WEEK 2 - "I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it." Vincent van Gogh

It has been a week with a huge learning curve!  I have been surprised at many of the things that I have discovered this week.  Things that I have learned:

1. Niche markets (such as small businesses in the health and wellness industry) are very difficult to keep afloat at times!  I have been working with Heartland Spas this past week.  I hosted a "women's weekend" where I created team-building activities, a game show, a scavenger hunt, provided a photo shoot and more.  There were over twenty guests who came to enjoy the healthy environment provided while connecting with a loved one.  But, Heartland shared that there are times during the week where they may have a staff to guest ratio that is 2:1.  For the next two weeks, I will be living on premise while working with their teams in order to learn all aspects of this small wellness focused spa.  I am helping them modify recipes to decrease overall sugar content.  While I am there, I will learn from them in many arenas such as new fitness classes like "beat classes" (where participants use drum sticks during their workout) and metabolic analyses.    
   
    
   
2. Crohn's disease is a very tricky disease to treat nutritionally.  As I continue to research an ideal Crohn's diet, I am coming to realize that it is very individual!  Although there are many foods that comparatively are better than another (see this Crohn's food quiz at http://www.everydayhealth.com/health-report/crohns-disease/crohns-this-or-that-with-joy-bauer.aspx), the best thing to do is to keep a food diary and see what foods aggravate the intestine and which foods keep the Crohn's better under control.  Shockingly...people with Crohn's are told to avoid raw fruits and veggies!  WHO KNEW!  I was excited to hear from people reading this blog and providing feedback.  For example, I have a friend  who suggested a blood test to find out about food sensitivities for my Crohn's case.  The site for more information on the food sensitivity test is www.nowleap.com.  Right now, cost is a huge factor to the individual.  It seems that medications to keep "inflammation at bay" for him can run about $7k per infusion and insurance is not overly exited to continue that regime.  Additionally, insurance doesn't cover tests such as nowleap. 
   
3. Finding a specific place in the heart of poverty to volunteer and learn from the community can be difficult.  I continue to investigate poverty stricken locations in the Appalachian mountains where I could live for a few weeks in late November through early December.  However, many of these locations have limited resources used for communication.  Phones, internet and other items we take for granted are not very widespread.  I am still researching the best place to lay my head during those weeks.  If you have any suggestions, feel free to e-mail me at Burkhalt@gmail.com  :-)   
   
4. There are SO MANY people who have nutrition and/or exercise related circumstances that can be used for case studies.  I have spoken with a mother who has two kids with PKU who shared that it would be worth investigating PKU in more detail and bringing back to the classroom where I teach many aspiring nurses.  I had another woman who approached me as she had one hip surgery already and is scheduled for a second in the next few months. She shared with me about her recovery and volunteered to be another case study.  I am truly excited to look into both of these prospects.  
   

This first week on sabbatical has been a great week of investigation.  If this is any indication of how the rest of sabbatical will go, I am up for the challenge and the learning curve!  I can't wait.