How to Handle the Norovirus Surge

A new strain of the norovirus—more commonly known as the dreaded stomach bug—could be the culprit driving a nationwide uptick in gastrointestinal sickness.

Known as GII.17, the strain has accounted for about 70% of the outbreaks in the United States this season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Locally, MedStar Health Urgent Care reports that cases are up 5% to 10% compared to last year. On Jan. 3, the Virginia Department of Health reported that “norovirus activity is elevated in the region,” while CDC data shows a 36% increase in norovirus outbreaks nationwide.

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Having the Tough Conversations About End-of-Life Planning

I didn’t watch as emergency medical technicians helped my mom onto a stretcher and took her out of the house she’d lived in for 42 years, but I knew she wasn’t coming back. Maybe that’s why, on that sunny Florida morning in June 2016, I opted to let them go while I hung back to gather my purse and keys.

That decision was one in a long line of choices I made after my mom was diagnosed with dementia in 2012. At the time of her diagnosis, she was 77 and I was 34. She was in denial and refused to discuss a care plan. I was an only child. My dad died when I was 14. My mom’s siblings were gone. All the decision-making fell to me.

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What to Know About Ultra-Processed Foods, Alcohol and Cancer

Recent headlines about links between cancer and the consumption of alcohol and ultra-processed foods arrived just in time to bolster those New Year’s resolutions, whether you’re focused on Dry January abstinence, eating better or both. But the latest health findings should be a warning to make lasting lifestyle changes, local physicians say, not just temporary ones.

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Injured Animal? Meet Arlington’s Wildlife Rescue Experts

I can now add “mouse hero” to my résumé.

A few months ago, we discovered that a deer mouse had built a nest for her two babies in the grill on our deck. My children were immediately smitten, so we skipped cooking steaks and left the tiny family alone to flourish. But when we checked on our guests a few days later, the babies had fallen into the grill’s grease trap. One was dead and the other, coated in grease, was struggling. The mom was gone.

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Fighting Fentanyl: What NoVA Schools Are Doing

He’d been making rounds in the cafeteria during lunchtime in late August 2022 and arrived at the restroom to find a student slumped and unconscious in a stall. Three people were performing first aid to no avail.

“I have never had the experience of seeing someone in front of me pass away, and that’s what appeared to be happening,” Khoshaba says. “It was easily, hands-down the most traumatic thing I’ve ever gone through.”

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Arlington Actor Iain Armitage Bids Farewell to ‘Young Sheldon’

It may be tough to separate actor Iain Armitage from Sheldon Cooper, the character he’s played on Young Sheldon since 2017, but there are ways to tell them apart. For one, the 15-year-old Armitage adores animals; Sheldon fears them. Sheldon grew up in the fictional east Texas town of Medford; Armitage calls Arlington home.

Still, Armitage says he will miss the character when the series ends in May.

“It’s very hard because it’s been basically half my life,” he says. “I’m of course very sad but also happy, and I feel so grateful that I’ve gotten so much wonderful time with our incredible cast and crew and writers.”

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NoVA’s Young, Elite Athletes Train Intensely to Make Top-Tier College Teams

On Friday nights, when most teenagers are gathering with friends to fire up the Xbox, 18-year-old Kellen Clark is practicing his swing and pitch at R&D Baseball Academy in Herndon. During the three-month spring baseball season, he spends about an hour at the training facility after two hours of practice with his team at Fairfax County’s Robinson Secondary School.

Clark is one of NoVA’s elite athletes, those who train intensely to improve their odds of getting into top college sports programs.

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