Mardy Ross's blog

Well, here we are -- the last blog of 2011; tomorrow will be 2012. This would be my silver wedding anniversary and it also marks the sad occasion of my friend Christine's murder at age 26 while running on the beach while vacationing with her family, husband and in-laws in Maui.  She had just been admitted to medical school and her goal was to work, with her husband, with adolescent psychiatry. So I dedicate this blog to her AND to my exhusband, who is still alive despite 40 years fighting hydrocephalus and epilepsy.  read more »

Last week, I made a trip over the snowy, Colorado Rocky Mountains to visit people before Christmas.  Half to visit friends and fun, and the other half to visit friendly colleagues and have some fun while meeting about various mutual interests.  I got to thinking that I visited with Catholics, Protestants and Jews on my trip.  I am GRATEful for my father's having insisted on the atheistic approach, although my mother and grandmother slipped in some of their Christian beliefs here and there.  read more »

Instead of writing a 'blog' for this holiday, I prepared something in the lifestyle forum related to the Attitude of Graditude.  It includes a fabulous quote by Melodie Beatty about gratefulness, and my thoughts about how Thanksgiving has been the first of a lot of 'lasts' for me lately.  I suggest people look at their families and work to get things lined out for a transition everyone will give thanks for in the future, related to aging parents.  The link to go to the relatively short piece is:    read more »

I made a special cup of coffee today and drank it looking at the sun coming onto the beautiful Colorado National Monument that is the backdrop to one side of Grand Junction. Last night on PBS there was a wonderful program about Vietnam, where they interviewed Veterans of the war, including some women.  read more »

The passing of Steve Jobs this past week has brought people together reflecting and talking and communicating.  Things humans have in common is we're all born and we all die, and those of us privileged to have I.T. in our lives are directly or indirectly impacted by the revolution Mr Jobs 'Was'!  read more »

Today I want to talk about psychological trauma, as it is clearly a big part of 'the 9/11 story', which we are generally celebrating and acknowledging and in my case, studying, today. There are countless thousands who were directly involved ten years ago, who had woken up one day like every other day and walked like every other day.    read more »

"Thank you for inviting me to Grand Junction. There is more promising and inspiring care related to integrated care here than anywhere in the nation."  This was the first of MANY "note-worthy" things Dr Frank de Gruy of Denver's CU Med Center (University of Colorado) said last night. I will share the entire presentation with you in the near future here at Lumigrate because it is my 'responsibility' on many levels, including spiritually, to 'get the word out to to all who are represented in the model.  read more »

Right now is 'back to school' for millions in the United States, from "K through ...?"  One of the contributors to Lumigrate, who has been as more behind the scenes in the past but coming into the pages of Lumigrate in the future is a wonderful man who connected with me and Lumigrate through facebook but who was in Colorado and did a practicum / fieldwork in Grand Junction, so we met and had dinner one night.  read more »

It struck me, when watching a show on CNN about the women of 9/11 over Labor Day weekend, as the 10th anniversary of "9/11" approaches, the similarities between the stories they were showing of people who had been responders at the site and "well / healthy" at the time, who now have chronic illness, and the people I 'serve' through Lumigrate -- our YOUsers.  My work as an occupational therapist for over a decade of hands-on experience, my years of being involved in communities and circles of people I know personally, and most recently the inter  read more »

Labor Day is considered the 'Grand Finale' of the summer. It is observed on the first Monday in September each year, and is intended to be a tribute to the workers whose contributions have lead to the prosperity of our country, per the official definition by the U.S. Dept. of Labor. This year more than most, we are aware of our faltering economy, one which I believe is currently just on the 'tip of the iceberg' of things to come, unfortunately. And it is only one 'symptom' of what we is going on in the world, on the Earth, and for most of us reading this, the United States.  read more »