Introducing Buck for a Bike!

I'm proud to help announce the newest, coolest campaign by Turning Wheels, the VMC Foundation program that provides brand-new bikes to underprivileged kids. The benefits are so many: The sense of independence and responsibility, the freedom of movement, and the health aspects of riding a bike vs. sitting inside. What's not to love?

Now, it's even easier with Buck for a Bike! The idea is so simple: If everyone in Santa Clara County gave just a dollar, we could buy a bike for pretty much any child that needs one. And if you gave $10, or maybe $100...now we're talking program expansion, bike build clinics - the sky is the limit.

Visit www.buckforabike.org to see some really fun videos, and make your own! The website also makes it easy to share with friends, and to donate what you can.

Oh yeah...when I say I'm proud to HELP announce, that's because local media beat me to it. Take a look here, and support Buck for a Bike!

Giving up your DIET soda...can it make you thinner?

The avid reader of this blog remembers that I gave up my beloved diet sodas a year ago. Today I learned my dear friend Kathleen King has joined me...and she loved her Diet Coke more than I did!

But I hear you: "Sure diet soda isn't GOOD for me, but c'mon...it's not BAD for me, is it?" Well, maybe.

A recent study highlighted in the San Jose Mercury News confirms that diet soda drinkers have much larger waistlines than those that say no to diet (and all) soda.

Reasons given: Some people splurge on calories in their food because they're saving on calories in their drinks. Think Big Mac and super-sized fries with a Diet Coke.

Another factor [the researcher] says plays a role in expanding waistlines is "taste dysfunction." Because artificial sweeteners taste hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than regular sugar, our bodies come to expect sugary foods to be extremely sweet. So we start to seek out more sugar-laden options.

A third explanation is that our bodies are smarter than we think. When we suck down sweet things, our bodies register the sugary taste and wait for the accompanying calories, said Lillian Castillo, a public health dietitian with the Santa Clara County Public Health Department.

Click here to read the full article, which I think misses another key point: Maybe - just maybe - people who drink diet sodas (which clearly aren't good for you) are not as averse to eating other things that - whaddaya know - aren't good for you? Seems logical to me, and I know I am 100% guilty.

But I'm working on it. How about you? Join me in making it a truly soda-free summer!

We will always remember Richard Patterson

The VMC family has lost a true hero.

Richard Patterson passed away last night peacefully, surrounded by his family and friends, to a personal rendition of his favorite song.

In the words of Dr. Stephanie Kolakowsky-Hayner, who leads VMC's Rehabilitation Research Center: Richard was an amazing man who influenced so many diverse circles and will be missed terribly. He led the peer-support counseling program at Santa Clara Valley Medical Center for the past 15 years. He was a tireless advocate for individuals with disabilities, peer support coordinator, committee member for the Public Authority for In-Home-Supportive-Services, a co-chair of the Disability Advisory Commission for the City of San Jose, brother, son, fiancé, colleague, and friend. His loss will impact the thousands of lives he has touched.

One life was mine. I met Rich eight years ago, and there's no end to what he taught me. Rich was the first to explain to me that "you never really 'accept' your spinal cord injury, rather you learn to live and work with it, the best you can, which is why peer support is so critical." As much as someone not living with a disability can understand, Richard Patterson helped me understand.

Our work together saw Richard leading adventurists (like him) with disabilities on glider rides, whale-watching and SCUBA trips, and other excursions that proved what was possible. Great men like Steve Lyon and Marv Tuttle worked with Richard for years to demonstrate to thousands that life after a spinal cord injury can be full and exciting. The VMC Foundation will be forever proud to be part of his legacy.

We have, therefore, established a fund in his name, to ensure that his peer support and community work will grow. His family requests that gifts be sent to the VMC Foundation, 2400 Moorpark Ave. #207, San Jose CA 95128. Be sure to write "Richard Patterson" in the memo of your check, or to give by ccard, call us at 408-885-5299 or visit us on line.

Rich, I'll miss you buddy. We all will.

Soda-Free Summer...but let's not stop there!

It's a pretty rare thing that I reference Men's Health, a publication that spends a lot of time trying to improve one's sex life. But, on occasion, they actually focus on - yes - men's health...which oddly is often the same thing as women's health, and kids' health!

Who would have thought?

Anyway, as the VMC Foundation launches another year of our Public Health Department's Soda-Free Summer campaign, it's important to remember that you can ingest a lot of unhealthy drinks without guzzling Dr. Pepper or Jack Daniels - often without thinking about it, or worse, thinking you're doing the right thing.

Here, then, is a great article from Men's Health that should raise your eyebrows...and hopefully, your water glass. Cheers.

Another amazing story from a VMC family...

After receiving permission from the family, I am excited to share this story with you. As difficult as it is to imagine feeling "locked in" your own body, imagine being given a chance to start communicating again. That's what VMC's team did for Laure, and part of what the VMC Foundation proudly supports.

When I asked Mr. Chow if I could share this with you, in fact, he responded right away, saying You can certainly share. We credit the staff at SCVMC, especially Dr Duong and your PT/OT/ST staff for challenging while respecting Laure. Laure always faces her challenges head on.

You should also know the nursing staff has always been fantastic. Laure was very particular about her care and Laure felt both safe and genuinely cared for by your nursing staff.

Laure has a long way to go, but your staff has been a source of compassion, support and encouragement towards her recovery.

This, then, from Mr. Chow:

To Laure’s extended family:

It has been a long and difficult year for Laure and her family. She is still paralyzed and mute, and everyday life has been extremely challenging. Today however, I share some good news.

Since Laure has been working diligently with physical/occupational therapy every day, she has managed to gain enough head control to hold her head steady. This allows her to use a machine called Dynavox.

The machine tracks her eyes along a keyboard and when Laure blinks, it accepts this as if she were pressing a key. Once she completes a sentence, she uses her eyes to “click” on the “speak” button and the machine speaks what Laure has just typed with her eyes.

At first Laure spelled, “I am tired”, then “thank you Larry”, and “Annie (her caregiver) you are special”. Then Laure was on a roll, spelling:

I want Internet.

I want email.

I want email.

I want email.

She was then able to spell / speak, “I love Ton Ton” and “I love Caillou”.

Finally, she spelled, “ I am happy” and “I have a voice”. We all cried.

All this took well over an hour; the device is not 100% accurate, and Laure gets exhausted just trying to hold her head steady, but we will keep practicing and hopefully send a few emails soon.

I know you share in our joy, and thank you for your thoughts, prayers, love and support of Laure.



Larry Chow

A new troubling study on our health...

What do you suppose makes the biggest difference to your health? Genes? Kicking the cigarette habit?

These things are important, sure, but according to a groundbreaking new study done by our own Public Health Department, racism you experience and where you live are MORE important.

Troubling? You bet it is. I've been fighting racism and injustice where I see it for a long time, and if this study (done in partnership with The Health Trust) doesn't get make you as mad as it does me, then I'm sorry for you.

The way people treat you based on the color of your skin, and the amount of money you make, and the neighborhood you live in have a dramatic effect on your health. This is unfair, and as a society we need to figure out what to do about it...at least that's how I feel.

Check out the study here, and let me know your reaction to it.

VMC Foundation and Silicon Valley lose a dear friend

I met Leonard Ely in 2007, and by 2008 he had become such a strong supporter of our "Measure A" campaign to rebuild Valley Medical Center that I'm not sure we'd have won without him.

"VMC saved my life", he often said of his time with us, which was told and retold by news sources around Silicon Valley.

Now Leonard Ely has passed away at 87, and will be greatly missed and remembered. A generous man, he was also a shrewd business leader - and woe unto anyone who misjudged that!

Mr. Ely, thank you for all you have done for our community...your gifts will keep giving for generations to come. The full obituary can be read here.