Your Best Life

Slips and falls can occur all year round, but you can be more prone to injury in the winter. Tulsi Sharma, MD, from MercyOne Waterloo Endocrinology Care shares her tips to keeping yourself and family upright and safe during the winter months.

When we think of lung cancer, we often think of people who smoke. But in the United States, about 10% to 20% of lung cancers, or 20,000 to 40,000 lung cancers each year, happen in people who never smoked or smoked fewer than 100 cigarettes in their lifetime, according to the CDC.

In this episode, we're joined by Julie Paup, who despite never having smoked in her life, was diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer in 2015. "My outlook was bleak." It's now been six years since the diagnosis and Julie is cancer free.

Julie shares her story and why it's important to not ignore symptoms - it may save your life.

You can help lower your risk of lung cancer by staying away from secondhand smoke, diesel exhaust, and other air pollution. You should get your home tested for radon and take steps to lower the radon level if it is high.

Today, Julie is a volunteer services manager at MercyOne. We also chat about the important roles volunteers serve within our hospitals.

Caring for your mental health is just as important as your physical health!

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic many people have had the opportunity to work remotely from the comfort of their home. This change offered a new insight to mental health awareness within the workforce and an opportunity to put mental health needs first. Employers have found the benefit that mental health days offer their employees like the chance to reset from a stressful week and return energetic and productive.

In this episode, we're joined by Rebecca Peterson, Director of House of Mercy, who says to make mental health a priority, you need self-awareness to communicate with your employer what you need.

After losing their daughter and nearly losing their son to viral illnesses, parents Eric and Holly Sitzmann are working to help prevent other families from having to live the same nightmare.

In this episode we're joined by Holly, who shares her family's experience and the importance of setting boundaries when you welcome a newborn into the world.

Learn more about Holly and Eric's mission at www.dktb.org 

• Bronchiolitis

• Snap a picture and share a story of living your best life on social media using the hashtag #MercyOneLYBL and tag MercyOne. Make sure your privacy post settings are set to public so we can see your picture!
  

In this episode, we are once again joined by infectious disease specialist Dr. Ravi Vemuri to discuss monkeypox. We'll learn about its history, what it looks like, how it spreads and how to protect yourself.

• About Monkeypox

Your Best Life – powered by MercyOne

How do you make sure you have a healthy relationship with food? In this episode we're joined by registered dietitian Haley Strait to discuss:

• healthy weight loss

Meal prepping can be a game changer for your health if done properly. Strait says it can make your week easier if you are busy and also helps prevent you from buying fast food or convenience store choices which can be filled with sodium and saturated fats. “Meal prepping can seem overwhelming. There are a lot of different ways to do that. To start, find out what ingredients you have on hand already and think of some meals you can make before going to the store. It can help you from wasting food.”

Send us your feedback by emailing [email protected], or fill out the submission form at MercyOne.org/podcast

Your Best Life – powered by MercyOne

COVID-19 vaccinations to protect children from six months through the age of 5 are now available. Experts say it is best to get your child vaccinated as soon as it’s available.

In this episode, we're joined by MercyOne pediatrician Dr. Mustafa Eldadah who says, “Every day a child is unvaccinated there is risk of them getting a COVID-19 infection.  The vaccine is safe and getting it now can help put an end to the COVID-19 pandemic. Children can be fully protected by the time school starts.”

Vaccination will:

Send us your feedback by emailing [email protected], or fill out the submission form at MercyOne.org/podcast

Your Best Life – powered by MercyOne

At MercyOne, your best life is our one purpose - whether it's time with family and friends, your favorite hobby, a day on the golf course... or a combination of all three!  With that in mind, we welcome a special guest Steve Husome of Adaptive Golf Iowa.

Steve and friends were enjoying the nice weather on motorcycles when a semi pulled in front of him, forever changing the trajectory of his life’s path. Battling multiple injuries, the worst damage to both of his legs, Steve had to make the difficult decision to amputate his right leg below the knee. Leading a very active lifestyle, Steve worried how this decision would affect his abilities and lifestyle.

After nine surgeries, hundreds of hours of physical therapy, two different prosthetic legs and learning how to walk all over again - fast forward to now as Steve leads Adaptive Golf Iowa, bringing the healing power of golf to make sure every can live your best life.

Adaptive Golf Iowa is the only golf clinic in Iowa whose mission is to spread joy through the game of golf to individuals living with disabilities. Adaptive Golf Iowa will offer instruction, organized events, and adaptive equipment to help make the game enjoyable for everyone.

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MercyOne is here for you and proud of the care we provide to get you living your best life, whatever milestone that may be, big or small. If MercyOne is a part of your journey – whether you’re working hard to maintain good health and well-being, have recently overcome a health crisis or just started a family, we want to share the joy of your story. Head to MercyOne.org/bestlife to learn more about how you can share your experiences to win prizes for "best life" experiences.

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Your Best Life – powered by MercyOne