Hello and welcome to Livinn the Lehigh Valley, a healtd wellness show for everyone.

I'm your host Brittany Swe.

Coming up on this episode,e remnants of Hurricane Ida a number on a local ballpark Silverdale threatened to rb kids of a place to play, hw the community is respondin.

And once again, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Mo.

We'll bring you one woman's story highlighting the importance of being your on health advocate.

Plus, a place of reflectio.

See how a hospital space hs been transformed into a heg garden and how new splashef color are brightening the s for patients and families.

First up, welcome to Geness Ortega, who's here to tella little bit about the benefs of getting outdoors for our kids.

We hear time and time again that screentime isn't the t for them.

We need to get them out and about.

That's right, Brittany.

There are so many health benefits for kids that gett and play sports.

I can definitely see the difference in my own kids n they're sitting inside ally watching TV or their screen some way versus when they t outside and get to play thr behavior better, they get l the wiggles out your mom ad things are spot on.

So aside from the obvious health benefits kids get fm getting outdoors, take a st like baseball, for example.

It'll help improve their coordination.

It encourages teamwork at a young age and it also helpm make friends.

But above all else, it's f. It is fun.

But that's assuming that ks and parents can rely on a e Orefield to play on.

We visited the fields of Sh Side Little League and SOCN Park in Bethlehem.

It's an area that has been flooded time and time agaid now they're quite literally looking to pick up the pies so s Bethlehem kids can ply ball again.

They call me Coach Roy, the president of the South Side Little League.

It hasn't been all sunshin, peanuts and Cracker Jack fr Roy Ortiz and his Little Le field.

This is like the I say abot the eighth or ninth flood within the last 15 years ae just got flooded twice witn the last year and two montn June 28th.

2020 a flood destroyed mucf the South Side Little Leage field at SOCAN Park in Bethlehem.

But thanks to the $10,000 t from the city, most of the damage was repaired.

That is until last month wn Hurricane Ida hit.

We have to do something abt this ongoing problem.

This is an ongoing for thet 20 years.

So when the water comes frm the creek, it hits the fan.

How hot get usually Gates e down our Casesa tank got flooded.

We lost all our equipment.

Our garage got flooded.

We lost all our tractors ta lot of cleanup work is mosy field such as logs, leavest got caught up on the gate d that all the gates came do.

Katrice it up a GoFundMe pe to help with the new repai.

He's far short of the $10,0 goal.

This is for the kids and I don't get paid a dime and I just want to make sure thae kids have baseball in their lives because there's a lof kids I want to play basebal and instead of them being locked up in a house or geg themselves into trouble, we want them to know that we e baseball in the south side.

Besides exercise, Ortiz sas baseball is an opportunityr mentorship for all kids, bt especially those from brokn homes.

He speaks from experience.

Ortiz says he was eight whn his father died.

A mentor helped guide him d became a father figure grog up.

But his spirit lives throuh me, so I would always givet back.

And I know there's a lot of kids out here that only hae one hearing at the house ad you know, they could do so.

So we just want to make sue that there's a safe haven r the kids to play baseball l year round from April to November.

Ortiz cherishes the moments when kids return to the fid years later, they call me .

They told me, you know, I really appreciate everythig you did.

It's rewarding when you see kids once David Damsker of their own and then they coe back and say, oh, I want my kids to be in the Little Le kids ages four to 16 used e fields little league seasos over now, but kids learn me than baseball or says they learn about hard work, perseverance and being fai.

I show up to the park every and when it's game day, everybody has an equal chae to play there.

You know, favoritism.

You've got treat people fay just like you want to be treated.

Dylan Dando helped repair e ballfields last year.

He runs the Lehigh Valley baseball Academy in Allentn after the Hurricane Ida He came back to get the pln surfaces in shape again.

My mom grew up in you know, John Street and South Sidey side.

My grandfather 50 years ags the president in the Southe Little League.

So I spent a lot of time on Orefield to the house at mm grew up in and where my grandparents lived.

So my grandfather would tae down there regularly and I would hit on Orefield to te ground balls on those fiel.

You know, I spent a lot ofe on those fields.

There have been a lot of pe that have made it possibler me to be able to be here.

So if I have an opportunitd I have the means, I have te ability to be able to go somebody else to, you knowo help somebody else, you kn, that's what I'm about.

I'm about building, buildig baseball.

But the Little League is sl looking for help and we ned that concession stand up ad running because we do we'rw so we need to make money in order to purchase certain s like uniforms, baseball gl, bats, because some of our s can't even parents can't en afford that.

So I find this my responsibility to make surI raise enough money to purce these items for these kids.

We only putting a Band-Aidn the problem.

We need to really take act.

Ortiz hopes to build a new concession stand on at leat five foot stilts to minimie potential damage from futue flooding.

Upper Saucon Creek.

Relocating to a new field t be an option, but space in South Bethlehem is limited right now.

The main problem is that ts park is so cool a flood zo, but that's not going to stp us.

We're going to continue gog forward and like I say, the cannot be progress without struggle.

So we've got to just keep fighting as much as we can.

I just want to make sure tt baseball is alive and welln the South Little League.

We never going to give up n our kids.

We had just put up the sheetrock according to Art, repairs and rebuilding migt cost 15, $20,000 as you se.

Look at the watermark right there.

That's about maybe three f. But it's just sad that this keeps happening and happeng and happening.

But he says that won't stom from doing what he loves.

I love baseball, period.

I love baseball and that'so I am.

You.

And if there's a kid I wano play baseball, I'll pick al the kids up in my van and e them to play baseball.

Yeah, like we mentioned, Southside Little League is trying to raise money throh GoFundMe.

Proceeds will go directly o the little League and you n find more information on tr Facebook page by searching South Side League 2021.

Dennis, I feel so bad for l the players in the little.

I hope that they find a moe permanent fix.

It seems like the coach is determined to do that and t these guys back on the fie.

Yeah, that's right.

I mean this time of year is tough and we've had quite t of rain in this region.

But it's like Coach Roy saI mean, a more permanent soln might just mean having a conversation with the cityf Bethlehem.

So all I can say is best of luck to Coach Roy and the h Side Little League team.

Absolutely.

We all know how important s to get these kids back oute getting all that energy ou.

And I hope they do.

And Gen. Ortega, thank you so much r joining us.

Thanks.

As many know, October is Bt Cancer Awareness Month, but what some may not know is t one in eight women will dep breast cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society, a breast cr survivor and doctor.

I sat down with talk aboute importance of being your on health advocate.

Christa Bomb was one of the people who said it could nr happen to me until it did.

I never thought I was at r. It never crossed my mind in early 2020 in her mid thir, bomb was following her norl routine when she noticed something abnormal.

I was working from home anI snuck in a quick workout aI had to quickly shower befoe returning and I just stoppd realizing a texture differe on my right breast.

The Bethlehem mom of two quickly took action.

Something inside said Callr doctor.

So as soon as I got out ofe shower, I called my doctord I told her that I found a .

I use the word lump becausI wanted to explain to her tt to me it was serious becauI knew it was something different.

The most common risk factos for breast cancer are age, family history, health his, and environmental factors.

Bomb checked none of those boxes.

The two biggest risks thaty woman has for getting breat cancer are having breasts d living long enough to get .

Within days of calling forn appointment bomb was at the Lehigh Valley top.

Her cancer institute meeti, Dr Lori Alfonz when my husd I went and met with her.

She walks out the room in y husband's.

She's just like you, loves, deliver Peladon.

We're a little loud.

She was like a kindred spi.

They found not one but two lumps of a very aggressivem of breast cancer.

Thank goodness she noticed something is different andt didn't go away better do something about this.

And she did.

Got a minimally invasive biopsy, which is a little t of tissue as an outpatient procedure where we can determine not only is this cancer or is it not, but wt kind of cancer and determie how she's going to be trea.

Dr Alfonz told Bob if she d waited weeks longer to seea doctor, she may not have survived.

A lot of women think that f they're getting their mammograms once a year, tht that's all they need when n fact women know their bodis better than anybody.

I make a joke when I speakn public and I say I don't oa thermometer, but I know whI have a fever.

And so women know their bos and they're going to know f something is abnormal on tr own breast self exam.

Dr Chalfont says for thoseo may think they don't know w to do a self exam, she saya good time to do it is in te shower with a few simple s. As long as you're coveringl of the breast tissue, which really extends from the clavicle down to where oura hits into our mid armpit le over to our chest wall.

As long as you're examining that area.

So what should someone be looking for while doing a f exam?

Women are thinking about looking for a mass when int look for a new rash.

You didn't notice that doet go away with even an over-the-counter cream.

Pay attention to perhaps se changes to the nipple, wher it be discharged, any colo, particularly bloody or even changes along the skin of e nipple and the surrounding tissue because that can represent a different typef breast malignancy, very cue but called Paget's disease.

They're often looking for e a mask, whether it be a gof ball, whether it be a pea r rice.

Well, mine is different.

Imagine that this is like t you're look you think you'e looking for and you put a pillow over it and you fee.

Oh, density difference in e pillow again.

Mine was like that where it wasn't like I could grab something.

It was a density differencf the tissue.

Now at 38 years old, thereo detectable cancer in Krists body, though she and her fy live in fear of reliving tr nightmare really, really hd on them.

And it's still is hard on .

When I go to the doctor no, they're is your cancer back Mommy?

They're like, no, it's OK.

But there's a lot fear stil with all of us.

Even so, she's the picturef perseverance.

Bom says since advocating r screenings, three people s% knows, including her siste, were diagnosed with breast cancer.

Line up seven of your frie.

Line up seven of your frie.

One of you will get breast One of you will get breast cancer over the course of r lifetime.

That represents about a 12d a half percent lifetime rik and lifetime that we as won live to age.

85 bomb continues to fight, offering hope to others, battling breast cancer and reminding everyone to chamn their health and be their n biggest proponent.

Be your own advocate and ln to your body and go to the doctor.

Look at what happened to m. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here.

And so I feel I was diagnod to help save other people.

Lehigh Valley Health Netwos holding two breast cancer events this month, includig Facebook Live tomorrow nigt with Dr Chalfont and a pint event October 20, first at their new Hellertown Oaks location outside Easton.

And a fun little tidbit abt Dr Alfonz.

She's so passionate about t she does and raising breast cancer awareness.

She actually has 31 pairs f pink shoes, one for every y of October and Lehigh Vally Health Network will be shag her shoes on social media throughout the month.

So that's a fun thing to lk forward to.

I want to welcome now Christina.

Hi.

She works here in the Lehih Valley as the senior development manager for the American Cancer Society.

Thank you so much for joing us.

Thank you for having me.

31 pairs of pink shoes.

I you imagine.

I know quite the collectior sure.

But Christina, thank you so much for being here.

Could you put into perspece the grand picture of breast cancer and the toll it takn people across the United States?

Yeah, definitely.

Sadly, breast cancer for te first time ever is surpassg lung cancer in women.

Wow.

Wow.

And it's not just women.

From what I understand it,n are being impact as well ao are women of color.

At a greater rate.

Yes, definitely about 284,0 people will be diagnosed wh breast cancer and almost 30 of them are going to be me.

So that is crazy.

And women of color, black n are 40% more likely to dief breast cancer than white w. And if they have twice the death rate, if they're 50 r younger, how that statistis staggering.

But there is research being done.

How much money goes into te research for breast cancerd what's being done right no?

What are we looking into in terms of research on breast cancer?

Yeah, definitely.

$76 million is being put io breast cancer research and4 grants are being done studd right now.

The research that's being e is mostly around.

I mean, there's tons of research, but some of the s that hit home for me are wh is very common breast cancn women and also research ard women, minorities.

Sure.

So a lot of research beinge right now besides researchs time of year, a lot of mons raised.

Where does that money go to aside from the research?

So are making strides agait breast cancer walk?

We are raising money for lifesaving research, of co. And then we have programs h as free rides to chemo, fre lodging for treatment and n our live 24 seven.

OK, so that event is upcom.

Tell us a little bit more t that event.

Yeah.

So October 16th right heren the Lehigh Valley at ArtsQ, right in your front yard of PB's we'll be holding our annual.

It's actually a 10th annual making strides against bret cancer walk.

And it's just a great day r everyone in the community o come out and have a nice le party.

We'll have a band playing e food, of course, and then o a little walk and then we y a little bit.

It sounds like a great timn the sixteenth.

Christina of course, thereo cure for breast cancer yet.

Unfortunately, we've been doctors have been studyings for years.

But in the past 20 to 25 ys there has been strides.

There has been progress in finding a cure.

Can you tell a little bit t that?

Yeah, we're definitely up % from 1989 to 2018 in death.

The death rate.

That's great to hear.

So what has contributed to that.

Definitely more research, e awareness and early detectn have been huge strides in reducing the amount of bret cancer.

Sure.

And if you want to contribe and help out, people can ce out to that walk.

But if people can't come oo the walk on the sixteenth,I understand there's an app t they can go to to kind of t more information.

Yes, definitely.

So we do have a fundraising app.

It's spelled with a capital fund and you can log on and donate right on our dashbo.

You can also create a team.

You can be part of the evet from our mobile app.

Sure.

And I understand on everyby most nonprofits have felt e impact of the pandemic.

Are you seeing that first ?

The American Cancer Societt will be a little bit more a later impact, but it is concerning the amount of ey detection that wasn't caugt because of people not goino their screenings in 2020.

We could have a impact in e next ten years.

OK, we'll have to wait and.

Unfortunately.

And as Dr Chalfont said earlier, screening is so important and listening tor own body, Christine, hi.

Do you have any more information you want to pre for us today?

I just want to thank you fr having me invite everyone t to come walk with us on Ocr 16th.

You can check out more abot the walk at making strides, walk dogs Lehigh Valley.

Great so folks can hop onle and check out Christina.

Hi.

From the American Cancer Society.

Thank you so much for joing us.

Thanks for having me with .

Now is Grover Silcox.

Always good to see you, Gr.

Good to be here.

We know that hospitals cana really stressful place, especially now during the pandemic.

But you have a story for us about a space that a hospil designed for relaxation and even decamps dressing absolutely Lehigh Valley hospitals.

Cedar Crest Campus recently presented a new mural thats 183 feet along a wall in tr healing garden.

Just a wonderful space to l out, to just capture a momt of peace in a very busy da.

And for patients with all e anxiety that comes with beg in the hospital, it sounds really lovely.

It is.

And medical experts have written for years about the healing qualities of art ad nature.

And here they have combined both the restorative powerf art and nature were on disy at the unveiling of a colol new mural in the healing gn at Lehigh Valley hospitals Cedar Crest campus folks attending shared their fees about the space and the new mural that completes it.

A colorful mural painted freehand across the lengtha 180 foot wall now serves aa scenic backdrop in the heag garden of Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest.

My words to you today comem my heart and the hearts of other patients who have advocated for the beautiful mural you see behind you t. Leo Welker's a burn surviv, spent months in the hospits burn unit after suffering injuries in an explosion we working as a journeyman electrician for people in .

Thank you to everyone heret LVHN Cedar Prest.

We hope firm patience inde.

All patients here at Cedar Crest, along with staff and visitors, find peace and he and solitude in this place.

Leo and his wife Michelle welcomed the creation of te hospital's healing garden d now the mural.

Because this space wasn't e 11 years ago, when Leo firt came as a patient, he has returned many times since r follow procedures.

My wife Michelle, she realy appreciated the space.

She is an artist, my schoog as well.

So she would fit perfect in this environment where she couldn't just take her minf of all of my care and everything that was going n with me.

The Walkers have supported bureau projects since nurse anesthetist Jill Christophr Pinski and her colleagues n the burn unit suggested it after a mural was painted n the unit's operating room,e operating room mural that e did seven years ago insidet was a lot of nature, a lotf little things in there so t patients would be distracts they were going through thr painful, horrible procedurs that they have to go throuh during burn recovery, natul themes and nuanced scenes f wildlife and outdoor settis graced the mural in the heg garden.

Even the birds like the Ron there.

Then they have the Blue Jay coming and flying into a t. I mean.

And the cardinal.

Yeah.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

And you know, I think one f the things that might be surprising to people certay who haven't experienced beg in the hospital for a lengf time is just how tedious.

Definitely for the patient.

Yes.

For the visitor.

That's correct.

Jenny Leggett describes hoe and three fellow artists fm Freehand Murals in Easton created the healing garden mural as we painted over te course of several months, e were engaged time and agaiy those passing the wall.

We incorporated animals and bird images that patients shared with the children fm the hospital day care centr told us how much they wanto swim and jump in the water.

The staff members shared tr ideas and suggestions dails they entered and left the building.

Never have we been part ofh a collective creative projt and this mural is extraordy because of that input, the colors just sort of evolved because it was going to be outside.

They were going to be a lof green phase.

So we had gallons of green paint here and water, lotsf greens and blues cooling, soothing colors.

Nothing harsh because we as kept in mind who it was fod the landscape art just lens itself to those colors to h Shapiro Lehigh Valley Healh Network executive Vice President and chief operatg officer noted the impact oe new mural.

I find a tranquil I find it peaceful so far our patien, for our visitors, for our family members, for our colleagues and associates.

This mural just reminds ust take a moment.

Enjoy the view.

The mural complements the garden and completes the mission for everyone invold in its creation.

We all wanted to become a e for healing and reflectiona sacred space for the burn survivors and all patients, visitors and the staff to e able to refill their well.

This is much more than a w. It's a statement.

It says here we care.

The late author and physicn Oliver Sacks said that gars and nature are often more powerful than medications d French artist George Brock described art as a wound td into light.

The healing garden and the mural at Lehigh Valley Hospital, Cedar Crest, to r patients and their familiea respite on the road to recy and for caregivers a placeo escape the pressures of hospital life.

If just for a moment, Sugar Grove are a place that even just for a couple of minuts you can forget your troubls while you're looking at ths beautiful right.

Hard to believe that you're really just outside the hospital and enjoying this natural setting.

And it very interestingly,y told me that on one of thoe days where the sky is blued filled with clouds that it appears that those clouds e sitting right on top of tht landscape and are part of .

Wow.

So it's really a great spae for everybody involved.

That sounds really neat.

I would love to check out n person someday.

All right.

Grovers Silcox, thank you o much.

You're welcome.

Thank you.

On the next episode of Livg in the Lehigh Valley, we fs on heart health and heart health equity.

We'll look at how some hava tougher time on the road to heart healthy living beforI was a nurse, I was a param.

So it's around a lot of emergency cardiac arrest ad the story was always the s. Patients go into cardiac arrest.

Many don't survive.

And it came down to peoplet knowing what to do.

So early recognition earlys only CPR.

It's what saved lives.

So that inspired me to get involved and teach the community so that the nexte somebody responds, it's noo late.

Thanks for joining us for s episode of Living in the Lh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney hopinu stay happy and healthy.