Our First Event!
We had a great time at Heal Together: Race for Sickle Cell 5K organized by the Scott Center! We brought our fun most wanted cards covering 9 organs, our printed ER guide for sickle cell pain, and our new Pin the Organ on the Body game.
The new Pin the Organ on the Body game was a hit with kids! Several played the game until they’d placed all the organs multiple times. Others helped their friends play. The game was a great conversation starter about where each organ was and what it did.
What Worked: The Pin the Organ game was a hit with kids! Several played it multiple times and helped their friends learn where each organ goes.
What Surprised Us: Adults seemed interested in the game, but no one tried placing organs on our banner. Two people organized the organs on the table instead. We suspect adults thought they should know the answer and were afraid of making a mistake publicly.
What We’re Thinking About: How do we make it feel okay for adults to try? Some ideas we’re exploring: an “open book” format where answers are in our resources, framing it as trivia instead of a test, or creating a different activity for adults altogether. If you have ideas, we’d love to hear them!
Featured Resource
Should You Trust Your Apple Watch for Blood Pressure?
Dr. Vrolijk breaks down Apple’s study on the new blood pressure feature. The appeal is real (who wants to use a cuff regularly?), but so are the limitations.
The good: An alert will usually mean you have hypertension or high blood pressure. This means there aren’t many false alerts.
The bad: You can have hypertension but not get an alert. In fact, the watch alerts 4 out of 10 people with hypertension. It’s even lower if you’re under 60 – only 3 out of 10 people will be alerted.
The Bottom Line
→ Got an alert? It’s usually correct. You probably have hypertension or high blood pressure. Make a doctor’s appointment. It’s treatable, and you can protect yourself from health problems.
→ No alert? Keep using your cuff – the watch might have missed it.
Quick Health Tip
🦋 Butterfly Breathing for Nervous Kids
Next time your child is nervous at the doctor, try butterfly breathing:
- Hold your arms out like wings
- Breathe in as you raise your wings up
- Breathe out as you lower your wings down
- Do this 3 times
Works great anywhere – even right in the exam room before a shot!
→ Learn more tools for quick tools for kids
What We’re Working on This October
📚 Our Kids Books
We’re almost done with I Can Get an Ultrasound! We’re looking for an illustrator for our next book I Can Go to the Doctor. Both are aimed to support all children but especially those with autism.
🤝 Community Outreach
We’re excited that the Center of Hope Family Services in Toledo invited us to table at their Harvest Festival on 10/23. We’ll try out our updated Pin the Organ on the Body game!
💉 Sexual & Gynecologic Health Resources
We’re working with The Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti to help young adults take care of their sexual health. This includes resources on sexually transmitted infections, medications to prevent pregnancy, and medications to help with periods.
🌐 Improving Our New Website
We have several incredible volunteers who are helping us find mistakes and broken links. We’re also collecting feedback on what’s easy to use and what’s confusing.
Help Us Help More People
We’re here to serve YOU. What health topics are confusing? What questions do you wish you could ask your doctor?
Your input directly shapes the resources we create next.
