Content about Health

Beloved readers: I am back and it has been a long and (for me) interesting, life-altering journey. If you are not interested in the more-than-month-long medical journey I have been on, I encourage and beseech you to turn the page and read the rest of this newspaper.

If you are interested, hold on … this may take several chapters. I always wanted to be serialized!

In the last two weeks Alvin Michael Greene has become a national media sensation.

With much focus being devoted to his filing fee and his felony obscenity charges, we still don’t know his whole story or what he represents.

The Clarendon Citizensat down with Greene to attempt to get a better understanding of the first African-American nominated in South Carolina for the U.S. Senate, since the Reconstruction Era.

This week the House of Representatives concurred with the conference committee’s deliberations on the budget. 

This budget significantly reduces state funding of education to the minimum level acceptable to receive any kind of federal funding for education, such as Title I funding. This budget reduces the state funding for Medicaid and a wide spectrum of healthcare services to the minimum level required to be eligible for the minimum level of federal match dollars.

With the end of the school year fast approaching, many families are planning their summer activities and vacations. Children are anxiously awaiting time spent outdoors with a myriad of activities including bicycling, swimming, hiking, camping, sports, and traveling.

More than 50 years ago, Mental Health Awareness Month was created to raise awareness about mental health conditions and the importance of mental wellness for all.

One’s mental health consists of many everyday aspects of our lives including family, finances and health. Our mental health consists of how we feel, think and act when we deal with positive and stressful situations. When our mental health is challenged, it can affect many of our health issues.

“While many firms are closing their doors, Select Labs has chosen Clarendon County to be a permanent home,” said Clarendon County Chairman Dwight Stewart, welcoming the medical testing facility to the county on April 27.

“We know that healthcare will continue to be a growing sector for our citizens and throughout the region,” he added. “We just want you to know how much you are appreciated.”

After a two-week furlough, the House of Representatives resumed their deliberations on Tuesday, April 13.

In our absence the Senate began their work on the budget and have yet to finalize their work at this point.

This week we were visited by county treasurers, auditors and tax assessors and I was pleased to be able to recognize Clarendon County Treasurer Matt Evans for all his hard work.

As the weather and seasons change, you begin to sneeze, your throat becomes itchy and you develop a runny itchy nose and puffy watery eyes.  Is it a cold or do you have seasonal allergies?  

People are often confused about which condition is causing their symptoms because the symptoms of seasonal allergies are very similar to the symptoms of colds and sometimes even the flu.  

There are a few ways, however, to tell the difference.  

Well, we have made it to issue four, not that I ever had any doubt. We have certainly been on a wild ride but it has been incredibly satisfying. I liken it to that feeling on one of those monster roller coasters … the big scream moment might be on the drop downward, but the real excitement comes as you crest the pinnacle not being able to see what is on the other side.

Mary Felder Hilton, 86, widow of Ferdinand Hilton, died Thursday, April 1, 2010, at National Healthcare in Sumter. She was the daughter of the late Joe Felder and Eliza Mack Felder. She was born Jan. 15, 1924, in Manning.

In her youth, she joined Mount Chapel Baptist Church. She was a graduate of Manning Training School. After graduation, she moved to San Diego and completed her education. She was a nurse for 35 years. After retiring, she moved back to South Carolina.

From paramedic to nurse to physician, there is no doubt that Dr. Robert “Bobby” Ridgeway is devoted to caring for his patients.

Dr. Ridgeway was named the South Carolina Office of Rural Health’s 2010 Outstanding Rural Practitioner of the Year during the SCORH Annual Conference awards ceremony held March 18, on the Isle of Palms. The award is given to a rural primary healthcare provider whose services and community commitment has resulted in significant improvement in the delivery of primary healthcare service.