This is a picture of my dear friends at work who I have worked with for many years on our inpatient Medical Oncology floor. Katrina was our Chaplain par Excellence who had creative ways of meeting patients spiritual needs when they were critically ill as well as nurture and nourish the Health Care Professionals who cared for them! Betty Ann is our Attending RN and has been working on the same floor for the past 41 years. She is a wealth of information, a great resource and an extremely intuitive person. I feel so grateful to work with not only with these two Champions for Healing but also such an amazing inpatient team.
Which brings me to November, the month of the Thanksgiving Holiday. It is a wonderful month to take a deep breath and give thanks and gratefulness for our circle of family, friends and support! I have for many years felt that eating well, exercising and managing stress were the keys to a long, healthful life. This year, I learned that those factors are only part of the equation and not even the most important part. The research shows that those who have positive supportive social interaction and strong relationships actually live longer than those who stop smoking or drinking, get regular exercise, or even get a flu vaccine …boy was I surprised! So I did some more investigating and surprise, surprise found out that women live longer than men by about 6-8 years and happily married women actually live longer than most.
This all leads to the importance of a Strong Social Network of Support and Connection as a KEY to survival, living longer and frankly, for the better when surrounded by a Positive Social Network of Support. So the next time you get together with wonderful fun-loving, positive, supportive family, friends, or colleagues, remember that they are the KEY to your good health!!
To your Good, Better, Best Life through W.E.L.L.N.E.S.S.!!!!