thurs, Sun: 10am – 10pm, Fri & Sat: 10am – 11pm Carnival Hours: Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri: Noon-Close | Sat. & Sun. 10am-Close

Discount Tickets Available Sept 21-Oct 26 at:

& also online at www.StateFairofLouisiana.com 52

e)

t ’ n Do

. . . s Mis

o e od

R

AgMagic At The State Fair

Oct 27-Nov 13, 10am-9pm.

Agriculture Building-Agmagic is an interactive environment that will link food and fiber products to the forests, field crops and livestock produced by Louisiana farmers, ranchers and forest landowners. Featured crops will be displa,yed in various stages of development, and the importance of interaction between agriculture, the environment and society at large will be highlighted.

Fri, Oct. 28 from 6pm to 10pm Sat, Oct. 29 from 10am to 6pm.

East Texas Antique Tractor & Engine Association presents the State Fair Antique Tractor Show & Pull featuring antique tractor displays, antique tractor pull competition and demonstrations.

Red River Smiths will provide blacksmithing demonstrations on Saturday.

t e s r e e tr n

Stertai

En

Rock It Robot Dallas The Fire Guy The Clown of Many Faces Nick The Escape Artist Loz Primoz International Breakdancers

n o C

Oct. 27: Black Water Bride Cody Cook & the Bayou Outlaws Oct. 28: Talk To The Bishop Live International Call in Show w/ Bishop Fred A. Caldwell, Sr. Oct. 29: Gospel Music Mega Fest Lainey Wilson

Frank Foster

LRCA Finals Rodeo

Fri, Nov. 4 and Sat, Nov. 5 at 7pm. in Hirsch Memorial Coliseum “Tough Enough To Wear Pink”: Fri, Nov. 4 Box Seat GA: $20 Advance / $25 Day of Show Upper Level GA: $10 Advance / $15 Day of Show *LRCA Rodeo tickets include State Fair admission

Antique Tractor Show & Pull

e e Fr certs

Ticket Outlets: Cavender’s Western Outfitters (Shreveport/Bossier City), Ranchland Shreveport, Topp’s Western Wear, Paul’s Farm & Garden, Greenwood Feed & Hardware, State Fair Box Office & StateFairOfLouisiana.com

e s e n r F ctio

a r t At

Oct. 30: Jim & James Linden Hogg Waylon Thibodeaux Nov. 2: HyStrung Nov. 3: What The Funk Nov. 4: Jared Mourad Jaryd Lane & The Parish Nov. 5: 17th Annual Gospel Music Celebration Warren Storm, Willie T & Cypress

Wayne Toups

Nov. 6: Fiesta at the Fair Nov. 9: The Rockin’ Redeyes Nov. 10: Southern Roots Nov. 11: Jerad Bridges

Joe Diffie

The State Fair Zoo Circus Hollywood Great American Duck Race Alaskan Malamute Dog Show Ms. Stevana’s Friesian Horse Show Hollywood Racing Pigs JUMP “The Ultimate Dog Show” Boots & Britches and The Dream Camper Show

Nov. 12: Cupid SILK Nov. 13: Faith at the Fair

53

a novel approach written by Winnie Griggs The Art Of Backstory – Part V

T

his is the fifth in a series of articles I’m bringing you about weaving backstory into your work. In previous articles I discussed what backstory is, what and how much should be included in your manuscript, and when to include it. I’ve also discussed two of the methods you can use, namely Omniscient Narration and Flashbacks.

This time around, I’ll be discussing Prologues and Introspection.

So Let’s start with Prologues: One definition has it as “a separate introductory section of a literary or musical work”. A writer normally includes a prologue when there is material he needs to include up front in his story that doesn’t follow the time sequence of the rest of the book.

Where a flashback normally answers a question raised earlier in the story, a prologue must raise questions that pull the reader forward to search for answers.

How do you decide if you should use a prologue? A prologue must provide essential information for the reader to know before the here and now of your actual story. It should recount a significant event which is important for the reader to experience in real time with the character. Again, make certain the information is essential to have up front - that it wouldn’t be better served woven in later through some other method.

If you do use a prologue, your story will in effect have two starting points and you will need to develop two very strong opening hooks to draw your reader in.

Take care, if the prologue is not gripping enough, or does not seem connected to

54

the next couple of chapters, you risk annoying or losing the reader.

reader that propels her farther into the story to find the answer.

But, contrary to what some will tell you, prologues can serve a useful purpose.

They can:

Here are some examples from movies:

•

• • •

•

Provide key backstory elements up front in real time so that we don’t have to bog our first chapters in backstory or resort to more intrusive flashbacks later.

Provide a glimpse of some character who may not appear in your opening scenes.

Provide a sharp ‘before and after’ contrast for one of your characters.

Demonstrate a sympathetic side to a protagonist who may come across as less-than-heroic in your opening chapter.

And for stories that revolve around some deep-rooted incident of history or tradition, for example a curse, feud, ancient prophecy, etc., prologues can show the origins of these and set the stage for the rest of your book.

Keys to making it work. Just make certain, if you do decide to use a prologue, that you: • •

Make it vivid and involving in its own right, a mini-story of sorts.

And construct it in such a way that it raises story questions for the

•

•

Pirates Of The Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl - Opening the movie with the scene of Elizabeth and Will first meeting as children accomplished several things, but there was one specific thing it did that was very important though most viewers wouldn’t have given it a conscious thought. It grounded us in the fact that this was Elizabeth & Will’s story, not Jack Sparrow’s.

Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark – Opening the story with the high octane action scene was a brilliant way to show us that Indy was much more than the college professor we see him to be in the following scene.

That’s it for our discussion of Prologues.

Next time around I’ll discuss the use of Introspection to reveal Backstory.

Remember, revelation of Backstory is most effective when it both unveils the past and adds to the present situation. As always, feel free to contact me at Winnie@winniegriggs.com for questions on this or any other aspect of novel writing. And feel free to look me up on facebook as well.

Winnie Griggs grew up in south Louisiana in an undeveloped area her friends thought of as the back of beyond. She and her siblings spent many an hour exploring the overgrown land around her home, cutting jungle trails, building forts and frontier camps, and looking for pirate ships on the nearby bayou. Once she ‘grew up’ she began capturing those wonderful adventures in the pages of her notebooks. Now a multipublished, award winning author, Winnie feels blessed to be able to share her stories with readers through her published books. You can learn more about Winnie at www.winniegriggs.com or connect with her at www. facebook.com/WinnieGriggs.Author

Supporting the Fighters Admiring the Survivors Honoring the Taken

Connect. Communicate. Conquer.

55

from simplicity to

stilettos

written by Chalaine Scott Cancer Makes You Grateful

E

ight years ago, I drove two hours down some dark, dirt roads that led to a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere Texas to pick up a puppy. I searched and searched online and found a little blonde haired dog with ears too big for his head and big dark eyes that could get him anything he wanted. I got in the car and drove to get my always-shedding, always-happy, always-cuddly, always-friendly yellow Labrador Retriever. Eight years have gone by since that two-hour drive – and I'm not sure I could love a thing more.

These past eight years have been a whirlwind of change. From college classes to cross-country moves, it's been me and my boy Jete against the world. Me and Jete for all night study sessions and early morning runs.

For Saturday errands. For roadtrips.

For new jobs and new places and new friends. For dance parties in our kitchen. Me and Jete for stupid boys and homesick days and movie nights.

When I'm lonely and when I'm feeling most low. Me and Jete.

They say dogs bring life to a home, they can also bring change to a life. They make you better people. They make you smile bigger and laugh more and love without reservation. Dogs turn into family. When you're single and you live alone, a dog becomes a best friend.

They comfort you on stormy days and cuddle you on lonely nights. They listen when you complain and snuggle you when you’re sick. Countless nights my tears have soaked into yellow fur, countless times he's nudged my arms from crying, countless times he's rode shotgun, countless times he's made me laugh when I'm most homesick and made me feel loved when I'm most lonely.

So when a vet calls to tell you that your fluffy, yellow-haired, always happy-golucky boy has cancer, your world stalls.

When a vet calls to tell you they’ve found two tumors, you lay on the floor with your best friend and promise to fix

56

him. He’ll look at you with innocent, big, sad, brown eyes, he’ll be confused at your sobbing and he’ll nudge you close as you tell him over and over that you will make him better. That you will love those tumors right out of his little body.

And you’ll try your darndest.

You’ll lay in bed and cry as you watch him sleep, and you’ll realize life is hard, and it is short, and cancer is devastating.

You’ll think about all the people you know who have been diagnosed, and all the ones you don’t. You’ll be thankful for another night to cuddle up with your boy, another day to watch his tail wag, another moment to feel his slobbery kiss on your cheek.

You’ll realize that in the most hurtful news, in the most heartbreaking situations, that there is joy. That there are people who love you and are there for you and that even in the bad, there is still good. You’ll go from seriously sad to positively hopeful because of the remarkable people rallying around you. You’ll go from incredibly upset to incredibly grateful. To feeling blessed, feeling loved and feeling lucky in the deepest parts of your heart.

You’ll find out your dog needs an emergency, unexpected surgery that you can't afford. You'll get overwhelmed and overemotional. The thought will cross your mind that "omg, am I going to have to put my baby down because I can't afford to make him better?" And then, your office will throw together a fundraiser to make the surgery happen.

The donations will start pouring in. First from a friend, then from a coworker, then from a family member, then from a teammate you played soccer with in middle school, then from a friend's

parents and a boss and an old teacher and a person you thought hated you and a previous colleague and a girl your dad used to coach and a friend from 5th grade and even from someone you've never met in your life. The list will go on. You’ll turn from overwhelmingly stressed to overwhelming loved. You’ll turn from “omg how can all this bad be happening to omg how can all this good be happening...” And then, you’ll realize, more than ever, how big a God you serve. A great God, a gracious God, a loving God who knows exactly what you need and sees that need and meets that need. A God who has given you all these things, so that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.

Abundant life. That's what God's all about. I'm so humbled at what an amazing life He's called me to have, one that I'm unbelievably undeserving of, but so so so grateful to live. And I’m so thankful for the people He’s given me to live it with. Without them, my baby wouldn’t be in remission and my heart wouldn’t be near as full.

I am not grateful that my dog got cancer.

I am not grateful that my aunt died from it or that my Nana suffered through it or that I’ve met countless people who have been diagnosed with it. I am not grateful for cancer. But I am grateful for how it changes our perspectives, how it turns us into warriors and war heroes.

Into champions and cheerleaders. How it makes us appreciate our minutes, our people, our circumstances. How it opens our eyes and changes our minds and strengthens our hearts.

I know it sure has for me.

-------------------------------------------------------

A copywriter, novelist, and columnist, Chalaine lives by her pen. She is always traveling and never settling, making memories wherever she roams.

Living off her dog's cuddles, her brother's humor, and sweet iced tea, she is just a girl in love with the simplicities. Mostly though, she is just a mess in stilettos, living off God's grace and living to serve Him, welcoming inspiration from wherever it comes and pursuing her dreams with whatever it takes.

Follow her @Chaleezy

Do you believe it all to be chance that our tears taste of salt water?

Do you believe it all to be chance that our lungs mimic the sounds of crashing waves?

Do you believe it all to be chance that joy feels like sunlight on exposed skin and the leaves resend to ashes only to be born again?

Do you believe it all to be chance that in an endless darkness we live on a spot of blue and it’s our own blue spots that many of us witness the world through?

Do you believe it all to be chance that the vibrant orange waves of autumn are the fleeting nature of this life and a grand spectacle of pure white floats down like a dreamlike afterlife?

Do you believe it all to be chance that the beauty of our paradoxical existence can be seen in the same season which shines of divine insistence while also reflecting cold, hunger, and painful distance?

Do you believe it all to be chance that after centuries of labor we have only built shades of grey over what was painted in color and perhaps in color it should stay?

Do you believe it all to be chance that the same way water rushes through rivers and streams blood pulses through our veins fueling our hearts and dreams?

Do you believe it all to be chance your life here on this earth?

If so I hope you look up to the night sky and realize what you’re worth.

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penny

for your thoughts written by Penny Jones The Bayou Beckons Historical Fiction

T

he sun in all its brilliance glares down in warmth, reflecting the glistens of morning dewdrops residing on each cotton boll. The fields stretch for miles before me. All is silent in dawn’s embrace. I simply stand looking around. It is beautiful. There is a hush so solemn, it feels like the breath of God surrounding me. It may be warm beyond expression, yet I can’t help but cherish this moment. The rush of all the work hands, have not yet plowed their way into the quietness. Time is fleeting, so I hang on to this moment as long as I possibly can.

You see, I woke before the sun to come into the field. It is not my field nor is it my husband’s, but the landowner’s.

We are just sharecroppers on another man’s inheritance. Today was different somehow. The wind was roving over the fields in an invitation to enjoy the beauty around, as my hair was pushed and pulled in wild array. I sip from my tin water cup, and sit beneath the shade of the tree. The morning in its glorious array has passed, as time always does….it is now lunch time. A few moments for rest from laboring. I may not own the soil my hands helped till or the cotton that fills it, but I can enjoy the beauty my Savior created. In the distance is the bayou that slowly flows along. The mosquitos can be heard singing their song, as they fly over the dark murky waters. The cool waters call to me, and so I walk down past the men relaxing with their faces covered under straw hats, leaving behind the women swapping stories of their children’s accomplishments, and down to the bayou whose waters beckon me to come.

It is serene, quietness guards this place, and the only sound is the gurgle of the water as it flows diligently along.

Tipping my toes in, the tingle of cool refreshment mingles with joy for relief on my tired feet. In the distance I see my

58

treasure. Stately it stands tall, sturdy, and hangs with long slender pin-like leaves. This delightful tree is a cypress.

I cannot see the roots, for the water is too high. Yet, in seasons of low rain its knobby knees are solid, and run deep into the soil. It brings remembrance to me that when life is hard, it is our roots that determine if we stand. I know not the challenges that face others; their own battles and difficulties of working another man’s soil, or dreams that seem to slip through our hands no matter how hard one holds on to them.

These piney woods of North Louisiana may seem stifling to some, and yet gives freedom to meander in for others.

I haven’t gone far in life when it comes to actual distance, but when it comes to wisdom I have gained more than I dare dreamed was possible. It is in the fields that I have sown sweat and tears, laughter and pain, joy and sorrow. I have tilled and planted, and was even rewarded with a priceless gift because of this labor.

On one seemingly ordinary day I picked and toiled to meet my quota of cotton and went home. Seventy pounds to be exact. I had pain in my lower back all day long, and by early dawn had given birth to one of my beautiful daughters. I have traveled far enough in life to know life is not always easy. Yet, it is the roots of faith that will sturdy you in a storm.

This charming tree stands in water, that most would bypass, and many have for decades. It does not look impressive like the magnolia tree. There are no blooms of flowers vying for attention, but its’ solid, tall, lean frame calls to the wayward traveler to pause and look up. When the waters are low, its roots stretch-out like the petticoat of a bride’s gown. The knobby knees grasp the dirt in bravery while quietly declaring, “Whatever may come I will not be moved. I will stand my ground and fight to hold my position.” The regal cypress is rumored by many to be hundreds of years old. It has weathered the storms and the changing of seasons, but continues to grow and inspire new generations. It is my treasure…a tree… surrounded by water and reaching for the clouds. It is my reminder when life is

tough my roots must go deep in faith to stand the trials of life. I leave this alluring bayou to return to “life,” to the work that awaits me. I go refreshed knowing it is my job to stand with determination as the good Lord waters my life’s soil in strength and grace like the ole cypress in the bayou. Softly walking away I hum to my destination, “Jesus is my Savior, I shall not be moved; In His love and favor, I shall not be moved. Just like a tree that's planted by the waters. Lord, I shall not be moved.”

---------------------------------------------------* Written in memory of my grandmotherLizzie Ellis who may not have traveled far in distance, but held a fountain of wisdom. She did indeed pick cotton for a landowner, and after picking seventy pounds, went home to give birth to a daughter. It was her faith that sustained her through life. I will never forget when she told me and my husband a few months before she passed away, “She has had faith all her life.” It truly was God who held her in all seasons. *The cypress is real. It is housed on a beautiful piece of land found within Bienville Parish on Big Cypress Preserve off of Hwy 4. It is said to be over 1,000 years old. More information on this cypress and many others can be found at lapurchasecypresslegacy. blogspot.com. * The closing lines are from the hymn “I shall not be moved.”

---------------------------------------------------Penny Jones was born and raised in Louisiana, and finds joy in the history of this unique state. She holds a degree in English from the University of Kansas CityMissouri.

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