Over 40 Exams - Not Just a Pain in the Ass!

Over 40 Exams are not just a pain in the ass!  It can actually save your life.  Retired First Sergeant Mike Estridge discovered that his procrastination could have been avoided and saved him from grief.

Michael "Mike" and Tiffany Estridge served in the U.S. Army for over 30 years. This Indiana military leader is still fighting battles. He was recently diagnosed with a Hereditary Colon Cancer Disease. Although he has survived some of his treatments, the medical expenses have left his family in a financial challenge. SUPPORT OUR TROOPS is not a cliche' but a genuine request from each of you to give back to an American Soldier who survived and sacrificed his life in Dessert Storm and Afghanistan. Please make a donation to help this family to continue to help themselves. Respectfully, calling out to the military community too! Help your brother@the-ready! He needs you! THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE & SUPPORT!

Humbled Heart Transplant Candidate

     Arleen Westmoreland, affectionately called "Annette" by family and close friends was born and raised in Baltimore, MD and currently resides in Greensboro, NC.  This lady cooks and eats healthy  meals daily!  She is very particular about what she puts into her body.  She is the family member who ensures that everyone else eats healthy during Thanksgiving gatherings!  She exercises regularly by walking, running, dancing and aerobics.  She has worked for over 35 years with no physical or health issues.  
     In 2007, she contracted pneumonia.  This condition resulted in severe weakening of her heart.  Then,  in 2015 Arleen got a viral infection that led to pneumonia for a second time!  This time, it caused her to have a lung infection and disrupted stomach too. 
     Today,  she has difficulty breathing and an extremely weak heart.  Her heart ejection fraction is at 15%.  Doctors consider a measurement under 40% as deadly. Her heart muscle does not contract effectively unless oxygen-enriched-blood is pumped out into her body.  Diagnosed with Chronic Severe Systolic Heart Failure Stage 3.5 medical professions have determined that Arleen is a prime heart transplant candidate.  Systolic heart failure happened when the left side of her heart failed to pump blood out to the body as well as normal. She is scheduled to visit Duke University Hospital, Durham, NC  to be evaluated and determine when the procedure will take place.      
     Heart conditions run in the family!  There is an  immediate need for funds to assist Annette with her hospital bills and living expenses. It will help to maintain her residence and keep things going while she recovers from her major heart transplant surgery and hospitalization.  
     Your donations mean so much to her because this life sustaining procedure will help Annette to stay alive.  She cannot live without this heart transplant.  One day, this could be you or one of your family members.  Praying that it never happens!    
     Arleen is very grateful and thankful for any amount that you will sacrifice to help her cause.  She never imagined at age 55-years-old that  her heart would be in such poor condition.  Please support her and share this campaign with your family, friends and loved ones too!  Thank you for supporting the gift of life.  May God Bless and keep each of you.  

Arleen is currently seeking a mentor!  Do you know anyone who had a heart transplant? What about an African American female?

Sincerely, 

Serbennia Davis, CEO
Serbennia Photography & Gifts, LLC
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www.serbenniaphotography.com

My 145/101 HBP Confession

After retirement from the U.S. Army,
I thought that I didn't need to exercise any more.

High-strung-entrepreneur full of energy? Pushing and striving hard to accomplish your business goals? Eyes focused on the prize and next money maker assignment?  Too busy to slow down right now because you’ve got too much work to do?  Got to get it done today because tomorrow might be too late – and there’s more stuff to do? Have no time to work-out or exercise because you don’t feel like it? Eat-on-the-run?  Can’t understand why you are gaining so much weight?

Well slow down Ms. CEO! While you are diverting much of your energy into your business growth and entrepreneurial dream, you could be stressing yourself out and shortening your life too!  There’s a strong possibility that you may have overwhelmed yourself and there’s way too much on your plate.  Worst of all, you have no idea of how to scrape some of it off.  Do you want to live to see your business dream come true?

145/101 (systolic/diastolic) was my recorded blood pressure measurement when I went into the Emergency Room for the third allergic reaction to my blood pressure  medication.  24-hours later it was 159/92 at my doctor’s office.  Already she had informed me that anything above 140/90 was in the danger zone for a stroke, kidney failure or a heart attack!  

Normal range for an African American female my age, 56, is 135/80.  Still I didn’t listen (or believe her) until I began spazzing-out on my husband, children, and grandchildren because I had little or no patience.  Worst even yet, my clients too! Can’t make money with unhappy clientele.   

The tenderness in my chest, congested head cold, shortness of breath and breaking out in whelps on my chest, shoulder and lips wasn’t so bad.  I thought the profuse sweating was due to night sweats!  I only needed a little rest and antihistamine ointment!  It wasn't until the third time that it happened then,  I realized it was no theory that African Americans were at a greater risk of having hypertension than most other races and nationalities.

Let’s not talk about the salt-factor!  It’s a joke - a no-salt or low sodium diet in the fast food world.  When entrepreneurs are out and about, we grab something quick and easy to eat.  Unfortunately most, if not all, fast foods use salt as a preservative to help foods to last longer.  Some meals are seasoned even more with salt when it’s cooked on the grill. 

In non-Hispanic African Americans, researchers have discovered that there may be a gene that makes us more salt sensitive.  “As little as a half a teaspoon could raise BP as much as five millimeters of mercury (mmHG),” according to American Heart Association’s website www.heart.org.

Some unsettling stats which I recently learned from www.goredforwomen.org are:

1. Cardiovascular diseases kill nearly 50,000 African American women annually.
2. Of 20-year-old African American women (or older), 49% have heart disease.
3.   Sadly, only 1 in 5 African American women believes she is personally at risk.  
4. Unfortunately, only 52% of African American women are aware of the signs and symptoms of a heart attack
5.  Only 36% of African American women know that heart disease is their greatest health risk. 

Many women in our families have died at a very young age because they learned after age 20 that the southern-style foods we grew up on, were not the best diets for us.  Fatback, collard greens with seasoned-salts and ham stock, fried chicken cooked in lard, etc. are just a few of the slave-mentality leftover dishes that we have carried on throughout generations.   

Even though a change in diet makes a huge difference, it is not enough! To keep your blood pressure in a healthy range, www.cdc.gov suggests the following.

1. Reduce salt intake.
2. Check blood pressure and monitor it regularly.
3.  Maintain a healthy body weight.  Know your body mass index (BMI).
4. Exercise regularly. Avoid inactivity.
5. Eat more fruits and vegetables.  (i.e. bananas-high in potassium).
6.  Don’t smoke.
7. Watch alcohol intake (two drinks for men and one for women per day).
8. Take prescribed blood pressure medicine as directed.
9. If trouble taking meds consult with your health care professional about other medications.

·         There are four different groups of BP meds – some work better on African Americans than others.

I want to live to see my entrepreneurial dream come true, don’t you?  These are just a few tips that will help us to help ourselves to stay healthier.  Life is short and tomorrow is not promised.  Live, laugh and love yourself till death.  

Serbennia Photography - Wall-Art

Serbennia Photography - Wall-Art

Serbennia Photography - Wall-Art

Serbennia Photography - Wall-Art

Allen "Stampede" Carter Columbus, OH Buffalo Soldier President

Photojournalists  tell a story through pictures from beginning to end.  They shoot  the scenes without interfering during your special occasion.  There are no staged or formal shots.  Photojournalists are prepared to move freely.  Images portray a chronological sequence of events.  Impromptu photographs of you and your guests are taken to capture the story.  It is told through the eyes of the photographer.  Photojournalism is used in such events as birthday parties, sports events, weddings, or other social functions.