Health and Wellness Supplement

Suzanne StewartStaff Writer

Former tractor-trailerdriver Mancil Doolit-tle, of Green Bank, has

traded in 18 wheels for three.Mancil rides an adult tri-

cycle every day as part of hisongoing rehabilitation in hisrecovery from a brain stemstroke he suf-fered January 22,2011.

The past yearhas been a roughroad, but he hassurpassed his doctor’sexpectations for his re-covery.

Most brain stemstroke victims are fullyparalyzed and can onlymove their eyes.

Mancil was working inOklahoma City, Oklahoma,and staying with his aunt,Nelda Sorrell, when he suf-fered a stroke.

“I was working thereabout three months when ithappened,” he said. “Theysuspected it was high bloodpressure. At first, when it hitme, I blamed a basil leaf. Ipicked a leaf and stuck it inmy mouth and my mouthwent numb first. I was grab-bing that leaf, trying to getrid of it, then all of a sudden,I got powerfully dizzy and Igrabbed the antenna [on my

truck]. That’s the last recol-lection I have until I hit theconcrete.”

Usually, when Mancilstays with his aunt, she re-spects his privacy. So shedidn’t realize he wasn’t in hisroom.

“She had a terrible, terribleguilt trip because he laid outthere – they thought – for

two hours,” Mancil’s wife,

Shirley, said.“When she came out she

called my name and I could-n’t respond,” Mancil said. “Ijust laid there like a mummy.I had taken my shoes off andit was cold. It’s amazingwhat goes through yourmind in all that time.”

Mancil was taken to thehospital and an MRI re-vealed that he had a brainstem stroke.

“The Intensive Care neu-rologist pulled it up on acomputer and he said ‘it’s inthe pawns of the brain stem’and he looked at Mancil andsaid, ‘you’re in good shape

for where this stroke is.’ Iwas sitting there thinking,‘this is good shape? He’s onlife support,’” Shirley said.

In a family with a “richheritage,” Mancil’s children,as well as his wife, quicklytraveled roughly 1,200 milesto see him.

“Most of my childrencame out, and my wife wasthere the next day after it

h a p -

pened,” he said. “The schoolgave my daughter, Anita, aweek off and she came out,too. During the night, Melvinshowed up. He came fromNebraska. Dale lives inSpringfield, Missouri, and hewas there overnight, too. Ithought, if they want me tolive this bad, I’m going to trymy best.”

Along with his family,many men and women fromhis truck-driving familycame to visit, as well.

With the placement of thestroke, Mancil was fully par-

alyzed on his left side andpartially paralyzed on theright.

“He couldn’t hardly moveat all, but did have somemovement on the right side,”Shirley said. “He was weakbecause the stroke hadcrossed the center line andwas on both. He was in in-tensive care for 16 days andthey basically told us 30 daystells what’s going to happen.He went five weeks when heactually moved his left side alittle bit.”

Before he could beginphysical therapy, Mancil suf-fered a bout of aspirationpneumonia and two-days ofhiccups. Once he recoveredfrom both, he was trans-ferred to the Valir Rehabili-tation Hospital to begin hisrigorous rehab regimen.

“When they take you torehab, they don’t take you ina bed, they take you in a

chair,” Shirley said. “Hecould hardly sit up. Even inthat first week they workedwith him, he was so flaccid.They would sit him up andhe was what they called totalassist. He couldn’t reallyhelp himself.”

Being a determined manwho could, well, do little,Mancil fought hard to regaincontrol of his body.

“He [the physical thera-pist] said ‘show me what youcan do,’ and I moved my footjust every so slightly andthey jumped up, and got mewalking between [the paral-lel] bars,” Mancil said.“They knew just how to doit.”

“He had a speech thera-pist, a physical therapist andan occupational therapist,”Shirley added. “In rehab,they worked 30 minutes apiece in the morning and 30minutes a piece in the after-noon, so he had three hoursof therapy. Once he startedmoving his foot, I mean,those folks gathered him up,took him down to the gymand they literally held him upand walked him on parallelbars. They knew once itstarted coming, you’ve got tograb the opportunity andkeep after it.”

The Pocahontas Times––March 29, 2012––B

AS PART OF his ongoing rehabilitation from his brainstem stroke, Mancil Doolittle rides an adult tricycle forexercise. Above, he takes a ride with grandson, DawsonDeputy. Several of Doolittle’s grandchildren take turnsriding wtih him. At left, Doolittle performs one of hismany chores, feeding two calves he purchased to raise.S. Stewart photos

I thought, if they want meto live this bad, Iʼm going to

try my best

~ Mancil Doolittle,about his family“

see Doolittle pg 6B


Afew weeks ago, MichaelO’Brien, of Green Bank,took a drive.

It may not sound like a big deal,but considering that O’Brien hasn’tbeen able to drive for nearly eightmonths, it was a huge achievementfor him.

“Of course, I have to drive an au-tomatic. I can’t drive a standard, soI’m stuck in an automatic,” the 25-year-old said.

O’Brien hasn’t been able to drivebecause he is recovering from a se-rious dirt bike accident, the kindwhich more often than not, takesthe life of its victim.

“We had been riding and was onthe way home,” he said. “Luckily, Iwas wearing all my gear. If I didn’thave all my gear on, I would’vegotten killed. I broke my neck, andwhere my chest protector stops, iswhere I cracked my scapula. Thathealed up on its own.”

O’Brien also lost two teeth fromthe impact of his helmet and brokehis left leg.

“I broke my tibia, which is thelittle bone and the fibula, the bigbone, it popped out of the socketand came out the side of myankle,” he said. “There’s a littlebone that sits above your ankle andit came out. They put it all back to-gether and then the infection got inthere. It caused that little bone toreject and eat up my cartilage, andthat’s why they had to do the fu-sion.”

The worst break O’Brien suf-fered was his C5 cervical vertebraein his neck.

“The C5 is where your phrenicnerve is, which controls your di-aphragm, controls your breathing,”he explained. “It’s the size of a pen-cil lead. I broke my vertebrae allaround it, but didn’t break it [thenerve]. The people that do that,wind up the rest of their life on aventilator. I was expected to be in

the hospital and paralyzed from theneck down for the rest of my life.”

O’Brien didn’t let those dauntingexpectations discourage him. Henever lost control of his arms, andonly lost feeling from the waistdown for one month.

“When I woke up, I didn’t haveany trouble using my hands, but Ididn’t have any feeling from thewaist down,” he said. “If youwould hit it [my leg] real hard, Icould feel it. I could feel pain ifsomebody would pinch me or pullon my skin.”

O’Brien slowly regained use ofhis legs while he was recovering atRuby Memorial in Morgantown.

“One night I got out of theshower, I was in my chair gettingback to my bed, and I was thinking[about] moving my toes and Ilooked down and my toes were

moving,” he said. “Youdon’t know how ex-cited you get over thelittle things. Very, veryslowly, the right legcame back and then theleft leg started back.The left leg basicallycame back since I’vebeen home.”

Once the movementslowly started comingback, O’Brien was transferred toHealthSouth MountainView Re-gional Rehabilitation Hospital inMorgantown, where he spent 104days regaining his strength.

“In your mind, you don’t reallyknow how bad you are,” he said.“The low for me is they had me onthe edge of the mat and they hadthese paddles with handles onthem, and they told me to push

down and scoot back. I didn’t evenhave enough strength to push downand scoot back. I couldn’t curl afive pound barbell. That was the ul-timate low.”

With the help of his physicaltherapists and support of familyand friends, O’Brien slowly re-gained his strength and was soonwalking again.

“That place, HealthSouth, it wasso great,” he said. “They actuallyhad me trying to do some stairs andI was gaining slowly. Since I’vebeen home, I keep gaining andgaining. I do some home therapy tokeep it up.”

When O’Brien went for a check-

up with his spine specialist, heamazed the doctor with hisprogress.

“The first time I went back to seehim, he asked my name, and I toldhim. He said ‘I just read your re-port, and I didn’t expect to walk inand see what I’m seeing. I was ex-pecting to walk in and basically seea non-functioning paralyzed pa-tient,’” he recalled. “I showed him

I could move my arms and hecould see I could move my legs. Hewent and got another doctor toshow him. He said, ‘I’ve been aspine surgeon since 1972, and I cancount on one hand the people I’veseen that had an outcome like yougot.’”

On November 9, O’Brien camehome with the help of his co-work-ers from Shavers Fork Fire andRescue.

“The guys from work, theybrought the ambulance to Morgan-town to make it easier to ridehome,” he said.

O’Brien said it is support likethat that has amazed him through

all this.“The one thing I can’t believe is

how good the community has beento me,” he said. “The churches, thepeople, they really kept me strong.The guys at work, I can never sayenough about the guys I work with.When I woke up in ICU and I kindof got my bearings back together, I

AFTER NEARLY EIGHT months in the hospital, reha-bilitation center and sitting at home, Green Bank resi-dent Michael O’Brien is back to work, part-time, atShavers Fork Fire Rescue. With the help of his co-work-ers, O’Brien, above, was able to sit in one of the firetrucks again. At right, on November 9, O’Brien camehome from Morgantown with the help of SFFR. RossMorgan, left, and O’Brien’s uncle, H.A. Taylor, right,wheel O’Brien into his house after the arduous journeyhome. Photos courtesy of Michael O’Brien

see Firefighter pg 5B

Mancil Doolittle suffersstroke, beats the odds

Health and Wellness

”

Local firefighter determined to walk again

As a result of the two-year-old Affordable HealthCare Act (ACA), West Vir-ginia seniors with Medicarecoverage saved more than$23 million in prescriptiondrug costs and 16,000 youngadults retained health insur-ance coverage.

In addition, insurancecompanies can no longerplace an arbitrary limit onlife-time benefits for a can-cer survivor or deny a childa policy because they have apre-existing condition.

Perry Bryant, executive di-rector of West Virginians forAffordable Health Care(WVAHC), released data at apress conference at the stateCapitol demonstrating thesignificant impact ACA ismaking on the lives of WestVirginians.

One of the vital reformscontained within ACA isclosing the “doughnut hole”in Medicare coverage whichhad caused many seniors toeither go without needed pre-scriptions or sacrifice othernecessities in order to affordtheir prescriptions.

“The ACA is succeedingin closing the doughnuthole,” said Bryant. “Lastyear the average West Vir-ginia Medicare patient saved

slightly more than $650; na-tionally the savings were$2.2 billion. Eliminating thedoughnut hole is one ofmany improvements in ac-cess to quality, affordablehealth care under the Afford-able Care Act.”

Hersha Arnold Brown,American Cancer Society’sWest Virginia governmentrelations director, spoke tothe impact of ACA on cancerpatients.

“I work with cancer pa-tients and cancer survivorsevery day, and the ACA ishaving a positive impact onthese patients,” said Brown.

“For example, insurancecompanies can no longerplace a life-time limit onbenefits. This is extremelyimportant for cancer pa-tients.”

Brown relayed the story ofthe personal impact the ACAhad on one of the Cancer’sSociety’s own volunteers:

“One of our volunteer’shusband was diagnosed withcancer. After he startedchemotherapy, our volunteerreceived a letter from the in-surance company notifyingthem that her husband hadreached his life-time limitand that they no longerwould cover his treatment.She was so concerned that hewould quit his treatment thatshe did not tell him about theletter. One week before his

insurance coverage was dueto end, they received anotherletter stating that the Afford-able Care Act prohibited in-surance companies fromimposing a life-time limit onbenefits, therefore his life-saving treatments wouldcontinue to be covered. He isin remission now, and theyplan on celebrating manymore anniversaries,” saidBrown.

Young adults and familieshave also reaped benefitsunder the ACA because it hasensured young adults can

B––The Pocahontas Times––March 29, 2012

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Jaynell GrahamManaging Editor

It is a rarity today to find someonewho can totally identify with thewords of the Apostle Paul. But it

may be that in those words we find thesecret of true “financial wellness.”

Financial wellness is more thanmoney in the bank. It is about having ahealthy attitude in such matters, aswell.

A clearer definitionwould be that “financialwellness is an intricatebalance of the mental,spiritual and physicalaspects of money.”

I contacted severalindividuals to get theirthoughts on this partic-ular subject, and one bitof wisdom was re-peated, time after time.

“Live within yourmeans. Don’t spendwhat you don’t have.”

That sound advice,which has been pastfrom generation to gen-eration, may lose someof its adherents intoday’s young people.

Anyone who haswatched even oneepisode of HouseHunters on HGTV cantell you that one majorfinancial downfall ofthe younger generation isthat they “want it all and they want itnow.”

Gone are the days when newlywedswere satisfied with each other’s com-pany and an adequate roof over theirheads. It seems that now, in theirminds, a kitchen without granite coun-tertops is unacceptable and may verylikely be a deal breaker on the path tohappiness. And, Heaven forbid, thattwo people should have to share onebathroom.

The deal breaker, and the road to un-happiness, is usually found in having tohustle to make loan payments, therebymissing out on the joy that might oth-erwise be found in a relationship.

When it comes to taking on debt, Ioften think of the words of my grand-father, Walter Graham.

“Borrowing money is like peeingdown your leg in the wintertime. Itfeels good at the time, but, pretty soon,it gets damned uncomfortable.”

One New Year’s resolution that ranksup there with losing weight is the de-termination to adopt a householdbudget.

Of course, that resolution goes downthe hatch as fast as an order of breadsticks and dipping sauce.

“I believe that most people over-spend – or spend way more than theycan afford,” said my CPA contact. “Ifpeople would take the time to actuallysit down and come up with a budget –and more importantly – follow thebudget – I believe there would be fewerbankruptcies in America. Whenpreparing the budget, don’t leave itdown to the penny – leave a little wig-gle room for savings and unknowns.”

And speaking of pennies, here issome sage advice from a CEO.

“Count your pennies, and the dollarswill take care of themselves.”

Tracking your family’s spendinghabits for one month can be quite eye-opening. People are often surprised tofind that too much of the family’s re-sources is spent in pursuit of externalsatisfaction, or things that lasts for only

a moment.“The need to need more than you

need equals greed,” writes BryantWright in “Right From the Heart.”

At the opposite end of the spectrumare those who are attuned to the needsof others, as well as their own.

Winston Churchill made the follow-ing observation: “You make a living bywhat you get. You make a life by whatyou give.”

Folks in this spiritualcategory of financialwellness agree thatwhen they reach out tohelp another person,that gesture returns to“their own hearth” with“compound interest.”

The March 28, 1912edition of The Pocahon-tas Times containedsome insight into thespirit of the not-so-cheerful giver:

“The trouble withsome people is that theywant to draw compoundinterest for life on thelittle charitable deedsthey do just for the pur-pose of keeping theworld from suspectingthat they are cold-hearted and stingy.”

Getting back to thepresent, I came across aFinancial WellnessCheck-up on the Inter-

net. It has a humoroustouch, but that bit of humor may be lostin some households.

1. Do you have cash in your pocket?A. Yes; B. Kind of; C. No; D. You mustbe kidding

2. Do you balance your checkbookregularly? A. Yes; B. Kind of; C. No;D. You must be kidding

3. Do you know the total amount ofdebt you have? A. Yes; B. Kind of; C.No; D. You must be kidding

And so it goes for 10 questions cov-ering areas that, when the answers arecalculated, will provide an overview ofa person’s financial wellness.

If you did not answer “D. You mustbe kidding” to the previous three ques-tions, then you may proceed to the nextsection of this article.

Rev. W. Scott Ingleton,PastorMarlinton/Edray UnitedMethodist Charge

“Just then a religionscholar stood up with aquestion to test Jesus.Teacher, what do I need todo to get eternal life? Heanswered, What’s writtenin God’s law? How do youinterpret it? He said, thatyou must love the Lordyour God, with all yourpassion and prayer andmuscle and intelligence –and that you love yourneighbor as well as you doyourself. Good answer!said Jesus. Do it and you’lllive.” (Luke 10:25-28)(The Message, Eugene Pe-terson)

How does a person havespiritual wellness?

I do not presume to be-lieve that one article can to-tally do it justice, but I dohave some ideas that I hopecan be helpful. “Do it andyou’ll live.”

Don’t we all want to feelalive?

One cannot have spiri-tual wellness and not love.One cannot love God andnot love their neighbor.The two go together.Doing both gives us life.

Love has to be nurturedand it grows when spentwith God and with otherpeople. Jesus, on many oc-casions, retreated andspoke with his HeavenlyFather. To spend time read-ing the Bible and in prayernurtures the relationshipbetween us and God.Prayer is not just to tell

God stuff, but to be quietand listen for God’s voice.It has a way of clearing theclutter in our minds, set-tling the chaos in our lives,and pointing us on the pathGod has for us.

The path God has for usinvolves our neighbors. Itis not just me and God. Weare on the journey ofChrist-like holiness and wedo not take that trip alone.We take it with our broth-ers and sisters.

The journey God has uson is not for just us, but forthe many that God blessesthrough us. It is easy to saylove our neighbor, but itcan at times be so hard todo. Love people with thehope that more will followJesus Christ.

I can remember when Iwas in college that a guy,who lived in the same dormI did, was angry with meone night and reacted bypointing a pocket knife atme. (He never tried to stabme.) The next day whenthings had cooled down hecame to see me and apolo-gize. We had a long talkand put the incident behindus. To be honest, I was not100% innocent. We be-came close friends and heaccepted Christ for himselfand we still see each otheron occasion.

I have found in my lifethat doing acts of compas-sion help me to love peoplemore. Those acts can con-sist of giving food to thehungry, helping someonepay a utility bill or pay for

Spiritual Wellness

see Spiritual pg 7B

FINANCIAL WELLNESS

It’s more than money in the bank

No one is born content with life.As babies we cry for our every need.As we grow up we experience thefrustrations and struggles of life. Yet,through our hardships, we can learnhow to gain contentment. The Apos-tle Paul told the Philippians, ʻI knowwhat it is to be in need, and I knowwhat it is to have plenty. I havelearned the secret of being contentin any and every situation, whetherwell fed or hungry, whether living inplenty or in want.ʼ”

~ Dr. Michael Youssef

“

see Financial pg 7B

see Health pg 7B

Affordable Health Care Act markstwo years of helping West Virginians

Angelo JiordanoStaff Writer

Snowshoe has beenworking onan em-

ployee fitnessprogram sincelast year, and sofar, it's been asuccess. MichaelBaker, OutdoorAdventure Man-ager at Snow-shoe, said there'snever been a pro-gram like this forSnowshoe em-ployees.

“In the pastthere's beengroups of em-ployees that gettogether, runnersor hikers, butwe've never had anythingpre-planned or organized,”said Baker. “Last year weformed an employee fitnesscommittee with the goal ofproviding a permanent fit-ness facility for employees,cardio equipment, a smallgym, being able to host a fit-ness class, yoga, aerobicsand step classes.”

Baker said that initially

Snowshoe offered yoga andzumba classes and a Wiisports night, but it has ex-panded the program to in-

clude other unique, guidedactivities.

“We want to get folks outhiking, and biking, get peo-ple out geo-caching, trailrunning, road running. Wealso have a guided, full-moon hike out to the firetower,” Baker explained.

Geo-caching is like a scav-enger hunt for adults accord-ing to Baker, and Snowshoe

employees aren't the onlyfolks that can participate, theresort offers geo-caching toguests, as well.

“Geo-caching is prettycool,” said Baker. “It'sbasically a mix of ori-enteering and hikingusing GPS technology.Our course is a littleunique. The way itworks, when you gogeo-caching, we givepeople a backpack, amap, a handheld GPSunit, and a compass.”

Geo-cachers aregiven a five minutedemonstration on howto use the equipmentand how the GPSworks, and are sent outinto the woods.

“We have differentboxes hidden around,

caches. Essentially they're

Angelo JiordanoStaff Writer

Ayurveda is an ancienthealing system fromIndia. It’s their holis-

tic medicine, according toKristy Lanier, owner of theDirt Bean Ohana Cafe.Lanier has been practicingAyurveda for about fouryears now, and offers herservices in Marlinton.

“One way of looking at itis kind of ‘you are what youeat’,” Lanier said. “It’s allabout how your bodyprocesses food and toxinsand releases them. It’s be-lieved that Ayurveda pre-dates Chinese medicine. It’sone of the oldest, holisticmedicine systems in theworld. ”

Lanier said Ayurveda fo-cuses mostly on diet and di-gestion but also incorporatesexercise and meditation.

“Everything comes intoplay, the spiritual aspect,”Lanier explained. “Yoga ispart of the whole thing too.All these things together;diet, exercise, yoga, spiritualpractices, astrology. Diet tocoincide with the mind-bodymake-up you’re born with.Prakriti is the term for yourmind-body make-up.”

When a client visits Lanierinitially, they first answer aseries of questions that deter-mines their “dosha.”

“You have three doshas;vata, pitta, and kapha. Mostpeople are a combination ofa couple. These are like thecharacteristics that you’reborn with. Looks, mentalmake-up, emotional state,that sort of thing.”

Lanier described her doshaas an example.

“I’m vata, kapha. When Ifound that out, it explained awhole lot. Typically vatapeople are kind of anxious.Physically they’re skinny,not well defined muscula-ture, usually bony or veinypeople. Nervous types.

Things that aggravate vatasare cold, dry weather. Theytend to be highly creativepeople, and they get reallyfired up about things, butthey burn out quickly.”

Once the dosha is deter-mined, a client is given di-etary and exerciseinformation that best fitstheir make-up.

“You have different foodsfor different people. Like,since vata people are dry,cold, irritable types, they dobetter on warm, moist foods.Oatmeal for example.Sweets are good for vatas,they soothe their irritable na-ture,” laughed Lanier.

Lanier first learned aboutAyurvedic medicine whilestudying nutrition.

“I stumbled upon it aboutfour years ago,” she said. “Ina roundabout way, it was sortof an ‘aha’ moment for me. Istarted racing bikes profes-sionally, and diet becamevery important to me. Istarted studying nutrition alot on my own. My biggest

downfall in racing was nothaving a very good diet. Istarted paying a lot more at-tention to what I ate. I startedreading a book based onAyurveda. When I realizedwhat it was about, I washooked. It all rang so true forme when I started lookingback at my life. It all justmade sense.”

Lanier visited The Na-tional Institute of AyurvedicMedicine in Brewster, NewYork, where she met with Dr.Scott Gerson, both a licensedmedical doctor andAyurvedic practitioner.

Lanier said the institutehas a correspondence pro-gram she participates in, andshe is excited about learningsome new techniques thissummer.

“In Ayurveda they have away of feeling your pulse.It’s one thing I’m really ex-cited about learning,” Laniersaid. You can tell people’sPrakriti by feeling and listen-ing to their heart rate. Whenyou’re vata, pitta or kapha

your pulse will have a differ-ent rate and pitch to it.”

To learn more aboutAyurveda or to make an ap-pointment, contact Kristy at304-799-4038.

Angelo Jiordano may becontacted at [email protected]

Snowshoe provides unique fitnessopportunities for employees

We want to getfolks out hiking, andbiking, get people outgeo-caching, trail run-ning, road running. Wealso have a guided,full-moon hike out tothe fire tower.”

~ Michael Baker, Outdoor Adventure Manager

“

see Fitness pg 5B


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Ayurveda provides wholesomelifestyle changes in Marlinton

VISTA EMILY NEWTON, left, chats with Kristy Lanier, right, owner of the DirtBean Ohana. Lanier offers Ayurvedic services in Marlinton to anyone wanting tomake healthier lifestyle choices. According to Lanier, Ayurveda is an ancient, Indianholistic medicine that focuses mostly on diet and digestion, but also incorporates ex-ercise and meditation. A. Jiordano photo

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Well, doesn’t anything that is worth anything taketime and hard work?

Gardening is worth your time and effort. There are many studies which report the physical,

mental/emotional, and spiritual health benefits ofgardening. But I think we already know that instinc-tively. Humans have been gardening for centuries,but mainly for the practical reason - to eat the food.In the past several decades society moved away fromhome gardening and farming for a “better” life. Peo-ple now are beginning to realize gardening is neededfor more than its practicality.

A large percentage of the population is over-worked, overstimulated, overstressed and over-weight. Gardening can serve as an escape fromtoday’s hectic lifestyle. It takes you outside, awayfrom the iPad, computer, cellphone and TV and al-lows your brain to relax and focus on one thing. Agarden gives you a sense of accomplishment andpride as you step back and see the difference youhave made, giving you an appreciation for the smallthings in life. Gardening hones your skills and pro-vides great exercise. A garden provides all of thesethings without even mentioning the fresh and fla-vorful food it supplies.

If you are interested in gardening but don’t havethe space or don’t want to jump in all the way, youcan volunteer at several community/school gardensites. It’s a great way to spend time with your fam-ily and friends.

So? Why not garden?For more information on gardening opportunities,

contact Adrienne Ceadarleaf at 304-940-6048 or [email protected]

Why garden?

The Rural Health Initiative (RHI)Program at the West VirginiaSchool of Osteopathic Medicine

hosted its first major event in Februaryto give medical students theopportunity to meet withgraduates and understandhow to be successfulphysicians in rural prac-tices.

The program is sup-ported by a grant receivedfrom the West VirginiaHigher Education PolicyCommission to enhancerural primary care curricu-lum at the school. Organiz-ers said they wanted RuralPractice Day, the pro-gram’s first event, to pro-vide insight to medical students whoare considering entering rural practices.

Janet Hinton, RHI program coordi-nator, said she hopes this event will en-courage students to choose a ruralpractice.

“We want to make WVSOM gradu-ates better trained to assist the under-served communities in West Virginia,”

she said. Seven WVSOM graduates from

across the state shared their personalsuccess stories with nearly 200 current

students, significant others, WVSOMemployees and guests. Manuel“Manny” Ballas, Class of 1993; SaritaBennett, Class of 1998; David Carr,Class of 1981; Carolyn “Bridgett”Morrison, Class of 2007; GerardO’Loughlin, Class of 1988; FrankSwisher, Class of 1998; and RalphWood, Class of 1982 were the speak-ers.

Workshops about rural emergencies,women in rural medicine, quality of lifein rural West Virginia, financial incen-tives and family life were presented

throughout the day. Representa-tives from rural hospitals alsotook part in the event.

Dr. Robert Foster, associatedean of Predoctoral Clinical Ed-ucation, said the event exceededexpectations.

“The attendance demon-strated the depth of interest ofrural practices in West Virginiaamong WVSOM students,” hesaid. “The guest speakers pro-vided stimulating personal ex-periences, which is typical ofour graduates in rural West Vir-ginia. We were grateful to have

participation of many rural hospi-tals.”

For more information about theRural Health Initiative Program, [email protected]

WVSOM is a national leader in edu-cating osteopathic physicians for pri-mary care medicine in rural areas. VisitWVSOM online at www.wvsom.edu


We want to makeWVSOM graduates bettertrained to assist the under-served communities in WestVirginia.”

~ Janet Hinton,RHI program coordinator

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Thank you to the providers of RCBC for the long hours and dedication to the

care of others. Your commitment is greatly appreciated.

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Voters will geta clear, concise

– all in one place –look at the candidates.

Primary Election Previewin the

April 19 Edition ofThe Pocahontas Times

Candidate informationmust be submitted by

Thursday, April 5.Candidates - stop by our advertising

department to place your ad.Deadline is 5 p.m., Thursday, April 5.

Pocahontas CountyParks & Recreation

FITNESS ROOMLocated in the Art GuildRoom on Fifth Avenue(Everett Tibbs Road),

Marlinton

Lunchtime • Mon. and Fri. Noon - 1:30 p.m.

EveningsMonday through Friday

4 - 7 p.m.Daily/monthly rates available

Call for more info.304-799-7386

“The concept of total wellness recognizes that our everythought, word, and behavior affects our greater healthand well-being. And we, in turn, are affected not only

emotionally but also physically and spiritually.” – Greg Anderson, cancer survivor and motivational speaker

GENERAL FAMILY PRACTICEWITH AN EMPHASIS ON

• Women’s health • Osteopathic manipulative therapy• Well-child care and appropriate vaccinations

• Acute & chronic care

Coming soon: Friday Prenatal Clinic• For low-risk women up to 38 weeks pregnant

• Referral to OB provider of choice, at 36 weeks• Childbirth education included

Also coming soon: Ladies Afternoon Out• Building community through fun and education

• Once a month • Watch for details

SARITA BENNETT, D.O.Board Certified Family Physician

304-799-0011Monday - Thursday 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Family Health Care

Marlinton304-799-4404

Green Bank304-456-5115

COMMUNITY CAREof Marlinton

821 Third Avenue, Marlinton

COMMUNITY CAREof Green Bank90 Rt. 28, Green Bank

Walk-ins Welcome.

It’s the third-leading cancer found inmen and the fourth-leading cancer inwomen, yet thousands every year failto get screened for it. It’s colorectalcancer, and if undetected and left un-treated, it can spread to other organsand result in death.

The best defense against colorectal cancer is early detection. The soonerthe disease is detected, the sooner treatment can start and, hopefully, thesooner the cancer can be eradicated.

We also participate in the following programs:•WV Breast and Cervical

Cancer Screening Progam•WV Family Planning Program•WV Connect - Free/low cost health care to the working public

•Sliding Fee - Low cost health care

Don’t Miss

Bonnie’s Bus(Mammograms)

Community Careof Green Bank

May 16304-456-5115


The first annual Poca-hontas County SchoolsChildhood Fair will be heldApril 21 at PocahontasCounty High School.

Local agencies gearedtoward assisting families,including Head Start, NorthCentral Community Actionand WIC (Women Infantsand Children) will be at thefair to give parents the op-portunity to learn aboutservices offered to childrenin the county.

The fair is also an oppor-tunity for parents to enrolltheir three- and four-year-olds in preschool.

A dentist and doctor willbe available to do screen-ings.

“We’re anticipating hav-ing a fair where all thoseentities are there at Poca-hontas County High Schooland the parents will be ableto see what services will beavailable for them in [thecounty],” Director of Spe-cial Education and StudentServices Ruth Bland said.“They will be able to signup for those services rightthere.”

For more information onthe fair, contact Bland at304-799-4505, ext. 2224.

Suzanne Stewart may becontacted at [email protected]

Pocahontas CountySchools to host firstannual Childhood Fair

Workplace Wellness program

Have you ever wanted tosee the Great Pyramids ofGiza, the Great Wall ofChina, or even Machu Pic-chu in Peru?

Well, the employees, staffand their families at Poca-hontas Memorial Hospitalare doing just that with thenew walking program organ-ized by the PMH WorkplaceWellness committee.

So how does it work?I am so glad you asked.Seventy-four participants

signed up, chose a team andwere issued pedometers.Each week the teams will re-port their steps. Those stepswill be plotted on a course tosee the Seven Wonders of theWorld.

The adventure begins atthe Great Wall in China andthe first team to make it tothe ancient Mayan city ofChichen Itza, Mexico wins.During the journey, thesights, culture and customs

of the Taj Mahal, India;Petra, Jordan; the RomanColosseum, Italy; Christ Re-deemer, Brazil; and MachuPicchu, Peru will be reportedin the PMH Newsletter, tipsof the day and the WellnessBulletin board.

The journey begins soon.So PMH employees, lace upyour sneakers, because theGreat Wall awaits.

First Annual Spring FlingThe Outreach Committee

is finalizing its plans for theFirst Annual Spring Fling tobe held at the PocahontasCounty Opera House on Sat-urday, April 7. Tickets areavailable by calling 304-799-7400, Ext 1051.

The proceeds from this af-fair will be used to refurbisha room a year to ensure thecomfort of patients at PMH.

Get your ticket today andenjoy an evening of goodmusic and dancing, all forthe benefit of you and thecommunity.

PMH LifelineYour Health - Your Hospital

THE PANEL OF speakers at Rural Practice Day were WVSOM graduates Ralph Wood, D.O.; Gerry O’Lough-lin, D.O.; Frank Swisher, D.O.; Bridgette Morrison, D.O.; Sarita Bennett, D.O.; David Carr, D.O.; and ManuelBallas, D.O.

Program gives studentsinsight into rural practices

looked up and here come allthe guys from work. Severalof them made several trips torehab in Morgantown tokeep me on track.”

Now that he is home,O’Brien is ready to get backto his old routine.

“I’ve crossed every hurdlebut walking and I’ve gotabout five more weeks be-fore I can start puttingweight on that [left] leg,” hesaid. “My plan is to get backinto that rehab center forawhile. I think there’s nodoubt I’m going to walk. Mygoal is to get back to being afirefighter/EMTI [EMT In-termediate] like I was. Backon that truck and things Ienjoy.”

For now, O’Brien is backto work, part-time, doing pa-perwork at SFFR.

“The toughest thing for meis having to sit in that officeand look out the window,and watch that truck go outand not be on it,” he said.“That’s really tough on me,but that’s my goal. I knownow, I’m going to work untilI get there.”

With the worst days be-hind him, O’Brien has risenfrom the ashes of his acci-dent. Not unscathed – he hastwo steel rods in his neckunder a two-inch scar, twonew teeth and rods and pinsin his leg – but much wiser.

He has sworn off motorcy-cles and is even questioningif he’ll ever ride an ATVagain.

“I’m definitely done withmotorcycles. I’m kind ofleery of my four-wheelernow,” he said. “If I could getany message out there toanybody – wear your helmet– at least. Wear as much pro-tective stuff as you can be-cause I was on a paved road,on my way home and I hadmy accident. You just never

know. I just hope and praythat some of these kids learnfrom my mistakes. My hel-met and chest protectorsaved my life. Had I not hadon my chest protector, Iprobably would have brokenmy back. Just looking at thedamage to my helmet, thatcould have been my head, itcould have killed me in-stantly.”

After this experience,O’Brien is ready to share hisstory with people to let themknow the dangers of ridingmotorcycles and the impor-tance of wearing protectivegear.

“I hope when I get better,I can help people,” he said.“It’s scary being in this situ-ation and there’s a lot of ad-vances in the medical field,but when it comes to the

spine, there’s a lot of un-knowns.”

O’Brien said he hopes toreturn to HealthSouth as amentor and talk to spine in-jury patients.

“It’s so much easier to re-late to someone that’s beenin your situation than it issomebody that hasn’t,” hesaid. “I hope that I can helpsomebody in that aspect.Stay strong, keep your headon straight, work hard andstay confident. I’m not goingto lie to you, rehab was thetoughest thing I had to do inmy life. I’ve never been inthe Army, I’ve never been inboot camp, but I’d say it’spretty close [to rehab] be-cause that’s what it takes. Ittakes somebody pushing youto make you do things youdon’t want to do to get bet-ter.”

This care and considera-tion will also carry over into

O’Brien’s work when he re-turns to his job as a fire-fighter/EMTI.

“I will have a differentoutlook on my patients be-cause it used to be, it was ajob. You picked them up, youdrop them off at the hospitaland you kind of went on tothe next,” he said. “Now, Isee personally what they’vegot ahead of them.”

O’Brien plans to continuehis education and become aparamedic this fall. He saidwith the support of his co-workers at SFFR, his goalsare getting closer every day.

“They know how passion-ate I am about what I do andmy goal,” he said. “I’m notstopping until I get back towhat I do.”


ammunition boxes,” saidBaker. “The caches are hid-den throughout the moun-tain. The way it works, youuse the GPS to find thecache. If people have toomuch trouble, on the back ofthe maps we have hints.”

Baker talked a little aboutthe history of geo-caching.

“Geo-caching has beenaround for a long time,”Baker said. “I think it was inthe 90s during the Clintonadministration that the U.S.government took a ban offGPS technology. GPS usedto be filtered for military se-curity purposes but they gotbetter at scrambling and hid-ing sensitive stuff. It startedlike a grassroots kind ofthing. People would hidecaches all over the world andthey would post somethingon the Internet. For somepeople it's a serious hobby,they'll drive across the coun-

try geo-caching.” Baker said geo-caching is

fun and affordable.“A family of five can go

out and have a great time fortwenty-five bucks,” he said.

Baker said that the new fit-ness program has been popu-lar with employees, andSnowshoe plans to expandthe concept.

“Bottom line, it's not forSnowshoe, it's for the em-ployees themselves,” he said.“I think if you look at thebigger scale, yeah, healthierpeople are happier, moreproductive people. But we'rejust trying to encourage peo-ple. Ideally, this will branchout and we'll get not onlyemployees, but local folksand homeowners that wantto be active and get out.”

Angelo Jiordano may becontacted at [email protected]

April is Stress Awareness Month


The pharmicists and staff of PocahontasPharmacy salute all the physicians andhospice staff we deal with on a dailybasis. We are proud to be a part of the healing process.

• Prescriptions filled• Professional, private drug counseling for our customers• Friendly, helpful staff

• Health and beauty items• Gift items, candles, greeting cards and candy• Baby items and gifts

304-799-4944

Familiar. Friendly. Like Family.

POCAHONTASPHARMACY

Tim Robbins, RPh, and Terrie Robbins, ownersChad Hanna, RPh

Monday - Friday 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Saturday 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

105 Duncan RoadMarlinton

A MultispecialtyClinic

Providing Total

Healthcare For More

Than 40 Years

Obstetrics & GynecologyRobert L. Wheeler, M.D.

Connie Perkins, D.O.Coy Flowers, M.D.

Pulmonary MedicineZ. Shamma-Othman,

M.D.Mark A. Byrd, M.D.OphthalmologyYuri Leo Arvan, M.D.

Family PracticeConni Anderson, D.O.

Joseph Lutz, PA-CInternal Medicine

Z. Shamma-Othman, M.D.Mark A. Byrd, M.D.Verna Hanes, M.D.

PediatricsWilliam S. Dukart, M.D.

K. Michelle Morrison, M.D.Janice Centa, PA-C

General SurgeryAlan T. Lee, D.O.

Frank J. Kadel, D.O.Vascular Surgery

Frank J. Kadel, D.O.Orthopedic Surgery

Steve Vess, D.O.Steven C. Miller, D.O.

Radiology Department

• X-Ray • Ultrasound

• DigitalMammography

• Bone Densiometry

State-Of-The-ArtLaboratory

200 Maplewood AvenueRonceverte, WV 24970

315 Fairview Heights RoadSummersville, WV 26651

1 ARH LaneLow Moor, VA 24457

230 George Street, Suite 3Beckley, WV 25801

ARH Summers Co. Clinic1500 Terrace St., Hinton, WV 25951

Bringing Quality Healthcare For Your Convenience To The Following Locations:

Appointments all locations: 304-647-5114 or 800-677-5161For Digital Mammography call 304-647-1102

Now Offering Evening Hours NOT ALL SERVICES OFFERED AT ALL LOCATIONS

Get your news on time, every time with ane-subscription to The Pocahontas Times!• Log in anytime, anywhere• Archival access • Searchability• Page by page views - just like

reading the newspaper• Click-thru to ads and circulars

Call 304-799-4973 to start your e-subscriptiontoday, or sign up online at pocahontastimes.com.

and best of all…IT’S LESS THAN THE COST OF AN OUT-OF-STATE SUBSCRIPTION

– just $25 per year!

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH

AT HUNTERSVILLE

Reaching out into our community throughthe following ministries:

PRE-MARITAL AND SPIRITUAL COUNSELING, MEN’S AND

WOMEN’S PRISON MINISTRY, NURSING HOME, HOSPITAL

AND SHUT-IN VISITATION, KIDZ KLOZET AND MANY OTHERS!Sunday School 9:45 a.m. • Worship 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.

Wednesday Night Bible Study & Prayer Meeting and Children’s Activities 7 p.m.Pastor Jerry Moore

Call 304-799-0853if you’re interested in serving God in this active, Bible-believing Christ-centered Church.

Pocahontas CenterGenesis HealthCareSM

Stillwell Park Road • Marlinton, WV 24954 304-799-7375

The Pocahontas Center wants to thank its Medical Director,

DR. LUIS SORIANO,for more than 27 years of service to the residents and patients of

the center.

ALL Family Members

Including Children

Call for your appointment NOW!

Brandon T.Mitchell, DDS

Franklin

304-358-2522304-358-2522304-358-2522304-358-2522304-358-2522

NOW AVAILABLEMonday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday

NEW Patients Welcome!

Firefighter, from page 1B

Fitness, from page 3B

Dr. Timothy Pence, a chiropractor inLewisburg, has completed the last 25hours of a six-month training programin advanced clinical nutrition.

Nutrition Response Testing is usedby thousands of health practitioners ofall types and specialties across theUnited States, including osteopaths,medical doctors, nutritionist, chiro-practors, massage therapists andacupuncturists. Pence is one of only205 health practitioners who have grad-uated from this very extensive Ad-vanced Clinical Training program in

Nutrition Response Testing, conductedin Clearwater, Florida. He had studiedthe advanced breakthroughs in all as-pects of clinical deficiencies to suc-cessful continued patient care.

Nutrition Response Testing was de-veloped by Dr. Freddie Ulan, a chiro-practor and certified nutritionist after25,000 hours of clinical experience inhis highly successful practice in upstateNew York.

According to Ulan, “Nutritional Re-sponse Testing is a noninvasive methodof analyzing the body to determine the

actual root causes of health conditions.It enables the practitioner to determinethe exact patient nutritional deficiencyor imbalance so it can be corrected.And that pinpointed deficiency is usu-ally the root cause of the problem,” hestated. “Nutrition Response Testing isquick, noninvasive, inexpensive andpainless,” he added.

Nutrition Response Testing practi-tioners also provide nutritional dietaryadvice. Pence has been serving theLewisburg area for the past 20 years atGreenbrier Chiropractic Center.

Lewisburg doctor completes nutritional training

More than 10 million Americanssuffer from osteoarthritis of the knee,making it the most common form ofarthritis in the U.S.

What are frequent causes of thistype of arthritis, and what can you doto protect your knees, reduce the

symptoms, and support your doctor’streatment?

With advice from some of theworld’s leading knee specialists, theAmerican Arthritis Society has com-piled in its publication, “ArthritisInfo,” useful and practical tips for self-

care. Each tip is interesting and easyto follow.

For a free sample issue of “ArthritisInfo,” write to: American Arthritis So-ciety, P.O. Box 271010, Minneapolis,MN 55427. Please include a 45-centstamp for return postage.

Living with Osteoarthritis?

Stay up-to-date atwww.pocahontas

times.com

Once that first sign ofhope came, Mancil pro-gressed rapidly through histherapy.

“First week, he walked theparallel bars. Second week,they had a shopping cart theystood him up behind. By thethird week, he was walkingwith a walker,” Shirley said.

“They kept following mewith the wheelchair and Isaid, ‘I don’t need that any-more,’” Mancil added laugh-ing.

Mancil spent three moreweeks in rehab before he wasable to return to West Vir-ginia.

“They would have proba-bly given me several moremonths of therapy and all,but I already maxed out thepedal machine, the leg lifts to160 pounds on each leg,” hesaid. “The pedal machine, Isaid just turn it all the wayup. They called me theirposter child. It was remark-able.”

“He’s a walking, talkingmiracle, with medical treat-ment and the good Lord hav-

ing mercy,” Shirley said.“They said this is whatmakes our job worth it. Thiskind of return.”

Between the IntensiveCare Unit and rehab, Mancilspent nine weeks and threedays in the hospital.

“It seemed like an eter-nity,” he said.

Mancil continued hisrehab in Marlinton, as wellas around Green Bank. Hebegan by walking around theNational Radio AstronomyObservatory Science Centerand graduated to his currentmode of transportation, thetricycle.

“All the children pitchedin and I got it as a Christmasgift,” he said. “I take the chil-dren on rides.”

The bike is equipped witha passenger basket that Man-cil’s grandchildren take turnsriding in as he goes up anddown the driveway.

To see Mancil now, it ishard to believe that he suf-fered a stroke that shouldhave left him totally para-lyzed and could have killed

him.“I’m as close to normal as

I’ve ever been. Now, if Icould just convince them ofthat,” he joked.

Mancil credits the Lord,his family and the commu-nity for his successful recov-ery.

“I give all the credit to theLord because if I didn’t haveHim, I wouldn’t have had thestrength to go through allthat I’ve been through. Myhat’s off to my wife, too.Nine weeks and three daysshe was in the hospital, everyday,” he said.

“We had so much supportfrom the local communityhere, our church and histruck driving family,”Shirley added. “Everybodyjust… it was amazing. Peo-ple were so good to help out,even financially.”

Mancil knows he willnever return to driving an 18-wheeler. Now, he would justbe happy to trade in threewheels for four.

“I hope I’ll drive again. Ikeep trying to convince mydoctor,” he said. “He has torelease me, and then it has togo to a review board before I

can even drive a car.”For the time being, Mancil

has to settle for the passengerseat.

“Now, I’m a big shot. Ihave a chauffeur,” he joked.

After 35 years as a truckdriver, Mancil is now on dis-

ability, and finds ways tokeep himself busy at home.

Although the past year hasbeen filled with a lot of upsand downs, Mancil is happy,most of all, to be back withhis family.

“I have a rich heritage,” he

said. “We had 11 children.Kristin is gone now, but westill have 10 children and 11grandchildren. That’s ourheritage.”



Doolittle, from page 2

Come, playin Nature's Mountain

Playground.

Spring is here!

Visit our website or give us a call for information onspring events and lodging.

800.336.7009 • NaturesMountainPlayground.com

Pull on your hip boots and hit the streams. Thewater is great and the native trout are feisty.

Get that bike in gear and head toward the mountains;whether it's on a single track, rail-trail or back road,Pocahontas County has it all for the biker.

And if you're looking for an event to test all your skills,look no further than the last Saturday in April for theGreat Greenbrier River Race.

Mountain HospiceHappy Doctors’ Day on March 30

"To all the Doctors in our area… You are truly appreciated.It is recognized that all of you go above and beyond for others.”

The Staff of Mountain Hospicewww.mountainhospice.com

Pocahontas County Office - MarlintonPocahontas Medical Plaza • 105 Duncan Road

304-799-2673

Vote DeniseCAMPBELLDemocratic candidate for

HOUSE OF DELEGATESDistrict 43

FOR HEALTHCARE � JOBS � EDUCATION

Paid for by candidate

stay on a parent’s policy untilthe age of 26.

“Our 25-year-old son,Levi, is just starting his ca-reer and couldn’t affordhealth insurance,” said SamHickman, CEO of the Na-tional Association of SocialWorkers West VirginiaChapter.

“Like thousands of parentsacross West Virginia, I amthankful the ACA extends in-surance coverage to youngadults. I’m very comfortedby knowing if Levi developsa serious illness he will getthe care he needs.”

Renate Poore, WVAHC’sdirector of health care policy,commented on the progressmade under ACA for chil-dren’s health care.

“Medicaid and CHIP haveprovided important preven-

tive services for many yearsfor low income children,”said Poore. “The ACA takesthis a step further and assuresthat all children have accessto preventive care and well-child visits. This is not justthe right thing to do, but italso makes economic sense.The better we care for ourchildren, the more successfulthey’ll be in school and inlife.” The ACA has weath-ered criticism from certainpartisan factions, but thegroups gathered today cele-brated progress being madeand documenting the posi-tive impact ACA is havingon peoples’ lives.

“Our new health law isstill unfolding but is alreadyhelping thousands of WestVirginians access criticalmedical services,” said Gary

Zuckett, executive directorof West Virginia-Citizen Ac-tion Group. “The law is notperfect and needs to be im-proved – not repealed. Wecan’t go back to the timewhen insurance companiescancelled policies when peo-ple got sick or when thegravely ill ran out of medicalservices by hitting the dollar‘cap’ on their coverage. Thislaw is a much more humaneway for our society to pro-vide health care,” said Zuck-ett.

For more information onthe ACA in West Virginiavisit www.wvahc.org.

medicine, being a good lis-tener for someone who ishurting, etc. I find that whenI do acts of compassion myattitude toward people ismuch better. It helps me tobe more comfortable in myown skin. I am more patient,forgiving, and have fewerburdens to carry around. It iseasier to love people whom Iwould otherwise have aharder time loving. It makesit easier to love God. I get arenewed sense of God’s pur-

pose in my life.To sum up spiritual well-

ness: Seeking God throughprayer and Bible study. Toalso seek God through actsof compassion and lovingpeople.

I do not presume that morecan’t be added. I know morecan be, because God is so in-credibly awesome. Follow-ing Luke 10:25-28 does notmake life easy, but it suremakes life worth living.

Amen.

Spiritual, from page 2B

Health, from page 2B


Go green with informative topics likesustainable home improvement, pollutionprevention tips, recycling and more. Takethe first step toward a more eco-friendly

lifestyle today! Publishes April 19 inThe Pocahontas Times

Our Go Green supplement is the idealplace to market your eco-friendly products

and services to a receptive audience ofreaders. To find out more about this

valuable advertising opportunity, contactSunny Given at 304-799-4973 today!

Advertisingdeadline:

April 2

Publicationdate:

April 19

Special Touches for Special Occasions

Announce your special day in a styleall your own!

The Pocahontas Times offers custominvitations and accessories for

•WEDDINGS

•ANNIVERSARIES

•GRADUATION

•CHRISTENINGS

•CONFIRMATION

•FIRST COMMUNION

•GRAND OPENINGS

AND MORE!Coordinate your event withmatching napkins, favors andother accessories.

Stop in to see our samplecatalogs today!

ThePocahontas Times206 Eighth Street, Marlinton

304-799-4973

By pre-planning a funeral, difficult decisions will nothave to be made during a time of grief and stress.You have time to decide on and compare options.Your wishes can be put into writing to give your

family direction when the time comes.Look to us for pre-planning and exemplary services

including traditional funeral services, memorial services,cremation, monuments and special requests.

Pre-planning.Peace of mind for those you leave behind.

650 Seneca Trail North, Marlinton• 304-799-2500KEITH A. KIMBLE, L.I.C.

www.kimblefuneralhome.com

Kimble Funeral Home

RESOLVEBut we all, with openface beholding as in aglass the glory of the

Lord, are changedinto the same imagefrom glory to glory,even as by the Spirit

of the Lord.2 Corinthians 3:18

At this time of the year,many of us resolve to shape

up and get fit. As you aredeciding what areas of your

body to work on, don’tneglect your spirit. Trust in

God to help you get fitphysically, emotionally and,most importantly, spiritually.

New Hope LutheranChurch

Minnehaha SpringsWorship • 8:45 a.m.

WE SALUTE OUR STAFF OFPHYSICIANS AND ASSISTANTS ON

DOCTORS’ DAY, MARCH 30:

Drs. Bill and Pat BrowningColleen Roshau, PA

Terry McLaughlin, PAand their support staff for providing

quality care for their patients inPocahontas and Greenbrier counties.

Northern Greenbrier Health Clinic, Inc.


Route 9 - Sinking Creek RoadWilliamsburg, WV 24991

304-645-7872, Ext. 10


Browning Family PracticeRoute 219 North

Hillsboro, WV 24946304-653-4209

From my professional contact at First Citizens InvestorServices come the following recommendations. Recom-mendations that he says are “simple, but often overlooked orneglected.”

Review your investments.Review insurance coverage which protects your assets,

coverage for long-term care, and life insurance coordinatedwith your estate plan.

Update your will as needed. Review your beneficiaries.For those who own businesses, it is recommended that

you plan to whom you will transfer ownership and man-agement of your company. And, in addition, evaluate the taximplications and clearly communicate your plans in writ-ing.

Have you designated a Power of Attorney, and made surethat person understands the responsibilities that they willhave? And does your POA comply with current legal re-quirements?

Do you have a Medical Power of Attorney, and does thatperson fully understand your wishes?

Do you have a plan for financial gifts to family membersand have you considered the tax implications?

Have you named your primary and secondary executor ortrustee?

So, there you have it, some tips for Financial Wellness,from beginning to end.

The best advice is to be responsible. But calculating andplanning only for yourself could “strangle George Wash-ington” and cause you to miss an opportunity to help some-one else.

Financial, from page 2B

www.pocahontastimes.com

Frank Puckett, MD

Heart disease is the number onekiller in America today. Ac-cording to West Virginia De-

partment of Vital Statistics heartdisease accounts for greater than 40%of all mortalities in PocahontasCounty. We can’t change the fact thatour risk for heart disease increaseswith age. It is also common knowl-edge that men have a greater risk ofheart attack at a younger age thanwomen, but a woman's risk increasesafter menopause. Heart disease alsotends to be more prevalent in families.If your parents or siblings had a heartattack before age 55 (men) or 65(women) then you are at an increasedrisk. Certain lifestyles or risk factorsare modifiable to help protect us fromdeveloping cardiac disease and theyare as follows:

Smoking

Smoking is the number one factorthat can be modified to prevent the de-velopment of heart disease. Tobaccousers are four times more likely to de-velop cardiac disease than nonsmok-ers. Smokers who have a heart attackare more likely to die, and die sud-denly. Nicotine causes the arteries toconstrict or become smaller, reducingthe flow of blood to the heart muscle.Smoking triggers the release of pow-erful hormones that can cause spasmsin the coronary and other arteries. Italso allows fats and cholesterol to bedeposited much more quickly in theartery wall. Nicotine causes theplatelets or clotting elements in theblood to become sticky and increasesthe likelihood of a blood clot. Thehardest thing you may ever do is toquit smoking, but the health benefitsare well worth it.

High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure

High blood pressure and/or highcholesterol increase the risk of devel-oping cardiac disease. High bloodpressure increases the heart’s work-load. Untreated, high blood pressurewill lead to heart disease, stroke andkidney disease. Additionally, as bloodcholesterol increases so does the riskof cardiac disease. Everyone needs toknow the numbers to strive for:

• Total Cholesterol below 200 mg/dl• HDL above 40 mg/dl• LDL below 100 mg/dl• Triglycerides below 150 mg/dl• A normal blood pressure reading is

120/80A healthy diet low in fat and salt

will help to maintain healthy choles-terol levels and blood pressure. Limit-ing caffeine intake and alcohol inmoderation are also important, as wellas maintaining a normal body weight.Sometimes the use of medication isnecessary to modify these risk factors.

Diabetes and Stress

The development of Diabetes in-creases your risk of developing heartdisease. It is vital that you manageyour blood sugar to minimize the riskof disease progression. If your fastingblood sugar is greater than 110 youshould seek advice from your health-care provider to help manage and con-trol your diabetes. Response to stressmay also be a contributing factor forheart disease. When you encounterstress, your body prepares itself for“fight or flight” by releasing hormonesthat cause the heart to beat faster,blood pressure to rise, blood vesselsand stomach muscles to contract.Over time this can be harmful to yourheart, especially if you respond withanger or hostility.

Inactivity and Obesity

Inactivity can lead to being over-weight and both lead to an increasedrisk of developing heart disease. Peo-ple who gain weight around their mid-section are at higher risk for heartdisease. Extra weight causes the heartto work harder. It can also raise bloodpressure and cholesterol. Regular ex-ercise can help improve the way youlook, feel and work. People who ex-ercise regularly have more energy,cope with stress more easily, feel lesstired and burn extra calories whichhelps them to lose weight. Be sure tocheck with your doctor before begin-ning any exercise program.

Alcohol Consumption

The risk of heart disease for peoplewho drink moderate amounts of alco-hol is lower than nondrinkers. Womenshould limit alcohol to one drink a day,and men should limit to two a day.One drink is defined as 1 ½ ounces of80-proof spirits, 1 ounce of 100-proofspirits, 4 ounces of wine or 12 ouncesof beer. Drinking too much alcoholcan raise blood pressure, cause heartfailure and contribute to high triglyc-erides. It is not recommended thatnon-drinkers start using alcohol or thatdrinkers increase the amount theydrink.

In Conclusion

Although heart disease is a majorcontributor to mortality in Americaand Pocahontas County, there aremany things that we have an opportu-nity to change.

Diligently striving for a healthylifestyle and working with your pri-mary healthcare provider will help tominimize the modifiable risk factorsassociated with heart disease.

Heart Disease: A major contributor to mortality

Aworld full of per-sonal computers,hand-held video

games, smartphones and e-readers is increasing the riskof eye-related problems inmany Americans.

This isn’t surprising, aschildren and teenagers arenow spending 7.5 hours aday consuming electronicmedia, according to a studyby the Kaiser Family Foun-dation.

Computer vision syn-drome, or digital eye strain,is an increasingly commonmedical ailment and can af-fect learning and work pro-ductivity. It is now thenumber one computer-re-lated complaint in the UnitedStates -- ahead of carpal-tun-nel syndrome.

“The eyes function bestwhen looking at somethingabout 20 feet away. Lookingat something close-up, like acomputer game, text mes-sage or e-reader requiresmore focus, and over time,can lead to blurry vision, eyestrain and headaches,” ex-plains Dr. Leanne Liddicoat,a VSP optometrist in Califor-nia.

And VSP Vision Care, thelargest not-for-profit eyecarebenefits providers in theUnited States, recently re-ported that nearly one-third

of VSP patients suffer fromsymptoms of computer vi-sion syndrome.

However, there are easysteps parents and childrencan take to prevent thesesymptoms:

• Get the right lighting.Keep bright lighting over-head to a minimum. Positionyour computer screen in away that reduces reflectionsand glare from windows oroverhead lights.

• Stay back. The closer theeyes are to an object they’relooking at, the harder theyhave to work. A good rule isto apply the Harmon Dis-tance (the distance betweenthe elbow and first knuckle)when viewing anything onscreen. If you or your chil-dren are holding digital de-vices closer than a HarmonDistance on a consistentbasis, consult your eyecareprovider.

• Apply the 20/20/20 rule.To avoid fatigue and digitaleye strain symptoms, eyedoctors recommend stoppingevery 20 minutes to look atsomething 20 feet away forat least 20 seconds. Also, re-member to blink frequently.

• Monitor usage. Set timelimits on the amount of“screen time” you and yourchildren will have each day.For children over 2 years,limit screen time to less than

two hours per day when pos-sible. If older children needto use the computer and e-readers for homework, makesure they first give their eyesa rest after school by playingoutside or engaging in othernon-digital activities. Chil-dren under 2 years shouldhave no screen time.

• Get checked. It's impor-tant you have the best visionpossible when using digitaldevices. This starts with acomprehensive examinationby an eye doctor, who mayprescribe corrective lenses orglasses specially designedfor digital screens. To find aneyecare specialist near you,or to learn more about com-bating computer vision syn-drome, visit www.vsp.com

As our reliance on digitaldevices increases, we mustbe mindful of our usage andtake steps to relax and re-fresh our eyes to reduce eyestrain.


www.pocahontastimes.com

GVMC.com

Throughout the year, physicians touch the lives of so many of our friends and families

it seems like a single day of thanks really isn’t enough to do their work justice. But then

again, what could repay them for the lives they’ve improved, the fears they’ve alleviated,

the pain they’ve eased and the care they’ve offered? For all they have done and all they will

do in the days ahead, thank a physician on Doctors’ Day, March 30. We will, too.

For the other 364 days in the year, thank a Doctor

on March 30.

Greenbrier Valley Medical Center is directly or indirectly owned by a partnership that proudly includes physician owners, including certain members of the hospital’s medical staff.

See us for the bestvalues in qualityhome healthcaresupplies. We havethe inventory andexpertise to helpyou maintain yourindependentlifestyle.

•Oxygen Therapy

•Mobility Aids

•Bathroom Aids

•CPap/BiPap Aids

•Lift Chairs

•Incontinence Products

•Hospital Beds

105 Duncan Road, Marlinton Between Pocahontas Pharmacy and Mountain Hospice

304-799-6765

H o m e M e d i c a lBringing affordable healthcare home.

Serving West Virginia and Ohio since 1990

SUPPLIES FORINDEPENDENCE

ARE YOU READY TO QUIT?Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in America.It is a complicated addiction, and many tobacco users would like toquit but feel they cannot. Are you one of them? You are invited toattend a free workshop to aid tobacco users on strategies to quit.

You CAN quit! Let us help! Call Karen Larson at 304-799-6112 to

register for this free three-hour KP Workshop.

A comprehensive community behavioral health center serving

consumers for more than 35 years. Offering services in Monongalia, Marion,Taylor, Preston and Pocahontas counties.

We are pleased to have been a member of thePocahontas community for the past five years.

We would like to recognize our dedicated staffwho works daily to advance our consumer’s well-ness. We look forward to continuing our efforts topromote behavioral health throughout West Vir-ginia. To learn more about Valley HealthCare Sys-tem please visit us at www.valleyhealthcare.org.

IIf you experience difficultyhearing, now is the time to stopin for a free hearing screening

by the experts. There’s nocharge or obligation, and you’llbe amazed by how comfortable,

effective and discreet today’sdigital hearing aids can be!

Don’t Miss Out on the Sounds of Spring.

To schedule an appointment for your free

hearing screening, please call today.

Walk-ins welcome.

Located in Pocahontas FoodlandOpen Tuesday and Thursday • 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

304-799-2222 • 1-877-322-2474

Is modern technologyhurting your eyes? You may not realize it, but you can take

steps to keep your brain fit and flexible asyou age. In fact, some experts now say thatthrough proper diet and routine mentalhealth exercises, you even can delay theonset of Alzheimer’s disease long enough toavoid experiencing the symptoms.

“The sooner you start to protect yourbrain against Alzheimer’s, the sooner youwill notice improvement -- not only in re-call and mental focus, but also in energylevel, mood, general health, and sense ofwell-being,” says Dr. Gary Small, M.D.,Professor at UCLA, and author of the newbook “The Alzheimer’s Prevention Pro-gram” (Workman Publishers).

Small offers these stay-sharp tips to helpyou get started:

• Eat brain food : Stock up on food filledwith antioxidants like berries, avocados, andraw vegetables; omega-3 rich, anti-inflam-matory food choices, like fish, whole grains,and legumes; and memory-boosting spiceslike turmeric and cumin. Alcohol in moder-ation can be beneficial too, so don’t shyaway from a glass of wine or beer at dinner.

• Train your brain: You can cross-trainyour brain, by jumping from right-brain toleft-brain workouts. “The Alzheimer’s Pre-vention Program,” offers great daily mentalworkouts that combine wordplay, letterscrambles, 3-D drawings, tricky equations,logic challenges, and number sequences.

For more information, visit www.drgarysmall.com

• Be flexible: Try simple tasks like writingand eating with your non-dominant hand.By engaging neural circuits in ways that aredifferent from their usual patterns, you willprovide your brain a good mental stretch.

• Make discoveries: Like any muscleyou’d work out at the gym, your brain needsvariety and stimulation to stay in shape.Find new challenging mental activities thatyou also enjoy, so that engaging your brainis never a chore. For example, explore agenre of music you haven’t before, or takeup a new thought-provoking hobby.

• Get Moving: Hopefully you are alreadyexercising for optimum physical health. Ifyou aren’t, consider this: physical activityincreases blood flow, oxygenating the brain.So turn off that mindless television programand take a brisk walk!

• Reduce your stress: Practice yoga, med-itate; take a vacation or even just a bubblebath.

“Stress can temporarily impair one’slearning and recall,” says Small. “By takingaway sources of stress, or reacting to stressdifferently, you can improve your memory.”

Alzheimer’s is already affecting five mil-lion people in the U.S. alone. But a memorylapse today doesn’t need to become a big-ger problem tomorrow. Take charge andhelp sharpen your memory now.

Tips to prevent memory loss as you age

Health and Wellness Supplement

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