Celebrate National Humor Month with a smile! April being National Humor Month, it's a pretty good month to remember one of your Illinois neighbors, Hunter Doherty Adams. Never heard of Hunter Doherty Adams who lives in Urbana these days? Of course you have.

Dear Nurse Chris: After a heart attack two years ago, I took all the medicines my physician asked, but he also wanted me to commit to a long period of rehab. It seemed way too strenuous for me, and I was scared it might cause another attack so I didn’t go. I am 56 now. Was I right or wrong to skip the rehab?

In people with diabetes, elevated blood sugar can cause a chain reaction that leads to nonhealing or slow-healing wounds.

When a healthy person gets a wound — such as a blister on the foot — they notice it because of the pain, the wound is treated and covered, and it usually begins healing within a few days or weeks. When someone has diabetes, however, that whole process can stall. High blood sugar can lead to a dangerous combination of health issues that can delay treatment and complicate the healing process.

Almost 24 million Americans live with an autoimmune disease—and many of them are women.

Your immune system is your body’s strongest defense against outside attackers, whether these are environmental factors or common bacteria and viruses you pick up from other people. So what happens when it turns on itself?

A daily meditation practice is one of the very best habits you can establish for yourself. Studies have shown that meditation reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and boosts immunity. It can also help you to let go of negative feelings and give you a more positive outlook without the use of medication. Unfortunately, many people are intimidated by the thought of meditation because they believe it is either difficult to do, overly time consuming or attached to a specific religious belief; all of which are false. Meditation is actually a very healthy practice that will result in less stress, a healthier body and more mental clarity. To reap the benefits to mind, body and spirit, you need only to practice a very basic form of meditation. Try these simple steps for just 10 minutes each morning:

When you are in the throes of grief you think you will never be happy again. Your world is a narrow, dark tunnel. You do not see any light, yet glimmers exist, and they are signs of healing.