KATRINA'S AFTERMATH, CONSERVING ENERGY & GOOD MEDICAL REPORT

by OLIVENE GODFREY

Our hearts and prayers go out to the people in the Gulf states that were hit with the wrath of the hurricane, Katrina,

As we watched the heartbreaking televised scenes of the American refugees who were pleading for our government to send them food and water, we became angry at the apparent incompetence of our president and his administration.

As I write this, things have improved dramatically for the refugees and we hope their ordeal will soon be over. We need a leader like Rudy Giuliani to do for our federal government what he did for New York after 9/11.

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We are trying to conserve energy and son Barry has stopped driving his pickup truck to work as it is a gas guzzler and now drives his car which gets excellent gas mileage. We will

limit our out of town trips during this period with high gas prices and some shortages.

We have an energy efficient heat pump and an energy saving hot water heater. And, since yesterday, we have a new energy efficient refrigerator. I recently read that if you have an old fridge, you can save up to 40 percent of your power bill if you purchase a new fridge now. Barry bought our new one and we are really proud of it. The freezer chest is extra large and that is what we needed.

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I recently had a physical exam and lab work. Last week,

I had an appointment with my doctor to review my lab report.

The doctor gave me a copy of the report and she had written beside the cholesterol. "perfect", and all the other things were marked "very good." She cautioned me not to become

complacent and start cheating on my diet and exercise. I assured her that I intend for my diet and exercise to be a life long commitment.

We discussed my breathing which has been very good for some time now. I have COPD and use inhalers and nebuliser

treatments.

I told the doctor that I am keeping my fingers crossed that I don't have bronchitis when cold weather arrives. She reminded me to get a flu shot in October.

I am controlling my diabetes with diet and still don't have to take medicine. I don't have to see the doctor again for a while unless I get sick. I still haven't received the report on my mammogram and hope it will be fine. I have an appointment this week for an eye exam and after that I hope I don't have to see a doctor any time soon.

See you next time.