Jeremy Herndon Blog

It does my heart good to see and know that Jack who lives next door went back to school and became a nurse. Even though he got a late start in life in getting his education he did it and seems to be enjoying his new work. I see him leaving each morning wearing his new nursing scrubs, all nice and clean like and then each evening he comes in looking pretty ragged out, bless his heart. He is apparently working in a pediatric practice and you can just imagine how those kids must be a handful each day for him to be looking so rough.

There seems to be a great selection of these medical scrubs out there these days for folks in the medical field and that our neighbor has purchased numerous variations to wear each day. I found a great medical uniform site at http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Men/that I plan on turning him onto when I see him around his backyard over the weekend. At least he isn’t stuck wearing the same old long lab coat day in and day out like some medical personnel end up wearing. That would be a drag for some one like him that enjoys a variety in their work attire.

A friend of mine sent me a link to a video that shows how to extend the life of “dead” batteries!  I couldn’t believe it was possible – dead means dead, right?  So I went to the video and watched it – it looks like it really could work, although if used improperly could make the batteries leak, which could damage the flashlight (or whatever) they are being used to power.  I think I’ll give it a try myself on a cheap flashlight next time some batteries die! 

I have never been into the smoking of any tobacco product but I certainly know enough people that have held on to this nasty habit for many years. My grandfather always smoked a pipe and I have always enjoyed the smell of a good pipe in the air, but as far as cigarettes goes I have never enjoyed the smell of them indoors or outdoors. My best friend has been a smoker since Junior High and has tried to kick the habit so many times that I have lost count at this point.

I am happy to say that he has now found a new product called the Electronic Cigarette that he is trying out lately. He says that by him using this Electronic Cigarette that he has cut back on the regular cigarettes and hopes to soon cut them out totally by using this Electronic Cigarette that many people are turning to with huge success.

It would be nice see him really put down those coffin nails once and for all. I worry about his health, big time. We have all lost loved ones from lung cancer and I couldn’t bare losing him from this horrible disease.

OK I can take a hint Sis. My kid sister has a birthday coming up soon and she is all ready sending out gift ideas and suggestions to the family. She even went so far as to send me the link to http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/Original-Scrubs/ which is to a company that she buys a lot of her medical scrubs and uniforms that she needs to wear to work each day since she finally landed a job at the local hospital in town. She hasn’t bought a new set of scrubs in some time now and I know how women can be about their wardrobe so I have no problem picking her up a couple of things to help her out and feel better about herself.

She worked so hard going back to school while raising her twin sons and getting her degree in nursing. She never planned on working, but when her husband suddenly passed away leaving her on her own with the two boys she had no other choice and we are all so proud of her. The whole family pitched in to help her get this far, but that is what family is for. The twins were passed around from relative to relative for a good while there, but actually I think it all worked out for the best since the twins are now so very close with many relatives that I really don’t think they would have been if not for all the baby sitting duties that were necessary to get her where she is today.

I know that she reads this blog from time to time, so I’d like her know how proud we all are of her and to let her know that we will all be there for her and her kids when ever she needs us. Being an uncle is more fun than I ever expected and I look forward to teaching the boys football, baseball, soccer, what ever they want and need from me, anything other then changing their diapers!

I was really surprised last night when I tried to call Matt last night and found out that he had checked into a Florida drug rehab last weekend. In a way, I was glad to hear that he had done that because he wasn’t getting serious about his recovery on his own.

Substance addiction truly is a terrible thing, and kicking the habit by oneself, going cold turkey, is not an easy task. There are so many obstacles in the way of recovery. There are many complex issues that need to be addressed. For example, what was the basis for the addiction? Was someone trying to escape reality because they were unhappy, were they just doing it for fun and then got hooked, or was it because they were in physical pain and had prescriptions written and then developed a resistance to the medication?

Along with this physical dependency comes many emotional issues. The dependency affects the entire family and social life of the patient. One way or another, the patient is getting some kind of release for taking the substance. The biggest challenge is to get them to substitute some thing different so that they can feel a similar release that does not destroy them or their lives.

Often times the change involves not just counseling to help the patient with esteem issues, but also involves relationship counseling. Sometimes the patient needs to remove certain people from their lives in order to make the recovery successful. And the patient needs to learn new coping mechanisms, new communication styles.

The biggest hurdle, though, in my opinion, is getting the patient to acknowledge that they need and want to change. Many of the patients are perfectly happy in their addictions, and have no desire whatsoever to change anything in their lives. They just don’t realized (or care) how selfish they are and about the pain they are causing the people who care about them. And that’s really sad because so many people in their lives are very badly hurt by the problem. It is a long and difficult journey, and I wish Matt great success in his attempt at recovery.

I’ve heard that September is National Recovery Month. Maybe there will be a media blitz to bring the problems to light and create some interest and understanding into the many complex issues with addictions and recovery.