All posts of Mia Pohlman

The Female Reproductive System: Let’s learn about our bodies

In a 2016 U.K. survey, fewer than one-third of women were able to correctly name and identify six parts of their own reproductive system, according to the book “Pain and Prejudice: How the Medical System Ignores Women — And What We Can Do About It,” by Gabrielle Jackson, published in 2021. If you’re wondering if […]
7 months ago

Lack of Women in Medical Studies Creates Barriers to Healing

Often throughout history, women’s pain has either been dismissed, found to have an unknown cause, or labeled by the medical system as hysteria or mental illness. This is in part due to cultural taboos that surround talking about women’s bodies and in part due to our health care system’s historical bias against women. Historically, male […]
7 months ago

Medical Journeys: Dr. Rina Patel-Jerls, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)

Dr. Rina Patel-Jerls ate a lot of sugar. She often had cravings for carbohydrates and felt tired. She gained a lot of weight, and her face was swollen and puffy from insulin resistance. A doctor diagnosed Rina with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) in 2021. Rina, who is a pediatric and prenatal chiropractor, wondered how she […]
7 months ago

Medical Journeys: Jessica Kruger, endometriosis

When Jessica Kruger started menstruating in fifth grade, her periods weren’t regular, and she experienced heavy cramping, often missing school when she was on her period because of pain and bleeding through her clothes. Her primary care doctor told her it was normal and put her on birth control, which masked the problem. “I didn’t […]
7 months ago

Medical Journeys: Angie Runnels, menopause

Approximately 10 years ago when Angie Runnels was 45, a gynecologist found a polyp on Angie’s right ovary. During surgery, the doc- tor diagnosed Angie with endometriosis, and removed the ovary because the polyp and ovary were intertwined. After the surgery, Angie found out her right ovary had been the one ovulating each month; without […]
7 months ago

From the Editor Summer 2024: Wonder

I think we can get used to it, being alive. We go through our day-to-day and hardly notice it, the smell of the coffee as we pour water over ground-up beans, the touching of our feet to concrete, to grass, to floor, the singing of the bird in the tree while we taste the sweet […]
10 months ago

meet along the way: The Ugly Quilt Group

This story was first published in the December 2023 issue of The Best Years as “Ugly Quilt Ministry: Bedrolls help people on streets keep warm throughout winter.” In the early 2000s, the Ugly Quilt Ministry at St. Vincent de Paul Church in Cape Girardeau made 100 bedrolls out of mismatched fabrics for people who were […]
10 months ago

meet along the way: Amy Loomis-McDonald

This story was published in the May 2024 issue of The Best Years as “Faces of Southeast Missouri: Amy Loomis-McDonald.” Amy Loomis-McDonald, program director of Thrive Birth to Five, says her children are the reason she does what she does. She has been a foster parent since 1996 and has four adopted children, guardianship of […]
10 months ago

Meet Along the Way: Nancy Johnson

This story was first published in the March 2024 issue of The Best Years as “Faces of Southeast Missouri: Nancy Johnson.” While sitting in the Emergency Room (ER) waiting room one evening in 1990, Nancy Johnson decided to become a nurse. Her friend’s husband had been in a fatal automobile accident, and two women in […]
11 months ago