Columnists Ahoy! ~ 4

Sweetie Grace, a pit bull, and her owner pull themselves through adversity

Dawn Turner Trice tells the touching story of the union of an abused pit bull and a breast cancer patient. Together they were able to help each other get though hard times. Sweetie Grace is a pit bull that was harshly abused to the point of losing motion in one leg and having burns that covered 50 percent of her body. Many didn't even believe she would survive when dropped off at the Anti-Cruelty Society by an unidentified person. But she had a effervescent personality and never growled, making her a loving companion and with the help of many doctors she survived against all odds. While Sweetie Grace was getting her leg amputated and her torso straightened out, Roberta Miller was having her own troubles. She had just completed 24 weeks of chemotherapy and five weeks of radiation for breast cancer when she adopted Sweetie Grace. Together they made the perfect couple, and though the years have grown closer. Sweetie Grace, is still doing good, and Miller found out that she is cancer free. "It's a story of how sometimes the obstacles one has to go through to get to the right place can be just plain torture," Miller said. "But then sometimes you can come out on the other side."

Dawn Turner Trice

Info found at: www.chicagotribune.com

Columnists Ahoy! ~ 3

Changing exercise habits during the change of life

Menopause study examines ways to encourage women to view exercise as both enjoyable and necessary

For the last 17 years, Rush University Medical Center has been conducting a long-term menopause study called WISH: Women in the Southside Health project.. Researchers discovered that menopause can be one of the causes of increased belly fat and initially increases a women's chances for heart disease and diabetes. So to solve this, they launched a fitness program called WISHFIT to get women exercising. Dawn Trice describes their struggles to find ways to motivate women and encourage them, not to lose weight, but focus on an overall healthier lifestyle. Mary Pat Kull and Donna Cullar are both women participating in the program, each of them attempting to overcome their bad habits. They have tried to exercise in the past, but explain that after a couple months it would slowly come to a stop. However, they have benefitted because of WISHFIT and are now on the road to a better life, healthier and with the reduction of symptoms that naturally come with menopause. 

Dawn Turner Trice

Info found at: www.chicagotribune.com