This week I unfortunately had to report on the death of a young woman in Chesapeake from the flu.  Angela Mefford was just 27 years old and the mother of two children.  Mikayla is 8 years old Hank Jr. just 7 months.    It happened so quickly.  She got sick on a Sunday, went to the doctor on Wednesday and by Saturday she was gone.     The shocking details you can watch in my stories on wavy.com , what I did not have time to report is the true tragedy this family now faces.

Hank Mefford lost his job last December.  He  recently gained employment in Virginia Beach but was still a couple weeks from being eligible for health insurance.  They had none.  The couple had just emptied their bank account to move into a place of their own.  Now Hanks says he can’t live there.  It’s just too hard.  He and the baby have moved in with his parents who can help him care for the infant. (Mikayla is his step-daughter and lives with her Grandparents).

The young couple had made no plans in case either of them passed.   Didn’t think they needed to make any.  They had no life insurance, no idea where they wanted to be laid to rest, let alone a burial plot.

One of our generous viewers donated a plot so Hank now has a place to bury his beloved wife.  He does not however know how he will pay for the medical bills that will soon be piling up.  Social Services say it can not help.   If you can I know this family would be forever grateful.   Altmeyer Funeral Home in Virginia Beach will accept donations for the family if you indicate it is for Angela Mefford’s  family.  Their address is  Altmeyer Funeral Home  5792 Greenwich Rd, Virginia Beach, Va  23462

Pull out your pink shirts, socks and hats and get ready for a TOTALLY PINK weekend.    On Saturday Hampton Roads will kick off a month of Breast Cancer awareness and fund raising events that range from fun to fancy.

First, is the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk sponsored by the American Cancer Society.   Join me and the WAVY Walkers as we make strides and share a few laughs.  Registration starts at 8:00 Saturday morning at Harbor Park in Norfolk, the walk begins at 9:00.  It’s non competitive so come out and have fun with us.  You can join our WAVY team or make a contribution.

Saturday night survivor Ginny Wright Johnson will host her third annual Hat Party at Savannah’s restaurant, 1296 South Battlefield Blvd in Chesapeake.   Dance the night away wearing your favorite hat and bring another hat  or headscarf to donate.  There will also be many great gift baskets and items up for bid.  All the proceeds go to the ACS’s  Reach to Recovery program.  Ginny for details at  757-652-9760 or ginn-rn@cox.net

Then get ready for a ‘truly uplifting experience’ Sunday Oct. 4 at the Bra-Ha-Ha.  Join me at MacArthur Center to check out the fabulous, funny and sometimes fancy bras created to raise awarness of the importance of early detection. 

The event starts at 7pm.  A highlight of the evening will be the unveiling and auctioning of a custom designed bra, the “Angel of Hope,” created by celebrated intimate apparel designer, COSABELLA. The designer label is the lingerie of choice for those fashion-savvy “Sex in the City” girls, and was featured regularly as wardrobe by the actresses on the renowned television show. Sara Jessica Parker is so enamored with their designs that she normally insists on wearing only COSABELLA on the film set of “Sex in the City, The Movie, Part Two,” which is now under production in New York City.

Is that enough pink for you?  No?  Well check back next week.  There are events going throughout October.  I’ll keep you posted.

If  you have children move all of your medicine way up high or better yet lock it up.   We just put child resistant medicine bottles to the test with a kindergarten class at  Christ The King School in Norfolk and boy was it an eye opener.

Of the 24 students in our experiment 8 were able to open the bottles.  That’s 1/3 of  the class.    Our bottles were empty, but we used the same bottles pharmacists use for narcotics and anitbiotics.  We also used over the counter bottles used for aspirin, ibuprofen and vitamins.

It took the 8 students on average less than a minute to get the bottle open.  How many times have you walked out of the room for a minute and left an aspirin bottle on the table?  From now on  I’m definetly going to be more careful.

Breast cancer is no laughing matter but who says you can’t have some fun trying to beat it?   Chesapeake Regional Medical Center dubs its “Bra-ha-ha” as a ’seriously uplifting experience’.  Let me tell you it is.

In case you don’t know, its a bra decorating contest.   You decorate a 36 C under wire bra using any non-perishable thing you can imagine.  Last years entries knocked our socks off.    One person used pennies to create a piece called “Invest in your chest” .  Another used the faces of all different kinds of women to show that breast cancer touches women of all ages, races and religions.  The winner last year was a pink camouflage number hand sewn with sequences.

The winner is chosen by a panel of celebrity judges (including yours truly) and gets a $500 prize.

The deadline to enter is September 11 at 4pm.  For more info go to the Chesapeake Regional Medical Center’s web page

Now, put on your creativity caps and get to work!   See you at the Gala.

Good news fellow coffee lovers, new research shows five cups a day may cut your risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and even reduce its effects.   That’s about the same as two medium cups at a coffee shop.

Now, even I will admit that’s a lot of coffee to drink in one day, but hey, I’m willing to do may part to cut my risk (or at least try).   There are a couple other options.  Researchers at  The  University of South Florida  said it depends on how strong you brew your java so I guess I could try some of Don Slater’s mud….I mean really bold brew…in our green room.   Researchers say you can drink tea too but you’d better be extra thirsty.   They say it takes 20 cups of tea, and I’m guessing a very large bladder.

So, since I can’t guarantee I’ll be within running distance of a restroom at all times,  I guess I’ll take my chances with a cup or two of coffee a day along with the other risk reducing advice like exercise and healthy eating.

Because for me this is really  just a good excuse for spending money on that afternoon coffee.

Just wanted to say a big  THANKS to all of  you who came out to the CHKD Run Walk for the Kids this weekend.

What a great event and a huge success.    Final numbers are not in yet, but we do know that more than 2,500 people came out to walk or run.   I can’t wait to hear how much money we all raised for the kids.

If you were there you know how crowded it was.  We even had to delay the beginning of the 8k because there so many people were still trying to get parked and to the start line at race time.  What a great problem to have.  I’ve talked to some folks at the hospital and they tell me they’re already planning to move the race next year to accommodate.

Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters helps hundreds of kids every year with every thing from little boo-boos to big scary stuff like cancer.    The money raised will help them get better.     So again, from a WAVY Run/Walk team member and a Mom who knows first hand how the hospital helps — THANKS!

I just read an online article in Food Consumer  (foodconsumer.org) that says  — Americans in their middle years, ages 40 to 74, are ditching healthy lifestyles.  They’re  drinking more, exercising less and gaining more weight than they were 18 years ago – even when they have high risk diseases like diabetes.

Following a healthy lifestyle, according to the Journal, includes being physically active, eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight, using alcohol moderately and not smoking.

So what gives?  The article did not look at why people are exercising less and drinking more and I’m curious.

Could it be stress? Are people over worked or over scheduled?  Or ,as a Norfolk cardiologist recently pointed out to me, do they have an attitude of “hey doc, something is gonna kill me eventually.”

What do you think?  And what, if anything, would get you to trade  old habits for healthy ones?

Let me know.

Worries over swine flu and swine flu scams may be more hazardous to your health than the actual virus.

When you work yourself into a panic about something and get all stressed out its not good for your immune system.  That can actually put you at greater risk for swine flu and any other virus floating around out there.  So my advice is “chill out”.

Remember what doctors have said about prevention.  Good hand washing is your best protection.

Also, know the symptoms : congestion, cough, fever, muscle aches and being really tired  (regular flu symptoms).  If you experience them call your doctor.  There are medications (antivirals) that can help lessen the symptoms and duration of the flu.

Next, beware of scammers.  Wouldn’t you know it people are trying to take advantage of others fears over swine flu too.    If a message pops in your inbox just delete it.

Most of these emails will direct you to an online pharmacy.   You should know there is no swine flu vaccination so don’t buy one.   You also don’t want to buy the antivirals (Tamiflu and Relenza) because  Doctors say you’re only protected while taking them – so how do you know when to stop?   if you take them too much they’ll lose their effectiveness.     Viruses get smart, change and can morph so  the medicine won’t work at all  (that’s the same reason docs have stopped prescribing so many antibiotics).

Oh, and one other thing when you buy online without a proper prescription from an unknown company you never know what you’re gonna get.  How can you be sure what you’re taking?

Remember the regular seasonal flu kills more than 36,000 a year. Keep it in perspective and you’ll feel a lot better.

Breast cancer doesn’t care what color you are, what religion you practice, or even if you are a woman or man.  It has many faces.  Those who have battled breast cancer often live in fear that it will one day return.   They have questions and concerns others do not.  Well now there’s a place for them to go get those questions answered and talk to others in the same boat.

“The Many Faces Of Breast Cancer”  is an event focused on the unique needs and issues of these survivors.

Virginia Oncology Associates is sponsoring the event next Thursday April 30th.   Doctors will provide the latest information on breast cancer and talk about survivor related  issues.  There will also be an “open floor” portion for participants to ask questions.

I’ll be there moderating and I hope to see you too. 

Again, it’s Thursday, April 30, 2009 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. (registration begins at 6:00 p.m.) at VOA – Lake Wright, 5900 Lake Wright Drive, Suite 300, Norfolk, VA 23502

RSVP: To register, call 1.800.977.4089 or email ManyFacesNorfolk@zenogroupevents.com

Once in awhile we meet people who truly inspire us.  Martina Natoli is one of those people.

WAVY has  been following Martina’s story for four years as have many in Hampton Roads.    She was born with cystic fibrosis and they always knew she would one day need a double lung transplant to survive.    That day came last October.   Martina’s body was pushed to the brink.    While waiting for the lungs at Duke University  Medical Center she began to cough blood.  Doctors had to put her on life support – but it wasn’t working.  They then put her on a ‘last chance’ machine that acted as her lungs.  It gave her 72 hours.  Her family and friends all came to North Carolina to say good-bye.

Luckily Martina doesn’t remember any of this.   When she woke up she had new lungs.  She is now recovering at home and excited to get back to high school for her senior year.   She’s been in and out of the hospital so much she’s missed months if not years in class.  She’s shooting for perfect attendance in 2009-10 and with her strength and determination I’m betting she can do it!