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by Linda Moore
It's been twenty-one days of 95 degrees or above. This is not counting the morbid heat factors of the afternoon and even the morning. Each day that I look outside the Bradley/Cleveland area is browner. Still I see no real relief in sight. But the weather will change. Life will change.
Have y'all heard of the Bradley Wellness Initiative? Have you happened to read about some of the results or hear about it on the radio? People have literally lost hundreds upon hundreds of pounds. More stunning than the weight loss is the folks that have been able to quit taking medication. Diabetes run rampant in the state of Tennessee, (my dad is a diabetic). Being a diabetic increases your risk for everything else going. I'll use stroke as an example. If you're a diabetic you're more apt to have a stroke, (my diabetic dad is also a stroke victim). Gnaw on this for a few minutes, "People actually were able to come off of their medication".
Think of the tremendous savings in health insurance. Think about all the health insurance that tax payers pay. You pay for police, firemen, road workers, teachers and all sorts of other employees. How many of them are diabetic or over weight? How many of them are skinny as a rail but are still ticking time bombs due to the amount of fast food they eat? You can still be skinny as a rail and not be eating right and be a victim.
Many of our firemen and policeman are going to go through the Bradley Wellness Steps starting September the 1st, Actually they started this Saturday with measurements and other health checks. I'm in. I'm not a policeman or a fireman but I'm in. I figure if I don't lose some weight I'm going to go to a very early grave. My blood pressure is screaming it to me. I've attended one unofficial nutrition class and one official one. I am shocked and amazed at what I've learned. I intend to learn more.
My major purpose for going through the Bradley Wellness Steps is to prolong my life. I'm greedy in that I want to live as long as possible. Another purpose that I have is so that I can inform you, the tax payer, as to where it merits a few dollars of our money or not. By the time I go through this program I will know for sure if it is beneficial to health care costs or not. I'll look at all the numbers. I will tell you the absolute truth. I am thinking that instead of having all the hospital money pilfered away on pet projects, it would behoove us to have some of it spent on health care.
In the mean time, (I think I'm the only person who loves Krispy Kreme more than any cop), I'll let y'all know how our officers and fire fighters are faring in the program also.
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