Photo by Lay la Farmer
Veronica Rousseau (center) with Marvin Hughes and his family, wife. Frances, and daugh
ters Brenda Hughes and Vicky Bunn.
Kousseau
from' page AJ
heart surgery. "Sometimes I
have to sit clown and give
them a little encouragement,
and this is where my purpose
comes in. 1' give them a con
fident word from God and
the song of their choice."
Rousseau, who was
selected for the monthly
honor from a pool of nearly
8,000 employees at N-.C-.
Baptist, says she literally
found her voirc last year,
when she transferred to the
mobility unit after working
for nearly two decades as a
CNA elsewhere in the hospi
tal.
While walking with a
patient one dayr Rousseau
says she "ran out of conver
sation." so she began to sing.
."The other patients heard
me singing and therefore. 1
had to sing to them," she
related. "'...1 feel the singing
helps because it relaxes
them. It makes them feel
like, 'There's a tomorrow,
and if 1 work hard enough. 1
can do it.'"
Rousseau now sings to
all her patients - an average
of 1 6 - while they are walk
ing, two times a day. And
she's never lost her voice.
"You wouldn't believe
the patients that have cried
(when I sang). I've cried
with them, and it just gets to
be all right," she declared.
"It's amazing. It's got to be
my calling because it goes
so well."
Not all patients have
been in the mood for a song.
Rousseau can recall only
two who have requested that
she not sing.
"Then I hum, and we
both end up laughing about
it," Rousseau says.
In her prior position at
the hospital, she had sung to
patients, but was told she
was "too loud." But in the
Mobility Unit, her voice is a
welcome sound. She even
gets requests to sing to
patients outside the unit.
"My unit manager, when
she gave me this position,
she said, 'Make it your
own,' and that's just what 1
do." she related. "...When I
get here, all of me comes
out. By the time 1 get home,
I'm real tired, but 1 love it."
Rousseau's sunny dispo
sition has also won her many
friends in the unit.
"Other than my singing,
they say it's my personality
(that distinguishes me)," she
commented. "I don't meet
strangers, and most of the
time, I'm joyful."
Patient Marvin Hughes
says Rousseau's melodious
brand of TLC has been a
blessing to him.
"It's great. It helps. It
keeps you motivated, any
way. It makes you go,"
commented Hughes, 67,
"It's really rough having sur
gery like this, and it takes
your mind off it."
Hughes' wife of 49 years,
Frances, and two daughters,
Vicky Bunn and Brenda
Hughes will readily attest to
Rousseau's effectiveness.
Hugs and kisses for
Rousseau from the grateful
famHy followed Hughes'
walk Tuesday afternoon.
"It's the most I've seen
him smile all week," Burm
remarked. "I think it helps
him, him talking with her
and her singing to him."
Frances- works as a pri
vate duty GNA in Patrick
County, Va.. where the cou
ple resides. With more than
42 years in the medical field
under her belt, Mrs. Hughes
says she is well aware of
what a gem Rousseau is.
"She's just precious," she
declared. "1 listen to her
every tjme she goes up and
down the hall (with a
patient). She's a wonderful
lady."
Pregnancy
from page \7
during pregnancy is safe for
you and your baby. The baby is
protected by the amniotic fluid
in the womb, your abdomen,
and the mucus plug that seals
your cervix and helps guard
against infections.
You and your doctor
should talk about when to do
ultrasounds, a safe type of x
ray to view the baby. Many
women have an ultrasound in
the first trimester, which helps
with planning a due date: most
women also have an ultra
sound at 18-20 weeks, though
it can be done at any point as
needed.
The Institute of Medicine
recently released new weight
gain guidelines for pregnant
women: underweight women
(BMI <18.5) should gain 28 to
40 lbs. healthy, normal-weight
women (BMI 18.5-24.9)
should gain 25 to 35 lbs during
pregnancy; and overweight
women (BMI 25-29.9) should
gain 15 to 25 lbs.
What's happening with
the baby?
The National Institute of
Child Health and Human
Development notes that, dur
ing the second trimester, your
baby will develop ovaries
(girl) or a prostate gland (boy),
and skin will begin to form.
Bones will also start to devel
op early in this trimester, and,
by the middle of the trimester,
baby wi|l be able to make
facial expressions. Baby also
begins to hear, usually around
week 18, and baby may begin
to pick up your voice tone. As
nerves and neurons that con
trol movement in the brain
develop, you may begin to feel
, your baby move around week
19 or 20. As the second
trimester progresses, baby
develops the sense of touch
and balance, and baby's lungs
begin preparing to breathe out
side the womb. All baby's
organs also continue to devel
op and grow. By the, end of the
second trimester, baby weighs
between 1.5 and 2 pounds and
has fully formed arms, legs,
hands, and feet. Eyebrows and
eyelashes also form, and more
hair appears on baby's head.
As you enter the third
trimester, baby begins to move
more forcefully and frequent
ly; sometimes this movement
can leave you short of breath.
Baby will begin gaining a half
pound a week until about week
37, and he/she grows from
about 1 5 inches to (on aver
age) 17-19 inches long by
birth. Baby's lungs, skin and
eyes, along with all other
organs, continue to develop
and prepare for life outside the
womb. By week 37, your baby
is considered full term, and
baby's sucking muscles (for
breastfeeding) are fully
formed.
What symptoms might
I notice?
Common pregnancy symp
toms during the 2nd and 3rd
trimesters include:
Larger breasts
Increasing belly size
Skin changes - healthy
glow or dark pigmentation in
areas
Nose or gum problems
Dizziness
Leg cramps
Heartburn, constipation or
hemorrhoids
Shortness of breath
Vaginal discharge and/or
bladder/kidney infections
Mood swings
Frequent urination
Backaches
Braxton Hicks contractions -
You may feel these in your
abdomen and groin as your
uterus may start contracting to
build strength for labor.
Contact your health care
provider if the contractions
become painful or regular as
this may be a sign of preterm
labor.
Stay tuned for next week,
when we will talk about labor,
delivery and postpartum (after
birth) expectations and con
cerns.
- Contribution By: Maya
Angelou Center for Health
Equity
Do you need further infor
mation or have questions or
comments about this article?
Please call toll-free 1-877
530-1824. Or, for more infor
mation about the Maya
Angelou Center for Health
Equity, please visit our web
s i t e
http://www.wfubmc.edu/minor
ity health.
Marriage
from page A7
their lives. Marriage and
cohabitation present
- ? u : - ..u.
CVCII IH^fl LIUili^v..^
than single people
face. Maybe the
cause of weight gain
is not just age. but the
pressure of shifting
behaviors that result
in weight gain."
According to
Gordon - Larse n ,
when people are liv
ing together - married
or not - they tend to
share behaviors and activity
patterns. They may choose to
eat meals together, possibly
cooking bigger meals or eating
out more often than they did
when they were single, and
may watch TV together
instead of going to the gym or
(iordon-l .arsen
playing a sport. Gordon
Larsen said that in subsequent
interviews with both romantic
partners, they found that cou
ples who lived together for
more than two
years (especially
those who were
married) were
most likely to dis
play similar
weight/obesity
patterns and phys
ical activity
behaviors.
So what's the
solution?
"If this is a
time of shifting
behaviors, and of influencing
each other, then maybe it's a
good time to intervene with
these young couples and get
them to have a more positive
effect on each other," Gordon
Larsen said. "Maybe they can
exercise together or cook
healthy meals together.
"People who are married
or who are living together tend
to share behaviors. Couples
can use that phenomenon to
their advantage if they're
aware of what's going on."
Other weight loss studies
have shown that the best way
to help one person lose weight
is to change behavior in the
whole household, she said. If
one person is at risk for obesi
ty. then others arc likely to be
at risk or to become at risk.
"When people are married.
Or living together, they can
offer each other social support
for healthy behaviors and a
healthy environment,"
Gordon-Larsen said. "They
can be good influences on each
other. That may be how they
can avoid the extra pounds
now associated with mar
riage."
Pastors
from pane A1
role in their prosecution to
have a court review the mat
ter. If the court found race
was a factor, defendants
would be given life in prison
without the possibility of
parole in lieu of the death
penalty.
"We have known for half
a century that the death
penalty is all about race and
poverty, and yet, our legisla
tors over the decades have
never offered a solution,
until now," commented
Stephen Dear, executive
director of the Carrboro
based People of Faith
Against the Death Penalty,
referring to a 1962 News &
Observer article that found,
"execution victims (were)
usually poor, Negroes."
"The difference between
2009 and 1962 is that all
over North Carolina pastors
are speaking out"
The. N.C. Senate has
already passed the bill, with
what Dear calls "some very
harsh and unwanted amend
ments," but State Reps.
Larry Womble and Earline
Parmon, who sponsored the
bill, have restored it to its
original form. It must now
be passed by the House, and
again by the Senate in its
current state, to become law.
According to a letter
written in support of the
Racial Justice Act and
signed by more than 80 cler
gy members in the Triad
area, 61 percent of all North
Carolina death row inmates
are minorities.
The now infamous case
of Darryl Hunt, a local
African American man who
was wrongfully convicted of
raping and killing Debra
Sykes, a white woman, has
made the statistics real for
many in Winston-Salem,
Eversley said.
Hunt, who was freed in
2003 after nearly 20 years in
prison, was one vote away
from receiving the death
penalty, and Dear says his
was not an isolated case.
"In addition to Darryl
I
linnet
Stephen Dear holds up a photocopy of a 1960s Sews &
Observer article on the death penalty.
Hunt ... three other innocent
men were sentenced to death
row and were recently exon
erated," Dear reported. "All
were African Americans."
The Racial Justice Act is
far from perfect, supporters
say.
"The burden of proof
remains on the defendant."
Parrish. the pastor of Peace
Haven Baptist Church,
pointed out. "The accused
has to put his or her
resources, in effect, against
the state's. That's a fairly
high threshold in a system in
which there are documented
cases (of such discrimina
tion)."
While the bill won't sin
gle-handedly level the play
ing field jn the criminal jus
Uce system. it is. a step in the
right direction, the panelists
believe. ? ; ?. ? ;
"I don't think this bill
goes far enough." remarked
Carpenter, the pastor of .
Green Street Church, " but
what it does do is recognize
the racial disparity that:s
been there far too long ... it
allows the naming of that
racial factor, and I think
that's important."
For more information
about the Racial Justice Act.
v ' i s i t
www .ncmoratorium .org .
firstcitizens.com/FreeMoney
Find out how your check card purchases
could be paying you back - and every $1 is on us.
First Citizens
Bank
You could earn $1 for every "bonus transaction" as defined in our Disclosure of Terms and Conditions.
For a copy of the Disclosure of Terms and Conditions, please contact us by phone,
stop by an office or visit firstcitizens.com/FreeMoney. Member FDIC