Christmas Day Column

It's Christmas morning.   My wish is that you have a wonderful day today.  I hope it is filled with family and food and friends.  It is a day to celebrate and remember.

I know that for some it is a difficult day.   Those going through their first Christmas without a loved one might find it a harsh day.   Still others might be more worried about food on the table and a roof over their head.  The absence of gifts under the tree.

I hope those of us that "have" are helping those that "have not" today.   Honorable pursuits like the Empty Pantry Fund do just that.  May we also remember to do so the rest of the year.

I guess it isn't really "politically correct" to talk about Christmas.  But does "politically correct" mean that you don't say or do anything that represents an idea or belief that someone might disagree with?  

I don't think so.  I believe that it means that you are sensitive to those that might have different religious, social, or political views from yourself.  Not that you abandon your own.

It means that I wish my Jewish friends Happy Hanukah (and that I understand that Yom Kippur is a much bigger event for them).   It means that when my Muslim friends stop for prayer, that I am quiet and respectful.

But we live in a community that celebrates Christmas.   And that's OK.  If you are on my Christmas card list, you will notice that it doesn't say "Happy Holidays."  No, it says Merry Christmas.

Our country's founders established a nation based on religious freedom.  That means that you can practice your religion as you see fit.  It also means that I get to do the same. 

It means that we don't have to always agree with our neighbors.   Heck, I don't always agree with my lovely spouse of 35 years but we do manage to get along (quite nicely, thank you very much).   To function as a society, we are obligated to tolerance.  To grow strong as a society, we must embrace our differences. 

I am thankful to live in a community where the good ol' boy and the college professor can live side by side and together make this a better place.  I appreciate a community that demonstrates great diversity yet manages to stay focused on the really important stuff like education, health, and quality of life.

Christmas  is, above all else, a religious holiday.   Sure, it's one filled with gifts and lights and maybe (certainly) too much consumption.   But it is also a time when most of us stop to think about what we believe in, to love on our families, and to appreciate our many gifts (and not just those wrapped under the tree).

Today, I wish for you a Merry Christmas.

One of the best teams ever!

I've been involved with Maryville High School athletics since 1982, when I began assisting Team Physician Dr. Bob Haralson on the MHS football sidelines.  

In the 80's, I also helped with Alcoa, Greenback, Heritage, and William Blount.  My work day usually ended with rounds to those high schools.  I would leave my office, drop by Heritage, Alcoa, Maryville, William Blount (in that order) then home.   When Bill Satterfield called, I would also make a trip down Morganton Road to Greenback.

In those days, I knew pretty much every high school athlete in the area.   When it came to game coverage, I would usually try and cover the games that involved two of our county schools.  If there was more than one of those on a given night, I would cover the "bigger" game.  Maryville College Head Athletic Trainer Sharon Wood was always there to help.

Then in the early 90's we were able to add Athletic Trainers and assign one to each of those same schools (that system is still in place today).  That was when I was able to focus on only one school.

I have great memories of teams and coaches from all those years.   The 1987 Greenback football and girls basketball teams that both won a state championship.  The 1989 Alcoa football state champions. The 1984 MHS and the 1986 HHS football teams that should have.  

Players like Mike Dunn and Lee Headrick.  Loren Riddick.  T.J. Myles and Steve Oliviera.  Kim Berry and Rosie Marsh.  Dawn Marsh.  Jamie Henry and Shannon Mitchell and Billy Williams.  Brian Hanley and Shane Edmonds.

Coaches like Yogi Wilson, Vernon Osborne, Jim Riddick, Earl McMahan, Punky Dalton, Ronnie Phelps, Rainbow Heatherly...that list could go on for days.

My favorite football team has got to be my son's 1998 MHS squad that won the state championship.   It was the team that kicked off Maryville's remarkable streak that has continued to this day.  The offensive line on that team had four seniors that played college football, three at Division 1 schools. 

But this year's MHS squad is really special.   Overall more talent than any team I've seen in red and black (sorry '98).   If you didn't watch the state championship game last weekend, you missed a great game.  Execution, courage, teamwork, discipline, coaching, and effort overcame a really good Whitehaven team.

 The Blue Cross win over Whitehaven was win #700 since MHS began playing football in 1926.  The defense gave up 120 points in 2011 to rank as the 8th best in the modern era, and the offense scored 563 points to rank 5th in all time scoring at MHS.  The 13th state title gives the Rebels the most state championships of all teams in the state.

An interesting statistic is that this team does not own any single-season records.   None.   They were just really good at everything.   They were "team" personified.

As best as I can find out, they are the only team in Tennessee high school football history that invoked the "mercy rule" in every single playoff game.  

Great players, great coaches.  Great student trainers that keep me young(er).  Thanks, guys, for letting me be a part of a very special year.  

A Surprise in Thailand

Let me give you a little background.  

Steve and Connie Bright have been great friends for over 20 years.   Steve and I work together at the Cherokee facility, where he is the Director of Fitness.   He's also my mentor and most frequent companion on the back of a bicycle.   Although we're not related, he is my brother.

Steve and Connie's daughter April (growing up, she was known as "Mooch") and her family moved to Thailand in July where they serve as missionaries.  Last week, April gave birth to her second child.  Two days ago, Steve and Connie flew to Thailand to visit the family.  April had no idea they were coming.

The following is one of the most touching videos ever posted.   Maybe it hits me more because of my relationship with the family but I think you will surely shed a tear when April keeps screaming "my Momma, my Momma!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZ_Q4-aoRjQ

And you might find the following video interesting if not amusing.   Penny McIntosh, personal trainer extraordinaire, followed me around for a couple of days and then came up with this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C87sBTyx1tg

jb

This one may be too much information....

I'm gonna share today.   It may be too much information:   You can stop reading now if you already know too much about me.

I had a colonoscopy on Wednesday.   That's a procedure where they....well, you'll just have to look that part up. 

Everyone (everyone) should consider colonoscopy beginning at age 50.  If you have a family history of colon cancer or any of the risk factors, you should consider colonoscopy at 40.

I started having these things at 40.   I have a rather profound family history of colon cancer and so I was strongly encouraged to start then.   My grandmother died of colon cancer.  My mom had most of her large intestine removed because of it.  I have cousins that have had colon cancer or who have had pre-cancerous polyps removed.

According to the American Cancer Society, in 2011 about 148,000 people in this country will be diagnosed with colon cancer.  It is the fourth most common cancer in both men and women.  About 1 person in 20 will develop colon cancer during their lifetime.

A lot of other cancers started in the colon and move (metastasize) to other places.  That's one reason why it is so incredibly important to pay attention to colon cancer.

Yet, colon cancer is one of the most preventable cancers known.  Early detection gives it an almost 100% success rate.   Two tools are important in that process:  the Fecal Occult Blood Test  and the colonoscopy.

A Fecal Occult Blood Test as part of my annual physical with my primary care physician revealed a very small amount of blood in my stool. 

Polyps (small growths in the colon that can be a precursor to cancer) and cancers in the colon can bleed.    So although it wasn't quite time for my every-5-years colonoscopy, I called to make an appointment with Dr. Ed Brown, my gastroenterologist.

I have had colon polyps (small growths that can be a precursor to cancer) removed before but my last colonoscopy revealed none so I was put on a 5 year cycle for a repeat colonoscopy.  But now it was time for another.

A lot of jokes can be made about a colonoscopy.  My favorite is from comedian Jerry Clower, who said "if you hear the word 'procto,' gather your split-tail gown around you and go hide in the swamp."

It really isn't that bad.  The bad part is the clear liquids that you have to drink for 24 hours before the colonoscopy and the cleansing process.  On Tuesday, I craved solid food.  Anything.  I've never been more tired of bullion and jello.

The colonoscope itself is a long, flexible instrument with what is essentially a camera at its end.  The doctor administering the test is able to examine the entire length of the colon.  But you don't care because you're asleep.   It really only sounds bad.  Like I said, the bad part is the cleaning out.  

On Wednesday, Dr. Brown removed three polyps which means that I'm back on a 3 year cycle.  That's OK.  I'll do whatever it takes. 

                                                                        

Changing approach to Total Joint Replacements

It really started when I heard that a couple of buddies from high school were discussing their total knee replacements.  David "Tree" Birkholz was a standout basketball player at my high school and Hank Evans and I played football together there.

I've not really seen much of either of them since so it seems like they should still be in their 20's.   I just can't think of them as 57 and 56 and having a surgery that most people think is only for senior citizens.   Goodness, they're both younger than me!

I had my first knee surgery in 1972 and met my first physical therapist, Ray Patterson, when I was sent for rehab.   As I have done numerous times since then, Dr. Patterson asked me what my major was.

At that time, as a college sophomore, it was Wildlife Biology.  I thought that meant you got to hunt and fish all the time (two activities which are surprisingly absent from my adult life considering that I had a gun, rod, or bow in my hand from age 6 to 22).  But I had discovered that jobs were few and far between in that field so I was looking around for a new career.

As odd as it sounds, I was trying to decide whether to be a football coach or a doctor.   Ray Patterson, in his wisdom, replied "great...you're going to be a physical therapist.  It's the perfect marriage of both of those."

Lo and behold, he was right.  That knee injury has given me a career that I have loved and which certainly seems to have been a good fit for the gifts I was given. 

Since then, Dr. Ken Bell of Maryville Orthopedic Clinic has operated on both of my knees and has kept me quite active but due to no small amount of abuse, I don't have the healthiest knee joints around.  It really isn't a question of "if" I will have to have my knees replaced.  It's "when."

Total Rehabilitation employee, Alcoa High Head Athletic Trainer, and unofficial daughter Peggy Bratt had her right knee replaced at age 41.   She went from struggling to run on the field to take care of one of her athletes to half-court basketball and an essentially pain-free knee.  

So I talked to Dr. Bell and here's what he told me.   He said they're replacing knees and hips in people that are younger and younger.   That they're getting better long term results than any of us dreamed possible.  (Dr. Bell, who has a total hip replacement, is an aggressive mountain biker--I know--I often chase him down a rocky hill that he rides easily and I white-knuckle all the way down.)  

He attributes most of those advances to the improvement in materials that they are using.  He said that the materials being used now are more than ten times more durable than materials used as recently as 10 years ago.   And the prediction on those older models was that they would last 20+ years.  10 times better than they used to be and the older models would last at least 20...hmmm...you can do the math on that one.

Folks that avoided joint replacement surgery in fear of having to have it again in 20 years really don't have much to fear.  We don't know exactly how long these things will last but it isn't likely that you will wear it out any time soon.

So instead of putting off getting joint replacement surgery as long as you can, maybe you should consider it if your joint pain is affecting your lifestyle. In other words, if you can't do the things that you want to do, joint replacement surgery might just let you get back to the things you love.

I'm not scheduling knee surgery any time soon but it's good to know that when the time comes, the prospects are good.

Disconnections

Sometimes we have to disconnect to reconnect.

In early September, I spent a week camping, canoeing, and fishing in Canada's Quetico Provincial Park, which is due north of Minnesota and consists of 2 million acres of lakes, trails, and streams.

And no motors.  Which means that if you are in Quetico, you got there under your own power.    With lakes everywhere, canoes are the only practical form of transportation.

Imagine a place where there are no roads, no vehicles...where the only sounds you hear are those made by nature and each other. 

A place for listening to loons, whose call is beautiful yet haunting.  Making new friends.  The simple joy of paddling.  Camping, cooking, and sitting by the fire.

Have you ever gazed at a night sky when the nearest artificial light might be 30 miles away?  The stars are so bright you can reach out and touch them.  I would often awake in the middle of the night, when the moon had set, and see more stars than you can count in a lifetime.

Solitude so absolute it could be disconcerting.  Isolation so deep it can both enhance the experience and scare the beejeebuss out of you. 

It is a fisherman's paradise but lest you think this kind of trip is for everybody, let me tell you about a little thing called "portages."  On a portage, you pick up everything you brought and carry it between the lakes.

Often through mud bogs, across fallen logs, and up steep hills, all while traversing fields of rocks.  On one memorable trail, I sunk up to my hip in mud with a canoe and a backpack on my shoulders.  It probably took 20 minutes to dig me out.

Did I tell you there was no electricity, no running water, and no "facilities?"  With that said, I'd do it again in a minute.  It was wonderful and amazing and breathtaking.

But before you go, you've got to disconnect.   Disconnect from the internet, turn off your cell phone, and tell your family that they won't see you or hear from you for a while.

At first, it's strange.  For the first couple of days, I felt for that familiar buzz on my right hip that indicates a message or call coming in on my cell phone.  I was sure there was an e-mail that required my immediate attention or an important decision that needed my input. 

But about the 3rd day, the wilderness started working its magic.  I forgot about meetings, appointments, and alarm clocks.  Frustrations?  Gone.  Problems?  On vacation.  When day-to-day existence is reduced to the very basics, you start to appreciate what is really important.

Like family and home and good food and toilets.  I'm glad I went.  I'm glad I'm home.

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