October 24, 2015

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SPORTS: Sumter hosts CF; Barons take on Heathwood B1

Health Matters Health Matters

Fibromyalgia: Power over pain BY DR. M. TODD WARRICK Tuomey Health System

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2015

| Serving South Carolina since October 15, 1894

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“It’s all in your head.” If you or someone you love has fibromyalgia, you have, no doubt, heard that statement before. Truth be told, it’s not completely inaccurate. Let me explain. Years ago, doctors thought fibromyalgia was a muscle disease. We studied the muscles looking for inflammation and cell damage. There were no consistent findings. We sent patients for lab tests and scans. That didn’t help. We looked for up to 18 tender points throughout a patient’s body to make the diagnosis. That didn’t work either. Would you believe me if I told you I can diagnose fibromyalgia without even touching a patient? I can. Doctors know more about what fibromyalgia isn’t than what it is. Fibromyalgia is not an inflammatory disease like rheumatoid arthritis or lupus (although many patients with those diseases also have fibromyalgia) Fibromyalgia

Medicare enrollment period now open FROM STAFF REPORTS

PHOTO PROVIDED

Dr. M. Todd Warrick of Tuomey Health System muscles. Fibromyalgia is best defined as a neurological disorder of pain processing. Thus, fibromyalgia is in your head — deep within

During the last decade, functional MRI has shed some light on how fibromyalgia works. fMRI helps

The open enrollment period when people with Medicare can shop for a Medicare Advantage (MA) or a prescription drug plan is now open and continues through Dec. 7, according to the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. “Health needs can change in a year, so it is important for people with Medicare to use this time to check to see if they are getting the best price and best q alit plan a ail

Information from local health care providers in today’s edition C1

Flu season hits Palmetto State S.C. deaths already confirmed as season gets underway BY JIM HILLEY jim@theitem.com As if the Palmetto state hasn’t suffered enough, the flu season is upon us. “We haven’t had any confirmed cases” (in Sumter

County), said Toumey Regional Medical Center Administrative Director Letitia PringleMiller. “At least we have not as far as we are tracking.” Flu is already well established in other parts of the state, however.

“From 18 of our 40 plus counties in South Carolina, we have had 118 laboratory confirmed cases of flu,” PringleMiller said. Some deaths already have been reported in South Carolina, according to Department

of Health and Environmental Control. “Tragically, individuals from the Upstate, Pee Dee and Low Country regions have become our first lab-confirmed, influenza-associated deaths of the season,” said State Epidemiol-

HAUNTED happenings Halloween, the night of scares, candy and fun, is right around the corner. There are several haunted houses and hayrides in the area, but if you don’t like celebrating Halloween with ghosts and goblins, there are many fall festivals that celebrate the sweeter side of the holiday. If you and your family or friends are looking for something to do to get you in a spooky or sugar-rushed mood, visit the following local events: • Scream Acres haunted house and hayride operates from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., today, Oct. 30 and 31, and 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday and Oct. 29 at 1283 Old Camden Road, Bishopville. General admission is $14 and fast pass tickets are $25. • Kreepy Hallow haunted house operates from 7:30 until late today, Oct. 30 and 31 and from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 29 at 1155 Joe Dority Road, Bishopville. • Boy Scouts of America Troop 342 presents The Haunted Trail, starting at 7:30 p.m., on the evenings of Oct. 23 and 24 and Oct. 30 and 31, at the Elks Lodge, 1100 W. Liberty St. Cost is $5 per person.

• New Salem Baptist Church will host a fall festival from 6 to 8 p.m. today at the church, 2500 W. Oakland Ave. The event will feature games, food, bounce house and more. • Wise Drive Baptist Church will host its fall celebration from 5 to 7 p.m. Sunday at the church , 2751 S. Wise Drive. For more information, call (803) 4690496. • Alice Drive Baptist Church will host its fall festival from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 29 at the church, 1305 Loring Mill Road. For more information, call (803) 905-5200.

• Clark United Methodist Church will host a fall celebration from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at the church, 2980 U.S. 401 N. • Concord Baptist Church will host its fall festival 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at the church, 1885 Myrtle Beach Highway. The event will feature carnival games, music, hayrides, displays, food and more. Fun for all ages. No admission fee. • Providence Baptist Church will host its fall festival from 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 31 at the church, 2445 Old Manning Road. SEE HALLOWEEN, PAGE A7

• Local law enforcement will host a trunk-or-treat event from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 31 at Sumter Law Enforcement Center, 107 E. Hampton Ave.

ogist Dr. Linda Bell. “We are in the beginning stages of our state’s flu season. Bell urged everyone to take advantage of the opportunity to be vaccinated.

SEE FLU, PAGE A7

BBQ raises $7,000 for flood relief Paxville native’s event in New Orleans to help Clarendon residents BY KONSTANTIN VENGEROWSKY konstantin@theitem.com A Clarendon County native recently held a barbecue event that raised about $7,000 to benefit residents affected by the early October flood. Howard Conyers, originally from Paxville’s Home Branch community, plans to donate the money to the Clarendon County Disaster Relief Fund. The fund was established right after the floods that hit the state and will be administered by a committee of Clarendon County Council and local city and town councils. In his day job, Conyers is a structural dynamicist at John C. Stennis Space Center, a NASA rocket testing facility in Hancock County, Mississippi. He has a doctorate in mechanical engineering and materials science from Duke University, and is a 2000 graduate of Manning High School. Conyers moved to New Orleans in 2009 because he said he wanted to help with the rebuilding efforts of a city that was affected by a natural disaster. Hurricane Katrina devastated the region, claiming 1,245 lives, making it one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history. Conyers barbecued his first hog at age 11, learning the craft from his father, Harrison Conyers. He has organized various barbecue fundraisers in the New Orleans area, including “Hogs for the Cause,” which raises money for children with brain cancer. When Conyers heard about the historic flood that had affected South Carolina, including Clarendon County, he said he knew right away he had to do something. “I saw my community was in need and I wanted to help,” he said. “The people in New Orleans knew firsthand what it was like to live through a natural disaster. I received a lot of support here.” About two weeks after the South Carolina flood, Conyers, and others organized “From the Bayou to the Lowcountry: A South Carolina BBQ Benefit,” held on Oct. 18 in New Orleans.

SEE BBQ, PAGE A7

DEATHS, A7

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John Benenhaley Artie Hatfield Victor Brogdon John H. Gillison David Johnson

Keith Eckelberger Ronald Houser Clint Davis Charles Truett

WEATHER, A8

INSIDE

NICE AND WARM

3 SECTIONS, 24 PAGES VOL. 121, NO. 9

Mostly sunny today; partly cloudy tonight HIGH 77, LOW 56

Classifieds B7 Comics B6 Lotteries A8

Reviews A5 Television A4


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