Raise your hand if you think you lead a stressful life. It’s true. Most people do have a lot of stress in their lives. That stress can and often does lead to illness and disease.

But there are many things we can do to manage that stress so that it doesn’t affect us negatively.

We are blessed in this area of New York State with countless examples of beauty, culture and history.

Just this past weekend we participated in quite a relaxing event. We hiked down to the Genesee River to view the bluebells. These bluebell walks are free.

It’s about a 3 mile hike off Nations Rd. It’s on private property on which the owners let groups take a hike.

We went with an offshoot of Pack, Paddle, Ski called JOI — “Journey’s Of Inspiration.” There were actually two walks there that weekend, the other organized by the Genesee Valley Conservancy.

It was quite awesome and beautiful with never ending fields of wild bluebells.

And JOI are a wonderful group of people! They do a monthly free walk that we are thinking of participating in on a regular basis. We were a group of 42 people and the GVC followed us about 2 hours later with a group of 300!

If you are interested in local geology, you may want to visit the Mount Morris Dam just up the road from here. We participated in a tour three weeks ago.

The Mount Morris Dam is the largest dam of its type in the eastern United States. It measures more than 1,000 feet across and almost 250 feet high. The Mount Morris Dam was built in the early 1950s to protect the lower portion of Rochester and rural areas south of the city from flooding. And so far the dam has succeeded it’s purpose by standing triumphant against the mighty waters of the Genesee River.

The tour guide was very informative. Her presentation was entertaining as well as educational. The walk down into the dam itself was quite inspirational.

The Visitor Center at Mount Morris Dam is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 1 to Oct. 28. Free ranger-guided walking tours of the dam are offered at 2 p.m. Mondays to Fridays, and 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Fridays to Sundays. Special dam tours for groups of 10 or more can be requested by contacting the Visitor Center.

For all of you history buffs, all you need to do to see a part of local history is to come to our house. We live on Barber Hill Road and just up the road is a monument commemorating the site of a famous ambush that occurred more than 230 years ago.

The Boyd and Parker ambush was a minor military engagement in Groveland on Sept. 13, 1779, during the American Revolutionary War. A scout group of the Sullivan Expedition was ambushed and captured by Loyalists and their Seneca Indian allies led by Little Beard.

Iroquois Chief Joseph Brant and British Colonel John Butler had some 800 men and were in defense of the region. Sullivan marched from Easton, Pa., into Western New York. They camped at the site of Foot’s Corners in Conesus on Sept. 12, 1779, after traveling from Honeoye Lake. That night Sullivan ordered Lt. Thomas Boyd to organize a scouting party to discover the location of the Seneca village. Boyd took 23 men with him including Sgt. Michael Parker. They left late that night and passed by Butler’s ambush party without either group knowing of the other.

During the next day the scouting party spotted a group of four Indians along the trail and a brief gun fight occurred. One Indian was killed, and Boyd and Parker started to return to Sullivan. On the trail they spotted five Indians who fled. Boyd’s guide told him not to follow, for it was a trap, but he ignored the warning. They were led into the enemy’s lines, surrounded, and outnumbered. Fifteen of Boyd’s men were killed, eight escaped, while Boyd and Parker were captured. Estimates from contemporary journals is that the Boyd party numbered 29 of whom 17 were killed; 5 returned and 7 escaped.

Besides Boyd and Parker, there are 12 known names of the Boyd-Parker party who were killed.

The two were taken to Little Beard’s Town (also known as Chenussio in Seneca and “Genesee Castle,” now Cuylerville), where Brant questioned them. After he left, Little Beard and his men tortured and executed Boyd and Parker in anger over the presence of American troops in the area. Boyd was tied to a tree by his own intestines and forced to run around the tree until he fell dead. A tree is still located in the commemorative park.

Two days later the ambush site was discovered by Sullivan’s army and the men were buried with military honors. The army went on, as instructed by George Washington, to destroy acres of crops and burn Little Beard’s town to the ground.

For another respite from stress of your everyday life, the Lilac Festival is just up north of here from May 10 to 19 in Rochester’s Highland Park. The festival runs from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. daily. Admission is free.

A world class arboretum (or “tree garden”), Monroe County’s Highland Park is included in the Mount Hope Preservation District and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Established in 1887, Highland Park was the dream of George Ellwanger and Patrick Barry, two leading Rochester citizens and prominent nurserymen. Owners of the world-famous Mount Hope Nursery, they endowed the community with 20 acres of their nursery’s land and enlisted the help of noted landscape engineer Frederick Law Olmsted to develop the park.

The relationship with Mr. Olmsted lasted into the 20th century and today Highland Park has grown to comprise 150 acres of rolling hills filled with botanical delights, magnificent gardens and the largest collection of Lilacs in the United States. A visit to Highland Park offers a rare opportunity to experience the incredible beauty and intense fragrance of more than 500 varieties of lilacs on 1200 plants.

And another area beauty a little closer home to us is Conesus Lake. Conesus Lake is one of the minor Finger Lakes in western New York. It is westernmost of 11 total Finger Lakes. The lake’s outlet is in Lakeville, a hamlet in the town of Livonia. The lake’s inlet is in the town of Conesus.

On the southern end is the 1,120 acre Conesus Inlet Fish and Wildlife Management area, a natural setting that serves many purposes. This flat floodplain with upland rolling hills keeps development away from the inlet, helping to preserve water quality, maintain fish (especially pike) spawning locations, provides an important stop-over for migrating birds and habitat for native waterfowl and protects area wildlife. It’s also an excellent fishing and hunting spot. Without this last natural area, Conesus would struggle to hold on to native species.

So, as you can see, there are many ways we can reduce stress right in our own backyards. All we have to do is take the initiative and take advantage of our beautiful environment.

By the way, May is Mental Health Month. Support it like crazy!

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Lou Lombardo is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at (585) 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com .

The post Take time to stop and smell the bluebells appeared first on Livingston County News.

For all of you future “Jeopardy” contestants, here’s another informative column that includes a plethora of information about our bodies.

There’s a lot to be said about our human anatomy. Some facts are relatively unknown.

For example how many of you out there know the number of bones there are in the human body?

Well there are a total of 206 bones in the adult body. As an infant, however, we have between 300 and 350 bones. Some of them fuse together upon growth.

And did you know that half of those bones are in our hands and feet?

And here’s another interesting fact about bones. The hyoid bone in your throat is the only bone in the body which is not attached to another bone.

And speaking of hands, did you know that our fingers don’t have any muscles located in them? The muscles that control our fingers are in our palms and up the forearms.

They have some peculiar names like the flexor digitorum profundus which allows us to bend fingers two to five and assist in the bending of our wrist; and extensor pollicis which causes our thumb to extend outward as in hitchhiking.

How much information do you know about your tongue? Did you know that it has 3,000 taste buds? That’s right, and there are four different taste sensations: salty, sweet, sour and bitter. Instead of being evenly distributed over the surface of the tongue, each one of the four tastes is concentrated in a specific region. The bitter ones are in the back of the tongue, while the sour ones are along the sides. The sweet and salty taste buds are located on the front surface of the tongue.

And as a segue to the next fact, did you know that men get hiccups more often than women? I know, poor segue.

Nobody knows why, but maybe if we take a look at the cause of hiccups we can figure it out.

Hiccups are caused by the involuntary contraction of the diaphragm and nearby muscles cause air to rush into the lungs and the vocal cords to snap. The audible result is the hiccup.

Hiccups usually happen when you eat too much or drink too much bubbly drinks or swallow too much air (i.e., when you eat too fast).

Some people get the hiccups for no reason at all. So, how to you get rid of them, you may ask?

Well, there are several remedies that get mixed results. The whole idea is to disrupt the hiccup cycle by tricking the diaphragm or the nerve that allows the diaphragm to work.

Remedies include holding your breath, breathing into a bag, pulling your tongue, sudden fright, or, get this, eating sugar. Sipping some hot sauce probably works because the heat and burn are distracting enough to turn your body’s focus on the burn instead of the hiccup process.

Some people put a teaspoon of honey, stirred in warm water, on the back of their tongue, and swallow it. The honey could potentially tickle the vagus nerve to make the hiccup stop. Slowly chewing a teaspoon of dill seeds will do the same.

Just drinking water, if done soon enough, might wash down a chunk of food in the throat that’s pressing against the vagus nerve.

Some people can cure the hiccups right away, but if you hiccup more than seven times prepare for the long haul. Once started, you’ll usually hiccup 63 times or more. Maybe a lot more. Poor Charles Osborne had the hiccups for 69 years!

And if those facts aren’t enough to get a rise out of you, did you know that people generally read slower from a computer screen compared to reading a paper?

Let’s hear it for the written word and books and talking to each other instead of texting.

Sorry, I’ll get over my soapbox.

But by far the most common experimental findings are that silent reading from screen is significantly slower than reading from paper. Figures vary according to means of calculation and experimental design but the evidence suggests a performance deficit of between 20 percent to 30 percent when reading from a screen.

And without any elaboration here’s more interesting facts. Blood is six times thicker than water. Our kidneys filter 1.3 liters of blood every minute and expel up to 1.4 liters of urine a day.

A woman has about 4.5 liters of blood in her body while men have 5.6 liters.

It takes about 20 seconds for a red blood cell to circle the whole body. Every drop of blood in your body is filtered more than 300 times a day.

The reason we digest honey so well is that it’s already been digested by the bees.

Babies are born with pink lungs but they darken in color when they breath in polluted air.

Your right lung is bigger than your left lung. The left lung is smaller so as to adjust to the heart being located in that part of the body.

You burn more calories while sleeping that when you watch television.

And getting back to bones, human bones consist of 50 percent water and 50 percent solid material.

And your skeleton keeps changing every 10 years. That means that your body keeps renewing itself so every 10 years you get a new body.

And on a final note there are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in each human. That’s a lot of room for clogging, but that’s been another story.

Alex, I’ll take the Human Body for $100.

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Lou Lombardo is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at (585) 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com.

The post Facts you might not know about the body appeared first on Livingston County News.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Columnist Lou Lombardo learned earlier this year that one or more of the arteries that carries blood to his heart had a blockage. He has been chronicling the subsequent tests and sharing his reactions in a series of columns that appear every other week. This is his fourth column. Earlier installments include learning that he had blockages in one or more coronary arteries; his subsequent angiogram; and his preparations, both physical and mental, for the bypass surgery.

I could barely remember waking up after surgery. Maria had been there when I was coming out of the anesthesia to tell me that everything went well. I don’t remember her saying that although she did indicate that I nodded my head.

About an hour later she came back into the post operating room. She had been told to expect that I would be all puffed up and swollen and that my breathing tube would still be in my mouth.

However neither was the case.

She remarked to me that I looked great. I told her I’ve been practicing.

At some point I vaguely remember my doctor, Dr. Cheeran, telling me that everything went well and that he had to perform six bypasses. That’s thre more than he had anticipated.

I believe I asked him if I had to pay any extra.

And I remembered that even Vito Corleone in the Godfather only had to survive five bullets. I had survived six.

Surgery approaches

The week leading up to surgery was full of ups and downs. I was looking forward to being restored to good health. But I was still uncertain of the effect the operation would have on my body.

Just to be certain I made an appointment with my parish priest. I wanted to clear my conscience as well as receive spiritual support prior to my operation even though it is a fairly common one.

Coronary artery bypass surgery is performed throughout the United States. It is estimated that more than 800,000 coronary artery bypass graft surgeries are performed worldwide every year. The American Heart Association reports that 519,000 were performed in the United States in 2000.

Its purpose is to restore normal blood flow to the heart.

Test results had indicated that I had some blockages in the arteries that bring blood and oxygen to my heart.

Surgery day begins early

I had to be at the hospital at 5:30 a.m. One day prior to that time I had a pre-operation appointment where they took my blood pressure, and other vital signs. I had an EKG done and some x-rays of my chest were taken.

Then the nursing staff summarized the operational procedure. I was given the okay to proceed with my operation the following day.

Upon arrival I was prepped for surgery. My chest and the insides of my legs were shaved. The legs were areas from which the bypass grafts would be taken.

My anesthesiologist introduced himself to me and asked me some questions. He had a good sounding Italian name which made me feel much better. Then I was given a mild sedative.

To be honest, I don’t remember much after the shaving prep work. I don’t even remember being wheeled into the operating room. Must be that sedative was really strong.

My angiogram had already indicated where the arteries were blocked and where the grafts might best be positioned.

Then heart monitoring was initiated and a general anesthesia was given.

From the legs, to the heart

After general anesthesia is administered the surgeon removes the veins or prepares the arteries for grafting.

Veins from my thigh and calf area were used for grafts. The left internal mammary artery was also used as a bypass.

The internal mammary arteries are most commonly used because they have shown the best long-term results. Because they have their own oxygen-rich blood supply they can usually be kept intact at their origin, then sewn to the coronary artery below the site of blockage.

An incision was then made down the center of my chest and Dr. Cheeran cut through the sternum and spread my rib cage to expose my heart.

Operating on the heart

At one point I was connected to a heart-lung bypass machine, also called a cardiopulmonary bypass pump, that takes over for the heart and lungs during surgery. During this “on pump” procedure the heart-lung machine removed the carbon dioxide from the blood and replaced it with oxygen. A tube was inserted into the aorta to carry the oxygenated blood from the bypass machine to the aorta for circulation to the body. The heart-lung machine allows the heart’s beating to be stopped so that the surgeon can operate on a still heart.

Aortic clamps are used to restrict blood flow to the area of the heart where grafts will be placed so the heart is blood free during the surgery. The clamps remain until the grafts are in place.

After the grafts are prepared, a small opening is made just below the blockage in the diseased coronary artery. Blood will be redirected through this opening once the graft is sewn in place. If the leg or arm vein is used, one end is connected to the coronary artery and the other to the aorta; if the mammary artery is used, one end is connected to the coronary artery while the other remains attached to the aorta.

The procedure is repeated on as many coronary arteries as necessary. Blood flow is checked to assure the graft supplies adequate blood to the heart.

When this procedure is done “on pump,” electric shocks start the heart pumping again after the grafts have been completed. The heart-lung machine is turned off and the blood slowly returns to normal body temperature.

After implanting pacing wires and inserting chest tubes to drain fluid, the surgeon closes the chest cavity.

From the OR to the ICU

My surgery took about 3 1/2 hours. After, I was transferred to the intensive care unit where Maria and the doctor greeted me.

My stay in the intensive care was about 24 hours. I was connected to chest and breathing tubes, and a heart monitor. A urinary catheter had also been in place to drain urine.

Drugs were prescribed to control pain and to prevent unwanted blood clotting.

I was very thirsty but could only have ice cubes instead of water.

Then I was transferred to a private room for post operative recovery. I felt weak at first, not even able to take a shower by myself.

Transitioning from surgery

I remember being cared for — poked, needled and receiving medications — on an ongoing basis.

Whenever I slept, I kept dreaming that life was normal and had never gone through the operation only to awaken to the reality at hand.

Other times I felt that I had gone through this experience at another time in my life. I certainly was confused.

I had to receive my first solid meal in a chair. So that meant transitioning from my bed to the chair a little more than a day after surgery.

After that it was two days of the same: monitoring of vital signs, administering medication and beginning my breathing exercising and walking. As I progressed, the pacing wires and chest tubes were removed.

Going home

On the morning of the fourth day the nurse practitioner came in and made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.

He said, “How would you like to go home today?”

I said, “I’ll make the call to my wife.”

The ride home felt invigorating. To be out in the sunlight just enjoying the ride was great medicine.

Recovery at home has consisted of continuing the breathing exercises to ensure that the lungs are clearing up.

I also have to walk 20 to 30 minutes per day. Part of that includes walking up to get the newspaper in the morning and the mail in the afternoon.

Our driveway is 500 feet. I have to stop halfway in order to rest. I can make it downhill without any problems. Each trip is about 6 minutes. The rest of my daily walking is done in the house around the room and on the outdoor deck.

Lifestyles changes

My diet has changed tremendously thanks to Maria. I am on an entirely plant based diet. When I was weighed in the hospital I was 185 pounds. That’s a little high for me at this time of the year.

However as of this writing I weigh 165 pounds. I haven’t been that slim since the eighth grade picnic.

The rest of my time is being spent figuring out how I can create a more healthy life schedule, balancing my time between work and recreation. I need to decrease some of the stress that led to the heart disease.

It is clear to me that my time wasn’t up yet; that I was chosen to remain here on this earth for a little while longer.

Between my new diet, and a revised schedule I am ready to finish the job I was sent here to do.

When someone faces a life changing situation like this it gives them a chance to think about their life, their family and friends and about how much they truly have to be thankful for in life.

I am grateful to all who have offered me words of encouragement during this lifetime experience and I look forward to life with my family and to whatever my cause might be in the future.

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Lou Lombardo is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com.

The post After bypass, road to recovery beckons appeared first on Livingston County News.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Columnist Lou Lombardo learned earlier this year that one or more of the arteries that carries blood to his heart had a blockage. He has been chronicling the subsequent tests and sharing his reactions in a series of columns that appear every other week. Read his first column here and the second here .

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The results of the angiogram showed severe blockage in three main arteries supplying blood and oxygen to my heart. Coronary Artery Bypass Graft surgery was the option highly recommended. Surgery was scheduled five weeks from the date of the angiogram. Things didn’t appear to be urgent.

The doctor said that my chances of surviving the surgery were excellent. He said the average mortality rate was around 2 percent.

That would equate to a 98 percent survival rate. This figure might seem quite favorable to some people, especially those quoting it. But to those facing the surgery, 2 percent seems like an extremely large number.

The thought of not surviving the surgery did, in fact, occur to me. After all, those 2 percent had to come from somewhere.

But I decided that dwelling on the negative aspect of the surgery was not productive and it could ultimately interrupt the entire process, psychologically speaking,

Since the initial diagnosis of heart disease was made, several different thoughts swirled around in my head. Some involved wishful thinking.

For example, how many of you have ever found yourself driving your car when it suddenly went out of control on a winding curve and went hurtling off a cliff? Or maybe you were walking down the street and you discovered that you were stark naked and some friends were approaching you. Then, in both instances, you wake up and discover that it was only a bad dream. And you were so relieved.

That’s how I felt the first couple of weeks after finding out that I had to have bypass surgery. I wished that I would wake up the next morning and find out it was just a nightmare. But that didn’t happen. I kept waking up to the reality that I would have to face the surgery.

And I wasn’t even that sick!

I had some minor discomfort in my chest after climbing two flights of stairs. I met with my doctor and was referred to various specialists for a series of tests. As a result of those tests I was told that I had heart disease.

They must have mixed up test results with someone else’s. The stress test, the echocardiogram, the angiogram must have been someone else’s. But they keep telling me I need major heart surgery!

Sometimes I feel I should have never opened my mouth in the first place.

Other times I thought “so what!” I could get along without surgery since it didn’t bother me that much. In fact, after my tests, I had only one occurrence of mild discomfort.

Nevertheless, with surgery scheduled, I had to begin to prepare myself. I began to think about life after surgery. I had thoughts like “In a month from now surgery will be over and I will be able to drive again.” Then a week later I would think, “In a month from now I will be able to go back to volunteering at the girls’ school.” Then it was, “In a month or so I will be going back to work doing massages.” And there was a lingering thought: “There must be other options available instead of surgery.”

I began to do some intensive research into alternatives.

Maria had recently heard a presentation made by Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn on plant-based nutrition. He was trained as a surgeon at the Cleveland Clinic. He published what was considered benchmark, long-term nutritional research on arresting and reversing coronary heart disease through the adoption of a plant-based diet.

We decided to contact him to get more information on his research. I was especially interested in how long it would take for this reversal to occur. Unfortunately he was out of the country at the time and unavailable for consultation.

We did, however, purchase his book “Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease”. It includes a lot of theory into his premise plus a complete menu of recipes supporting his concept.

Our entire family also watched the movie “Forks Over Knives” — a film that examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods. Dr. Esselstyn was interviewed extensively in this film. Another notable person interviewed was Dr. T. Colin Campbell, co-author of “The China Study,” which details the connection between nutrition and heart disease, diabetes, and cancer.

Dr. Campbell is also a strong proponent of plant-based nutrition and firmly believes that we should reduce our protein intake and avoid meat and dairy products entirely.

My research also included consulting with my brother-in-law, Tom Benzoni, an emergency room doctor in Iowa. He was helpful in providing objective material on heart disease and ways to treat it. Among some of the research he sent me was an article by Dr. Jeffrey Dach who referred to the body’s natural ability to develop microscopic collateral vessels which provide blood flow around the blocked arteries without the need for surgery.

In addition, I read about the entire procedure of traditional bypass surgery where they split your sternum and spread your rib cage to perform the surgery with your chest opened up. And I read about alternatives that were less invasive to cutting open your chest which, to me, is the ultimate invasion of privacy. Before this I thought that a colonoscopy was the ultimate invasion of privacy. (It is, but the emphasis is on the privacy. With a bypass, the emphasis is on the invasion.)

Bypass surgery has a huge traumatic effect on the body. And, as one surgeon explained to me, it puts the body in an almost catatonic state that results in slowing down functioning of other organs to conserve energy and promote healing in the areas of invasion.

In addition to all of this research I read up on an alternative to traditional bypass surgery called “Minimally Invasive” surgery. This procedure involves operating in between your ribs instead of splitting the entire sternum. It minimizes trauma to the body and reduces pain and recovery time.

I had a follow-up appointment with my cardiologist two weeks before my scheduled surgery. I presented my findings regarding the plant-based nutrition, the body’s ability to develop small by-passages around the blockages, and the possibility of the minimally invasive procedure. He wasn’t convinced that any of those alternatives were good ones for me and he stood by his recommendation to have the surgery done the traditional way.

I decided that I needed more time to make my decision and, since there didn’t appear to be any extreme emergency, I postponed the surgery.

I felt I needed to get a second opinion. I wasn’t trying to cast dispersions on anyone’s abilities to assess my situation. But I felt that, due to the serious nature, additional guidance was necessary.

So I made an appointment with a cardiovascular surgeon.

After reviewing the results of my angiogram he concurred that surgery would be my best bet. He was concerned about the artery with 99 percent blockage. If that were to completely close, it could result in some damage to my heart.

He also said that his surgical team had done both traditional and minimally invasive procedures. He preferred the traditional method because, in his eyes, it affords a better opportunity for success.

I had read articles on the minimally invasive approach, both pros and cons. One of the cons was that it was more complicated to perform with multiple bypasses and that it sometimes resulted in having to have a second surgery done later.

So there I was back to square one, but having done my due diligence as much as time would allow.

I succumbed (poor choice of words) to the fact that I needed to get it done.

Surgery was re-scheduled for March 22nd.

Then I had the good fortune of being able to speak with two friends who actually had bypass operations in the past.

Steve Wiener, a recently retired dentist in Geneseo, who I came to know as Past President Steve while I was a member of Rotary, approached me recently while in Uncle Danny’s. He had heard that I was going to have bypass surgery and he was kind enough to share his own experience. Steve had undergone a similar operation a few years ago. His words of encouragement were just what the doctor ordered, so to speak. They were comfort to me in my psychological preparation. Steve mentioned that he went into the operation with a positive feeling and that his recovery was fast and relatively painless. He also added that he never felt better since the operation.

I also discovered recently that an old softball buddy of mine back in Jamestown had bypass surgery two years ago. Al Fiasco and I played on a couple of teams together in our heydays. His surgery was more serious, but he related that he also experienced positive results during recovery. He offered assurances that were a comfort to me. Al even said that his golf game has improved since. Just my luck, though, I don’t golf.

So, armed with all of the above, I am going ahead with my upcoming surgery with my glass 98 percent full.

I’ve lived a great and fulfilling life. And, if the Good Lord wants me now, I am ready. But, with all due respect, I’d rather stay for a few more years.

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Lou Lombardo is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com .

The post Bypass surgery is no walk in the park appeared first on Livingston County News.

Heart disease is the number one “silent killer” disease in our society. It is labeled that because its symptoms aren’t always apparent until it is too late.

According to the Center For Disease Control about 600,000 people die of heart disease in the United States each year. That translates to one in every four deaths.

Coronary heart disease is the most common type, killing more than 385,000 people annually.

It occurs when the heart’s coronary arteries are constricted due to the accumulation of plaque.  The narrowing and blockage of the arteries by plaque is called atherosclerosis.

Causes include heavy smoking, high blood pressure, an unhealthy diet and genetics. Not exercising can also contribute to this disease.

Symptoms include chest pains, shortness of breath, weakness and fatigue, or fainting.

I began experiencing some mild discomfort in my chest about 2 months ago.  I have never been a smoker or a toker either for that matter, although I do enjoy watching the movie “Woodstock” over and over again.

I considered myself as an athlete, in my heyday when I played football, baseball and softball.

I have followed a relatively healthy diet and have tried to remain active in my “middle age.”

So you can imagine my utter surprise when, after having had an electrocardiogram, a stress test and an echocardiogram, I was told that I have heart disease.

According to my cardiologist the next step I needed to take was to have an angiogram done to determine the extent of the disease.

“Angiogram” sounds like a great name for an Irish nurse.  (Say it slowly and quit groaning).

But the word actually comes from the Greek word “angeion” or vessel, and “graphein” — to write or record.

A coronary angiogram is a procedure that uses a special dye and x-rays to see how blood flows through the arteries into our heart.  It is usually done along with a cardiac catheterization.

In preparation I wasn’t able to eat or drink for 8 hours before the procedure.

My cardiologist had explained prior to my procedure that, depending on the results, I would either need to treat my disease with medication, or have a stent placed in the blocked arteries. A stent is a small hollow tube placed in the artery at the point of blockage designed to squish the plague toward the walls of the artery and thus open the artery to the free flow of blood.

In case of extreme blockage, I would need to have bypass surgery.  Of course I was praying for treating the condition with medication.  After that I planned on completely changing my diet and incorporating a lot more regular exercise.

If it came to having stents placed in the affected arteries I would accept that even though it meant staying in the hospital overnight.

Never in my wildest dreams did I expect the news that I received after the procedure.

I arrived an hour before the procedure was scheduled. As we drove up to the main entrance Maria stopped the car and asked that we share a short prayer for the surgeon and for a successful diagnosis.

Then I checked in and within minutes I was escorted to the pre-operation area.

I was greeted by a very nice nurse with a foreign accent who proceeded to explain what I was about to experience. She gave me one of those robes that you had to tie in the back and directed me to remove all of my clothes including, as she put it “your boxers.” I have never worn boxers in my life.  If I had maybe I would have had more children.

Anyway I did what she told me to do and waited for a couple of minutes.

She came back and asked me a slew of questions while recording the answers on her computer.  Then she hooked up my IV and explained the procedure as she continued to prep me. She said that the cardiologist would be inserting a thin hollow tube, called a catheter, through one of my arteries and carefully move it up into the heart.

Once the catheter was in place a dye would be injected into the catheter.  Then x-ray images would be taken to see how the dye moves through the artery.  The dye helps locate any blockages in blood flow.

The doctor performing my procedure liked to use the femoral artery in the groin area because it gives him a straight shot to the heart.  Other doctors use an artery in the forearm.

So, after the nurse did a little trimming of the hair in my groin area, I laid there waiting for further instructions.

A “cath-lab fellow,” as he was introduced, then came and reviewed the procedure with me.

I was then wheeled all the way down to the operating room. It was a little cool, as most of them are.

I was met by another fellow who asked me my name and birthdate — just to be sure I wasn’t a stowaway looking for a cheap way to get an angiogram.  There was some loud sounding music (and I use the term loosely) being played.  The room seemed quite large compared to other operating rooms I had been in. The fellow then asked me if I had any favorite music I’d like to hear and I replied “the Beatles.” He said he wasn’t sure they had any classical stuff. He then wheeled me over to a central area with all kinds of equipment.  I also remember a large monitor which I could use to watch the procedure.

After they did some other preparation, they gave me a mild sedative. The next thing I know I was back in the pre-operating area. I missed the whole show!

Within a few minutes a doctor was there to tell me the results. The test showed blockages in three main coronary arteries.  Coronary arteries send blood (and oxygen) to the heart. One was 99 percent blocked which meant that practically no oxygen was going to that part of my heart. That is why I had mild discomfort when I stressed the heart by climbing stairs and working the treadmill.

Two other arteries were 60 percent blocked.

He strongly suggested that I have bypass surgery to return my heart to normal functioning.

I had a lot of thinking to do in a short period of time.

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Lou Lombardo is a New York State Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork.  For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at (585) 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com

The post Angiogram sets options for heart surgery appeared first on Livingston County News.

There are three milestones in the aging process of a Baby Boomer: when the AARP catches up to you, when you have your first colonoscopy and when the doctor tells you that you may need bypass surgery.

I imagine that these are true of any generation’s aging process. But, since ours has had the most influence on mankind during the past 100 years, and since I have been a proud member of it since birth, then I feel comfortable in making that acclamation.

After all, our generation, with its millions of people, was responsible for production of the first minivans to accommodate the large influx of our children. And as we aged, various manufacturers found the need to accommodate us with hair-dying products to make us look younger, erectile dysfunction products to make us perform younger and larger minivans, which were a result of the product mentioned just before this one.

Thus we are a generation to be remembered, if only due to our numbers.

Anyway, with regards to those milestones, the first is inevitable. The AARP has more operatives out there than the FBI, CIA and retired members of the Soviet News Agency TASS put together. They will hunt you down and, as soon as you turn 50, send the first of an endless number of notices, ads, and magazines that will keep on coming to you until you die, or turn 150 whichever comes first.

The second milestone is highly recommended by the medical profession, especially with the Western diet we all have adapted.

Unlike the first occasion, the second is painless.

Regular readers of this column will note that I have bored them with my personal account of both of these aging landmarks. Although I must say I was pleased with the two-part article on my colonoscopy. It nosed out the article on “Tattoos” in terms of reader response.

You just can’t find good, clean material like a colonoscopy to probe in a “wellness” column like this.

And that brings me to that third milestone. I recently mentioned that I had been having some discomfort behind by sternum (chest bone). It happened usually after climbing two flights of stairs at my daughters’ school.

The mild pain would then subside and disappear after a few minutes of rest.

Although I have followed what I consider a very healthy diet over the past 18 years, and although I have led an active life, physically speaking, I was a bit concerned about my heart, since both of my parents had bypass surgery.

So I scheduled a visit with my local doctor, Dean Romanick. He had the nurse administer the first of a couple of diagnostic tests that I was about to face to discover the source of this discomfort.

This test, done in his office, is known as an electrocardiogram, or EKG. An EKG is a very simple (like me) and painless (I like that, too) procedure that records the heart’s electrical activity. Many people have had them for various reasons. And you don’t have to study for the test either, or prep for it like the colonoscopy. Talk about feeling flushed for that one!

All I had to do was to remove my shirt and the nurse took over, so to speak. She placed some soft, sticky patches called electrodes on various parts of my anatomy (chest, arms and legs for those of you with your minds in the gutter).

These help detect the electrical activity of the heart from many areas at the same time.

After the electrodes were placed on me I just had to lie still on the table while the patches detected my heart’s electrical signals. The machine records the results on a screen as well as on paper.

The test didn’t take very long — about 10 minutes. The results showed that my heart was in good shape at the time.

And, as is the case sometimes with other ailments, the pain didn’t show up for a time even after climbing stairs. Then, about a month later I had the same discomfort, only it lasted for two days.

I scheduled another visit and Dr. Romanick referred me to a cardiologist who scheduled me for a stress test with an echocardiogram.

There wasn’t much prepping for this test either. I just had to abstain from eating or drinking for at least 3 hours prior. I also had to bring comfortable shoes and loose clothing. No sweat, or so I thought.

An echocardiogram is a test that uses sound waves to create a moving picture of the heart. The picture has much more detail than a regular x-ray and it involves absolutely no radiation. It also allows the doctor to see the heart beating as well as see the heart valves and other structures of the heart.

A nurse began by using an instrument to spread some gel around my ribs near my heart area. This instrument released sound waves that were transmitted as electrical impulses to an echocardiography machine. This machine in turn converted the impulses into moving pictures.

Once this procedure was done I got on a treadmill for the actual stress test. This test measures the effect of exercise on the heart.

It started with the placement of 10 electrodes on my chest. They were attached to an EKG monitor that followed the electrical activity of my heart during the exercise. The exercise consisted of walking on the treadmill. About every 3 minutes the pace of the treadmill was increased. After I reached the point when I felt the discomfort I was told to stop. This was followed by another echocardiogram procedure.

One of the results of these tests showed that my blood pressure actually dropped as the walking pace increased. That meant my heart wasn’t getting enough oxygen to keep up. And that translated into not enough blood being sent to the heart, since the blood carries the oxygen.

This isn’t what I had envisioned when I first reported the pain. Another visit was scheduled with my cardiologist who ultimately explained my dilemma. There was apparently some sort of blockage in one or more of the coronary arteries that carries blood to my heart.

The extent of blockage would determine the course of action we would need to take. The options spelled out to me were treatment through medication, placement of a stent or stents in the clogged arteries, or bypass surgery.

The best way to find out the extent of disease would be to have a procedure known as an angiogram done as soon as possible.

I was dumbfounded. Here I was, a few weeks ago feeling fit as an ox and now I’m facing what might be some major surgery.

It was time for me to reflect. The angiogram was scheduled that same week at Strong Hospital.

—–

Lou Lombardo is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at (585) 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com

The post It’s time for a heart to heart talk appeared first on Livingston County News.

Another Valentine’s Day was being celebrated this week. The day came as no surprise to most of us. We have been reminded of it by all the advertisements that have bombarded us for the past two months.

It has traditionally become a day to show one’s love and affection to their spouses, sweethearts or, in some cases, both.

Although some people think this special occasion was contrived by florists and the makers of greeting cards, the custom of celebrating Feb. 14 dates back to the Middle Ages.

But to backtrack a little further, the day has been named in honor of a man who lived in and around 200 AD.

There were actually three different Saint Valentines, all of them martyrs, who are referred to in the stories of early martyrs.

One was a priest at Rome. Another was a bishop of Interamna (later named Terni, a city in central Italy), and a third suffered in Africa along with a number of companions.

The most common belief is that the day was named in honor of the Roman Priest.

His birth date is unknown. But what is known about him is that he was martyred in 270 AD by the Roman Emperor Claudius. At the time Claudius issued an edict that forbade soldiers from marrying. He thought that married soldiers weren’t as good as single soldiers.

However Valentine continued to marry young couples, even though Claudius forbade it.

Valentine was eventually captured, imprisoned, tortured and finally beheaded on Feb. 14. The story goes that the last words he wrote were to the daughter of one of the men who judged him. He inspired today’s romantic correspondences between lovers by signing it, “from your Valentine.”

It wasn’t the first time a man lost his head over a young girl. But that’s another story.

Now we fast-forward to the Middle Ages. The popular customs particularly in England and France associated with Saint Valentine’s Day had their origin in the conventional belief that Feb.14 marked the day that birds began to choose their mates.

For these reasons the day is especially dedicated to lovers.

Whatever the stories about the person or customs associated with Valentine’s Day are, it is a day that allows us to pause and reflect on our lives and all those who enrich it.

Being in the doldrums of this recent snowstorm, we are all probably sitting around inside our homes with time to reflect. We may be thinking about the good things that establish wellness in our lives. We may also be thinking about those who have a positive effect on our wellness. And we may be thinking of ways we can show our appreciation for their efforts.

That appreciation can be directed at our present loved ones or even expanded to include people we meet in our everyday lives.

Native Americans have established several customs that pay homage to the mother earth and all of its inhabitants — whether two-legged or four-legged.

Here in New York State we are familiar with the Iroquois Nation, made up of six different tribes.

Out west there exists the Sioux Nation made up of three tribes. One of them is the Lakota.

The Lakotas have a tradition where they make prayer ties to offer prayers for others. Prayer ties are made by stringing together little packets of cloth filled with tobacco. As each packet is made, a prayer is offered. The ties are brought together during a special ceremony, usually during sweat lodge (Inipi).

The purpose of this tradition is to help us shift our attention from our own concerns to what we can do for humanity. One thing we can do is spend time praying for others and, thus sending healing energy to the world. Questions that we should ask are what gifts or traits do we have to offer? Or what role is appropriate for us to play, given our own personal interests and individual circumstances?

The Lakota people encourage us to find an activity that will give us the opportunity to experience joy while doing something useful. They also encourage us to become tolerant and understanding of ourselves and others and to allow ourselves to forgive, through love and compassion.

They believe that we can create joy by giving, without expectations. And they believe that rewards will be gained by those who serve. What a wonderful Valentine gift we can share with others throughout the year.

Some other ways we can show our love and appreciation for others came in a packet I received last week in the mail from “Food For The Poor Inc.”

In it was a tablet consisting of daily activities we can perform throughout the upcoming season of Lent.

But you don’t have to celebrate Lent or even be religious to accept their ideas.

The following suggestions are just a few that are included on their list:

1. Do something kind for someone and do it anonymously.

2. Make a sacrifice for the sake of someone else.

3 Don’t eat one day and spend mealtime in prayer for someone.

4. Help feed a homeless person who goes unnoticed by the world.

5. Make peace with a family member who hurt you.

6. Cultivate young minds by helping in a Sunday School class or supporting another education initiative.

7. Forgive those who have repeatedly offended you.

8. Comfort someone who is ill.

What better way to extend Valentine’s Day throughout the year. And what better ways to feel good about yourself and fulfill your purpose on this earth.

I came across a short passage entitled “Never Give Up” by H.H. The XIV Dalai Lama, which can encourage you to contribute to your well-being and that of others.

“Never Give Up. No matter what is going on. Never give up. Develop the heart. Too much energy is spent developing the mind instead of the heart. Develop the heart. Be compassionate, not just to your friends but to everyone. Be compassionate. Work for peace in your heart and in the world. Work for peace and I say again, never give up. No matter what is happening, no matter what is going on around you, never give up.”

More about the affairs of the heart in the next few columns.

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Lou Lombardo is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at (585) 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com

The post You can celebrate Valentine’s Day every day appeared first on Livingston County News.

When a person feels discomfort in their chest, and shortness of breath after climbing stairs, the natural reaction should be to call your doctor.

And that’s just what I did a couple of weeks ago. (My parents didn’t raise an ordinary fool!)

I had experienced these symptoms for a while and knew I should seek medical advice. I had hoped for the best, you know, maybe it would be some indigestion problems. But, the results of that visit turned out to be quite a shock to me.

I don’t mean the advice that my doc gave me to have a stress test done as soon as possible.

After all, with two teenage daughters, my stress is tested every day. I should have no problem with a stationary treadmill.

And I had one done 6 or 7 years ago and I turned out to be okay. So that news didn’t affect me greatly.

No, the news that hit me the hardest was the one the nurse gave me prior to my meeting with the doctor.

Typical visits to the doctor usually include some preliminary checks by the nurse, you know, weight, blood pressure and the like. After checking my weight, my nurse proceeded to measure me. According to her records we hadn’t done this in a long time.

Well, I was floored with what she told me. My weight was normal for this time of year — 5 pounds heavier than in the summer. But it was her measurement of my height that struck me the hardest. I had lost 1-1/2 inches since I was last measured!

This news was very disconcerting, to say the least.

I have always listed my height as 5 feet, 10 inches. The fact that it was only 5 feet 9-1/2 inches is insignificant because guys have a naturally tendency to round up certain measurements which denote a man’s masculinity, if you catch my drift. And, in the case of a loss of inches, the degree of impact on a man’s ego is directly related to the area being measured.

Most men who I know consider a lack of height to be the second-most important area of concern when it comes to measurement. We don’t need to get into the MOST important area at this time, or ever, for that matter, as far as I am concerned.

So, there I was, measurements in hand, sitting in a room waiting for my doc. Being an inquisitive sort, I usually read the charts he has posted on his walls. After all, you can never learn too much, especially when it comes to conditions of the human body which often result in new fodder for these columns.

When I came upon the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart I became flustered beyond normal. Even though my weight was normal for me, my loss of height pushed me over one column to the right into the “overweight” category. When will these catastrophes end?

So being of sound mind and body, although the latter certainly is being challenged by this recent turn of events, I decided to find out exactly why I lost 1-1/2 inches of height and suddenly became overweight.

The answer would have been obvious to me when I was very young. Back then I always believed that, when you get old, you became short and suddenly began to speak Italian.

That’s because all the old people I knew were short and spoke Italian.

Now that I have advanced well past that stage of early childhood (very quickly, I might add), I am now at a point where I need to get to the bottom of this dilemma that I find myself facing.

Most people can come up with a reason why women get shorter as they age. It’s because of the loss of calcium which leads to a softening of the bones (osteoporosis) and thus a loss in height.

But the last time I checked, not that I need to check at all, I am NOT or have never been a woman.

Further research on the topic revealed that it is normal for men as well as women to lose about a half-inch of height every 10 years.

Some people say that, when you think of aging, think of a house settling on its foundation.

These people need to find a better metaphor.

The disks that make up part of our spinal cord are gel-like pads in between our vertebrae. These pads lose fluid over the years and flatten.

In addition our muscles lose mass and tone and become weaker with non-use, especially in the abdomen. This, in turn, leads to bad posture.

Even the arches in our feet flatten out slightly.

Smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol or caffeine excessively, extreme dieting and taking steroids can exacerbate poor posture. For those of you without a dictionary at hand that means it makes it worse. Maintaining a healthy diet including adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, and doing weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises can help stave it off.

DISCLAIMER CLAUSE ALERT!

Always check with your doctor when deciding on which exercises are best for you. This will not only be good for your health, it will make my lawyer feel much better.

There are two types of exercises you may want to consider for building and maintaining bone density: weight-bearing and muscle-strengthening exercises.

Weight-bearing exercises include activities that make you move against gravity while staying upright. Weight-bearing exercises can be high-impact or low-impact.

High-impact weight-bearing exercises help build bones and keep them strong. If you have broken a bone due to osteoporosis or are at risk of breaking a bone, you may need to avoid high-impact exercises. If you’re not sure, you should check with your healthcare provider.

Examples of high-impact weight-bearing exercises are dancing, doing high-impact aerobics, hiking, jogging/running, jumping rope, stair climbing and tennis.

Low-impact weight-bearing exercises such as using stair-step machines and fast walking on a treadmill can help keep bones strong and are a safe alternative if you cannot do high-impact exercises.

Muscle-strengthening exercises such as lifting weights, using elastic exercise bands and using weight machines will accomplish the same objective.

Yoga and Pilates can also improve strength, balance and flexibility. However, certain positions may not be safe for people with osteoporosis or those at increased risk of broken bones. For example, exercises that have you bend forward may increase the chance of breaking a bone in the spine. A physical therapist should be able to help you learn which exercises are safe and appropriate for you.

So, there you have it folks. If you want to avoid the condition I am facing, or face it along with me, try some of the suggestions above.

If I had know this was going to happen to me I would have called Peter Jackson and tried out for a part in his new picture “The Hobbit.” But I guess, until we get to the bottom of my dilemma, I’ll just be resigned to the fact that I need to brush up on my Italian.

Arrivederci and buona salute.

—–

Lou Lombardo is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at (585) 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com .

The post The long and short of aging appeared first on Livingston County News.

This is the time of the year when editors of many prestigious newspapers like this one (kiss, kiss) review the events of the past year, from beginning to end.

And, as you should have already read in this issue, our out-going editor-in-chief (aka Perry White) has done a terrific job in accomplishing this feat (more kiss, kiss).

Who am I to try to out-do him?

But, in true modest fashion, I shall attempt to present some of the events that I have read about in other newspapers this past year in reverse order- that is- from December to January.

In essence, this is NOT a “Year End Review.” It’s a “Rear End Review.”

Before I get started I have to tell you that I was very concerned this past Thursday when a major snow storm hit the area and I didn’t receive the delivery of my daily newspaper from the big city to the north. You know the paper I mean. The one with the same letters as an operation on parts of the female anatomy that shall remain nameless so as to preserve any semblance of integrity.

As I have mentioned in the past, I read three daily newspapers as well as this award-winning weekly newspaper (more kiss, kiss) every day.

I have to venture into the village to pick up one of my other daily paper (the one that reports the news of their football team, the Buffalo “Ills”). I hoped that at least IT had made it to the rustic village of Geneseo.

Prior to stopping to pick up this edition, I became engaged in a conversation with a local businesswoman.

In expressing my concern over not receiving my daily newspapers she suggested that I read them on the Internet.

However, I was quick to point out that, if that would happen I would have to drag my computer into the bathroom. Too much work !!

In any event, ( HOW DID I GET TO THIS POINT?!), to make a short story long, here are some headlines of news items that I read this past year.

“Doctors beat drum for early hearing exams.” Did anyone even listen?

Tree Service Expands It’s horizon”. Shouldn’t they have written that they branched out?

An article about a news conference by a militant group in Somalia quoted two individuals — Omar Hammami, who was also known as Abu Mansur al-Amriki and Shiek Mukhtar Abu Mansar Robow.

How do they ever get their name on the front of their business card?

There was a brief notice about the night’s Lotto jackpot totaling $5 million. Immediately under it was a notice- “The Center for Problem Gambling” 24-hour helpline- 1-800-437-1611.

Then there was this review I read about the movie “Snow White and the Huntsman.” It’s rating was PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, and, get this, BRIEF SENSUALITY. What, in God’s little green acres is “BRIEF SENSUALITY?”

I read this quote from the popular pop singer, Lady Gaga, who was born Stefani Germanotta (Now you know why she changed her name).

Her claim to fame in terms of editorial comments was “If you don’t have any shadows, you are not in the light.”. Is that deep or what? You will see that etched on the walls of many deep dark tunnels in the not too distant, dismal future.

Can you imagine the reaction of future archeologists or visitors from another planet coming across this comment? “No wonder this civilization vanished.”

Here’s another interesting quote I came across from longtime Senator Russell Long of Louisiana, “A tax loophole is something that benefits the other guy. If it benefits you, it is tax reform.”

Make more sense than Stefani.

There was a newspaper account of a severed human head and foot that was discovered in a park near Toronto, Canada. The inspector said that they have not determined whether the foot and head was from the same person.

And here’s the “Duh” statement of the year: “Without a cause of death, we can’t call it a homicide, but, certainly foul play. There’s definitely something amiss.”

Could it have been a suicide gone wrong? So much for logic north of the border.

And with all of the tragic and senseless killings in different parts of the country, this letter appeared in a famous advice column. It was from a lady in California who had this pressing problem:

“When someone at the office lends you a lint remover, should you return it with the used lint paper still on it — or tear it off and return it with a fresh one?”

And to end on a happier note, I read in a sports column about John Olerud, a professional baseball player who was never known for his speed. He was asked how he hit 54 doubles for the Blue Jays in 1993. He simply explained: “Some of them were triples”.

So, as you face the new year, consider the advice of that well known author, Richard Carlson.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. It’s all small stuff.”

Lou Lombardo is a NYS Licensed Massage Therapist, nationally certified and certified in orthopedic massage. He is an approved provider for continuing education courses through the National Certification Board of Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. For questions, comments or more information you can contact him at (585) 734-2200 or at lombardolm@aol.com.

The post A ‘rear end’ review appeared first on Livingston County News.

The holiday season is a time for gift-giving. Presents come in different sized packages. Some are wrapped, while others are too large to fit in a box.

Twenty-five children, including our two daughters, received a gift this past Sunday which couldn’t possibly have been wrapped. And it was one which we, as parents, would never have been able to offer.

That gift was the opportunity to perform, live and on stage, with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at the Eastman Theater in front of over 2,100 people.

The donor of this memorable gift was Amy Cochrane, founder and director of the Genesee Valley Children’s Choir.

The choir, which was started by Cochrane three years ago, consists of children ages 6-15 from across Livingston County.

“The goal of the program,” says Cochrane, “is to provide opportunities for children to participate in high-quality and culturally enriched musical experiences for the benefit of the children and the community.”

They perform a variety of classical, folk, secular and sacred vocal literature.

Sunday’s performance by the choir was a vocal rendition of the song, “We’re Walking In The Air.” Soloists from the choir were Nicholas Rivers of Geneseo and Alberto Tewksbury of Livonia.

The audience viewed the animated BBC anitmated feature “The Snowman” on a large screen. The words and music of this film were written by Howard Blake, an English composer with illustrations by Dianne Jackson.

During the film, the orchestra, led by Brett Mitchell, guest conductor, played the music and the choir provided the vocals for the selected piece.

In response to their performance, Mr. Mitchell later wrote:

“Thanks so much Amy! Your kids were absolutely fantastic, and I really hope we all have the chance to work together again….They were all totally professional in both demeanor and performance. They should be really proud of a job well done, as should you!”

Other notable performances by the Children’s Choir have been premiers of new works by Ken Kreuzer and Geneseo’s own Glenn McClure.

In addition, last year, accompanied by another full orchestra, they performed John Rutter’s “Mass of the Children.”

The children also sang the National Anthem at a Rochester Red Wings game this past May.

Next spring they will have the opportunity to sing “Carmina Burana” with Gerard Floriano.

The choir has been performing songs in a variety of churches in Livingston County during the past three Christmas seasons.

This year’s series of holiday concerts, “Stille Nacht,” features several German works, including the finale to Hansel and Gretel, and will begin this Saturday at St. Peters Episcopal Church at 7:30 p.m. in Dansville.

This will be followed the next day with a 1 p.m. presentation at Morgan Estates and a concert at the Central Presbyterian Church in Geneseo at 3 p.m.

Amy Cochrane is an established singer in the world of opera, light opera, and oratorio. Some of her critically acclaimed performances include Gilda in Rigoletto and Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 2, “Lobgesang,” both with the Madison Opera and Symphony Orchestra as well as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzancewith the Grant Park Symphony and Chorus. She has been teaching at Nazareth College for over six years and also maintains a private studio in Geneseo.

Maria and I were absolutely delighted with the entire concert. We have been so appreciative of the efforts of Amy Cochrane as she has guided our daughters since the choir’s inception. She provides them with experiences that they will remember for a lifetime.

Members of the Genesee Valley Children’s Choir are:

Mallorie Allan, Miranda Blood, Addy Capel, Caroline Capel, Matthew Capel, Regina Cucchiara, Tehya Deisenroth, Rayne Ebersold, Amara Evans, Alison Evans, Anna Evans, Clara Gillespie, Isabel Granger, Carlea Grant, Makenna Hughes, Sarah Hull, Teresa Ingro, Jesslyn Kelly, Suzi Lombardo, Amanda Lombardo, Francesca McClure, Nicholas Rivers, Emily Sullivan, Reagan Sykes, Alberto Tewksbury, Michele Tewksbury, Jordan Van Buren, Georgia VanRy, Seth Waldron, Paige Waldron and Lacey Williamson.

The post Youth choir sings with Rochester Philharmonic appeared first on Livingston County News.