by Olivia | Jul 13, 2018 | Featured, GloWellness
It is a well shared belief that if you own a dog or cat, your life expectancy can be increased by a number of years. I am sure that this is true in the majority of cases, but as the owner of a gorgeous kitten and young rescue Labrador, am an expert on the dos and don’ts of a pet owner, and with all of the wonderful benefits of these blissful animals, there is still a lot to consider before committing to the joys of pet ownership.
Before you decide to take on an animal, consider it carefully. Look at your lifestyle, family, environment and bank account. Because owning an animal does not come cheap and does come with a lot of responsibility.
Cats are probably easier and cheaper than dogs, because they are far more independent, and can be left at home for longer relatively unsupervised, and if you are not near a main road, with the aid of a cap flap, can even be allowed to wander around outside when you are not at home.
If you are considering owning a dog, this is far greater a deal, in that they need walking, grooming and a lot of attention.
Both need injections, flea and deworming treatments, pet insurance and care when you are away.
Again cats are easier to leave under the watchful eye of a neighbour you trust, who can feed and watch they are in good spirits. Dogs however need to be walked and fed several times a day, and so unless you have helpful friends, family members or dog walkers, then think carefully when taking on a dog.
I am not being the voice of doom and gloom because I love my pets, as does my husband and kids, but you have to sit down as a family, and write down all the expectations and expenditure as explained, plus the food, so that it fits into the family budget and lifestyle.
Explain this to your kids too, so that they understand that a pet comes with a lot of upkeep and responsibility.
The cost per month for a cat or dog can be anything from £40-200 per month, depending upon the amount of cover that you need if you are working or out of the house for hours at a time.
For instance, if you are thinking about owning a larger dog, it will need a lot more exercise, so you should source a local dog walker who does not cost an arm and a leg before you decide to go ahead.
We have found a local doggie day care ‘paradise’ where we can drop our Labrador off for the day to play with other dogs for only £8 for the entire day, and if we are away just £16 per night or two days.
This is a real ‘find’ and without this facility we could not afford the expenditure of a walker or dog minder or carer, who can be as much as £20-35 a day.
Also on the plus side, if you decide which variety of food is good for your pet, you can buy it in monthly online which will bring down the cost. We have gone for an organic healthy eating variety – and keep it in the freezer for both animals, and they are thriving on it.
So, having explained the considerations, if you are all in agreement, or if you live alone, and feel the desire to own a pet, it will be one of the most rewarding and life enhancing decisions you have made.
It will add a new dimension to your household and your lives, is a well-known distraction from depression in the elderly, and will give you years of happiness and love that you will cherish forever.
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by James | Jul 9, 2018 | Featured, GloWellness
I had just had the most wonderful news, my partner John and I had been trying for our second child for months, not long in the grand scheme of things, but it seemed like an eternity.
Then when it was confirmed that I was pregnant, and at my four month scan that I was having twins – we were over the moon. We had everything, a four year old daughter a new home and now two babies on the way.
Then we were dealt a devastating blow. Our young daughter had been quite off colour for a couple of months, and even a little before that. It didn’t seem worrying at first because kids get sick and there are some nasty bugs out there. But I began to get worried when she slept from five in the afternoon until sometimes eight in the morning, quite out of character.
Our local GP told us it was nothing to worry about, and as I became more concerned, I even drove a couple of hours to our old doctor only to be given the same advice. But I was still worried.
One Saturday she became very unwell and developed a rash. I decided to take her to A and E thinking it was probably my paranoia, but needed to check for my own peace of mind, my partner came with me.
They took a routine blood test and I knew there was something wrong when we were called into a room and was surrounded by consultants. Remember by this time I was heavily pregnant with twins and they were worried about my reaction. Our world was about to fall apart. She was to be admitted to hospital straight away and her chemo was to be administered immediately. They warned me she would be very unwell as a result of the treatment, let alone the disease.
Our beautiful daughter had been diagnosed with Leukaemia. I remember the hell we went through on the first night in the hospital, Louise was just lying there looking up at me. She seemed unaware of what was going on but we were all scared to death.
Fortunately for us, the strain of the disease was the most curable, and that was the news I wanted to hear. I had read up on all the options overnight, and was getting prepared for the worst. So when the consultant told us – we were extremely grateful that with recent developments in treatment, that she had a 95% chance of survival. It was good enough for us.
My mum and dad came in every day and we all stayed through the night on a rotor as the chemo was taking its toll on Louise and in turn on us. Added to the fact that everyone was worried about how I was going to cope with the pregnancy after receiving the devastating news.
But nature has a way of protecting us, and when a young doctor said to me ‘you have to be strong, after all you don’t want three sick children’. These were the words I needed to hear and I began to regain my confidence.
That is when my partner and I decided to approach Future Health to store the stem cells for our new twins, apart from their protection, there was a one in four chance that Louise could utilise them too.
The representative from Future Health, Hannah was extremely helpful and sympathetic, and there were a multitude of questions I needed to ask her before we knew they were the right company for us.
It was something about the way they approached our situation, and their flexibility and simple approach. There was nothing scary about the otherwise daunting prospect of having a complete stranger at the birth, apart from the doctors and midwife, taking samples from the placenta.
The day arrived, I had been booked into hospital for a caesarean due to my situation. The Future Health specialist had been caught up in a train strike, but they promptly organised another representative to attend the birth at Kingston Hospital. I have little memory of it, but my partner assured me that it was very nonintrusive.
The report came that the samples were very strong indeed, and we now know that the future of our twins health is covered for all eventualities. We have the option of requesting them for our daughter too if we ever needed them.
As my parents always said, good always comes out of bad, and in this case the good is that we were introduced to Future Health, which has made a huge difference to our confidence as a family.
We would like to thank all concerned for making the process so effortless and reassuring, and would advise anyone who is thinking of stem cell capture to investigate Future Health for this procedure.
http://futurehealthbiobank.com/
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by Dee | Jul 4, 2018 | Featured, GloWellness
As the Summer sets in and we are watching a variety of sport on TV, and witness optimum health and fitness with our sports stars, we can only observe our own reflection in the mirror, and set out to shape up.
I did that recently, having lost a bit of extra weight I am proud to report, but needed to tone up. As always, with a really busy schedule and juggling act between family and career, decided to try something a bit different that would fit into my programme.
Fending off the jeers of colleagues I decided to explore the local Bowling Club. Oh I know what you are all thinking, elderly men in their airtex T shirts, and their ‘other halves’ watching on whilst sipping lemonade.
But to my amazement, the local Bowling club was filled with young singles and couples, as well as some even younger contenders as well as the over 60s as in any club. They were welcoming and helpful, and I played my first bowling game ever under the watchful eye of a private coach at the club, and discovered I wasn’t bad at all. Plus the exercise regime was not strenuous but steady with all the bending and stretching, and the social interaction good as everyone was so friendly.
The club manager offered that I come back again before joining to make sure I was comfortable in doing so, and so I went away with a completely different attitude to Bowling Clubs.
As luck would have it, I was then invited to my local Tennis Club by a local acquaintance, and although I had a secret desire to be an ace at Tennis, had never cut it at school and it had been years since I played so told them that I had no talent for the game at all. In fact I would be embarrassingly bad!. My colleague, who was one of the coaches at the club assured me that it did not matter at what level I played, he would be able to help and inspire me to play.
I was quite excited at the prospect, and so only last week I took myself off to the Tennis Club which is literally two minutes away from where I live, and was again greeted warmly with drinks on the terrace whilst watching a variety of tournaments played at very different levels.
It is now down to me to decide which one ticks all the boxes, because both of them are great options to have, and as well as toning up, will provide some great diversification which we all need in our lives.
It is also great that these local clubs are open after working hours and at weekends, and so there is no excuse not to join. Even with a hectic diary, it is possible to fit in a couple of hours a week as a minimum of time to allow for yourself, and can easily be scheduled in with your weekly visits to yoga or the gym.
I will let you know which one I decide to join, and you never know, I may choose both. There are no rules to joining clubs, apart from the rules of the clubs themselves, and once you have put your prejudice and self-doubt in your pocket, you will be ready to go.
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