Treva Lind

Vladislav and Svetlana Khashchuk won the Tree No. 1 package with $4,500 cash at Christmas Tree Elegance, just a month after launching a GoFundMe to help pay for diabetes treatments for two of their four children. Two sons have Type 1 diabetes, including their youngest child recently diagnosed, and the parents hope to pay for new stem cell treatments after learning about some positive results.

Parents immersed in the season’s activities often wonder how they also can instill lessons of generosity and thankfulness for their children – that Christmas spirit of giving. Here are some ideas.

Luke Johnson’s childhood was atypically quiet. His parents were deaf, and he only spoke in American Sign Language at home. He didn’t start to hear English consistently until preschool, and he needed academic help to catch up. Today, he’s one of 60 medical students who started fall 2017 in the University of Washington School of Medicine’s program in Spokane. His background fueled dreams of being a doctor who serves others who struggle or have limited access to health care.

We all experience times of temporary loneliness – often during the holidays or after major life change like divorce – but a new study suggests it’s best to avoid forcing connections right away when you’re feeling negative. Gonzaga University psychology assistant professor Sarah Arpin collaborated on new research that examined the social consequences of temporary loneliness.

Mental Health First Aid: The eight-hour course that’s new to Spokane teaches people how to identify, understand and respond to people who show signs of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. The class covers topics such as anxiety disorders, depression, trauma response and acute psychosis.

SNAP Essential Home Repair, a program for low-income homeowners provides minor, but essential repairs for low-income homeowners in the Spokane area. Last year, SNAP provided more than 900 home repairs and accessibility projects such as wheelchair ramps. Additional funding is available for projects through year-end 2018.

Parents might expect babies to start sleeping through the night by around 6 months old to a year, based on a common premise to look for that milestone. However, McGill University researchers in a study found that more than half of babies typically don’t have solid slumber, and it’s OK as far as infant development.

A new music video uses “The Price” song of ’80s band Twisted Sister for a diabetes awareness project backed by Mead resident Kris Maynard, a firefighter at Fairchild Air Force Base. He appears in the video for a cameo as does others – kids and adults – all who live with diabetes. Maynard has Type 1. He and his wife Paula spent about $12,000 to make the video for its release Nov. 1.

Medical equipment, shots and being in the hospital can be scary for children. Two students at Eastern Washington University created a kids workshop on Saturday, with activities and art projects, aimed at making children feel less frightened around health care.

Since the 1960s, more U.S. women have made successful gains in education, athletics and careers, including science and technology. But debate continues on if we’ve really reached gender equality. That’s just one part of the equation, says Spokane family counselor and author Michael Gurian. He calls for understanding science-backed differences in how boys and girls learn and emote.

Cracks on heels and overall dry skin problems usher in with colder weather, and often, people set themselves up to worsen issues in part because of those tempting long, hot showers that strip natural oils. You can take preventative steps to avoid dry skin problems, from use of an indoor humidifier and body moisturizers to wearing gloves.

The past 50 years have redefined being female in American, but some experts argue that boys in higher numbers have fallen way behind. Generally, more boys get in trouble at school, withdraw, or become depressed – some to the point of violence. Spokane counselor and author Michael Gurian links depression to trauma, toxins and lack of attachment. It also helps to know how most boys are wired.

Star-shaped brain cells called astrocytes appear to play an essential role in sleep, a new study at Washington State University Spokane found. Researchers in the Sleep and Performance Research Center published a study showing that astrocytes communicate to neurons to regulate sleep time in fruit flies and suggests it may do the same in mammals, including humans.

Parent-teacher group leaders say they’re embracing unusual strategies to help pay for school extracurricular events or materials, because traditional approaches such as direct sales have gone flat.

Today, you can grab over-the-counter vitamin D with dosages typically from 600 international units to 2,000 IU. For people with a severe vitamin D deficiency confirmed in tests, some health care providers are prescribing a mega-dose: 50,000 IU vitamin D taken once a week for six to eight weeks. Medical groups say it’s typically safe, under physician supervision, to get levels back to a normal.

Using a free phone app, low-income obese patients in a Duke University study achieved clinically meaningful weight loss in a year-long focus including regular coaching from primary care providers. Locally, CHAS in Spokane and Heritage Health in Coeur d’Alene have started low-cost patient programs for weight loss, with ongoing dietician counseling and access to exercise facilities.

A Thursday public forum will address the challenges facing people with intellectual or developmental disabilities, along with break-out work sessions on community solutions. Titled “A Courageous Conversation,” the session includes a talk by Peter Berns, CEO of The Arc, a national organization with over 600 chapters that serves people with disabilities.

Spokane neurologist Dr. David Greeley thinks more people these days are dealing with depression. Recently, he began a new service under the business name Kingfisher TMS offering transcranial magnetic stimulation, a noninvasive procedure using magnetic fields to stimulate nerve cells in the brain.

Nichole Mischke didn’t set out to tell stories of pain and shame, much less her own, until last November, when the former KHQ reporter publicly shared for the first time about her eating disorder, and found healing.

Vanessa Shafer of Liberty Lake had a life-saving medical procedure in July 2017 thanks to a donor who lives nearly 3,000 miles away in Boston. Shafer, 29, received stem cells for leukemia treatment through a national marrow donor program, and she is now cancer free. Her donor, a 25-year-old woman, almost forgot she signed up for the Be The Match.org online registry program about three years before getting a call.

Some families face fears around the Oct. 31 holiday in relation to childhood diabetes, food allergies, autism or mobility issues. In some cases, parents just dread all that sugar. But there are ways to bring spooktacular activities to kids with different abilities.