You would never know Joaquin Diaz has cancer. The shaggy-haired 5-year-old races after his older brother, teasing 7-year-old Rafael about his newly shaved head.

But it’s because of Joaquin’s diagnosis — Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia — that Rafael and 31 other kids and moms either shaved or donated their hair at a Shave for the Brave event organized by Sonrise Christian Private School Satellite Program.

PSP administrator Mary Carnighan said the event got its start when she learned that Rafael was going to be shaving his head to raise money for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. one of the mothers mentioned taking up a collection to support his cause, when Carnighan thought that it would be nice to get the rest of the children involved.

“What better way to teach them compassion, camaraderie, and investing time and energy in something meaningful that is not about self-gratification,” Carnighan said.

Instead of raising money for St. Baldrick’s, which funds research to help cure cancer in children, though, the 28-year administrator decided to donate the money to the Diaz family.

“It seemed like our kids would be more excited and better able to relate to donating to them than to collecting money for research,” Carnighan said. “There are just so many expenses related to caring for a sick child.”

In 2009, the Diaz family was the picture of happiness. Jessica and Francisco were teachers in Azusa Unified and their two sons were 3 and 5 years old.

Jessica was a dual immersion teacher at Valleydale Elementary and Francisco had taught fourth- and fifth-graders at Magnolia, Paramount and Murray elementaries for 10 years when the recession hit. Dual immersion programs were cut and in spring of 2009, Francisco was one of the many casualties in the education field.

And then in the summer, Joaquin started getting fevers and a severe leg pain that wouldn’t go away.

“That’s how leukemia and a lot of the blood cancers start, because the cancer cells get so compacted in the bone marrow and that’s painful,” Jessica said. “So he was having frequent fevers, they kept giving him antibiotics and it was like, `why aren’t the antibiotics working?”‘

A month after Joaquin’s third birthday and a month after the symptoms started, a new doctor ordered a blood test.

“An hour later I got the phone call, and they can’t tell you over the phone what they suspect it is,” Jessica recalled, “but they told me, `You need to get into the oncology/hematology floor at Loma Linda. There’s a bed there for you yesterday, as fast as you can get there, just pack some stuff and go.’

“And that’s when you know.”

That was July 13, 2009. The next six months were a nightmare, Jessica said. The family, already hit by Francisco’s layoff, struggled with insurance to cover the medical bills. They lost their home to foreclosure so they moved to Rialto, closer to the hospital. with that one call, their dreams — four kids, house, careers — were all put on hold.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia is one of the most common of the childhood cancers, said Dr. Saro Armenian, assistant professor of pediatrics and population sciences department at City of Hope. ALL is an umbrella term for a cancer of the white blood cell and is treated primarily through chemotherapy, either by vein, mouth or spinal cord.

“In the early ’60s, if someone had this it was virtually incurable in pediatric children,” Joaquin’s doctor said. “Through the development of chemo agents and by combining various agents of chemo together we’ve been able to raise cure rates to above 85 percent for children.”

Current research is directed toward giving children therapy in a smarter way, Armenian said. where treatment now is a sort of “carpetbombing,” the doctor explained that the focus has now turned to targeting only leukemia cells and decreasing the intensity of treatment without reducing the success rate.

“The research is twofold: one, we’re trying to find smarter drugs targeted toward leukemia itself,” Armenian said. “And two, if there aren’t smarter drugs, can we give the current drugs in a better way, to minimize side effects without compromising cure rates?”

Joaquin is in the home stretch of his treatment, Jessica said. The family transferred from Loma Linda Children’s Hospital to City of Hope because of the Duarte hospital’s survivorship program.

“When you have a newborn, the first one you have, they tell you, `OK it’s time for you to go home’ and that’s when you have a feeling of, wait, I have to take the baby home?” dad Francisco said. “What am I going to do if he’s sick or how am I going to know if he’s hungry, so it’s the same thing, when September comes we’re going to be like, what do we do now?”

In September, the doctors will remove a port planted under Joaquin’s skin where the chemotherapy is injected and Joaquin will be free to be a normal 6-year-old.

“He’s been on chemo for about three years so it’s like a safety net,” Jessica said. “Because I know while he’s on chemo the chances of him relapsing are zero. Relapses happen when the chemo stops.”

Relapses in leukemia are aggressive, Jessica said. Doctors go straight to bone-marrow transplants and from there, survival rates are a coin toss.

Joaquin knows he’s sick, mom said. “I think he suspects something scary is going on because sometimes as parents you just can’t hide the fear.

“But he was so little when he was diagnosed that I think that’s just his reality.”

And they’re waiting to see if the side effects of the chemo — liver damage, hypoglycemia, arthritis — will cause lasting damage.

But it’s Rafael who Jessica worries about, she said. Rafael will turn 8 years old this summer and he understands that not everybody’s brother is this way.

“Being in the pediatric cancer community, you make friends and you lose friends, and it’s really hard to explain to a child that they died from the same thing that brother has.”

It was a chance encounter shortly after the first round of treatment that led the family to Sonrise. Before the diagnosis, Jessica had been taking the boys to a preschool reading group and the naturally outgoing mom had made friends in the group. during Joaquin’s treatment, though, he couldn’t be around too many children so they dropped out of the group.

One morning when Joaquin was feeling better, the family decided to go to Chuck E. Cheese in Covina really early, for “a post-chemo celebration,” Jessica said.

“All of a sudden this herd of kids came running in and I thought, oh my gosh, we have to leave now, because at that point his treatment was so intense that he couldn’t be around kids,” she said. “I thought, who comes to Chuck E. Cheese at 10 o’clock in the morning?”

On the way out, Jessica recognized one of the mothers from the preschool reading group and they started talking. after learning that the boys were being homeschooled during Joaquin’s treatment, the other mother suggested that Jessica look into Sonrise.

“When I signed up with Sonrise there was just no question about whether I was going to join because they were all so accepting,” Jessica said. “We were strangers and they were cooking casseroles from day one.

“Ever since then, I don’t know what I’d do without them because those casseroles rock!”

At the Shave for the Brave event, families crowded around the stylists, taking pictures of the boys’ newly shorn heads and the girls with their stylish bobs. Though the atmosphere was full of excitement and purpose, there were some tears and grimaces as some of the kids did have trouble parting with their hair.

Desiree Lang said her son Jake had been growing his hair out for months to get it to the perfect length. The towheaded 11-year-old had only decided that week to shave his head and, through some Facebook posts, had raised more than $200 for the Diaz family.

Four members of the Paraiso family participated in the event, with sons Elijah, 12, and Ethan, 10, shaving their heads and mom Anna and daughter Danielle, 8, donating 12 and 8 inches of hair, respectively. The family raised about $500 and was still collecting more donations.

Jessica Diaz is no stranger to shaving events. she has shaved her head twice for St. Baldrick’s as part of the 46 Mommas, even traveling to Washington, D.C., to shave her head. The group gets its name from the 46 children diagnosed with cancer every school day and the 46 mothers affected by the news.

“It’s so special when it’s children (shaving),” Jessica said. “It’s a great way to teach compassion and empathy and they’re just so willing to do it.”

The past three years have been a learning process for the family. Older brother Rafael keeps Joaquin active and cheerful through the medical procedures, lifting the spirits of the entire family.

“Rafael’s a clown, when Joaquin isn’t feeling good he goes out of his way to make him feel better,” Jessica said. “When Joaquin was first in the hospital, Rafael couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t get out of bed so he would overexert himself trying to make him laugh.”

At home, the boys are average kids. They love soccer and cheer for Club Atlas in the Mexican league, play “a lot of Wii,” read and torment the dog.

And the boys are excited about the new addition to the family. Jessica is currently pregnant with the family’s third child, another boy, due in August.

“I told the boys that they could help me decide what the name was, so we’re trying to decide between Woody, Snoopy, Slash and Nacho,” Jessica said. “I’m letting them believe that we’re actually considering those names, and then we’re going to torment the baby when he gets older, `your name was almost Woody!’ “

Francisco is currently getting his certification to teach science in high school. Offered as part of the teachers’ severance, a National Emergency Grant pays for his credential to teach biology, earth science and physical science.

“I like learning, I’ve already gotten my master’s from CGU (Claremont Graduate University), so this is just a supplement to get teachers back in the classroom,” Francisco said.

The family hopes the next five months go smoothly and are nervous about the next two years, until Joaquin can officially be declared cancer-free.

“I think being pregnant helps, because my husband and I feel more hopeful, like this doesn’t have to mean that our future has to end, that we’re defined by cancer,” Jessica said. “The Sonrise group, just knowing that they’re praying every day — they have a calendar and families sign up and pray for us — just knowing that, it takes such a burden off.”

The Shave for the Brave event raised more than $2,700 for the Diaz family and Carnighan was waiting for more donations to come in. to contact Sonrise or make a donation to the Diaz family, call Carnighan at 626-938-1199, email marycarnighan@gmail.com or make checks payable to the Diaz family and send them to Mary Carnighan, c/o Sonrise Christian School, 1220 E. Ruddock, Covina, CA 91724. to see Joaquin’s blog, go to kickincancersbooty.blogspot.com.

“Our life has changed so much in the last three years that the next two years will be very different with no medications,” Francisco said. “I can’t even imagine, it’s like there was a storm and now it’s clear, and it hasn’t been clear in a long time.”

626-962-8811, ext. 2472

by Nathan Warner

Livonia Township’s April 20 open house to discuss a feasibility study of a trail connection between Sugarbush Preserve and the Great Northern Trail attracted about 10 people.

While little opposition to the proposed trail study surfaced, concerns over spending money in lean times definitely came up.

“How are you paying for this?” Joe Bean, a Livonia landowner asked. “I can hardly afford my property taxes as it is.”

Gary Doebler, Livonia Township supervisor and park board chair, explained that the money is already available for the study from a SHIP (Statewide Health Improvement Program) grant to improve health.

“It’s going to be spent one way or another for something in the state,” he added, “so the township might as well use it if we want it.”

Funding sources for the actual construction of the trails, however, are still uncertain. Doebler said that once the study is completed, they will have a clear estimate of expenses to build the trail and will then look for funding options dependant on costs, available grants and timing.

Doebler and Amy Bower, a representative for Hoisington Koegler Group inc. (HKGI), introduced the maps with the proposed trails.

“Do we know how many people use the Great Northern Trail and Sugarbush Preserve currently?” Sue Guy, a Livonia resident, asked.  Doebler said he plans to check with Elk River about the current resident usage on their side of the trail but pointed out that he uses the trail and sees people frequent it.

Sugarbush Preserve is located on 239th Avenue between Highway 169 and County Road 1 just north of Elk River’s city limits. It is about a mile from the Great Northern Trail, which runs parallel to Highway 169.

Doebler says the proposal is similar to the trails connecting the Great Northern Trail to Woodland Trails Park in Elk River.

Currently, Waste Management owns the land where the Great Northern Trail would extend north of the Elk River city limits.  Doebler is optimistic they will sell to the county to extend the trail, but that is a county project, not the township’s.

“So it’s out of our hands,” he told the people that showed up.

Two main trail options were shown with multiple variations depending on budget and input from residents. All property owners whose land the proposed trails would cross have been contacted and none has been opposed at this stage of the study.

HKGI analyzed the trail options, weighing such factors as cost, user enjoyment, ecology and wildlife, safety, constructability, distance, and private property usage. Different types of trails such as gravel, boardwalk, hiking, skiing, and interpretation points were also analyzed.

Visit livoniatownship.org to learn more about the study, see maps of the proposed trails and to weigh in on the survey.

Measure seeks study of newborns hurt by mothers’ prescription drugs. Published: Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 1:27 a.m. last Modified: Saturday, February 11, 2012 at 1:27 a.m.

TALLAHASSEE | Rep. Kelli Stargel, R-Lakeland, is taking the offensive against a growing health problem in Florida: Newborns addicted to their mothers’ prescription drugs.

Stargel’s task force bill, which asks for a study on the situation, will go before the full House of Representatives for a vote next week.

This developing crisis is different from 20 years ago when the focus was on children born to crack and methamphetamine addicts.

Instead, Stargel said, Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome or Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome are more often associated with “soccer moms” and professional women.

The task force was urged by Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Stargel said that because of the prescription drug abuse in Florida, hospitals and health care providers are seeing a drastic increase in the number of babies being born who are suffering from the effects of drugs taken by their mothers during pregnancy.

“This is a different kind of addiction from crack and meth,” Stargel said. “This situation is from prescription drugs. we are not ?looking at creating criminal laws here; we want to understand the problem and help mothers understand and know how a legally prescribed drug for back trouble or maybe knee injury can affect their baby.”

There has to be education, she said.

“One thing we’ve learned is that some mothers immediately stop taking the prescription (when they learn they are pregnant), but that, too, can harm the baby. so we need to find the answers and get them to the mothers,” Stargel said.

According to a slide presentation “Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome” by Dr. Osama Naga of the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the drugs oxycodone, methadone, morphine, codeine and buprenorhine are the most frequent causes of Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome.

Symptoms can include tremors, increased wakefulness, increased muscle tone, seizures and increased sweating. It is described as “a multisystem disorder involving the central nervous system, gastrointestinal system and the respiratory system,” brought on by drugs used by the mother and passed to the fetus.

Stargel’s bill, House Bill 227, the Task Force on Prescription Drug Abuse and Newborns, has cleared three committees and is expected to come before the full House next week.

It would create a task force to collect and study data on Neonatal Withdrawal Syndrome in Florida and ways to make the public and especially expectant mothers more aware.

The task force would be charged specifically with developing policy to be recommended to the speaker of the House and the president of the Senate to be implemented by the Legislature.

“It is something people can innocently find themselves in,” said Lisa Patterson, public affairs officer for St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital in Tampa. “There are all kinds of scenarios that can lead to this by people who quite necessarily are taking medications during pregnancy or become addicted to them.”

The Senate bill, SB 402, by Sen. Joe Negron, R-Stuart, also is awaiting a floor vote. Negron said he witnessed the problem firsthand.

“Often we wait until a major crisis drops on us,” Negron said, “but we are starting on this in the early stages. I happened to visit a neonatal unit in South Florida and there was one baby there red-faced and looking very stressed and shaking. The nurse said the baby had been born addicted to prescription drugs.

“It is extremely painful to the baby, especially when being taken off the addiction. Life is tough enough. Everyone deserves to start out in life evenly,” said Negron who called it his most important bill of the session.

Even though the bill has widespread support, sponsors say they are moving as fast as they can. A lot of “good bills” have been caught in the door when the final week’s rush of bills begins.

[ Bill Rufty can be contacted at bill.rufty@theledger.com or 863-802-7523. ]

UCB (UCBJF) along with Japanese pharmaceutical company Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., ltd. recently announced that they have decided to focus on the development of therapeutics for central nervous system (CNS) disorders, while they would discontinue their collaboration in immunology.

as a result of the aforesaid decision, the companies will end their co-development and co-promotion agreement for Cimzia (certolizumab pegol) in Japan, after a mutually decided period. Cimzia is currently marketed in the US and EU for the treatment of adults with moderately-to-severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA). the drug is also marketed in the US for reducing signs and symptoms of Crohn’s disease (CD).

Following the companies decision to discontinue collaboration for immunology, UCB plans to file for the approval of certolizumab pegol in Japan in the first quarter of 2012 for the treatment of RA.

the companies’ collaboration with regards to Neupro (rotigotine) and Keppra (levetiracetam) remains intact. UCB and Otsuka Pharma have an agreement to co-promote Neupro and Keppra in Japan.

Otsuka Pharma markets Keppra as E Keppra in Japan for the adjunctive treatment of partial onset seizures in adults with epilepsy, which offers many patients a new option of treatment. Further, the company has filed for the approval of Neupro in Japan for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and restless legs syndrome.

we note that this is the second time in less than a month that UCB has changed the terms of its collaboration agreements. last month, UCB and Immunomedics, inc. (IMMU) amended their agreement for the worldwide development, marketing and sale of epratuzumab for all autoimmune disease indications. According to the new agreement, UCB returned its buy-in right to Immunomedics for the cancer indication of the candidate, and in return got the flexibility to select a partner to sublicense epratuzumab’s rights for certain territories.

Epratuzumab is currently being evaluated in two late-stage trials, EMBODY1 and EMBODY 2, for the treatment of patients with moderate-to-severe lupus. Initial results from these trials are expected in the first half of 2014.

we would prefer to wait and watch how these developments impact UCB. Thus, we have a Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Hold rating) on the stock.

Read the full analyst report on UCBJF

Read the full analyst report on IMMU

Sharon McCarthy was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was only 16 months old.

She gives a lot of credit to God for keeping her alive, because without her strong faith, she says she probably wouldn’t have her eyesight, her kidneys, her legs or her life.

One thing is certain though: She would not be alive without insulin injections — a treatment developed just two decades before she was born, said the 64-year-old retired nurse.

“I grew up with it (diabetes). In that sense, I don’t know what life without diabetes is like,” McCarthy said.

Since she was 12 years old, she has been injecting herself with insulin. Now that she’s in her mid-60s she wears a timed pump from which small doses of insulin are periodically pumped into her stomach from a thin tube. She pricks her finger about five to seven times a day, depending on whether she’s working out or not, to check her blood sugar levels. She is on a low glycemic diet that includes food like whole wheat items, milk and certain vegetables.

McCarthy knows to carry a glucose tab and some grape juice with her at all times. She knows that stress could send her sugar levels up or down and she knows that very ripe bananas, as opposed to the mildly ripe and slightly green ones, will send her sugar soaring, she said.

“Diabetes is a tricky disease,” McCarthy said. “If you’re just diagnosed with diabetes, give yourself at least nine months, better a year, to learn how you’re going to react adjusting to diet, exercise and everything else that comes along with living with diabetes.”

Every person’s body reacts a different way to the disease.

One young man said to McCarthy, “‘I love Mexican food and now I can’t eat it.’ And I said that’s not true. He said, ‘the dietitian said I can’t eat it.’ I said, ‘well ask the dietitian if she has diabetes.’”

Some doctors may not always know what’s best; and that is what she teaches to the members in her diabetes support group every third Thursday of the month with the Southern new Mexico Diabetes Outreach program. People have to stand up and be their own advocate and speak up for themselves when they think they need more medication or more test strips to test sugar levels more often. get another doctor if you have to, she said.

One of the most important things she teaches at the meetings is “Diabetes is not a death sentence,” she said. “Now, it can be if a person newly diagnosed says ‘eh, that doctor doesn’t know what he’s talking about.’”

It’s easy for a person to spiral downhill with depression, stubbornness and carelessness. People have to have kidney transplants, they loose their sight, they loose a limb or they develop another disease like high blood pressure or heart disease.

Other complications include kidney disease, nervous system disease, dental disease, complications with pregnancy and overall illness, which could lead to coma, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

What is diabetes?

Diabetes is a metabolic disorder caused when the body is not using food correctly. there are two kind: Type 1 is an autoimmune disorder that occurs when the body produces no insulin from the pancreas, which helps sugar absorb into the cells for energy or growth. Anyone can have type 1 and it doesn’t matter whether the person is healthy and eats right. Type 2 is the most common and is mostly caused by the unhealthy ways a person eats and lives. Those with type 2 either don’t produce enough insulin or the cells are not responding to insulin, according to the American Diabetes Association website.

Symptoms of type 1 diabetes include urinating frequently, extreme thirst and hunger, weight loss and fatigue. Type 2 includes type 1 symptoms, plus frequent infections, blurred vision, slow healing and numbness and tingling in hands and feet.

According to 2011 statistics by the CDC, diabetes is most common in those of black, Hispanic and Native American origin. More than 14 percent of Native American adults have diabetes, nearly 12 percent of Hispanic adults have diabetes and nearly 13 percent of black adults have diabetes. the disease affects nearly 26 million Americans in all, or 8.3 percent of the population. about 2 million people were diagnosed last year and about 79 million adults, aged 20 and older, have prediabetes.

Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, kidney disease and non-traumatic limb amputation. It’s is also the seventh-leading cause of death, according to 2007 statistics. the cost of treating diabetes in the U.S. reached $174 billion in 2007, because most patients’ medical expenses are twice as high than for those without the disease.

Obesity and type 2 diabetes

“I see a more and more obese population,” said Dr. Andrew Lancaster, an endocrinologist at Nzhu Endocrine and Diabetes Care in Alamogordo. “The portion sizes in the last 40 years have gone up dramatically and the activity level has been going down.”

His example comes from a conference where a color-coded map showed the growth of the population every five years. every year, the obese colors got bigger and then new colors had to be added for the more extreme numbers in certain areas of the country, Lancaster said.

At Lancaster’s clinic, he sees about 20 patients a day and has about 1,500 patients in all. because he works a lot with diabetics, he is booked clear until the end of the year and so are other endocrinologists and doctors like him who specialize in diabetes care, Lancaster said.

“Food is so easy to get these days and it’s cheap, because a lot of the cheap stuff is processed and full of sugar and fat. the focus here, and the whole ‘cure’ for diabetes, is eating right, exercising and making healthier choices,” Lancaster said.

“The less processed the better,” he said.

In fact, the best thing to do would to have a garden and a few farm animals, because that gives people a chance to exercise while chasing around the animals for dinner, Lancaster said.

Other healthy eating tips he suggests are not to be a compulsive shopper while in the grocery store. instead of buying whole bags and boxes of cookies and junk food, get a small portion or a single serving. having it in the house is always going to be a problem and telling yourself “no” often doesn’t work.

Also, during the holidays, if you know a member of the family who has diabetes, bring some healthier foods to the table. Put out some un-sweetened tea and water instead of regular sodas. It’s just like having an alcoholic around and “can an alcoholic just have one beer?” Lascaster asks. “Maybe, but you don’t want to take that risk.”

“Diabetes is not a death sentence,” he said. “It’s a wake up call to have one take over their diet.”

Diabetics have to take it one step at a time, they can’t change suddenly or stop their habits cold turkey. sometimes a person has to hit rock-bottom and have some sort of epiphany to make a change, he said.

Change isn’t easy

For Beatriz Favela’s mother, making changes to her diet was hard.

“I started noticing that my mom was doing a lot of things wrong,” Favela said. “The fact that I started learning more, I started passing on this information to her.”

Favela is the program operations director with Southern Area Health Education Center and part of the Doña Ana Diabetes Action Coalition.

Although she does not have diabetes, her mother was living with diabetes for 23 years and her father is currently living with the disease and has had it for 20 years.

After Favela’s parents were diagnosed with the disease, she started working as a social worker and then a diabetes educator.

“That was very, very difficult for us to help her because — typical Hispanic family, you know? we are very much into family gatherings and eating,” Favela said.

Her mother went into depression, because she felt like she couldn’t be part of the celebrations because of food restrictions. For a time, all she drank was orange juice, because she thought artificial things were bad, but natural things were good — this isn’t true; orange juice is loaded with sugar and it’s something doctors give to patients whose blood sugar is dangerously low, because orange juice spikes blood sugar up very quickly.

But after her mother started listening to what Favela was learning about diabetes and teaching to other people, living with diabetes became somewhat manageable.

She died a few years ago, but Favela’s father is still coping with the disease and he pricks his finger abut twice a day, Favela said.

Moderation is key

Carl Zimmerman, on the cover, has had diabetes since 2004. it wasn’t a surprise to the 75-year-old, because the disease runs in his family.

Zimmerman is a no-worry diabetic. He doesn’t have to take insulin shots and only pricks his finger occasionally. And in a nonchalant way, he says he lost about 40 pounds from dieting and excersicing.

His wife is a biologist and an excellent cook who knows what he needs and what he needs to avoid or moderate. He cooks also, he said.

“You can have a pretty broad section of food, it’s just that if they’re on the suspect list, you just moderate,” Zimmerman said.

On his suspect list are fried foods and ice cream.

“It’s easy to fall off the wagon,” Zimmerman said. “I encourage folks not to get discouraged with wrestling with diabetes.”

Everyone is different

Betty Ayer is in Sharon McCarthy’s diabetes support group and others refer to her as a “light diabetic,” because she is checked about every six months, takes medication only twice a day and she doesn’t have to check her blood sugar often, she said.

“One thing I’ve learned in Sharon’s group is that it’s a different illness with everybody,” she said. “Each person has his or her own idiosyncrasies and you just have to take that into consideration.”

She found out she had diabetes from a regular checkup, when a blood test showed she had a blood glucose level of 200. She then changed her diet and started exercising — and lost about 25 pounds in the process.

She particularly stays away from russet potatoes and prefers the smaller red ones, because they have a much lower glycemic index, the term meaning the rate at which the food’s sugar is dissolved into the blood stream and cells. Sweet potatoes are the best to eat.

“I gave up cake and ice cream — except on birthdays,” she said with a laugh.

Andi Murphy can be reached at amurphy@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5453

As I mentioned previously, it can be difficult to accurately determine if you are overtrained without a lab coat and fancy equipment. However, here are some clues you can use to help you determine if you’re recovering properly.

Heart Rate

During overtraining, you may have a higher than normal heart rate while resting and while sleeping. Record your heart rate each morning as soon as you wake up and before you get out of bed. keep a small notebook by your night stand where you can record the data each day. if you find an extended period of time where your heart rate increases in the morning, you could be suffering the effects of overtraining.

Caveat: Heart rate can be affected my numerous factors outside running fitness or your training state. Stress, hydration, caffeine and hours of sleep are just some of the variables than can effect heart rate. Don’t get too worried about small fluctuations, instead look for ongoing trends.

Moodiness

Overtraining can lead to a decrease in hormone production, specifically the hormone catecholamine, which can influence the sympathetic nervous system. This can lead to increased feelings of stress and moodiness. if you’re feeling increasingly irritable or stressed, it might be a sign that you’re training too hard.

Susceptibility To Sickness

Overtraining impairs the immune system, which leaves you more susceptible to contracting colds, the flu, and other viruses. if you find yourself getting sick more than usual, especially repeated bouts of the same virus, it could be a sign of overtraining.

Disturbed Sleeping Patterns

Finally, overtraining interferes with the bodies circadian rhythms, which can cause you to have trouble sleeping. Symptoms include waking up much earlier than normal or trouble getting or staying asleep.

Caveat – circadian rhythms are also effected by seasonal changes in the amount of daylight available.  if you’re having trouble sleeping during a change in seasons, it could be a natural reaction to when the sun rises and sets.

While non of these symptoms should be taken as a clear indication of overtraining on their own, if you find that you’re experiencing three to four of these  indicators, it could be time to take a little rest.

MINNEAPOLIS — Twins outfielder Jason Repko, who was hit in the back of the head by a pitch from the Indians’ Justin Masterson on Sunday, is still experiencing concussion-like symptoms, and is unlikely to return this season.

Repko has been bothered by headaches and nausea, and must be cleared by Major League Baseball before he can return to action.

“The past couple days he had a CT and an MRI on his head and they both came back normal, but he’s still complaining of concussion symptoms,” Twins trainer Rick McWane said. “So, we’ll do further testing. he hasn’t been ruled out for the rest of the season, but I’d say it’s unlikely.”

Span glad to be back against Mariners

MINNEAPOLIS — Twins center fielder Denard Span, who has been dealing with migraines related to his concussion sustained in a home-plate collision on June 3, was activated from the disabled list on Wednesday.

Span started in center field and batted leadoff against the Mariners. he went 0-for-3 at the plate before being removed after the fourth inning.

Span said before the game that he was “nervous” about making his return.

“It was a big sigh of relief getting back out there,” Span said. “I was nervous, but that last at-bat definitely felt good. when I came out of the game, I took three or four big deep breaths because I just got over it and got it out of the way. so, it felt good.”

it was Span’s first game back since Aug. 13, as he played in nine games in early August after missing nearly two months.

Twins manager Ron Gardenhire also was pleased to see that Span’s return went as planned and that he had no issues out on the field.

“I think he was excited,” Gardenhire said. “He saw the ball good, and I think he felt pretty good about being out there. it was nice to see.”

Getting back into game action before season’s end was Span’s goal.

“It’s very important,” Span said. “I think if I would have went the whole offseason without playing and just showing up to Spring Training without playing for six, seven months, I think the hurdle probably would have been through the roof, trying to get over that hump. it would’ve been a lot tougher for me. so, I think getting back on the field is going to do something for me mentally.”

Gardenhire said Span is expected to play every few days, as the club doesn’t want to take any risks with Span.

“It’s going to be here and there,” Gardenhire said. “We’re not going to go out there and beat him up and play a lot of games. He’s in there tonight and then we’ll see about [Thursday] and maybe one in Cleveland. It’s not going to be a lot. We just want to make sure he’s OK and can get some at-bats and get through it, and leave on a positive note.”

Span, who first started dealing with migraines and vertigo in 2009 when he was diagnosed with Vestibular Neuritis, said the concussion in June brought back those symptoms. he said he feels healthy enough to play, but wants to make sure his symptoms don’t return next year.

“I think it’s still a work in progress,” Span said. “Before this season, I had some flare-ups with the dizziness and I had a plan and routine I’d go through daily to keep it in check. but I think now, dealing with this concussion, even in the offseason I have to come up with a new routine and game plan to move forward and keep my symptoms in check for next year.”

October 06, 2011 8:00 AM Staff Writer Lyme disease:

• Lyme disease is an infectious disease commonly spread by ticks.

• Symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue and rashes. Left untreated, the disease affects the central nervous system, heart and joints.

• Named after Lyme, Conn., Lyme disease has been reported in 49 out of 50 states, although it’s most commonly found in new England.

• The disease responds to antibiotic treatments.

• in rare cases, the disease can be fatal.

Misty Brown was a success story, in theory.

After years of misdiagnoses and physicians just throwing up their hands in confusion, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease in 2006 — a disease more commonly associated with new England and the Mid-Atlantic region — mere weeks after doctors said she was out of time.

“They took my husband aside and told him, ‘You need to get your wife’s stuff together. She’s not going to make it.’”

She believes she was infected by a tick that bit her as she moved her husband’s hunting equipment while preparing for a garage sale. The two years that followed allowed the disease to ravage her system, leading to heart failure, seizures, vision, balance and speech problems.

“It was ‘check, check, check’ as far as the symptoms, “because Lyme disease has three stages and I was so far into the third stage.”

But she wasn’t too far gone to come back, according to a Lyme disease specialist in Nevada City.

“’I just want you to know,’” Brown recalls him saying, “You’ll be OK. I know they’ve told you that you’re going to die, but you’re going to be OK.”

After a year of aggressive treatment, she was able to walk again, could talk clearly and was back working several days a week at the family hair salon.

“I was like 60 percent better,” she said. after having written letters to her daughter to be read after Brown assumed she’d be dead, that alone was a gift. “I was able to walk my daughter to her first day of kindergarten.”

But the aggressive treatment had a downside.

“six years of harsh, harsh medication was starting to damage my body,” she said.

Brown’s kidneys and liver were failing.

“when you have Lyme, you have to accept that your life will be (spent on) medication.”

But if her liver and kidneys failed, she might not have much life left. Brown’s vision was going, her hair was falling out and she had lost her sense of smell.

The family found a treatment center — the Hansa Center for Optimum Health in Wichita — that they believed could help undo much of the damage done by her Lyme disease treatment, but it would cost more than they had left, after years of medical struggles.

“Through this process, I had to go so far out of my insurance,” she said. “We lost cars, houses.”

Out at dinner with friends, they mentioned their dilemma and how they were trying to come up with the $10,000 they’d need for the treatment. A few days later, Shelley Keller, the daughter of Boulder Creek Ranch owners Jim and Gail Hasty, called back and said that, after their dinner conversation, the Hasty family wanted to help.

The 2010 Harvest Festival at Boulder Creek raised a total of about $8,000 toward her $10,000 treatment.

“You get well if you have money,” said Brown, who has only recently returned from the Hansa Center, as she and her husband spent a few more months finding the remaining $2,000 they needed. “if you have anything crazy, your insurance won’t cover it.”

Fortunately, the treatment worked, and Brown’s condition started to improve.

“within the first two days, all the bags and circles (under her eyes) disappeared,” she said. “I could see again. I could smell again. I regained my balance. … I’m running again. I’m talking again.”

Although her Lyme disease specialist continues to monitor her condition, and she will be making annual pilgrimages back to the Hansa Center, she’s now off her medication and returning to a normal life she thought she’d never have again.

Last year, she held a Lyme Disease Awareness Walk and will be helping run the charity event for a new charity benefiting orphans, at this year’s Harvest Festival.

“in the midst of all the hustle and bustle” at last year’s event, “my life was genuinely changed. … I just want to thank each and every person who contributed.”

Beau Yarbrough may be reached at (760) 956-7108 or at beau@HesperiaStar.com. Follow us on Facebook at Facebook.com/Hesperia.Star.

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Posted by Archive Culture Monday, February 2nd, 2009

Japanese Bug Fights is a site that pits horribly demonic monstrous creatures against each other in an all out battle: two beetles enter, one beetle leaves. Soliciting reactions around the office like “shocking!” “disgusting!” and “unbelievably fascinating and cool!”, the bracketed tournament to the death would probably cause more of an uproar with animal rights activists were the creatures involved not quite so revolting. our favorite fighter is the hornet. Place bets to really make this a fully demoralizing experience.

“Link of the Week” is a new Culture gimmick that gives students a chance to share their favorite viral shames and mass-distributed memes. Leave comments here to submit your own candidates. Remember: this is democracy in action!

Short URL: arbiteronline.com/?p=19886

I have been seeing stars the last couple days as well as some upper stomach cramping, it feel like stomach flu cramps but under my rids, like I need to go to the bathroom but it's been a few days and still nothing. I am also pretty swollen(it is 85 degrees today) but more swelling than normal in my feet ankles and hands. Should I call my doctor?