December 2017
Christmases of the Past We Focus on Family This Time of Year
I come from a large Italian family, which means that our Christmas celebrations were grand. When I was young, my family would go to my aunt’s house for Christmas Eve. There, we would have what seemed like an eight-course meal. It always started with soup, then we would have ravioli, meat, and more courses, which would go on until we were too full to talk. After dinner, my family attended midnight mass. I liked to pull my younger sister’s leg by pretending to be asleep or very tired when she was eager to open presents the next morning. She would get so exasperated with me and never understood why I wasn’t as excited as her. Truthfully, I was excited too, but I took my duty as the ornery older sibling very seriously. When I think back on childhood Christmases, my memories are filled with family, laughter, and fun. It was always a blast to celebrate with everyone in the same household, like when we went to my aunt’s house. Christmas was always a very cheerful time of the year.
spend time together for most of the day. At some point, usually in the evening, we take a family stroll by the water to walk off our large meal and give the dogs space to run. Then, we finish out the evening by playing all sorts of board games. Pictionary and Clue are our favorites, and they make an appearance every year. Last year, my son got Wendy a gift that I will never forget. We took a trip to Ireland, and explored a castle while we were there. The castle was pretty dark inside, so Wendy didn’t really want to go in. That was, until a bull started to chase her around, forcing her to run into the castle to escape. The whole ordeal was hilarious. So, for Christmas, my son bought her a beautiful framed picture of the castle with the words “Beware of Bull” printed on the image. The picture is still one of the best gifts I have ever seen in our family and Wendy loves it. Christmas is a time to spend with family, and our Christmases are filled with good times and laughter. As I get older, it becomes increasingly more fun to reminisce about past Christmases and be reminded of those joyous times. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas. We will see you soon. about past Christmases and be reminded of those joyous times.” “As I get older, it becomes increasingly more fun to reminisce
Rue & Primavera Patients ENTER TOWIN Find the misspelled word in this newsletter and call (360) 279-8323 for your chance to win a
As Wendy, our kids, and I have grown older, our Christmas celebrations have continued to evolve. All our kids are adults now, which means they have their own busy lives. It really has become a juggling act to make sure we can all celebrate together. Two of our kids are married, so they have another side of the family to accommodate. So we feel lucky when we are all in the same house. Normally, our kids and their families celebrate with their in-laws on Christmas Eve, then they come to our house on Christmas morning. We make a big meal and open presents, then we
–Tom
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Which Charity Heal Your Hands Should I Donate To? At the peak of the holiday season, many Americans find themselves overcome by a spirit of generosity and goodwill. Many people go beyond finding the perfect gift for friends and family and give their time or money to a charitable organization, seeking to make the holidays a little better for those worse off than themselves.
It’d be hard to overstate the importance of our hands. We use them for everything, from performing our most basic functions like eating and drinking, to putting food on the table, literally and figuratively. It’s hard to imagine a job that doesn’t require the use of your hands, or a day that could go by without using your hands hundreds of times. It’s no wonder, then, that ordinary wear and tear can cause issues like carpal tunnel syndrome or “tennis elbow,” or that people suffer from chronic issues, like arthritis, as a result. Accidents or trauma can also damage your hands. How you go about treating that damage can be tricky. Operations are expensive and can sometimes leave you less mobile than before. No matter what, there’s always a risk, and even if the operation is successful, you’re still going to need therapy to get back to normal. Our clinic can help. From basic therapy for all kinds of hand injuries and hand pain, to instructions on exercises and stretches to do at home, to postoperative therapy, we have the ability to help your hands. Even difficult issues, like nerve damage, that’s left you unable to feel properly, can be addressed with the right treatment plan and a good occupational/ hand therapist. We use all kinds of techniques to get your hands back to where they should be. Exercises, splints, edema control, hot and cold packs, sensory education, laser treatments, and work stimulation are just a few of the many tools in our toolbox, and we’ll find the ones that work for you and your specific medical needs. Often splinting is needed and we can make you a custom splint that will address your specific condition. Don’t spend another year worrying about the state of your hands or suffering from pain that we can help with. Get in touch today, and start 2018 with hand therapy that will work for you.
But with thousands upon thousands of charities to choose from, how we do ensure our dollars are truly going to the best possible cause?
It may seem obvious, but it’s best not to hand your credit card info to an anonymous organization soliciting your aid. The IRS has little regulatory power over most charitable organizations since they don’t typically pay taxes. As a result, it’s all too easy to be defrauded.
“Never give a gift where you didn’t initiate the communication,” advises Tim Meisenheimer, a certified financial planner. Calls can be a red flag, as charities who employ telemarketers are much less likely to receive the entirety of your donation. If you’re donating online, he also advises you to check that there’s a “https” at the beginning of the URL, which indicates a secure connection. But the best way to avoid shady scammers is to research the charity before you hand over your cash. One helpful resource is CharityNavigator.org, a charity-screening website where you can scrutinize a charity’s rating, spending habits, category, and much more. When examining a charity, they look for all kinds of red flags, such as if they spend more than one-third of their budget on administrative costs or if they aren’t forthcoming about their operations and expenditures. If you’re unsure of where to donate, check out their list of “Charities With Perfect Scores.” If you want to provide humanitarian aid, Direct Relief (DirectRelief.org) is a well-known charity, and it has a perfect rating of 100 on Charity Navigator. They provide medical treatment in resource-poor communities. If you’re more inclined to protect the environment, check out The Conservation Fund (ConservationFund.org), which seeks to preserve natural resources while fostering economic development in America. Education-minded donors should look up Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO-usa. org), another organization with a perfect 100 from Charity Navigator. They strive to provide robust education for underserved communities. There are thousands of excellent charities to donate to, and many of them are probably right in your backyard.
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Experiencing Holiday-Induced Pain?
N
ow that the holiday season is here, it’s likely that you’ll have to lift heavy boxes off high shelves in
on the affected side, or pain with throwing motions and other dynamic movements. Thankfuly, physical therapy can be very successful in treating shoulder impingement syndrome. Once you are diagnosed, your physical therapist will create a specialized treatment plan, which may include pain management, manual therapy, range-of-motion and strengthening exercises, patient education, and functional training. Your physical or occupational therapist will use manual techniques like gentle joint movements, soft-tissue massage, and shoulder stretches to get your body moving properly. We also offer laser treatments for this syndrome. Once your discomfort has been reduced, your therapist will teach you exercises to correct and strengthen shoulder movements and weak muscles. Finally, your therapist will prescribe you at-home exercises to continue strengthening your shoulder so you can avoid pain and discomfort throughout the year.
your garage to find decorations. As you begin to use your shoulders more frequently during this time of the year, you may notice pain or weakness each time you reach overhead. Don’t ignore your pain. It’s possible that you’re suffering from shoulder impingement syndrome. Shoulder impingement syndrome is a condition that develops when the rotator-cuff tendons in the shoulder are overused or injured. The acromion, the bump at the tip of your shoulder, covers your rotator cuff and bursa, a fluid-filled sac that provides a cushion between the bony acromion and rotator-cuff tendon. When the bursa is compressed, your tendons are no longer protected. If you do not seek treatment quickly, you will be at risk of rotator-cuff tendinitis. Individuals with shoulder impingement syndrome may experience restriction in shoulder motion and associated weakness when reaching overhead, behind the body, or out to the side. They may also experience pain in the shoulder, pain or discomfort when attempting to sleep
As always, call Rue & Primavera at (360) 279-8323 if you are experiencing shoulder discomfort this season.
SUDOKU
Christmas STAR COOKIES Looking for something a little lighter to leave for Santa this Christmas Eve? Try these star cookies! And, as an added bonus, they’re paleo-friendly!
• • • • • • •
2½ cups blanched almond flour (not almond meal)
½ teaspoon Celtic sea salt ¼ teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
5 tablespoons agave nectar or honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1. In a large bowl, combine almond flour, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. 2. In a small bowl, mix coconut oil, agave, and vanilla. 3. Mix wet ingredients into dry. 4. Roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper until ¼ inch thick. 5. Refrigerate for 1 hour. 6. Remove top piece of parchment paper and dust dough with almond flour. 7. Cut out cookies with a small star cutter. 8. Using a metal spatula, place stars on a parchment-lined baking sheet. 9. Bake at 350 F until edges are lightly browned, 5–8 minutes.
Recipe inspired by elanaspantry.com/star-cookies.
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A Look Into Our Past Christmas Celebrations Find Which Charity You Should Donate To Heal Your Hands Physical Therapy for Holiday-Induced Pain Christmas Star Cookies Santa Tracking Goes High-Tech
Santa Tracking Goes High-Tech
I t’s almost Christmas, and if you have small kids, you know what that means: prepping for the arrival of a jolly man in a red suit and his confusingly named reindeer. Some of us may remember spending Christmas Eve curled on the couch with a cup of hot cocoa as radio reports tracked Santa’s trip around the globe. But these days, kiddos have gotten a little more high-tech in their search for up-to-date, GPS-driven Kringle updates. First, there’s the Google Santa Tracker (santatracker.google.com), a full-fledged holiday hub for your browser powered by Google Maps, including, of course, an up-to-the-minute GPS tracker for the big man. The application arrived in 2004, and it’s been updated every year since. During the countdown to Christmas, there’s a colorfully animated advent calendar of sorts, where buildings around Santa’s village “thaw out” and reveal a host of fun games and activities. There’s even a section titled “Santa Tracker for Educators,” which includes kid-friendly
coding games, information on international holiday traditions, and a translation app to “learn the Santa lingo from around the world.” When the eve of the big day finally comes, Google promises a showcase of Santa’s “dashboard, the technology that powers his sleigh during his
around-the-world journey.” Featuring “the latest and greatest … in sleigh engineering,” the app displays a Google Maps window that tracks each of Santa’s stops, gives status updates from Old Saint Nick, and tells kids how far he is from their city. It’s a colorful, fun adventure for the whole family. Of course, Google’s not the only kid on the Santa- tracking block. There’s also NORAD Tracks Santa, operated by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, the same organization that tracks nuclear missiles for the government. Similar to Google, noradsanta.org includes a variety of fun games and activities leading up to Christmas. But unlike Google, NORAD has a dedicated Santa-tracking app for your phone, where you can see a 3-D view of Santa’s location during his trip. The app also features videos, so you and your little ones can see clips of Santa flying around major landmarks and world cities. Just don’t stay up too late watching them. You don’t want Santa to skip over your house!
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