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

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.

Organizer Chris Ghilcrest spoke from the heart.

Take a look at the pictures below. You’ll see a very colorful audience. It was no accident. Each registered walker received a t-shirts of various colors and a ribbon to tie on your arm, also in different colors. The colors were meant to identify someone who died by suicide. I don’t remember exactly which colors represented which .. but for example .. those wearing red ribbons had a son or daughter die by suicide .. and so on. Standing on stage and looking out at these people was a very intense moment. To know what they have lost is powerful.

Huddled together for support.

Colors everywhere.

This was the last time Col. John Green wore his military uniform. Jon read almost 150 names of people who had died by suicide, while family members listened attentively for the ‘closure’ that reading  may bring. One incredible fact many may not know: In January of 2008, the military reported more deaths of enlisted service members by suicide than in combat. Mind you, in Jan. of 2008 the war in Iraq and Afghanistan was very much alive.

The Military presence was strong.

It's a One Woman Show!!

This is another picture of Chris. She is a liscensed therapist in Chesapeake and she takes on the organizational task of this entire event. The process for the next years ‘Out of the Darkness Walk’ literally begins the day after the event. She puts in countless (thousands) of hours to make this happen. She makes a difference. I was proud to work with her on this event.

Through the 'Wall of 1,000 Cranes' the walk begins.

You can see the ‘Wall of 1,000 Cranes’ behind these walkers. I marked the starting point for the trek around Mt. Trashmore. The ‘Cranes’ has a special spiritual connection with depression and suicide.

Johnny Flex spinning some tunes!

And who else?? D.J. Johnny Flex givin’ us some tunes to walk with.

When all the names were counted Chris told me we had more than 2,000 walkers take part this year. In fact last year, our local ‘Out of the Darkness’ walk had more particiapants that cities like Chicagao and Philly. We ranked #3 out of more than 150 walks nationwide. Many thanks there to Chris Ghilchrest .. once again.

I hope the walk this year inspired some and gave others the chance to remember and gain closure. Looking out at the faces in the crowd as I spoke, I think this event brought more than ever expected to everyone in attendance. Hope to see you all next year.  Until then .. keep your eyes and more importantly your ears open. Listen when someone describes how they’re feeling. If you think they may be falling into depression. Get them/yourself help.

Let me hear about you experiences at the walk.

See ya.

Eric

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

If you were watching WAVY News 10 and FOX 43 this morning…you may have noticed Delegate Chris Jones walking wih us. We always look forward to seeing his smiling face. He brings fresh energy and we always stop at the Bennett’s Creek Pharmacy (which was super-convenient because I needed some Ibuprofin and sunscreen today!)  When we went by the Carrolton Volunteeer Fire Department they pulled a couple of Engines out just to say hi…or maybe they could tell Jimmy’s feet were on fire! Just kidding! He’s actually walking faster than I am!  Suffolk’s fire station 5 also met us with some cold water and encouragement, so I thought it was only right to high five them all!!

When we came to the Mills E. Godwin bridge the three of us got kind of quiet, we put our heads down and just focused on trying to get over that thing!!!  After that it was smooth sailing to Hall Chevrolet in Chesapeake. The Western Branch Veterinary Hospital brought us $1,000 dollars for the March of Dimes, and we met a couple of once premature babies. First we met Virginia an 18 month old who was born at 23 weeks, and then Brice, who received surfactin when he was born early,  and now is a thriving eight year old who loves the Boston Red Sox….atta boy Brice.

After our stop for lunch we went on for the last 7 miles or so to the Midtwon tunnel. Fantastic day…can’t wait to see everybody at the oceanfront Sunday!

Check out our slideshow of walk pictures right here at WAVY.COM.