Dear Doctors: My husband is having an elective surgery soon. It requires full anesthesia, so he has had a lot of pre-op tests. One of the blood tests showed that his red blood cells are too big. The nurse said it happens when you drink too much. What causes that? Is it dangerous?
DEAR HARRIETTE: My 23-year-old brother has asked me for a substantial loan to start a new business. While I want to help, I’m feeling uneasy about lending such a large sum. At 47, I’m more cautious about my financial decisions, and this request feels quite big. I’ve seen how starting a new venture can be unpredictable, and I’m worried that a possible financial setback could affect our bond if the money is not paid back. Additionally, I’m mindful of how this loan might impact my own finances and future plans. I’ve been considering alternative ways to offer support without directly lending the money. Perhaps helping create a solid business plan or connecting him with resources might be options. Any advice on how to address this would be great. – Financial Family Feud DEAR FINANCIAL FAMILY FEUD: Perhaps you can do a combination of things. First, tell your brother that you want to support him, but you are uncomfortable about doing exactly what he has requested. Being direct is important so that you don’t get his hopes up.
It looks like the fight between the Harris and Trump campaigns over Donald Trump’s appearance at Arlington National Cemetery is intensifying, not diminishing. Kamala Harris herself posted a statement on X using Trump’s visit to mark the third anniversary of the Abbey Gate attack as an opportunity to revive the “suckers and losers” slur against Trump. Trump, in turn, produced statements of support from several Gold Star families who lost loved ones in the Biden-Harris administration’s chaotic, violent and thoroughly bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan – the people whose sacrifice Trump had come to Arlington to respect.
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DEAR HARRIETTE: I’ve recently transitioned to working from home full-time, and I’m finding it challenging to separate my work life from my personal life. While my home office setup is functional, it has made it harder for me to switch off from work mode at the end of the day. I find myself checking emails or thinking about tasks long after my workday is supposed to end. I have often caught myself working late into the evening because my office space is so integrated into my living area. It’s been difficult to create a clear boundary between work and home life, and I feel like my productivity during work hours is starting to wane as a result. I want to establish a routine that allows me to be productive while also making the most of my downtime. How can I create effective boundaries and a schedule that helps me balance work and personal time, ensuring that I stay focused during work hours but also genuinely enjoy my time off? – Work-From-Home Balance DEAR WORK-FROM-HOMEBALANCE: Establish office hours for yourself, including breaks, and enter them into your calendar. Also, set alarms for key pivot points in the day – such as the start of your day, lunch, breaks and the end of your day. Train yourself to turn off your computer when your day is complete, unless you anticipate some kind of extenuating circumstances that might require your attention. Turn off the light on your desk, and possibly cover it so that you cannot see your work papers. If you treat your workspace as singularly for work and shut it down entirely when you are not working, you will begin to think of it as a separate space even though it’s in your house.
From left, Jessica Littke, Stephanie Drum, and Jennifer Pearson analyze a patient’s real-time monitor results during exercise at Clinton Regional Hospital.
From left, friends, Peter Naylor of Auckland, New Zealand, Karola Giesler, and Neill Wilkie of Cape Town, South Africa, pose with Director Pat Smith for a photo at the Route 66 museum.
Anybody who writes a newspaper column gets used to angry emails. It comes with the territory, as people say. And why not? If you write provocatively, you shouldn’t object when people are provoked. Often enough, you learn things about the mindset of certain kinds of readers.
MONTREAL – It doesn’t look like a crucible of power. It occupies a full block on Sainte-Catherine Street, not far from my barbershop, a sushi restaurant, a bagel store and two dry cleaners. Its entry looks grand – three sets of oak double doors – but otherwise, there’s nothing remarkable about the pale brick structure. It’s a high school like so many others, except for the fact that my mother was a graduate. So was the poet and balladeer Leonard Cohen. Also, hockey standout Art Ross, the first coach of the Boston Bruins and the eponym of the Art Ross Trophy, given each year to the NHL scoring champion.
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