"Roses for Autism"

These roses are part of my blog because they are from "Roses for Autism", which is located at Pinchbeck Farm, Guilford Connecticut.   The Pinchbeck family had been growing beautiful roses here as a commercial operation since 1929; with their greenhouses being the largest in the world at that time.  They were one of the largest rose distributers in New England until 2008 when they were on the verge of going out of business.   A couple good friends of theirs, one who has an autistic son, decided to form a partnership with the Pinchbecks so that the farm could continue to supply flowers as a place where young people on the austism spectrum could be trained to work in the business. 

I learned about Roses for Autism from the local newspaper this winter right around Valentines Day.  Since I really love flowers and also have a young nephew who is on the austism spectrum, I decided to go visit and see for myself.   Driving in, I saw two of the largest greenhouses I had ever seen in my entire life.     When I went into the shop, it had a very cheerful atmosphere, with the busy hum of people coming to get last minute Valentine's Day flowers, and nice young people helping customers with their orders and two ladies behind the counter wrapping the flowers and working the cash register. 

I had heard that the lavendar roses were very special and the most fragrant so I wanted  

to give a dozen to my nephew's family.  However, I didn't see any in the refrigerator and was disappointed.  A young woman asked if I needed help and I told her I was looking for the lavendar roses.  She said she thought they were all out, but would go in the back and see.  A few moments later, she came back with a dozen of the most fragrant roses I'd ever smelled and they were the most beautiful lavendar color!   "The last ones there", she said.  I felt very lucky as I paid my money for the flowers.  There were so many beautiful red roses and other colors, I would have been happy with any, but I thought these would really be enjoyed as they were so special.

It was a nice, well-deserved surprise for my busy sister-in-law who was very thrilled with their color and fragrance.    Since then I have visited "Roses For Autism" at least once a month; most recently bringing some to my mother for our big family Mother's Day party.   Everyone who works at "Roses For Autism" is very nice and someone will be happy to help you carry things to your car, if you can't resist getting more than you came for!   It is a great place to get beautiful roses at incredibly reasonable prices, even if you just want something beautiful for your own table.  They have been a big hit for friend's birthdays, as hostess gifts and of course, on Mother's Day.  When was the last time you paid $15 or $25 for a dozen of the the most fragrant scented roses you can imagine which bloom perfectly!?!    They also sell very nice, healthy young vegetable and herb plants for your garden.   If you love flowers and/or need some plants for your garden, you must make a visit there soon - it is definitely one of our Connecticut Shoreline treasures and a very special place!

First Aid and CPR - Symptoms for a Stroke

It is a great thing to get your First Aid and CPR certification,  especially if you get trained by a good teacher.  Terri Benoit, a nurse and EMT who is an American Red Cross instructor, has been teaching 1st Aid and CPR for many years here in Connecticut.  She was first recommended to me as an instructor through the Westbrook Parks and Recreation Department and has been very helpful in getting sailing instructors trained in First Aid and CPR over the years.  She started out as a hospital nurse and also works as a personal trainer and is the mother of two school age children.   I would describe her teaching method as relaxed, hands on, realistic and very informative.  She has lots of  stories to share from the field that help one make sense of all the information. 

One of her stories was about the symptoms for a stroke.  She told us that there is a 2 hour window for the victim to get to the hospital.  She said that if you call 911, then do CPR and recussitate them right away, there is an excellent chance that they will be back to normal.  People who are having strokes may get dizzy, confused, lose their balance, not be able to see out of one or both eyes, have numbness on one side or the other of their body, not be able to move their arms.  A good test for stroke is to have the person stick out their tongue; if they can't do that, there is a good chance they have had a stroke.  Another is to ask them to stick their arms out to the front or the sides. 

Terri told us about her 96 year old uncle who couldn't talk because he was having a stroke so they called the ambulance right away.   Medical breakthroughs have provided medications that can reverse the effects of a stroke if the victim is taken to the hospital quickly enough.  Remember that one can suffer from a stroke at a much younger age and it is much better to call 911 if there is a health emergency than to suffer pangs of regret.  Here's to your good health and that of your family and friends and also to your ability to act correctly and effectively in any health emergencies.

Healing a Rotater Cuff Injury; Why I am now a Fan of Acupuncture!

Rotater cuff issues are tricky.  My personal journey in this regard led from the Traditional Medical, effective treatments like Physical Therapy to Cortisone Shots to Acupuncture.  Have you ever had a rotater cuff issue?  It is not fun and involves pain which can range from "nagging, just annoying" to much more severe. 

About 13 years ago, I injured my rotater cuff, without even knowing at the time that I had.  It happened when I was teaching a sailing lesson and there was hardly any wind.  My student and I were at a downwind point of sail and I had my arm up for awhile on a 26 foot sailboat in order to keep the boom from going back and forth over our heads while I was teaching a lesson involving points of sail and jibing.  The boom was passing over our heads back and forth as it does and was a bit distracting so I put my hand up to hold the boom away from our heads for a minute or so just to make my point.  There was hardly any pressure on the sail or I wouldn't have done this.   The lesson continued well and I didn't think anything of it.

Later on, my shoulder started to ache a bit, but I just ignored it.  Having been trained as a dancer during college along with growing up sailing and as an "outdoorsy kind of girl", then becoming a mom, and therefore not bothered by little aches and pains, I didn't pay my shoulder any mind until a few weeks later when it was still aching.   At that point, I sort of started watching it, getting a massage, taking Tylenol, etc.. and it didn't go away.  It was really interfering with my tennis, something I especially enjoyed off season for stress relief and to stay in shape.  Finally I consulted an MD.  He had me take an MRI, which I did.  His diagnosis was that I had an impinged rotater cuff and prescribed Physical Therapy.  I asked him how I could have torn it - there hadn't even been any pressure on the sail?  He explained that starting around age 40, especially if one has a small frame on top, as I do, it is not a good idea to ever have your arm in that position as it is very susceptible to rotater cuff injury. 

After about 8 weeks of excellent Physical Therapy, with ElectroStim, Heat, Ice, Massage and prescribed exercises - my arm felt fine again.  I was very pleased to be able to teach sailing again without any pain and to play tennis.  I thought I was "cured" and that was the end of it.

A couple years later, I moved to Eastern CT, began teaching sailing up there and managing a large sailing program.  Everything was fine the first year, but by the second year, my shoulder was really bothering me again, especially while playing tennis.  I decided that I'd better get PT again, but this time it actually got worse with the Physical Therapy.   I became increasingly concerned as I had an important sailing event coming up and my shoulder was in such pain, that even with Tylenol, it was hard to stand the pain.  The MD promised that if he gave me a Cortisone shot on Monday that by Saturday, I would be fine for the event.  He have me that Cortisone shot and gratefully, I was fine for the event and pain free for 5 more years!  The Cortisone shot was not a pleasant experience, but definitely worth it.  If you are at all needle shy and your doctor will prescribe a tranquilizer beforehand, I would recommend taking it.

When the shoulder started acting up again during tennis season, I thought, "O.K., I'll just get another Cortosone shot and I'll be fine for another 5 years."  Unfortunately, this time the shot only worked for 3 weeks and the pain came back.  My doctor said this meant that I now needed surgery.  At yoga class, I was telling my instructor about it and how I was going to have to miss yoga because of this operation and she recommended seeing a local acupuncturist who was also a yoga student.

I had always thought that acupuncture was just a hoax and not being a big fan of needles, I asked her if she was sure it would work.  She said she wasn't sure but it was worth giving it a shot (pardon the pun!).  She told me the acupuncturist was excellent and would let me know after the 1st session if she could help me and I should just try it.   So I did.  4 months later and for the same price that I would have paid as a deductible for rotater cuff surgery, I was healed.  This was about 5 years ago and I haven't looked back, so now I am a big fan of acupuncture!


While my acupuncturist said she couldn't have healed it if it was a bad tear and that would have definitely required surgery, I recommend acupuncture 100 percent for pain relief, as long as you find a qualified & talented acupuncturist.  Just like a regular MD, the talent, experience and integrity of the acupuncturist is very important, so get references from people you know.  My acupuncturist, Dr. Cynthia Frantz of Chester, Connecticut is excellent and uses the finest needles (they are red) for my treatments, and it doesn't bother me at all, in fact it is actually quite relaxing!