Health & Wellness
althbeat
Burlington man
rs Josh Cranfill has been named the]
MDA's 2(K)X Robert Ross Personal |
t Award for North Carolina.
, 24, was selected for the honor because of
and professional accomplishments,
involvement and his commitment to
in 1992, the national awards program
me accom
fandcommuni
of people with
i caused by any
es in MDA's
The awards
I in honor of
Ross, MDA's
t chief executive,
I in June 2006.
1 2007. Cranfill
with honors
>n University,
a degree in
ts manage
an intern
ence at Elon,
vice president
h Carolina Electric Wheelchair Hockey
i (NCEWHA), in which he h#d paiticipat
I member of the Carolina Fury team. Cranfiil
state advocating for disability sports and
t of people with disabilities.
! past nine years. Cranfiil also has served as
and assistant coach to Elon's Western
High School varsity football team. He
ional speeches, focusing on playing
id passion, and was recognized for his
with the November 2007 WFMY News
! Who Care" Award.
i one,. Cranfiil received a diagnosis of spinal
atrophy, a progressive disease that causes
t in muscles closest to the center of the body,
Jose of the shoulders, hips, thighs and upper
has used a power wheelchair for mobility
i was 2 years old.
national honoree will be announced on the
MDA Telethon on Labor Day weekend,
. 31 - Sept. 1.
Josh Cranfitt
pushes for better
?e for veterans
Senator Richard Burr recently introduced
t would provide veterans with access to
uce. The bill would allow the
of Veterans' Affairs (VA) to
for all veterans, surviving
dependent children who are
i care system. The program, which is
? "voluntary, would give veterans the benefit of |
! power in order to get lower premiums on
! coverage .
&y teeth are an important part of overall
. and our veterans should have access to afford
[ care," Burr said. "This legislation would
i with access to group insurance rates
not otherwise be able to get on their own.
nt of Defense runs a similar program
ffiven over a million retirees and their fanri*
i dental coverage. With this kind of suc
[ only fitting that we offer the same kind
i the 7.9 million veterans enrolled in VA
> ? f
\ VA does provide dental coverage under
? , Balances, the vast majority of people
care from the department do not have
t care through yA.
ion would ensure that servicemem
are well-served and get to reap fad
f group rates and competition," Burr added. I
professor h<
Henderson, professor of counseling
University, won two national award* |
*, American Counseling Association (AC A).
I ACA Professional Development Award I
in ACA member who has "develuuiW
techniques and systems
have strengthened,
enhanced or improved j
counseling profession
benefitted counseling
somers." The award
tion noted several
Henderson's recent
plishntents. She has i
president of the
for Counselor Education
Supervision, and the
Carolina
Association. She has
most widely used texts in the
counseling, "Counseling
I as a disaster relief <
i Katrina and the Virginia
and three other members of
cling department were also
r Educator Advocacy i
"involvement in legislate
development" and was
1 T. Gladding, profes
aura Veach, professor of <
associate
were presented at the AC
in Honolulu Founded inM
sling Association is
t, not-for-profit organization f
Playing with Fire
Doctor warns of firework dangers A
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
r Think twice before you pick up that box of sparklers at the grocery store - and
don't even give the Roman Candles or firecrackers a second look.
That is the message being sent this Fourth of July by a medical expert
at UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill.
"They are neither safe nor sane," Dr. Bruce Cairns, medical director
of the North Carolina Jaycee Bum Center at UNC Hospitals, said of
Roman Candles or firecrackers. His sentiments echo those of the
National Fire Protection Agency, whose Web site calls fireworks the
riskiest consumer product.
What's worse, said Cairns, is that children are most often injured by
firework-related accidents.
"We tell kids not to play with lighters, not to play with fire, but it's
OK to play with this? It just doesn't make sense to us," Caims said. "It's
really unclear what benefit there is to using a pyrotechnic device as a
toy." : '
The American Bum Association reports that close to 10,000 peo
ple suffer from fireworks injuries every year. According to the
NFPA Web site, the risk of fireworks injury was two-and-a-half
times higher for children between the ages of 10 and 14 than for
the general population.
Caims said every year several people are admitted to the
Jaycee Bum Center, and many others are treated in the
Emergency Department, after the Fourth of July for fire
work-related bums and the statistics don't lie. "It's
always kids, and more males than females."
The most dangerous fireworks are also the most
common. Firecrackers, sparklers and Roman candles
accounted for more than 50 percent of all fireworks
related injuries in 2006, according to the NFPA.
These so-called "household" fireworks can reach
temperatures exceeding 1200 degrees - several hundred
degrees hotter than a match flame. The intense energy that creates the exciting effect of a
firework or sparkler translates into very high temperatures and bad bums, said Cairns.
"People are just not aware of how dangerous it really is. If they knew they wouldn't
want to take a chance with it," said Cairns. Even though the data is compelling, Caims
thinks awareness of firework danger has not made it to the level it needs to be.
"Don't buy them, don't play with them, don't light them," is the best advice Caims
said he cin give.
A See Fireworks on A12
1
Stock Photo
Water conservation is being urged by the state.
State is thirsty for rain
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The state warned last week that
current drought conditions in North
Carolina are worse now than this
same time a year ago. Unless there
is significant rainfall, the state could
face a more serious situation than in
2007, officials said.
Fourteen western counties,
including Forsyth, are in exception
al drought, according to a federal
drought map released last week.
That is twice the number from the
o Drought ?
conditions worse
than last year
same time last week. Ninety-seven
of the state's 100 counties are in
some level of drought.
-It is good that we started con
serving a year and a half ago," Gov.
Mike Easley said. "The drought
conditions are worse now than they
were last year at this same time."
Rainfall in late May and through
this month has been below normal,
which means streams and groundwa
ter conditions are not at the rates to
keep reservoirs full.
In its May North Carolina
Weather Review, the National
Weather Service warned that the
drop in rainfall is a "red flag" for the
summer season.
According to the report: "If there
are long periods without significant
See Drought on All
Wellness
leader
hired by
NCDOT
Bob Nelson is a
former Saint
Augustine's professor
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
t
The N.C. Department of
Transportation has hired Bob
Nelson to serve as its first
worksite wellness coordina
tor.. He
will head
a new
depart
ment
wide ini
t i a t i v e
that aims
t o
improve
t h e
health of
NCDOT
employ- ,
ees.
Nelson brings more than
20 years of experience in pro
moting fitness and healthy
living to the department. He
has worked with corporate
wellness programs at Nike
and FedEx, acquired clinical
experience at several hospi
tals, and served as wellness
director and adjunct professor
at Saint Augustine's College
in Raleigh.
"I look forward to building
on the success of NCDOT's
worksite wellness program,"
Nelson said. "One of my first
goals is to reduce medical
costs by encouraging our
workers to adopt healthy
lifestyles and take preventa
tive measures to improve their
health."
NCDOT's worksite well
ness program was launched in
November to motivate
employees to stop smoking,
eat healthier, exercise more
and improve stress manage
ment. It is funded by a $1.5
million grant from the charita
ble branch of pharmaceutical
company AstraZeneca. The
North Carolina State Health
Plan secured -the grant fund
ing, and the statewide non
profit organization N.C.
Prevention Partners is provid
ing program oversight.
Recent efforts to promote
worksite wellness within the
department have included dis
tributing walking maps, con
ducting "Lunch and Learn"
sessions to help workers iden
tify healthy meal options, and
including healthier items in
both vending machines and
the Transportation Building
cafeteria. Building on these
efforts, Nelson's plans for the
program include using com
munication tools such as a
Web site to increase aware
ness, as well as creating a
points system to motivate
employees and track individ
ual progress.
Nelson
The complex machinery
of the immune system
Your immune system is a complex piece
of machinery that serves as your body's
defense against infection and disease. The
biggest job of the immune system is to rec
ognize what is part of your body and what is
foreign. The immune system attacks foreign
things in an attempt to rid the body of the
UUJCtl. ruicigll llldlClIdD Uldl
trigger the immune system,
also called itnmunogens, can
include things that cause dis
ease (pathogens), such as
viruses and bacteria, but also
other things, like pollen.
These immunogens provoke
a reaction from the body,
also known as an immune
response. Let's talk about
how the body responds when
an immunogen enters.
What is an immune response?
An immune response is your body's way
of fighting and eliminating foreign things
that enter your body. There are different
types of immune responses. In nonspecific
immunity, the immune system attacks for
eign things without distinguishing between
them. In other words, it does not specifical
ly target one thing or another but rather
attacks anything that is foreign. For exam
ple, phagocytes are cells that ''eat" foreign
things and destroy them. Specific immunity
means that your body can recognize certain
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response specific to that
immunogen.
I've heard a lot of talk
about the importance of'
antibodies. What is an
antibody, and why is it
important?
Before we can talk
about antibodies, we first
need to talk about antigens
Antigens are a type of immunogen that react
with the cells of the immune system and can
produce an immune reaction. Antibodies are
proteins that stick to specific antigens By
sticking to an antigen, antibodies enable the
body to destroy that antigen This is another
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