I hope that you have a warm, safe, and joyous holiday. This week is the last time we will officially see each other until next year (that joke never gets old for me; not since second grade when I first heard it!).
Be sure to get out and enjoy the beautiful lights on these cold evenings like our Conversation class did on Wednesday evening. Take at drive to 4830 Greenspire Drive, Carmel and tune your radio to 90.7 and watch the light show! Check out the Japanese park, the gazebo and the fountain at Carmel's City Hall, One Civic Square, Carmel. There are many other beautiful places to see the Christmas lights. I hope that you take a drive and see the show!
Medical Professional Week:
A very big thanks to all the medical professionals that met with us to talk about health care in the United States and other countries. Dr Heather Schumman (family practice), Dr. Motoko Kataoka (dentistry/endodontist), Dr. Gonz Chua (general medicine and more!), Masami Yamamoto (pharmacist), Dr. Felicia (Fang Ling) Chang (opthamologist), Alan Wang (surgical), Joette Morris (OB GYN neonatal).Carla van Eyk (public health), and Melanie Guzzi (nurse who developed our handouts).
Top advice:
- Write down your questions; write down the answers to your questions.
- Present your written questions to the healthcare provider; you can even give them to the nurse during the prescreening so the doctor can see them before seeing you.
- Interpreters are available by phone at most medical facilities. You can request the doctor to call one and you can use the translator via phone conversation to help you.
- Talking to your healthcare providers is intimidating no matter what your language (even if it is English).
- Take a friend to help you with asking questions and listening to answers.
- Expired medicines should be disposed of even if it hasn't been opened; the chemicals change and are not effective and can be dangerous.
- Cranberry juice is great for urinary symptoms; you will still need antibiotics.
- Antibiotics must be taken the way they are directed. Take the full amount for the full time.
- If you forget to take a dose of medicine, take it as soon as you remember. If it is close to the next dose, then wait and take it then to stay on schedule.
- Common over the counter drugs with their product and ingredient name: Advil=ibuprofen; Tylenol=acetaminophen; Mucinex and Robitussin=guaifenesin. Choose drugs with only one ingredient. Check prescription medicines and do not overdose with over the counter medicines. Check over the counter medicines to make sure you aren't overdosing.
We enjoyed our holiday party at my house. It was so nice to get together and sing traditional Christmas carols and exchange white elephant gifts. If we didn't win a good elephant, we have our white elephant for next year!
We read the story of Jesus' birth (Luke 2:1-21, and Matthew 2: 1-12) that includes the figures in the nativity. We talked about the meaning of this story for all of us and for each of us at International Bible Study on December 16. While this was the first time for a few of us to hear and read this story, we found that the story is new to us every time we read it. After a year of living, we find that our lives are renewed by the astonishing story of a God who loves this world to come as a tiny baby to be familiar to us and to love us so that we can living relationship with Him. We are the reason for this amazing story.
We will resume classes and meetings the first full week in January beginning with our International Friends Meetings on January 6, 2015 with Bible Study at 9:00. Masami will bring her Mochi Maker and we will enjoy fresh Mochi and talk about our holiday experiences beginning at 10:30.
I hope that you have peace and joy this holiday and look forward to seeing you again next year.
Carolyn
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