From Mary Cameron Birgerson

Thursday December 3, 2003

Dear Classmates,

Dave Chamberlin asked me to write to you for a piece on the BHS web site. I asked my husband Alex what I should write about. He said, "Grandmothering? The Lord? Your health?" I laughed at the latter because it is notoriously uninteresting to hear some one go on and on about their health problems, but it did plant an idea. (Dave probably intended for me to say "Hi", but there's something of a teacher in me that rises up when there's an opportunity to address a group and I like to share something that I have learned which is worth passing along.)

Dave told me of his heart attack and open heart surgery and his subsequent lifestyle changes. I had my answer of what to write about. That word that wasn't a word until a few years ago came to mind -- proactive. My topic is "Being Proactive About Your Health."

Earlier in the year, Betsy sent me a list of our classmates who have already died. It seemed like a high percentage and I was saddened at the loss of those individuals. It isn't totally in our hands to take control of our health picture and extend our life, but there is so much that we can do, more than ever has been possible before, to help ourselves. I think of my husband's father who died of his third heart attack at age 54. That was in l96l. He was a respected MD, the town doctor of Granville, Illinois, where he did everything for everyone -- OB, medical and surgical. Yet, he didn't know that smoking and daily eating potatoes fried in bacon fat were harmful to his heart. It was just coming to light then.

Today we have little excuse. There are excellent magazines like Remedy and Prevention that teach us how to maintain the health we have. There are web sites from respected medical centers readily available. Most every ladies' magazine has an informative section on new discoveries in the health field. We are constantly being educated. It is not always fun to keep up with all the examinations which we should have done on a regular basis. Annual G-Y-N or PSA tests, colonoscopy, SBE, bone density, and the list goes on. One cannot say that these are not available to us though. Wise caretakers of their bodies will have this as part of their disciplines. It's time that we are not governed by what's fun or even convenient, but what is wise. It is smart to find health problems in the very earliest stages so that treatment is more assured of success. And it's always a wonderful thing to hear that your results were normal.

I've lost 30 pounds since that picture of me was taken. Dave has lost 60 since his experience. Weight control is not yet an area of victory in my life, but it's at least going in the right direction. In both of our cases, the weight loss is a real benefit to our well-being. One area where I have really changed my attitude is concerning herbals and vitamins. In nursing school, we were taught that you derive vitamins from a nutritious diet and a mind set was built into me that took a dim view to taking additional vitamins.

You can write to Mary at dukemary@aol.com and we bet she will respond with an email in a beautiful font indicative of her love of calligraphy -- she says she loves to email!