
Being dehydrated puts a heavy strain on kidneys and can damage them. Kidney disease becomes more intense and heat stress-related chronic kidney disease is on the rise in rural communities in hot regions around the world, especially for agricultural workers, enough to now be called the next public health crisis. All gardeners must pay attention, and remember we are doing agricultural work.
Heat stress nephropathy or chronic kidney disease may be one of the first epidemics due to global warming. Another impact is more cases of kidney stones. This painful condition results from salts crystallizing in the kidneys, often caused by dehydration. In the US, around 50% more cases of kidney stones occur in the warm climate of southern regions than northern states.
The number of cases has been rising since temperatures began to warm noticeably in the late 1970s, especially in the summer. As the climate warms further, the high-risk zone for kidney stones is expected to expand northwards, with many more new cases predicted. We have additional risk factors in Ottawa County due to the exposure to cadmium and lead, metals found in the mine waste which are linked to kidney disease. This is another reminder to have your yard sampled for lead by calling the EPA number 1-800-533-3508.
At one time several years ago I had five friends were hospitalized with kidney issues including kidney stones. My niece who had been a Miami High School cheerleader had a huge stone. Just last year Bess, my dog even had to have kidney stones removed.
When the children from the Boys and Girls Club come in the mornings to the LEAD Agency this summer to work in our garden we have had to change our ways, working at most seven minutes, then to the shade on the front porch to cool down with a round of ice water and a bit of reflection on what they had done and what to do next. They planted some of the tomato plants Roxanne Weldon had brought for them. She has had a second kidney transplant and is without doubt demonstrating giving forward.
It's the people who enrich our lives and make this life worth living, that make it interesting, mix it up and then grow up or move on.
I had a problem with my house and needed a real carpenter. A person at T.H. Rogers Lumber Co. in Vinita suggested a name and gave me a number.
Allan Mills had moved to Vinita with his wife Beth from New York about 10 years ago. Allan could have been the star in a sit-com since almost every word out of his mouth would be dialog you would expect had been written by a team of writers dead set to crack you up with New York humor. Then add his wife Beth and their exchanges and start laughing. It will be hard to say goodbye, when they leave soon to move back to New York.
It won't be hard to remember him because he is leaving a monument in my backyard. Attached to the raised garden beds I purchased from the Northeast Oklahoma Community Action Agency he constructed New York Adirondack cedar branches twig style and added a screen door. When you stand inside it feels like a fairy's house the breeze blows through and the rain falls undeterred. AND he taught me how to add to it and there will be no stopping me.
The Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival. ...
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond. - Rumi
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_158680.html
http://www.theguardian.com/news/2016/jun/20/claimate-change-bad-kidneys-weatherwatch
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080714172158.htm