Great healthcare begins with a community that cares. On Saturday, October 17, the Moose Jaw Health Foundation celebrates the 35th Anniversary Festival of Trees with Midnight North – An Elegant Evening Beneath the Northern Lights. This unforgettable gala will feature inspiring entertainment, exciting auctions, and an elevated Canadian inspired dining experience, all in support of A Place to Heal, raising funds for new hospital beds at Dr. F.H. Wigmore Regional Hospital. Every ticket, donation, and sponsorship helps improve comfort, safety, and recovery for local patients. Tickets go on sale in mid August through SaskTix, with sponsorship opportunities available now.

Water is essential for supporting your body before, during, and after exercise. Staying well hydrated helps maintain the fluid balance your body needs to perform at its best. During exercise, aim to drink about one cup of fluid every 15 to 20 minutes, adjusting for your activity level and conditions. For longer workouts lasting more than an hour, a sports drink or diluted juice may help replace fluids and carbohydrates. After exercising, refuel with carbohydrate rich foods to help replenish energy stores, especially if you plan to exercise again soon. Make hydration and smart nutrition part of your fitness routine.

Halloween is just around the corner, and for many children, that means a season filled with costumes, imagination, and make-believe. One day they’re a superhero, the next they’re a dragon, a veterinarian, or a wizard. While it may look like they’re simply having fun, there’s actually something much bigger going on.
Maria Montessori famously described play as “the work of the child.” It may not look like work to adults, but through play, children learn about themselves, their relationships, and the world around them. They build problem-solving skills, practice managing emotions, develop communication skills, and learn how to cooperate with others. For children, play isn’t a break from learning. It is one of the primary ways learning happens.
Imaginative play is especially important. When children create stories, invent characters, or pretend to be someone else, they are exploring ideas, feelings, and experiences in ways that make sense to them. A child pretending to run a restaurant isn’t just being cute. They’re practicing communication, creativity, planning, and social skills all at the same time.
As parents, however, play can sometimes feel a little harder.
Many of us spend our days juggling responsibilities, schedules, work, errands, and endless to-do lists. Somewhere along the way, we may have started to believe that being an adult means being productive and serious all the time. We can forget how to be playful, curious, and imaginative ourselves.
The good news is that playing with our children doesn’t mean we have to spend hours sitting on the floor with toy figures, unless that’s something we enjoy. Play can take many forms. It might be building with LEGO, playing a board game, kicking a ball around the backyard, creating a silly story together, going on a nature walk, putting on costumes, or simply sharing a good laugh. The best kind of play is often whatever feels enjoyable and natural for both parent and child.
Play is also one of the most powerful ways we build connection with our children. When we enter their world, even for a few minutes, we send a simple but important message: I enjoy being with you.
That connection can make a big difference during the tougher moments, too. Parenting expert Lawrence Cohen encourages parents to think about how playfulness can be used as part of parenting and discipline. Sometimes a playful approach can be more effective than a power struggle. A child may respond better to a challenge, a game, or a little humour than they do to repeated reminders and growing frustration. Playfulness doesn’t mean lowering expectations. It simply means using connection as a tool to help guide behaviour.
Halloween gives us a wonderful excuse to practice. It is one of the few times each year when adults are invited into the world of imagination right alongside their children. We can wear the costume, make the funny voice, tell the spooky story, and join the adventure.
This month, give yourself permission to play a little more. Follow your child’s lead. Be silly. Be curious. Build the fort. Wear the cape. You may discover that play isn’t just good for children. It’s pretty good for grown-ups, too.

Thanksgiving is a time to gather with family, share stories, and create lasting memories. If hearing conversations has become difficult, you may be missing the laughter, gratitude, and special moments that make the holiday meaningful. Hearing loss often develops gradually, making it easy to overlook. A comprehensive hearing assessment can identify changes early and help you reconnect with the people and experiences you love. This Thanksgiving, give yourself the gift of better hearing so you can enjoy every conversation around the table. Schedule your hearing evaluation and celebrate the season with confidence.

What happens in the body when we truly relax? Researchers are beginning to explore this question through studies involving Access Bars sessions. During sessions, measures such as breathing, pulse and blood pressure have been monitored, with some participants showing changes associated with a more relaxed state. Participants have also reported feeling calmer, less stressed or experiencing an improved sense of wellbeing. Experiences can differ from person to person, and more research is needed to understand the potential effects. As interest continues to grow, scientific exploration may help us better understand the connection between relaxation, the nervous system and overall wellbeing.

There are moments when slowing down and turning inward can create space for deeper connection, reflection, and spiritual awareness. Lacey Acramel offers a variety of sacred and intuitive practices designed to support those seeking guidance, insight, and energetic renewal. Reiki healing, intuitive and mediumship readings, Tarot and Oracle readings, cord cutting, candle lighting rituals, and home energy cleansing can provide meaningful opportunities to release, reflect, and reconnect. Personalized herbal potions and elixirs, healing circles, workshops, and Green Witch guidance offer additional ways to explore spiritual practices and create intentional rituals that honour your intuition, personal journey, and connection to the world around you.

What happens when inflammation becomes more than a temporary response? Join Dr. Dayan Goodenowe for the next installment of The Resilient Brain, a six-part educational webinar series exploring how the brain develops, functions, adapts, and ages. Inflammation and the Brain examines the relationship between chronic inflammation, immune signaling, and environmental stressors, and how these factors can influence the brain’s white matter, gray matter, and long-term function. Building on the biological concepts explored throughout the series, this session offers a deeper look at the interconnected processes shaping brain health across the lifespan. Join us October 21st at 6 PM Saskatchewan Time at DrGoodenowe.com.

Educational information only. Not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. No outcomes guaranteed.

The Power of Being Seen

September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day which reminds us of a difficult truth: suicide touches every community, age group, and walk of life. In Canada, approximately 13 people die by suicide each day, and men account for nearly 75% of suicide deaths, while women are more likely to report suicidal thoughts and attempts.
The stats remind us that suicide is complex and that we cannot assume someone’s outward appearance reflects their internal experience. While women are more likely to talk about their struggles, many men are taught to carry theirs silently. The fact that men speak about distress less often does not mean they experience it less.
Suicide also remains one of the leading causes of death among Canadian youth. Young people are still developing the capacity for impulse control and long-term thinking. What may seem like a temporary challenge to an adult can feel permanent and overwhelming to a young person.
Many people are also carrying the effects of trauma. Experiences such as abuse, neglect, family conflict, bullying, and chronic instability can affect how the brain processes stress and emotions. Trauma can influence decision-making, increase feelings of hopelessness, and make it more difficult to imagine a positive future. For those without supportive relationships, these challenges can feel impossible to navigate alone.
Connection matters because we were never meant to face life’s challenges alone. During the pandemic, much of life moved online. Technology helped us stay connected, but it could not replace human connection. We text instead of visiting. We scroll instead of gathering. Yet meaningful connection remains one of the strongest protective factors for mental wellbeing.
Counselling and mental health services are vital, but prevention begins long before someone reaches a crisis point. When a person talks about suicide, they are often not attention-seeking; they are help-seeking. These conversations are expressions of pain and an invitation for support. We also know that talking about suicide does not cause suicide. It often gives people the opportunity to speak about thoughts they may have been carrying alone for a very long time. We do not need to have all the answers. We simply need to stay present, listen without judgment, and help people access support.
Unfortunately, our society is not always good at listening. We ask, “How are you?” without expecting an honest answer. Too often, we rush to offer solutions instead of sitting with someone in their pain.
Sometimes people do not need advice. They need to hear:
“It’s okay to not be okay.”
“What you’re dealing with is really hard.”
“Thank you for telling me.”
“I’m here with you.”
These simple statements communicate something powerful: I see you. I hear you. You matter.
We must also be honest about something often overlooked: meeting people’s basic needs is suicide prevention. Access to food, housing, healthcare, social support, and financial stability all contribute to mental well-being. Hope is difficult to sustain when basic needs are uncertain. Communities that invest in helping people meet those needs are also investing in mental health and suicide prevention.
At its core, suicide prevention is about hope. Hope is the belief that circumstances can change, healing is possible, and support is available. And being truly seen and truly heard may be one of the most powerful ways we help people hold on to it.