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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Touched by a Life

This is the month I usually write about gratitude, and I have plenty of it. I try to celebrate life every day. It is so easy to get caught up in the small, petty details and forget just how precious life is. I know that some struggle more than others, yet I have been granted so much that it is most important for me to give back. What I have been given is not about money. My heart is full of gratitude for my friends, family, and business. And I’m also grateful for thought and behaviors I have been granted. I have learned to do “the next best thing as it comes to you” and for that I am grateful.

One of the people who has touched my life is Larry Levine, a driving force in the growth of Natural Awakenings, who recently transitioned from this life to the next. (See article below.) I personally worked with Larry over the last three years, and spoke with him weekly. I just want to say this, “he was a heart, a soul, a being that the world needs more of.”

His passing is a loss. As a prime example of a human being he rated high—everyone that he touched, stayed touched. His gentle and loving ways were a model we could present to all of society. His spirit will live with me as I admired who he was, how he cared, and his absolute bravery to never being afraid to be himself.

In peace, love and laughter,

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publisher's letter
Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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