Stay Healthy

Daughter’s condition prompts local family to sponsor Palmetto Heart Walk

When Meredith Walls was four months pregnant with her daughter, Ryan Elizabeth, she was given news that no parent wants to hear. 

The baby had a third-degree congenital heart block, a life-threatening condition that slows the heartbeat. 

Colorblindness? Blind to color? Let’s reflect on the implications of this compound word and compound idea.

Blindness first. What does it really mean to be blind? How many of us would choose a sightless, lightless existence? How many of us would choose to be confined in a world of darkness where we could not easily distinguish shapes or spatial dimensions, or the faces of our loved ones? Such a choicewould seem pathological.

In the field of medicine, there has often been a divide between those who focus on modern medicine and those who prefer alternative practices. However, both sides can agree on one fact: the number of patients using complementary and alternative medicine is growing.

Recent studies show that complementary and alternative medicine is the fastest growing area in health care today. In 2015, an estimated 42 percent of the U.S. population used some form of alternative therapy. The numbers are even higher in family practice settings: One study found that 50 percent of patients were using at least one alternative therapy — and only half of them had told their family physicians.

About once a month, a group of us get together and map out a 10-mile walk.

Since the average person will burn between 80 to 140 calories per mile (or roughly 1,000 calories in 10 miles), we reward ourselves afterwards with a leisurely lunch paired with wine. This month, we decided to explore Sea Pines. Our course was canopied by oak trees swathed with Spanish moss, lined with iconic and historic Hilton Head hot spots and included a beautiful beach section. Here’s how you, too, can do it:

Meditation can be so simple, it can seem complicated. Busy minds often hear the word “meditation” and immediately think, “I could never just sit there and do nothing.” And yet, meditation is one of the most beneficial and inexpensive things you can do to improve your health. The key is knowing which method works best for you.

After his father committed suicide three years ago, now 12-year-old Blake Lutz wrote, “He always loved me and I always loved him. … I’ll never understand why he did what he did, and I never will. …

“When you're dead, you never can tell the people that you love that you miss them. … Make sure that you tell people who are close to you that you love them because you never know if you might see them again.”

BEHIND THE MYSTIQUE OF HILTON HEAD HEALTH

For years, decades even, Hilton Head Health seemed to exist behind a veil of secrecy for locals. It endured on the fringes of our community conscience, the setting for the latest celebrity sighting rumor mill. This starlet was here to dry out after a bender. That movie star was here to shed a few pounds.

“Life is short. Break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably and never regret anything that made you smile.”

That anonymous quote is everything you need to know about how to live life to the fullest in 2016.

However, a little outside help doesn’t hurt. This year, instead of trying to do everything yourself, turn to the experts. From dentists, masseuses, personal trainers, plastic surgeons and more, the pros can provide you with services to make you look and feel your very best.

A look back at how Hilton Head became a world-class destination for indulgence

Hilton Head Island had many amenities that helped it reach and maintain its world-class vacation destination status back in 1993. Wide pristine beaches, top-ranked golf courses and tennis facilities, award-winning restaurants, three-and-four star luxury hotels, wildlife and forest preserves, water adventures and bike trails.