On Thanksgiving Day, I Thank...

God, of course...and

I also thank...(in no particular order...)

1. My husband Dr Sury and son Vidur for being such a joy in my life
2. My mother Devi for being co-operative during her treatment
3. The local medical stores for delivering medicines whenever I want them promptly
4. Chetana Sudhir, Member, Clinicom, for taking the time to call me and talk to me.
5. Dr Prasad, Member, Clinicom, for lovingly understanding and prescribing the right medication and calling up to find out how we are doing.
6. Dr Raghu Hiremagalur, Orthopedic Surgeon, who recommended non-surgical treatment for my mom for spinal TB, and who is kind enough to answer the phone whenever I call him, and visits mom at home to monitor her progress. Happy Birthday, Dr Raghu.
7. The elderly watchman outside the Hanuman Temple at Vidur's school gate who receives any food I give him, and keeps an eye on my bike while I say 'bye to Vidur.
8. Corinne Rodrigues, my best friend, who regularly keeps track of what's happening with me, no matter how tied up she is.
9. The unknown painters who have made 8th Main Road, Malleswaram a pleasure to drive by - by creating fabulous paintings on all the walls, all along 8th Main from 18th cross to Yeshwantpur circle and beyond.
10. The little boy, who is a terrific salesman at the Nandini booth on 11th main, from whom it is a pleasure to buy curd, who makes me spend three times the 30 bucks I originally intended to spend.
11. Amul - for the lovely Shrikand they make in different flavors, which Vidur is addicted to, now.
12. The Internet - for being a fantastic source of info - 24x7
13. Asheesh Jain at Creative Lipi, for being so patient
14. Ravi, for being the way he is. :-)
15. Everything...

Thank you, God for giving me the patience and stamina to do all that I have to do.

That Son Of An Itch

Winter's here. Most of us may not feel the cold - but I can assure you that the skin, the largest organ in the human body certainly does - in varying degrees.  It shows it by becoming dry. And the worst thingabout dry skin is that temptation to scratch. It is a vicious cycle, you know. It itches, you scratch. You scratch - and it itches!! Let's not even talk about how it looks, socially when you have to sneak a quick scratch in that embarrassing spot - instead, let's look at a few easy steps to relieve it. Of course, this is not medical advice and you'd do well to consult a qualified dermatologist if your problem is severe - but by and large, these precautions certainly help: (and I just couldn't resist adding this picture - whose skin is better than the baby's?)

• Avoid scratching. Scratching irritates your skin even more. Yes, so it takes some self-control, but the rewards are worth it. You can pinch the skin around the itch through your clothing - it certainly causes less injury than actually scratching the area.
  
• Keep your nails short. No point dealing with lacerations on your skin.
• Avoid bathing in hot water - as soothing as that sounds. Believe me, its temporary and comes with punishment. Instead, cool, or lukewarm showers and baths are best.
• Avoid strongly perfumed soaps, shower gels and deos. Instead, use a mild soap and apply moisturizing lotions after your bath on your skin - it will help keep it moist and hydrated. The local medical shop has a huge variety of non-perfumed lotions and aqueous creams. I like Vaseline's total moisturizing lotion with the soya extract - has a gentle fragrance and feel silky on the skin.
• Enjoy a bath with rolled oats. The itch relief is amazing - and its safe.
• Apply calamine on itchy skin - it soothes. 
• A cold compress numbs the skin and relieves itching
• Preferably wear cotton rather than synthetic, wool, etc. Sleep in loose clothes.
• Avoid spending a lot of time in hot or humid environments. Try to be in well ventilated airy places
• Sometimes mild oral antihistamines relieve allergic itches - but use these on your doctor's advice.These help you get a good night's rest
• Maintain good hygiene. Bathe regularly
• Drink plenty of fluids and follow a healthy diet
• While applying any lotion or oil - the operative word is apply - not rub. Why wake up those itches?

The age-old habit of "oil-baths" is still valid in our house. My mother prepares a herbal oil with a variety of ingredients, designed to heal, keep skin and hair healthy, with anti-fungal properties, etc. and we have the benefit of it. Health, after all, is wealth.

Finding Motivation

The last few weeks have been crazy (if you've heard me say that before - believe me - it is usually with good reason :-))

It seemed like a never-ending round of visiting the doctors, diagnostic center for tests and medical opinions - with no real solution in sight. Things then precipitated, probably because I got a bit frustrated. Let me give a bit of a background first.

My story:
My mother has been ill for over 4 years now almost continuously - with over three hospitalizations that were quite traumatic. She was diagnosed with pulmonary TB in December 2007  and was under treatment, when she developed what is called a major PSOAS abscess in December 2008, which had to be surgically drained. This was done in January 2009, after which the wound healed only around July 2009. But her condition continued to get worse with severe back pain, eventually making it impossible to even sit even through a cup of coffee. For two months, the doctor tried pain management and physiotherapy. Aside from the heavy expenses, with no benefit, we were getting extremely worried. An MRI was repeated in August 2009, which showed deterioration in her vertebral column and it was obvious she had spinal TB. Somehow - still no treatment seemed forthcoming.

Last week, I reached a high point in my tension and had a chat with a friend who is a neurologist and sent her the MRI report. She advised the resumption of anti-TB combination drug pronto with bedrest and good nutrition. Miserable, I met her doctor again, who finally suggested another MRI, which I got done immediately. On seeing the report the next day, he felt surgery was the answer. This naturally shook us up. He set up an appointment with a spine specialist, who was of the same opinion. Alarmed - as you can well imagine, since surgery close to the spine is no jokes, and neither is the exorbitant cost - I decided to get a second and third opinion. I met another neurologist, who felt surgery wasn't urgent since she was not neurologically compromised, and advised me to see an orthopedic instead.

I did - and was pleasantly relieved when he said surgery is not an emergency and should only be the last resort. He felt instead, that if she can be placed on complete bedrest for at least 2 months - which means eating, drinking and the etc. etc. in bed - with resumption of AKT4, there is a chance she could recover fully. This was music to my ears. Also, the doctor will do a weekly assessment to monitor her.

So - since yesterday, we've begun this regimen. It is a lot of hard work, but somehow I am totally motivated and enthusiastic. After the months of suffering she has gone through this seems like as if it is no big deal, probably because of the imminent benefit. Of course we can't predict the future, but we can hope. And when our attitude is positive, and with God on our side - life can be good.

I have realized many times that a healthy dose of motivation coupled with determination will get you almost anything in life. If you are genuinely motivated, the motivation will:

• get you out of bed
• constantly remind you why you do what you do

When motivation is low, here's what we do:

Step #1: Find your motivator
Motivation stems from having a goal. What is your goal? Why do you want to do what you want to do?
Once you uncover your personal motivator you'll find that motivation flows quickly your way. Find the REAL reason WHY.

Step #2: Write it down
This makes it more real and put it up where you can see it. The inspiration is amazing. Helps you visualize yourself accomplishing your goal - and gives you focus and direction.

Step #3: Be Practical.
Time for action. You know what you want - and now its time to make a plan to achieve your goal. Be practical. Weed out ideas that wont work.
Plan a routine that will fit into your schedule and you'll be more likely to stick with it. 

Step #4: Get support
Get the support of friends and family. Share your goal and you'll be surprised at the support and encouragement you can get.

I am doing it. Its working for me.

Happy Diwali To All!

May this Diwali usher in peace, prosperity, health and happiness for all!

Vidya Sury & Family

Use It Or Lose It

Am talking about our brain.

We can use it or lose it.

According to research, people who learn to juggle experience changes in the nerve strands that connect different parts of their brain. Makes sense, doesn't it? So each time you learn something new or try to understand a new bit of information - your brain is making the effort and you can actually FEEL it. Which means, your brain actually enjoys doing tough stuff!

While not everyone is a juggler, just think about the last time you learned or tried something new?  Like:

• a new language
• a crossword puzzle
• the instructions for a new equipment
• sudoku
• new information about something
• and lots more...
  

The fact is, our brain prefers to be used, stretched and challenged because it will get bored otherwise. Worse still - it may decide to close shop! Give it what it wants! And it will continue to be active and do its job - for a long long time. It is good for your health! And you have to admit - an active and busy brain is more fun.

Hear Your Body Talk

I received this fantastic article in an email newsletter and was eager to share it. I loved it and I hope you do, too - because it is so relevant in all our lives.

What business are you really in?

Ever get a great idea, and then you are flying high with inspiration and possibilities? You outline your idea, you mind map it, you buy books on the subject, you easily draft up copy for an email campaign... you take a few steps, and then you share it with a few people close to you and... Bam! You hear "How will you do that?" "I don’t get it..." "Someone else I know has done something similar..."

Next thing you know, your inspired actions have turned to staring at the computer and aimlessly reading tweets.

Then your own psyche joins in the game and pipes up. "You’ve never done anything like that. What makes you think you can do it? Last time you tried a campaign, you didn’t get very many people signing up. Your message isn’t clear enough. Your list isn’t big enough..." Not enough, not enough, not enough...

You’ve popped out of the flow.

Hmm... time to go get a snack from the kitchen (I never realized my love for poptarts!). I MUST wash all the towels in the house (it must be done NOW). Or I’ve just got to clean out that silverware drawer (where did all these crumbs come from?).

All this talk - the inner and the outer chatter - slam us to a halt because it’s colluding with our deep inner beliefs, those repetitive thoughts that have dug such a groove inside of us that they drive the train, and we may not even realize it.

Stopping this chatter, shifting our thoughts, and creating new beliefs are what our work as an entrepreneur, as the owner of our business, is really about. When we can do that consciously and consistently, then we can DO anything in our business!

The first step is always awareness.

You have to be aware of the chatter that is self-limiting and pulls you down. The easiest way to create awareness is by paying attention to the signals your body gives you such as:

• tightening shoulders, throat, stomach, heart area
• clenched teeth and/or jaw
• headache
• upset stomach
• fuzzy brain (that’s what I call it when you start feeling confused on a subject that you did have clarity about two seconds ago)

The feelings that go with those body symptoms are:

• irritability
• frustration
• confusion
• feeling of yearning
• anger
• sadness
• depression

These are signs you need to:

1. Let go
2. Shift
3. Choose life-enhancing thoughts again

It’s hard to choose a new thought in the moment of these intense, constricted feelings which I call the "grip.”
First you need to let go and shift.
Let go by:

• drinking water
• breathing
• listening to a meditation CD or meditating with another method
• going for a walk
• working out
• consciously choosing to do a new activity like sort the laundry or clean the silverware drawer

Once you shift the “grip,” then you can think a little clearer and choose to shift your thoughts to ones that are more life-enhancing. 

For starters, practice noticing the signs in your body of being “in the flow” or being “out of the flow."
Then choose to shift.

 

Written by Laura Howard West, Center for Joyful Business, http:/www.joyfulbusiness.com

I am spring cleaning my life!

Spring may not be here, but I am going ahead anyway - and spring cleaning - my life. Life is so hectic these days that all that is left is the stress from rushing around. It is practically impossible to keep pace. And it is not just me – it is just about everyone I know – young and old. In fact the retired people I know are even busier than I am – because they are all tied up doing the things they always planned to do, but never had the time to do before.

Makes me think:

“What is this life, if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare?”

The only staring I seemed to be doing these days was blankly when  trying to recall something from my already over-crowded list. I realized that now is a good time to take stock and find a balance in life. After all, my birthday is just around the corner!

I decided I should begin with clutter-clearing. Yes, I've been doing a lot of Feng Shui reading to inspire me.

I took a look around, I considered my routine. I thought about everything I do on any given day. My first question was “Am I getting joy from what I am doing? Does it make my life less complex?” For those that I answered with an emphatic ‘NO’ I realized I must get rid of it, or at least minimize it. It is amazing what an impact our immediate environment can have on us. Is there something I loved to do? Then I should probably do it more.

Next came my relationships. I considered all the people I interacted with, and mulled over whether I had any issues to resolve. I realized there is no need to let things keep going the way they are, if I wanted to change them.

Easier said than done? Yes. But it is not impossible. Like Bob Wiley (played by Bill Murray) says in “What about Bob” Baby steps are the answer. I know how hard it is, sometimes, just to get started. Fact is, once we begin even in a small way, it is exciting to see the results. Me – I like to make a list of even the smallest things – and tick off whatever I’ve completed. The bliss is heavenly!

The trick is to break down every activity into small tasks (ask any Time Management expert!) and tackle them. It can be something as minor as clearing up a stack of letters, calling someone you’ve been meaning to, giving something away, etc. My list reads something like this:

• Return library books
• Get schoolbag handle fixed
• Drop cheque at bank
• Get bike serviced
• Get a new sweater for Vidur
• Plan trip to bookstore with Vidur
• Clear extra containers from Kitchen

You know what I mean?  Of course, my list is a multi-fold one where I segregate things to do at home, outside etc. Basic territory planning.

In the context of spring cleaning – there is one more thing. Learning to say NO. Most of us have a tendency not to say NO because it sounds so rude and harsh. I am learning – and I find that it is not as hard as I thought it would be!

So - I got started by resolving to do ONE small thing per day. The impetus to do more is building up and now – I am well on my way to spring-cleaning my life. It is all in the mind. 

By the way, over the weekend, Corinne and I started a couple of long over-due blogs -  Twitter style theme - called Two Friends And A Blog and Pablo's Got Mail and what fun it is turning out to be! I am also a condition blogger these days at www.everydayhealth.com- and it is called A Caregiver's Notes - do check it out!