Month: January 2023

“For evil to flourish, it only requires good men to do nothing.”-Simon Wiesenthal

There was an outstanding article recently in the Wall Street Journal describing how the honorable people from Denmark to Greece during WWII stood together against the Nazi push to persecute the Jews. It is an inspiring story of what we humans can do together and make a difference. In Greece, the mayor at the time on the island of Zakynthos in 1943, when told to give the Nazis a list of all the Jews in 24 hours, he followed orders and came up with a list. It listed his own name and the local bishop’s, who were both Greek. The community banded together to hide their Jews and the entire Jewish community was saved on this island, whereas almost all others in Greece perished. The article provides more details of heroic community actions that saved thousands of lives. It is a shared altruistic ethos that we can all learn from in our society that has grown tragically individualistic, with technology that encourages isolation and discourages being there for a neighbor. Paragon Orthopedics Center encourages the good people of Southern Oregon to always be against antisemitism, bigotry, and racism.

Where Good People Stood Up to the Nazis – WSJ

We celebrated birthdays at the Paragon Orthopedic Clinic recently and you just have to love these smiles! If you see Kiah, Andrea, Kelly, or Dr. Ziegler, don’t forget to wish them some fun during their birthday month!

Of all the surgeries in the U.S., seniors account for nearly 40%, and nearly 1 in 7 major surgeries done on older adults results in death within a year of the surgery. These statistics show that the risks to the future health of a senior having surgery should be seriously considered before decisions are made. A study done by the Journal of the American Medicine Association (JAMA) looked into this after noting a gap in the research. The study showed 1 in 3 older adults did not return to their baseline functioning six months after surgery. It addresses outcomes of their surgeries and highlights areas of concern particular to this population. This article poses questions and provides insights that will help you or an older person in your life decide if surgery is the best option.

Should Older Seniors Risk Major Surgery? New Research Offers Guidance | Kaiser Health News (khn.org)

Paragon Orthopedic Center often encourages patients to incorporate more exercise into their weekly schedules, but we know that can be a challenge. It can be very hard! While it is widely accepted that it takes an average of 66 days to make a habit, this can vary person to person. Our blog is here to encourage you with information about how to make exercise a habit. Harvard has 10 tips for you:

1. Split up your workout time to fit your day if you can’t do it all at once.
2. Get someone to join you.
3. Do your exercises briskly. Keep that heart rate up!
4. Exercise…then eat. Git ‘er done!
5. Try a pedometer or smart wrist gadget to track your efforts.
6. Turn off media that wastes time…that includes your phone.
7. Turn sit time into fit time by exercising while watching tv.
8. Sign up for a class. The obligation will motivate.
9. Set aside exercise time in your daily schedule.
10. Set goals and reward yourself when you meet them!

Read more here and get moving Southern Oregon!
Make exercise a daily habit – 10 tips | The Nutrition Source | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

The start of a new year can trigger changes to make ourselves better, and Paragon Orthopedic Center supports all changes toward good health, both mental and physical. The Wall Street Journal had a great article that asked the introspective question: What matters most to you? Here are the five strategies offered to give clarity to values and goals for 2023:

1. Try a thought experiment, asking yourself questions about your current priorities in life to bring what is important to the fore. What do you value?
2. Observe your behavior. How do your respond to the ups and downs of life and are they productive to the life you want to live?
3. Ask yourself questions to get in touch with passions that might have been buried by work.
4. Learn from other people. Pay attention to the reactions of others to inform us of our effect on the world. Sometimes the person we want to be is not how we are being perceived.
5. Explore new possibilities. You don’t have to be a kid to try something new. What do you do for fun? Be careful of following the shiny objects in life for fulfillment and do something that is of value to you.

Paragon Orthopedic Center encourages you to make a difference. Humans need to feel valued and when you do something to impact another person’s life, even in a small way, it provides an internal satisfaction that shiny objects cannot provide. Make a difference in 2023!

For the New Year, Figuring Out What Matters Most – WSJ