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Here we go, we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of a whooping cough outbreak here in Seeley Lake this week. You may have been hearing about the outbreak in the Missoula high schools. Well, guess what, it's found its way here-high schoolers are good at sharing! As one of my favorite nurses always says, 'sharing is caring!" In this case, I beg to differ, sharing your whooping cough (AKA pertussis) is not caring, it's just mean! So, here is what you might need to know: • Pertussis (the b...
My wife recently spoke in church. Her sermon was based on becoming the salt of the earth. What follows is my digested and regurgitated attempt to summarize her remarks. Jesus used this phrase in the Sermon on the Mount and we still use it today. We associate salt-of-the-earth people with those that are fundamentally good, those that are honest and those that are caring and compassionate. As followers of Christ, we go about salting the earth by following the admonition He gave just a few verses later. We can ‘let [our] light shine before men, t...
Some things in life should go without saying, but there is always the occasional person who just needs a not-so-subtle reminder. Here are a few examples of what I am talking about. These are actual warning labels: On a propane blowtorch: ‘Never use while sleeping.’ On a batman costume: ‘Warning: Cape does not enable user to fly.’ On a portable stroller: ‘Caution: Remove infant before folding for storage.’ And finally, on a laser pointer: ‘Do not look into laser with REMAINING eye.’ The really sad part about each of these is that while it s...
Let's talk today about one of the most horrible illnesses known to, well-MAN-the man flu! As a man and a previous man flu sufferer, I can tell you-it's awful. While my wife (and women in general) may not agree, the urban dictionary explains quite clearly that the man flu experience is more agonizing than childbirth. The nurses at our clinic are pretty good at spotting this terrible affliction. It's pretty much a text-book diagnosis, just watch for a man who is emitting involuntary groans of...
I want to talk today about a vaccine. Wait...don't roll your eyes! This one is important, especially in light of the recent outbreak of measles that you have probably been hearing about. I feel it appropriate that we reexamine our thoughts on the MEASLES (MMR) vaccine. Most of our children here in Seeley Lake have been vaccinated, as have most of us adults. This has given our community a certain 'herd' immunity. In simple terms, this means that those of us that have been immunized have been a sh...
Let's talk about one of the most frequent reasons people visit their doctor – back pain. Statisticians tell us that one in five clinic visits are related to back pain and I believe it! I think every one of us, at least at sometime in their lives, will suffer with back pain. Some people suffer with chronic and debilitating back pain. This is something that is hard to treat and even harder to deal with. Fortunately though, most episodes of back pain will resolve. Back pain can be caused from a n...
I wonder what message the prophet Isaiah was trying to emphasize when he said, “…for all this His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still?” It must have been awfully important as he repeats it again and again (Isaiah 5:25, 9:12, 9:17, 9:21 and 10:4). We recently studied these verses in our Sunday school class and it has given me cause to ponder. As I read these verses, I think about the justice and mercy of a loving God. The recurrent theme that I see is that no matter where I am in my life, His hand is stretched out still...
My dad doesn't smoke but this last year he was diagnosed with lung cancer. I suspect this was caused from radiation he received as a teenager in the 1950's. It's certainly not just a smoker's disease, but by-in-large, those who smoke are the ones who typically get lung cancer (among other things like bladder cancer or COPD). Ok, don't give up on this article just yet, if you think this is just another forum to scare you into stop smoking, read on because this is a forum to introduce you to an...
Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? To answer this, Christ gave us one of the most influential parables ever recorded—that of the good Samaritan. I love this parable. We all know it…here we have a Priest, a Levite and a Samaritan who all responded in their own way to a traveler who was stripped, beaten and left for dead. When I first was taught this parable, I understood that the lesson was to become more like the good Samaritan. While comparing our lives to that of the good Samaritan is not a bad thing to do, today I invite you...
When Jesus taught the Sermon on the Mount, He began with the Beatitudes. These are the ‘blessed are the’…verses found in the fifth chapter of Matthew. These describe the Christ-like attributes that I imagine He is asking us to develop—He being perhaps the perfect example of each. When I read “blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth’, I feel a bit confused as it appears to be somewhat of an oxymoron. I am confused because I don’t think of Christ as being meek—at least in the sense that I understand it today. We have a tendency to...
As a kid, I remember certain ailments being, well just creepy. Like a goiter, or corns, or gout. While I had no idea what any of these things were, in my mind I would picture an old grandpa or grandma sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair rubbing a sore elbow saying something like, "I feel a storm's a comin'." I even thought at one time that, while creepy, it might be kind of cool to predict the weather just by the way your elbow felt for the day. I have since learned that it is in fact...
Having a headache is no picnic, in fact, these things can be quite debilitating. People get headaches for all kinds of reasons. Sore muscles, a bad neck or just a stressful life often causes tension headaches. Another type of headache that frequents the unlucky person is a migraine. It's not unusual for a person to be entirely disabled with a migraine-and they can be tricky to get rid of. How do you know if your headache is a migraine? For people who suffer from them, it's probably a silly...
While the Savior was in Jerusalem for the Feast of Tabernacles, some scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to Him who was guilty of adultery: They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that...
In the book of Matthew, Jesus taught, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” Here we learn a powerful lesson—that it is impossible to orient ourselves towards Christ without having an unselfish attitude toward others. How can we develop this attitude of unselfishness? It has to start with the simple choices that we make every day. It has been said that the gate of history turns on small hinges and so do people’s lives. The choices we make determine our destiny. Joshua of old declare...
Lately it seems as if the Internet and television have been flooded with new recommendations regarding Hepatitis screening and this has sparked many a great conversation in the clinic. So, what's up with these new recommendations? What is hepatitis anyway, and why should I be worried about it? Don't we get immunized for hepatitis? Why should you be screened? Hepatitis simply means inflammation of the liver. This can be caused by exposure to toxins, drugs, infections and certain diseases. When...
As a young resident covering night shifts, I remember my first 'code blue.' I was nervous but the staff was competent and confident. We did CPR, we pushed meds, and we did everything as we were suppose to, yet the patient died anyway. He was about the same age as I am now and died of a blood clot to his lungs. I've been thinking about him a lot lately, having recently developed a blood clot myself...pretty scary. Blood clots are more common (and more dangerous) than you might think but don't...
In sub-Saharan Africa, malaria is so prevalent that when someone presents with fever and body aches, they are presumed to have malaria until proven otherwise. It's kind of the same here during influenza season. While we've had just a few cases of influenza here in Seeley Lake so far this year, the combination of fever, body aches (and headache), and cough make you really suspicious for influenza. Thankfully, we've done a pretty good job as a community of getting vaccinated. So for everyone who...
Let's talk vaccinations, shall we? I have been hesitant to tackle this subject as there are many with strong opinions. So before you roll your eyes and quit reading, let me assure you that I have no intention to preach hellfire and damnation to anyone who is hesitant to have their children (or themselves) vaccinated. Are you defensive when the topic is brought up? Perhaps feeling that there is an agenda that takes precedent over any of your concerns-you must vaccinate! This should never be the c...
I once saw a poster in the airport of Freetown (Sierra Leone) that said "Beware of Bigfoot". I thought it funny to see those words in Africa but on closer inspection, found that it was referring to the parasitic disease known as elephantiasis rather than the mystic, mountain creature that we are familiar with here in the Rocky Mountains. I've always been fascinated with these exotic diseases. Elephantiasis is quite something to see. Spending two years in Africa without seeing a single case of...
One year during our family Easter egg hunt, I set out to trap one of our kids. Oh the joys of being a father! I planned it with meticulous care and feeling confident, I put the most beautiful egg inside a small mouth canning jar and buried it securely in the ground. It worked perfectly! Right out the door, Easter basket in hand, our little Kelsey spied the egg and reached in and grabbed hold of it. I bet you can guess what happened. That’s right, her little hand fit in the jar perfectly but grasping that nice round egg, it wouldn’t. Ini...
We've all been tired at one time or another-it's seems to be one of those unfortunate side effects of life. Most often we can look to our busy schedules or our lack of exercise to find something to blame. At times, however, there may not be anything easy to blame and this is what brings many a patient into the clinic. So what causes fatigue? The answer is generally not that simple, as there are seemingly thousands of things that can cause fatigue. What follows is a list of the top ten that I've...
Wow, just finished a great week at the clinic here in Seeley Lake, Montana! What a great place to live and what a great place to work. With the advent of spring, we've seen the typical springtime ailments, allergies, tendon problems from track and we are already seeing some springtime trauma-let's be careful out there this season. This week, we've heard from a lot of people concerned about catching MRSA (methicillin resistant staph aureus). This is not just a springtime problem. It's a yearlong...
In a small village outside Jerusalem, two sisters, Mary and Martha, watched their brother become ill and die. Because they dearly loved their bother, you can imagine their great suffering and mourning upon his death. Their friends and neighbors tried to comfort them but failed. Their sorrow was so great that upon seeing them, Jesus was filled with compassion and wept (John 11:30–35). We have been experiencing the same emotions in our congregation. One needs to simply follow the paper on a weekly basis to see that we experience this in our c...
In October of 2006, a milkman by the name of Charles Carl Roberts lost all reason and control. Blaming God for the death of his first child, he stormed into an Amish school without any provocation, released the boys and adults, and tied up 10 girls. He shot the girls, killing five and wounding five. Then he took his own life. Should this have happened to me, I would have been angry, bitter and unforgiving, but the Amish response was quite different. While there was great anguish, there was no anger; while there was hurt, there was no...
Tis the season to be jolly. Everywhere you go people are joyful, happy and cheerful. Despite the fact that as a society we see the holidays as a joyous time, many people find the holiday season anything but joyful. Tis also the season to especially miss loved ones that have passed on. For some, it’s the season to be lonely and depressed, and for others, a season of stress and anxiety. If you are one who is struggling this season, my heart goes out to you. I know many right here in our little community with real wounds this season—hurting fro...
