Rebecca Lee Crumpler challenged the prejudice that prevented Black Americans form pursuing careers in medicine to become the first Black woman in the United States to earn an MD degree.  Although little has survived to tell the story of her life, Dr.  Crumpler secured her place in the historical record with her two-volume book, The Book of Medical Discourses, published in 1883.

Miss Crumpler was born a free woman of color in 1831 in Delaware.  Early in her life she moved to Pennsylvania, living with her aunt, "whose usefulness with the sick was continually sought".  At that time "I early conceived a liking for, and sought every opportunity to relieve the sufferings of others," she wrote.

By 1852 Dr.  Crumpler had moved to Charlestown, Massachusetts, where she worked as a nurse for the next eight years.  In 1860, with the help of written recommendations from the doctors she worked with, she was admitted to the New England Female Medical College.  When she graduated in 1864, Dr.  Crumpler was the first Black woman in the United States to earn an MD degree and the only Black woman to graduate from the New England Female Medical College, which closed in 1873.

In some ways, people are more mindful of their general health during the cold weather seasons. They may get Flu shots. They make sure their hair is dry after washing before venturing outside. They buy winter coats.  They don't realize they also need to “bundle up” against heart attacks.  Why? There are more heart attacks during winter than any other season. Comprehending why, will also help you understand more about your body.    In cold weather, there is more oxygen demand by the heart because it is working harder to do the work and maintain body heat.  Each 1.8 degree Fahrenheit reduction in temperature on a single day was linked to about 200 additional heart attacks.

A report in the Dec. 13, 2004, issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association found that the rate of cardiovascular-related deaths rose sharply between Dec. 25 and Jan. 7.  The greatest risk came within two weeks of cold-weather exposure, and those aged 75-84, along with those with coronary heart disease, were most vulnerable to the temperature changes.  Your body has intriguing response mechanism to deal with cold. The goal is to keep the core of your body at 98.6 degrees. One of the ways your body does this is by constricting blood vessels to limit the loss of body heat.  This does help, but it also raises blood pressure and lowers the amount of blood flowing to your heart and other organs.  If you are being active at the same time, this can put a significant demand on your heart.  If you already have heart disease, it may be too much and cause a heart attack.  That’s why you hear warnings about the high risks of coronary while shoveling snow.