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Show B Wednesday, August 26, 1992 The Daily Herald Keep back from aching, hug garbage and stretch Sharing r By SHARON M. HADDOCK Herald Staff Writer Newspapers Don't let this happen to you: Several times a day I stretch my aching back on the floor by my desk. As I sigh in relief, our restaurant critic and her editor step distastefully over me. lour groups seem always to tome through just as I go into a oga plow, which is sort of a version of mooning the office, upside down and backwards. I can't help it. I spell relief d fully-clothe- I also spell it While on the floor, ." throw a few abdominal crunches (like this: lie on our back, feet together, knees bent, hands behind head, exhale and then curl forward to raise shoulder blades just a tad; relax.) These tone my tummy, taking a load off a back, strained ages ago when I lifted something way too heavy, way too stupidly. Hie folks at Sports Authority are smarter. Employees around the country just began wearing special I belts. "It supports the back as you lift, 'the same concept as a weight-liftin- g .belt," says John Buffington, operations manager at the Madison Heights, Mich, store. Many brands are available. If you lilt a lot on the job, ask your boss about them. Olf the job, you still need to get smait about your back: lug your garbage. When lifting, keep your back straight, bend knees and grasp the object in front of ou and close to your body, then lift with thigh muscles. If it's too heavy, drop the load and get help. Never twist your trunk and lift onto I (Uirhip! Stay in shape. Fit people are less likely to strain their backs. And ; their exercise helps control stress, a ton! i ibutor to muscle tension that can cause or aggravate backache. In contrast, a pot belly can lead to thionic backache. Learn to stretch. If you suffer back pain, you have many choices. My back has benefited from a number of good MDs. chiroprac-loimassage therapists, one osteopath and several practitioners of "body work." Vet my best help came from learning stretching and toning exercises. And my best source? The YMC'A's Healthy Back program, easy, inexpensive and offered ide. II you hurt, try it. And then you can hold your own s, w llooi shows. Different approaches to lifesav-in- g Heimlich, inventor of the Heimlich maneuver to help choking ictinis. still is fighting the Aineiican Red Cross. liey've been at it for decades. It took ages for Red Cross officials to accept his maneuver, and even then they renamed it "abdominal llenr I tin lists. This month. Heimlich is criticizing the Red Cross approach for reviving drowning victims. He h resuscitation says can drive water deeper into the mouth-to-mout- luil'JS. It may be years before the conflict is resolved. Until then, those around pools and lakes should know their options: I he Red Cross way: Start immediately. If air won't go in, tilt head back. If it stil! won't go in, d abdominal tin usts (the Heimlich maneuver) by piessing sharply with palms on the person's abdomen. Heimlich's way: Use the Heimlich maneuver first, to expel water from the lungs and throat. Repeat until no further water is expelled, resuscithen start tation. Because water's buoyancy lightens a victim's weight, shallow water is a fine place to perform the Heimlich maneuver. You forgot how? It's a cinch. Stand behind the victim and wrap your arms around his or her waist. Make a fist, place the thumb side of that fist against the victim's stomach, just below the rib cage, and then grab the fist with your other hand. Next, press your fist into the victim's stomach with a quick upward thrust. For further information, send a stamped, busincss-si.- c envelope to Heimlich Institute, 2368 Victory Parkway, Suite 4I0. Cincinnati. Ohio 45206. mouth-to-mou- k 1 PROVO Ralph Strom met Mark Argyle under strange circumstances. Virtual strangers at the start, they pulled each other through the most trying time of their lives. Strom, 67, was in the hospital after he'd experienced a multisystem failure and symptoms of severe "deconditioning." His endurance was shot, he'd had a heart attack, vertabraes in his back were out of place and he was suffereing major distress of the nervous system. Argyle, 64, had been diagnosed with a brain tumor following a biopsy May 21, and given little better than a slight chance of living. Both men ended up in the Rehabilitation Unit at Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, following multiple surgeries and extensive stays in the Intensive Care Unit. Neither could function. Their weak. They couldn't walk or lift their limbs. Talking was difficult. They were put together as roommates. Today they are the best of buddies, planning fishing and hunting d trips to celebrate their freedom and Ir mk 0 if si,' muscles were new-foun- fx well-bein- g. "We've had a lot of fun together, it's made the time bearable," said Argyle. "He's the boss!" said Strom but Argyle said it's just the other way around. Argyle was released to go home to Spanish Fork Aug. 17 but will continue to receive treatments at the hospital three times a week. He spent three months in the rehabilitation unit after a bout with surgery for the tumor that doctors estimated had a one out a 100 chance of being lymphatic. (It wasn't.) He underwent 25 radiation treatments and battled pneumonia plus a serious blood clot situation. Herald PhotoPatrick J. Krohn 'Can't wait to go fishing." Ralph Strom, left, and Mark Argyle, right, at the parallel bars they've used over and over on their road to recovery. Strom had been transferred to the rehabilitation unit after spending two months at Mountain View Hospital. He was released Friday, Aug. 21, shortly after he and Argyle cooked up the "best meal the Rehab staff had seen in a long time" of elk stroganoff and peach cobbler and apple dumplings. The meal was a homework assignment to see if they had recovered sufficiently to operate in a kitchen at home. They had to prepare the menu, go shopping for the supplies and fix the entrees. They also went on an outdoor picnic with staff members at Sundance to test their social skills. Both passed their "finals" after long months of rigorous therapy and rehabilitation. The deli- cious smells through the corridors attracted personnel and friends from all over the hospital. "With more time, I'd have made homemade noodles," said Strom. "My boy had shot an elk. Mark peeled about seven Hearing to address Medicaid shortfall - SALT LAKE CITY A second public hearing to discuss impending $15 million reductions in the Medicaid program is planned by the Utah Department of Health Friday, Aug. 28, 6 p.m., in the State Office Building Auditorium. Rod Betit. interim executive director, projects current program expenditures will exceed the legislative appropriation by $15 million. "While the Legislature and Governor have been very responsive to providing the funding support necessary to cover the case load growth," says Betit. "State revenues have not kept up. " "We want to hear from the public." says Betit, "on impending Medicaid program reductions for fiscal year 1993." To balance Medicaid program expenditures for FY 1993 to the amount appropriated by the Legislature, the following Medicaid program reductions were recommended. . Reducing the service package for the Medically Needy Program. Those that will generally not be covered include: I Durable medical supplies (oxygen and oxygen concentrators will continue to be covered) Dental services Physical therapy and physical medicine services Speech and hearing services Vision care servicessupplies Podiatric services Alcohol and drug treatment Psychological services (mental health clinic services will continued to be covered) Home health services medical Non-emergen- cy transportation Liver transplants Medicaid eligible clients affected by this cut are at least 65, blind, or diabled and do not receive a payment from the Supplemental Security Income program. Up to 3,500 clients may be affected. for' 2. Charging a certain types of Medicaid services. will be $1 for The most services and 50 cents for prescriptions. A monthly cap of $8 will be set. Up to 40.000 clients may be affected. 3. Dropping coverage of parents of dependent children who do not receive cash assistance from the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program. This cut will impact unemployed parents, incapacitated parents and single parents. Up to 3,500 clients may be affected. 4. Adding a resource test for children. The chilpoverty-levdren involved in this program reduction are ages through 5 and have a family income of less than 133 percent of the federal poverty th In But both men agree that their friendship strengthened them greatly. They also have high praise for the staff members of the unit including speech therapist, Paul Osborne and nursing director, Diane Rindlisbacher. "They never complain," said Argyle. "Everyday they kept us going." "Some wear black hats. Some wear the white hats," said Strom. "But even the black ones are on your side." Governor's Conference on Families to educate clergy - SALT LAKE CITY Utah clergy and families can gain insight and skill at the Governor's Conference on Families "Smarter Parents, Happier Chilat the Salt Palace, Saturdren day, Sept. 19, from 5 p.m. J 8-- 1 level. 5. Imposing more restrictive disability criteria. Currently, Medicaid considers a person disabled if heshe has been disabled for at least one full year. This new limitation will require that a person's disability be expected to last for at least two years unless they are terminally ill. 6. Extending the spend-dow- n budget period. Currently, Medicaid computes a person's contribution toward the cost of care on a monthly basis and the client is responsible for meeting this debt on a basis. month-by-mon- th The conference features professionals on topics which include communication, marriage enrichment, single parenting, etc. Religious leaders are offered sessions designed to assist them in dealing with family problems. Speaker for the clergy session is Rabbi Earl Grollman, nationally recognized pioneer in the field of crisis intervention. Mariette Hartley will be the keynote speaker. Named Outstanding Mother of the Year, the actress is probably best remembered for commercials with James Garner. Luncheon speakers are Frank and Barbara Lay den. He is president of the Utah Jazz. She has been Rabbi Earl A. Grollman president of the Utah Chapter for Prevention of Child Abuse. The conference is sponsored by the State Division of Family Services. Fee is $10 per person. Scholarships are available through Utahns Against Hunger. For more information call 538-398- 5. the past, this letter might have been a joke Dear Readers: I am on vacation, but I have left behind some of my favorite columns that you may have missed the first time around. I hope you Ann Landers enjoy them. bear Ann Landers: I am writing to you about my problem because I don't have the courage to talk to anyone else. I am 29 years old and have a lovely wife, three beautiful children and a secure job. I am very much in love with my wife's fath- er. My wife and I have been together for nine years. I have been in love with her father for two years. discovered eight months ago that he has the same feelings for me. His wife died years ago. He wants a life with mc and I love I "It took me about an hour," chuckled Argyle. "But when I first got here, I couldn't even lift my arm. I never believed I'd be doing some of what I'm doing again now!" "When I came in, I was more dead than I was alive," said Strom. "I just saw the grim reaper and he took a swing and I ducked!" Argyle said he "hung on" to see a grandson arrive safely home from a mission July 9. Strom said he kept going thinking of his son, daughter and two grandsons. el th mouth-to-mou- d, pain restores health, creates a friendship The Rehabilitation Center at UVRMC specializes in helping patients reach their maximum potential following a devastating injury or illness. By BILL LAITNER Knight-Ridde- off Ann Lenders Hv- - should tell her at all. Please advise me. N.N. P. Dear N.N.P.: There was a time when I would have looked for the New Haven postmark on the envelope and muttered a few words about "those But today, I'd believe Ya-lies- vy Advice Columnist him, but I don't know what to do. Neither of us appears to be gay. We are sure no one has the slightest idea that we feel so deeply for one another. My wife would be very shocked and hurt, but both her father and I feel that our love should not be denied. I don't know what to tell her or IF I ." anything. Get some counseling and to do urge your father-in-lathe same. Your therapist will advise you in regard to sharing this with your w ife. w Dear Ann Landers: Recently you printed a letter from a tall lady who signed herself "Height of Happiness." She gave several hints on how to handle being tall. I'd like to add my two cents' worth. (I'm a guy, by the way.) 1 . There IS a change in attitude between high school and college. In high school, most boy-gi- rl pairs consisted of a short, bouncy cheerleader and a tall, masculine BMOC usually a football jock. h 2. Back when coats came out, the short girls slumped along like cows. I actually saw one gal fall (her foot got caught in her hem). The tall girls swirled in a graceful glide when they walked. 3. At dances when I got stuck with three or four peewees in a row, my neck would start to ache from leaning over (I am 5 feet 10 inches tall), but one dance with a tall gal and my neck "recovered." This is just one fella's view, for whatever it's worth, Annie. Sign me Birdwatching Cat From Connecticut ankle-lengt- Dear Bird Watcher: Thanks for meowing in this direction. Dear Ann Landers: The letter from Mrs. Invisible really got to me. I was Mrs. Invisible, too, until I got smart. My d husband never used to introduce me to his friends either. About three months ago, when he forgot for the umpteenth time, I stepped forward, put on my biggest smile, extended my hand to the most attractive man in the group, and purred, "Hi, there. My name is Mary Jones. What's addle-braine- yours?" My husband has never failed to introduce mc since. No Longer Ignored Dear N.L.I. : I like your style, lady. Nothing succeeds like |