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Fielder’s Choice
By Barry Burleson Just keep on laughing Laughter is indeed the best medicine. My most recent example of the “laughter medicine” came Sunday, when my family visited Pam’s mom in the hospital at Nashville. Gran,
who turned 81 years old in April and has experienced several health
problems in recent years, had been through a difficult few days. The
news was not good Friday and Saturday from Pam’s brother and two
sisters who live nearby in Tennessee and do an excellent job of helping
take care of Gran. We decided to get up early
Sunday, drive to Nashville, visit Gran and return late Sunday. When we
left Holly Springs about 6 a.m., we really did not know what to expect
when we got to Centennial Medical Center about 10 a.m. Gran
had not recognized some of her immediate family members the day before,
and the medical personnel had to put “gloves” on her so she would not
pull the tubes attached to her. She had told her daughter Jan – “You’re not Jan.” But
thanks to progress overnight, Gran was a different Gran when we walked
into her room. Daughter-in-law Vicki went around the room pointing out
all who had come for a visit – Pam, Barry, Andy, Emma, Pat and Katie. Gran smiled and said, “I know who they are.” We were allowed to go in together – later joined by other family members, Bill, Susan, Rachel and Jan. I
often played the role of jokester and Gran responded with big laughs –
like when I walked up to the bed and asked her if she was ready to box
since she had those big mittens on her hands. And later, when she told
the nurse she was hungry, and I said, “Bring her a Big Mac.” She was
actually being fed via a tube, but, hopefully, that was going to change
for the better early this week. Later I had gone
down to the food court and Gran had become tired and restless. She was
wanting those big mittens off, but those in the room would not let her
(best for her at the time). She said, “Go get Barry. He will help me.” Gran,
with lots of family surrounding her and all sharing smiles and laughs,
was constantly trying to talk and regularly laughing. Everyone remarked
about the drastic improvement. It was loud. The
ladies nearby at the nurses’ station never said a word. They, too, knew
Gran was enjoying herself and improving. Before we left, the nurses had
allowed her to remove the mittens. According to
an article by Hara Estroff Marano in “Psychology Today,” there’s lots
of evidence that laughter does lots of good things for us. It reduces
pain and allows us to tolerate discomfort. It reduces blood sugar
levels, increasing glucose tolerance in diabetics and nondiabetics
alike. It improves your job performance. It really is the glue of good
marriages. Some researchers believe the major
function of laughter is to bring people together. And all the health
benefits of laughter may simply result from the social support that
laughter stimulates. Now comes hard new evidence
that laughter helps your blood vessels function better. It acts on the
inner lining of blood vessels, called the endothelium, causing vessels
to relax and expand, increasing blood flow. In other words, it’s good
for your heart and brain, two organs that require the steady flow of
oxygen carried in the blood. So, keep laughing.
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