Vestibular Therapy Anyone?

Hello Everyone!

I’d like to start my blog by saying that I absolutely LOVE spring!  Spring is definitely my favorite season and I am so excited that spring has finally arrived!  With spring, people often talk about “spring cleaning” and with cleaning, comes change. 

During spring, the birds begin to chirp again, the fresh scent of new vegetation is apparent, the earth gives birth to new life, and everything seems to be merry in the world… well, for the most part.

Many things have changed in my life recently as I have been doing some “self spring cleaning”.  Have you ever heard of Vestibular Therapy?  No?  Yeah, I hadn’t either.  The first time I heard of Vestibular Therapy was not until my concussion specialist suggested that I undergo this type of therapy.  Since I have still been dealing with side effects from the concussion I received from my automobile accident way back in January, she thought that this would be a good idea.

So what exactly is this so-called “Vestibular Therapy”?  Well, it’s actually pretty neat.  Strangely enough, I have problems telling my brain to turn my head from left to right and I also have problems moving my head up and down.  My doctor explained that sometimes whenever the head is traumatically shaken, certain parts of the brain mess things up and systems get weaken.  For me, Vestibular Therapy is helping me to “get out of the fog” because sometimes I’m processing information much slower than my norm.    It is also helping me to increase my reaction time and to more normally move my head.  My problem is that I – to put in simple words – “don’t feel right” and Vestibular Therapy is helping me out tremendously.

For this exercise, 
I look at each letter
in a clockwise rotation 
and then, in a counterclockwise rotation.

So, once a week, I meet up with my doctor for an hour-long appointment.  During my appointments, the doctor asks me routine questions like “how are you doing” and “how have your headaches been on a scale from 1-10”.  After the cliché, I start doing my “exercises”.  Now, whenever I say “exercises” it’s not the typical treadmill or weightlifting, what I am doing are brain exercises.  One exercise includes walking while turning my head from left to right and another includes shaking my head while trying to maintain a clear imagine of the word “OK”.  Although these exercises might sound strange and fairly easy, for me, they are a huge help and are actually difficult.  It’s not until you’ve been

For this exercise, I first look at the
blue bead, then green, then purple,
and then I repeat the entire process.

knocked down that you can truly appreciate whenever you’re in good health.

With that being said, I hope you learned something new and appreciate your good health!  You never know whenever it might be taken away from you…  Although I’m still not 100% better, 4‑H has been my backbone.  I really appreciate all the support from my council members, 4-H friends, leaders, advisors, etc.  Also, I had an absolutely fantastic time at the 2013 PA 4-H State Capital Days!  I also had the opportunity to counsel at an “Inbetweeners Retreat” and share the opportunities 4-H has to offer at all age levels.  4-H is such a great program and I hope all of you reading this blog stay involved.  I cannot stress how great 4-H truly is.  In fact, one week from day I’ll be at the 2013 National 4-H Conference with six other delegates from Pennsylvania including PA 4-H State Council Members Cecilia and George!  I am too excited to express my words for joy!  Well, that’s all I have for now.

Until later,

Cassidy Baker

2012/2013 PA 4-H State Council President

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance.  It overcomes almost everything, even nature."

John D. Rockefeller.

Cow washing in Bradford County

There are some people who ask their kid to go out to wash their cars during the spring, but here in Bradford County they send their kids out to wash heifers. Yes, it’s a cow wash! The cow wash is on the Thursday before our annual Calf and Heifer sale on Saturday. On Thursday people who have donated heifers for the sale bring them in, and it is our job to wash them up and make them look good for the sale. Other 4-H kids and I help to wash the heifers. We usually get at least 60 cows, and all day it’s a repetition; unload them, tie them to the wash rack, wash them, and then put them in a nice bedded spot. After they are in the bedded area it is someone’s job to scoop up any poop so the heifers don’t lay in it and need another wash.

The next day the cows are spot washed, unless they got really dirty over night. They are then clipped up so that they look good for the buyers the day of the sale. I don’t usually go on this day, because I am busy at home preparing some goodies for the food booth for the auction. The food booth is run by the County Council of our county. I am happily in the food booth all day during the sale. We are sometimes hard pressed for volunteers in the booth because there are 4-H members helping out in the live auction holding items up for the bidders to see. The 4-Hers that helped during the previous days of the sale also get to lead their choice of a heifer around in the ring to present. The food booth workers create a system so it runs smoothly and the food is given to the customers quickly, even if we don’t have a lot of helpers. Sometimes it is better with a smaller amount so that we don’t run into each other in the booth… which has happened before, and we have learned from it.

This year the Calf and Heifer sale is the day before Easter, April 7th. I hope that the weather decides to warm up a bit during our cow washing, so the poor girls don’t get too cold! As mentioned a little bit earlier included in the sale we have a live and silent auction filled with items that 4-H Volunteers have asked local businesses to donate, or have made themselves. In the silent auction the items are ones that each club from our county has donated, usually they consist of baskets, like a picnic basket, hunting basket, toys basket, and so on. Each club gets to come up with their own idea and bring at least one basket to the sale. The live auction and silent auction proceeds go to the funding for our 4-H building at the fair to keep it running and get the bills paid.

I’m looking forward to it again this year, because it is always a good time... even if it is in cold weather! It will be a little bit tricky for some of us with Easter the next day, but will still be very enjoyable. Spending time with friends and supporting 4-H as a team is some of my favorite things to do on a Saturday.

Enjoy your Easter weekend!

Danielle Knapp

Reporter

February is Cake Month

February is the month I like to call Cake Month. All the months in the year have their very own titles ‘national month of…’ or a ‘the month of…’ and sometimes there are several of these titles for each month. There are some 'national month of..' that are more known than others, but each month has at least one. Now by calling it Cake Month you might imagine the month being about celebrating the many YUMMY different kinds of cake, but... not quite. Let me better explain the reason why I call it that.

First I have to tell you a little bit about me and my family. I am the fifth child in my family, out of seven. I have three brothers and three sisters. Two of my brothers are younger than I am, and then the rest of my siblings are older. Out of the seven children three of us have our birthdays in February; my oldest sister Christine, third oldest sister Kim, and me. Our birthday’s fall into each week of February, not counting that last half of the month. The first week is mine, the second is Christine’s and then the third is Kim’s. With celebrating birthday's usually a traditional way to celebrate such a great day is to blow out candles lit on top of a birthday cake and then enjoy the cake afterwards. My family does that, but we don't have just one, but two cakes. One cake is homemade and the birthday girl/boy gets to choose what flavor they want it to be. My siblings and I are fans of the simple ones, like Vanilla and Chocolate. I love Vanilla cake more than I do Chocolate, but Marble cake is delicious way to mix together a little bit of chocolate with vanilla to make a great combination of both cakes.

The second cake is not homemade, at least not by us. This cake we buy and bring home to enjoy. A family tradition of ours is to get a Carvel ice cream cake for every birthday. So with these birthdays right after another we get to enjoy yummy Ice cream cake three times in February. All of my family members have a favorite part of the ice cream cake. The kind of ice cream cake we generally get is where the chocolate ice cream is the bottom layer of the cake, a cookie crumble is the middle separating the two ice cream flavors, which brings us to the top ice cream layer; vanilla ice cream. Covering those layers is white icing, then a gel icing is on top with different colored balloons and a 'Happy Birthday!' written out, last there is blue icing with sprinkles surrounding the edges of the cake. Most of my siblings love the blue icing that goes on the edges, but my favorite part of the cake is the cookie in the middle! I love the entire cake, but the cookie is the 'icing on the cake' for me.

Now that you know why I call it Cake Month, think about some of your traditions for birthdays, they probably vary from my family's. No matter how different they may be, they will still be similar by making a birthday wish and then blowing out the candles and lastly, eating your birthday cake. Those of you that will also be celebrating a birthday in February, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! I hope you have a great day! Everyone who have already had or are having one later in the year, I wish you the same!

Yours truly,

Danielle Knapp

State Council Reporter