CRESTVIEW — Anna Hutcheson is halfway near a $70,000 goal that could save her life.

The 17-year-old has had Eisenmenger syndrome since birth, and needs a double lung and heart transplant, according to University of Florida Health Shands Hospital doctors.

Her family is receiving help from the Children's Organ Transplant Association, which helps coordinate fundraisers to offset costly medications and therapies.

They can add $2,600 to the COTA collection following the Veterans of Foreign Wars Ladies Auxiliary Post 5450's Saturday fundraiser. Volunteers sold barbecue pork plates and organized two raffles with prizes donated by local business.

"I am driven by (helping) children," VFW member, event organizer and family friend Barbara Beadle said. "I can't imagine having a child in dire need of a transplant."

Anna has limited activity, headaches, shortness of breath and dizziness, and she must take several medications and receive an oxygen treatment at night, but her spirits are up, her mother said. 

"She is like a normal teenager, without all of the running around," Patricia Hutcheson said. "She tires very easily."

Dr. Jennifer Wayer and Crestview Family Dentistry staffers organized a dental exam fundraiser last December. In October, family members set up a photo booth during the Fall Festival in downtown Crestview. In addition, Crestview, Fort Walton Beach and Niceville high schools have organized fundraisers, and several collection containers are in Crestview area businesses, Patricia said.

Most of those benefits, which raised $31,825.24 for the Crestview teenager, would have been impossible without the community's involvement, public relations coordinator Jessica Nance said.

The efforts will continue with an April 28 to May 3 Chill Yogurt fundraiser, in which a portion of the proceeds will benefit Anna's treatment fund.

The money's one thing, but finding a suitable donor is another, her mother said.

"She is on the (transplant) list and they are waiting for the perfect donor," Patricia said. "We are really grateful for everything the community has done."

HOW TO HELP

Learn about future fundraisers or donate toward Anna Hutchenson's health care costs at cotaforteamannahutch.com.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Teenager's medical fund reaches half-goal

CRESTVIEW — Crestview’s American Cancer Society Relay For Life organizers are still accepting teams and seeking sponsors to help ensure another successful year.

Relay For Life will take place April 25-26, beginning at 6 p.m., at Shoal River Middle School, 3200 E. Redstone Ave., Crestview.

“The American Cancer Society Relay For Life movement symbolizes hope and our shared goal to end a disease that threatens the lives of so many people we love,” Loney Whitley, the local fundraiser’s event cochair, said.

“If cancer has touched your life, participating in a Relay For Life event is a way to take action and help finish the fight. This is your opportunity to honor cancer survivors, remember those we have lost, and raise funds and awareness to fi ght back and help end cancer forever.”

 Contact Megan at 603- 2002 or Loney at 603-3500 for more details.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Relay For Life seeks teams, sponsors for cancer research, programs fundraiser

Emerald Coast Hospice and Okaloosa and Walton Counties' American Heart Association will provide free CPR training to local residents.

CPR Anytime, developed by the American Heart Association, uses a “practice while watching” technique that allows users to practice CPR on a mannequin while watching a DVD.

Just 6.4 percent of sudden cardiac arrest victims survive, in part because the vast majority of those witnessing a cardiac arrest are people who do not know how to perform CPR, a news release stated. "The impact of providing bystander CPR is profound. It more than doubles the chance that a sudden cardiac arrest victim will survive. Yet victims receive bystander CPR in only about 27 percent of cases."

Contact Krista Schueler, 862-1069, or Amanda Curtis, 689-0300, to schedule time with a CPR Anytime coordinator.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Free CPR training available to local residents

CRESTVIEW — Dr. Richard Weaver has a prescription that addresses numerous medical concerns men can face as they age: eat less, eat healthfully and exercise more.

A healthy diet, exercise and weight loss can reduce men's chances of having prostate cancer, colorectal cancer, hypertension (high blood pressure) and high cholesterol, he said.

Keep reading for common men's health concerns, symptoms, and how you can control the issue>>

Performing regular testicle self-examinations in the shower can help men understand their bodies and help them know when something's unusual, Weaver said during the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce Scholarship Committee's Thursday Lunch and Learn seminar.

Avoiding high cholesterol could be as simple as eating less red meat and more baked or grilled fish, Weaver said. "If you like that fish that you dip in hot oil (or deep fry), you just lost the benefit" of a low-cholesterol food, he said.

Some conditions, such as increased cholesterol and hypertension, are often simply the result of increasing in age. "A lot of things happen as we get older," he said.

However, exercising 30 or 40 minutes five times a week — even if some of it is taking the stairs instead of an elevator, or parking farther from the store and walking across the parking lot — helps.

"There's a lot of good benefits from a simple walk," Weaver said.

Testicular cancer: Highly treatable when diagnosed early; symptoms include a lump or enlargement in either testicle, sudden collection of fluid or feeling of heaviness in scrotum, dull ache in the abdomen or groin, and pain or discomfort in a testicle or the scrotum.

Prostate cancer: Affects the walnut-shaped, semen-producing gland. Often, there are no symptoms, but there can be dull pain in the lower pelvic area, difficulty urinating, slow or low flow, frequent night-time urination, blood in urine, painful ejaculation, and pain in lower back, hips or upper thighs

Prevention: exercise; eating fruits, vegetables, fiber, garlic, tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables, watermelon and grapefruit; digesting soy products; and limiting high-fat foods

Colo-rectal cancer: Symptoms include change in bowel habits; blood in stool; stools narrower than usual; frequent gas pains, bloating, fullness or cramps; weight loss for no known reason

Prevention: Decreasing red meat intake, eating more yellow, red and orange fruits and vegetables and increasing fiber intake; aerobic exercise four to five times weekly; quit smoking; have regular check-ups after age 40; and have a colonoscopy every three to 10 years after age 50.

Hypertension: Medications such as diet pills, stimulants and decongestants; alcohol intake, kidney disease and obesity; males over 45, women over 55, family history, affects blacks more than other races

Prevention and Control: Maintain healthy weight; limit sodium to one teaspoon per day; limit fast food and pre-processed foods; Eat healthfully, including fruits and vegetables, low fat dairy, low saturated fat and cholesterol; drink alcohol in moderation; quit smoking; exercise 30-40 minutes per day

Skin cancer: results from long-term sun exposure such as outdoor occupations and leisure tanning; sunburn; and heredity

Risk Factors: Affects Anglo-Celtic  and Nordic people and those with family history of skin cancer; fair skinned, light haired, blue, green or grey eyes; people who use tanning beds; people with more than 50 moles and freckles

Basal cell: Most common skin cancer; open sores that bleed, ooze, crust, persistent, non-healing; shiny bump or nodule, can be confused with a mole; shiny, taut scar-like area

Squamous cell: Second most common skin cancer; Wart-like growth, usually on sun-exposed area, or persistent scaly red patch that can crust or bleed; open sore that persists for weeks, elevated growth that may rapidly grow in size

Melanoma: Most serious form of skin cancer; small brown-black patches, plaques or nodules with irregular outline, may crust and bleed, may arise from existing mole

Prevention: Do not sunbathe; Avoid unnecessary sun exposure especially between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.; use SPF 15 or higher sunscreen; wear protective clothes; avoid tanning beds or lamps; teach children good sun protection habits at an early age; examine your skin head to toe every three months

Cholesterol: Total cholesterol should be less than 200 mg; HDL "good" cholesterol should be greater than 40 mg; LDL "bad" cholesterol should be less than 130

Prevention and control: aerobic exercise 40 minutes four or five times a week; change diet to less red meat, low-fat dairy, more fruits and vegetables, fewer fried foods, more fish; maintain normal weight through diet, exercise and lifestyle changes

Source: Dr. Richard Weaver, Clinical Assistant Faculty member, Florida State University College of Medicine

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Doctor: Less food, more nutrition and exercise key to men's health

University of Florida students will create obesity prevention programs for their peers and for high school students as part of a federal research and extension grant.

The “Get Fruved” campaign will use peer interaction to get high school and college students to eat more fruits and vegetables, exercise more and manage stress more effectively.

UF will receive $557,000 for the project. The money, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture, comes in one-year increments, and UF will start receiving its share in August, school officials said.

Starting in August, students at eight college campuses, including UF, will develop ways to get younger students to adopt healthier lifestyles. Students will dress as fruits and vegetables, use social media and use information from www.fruved.com.

They also may expand gardens, work to improve access to healthy foods at campus eateries, hold dance events and challenge each other to exercise more.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: University of Florida students get $557K grant to fund obesity prevention

CRESTVIEW — Men's health issues, including testicular cancer, prostate cancer, colo-rectal cancer, alcoholism, hypertension, skin cancer and cholesterol are on the agenda for the Crestview Area Chamber of Commerce Health and Wellness Committee's March 20 Lunch and Learn.

The importance of examinations for cancer forms common to men, including how to conduct self-examinations for some of them, will be emphasized, presenter Dr. Rick Weaver said.

Testicular cancer is one of the least discussed forms of the disease and is "highly treatable when diagnosed early," but is often ignored by men because of denial and embarrassment, he said.

And colo-rectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women, Weaver said.

"More lives are lost each year to colorectal cancer than to AIDS and breast cancer combined," Weaver's presentation materials state.

The Lunch and Learn will begin with a free lunch provided by Publix supermarket followed by Weaver's presentation. The program will conclude with a questions-and-answers period.

"We try to leave some time for questions, although because of  the nature of the topic, some on the committee are concerned there may be some reluctance," chamber President Dennis Mitchell said.

To avoid participants having to ask embarrassing questions aloud, Mitchell said that he and committee chairwoman Dr. Pam Meadows will solicit questions prior to the talk and pull them randomly.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Men's health issues are hot topics for March 20 Lunch and Learn

Editor's Note: This report is part of the News Bulletin's ongoing series on cancer-research fundraisers. The newspaper is proud to support Relay For Life Crestview, which will take place 6 p.m. April 25 at Shoal River Middle School.

CRESTVIEW —  North Okaloosa schools are raising money for the American Cancer Society Relay for Life in April.

Several schools have Relay For Life teams, which have organized multiple fundraisers with teachers, faculty and students' help.

Davidson Middle School's team, which has raised more than $9,000, collected most of the funds from last month's Davidson Dash 5K/10K, which nabbed more than $7,000, team captain Daniel Richards said. The team also had a yard sale and monthly faculty luncheons.

Baker School's team met a $4,000 goal following T-shirt sales, December's Santa Shop and selling caramel covered apples, team chair Janice Roberts said.

Northwood Arts and Science Academy has raised $1,800 from monthly teachers luncheons, Kacy Kellogg said. 

This will be Bob Sikes Elementary School's 13th year of involvement, Christi Collinsworth, the school's team captain, said.

Through T-shirt sales, benefit luncheons, a school dance and a Yankee candle fundraiser, Bob Sikes has collected nearly $1,000 of its $8,000 goal, she said. Starting April 7, students can donate pocket change to wear a hat or chew bubblegum.

Riverside Elementary School has raised more than $900 toward its $2,000 goal, team captain Amber Johns said. Staffers made donations to wear jeans on early release Thursdays, and students can participate in a March 20 "mini Relay" and an April 12 Relay For Life pageant.

New participant Southside Center has raised $65, according to team captain Becky Kannapel.

She said the school will organize several benefit luncheons for teachers and staff to increase that amount.   

WANT TO GO?

WHAT: Crestview Relay For Life

WHEN: Begins at 6 p.m. April 25

WHERE: Shoal River Middle School, 3200 E. Redstone Ave. 

EmailNews Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitteror call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: North Okaloosa schools raise nearly $15K for cancer research