Category: Diseases and injuries

To Joey, With Love- a movie review

“To Joey, with Love” is a poignant film documenting the challenges faced by country music duo Joey and Rory Feek, including the birth of a child with Down syndrome and Joey’s battle with cervical cancer. Rory’s candid storytelling in his book “This Life I Live” and the movie portrays the enduring power of love and faith in overcoming life’s trials.

updated June 14, 2024; contains affiliate links that help support this blog

To Joey, With Love

A Story of Life, Love, and Hope That Never Dies

90 minutes, with Spanish and English subtitles for the hearing impaired

Provident Films 2016

To Joey, with Love is the intimate, authentic, and transparent story of a couple who met head-on two of life’s most difficult challenges- a special needs child and a terminal illness. Rory Feek produced the film because he believed their story needed to be remembered, documented, and shared.

Joey and Rory

Joey and Rory Feek had a successful career as a country music singing duo and a happy 12-year marriage when they decided to take a year off to have a baby. For many years Joey had been afraid to have a baby, fearing she would not be a good mother.

Her pregnancy progressed normally and culminated in a planned at-home birth attended by a midwife. Sudden complications forced a trip to a hospital where both mother and baby were stabilized and in no immediate danger.

Unfortunately, the doctors and nurses told Joey and Rory that their much-anticipated child had a problem- their new baby girl had Trisomy 21, also known as Down syndrome.

Indie’s challenge- Down Syndrome

People with Down syndrome have an increased risk for certain medical conditions-

  • congenital heart defects,
  • respiratory and hearing problems,
  • Alzheimer’s disease,
  • childhood leukemia and
  • thyroid conditions.

Many of these conditions are now treatable, so most people with Down syndrome lead healthy lives.

Here are more  Down Syndrome Facts

 

Trisomy 21 chromosomes
Children with Down Syndrome have an extra chromosome, number 21 (see arrow) Diagram courtesy of Dr. Clark Heath of the CDC

 

Joey’s challenge-Cervical cancer

A few months after their baby Indiana’s birth, Joey faced the recurrence of cervical cancer diagnosed and treated years before. Despite more surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy the cancer persisted until further treatments were futile and and likely to cause more suffering.

Joey decided to leave their Nashville farm, her horses, chickens, and gardens, to move home to Indiana to spend her remaining time with her extended family.

FACED WITH THE PERSISTENCE OF THE CANCER
“JOEY DECIDED TO COME HOME-NOT TO DIE, BUT TO LIVE.”

Cervical cancer starts in the cervix, the narrow opening into the uterus from the vagina. More than 12,000 women in the United States will be diagnosed with cervical cancer each year, and more than 4,000 women die from this disease.

Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer for women worldwide, but because it develops over time, it is also one of the most preventable types of cancer since the widespread use of the Pap test to detect cervical abnormalities leads to early treatment.

Cancer of the cervix tends to occur during midlife. Half of the women diagnosed with the disease are between 35 and 44 years of age. It rarely affects women under age 20, and approximately 20 percent of diagnoses are women older than 65. Women should ask their doctor how often and for how long they should continue having Pap smears.

Use this link from the American Cancer Society to learn more about cervical cancer.

Rory Feek-musician and writer

In 2014 Rory Feek started sharing their lives in a blog and on Facebook where I first learned about them.

Eventually, he shared the entire story on the blog, leading to his book by the same name, and eventually the movie.

 

 

 

This Life I Live: One Man’s Extraordinary, Ordinary Life, and the Woman Who Changed It Forever 

 

“In This Life I Live, Rory Feek helps us to connect more fully to his and Joey’s story and to our own journeys. He shows what can happen when we are fully open in life’s key moments, whether when meeting our life companion or tackling an unexpected tragedy.

He also gives never-before-revealed details on their life together and what he calls “the long goodbye,” the blessing of knowing that life will end and taking advantage of it. Rory shows how we are all actually there already and how we can learn to live that way every day.” (Amazon review)

 

And now as a single dad, raising their daughter Indie with the help of family and friends, Rory continues his musical career and blogs at this life I live.

And he has learned that love comes softly with a new person in his life. Read about it here.

Rory Feek’s new life and love-an update again

After 9 years of blogging, I am reviewing old posts, sharing updates and new insights. This post reflects on a review written in 2017 about “To Joey, with Love,” a film about a married couple facing life’s challenges. It also shares Rory Feek’s personal story, including finding love again after his wife’s passing.

Keep reading

 

sharing the HEART of love and faith

Although I cried throughout,  I’m glad I watched To Joey, With Love, and recommend it to you; it is an extraordinary love story that demonstrates the power of love and faith to get ordinary people through the worst life can throw at them. The movie is available to watch on several streaming services.

I’d love for you to follow this blog. I share information and inspiration to help you transform challenges into opportunities for learning and growth.

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I enjoy seeing who is new to Watercress Words. When you subscribe, I will visit your blog or website. Thanks and see you next time.

Dr. Aletha

Don’t Drink the Water- How to Avoid Water-related Illness

In this post learn how Water can pose health risks beyond drinking, including illnesses from contact during swimming or recreational activities. Drowning is a significant risk, especially for children. Common waterborne illnesses include gastrointestinal and respiratory conditions. Prevention strategies, such as swimming safety skills and avoiding contaminated water, can prevent these dangers.

You’ve probably heard the advice “Don’t drink the water” when you travel to less developed areas of the world. But water can make you sick even without drinking it.

Illness from Contact with Water

Bacteria and other disease-causing organisms can be transmitted by swimming and other water-related sports

  • in private and public pools
  • recreational freshwater and oceans
  • hot tubs, splash pads, water parks
  • decorative fountains

Drinking, inhaling, and direct contact with water contaminated with a variety of bugs can cause a wide range of illnesses, most of which are preventable. Here is an overview of common conditions to watch out for.

Drowning

The most serious risk of water is drowning or near-drowning, with 3,300 deaths and another 5,000 hospitalizations annually in the United States.

Children are especially at risk of drowning. Teaching children to swim as early as practical and supervising them around pools and other bodies of water are critical to prevention.

Drowning Prevention

  • Learn basic swimming and water safety skills
  • Build fences that fully enclose pools
  • Wear a life jacket
  • continue reading at the link
caution signs at a swimming pool.
Drowning can be prevented by following rules.

Gastrointestinal (stomach and intestines) Illnesses-

Symptoms
  • Nausea,
  • vomiting,
  • diarrhea,
  • cramps,
  • fever
Causes
stream with a kayak
Water in creeks, streams, and rivers is not safe to swallow.

Respiratory (nose, throat, lungs) illnesses

Symptoms
  • cough,
  • nasal/sinus congestion,
  • ear pain/fullness,fever
Swimmer’s Ear
Causes-
  • pool chemicals
  • Legionella and other bacteria
rapids in a stream

Skin Conditions

Symptoms–
  • rash,
  • redness,
  • itching,
  • burning
Causes –

Most of these conditions resolve without treatment, or are treatable with appropriate antibiotics.

two people dangling their legs into a pool.
Don’t let water related illness spoil your summer fun. photo from stock photo site- Lightstock.com- affiliate link

Serious but Rare

Primary amebic meningoencephalitis is a rare but deadly sinus-related infection caused by Naegleria fowleri in freshwater and soil 

Leptospirosis is another brain infection caused by a group of spirochetes known collectively as leptospires. It is also infrequent.

Preventing Water-related Infection

  1. Don’t drink water used for recreation even if treated with chlorine.
  2. Children younger than five years should not use hot tubs.
  3. Persons with diarrhea or recent diarrhea infection should not swim for one week after symptoms have cleared.
  4. Swimmers should shower before using a hot tub or pool.
  5. Don’t swim with open wounds, or use waterproof bandage if you do. .
  6. Learn more and get more tips on staying well at these links from

drawing of a child standing on a diving board at a pool
from the American Academy of Family Physicians

from American Family Physician

Waterborne Illnesses

Talk to your doctor if you have bloody diarrhea, diarrhea that lasts more than a week, or a cough with fever. See your doctor right away if you have more serious symptoms, such as fever and a stiff neck after swimming in a freshwater pond, or a bad skin infection with fever. Be sure to tell your doctor that you’ve been in the water.

Safe Surfing

Sharks very rarely attack people. Common sense can protect you from most shark attacks. Do not go into the water if sharks have been reported in your area. Do not surf if you are bleeding or have open cuts. If you see a shark, get out of the water. Do not try to touch the shark. Get help right away if you think you have been bitten.

Sea Creature Injuries and Fish Poisoning

To avoid ciguatera poisoning, don’t eat the fish that often carry the ciguatera toxin. This includes amberjack, grouper, snapper, sturgeon, king mackerel, barracuda, and moray eel.

in a Key West Florida art shop

At Smithsonian, learn about

8 diseases to watch out for at the beach 

man and woman next to a wooden boat on a beach
My husband and I are enjoying the beach on our last day in Zanzibar

Exploring the HEART of Summer Health

I took all of the photos in this post except the cover photo. It and another one are from Lightstock, credited in the caption.

I’d love for you to follow this blog. I share information and inspiration to help you transform challenges into opportunities for learning and growth.

Add your name to the subscribe box to be notified of new posts by email. Click the link to read the post and browse other content. It’s that simple. No spam.

I enjoy seeing who is new to Watercress Words. When you subscribe, I will visit your blog or website. Thanks and see you next time.

Dr. Aletha