My Health Adventure
-
Walking the dog…
Late fall brings early sunsets. Adding the loss of daylight savings time, and suddenly, at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, darkness begins to descend. So this Friday, as soon as my workday ended, I headed out the door with the dog and leash, and went straight to the park. I used an extendable leash that…
-
Mount Walker
One of my favorite go-to hikes is a roughly 5 mile jaunt round trip up a small mountain on the Olympic Peninsula. It’s a moderately challenging climb, rising 2000 feet in just two miles. On top there are two vistas with very different views: the north side gives a nice view up into the East…
-
A glorious morning…
There is nothing like a crisp fall morning in the Pacific Northwest… the temperature is low but not overwhelming. It’s 38 degrees and the sky is blue. The bay is a dark morning blue with hints of gray and green. The distant forest on the far shore is a blur of color that is slowly…
-
My happy place
There is a hike in Mt Rainier National Park that makes me feel alive. The first time I hiked on this trail was as a sophomore in high school. I was in scouts and this was part of our first weeklong backpacking adventures. I loved it! Since then, I have traveled this fairly simple hike…
-
Just get the colonoscopy
During a typical yearly physical and preventative health exam, we discuss lots of topics in the clinic, and one of the main ones is the dreaded colonoscopy. We discuss this because the goal is to prevent colorectal cancer, one of the cancers that is a significant risk to everyone over 45. Colorectal cancer is a…
-
Rain
Is rain a good excuse not to be healthy and not do my activity? Living in the Pacific Northwest, this hurdle comes up very often in conversation with patients about whether or not they can pursue healthy lifestyle habits. So is it a question of comfort? Is it a question of dedication? Maybe both or…
-
Metabolic Syndrome
For years, the diagnosis of diabetes in the primary care setting has been such a scary topic. People hear about it on the news and scary images of folks who are giving them selves insulin injections, taking large numbers of expensive drugs, and coping with other health problems come to mind. Usually in the exam…
-
Spin bike – Key to my home gym
Exercise is a challenging habit. I’ve gone through multiple phases over the decades, and have found myself settled into a home exercise pattern now that I think I can manage for the long haul. Overall, I really like to exercise, but during COVID lockdown, the gym was just a bummer. The masks, the dirty equipment,…
-
Time off… Taking a new direction in life
Free time in nature Last June, I left my job and took a month off to reflect, relax and spend time in nature. This was a major deal for me. I had been working or going to school for decades with no real break beyond recovery vacations. My wife and I decided that this would…
Myhealthadventure 