Be careful what you read - you've probably seen some bad information

Ah, Facebook.

You can read blog postings there. I enjoy seeing photos and news from my daughters and grandsons, plus news about other family and friends, especially those I seldom see.

But as you know, Facebook is fraught with bad information these days. I recently ran across a supposed list of causes of death so far this year - a list that is NOT reliable information. And since stroke is the fifth-leading cause of death in the United States, that information is important. Right information, that is.

I won't reproduce this falsehood here, but you can read on snopes.com about the supposed list of causes of death:

The list was problematic in several aspects, however. First of all, the displayed figures for 2016 are simply projections based on past trends, as up-to-date information of this nature simply isn't available. The most recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) concerning causes of death tallies mortality data from 2014.

The list mingles diseases - heart disease, for example - with substances: tobacco and alcohol. Obesity itself seldom actually kills anyone, but it's on the list. It's what accompanies obesity or tobacco or alcohol abuse - heart disease and stroke, for example - that can be fatal. A cigarette itself generally doesn't cause a death. But multiple cigarettes can bring about a cause of death.

Here's the actual list of the 2014 leading causes of death in the United States, from this report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

That year is the latest available.

And it's OK to question what you read on Facebook!

Prevent a stroke, and you might just save a life; read and learn more

Prevent a stroke, perhaps save a life.

I don't dwell on this month as stroke awareness month. I firmly believe that stroke awareness should not be limited to a single month, but every day, every hour. But in May, you find a lot of articles published about stroke patients, treatment, signs and prevention.

And prevention is key. With that in mind, this recent article has some very good, reasonable advice on how to prevent a stroke in middle age:

The number of people in their 40s and 50s having strokes has rocketed, with obesity and sedentary lifestyles blamed for the rise. New NHS figures show that since 2000, the number of men aged 40 to 54 in England hospitalised after stroke has grown by 46%, and among women, 30%. And for working-age sufferers, stroke can have a crippling financial impact. According to the Stroke Association, lost income due to death and disability caused by a stroke has been estimated to cost those affected £1.3bn a year. “Stroke survivors unable to return to work can struggle to cope with a fall in income, increased household bills and a benefits system that does not recognise the full impact of stroke,” says Jon Barrick, the charity’s chief executive.

The more swiftly a stroke is diagnosed and treated, the better a patient’s recovery will be. But how can you reduce the risk of it happening to you in the first place?

Click on the link above and read the entire article - and remember, if you prevent a stroke, you can perhaps save a life. Even our own.

Stroke falls in U.S. causes of death

In the news, you can find a New Year hint that stroke treatment seems to be working. Recently, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that stroke is dropping down the list of cause of death in the United States.

Read through this link how stroke falls one place to fifth leading cause of death in U.S.:

Commenting on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report, the American Heart Association (AHA) hypothesize that the drop in deaths from stroke is due to advances in the treatment and prevention of stroke. In particular, the AHA note, there are more stroke centers now operating across the US, and there has also been an improvement in acute care of stroke.

Smoking: Post-stroke death risk

If you've read this blog at all, chance are you know how I feel about smoking. It's deadly.

Now, it seems that after a stroke, stopping smoking can be an effective "medication." This article talks about  how smoking after a stroke triples the risk of death within a year:

After adjusting for a number of other factors, the researchers concluded that patients who resumed smoking were three times more likely to die than those who didn't begin smoking again.

The study was presented Tuesday at the European Society of Cardiology annual meeting in Munich.

"It is well established that smoking increases the risk of having a stroke," study author Furio Colivicchi, from San Filippo Neri Hospital in Rome, said in a society news release. "Quitting smoking after an acute ischemic stroke may be more effective than any medication in reducing the risk of further adverse events. However, on the other hand, our study shows that stroke patients resuming active smoking after leaving the hospital can raise their risk of dying by as much as threefold."

(Photo from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health)

You can't earn this gift - but you can accept it

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

-Romans 6:23

I've seen and heard this verse all my life, but today it struck me differently. Too many people, I think, focus on the first part of the sentence and not the last part. For the moment, let's consider the last part: "... the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Notice too, that if you make yourself as a servant to sin, it's about wages - what you "earn."

Place yourself in the hands of God, and it's not what you "earn" but instead a gift. More than you could ever earn but a gift through Christ, through his unconditional love. An eternal gift - one that keeps on giving. Now and forever.

Paul's powerful words of death and gain

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

A passage from Philippians 1:21 that says it all - or at least volumes. Paul was profound in his thinking about what's important and what is to gain.

He's not begging to die in his statement in Philippians 1, but to make his priorities clear: despite his imprisonment, even the threat of death doesn't block him from Christ.

So any hurdle or obstacle in your way? Remember, you can still influence your fellow followers of Christ. Affecting one life can be a blessing.

Paul did it from prison. How can you?

Uncle Jimmy - thanks for the lives you touched

A few weeks ago, our family lost Jimmy, my mother's baby brother, to post-stroke complications.

His stroke happened a few years ago, and he's never been the same. His speech coherency would come and go. He'd get lost. For his own safety and health, he moved to a nursing home back in October. Several days later, a heart attack took him from us.

Family members gathered in Texas for his funeral services, and we all heard different stories about how he affected their families and lives.

That made me consider how he touched my own life. The photograph accompanying this entry was taken during a trip to the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Beyond the fence, where civilians are not allowed, is the Freedom Train railroad, providing transportation to and from the last South Korean stop. At this spot, visitors have placed notes and mementos, including the cross.

Without Uncle Jimmy, chances are I would never have been there.

Business took me to Seoul, where I did some journalism training for a large news organization. My background is newspaper work, which started in 1976 as a lowly darkroom technician. That interest was sparked when Uncle Jimmy gave my family some hand-me-down darkroom equipment and books. I was hooked on photography, which led me to that part-time job, which led later to full-time newspaper work, a move to reporting and editing, and finally to a position where I conduct training for professional journalists across the United States and beyond.

Funny how lives can be touched -- Uncle Jimmy helped me awaken an interest in journalism. Others continued that interest in countless ways. How many lives do we touch every day -- intentionally or unintentionally? My prayer is that the lives I touch professionally or personally benefit and reach out for other lives.

The cross in the above photograph seems strangely at home surrounded by razor wire. It reminds us of the suffering Christ endured for you. And it reminds me of Uncle Jimmy, too, with his suffering lifted and, thanks to his influence, the photo taken.