A Belated Valentine's Day Story

Many years ago, my husband and I had our first date on Valentine's Day. I was on crutches. Made for an interesting day but let's go back to the why. It really began with me turning him down with these words, "I hate doctors. Get lost."




Why would a mild mannered Cancer who was usually nice say those words to a potential mate. The day began with the surgical intern helping a patient out of bed. Though there was a sign on the bottom of the bed that said Bed Rest, he helped the man to stand so he could use a urinal. Guess what! He left and the patient fell on the floor and fractured his hip. The patient had terminal cancer and very fragile bones. After screaming at the intern, who appeared not my future husband and my response.




The evening became worse. This was the US Steel ward. An admission had arrived at change of shift and I had done nothing more than assessed him. I was returning to the nurses' station when my aide came flying out of the room and smashed into the wall. Fortunately he wasn't hurt.




"He's having the DTs," she said.




I went in to assess the situation and approached the patient. "When I went to take his pulse, he swung. I did one of those quick football turns and you could hear the cartilage pop. I went out to call the intern and the patient's doctor. Took three of us to medicate him. The wife arrived for visiting hours. I took her aside to talk about his history.




"Me, Does he drink."




Her. "He never touches alcohol."




Me. "Really."




Her, "He does drink a case of beer a day but that's not alcohol."




Me. "Duh."




Two days later, The orthopedic surgeon went in to repair the cartilage. Fortunately he was the Steeler's orthopedic surgeon and my scar was a mere two inches long. A week after the surgery, I returned to work.




And that's how I had my first date on crutches.

The art of being sorry

The Twisted Climb - a novel for teens, young adults and adults young at heart.

As a Canadian, I reserve the right unapologetically for being sorry. I'm sorry - for whatever it is that has disturbed the air between us, around us, behind us. You see, being sorry is the Canadian custom.
It's like this:
Sorry if I'm in your way when you walk past me on the street. Also sorry that you're in my way when I walk past you.
Sorry for not keeping the mall entrance door open for an extra second or two as you walk out.
Sorry for my shopping buggy blocking your outstretched arm for that specific jar of jam.
Very sorry. Truly.
And meaning every apologetic syllable. Sor-ry. Tru-ly.
We are so darn polite! It's become the Canadian way.
But being courteous and civil is something I've grown up with - maybe my Irish heritage (sorry, but it's true. There's that sorry again.)
And being sorry - or is it really being humble or kind or polite? - is something that I tried to engrain in my three children, too.
I believe I've succeeded when my son opens the door for me. When he says sorry for not calling more frequently. I believe I've succeeded when my other son helps me put on my coat. And says sorry for not calling more frequently. And I believe I've succeeded when my daughter says sorry for calling me so frequently. Aren't these great things to be sorry for?
It's a very nice thing to offer loved ones and strangers alike kindness instead of rudeness. Perhaps it's the Canadian in me? It really is like this. Sorry if you don't agree. So sorry. Truly!

WINNER - The Best Young Adult Book 2016, P&E Readers' Poll

I am absolutely thrilled (and not sorry about it), that my book took first place in the P&E Readers' Poll. The Twisted Climb was published in June 2016 (ebook) and July for the paperback, so it's so very exciting to win this award.
I am grateful for the support from colleagues and readers alike. Thank you!


J.C. Kavanagh
The Twisted Climb
A novel for teens, young adults and adults young at heart.
www.facebook.com/J.C.Kavanagh
Twitter @JCKavanagh1 (Author J.C. Kavanagh)

Back Pain and Alternative Medicine

In a remarkable new set of guidelines, the prestigious American College of Physicians has recommended that doctors avoid opiods or any kind of medications for lower back pain as a first option, a departure from previous guidelines.

Instead, the guidelines suggest alternatives: yoga, acupuncture, massage therapy and cognitive behavior therapy, among others.

Lower back pain is incredibly common. It is in the top ten reasons why patients visit their doctors. Yet no is quite sure what causes it. Besides structural reasons, it is associated with smoking, obesity depression and anxiety. It can also be more complicated than that. “Our best understanding of low back pain is that it is a biopsychosocial condition—meaning that structural or anatomic causes play some role, but psychological and social factors also play a big role,” says Roger Chou, a professor at Oregon Health and Science University.

The report recommends over-the-counter medications only if the patient requests it. Opiods, now commonly prescribed, are discouraged as they have a high risk for addiction and accidental overdose. Dr. Morton Tavel, a clinical professor of medicine at the Indiana School of Medicine, recommends avoiding opiates entirely, as they don’t speed up recovery anyway.

This is not news to Nancy Servine of Moline, Illinois. She is seventy-six years old and uses her yoga practise to prevent pain. “The stretches like this are like you would get in therapy,” she says. “So my doctor says keep doing what you’re doing.”

Her instructor, Tricia Fuelling says that while it helps prevent pain, it also helps treat it. “You don’t get groggy side effects from yoga, you don’t have nausea or any of those, you can drive after doing yoga, where you can’t necessarily do that after taking medication.”

Mohan Ashtakala is the author of "The Yoga Zapper-A Novel," published by Books We Love Ltd.

www.yogazapper.com