Category Archives: Health

Underneath the Tropical Sun?

When I grew up and lived in Colorado, the summer would get hot!  Temperatures in excess of 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  When it got that hot, we kids would head to the swimming pool or to the public library that had air conditioning to wait out the hottest part of the day.  There was the usual mowing, riding bikes and playing football outside too.  Sunscreen was sometimes used, but not often and the first sunburn of the year was a right of passage to darker, more tolerant skin!

Here in the tropics, we live closer to the equator.  The temperatures are warmer and the sun is almost always present.  We were once the tourists that would get sunburned, and now that we live here we are a little smarter and notice the tourists that get sunburned.  We have also seen the impacts of sun exposure and cases of skin damage and cancer here.  Of course it makes sense that the sun is intense here, but we were always under the impression that due to the altitude and less atmosphere to travel thru, the sun’s rays were more intense in Colorado.  That simply isn’t the case.

The UV index is now something we are very aware of.  It is a standard measurement of the strength of sunburn-producing ultraviolet (UV) radiation.  It is kind of shocking how much more extreme the sun is in Puerto Rico than it was in Colorado.

Today in PR it is kind of low-ish at 11 (lol).  Some days it is 13!! At that level you will get sunburn in as little as 5 minutes of exposure.  When it is that high, the advisory is to simply avoid the sun..  When the UV index was originally developed, it was designed from 1-10.

When I check back to Colorado it is almost always half the value!  Also of note that with a reflective surface like water it can double the value, so if a person was out on the water today it could be as high as 22!  Or on even more extreme days 26.  When the UV is that intense you are immediately damaging your unprotected skin.

As if this wasn’t enough, I have also noticed how insanely hot it is to work outside.  Another standardized value system, the heat index was created to show the human-perceived temperature combining relative humidity and SHADE temperature.  I’ve seen it around 102 degrees and every once in a while at around 107.  Like the UV index, this value can vary drastically when if say someone is in the sun, then it can reach 150+ degrees.

The summer time here gets intense!  It is kind of jaw dropping but talking about it and reading about it doesn’t have the same impact as feeling it for oneself.   I think for me September is the most brutal month.  The plants LOVE it and that increases the workload, but things are so green and beautiful too!  If you miss a week or two the workload only increases so it is important to stay on top of things, or the weeds, grasses and trees get waaayyy out of control quickly setting you back on all the hard work of gardening.


The Sun’s arch and rays in September in Rincon (almost directly overhead)


The Sun’s arch and rays in Sept in Colorado (notice the difference in angle!)

I recently had a reminder to start work early and be done by 9am.  I had been starting at 9am and working till noon.  A person just can’t drink enough water to keep up.  Literally sweat pours out the sweat glands like I’ve not ever experienced in my life.  Again talking about these things and actually experiencing them is a whole different thing!!  I hope I have learned my lesson, but I am pretty aggressive towards goals I’ve set in my mind and will push myself too far.  I think this “can do” attitude is something Cassie and I both share and it serves us well, as long as we don’t take it too far…..  Knowing when that is can be difficult when you want something done!
Cassie mowin’


Britton Mowin’

And again to recap.  While the Sun’s UV in Colorado is offically “high” and care should be taken, it isn’t “extreme” like in Puerto Rico.  EXTREME which is a good description!  As too is the humidity in Puerto Rico (80%+) vs Colorado (15%) which makes that heat index EXTREME!  I am really looking forward to wintertime here in PR.  Less work, perfect humidity and the sun is further south!

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Thank-Full

We have a lot to be thankful for this year. So many changes have occurred. This time last year we were just getting the electricity working again after two months without! Things were starting to come back to life, but the shock waves were still pulsing.


Walking on a “beach” this time last year (2017)


Beach sunset with Baby Aeden this year

In the year that followed we continued to clean up from the mess of the hurricane and then I became pregnant for the first time ever after many years of trying! It was a wonderful gift but also very taxing on me, and Britton. He had to take care of the whole property and also help me. During this time, Britton’s father became sick and died and that was very hard on us because we are so far from the rest of the family. Additionally we started the flower business and continued to push forward.


My sweet baby!

When Baby Aeden was born right around the anniversary of Hurricane Maria, we experienced a sigh of relief that was short lived. Only 5 days after he was born I became very sick and was hospitalized for nearly 2 weeks out of the first 3 of his life. In a very short period of time I came to understand how precious and yet fragile life really is. I am so grateful to still be here in this realm with these two loves: Britton and Aeden.


Britton and Aeden at the beach

We spent Thanksgiving with our friends Missy and Ben and their family as well as other great friends who have helped us through this very tough year. We are so grateful to them. I don’t know how we could have managed that without them.


Thanksgiving dinner


Delicious food on fancy china!


Baby’s got to eat too!


A visit to a neighbor’s tortoise

So beautiful!


Climbing palm trees!

Baby hanging with the big kids

I love Thanksgiving because it gives us the opportunity to step back and reflect on what we are truly thankful for in our lives: our family, our friends, and our beautiful, precious and fleeting lives. Our life is full of thanks!

PS: Baby Aeden is now over 2 months old and doing great!

 

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Re-establishing a New Normal with Baby!

Not long after my discharge from the hospital (about one week), I began to feel very sick again. I soon felt weak and faint, could hardly breathe or walk and started to develop another fever. We ended up going back to the emergency room at Mayaguez Medical Center and I spent another week in the hospital with major hemorrhaging from placenta that was still retained even after having a D+C the week before. I lost so much blood that I needed 6 more units transfused for a total of 8 (the human body only has about 10!). Suffice it to say that it was a very scary time for us.

I am not sure we have fully processed that ordeal, but we are now looking forward to re-establishing a new normal as a family of three.


Britton and Aeden

Now we are happily trying to deal with the lack of sleep, feeding and changing schedules and the sheer confusion that comes with an infant instead of worrying about life and death issues. Thankfully, I am recovering quickly and am beginning to enjoy going outside and even working a little more in the gardens -something I hadn’t been able to do much of at all throughout the pregnancy.


“Hey, Momma, more boob!”


“Ok, enough with the pictures!”

We have mostly just been recuperating and settling in at home, but we have made a few voyages off the compound and we’re getting better at it.


A visit to the ocean


Enjoying our new normal at the finca -Aeden’s 1st month picture


And poor Kitty feels like he’s playing second fiddle, but we still love him! 🙂

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We’re Having a Boricua Baby!

We’re having a baby! Sometime in late September/early October we are going to have a baby here in Puerto Rico! We couldn’t be more thrilled (or freaked out)! It is going to be challenging to navigate the health care system and all the other steps that are different from the states in addition to learning how to go through a pregnancy, deliver and then raise a baby, but so far so good!


Yes it’s true! Pickles and ice cream are great when pregnant (just not mixed together -haha)

I am documenting the process every 2 weeks on this page including pictures of my growing belly taken at various beaches and visits to the doctor if you’d like to see how things are going and growing! Wish us luck (and that I don’t have to have a baby in another hurricane)!

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