My Health Adventure
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The Grapes of Wrath
What book are you reading right now? For man, unlike any other thing organic or inorganic in the universe, grows beyond his work, walks up the stairs of his concepts, emerges ahead of his accomplishments. I just finished the classic John Steinbeck novel, The Grapes of Wrath, that so effectively transports you back to the…
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Great Sand Dunes
Last June, during a nice break in between jobs, I traveled to Colorado to check out the national park scene. After some deliberation, I decided a few weeks ahead of time to travel south from Denver and visit the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Honestly, I didn’t know much about it. This was going to…
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Knee pain and arthritis
Contrary to popular belief and even my own clinical assumptions for many years, weight training and regular exercise actually reduce your odds of having pain in the joints in a dose dependant way. For years, I thought that runners would obviously have more osteoarthritis and knee pain then non-runners. NOT TRUE!! When I was 40-44…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
Myhealthadventure 