Mark E. Lampkin

It Ain’t About You…

It has been one week since my latest PSA test and Digital rectal examination showed no further growth of my prostate…and I am still excited about those findings. Since then I have had discussions with a few friends, with the intent to uncover their thoughts and concerns about their health issues; and particularly where it relates to men.

There were a few women who shared with me that their father’s had died at an early age, and thus had wished for a longer time to have spent with there Dads. I believe both of their father’s succumbed to heart failure brought about by diabetes. As I sit and think about my time spent last summer with my grand and great-grand daughters, it became crystal clear that my taking care of myself was important to me…but it really mattered even more when I looked into the eyes of the youngest bloodline that I have created.

And so I ask you men, and women, to consider how you might think of a world that your grand children would live in…without you. That’s right. You are nothing more than the picture in a frame on the fireplace mantle. Stories are told about you and who you were, and always end with a sad refrain, “he/she died so young.” Those of us on the north side of 50 realize how young 60 is looking every day. It is all in our perspective.

On my social media pages I am listing my morning breakfast menus…showing a balance of protein, fruits, juices and sometime a little meat to keep my inner dinosaur happy. Having recently received my cholesterol reading I know that I am doing the right things with regards to my food intake. Again, it ain’t about me…

You see, I am thinking years ahead to my granddaughter graduating from her schooling…my great granddaughter getting her high school diploma…even my youngest daughter getting married. I want to be walking upright and of my own volition…not being pushed around in a wheelchair or worse, not being alive to witness these special occasions.

So, do me a favor and spread the word. We are going to begin the second half of 2011 by making a true commitment to a healthier lifestyle. We will walk more. Eat more fruits. Drink more water. Eat less red meat. And show gratitude for another day of life.

And for those of you who are still not sure if this works…keep my mantra from today in your mind and spirit…”It Ain’t About You.” This is for those future generations who will be doting on you when you are the patriarch/matriarch of the family and telling the stories of how life used to be…in 2011.

Peace.

Caregiving is never Easy…

As we are at the end of May, and in the middle of moments when we have celebrated Mother’s Day and in a few weeks will honor our Father’s, I came across an article that reminded me of the challenges our family faced a few years ago when our parent’s needed care. Take a read and let me know your thoughts

Please click here for the article:

What will it Take…?

To agree to eat two pieces of fruit each day.

To match each other and drink 4 glasses of water daily.

To insuring our walking partner will not succeed in quitting.

To give away those old, big clothes.

To parking the car and taking mass transit one day each week.

To commit to reading a new book each month.

To agree to spend money with a local business instead of a Big Box business.

If you and I will agree to this, we can make a difference. Every day. In a society where we are bombarded with what is wrong, what the problems are, and the belief that there is little chance for change…we will prove just the opposite is true.

We can have better health. We will lose weight and lower blood pressure. We can help local businesses succeed against the Big Corporations.

What will it take for YOU to make a difference in your life and those who are watching YOU?

Check out this article and consider another way to live.

Peace.

Running out of gas…

Tonight I had the opportunity to officiate three men’s recreational league basketball games. That means that the players are grown men usually between the ages of 18-50. Yes, I actually believe there was another 50 year old, besides me, running up and down the court. A few times I had a funny flashback to 1991, when I played my last rec league games.

The men I played with 20 years ago were, like me, ex jocks who usually played one to two times per week. And thus we thought we were doing pretty well for guys our age. Tonight, I got a glimpse at what it really looks like when your body is not doing what your mind is yelling to do. Granted, the men today are a bit bigger in height and weight than my contemporaries’…thanks in part to their eating habits and a preponderance to play more games on video than real ones. I think that I am actually in better shape than many of those men who are at least 15 years my junior. Their energy gas tank was just about empty…

As I also reflect as we approach the end of the first quarter of 2011, I wonder how much is left in the proverbial gas tank of the American working citizens…

How can we continue to allow the oil companies to push through the ceiling of our budgets, gasoline prices that have now spilled over $4.00 per gallon? I daily hear friends and colleagues share horror stories about the cost to fill up their automobiles. One even said it took one hundred dollars to accomplish that…for his BMW. Are you kidding me?

Fortunately, in a basketball game there are bench personnel who can substitute for those players on the floor who have “run out of gas.” What is the plan to provide substitute relief for the American people? If it is true that Exxon/Mobil made more than $10 Billion dollars in 2010, and yet paid no federal taxes…what is their motivation to make less money? Somehow I feel another Enron or Wall Street implosion looming on the horizon.

Unfortunately, we do not have the luxury of taking time between quarters, like in a basketball game, in order to strategize our plan for the second quarter. But yet, we must do something to get the attention of those who would call themselves our leaders. Maybe it is time to take to the streets…walking, biking, carpooling, and riding mass transit. Whatever it takes to get the powers-that-be to take notice of our collective pain. Otherwise, just like those players I saw tonight, we will all be left with the dreams of what used to be…and nothing left to finish the game we truly love to play. The Game of Life.

Peace.

Checking the YES Box…

The other day I went to a new massage therapy professional. His session was a gift to me from a friend/colleague. When I called the office to get the correct address I was told to come a few minutes before my appointment time in order to complete a new client questionnaire. No problem. A piece of cake. Just like the good old days….Right?

Now you know the way this goes…a litany of questions with yes and no as the options. Do I have any history of heart disease, high blood pressure, back injury, arthritis, etc. And that is when it began to unfold…Sitting in that chair with the form on the clipboard, halfway through the questions. I have answered YES to more of the questions than ever before in my life.

Granted, I am blessed with reasonably good health. I even like to boast that I have never spent a night in a hospital since I left it 56 years ago…but here I am now looking at a form that I used to check the no boxes without thinking. And here I have to admit to myself that YES, this now applies to me.

What do we do with that? How does it make us feel when we now have a chronic illness? A disease that will alter how we approach each new day. The most that I do is take ibuprofen to muffle the pain that Uncle Arthur is wreaking in my fingers and toes…

Will you join me in the journey as we gracefully grow older together? Let’s take heed to our bodies each day…eating 2-3 helpings of fruit, drinking 4-6 glasses of water and moving. And no, going to the bathroom is not considered effective healthy movement. Go for a walk. Dance to the music in your iPod. Heck, play a Wii fit game with your grandkids and break a sweat. Do something that will raise your heart rate above “just enough to survive.”

So that the next time you are in that office and completing the new patient form, your no’s will once again outnumber your yeses…

Peace.

About losing 6 pounds each month?

About saving $300.00 each month?

About cutting your cholesterol by 20 points?

About starting that home-based business?

About giving those clothes away to a charity?

About forgiving your parents. Children. Spouse. Self?

This is just a short list of things I have heard from my friends and family as we begin the descent into 2011. Too many of us have allowed the days, weeks and months to pass without achieving any real progress in the areas of our lives that we determined needed attention in 2010.

Why not start right now, today, and make a short list of the people and things you wish to impact over the next 7 weeks. Ask a friend to be an accountability partner to you, so that it is public knowledge; they can support and encourage you to create the new habits.

Let’s roll into 2011 with real momentum.

I know you can do this….

Peace.

As the weather begins to change and we prepare for the cooler temperatures of Autumn, it is time to consider ways to remain healthy without receiving a flu shot….ouch!
One of the concerns I have with the new Health care reform is what are the educational efforts being put forth by health care professionals which offer alternatives to promoting pharmaceutical drugs.

I came across an article that shares ethnic foods, and their preparations, which are naturally effective at maintaining healthy immune systems. Click here to read the article:

Instead of living to eat, let’s eat to live. Peace.

Now that health care reform is a federal mandate, it is important that U.S. citizens take advantage of screenings that can detect problems before they become emergency room situations. In the recent AARP Bulletin, I saw an article that highlights an awareness campaign between AARP and radio personality Tom Joyner.

Check the information here…and take action.

Peace.

We Can’t Weight Any Longer…

As one who has never had a weight issue, other than trying to gain a few pounds so as to fill out the back of my pants, I am still quite concerned and empathetic with those who struggle mightily in the other direction. The article I saw here is another alarm that is blaring loudly to our citizenry. Many of us have at least one family member who is affected by the issues of obesity, heart disease and diabetes. They are a trio that is taking people to the grave much too early in life. Read this and share it where applicable…