All posts of Mia Pohlman

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 […]
4 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 […]
4 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 […]
4 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 […]
7 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 […]
7 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 […]
7 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 […]
7 months ago

from the editor: Spring 2024, “open”

In the first draft of this letter to open our issue on the theme of “open,” I wrote an anecdote about the students I taught in Greece who used the phrase “Open the lights” or “Close the lights” when they meant “Turn on the lights” or “Turn off the lights” in English. Their phrasing always […]
10 months ago

Let’s Talk: Autumn Grim and Georganne Syler, public health

Autumn Grim, MPH, CPHA, began working at the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center in 2019. Prior to that, she had been with the Missouri Health Department for more than 20 years, where she worked as the epidemiologist program coordinator for the state. In 2023, she became the director of the Cape Girardeau County Public […]
10 months ago