By JOSEPH DeMASI

Autumn is definitely my favorite time of the year. I love to watch the leaves change color and then fall to the ground.
The slight hint of a crisp snowfall in the air is so refreshing and a welcome break from the summer heat. Baseball gives us the playoffs and World Series and the football season is in full swing. And of course the best holidays I think are in the fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving. I love thanksgiving because it is like Christmas but without all the hassle and stress. What more could you ask for than getting together with family and friends, sharing a wonderful meal and appreciating all the wonderful things in our lives?
 I have always loved to sing from the time I was a child and fortunately for me people found the sound that came out of my mouth appealing. I remember one of my friends in high school who also loved to sing and wanted to pursue musical theatre as a career but unfortunately she wasn’t blessed with a good voice. She took singing lessons which will help your technique but will not give you a beautiful voice. I have no idea why I was born with the talents I have but I am certainly grateful for them.
I remember doing a gig at a senior center many years ago. While I was setting up one of the residents came up to me and said his name was Joe, just like mine. He said he used to be a musician and asked if he could come up and sing a song. I said yes and halfway through my show I brought him up to sing. Unfortunately, he was awful. The other residents were yelling things like, “Sit down, you old geezer. You can’t sing. Let the young guy sing. He’s good.”
I felt sorry for old Joe but I also realized that one day that is going to be me. One day when I open my mouth, people will no longer like what comes out and my talent that was given to me at birth will be gone. I’ll be like old Joe, the guy who used to be a singer but who no one wants to hear anymore.
That is why I treasure and appreciate every moment I have on stage because I know that it won’t last forever. It used to bother me a bit when my friends would invite me to a party and always remind me to bring my guitar. I felt like I was only being invited to provide free music.
But one day I realized how selfish and self centered that attitude was. Would I rather that people not ask me to sing? My talent is a gift. Yes, I work hard to develop it, but you can’t develop what isn’t there. So I am now always happy to share my gift because truth be told, it doesn’t only belong to me.
And that is what I would remind you today and everyday. Appreciate all that you have. Each and everyone of us is special and unique. We all have something of value to contribute to our society. I like to remember to be grateful for all that I have as well as grateful for all the things I didn’t get that I didn’t want! Sure there are things I would have liked to happen in my life that didn’t but there are way more things that I wouldn’t want to happen to me and haven’t.
I also like to remember that Michael Jordan, a man who was blessed with the talent to become one of the greatest basketball players ever to play the game would have preferred to play professional baseball but he couldn’t hit a curve ball. I would secretly love to do stand up comedy but I can’t remember jokes like I can song lyrics.
And that is what life is really all about, valuing and appreciating all of the blessing we do have in our lives. I know that there will always be people who play better than me, who sing better than me and who have better gigs than me. That is out of my control.
What is in my control is how I choose to react and respond to who I am, what I have and what I do. So this Thanksgiving don’t forget to smile, don’t forget to laugh and don’t forget to choose to see the glass as half full.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and until next time, I’ll see you from the stage!

By Marla DeLorme
RN Diabetes Educator

November is National Diabetes month.
Over 9 percent of the U.S. population has diabetes, with almost 3 percent being undiagnosed. We now have many tools to help people who have diabetes better understand how to control their blood sugars, and continuous glucose monitoring (CGMS) is one of those tools.
CGMS consists of placing a tiny sensor just under the skin on the hip or abdomen. This insertion is quick with minimal to no discomfort.  
Glucose measurements are automatically collected every five minutes by the sensor while you work, play and sleep and stored in a portable discreet monitor worn like a pager. The individual enters their blood glucose readings into the monitor, four times a day to coincide with the finger sticks suggested by their provider (before each meal and at bedtime), along with entering daily events like meals, medications and exercise.  In addition, a daily log sheet is kept of these same events.  
While the sensor is inserted you will not be able to disconnect it, swim or use a hot tub, soak in a bath or perform any activities that would cause excessive sweating.  A special waterproof bag is supplied so the wearer may shower.
CGMS provides an overall picture of what is happening with the individual’s 24-hour blood glucose patterns. CGMS can reveal low and high glucose trends not tracked by finger sticks alone.  It can provide answers to questions like: Am I going low at night? How did that pizza affect my blood glucose? How often do I experience undetected highs and lows?  
Knowledge obtained from the CGMS can help to reduce A1c levels (A1c is a blood test which provides a two to three month average of an individual’s blood glucose), which reduce the risk of serious complications like eye, kidney, nerve and heart disease leading to a longer healthier life.
Individuals must meet one or more of the following criteria to be considered for placement of a CGMS:
1.Glycohemoglobin (HgbA1c) values less than four or greater than nine despite treatment.
2. Unexplained large fluctuations in daily pre-meal glucose values.
3. Unexplained frequent hypoglycemic episodes.
4. Episodes of ketoacidosis or hospitalizations for glucose out of control.
5. Diabetic and are newly pregnant or about to conceive.
6. Initiation of an insulin pump regimen.  
After three days, testing is complete and the sensor removed. The monitor will be attached to a computer and the data downloaded to generate a personalized report for provider review.  This consists of graphs showing details of the individual’s day to day diabetes management and lifestyle.
This data may identify periods when blood glucose levels are high or low, or issues with medication, diet, or exercise. This contributes to better understanding of how blood glucose levels continuously change and about specific glycemic patterns.  
The use of CGMS gives useful insights to help the individual and their health care provider fine tune the diabetes treatment plan to achieve the goal of better glycemic control.
The YOUR HEALTH column is coordinated by Mercy Hospital.

By Jodie Rae Ingstad 

“Doe, a deer, a female deer,” sing it with me now! “Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do!”
I thought I’d begin this column by getting you to sing.  Everyone knows that song.  I almost had to re-write it today. “Doe, a deer, a very dead deer.”
I am an enigma. That’s been established and proven. So much so that it’s not worth mentioning because it’s such old news.  
I need to mention it again to tell you how my morning went. I’m an enigma because I support the SPCA and yet I wear fur. You’re thinking I’m using the wrong word. Well stop thinking. I’m both words- an enigma and a hypocrite.  
I am an enigma in more ways than one. Though I’d hate for a gun to get into the hands of an evil person, I, and that husband of mine, own a few. Probably don’t know how to shoot them but we do own a few, by gosh. If the occasion or circumstance ever arose where I had to shoot the gun, I would shoot to defend all that was necessary to defend. I’d do it with vigor and I’d do it without second guessing myself.
I didn’t second guess myself when I woke up this morning. Every morning begins the same.  I wake up, I say, “Good Morning Jesus,” and wallow out to the kitchen. Winter throws a little wrench in my routine because prior to my wallow to the kitchen I have to let my two dogs out.
Nothing was different about this morning. I opened the front door and let the smaller dog out. She runs free because she is very obedient and smart. Our Siberian husky on the other hand is a bit of a challenge. It’s not his fault he always wants to run. It’s part of his breed.
I attached the 20 foot cable leash that is tethered to the deck and went in to make myself some coffee. Just minutes later I went to bring the dogs back in. I was in horror to find both dogs missing and the cable leash snapped in half.  
I did what any frantic mother would do. I put on my raccoon hat to hide my peculiar morning hair do. I had no coffee, and worse than that, no lipstick on. I hopped in my Jeep stopping every vehicle I saw. I pleaded with every hunter driving the prairie to not shoot my dog.  I warned them all that the dog looks so much like a wolf.
One hunter had seen my dogs.  “I thought your husky was a coyote,” the hunter reported. Lucky for the dog I have him wearing a pink collar. He also said the dog ran south. So, that is where I drove. For 3 hours I traveled the back roads of Stewart Township praying.
I was driving up a hill when what seemed like an audible voice spoke to me. “Turn off the Jeep,” it said. So, out in the middle of nowhere I stopped the Jeep. Just then I heard my husky barking. I found him in a tree claim head to head with a doe.
It was a ballet of wildlife happening right before me. The doe lunged towards the husky and the husky paralleled every movement. I walked within two feet of the whole affair with neither animal budging.
This is where it gets ugly. No, I didn’t use a gun but yes the dog is grounded.
“Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do.” I love to listen to music and especially that song but can anyone explain to me where the voice came from that I heard telling me to “Turn off the Jeep?” Had I not have turned the Jeep off the dog or the doe could have been dead. I’m surprised the hunters lived after seeing me in my pajamas, no makeup and a raccoon hat.