Editorial

Something unusual happened to me recently, and I think it serves a purpose to write about it here. I was attending a Healdsburg Museum opening celebration, and it was lovely. Good wine, good people and a lovely exhibit of local Farm to Table. I was about to leave for another event when someone said “Dr. Anderson, we need you right now!” I ran down the stairs only to find that a woman had passed out, and had briefly, before I got there, become totally unresponsive. You do your training thing, feel for a pulse, check for respirations, etc. She had a very faint and thready, but regular pulse, and was now responding to questions. She was very weak and sweaty. She was perhaps in her fifties, an active and supportive volunteer for the Museum. They were holding her in a sitting position, and I immediately told them to let her lay flat, so that despite her weak pulse, blood would more easily flow to her brain. Sure enough, within a minute or two she became more responsive, less sweaty, and her pulse became stronger. That is when you ask questions about her symptoms prior to this spell. She had no history of heart problems. Earlier she did have some chest pain, maybe some nausea. She had a history of fainting, but not for years. It was a very scary situation for her and for her friends who had seen this happen.  So I had to make a decision about what was the next step for her. I will get back to her situation in a moment, but let’s go on to phase two.

Mothers are wise. They offer their families love, support, security and, for no additional charge, they also provide excellent medical advice. When our mothers told us, “A Stitch in time saves nine,” or “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” they weren’t just whistling in the dark. They were passing on a time-tested truth. It is always better to prevent a problem in the first place rather than wait for it to happen, then try to deal with the consequences afterwards. This wisdom certainly applies to childhood vaccines.

Each year in August we recognize the role that community health centers play in healthy communities. This year, the theme for National Health Center Week is: “Celebrating America’s Health Centers: Transforming Health Care in Our Local Communities.” The theme emphasizes the mission of community health centers – to provide a healthcare home to all Americans in need – as well as the importance of continuous preventive and primary care to help reduce health risk and lower the overall cost of healthcare.

If you think you know Healdsburg public schools, it’s time to look again. Our schools are moving forward with innovation that I’ve not seen anytime, anywhere, during my 33 years in education.  

Will Campbell, prophet, preacher, writer, civil rights activist, who always maintained a love/hate relationship with the church, recently passed away.  Although he called himself a “steeple drop-out”, he never tired of challenging pastors, “to minister to the hurt wherever you find it and live in hope even in the midst of tragedy.”  And after all his years of confrontation with injustice and racism, he still spoke of loving our enemies as our sisters and brothers because, “God loves them, and us, anyway.”  

It’s hard for me to imagine what it is like to be a young black man and to be the object of suspicion, fear and harassment for being myself, for being young and black. Our president says he knows what it’s like and that Trayvon Martin, the black teenager killed by a white neighborhood watch volunteer could have been him when he was a teenager. The boys assailant, George Zimmerman, was tried and acquitted and as far as I’m concerned, that is legally the end of the matter. But I can’t help wondering what it was like for Trayvon Martin, what it was like for Barack Obama, and what it was and is like for millions of young black men.

I recently returned from a week- long preaching conference in Door County, WI. It was a wonderfully relaxing week during which, I hope, I also learned a few things.

On July 11th the Healdsburg Transportation Advisory Commission called a special meeting to decide whether it should recommend that the city council approve or deny a commercial lease and concession agreement with Robert Markwood for a non commercial operator certified flight instruction and airplane rental service at the Healdsburg Municipal Airport.

Although a lot of Fitch Mountain is not in Healdsburg’s city limits it has long been considered a Healdsburg community. The Fitch Mountain Association just had its annual potluck meeting at the Villa and several items of local interest were discussed.

As the weather heats up, our thoughts turn to water. As in, where can I hang out on the Russian River? How can I save water in my garden, while still keeping it beautiful? And where can I volunteer to help keep the river and other local waterways clean?