Gretchen Eichenberg

Wacoan® | Waco’s Magazine™ •

Woman of Interest: Shamira Chaney

In a life shaped by cross-country moves, demanding jobs and a growing family, Shamira Chaney is calm, centered and optimistic. Chaney and her husband, former NFL linebacker and Baylor University linebacker coach Jamar Chaney, have four beautiful children — Rhaelyn, 12; Eli, 10; Leo, 5; and Teo, 3. Three of them are on the autism spectrum — a reality that has not only shaped her perspective, but inspired her to share her journey and how she’s learned to create stability, purpose and joy in the midst of constant change.
Oklahoma Magazine •

A New School Support Model

As student mental health needs continue to rise, school districts across Oklahoma are building more comprehensive systems to support students — recognizing that academic success depends on far more than what happens in the classroom. At Tulsa Public Schools, that work has been years in the making. The district has developed a layered approach that combines social-emotional learning, on-campus support and extensive community partnerships. “We sort of built that foundation of resiliency and...
Wacoan® | Waco’s Magazine™ •

Lifelong Learning

It was a typical Wednesday morning for local veterinarian Ray Emerson, 85. Shortly after arriving at the clinic at 7:45 a.m., he stepped into an exam room and helped a family make the difficult decision to euthanize their very sick 13-year-old chocolate Lab named Luke. With a steady hand, he put his 60 years of experience to work with as much heart and compassion as someone just beginning their career — and he wouldn’t have it any other way. “I have never planned on retirement,” Emerson said. “I have people all the time saying, ‘Well, why don’t you retire and just enjoy life?’ I tell them I am enjoying life.”
Oklahoma Magazine •

Five pillars of Healthy Aging

Caring for both body and mind becomes a powerful way to stay steady, strong and independent as people age. Five areas of focus: mind, mobility, medications, multi-complexity and what matters most – help healthcare providers deliver holistic, patient-centered care, addressing the unique needs of older adults by looking beyond individual diseases to their overall well-being, according to Kathy Thompson, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at the Reynolds Section of Geriatric Medicine at the...
Fox News •

Medical experts warn 'Big Food' is fighting back against Ozempic with addictive items for sale

Ozempic and other weight-loss drugs may be cutting through "food noise," yet the junk food industry is only getting louder, some medical experts claim."Ozempic is breaking the food addiction cycle – but Big Food isn't going down without a fight," Dr. Mark Hyman, an internationally recognized advocate for functional medicine, said in a recent Instagram post. "For decades, ultraprocessed foods have been engineered to hijack the brain's reward system – perfecting the 'bliss point' of sugar, salt an...
Fox News •

Chick-fil-A food and employees helped man lose weight and change his life

Chest pains — plus a concern for his weight and health — prompted a Rhode Island man to take a wellness journey that he said saved his life. The unlikely rescuer? A Chick-fil-A salad. "I knew I needed to make a change," Tom Carroll, 32, a digital content producer from Lincoln, Rhode Island, told Fox News Digital. At 360 pounds, Carroll had tried and failed to change his diet and lifestyle. But after Thanksgiving 2023, he had "the most serious chest pain" he'd ever experienced.
Fox News •

Chewing gum may release thousands of microplastics into the saliva, study says

If you enjoy a refreshing stick of gum now and then, you may be biting off more than you should chew. A recent pilot study found that chewing gum – even those labeled "natural" – can release hundreds to thousands of microplastics into the body, according to researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).Lisa Lowe and Jamie Leonard, graduate students at UCLA, along with Sanjay Mohanty, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at UCLA, shared the findings at the...
Fox News •

Florida doctor's viral warning about the Christmas presents that parents should avoid buying for kids

Last-minute Christmas gift shoppers beware, as a Florida doctor is sharing the toy items that are on her naughty list every holiday giving season. In an Instagram Reel viewed by 8.1 million users, Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, revealed what she says are "the top 5 Christmas gifts that can land your kid in the ER." Martin also went viral in March when she issued a BBQ grill brush warning on TikTok after a chil
Fox News •

Parents welcome 14-pound baby, the largest on record since 2010: 'Everybody was making bets'

A family welcomed a bouncing baby boy last month — born nearly twice the size of the average baby. "Oh, it was dumbfounding," proud father Chance Ayres of Cambridge, Ontario, told Fox News Digital. "It was a mind-blowing experience," he said. "The way the doctors and nurses were cheering. It was like the [Toronto] Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup. It was insane. Everybody was jumping and screaming. It was fun."
Fox News •

What is the 'One Chip Challenge' and what peppers are in it? Experts speak out after teen's death

The family of a Massachusetts teen who died last week reportedly believes his death has something to do with his eating of a spicy chip as part of a challenge advertised on a snack company’s website. Now those chips have been removed from shelves "out of an abundance of caution," the company, Paqui LLC, said in a statement posted on its website. Teen Harris Wolobah's cause of death has not yet been revealed, Fox News Digital previously reported. Wolobah reportedly ate the chip at school and be
Fox News •

Tennessee teens who were in NICU at same time as infants attend prom together years later

Two Tennessee teens — who once spent critical days together in a hospital NICU — enjoyed a fairytale ending when they attended a high school prom after staying in touch for 17 years. "It just brings you joy," Jaime Horton, neonatal intensive care unit nurse manager at HCA Healthcare’s TriStar Centennial Medical Center in Nashville, told Fox News Digital. "There's not always a happy ending in the NICU," Horton added. "These moments are why we do what we do. Our goal is to give these families t
Fox News •

Florida swim instructor's viral TikTok warns parents to avoid buying blue bathing suits for kids: Here's why

A mother from Spring Hill, Florida, has gone viral after warning viewers that the color of a child’s bathing suit could be a life-saving factor as pool season approaches. In her recent TikTok video that grabbed 6.2 million views, Nikki Scarnati, an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) and self-rescue instructor, issued a PSA: "Don’t buy blue bathing suits!" Scarnati, 32, told Fox News Digital, "As an instructor in the industry, it's kind of widespread throughout our community that blue bathing suits
Fox News •

Teacher, driving home from work, pulls over to save choking 100-year-old woman with Heimlich maneuver

A centenarian survived a choking incident while riding in a car with her daughter in Hawaii, thanks to a good Samaritan who jumped into action. "She started choking, and it sounds like it was a complete airway obstruction," James Ireland, M.D., director of the Honolulu Emergency Services department, where the woman was treated, told Fox News Digital. "She was not able to move any air at all, so that is a true desperate emergency that really needs immediate action," Ireland added. "They were 10
Fox News •

Doctors warn against 'beezin'' trend as people apply lip balm to eyelids: Why it's dangerous

A popular trend from the 2010s called "beezin'" is apparently getting new buzz since appearing on TikTok, causing doctors to warn of its potential harm. "Beezers" claim that applying Burt’s Bees lip balm to their eyes does everything from get them high, intensify the effects of alcohol and keep them awake for a full night of partying or studying. "Yes me and my friend are obsessed with this," one user commented on TikTok video.
Fox News •

Florida doctor issues viral BBQ grill brush warning on TikTok after child's visit to her emergency room

A pediatric emergency medicine physician's TikTok video has garnered more than 35 million views in 72 hours after she shared one of "the most interesting cases" she’s seen in her career — while warning people about one way a simple backyard barbecue could become life-threatening. "The ER is always unpredictable," Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency medicine physician at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, told Fox News Digital. "We see a lot of unusual things
Fox News •

Five sets of twins born within 2.5 weeks at New York hospital: 'Raining twin babies'

Five sets of twins were born within two-and-a-half weeks of each other — setting off an unprecedented "twin-demic" event, according to a New York hospital. The babies arrived at Catholic Health’s Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, Long Island, from Dec. 29, 2022 to mid-January 2023. "In my 24 years at Mercy, this has not happened before," said Swarna Devarajan, M.D., chair of pediatrics and director of neonatology at Mercy Hospital.
Wacoan® | Waco’s Magazine™ •

Fountain of Youth

There is a fountain of youth: it is in your mind, your talents, the creativity you bring to your life and lives of people you love. When you learn to tap this source, you will truly have defeated age. The insightful words of Academy Award-winning actress and international sex symbol Sophia Loren ring true. But there's not doubt that time takes its toll on the body and mind, leaving even the most successful, most beautiful, most captivating people searching for ways to slow the aging process — or at least the outward signs.
Fox News •

Micro-preemie born 'on the edge of viability' in Texas celebrates 1st birthday: 'Quite the survivor'

The family of a micro-preemie who weighed just 1 pound, 5 ounces at birth celebrated the child's one-year birthday on Jan. 10 after the little boy spent 155 stays in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) — defying all odds. "He was under a pound-and-a-half and 23 weeks and two days," Samantha Smith, a neonatal nurse practitioner at Pediatrix Neonatology of Texas and Ascension Seton Medical Center in Austin, told Fox News Digital. "So he was kind of on the edge of viability, which is about 22
Fox News •

Michigan UPS worker, born a preemie herself, makes warming blankets for other babies born prematurely

Some of the tiniest humans on Earth struggle for warmth all year long as they face neonatal hypothermia in hospitals that may not be equipped with specific medical equipment. Grace Hsia Haberl, a UPS vehicle asset specialist in Michigan, has developed the technology for an incubator blanket as part of her material science engineering capstone project in college. To date, the resulting product, Warmilu, has warmed more than 37,700 babies in over 19 countries, she said.
Wacoan® | Waco’s Magazine™ •

Pursuit of Peace

“Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence … Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself … Whatever your labors and aspirations, in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.” American poet and writer Max Ehrmann’s 1927 “Desiderata” calls us to be quiet, compassionate — even with ourselves — and calm. But in a world that seems full of dissonance and disease, the pursuit of things like peace and quiet feels futile, and maybe even selfish. After all, there’s a worldwide pandemic raging. A divisive political climate. Fears about the condition of the planet, global enemies, our own futures.
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