Tag Archives: health

Silence Still Equals Death

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We tend to become emotionally involved when something is personal. The loss of friends and loved ones to HIV/AIDS over the course of thirty years produced a perpetual cycle of loss, pain and goodbyes.  It was the start of my emotional involvement and decision to speak up and do something.

I can’t address the scientific similarities between HIV and COVID-19, but I do know that both had and continue to have a devastating impact on the Black community in this country.

Black people represent 12% of the U.S. population, but account for a much larger share of HIV diagnoses (43%), people estimated to be living with HIV disease (42%), and deaths among people with HIV (44%) than any other racial/ethnic group in the U.S.  Similarly, Black people in the U.S. are infected with COVID-19 at nearly three times the rate of White Americans.

Poverty, the lack of access to health care, the lack of awareness and stigma all contribute to the devastation brought on by both diseases.

The bigger culprits are ignorance, indifference, and silence.  Far too many of us are guilty.  The production of COVID-19 vaccines provides optimism and hope. But in this moment, we need more than hope.  We can no longer be silent.  We have to speak up, friends. We have to do something to help each other combat the devastation.  We have an opportunity to increase COVID-19 and HIV education, testing, community involvement and treatment in communities of color – simply put, Silence = Death.

 

He Left a Playbook to Deal With This

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While the context was specific to achieving racial equality and not pandemic preparation, another high-profile individual left a detailed document on how to respond to a  crisis.

 

The individual was the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the document is a book published in 1967, called “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community.”

 

Fifty plus years later, “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community,” presents some hard truths and stark realities that remain relevant and demand our collective attention, perhaps even more so today. Its resonance, while centered on race relations and equality, has justice at its core.

As those of us in the fields of health sciences and healthcare seek to improve health equality and inclusivity, we only need look to Dr. King’s wisdom for insight and direction.

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, the answers exist in what Dr. Leon McDougle, (National Medical Association (NMA) President and Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion and the Chief Diversity Officer at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center), refers to as the  “already structured forces in the (Black) community that can serve as the basis for building a powerful united front.” Specifically, Dr. McDougle was referencing: The (Black) church, The (Black) media, The (Black) Fraternities & Sororities and (Black) Professional Organizations.

Dr. King’s message is particularly instructive:

“We need organizations that are permeated with mutual trust, incorruptibility and militancy. Without this spirit we may have numbers but they will add up to zero. We need organizations that are responsible, efficient and alert. We lack experience because ours is a history of disorganization. But we will prevail because our need for progress is stronger than the ignorance forced upon us. If we realize how indispensable is responsible militant organizations to our struggle, we will create it as we managed to create underground railroads, protest groups, self-help societies and the churches that have always been our refuge, our source of hope and our source of action.” –  (King, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community, pp 169 – 170)

The “source of hope and our source of action” that Dr. King referenced is precisely my guiding north star.  We must build and foster relationships with organizations, institutions and individuals who are prominent and trusted in the community.

The objective is simple – to illustrate and demonstrate how science can save lives…specifically Black and Brown lives. In order to accomplish this, we must be active and visible participants in remedies and clinical trials that will produce cures and solutions. We are resilient and strong and realize that, while it is a part of the solution, science alone will not save us.  It is important that we rely on ourselves.

Research has proven that people who are able to exert some control over their lives fare better and experience a better quality of life. The challenge is to strengthen our self-reliance and channel it in ways that help us better cope and survive.

COVID-19 is the latest and most prominent disease disproportionately devastating people of color and under-served communities; but that is only one disease in a longer list including HIV, Heart Disease, Diabetes and a host of other maladies.

So, when your pastor, sorority sister, fraternity brother or that individual you respect talks to you about science, clinical trials and how we have to organize the power in our community to save lives, Listen. Ask questions. Become engaged. Get informed. Most importantly, do not ignore Dr. King’s playbook.  Our lives depend upon it.

 

“I need my friends. I need my house. I need my garden.”*

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Working in my yard fuels my soul.  It always has – whether in Rydal or in the Pocono mountains. This is especially true today during the time of Covid-19. There is much uncertainty and far too many distractions and things that we simply cannot control. Time in my garden is my “go to” safe space.  It gives me hope, gives me purpose and provides a sense of connection to something bigger than myself.

Early Spring is not only a time of renewal.  In the yard, it is the time to discover things that have been forgotten or tucked away as we prepared for the Winter months.  I never really think of gardening as decoration, but as part of an evolving process – a work that is never fully completed, but always transitioning.  My garden esthetic is courtesy of my dear friend Vincent LaBella. He believed that the ideal garden “always has something in bloom…something to look forward to…a collection of instruments that are beautiful alone, but collectively make the sweetest sound one has ever seen.”

In my yard this evolution comes to life in late March/early April with a row of eight Redbuds (Pictured) – clusters of tiny magenta buds that swell into showy rosy pink flowers before the leaves appear, with the blossoms putting on a show for two to three weeks. Tulips (Pictured) – classic shapes and colors, that when planted in groupings and complimentary colors provide a spectacular display of light and harmony.  NOTE: I mix early and late Spring bulbs to “extend the show.” Lenten Rose is not really a rose – it gets its name because it blooms around Lent and the flower is shaped somewhat like a rose.  I await the arrival or more “smiling faces” – Viburnum, Hosta, Fern, Astilbe, Hydrangea, Azalea, Peonies, Day Lilly and a host of other perennials.

*”I need my friends. I need my house. I need my garden.” is a quote by English actress Miranda Richardson.  I do not know the context that she was speaking of, but it perfectly sums up how I feel.  Whether through cards, notes, phone calls or Face Time; I find myself heavily relying on (and needing) a connection to the individuals who matter most to me in life.  We laugh, cry, joke and sustain meaningful interactions that are as necessary as the air we breathe and the food that sustains us.  My house is my refuge.  A place of security, calm and as Joan Armatrading sang, “...a shelter from the storm.”  Research shows that gardening can reduce the risk of stroke, burn calories, decreases the likelihood of osteoporosis and can also reduce the risk of heart disease.  For me it is a stress reduction – it lowers cortisol – the stress hormone –  and gives me a connection to the land. It is the Anti-News Media.  By “working the dirt,” I have the opportunity to focus on beauty and this inspires me to experience feelings of awe, gratitude, and abundance.

 

A Different Kind of Father’s Day Gift

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I recently experienced chest pains and freaked out…

Freaked out because I don’t get sick.

Really.

The last cold I had was 2 years ago and I was “on the mend” within in 48 hours of the onset.

More important than that, I am afraid of the doctor.

There, I said it.

The even more shocking news is that I am not alone.

For all of our bravado and machismo, the majority of men would prefer to suffer in silence and/or simply ignore a medical ailment than face it and make the trek to the doctor’s office.

Fact. African-American men among all racial groups are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer at an advanced stage – moreover they are more likely to die from prostate cancer.

Fact. Diabetes is 60% more common in African-American men that in White men, and, get this, limb amputation is higher in African-Americans men than any other group.

Fact. African-American Men have higher cancer death rates than Whites.

Diabetes. Sickle Cell Anemia. HIV. Alzheimer’s Disease. High Blood Pressure. Stroke and Depression. While these diseases are color blind and affect everyone, there is a higher incidence among African-American men.

My dad survived prostate cancer and cardiac disease.

His prognosis for both was dramatically positive.

This was, in part, due to early intervention and a willingness to seek the appropriate medical attention.

Father’s Day is just around the corner.

Whether you are a mother, grandmother, father, grandfather, uncle, aunt, wife, daughter, son or simply a caring friend, encourage all of the men in your life to make the trip to the doctor’s office for a physical exam. If he is reticent or unwilling, threaten him. That is the course of action that got me to the seek treatment.

If “he” is 45+ years old, a PSA Blood test is strongly suggested too.

Much more than a tie, bottle of wine or a subscription to Netflix, the gift of love is one that can only be measured through actions that demonstrate what is most important.