loss

I always get a little bit introspective when things happen as they have in the past week... seemingly things that we have no control over and usually results in me wondering why someone was taken (in my thoughts) before their time.  My dear grandfather used to say that "Well, it was their time..." when someone died.  Uh, yes.  I would think to myself, of course it was their time, but was it really?  Was it a freak accident that was predestined to happen or was it something that just randomly happened?  I struggle with that because it seems that in the case of the last couple of things, well... was it their time?

I've scoured the internet in my usual fashion.  Of course, I spend way too much time here milling about from site to site reading news and searching for this and that.  The latest?  Dan Miller with WSMV Channel 4 who suffered an untimely heart attach while strolling on the street he grew up in Augusta, GA.  Every few moments I hear on Channel 4 buzzing in the background the same little piano notes playing and a few pictures or still video of Dan and I pause sadly and glance up.  I didn't know him, but you would think by the look on my face and the sad thoughts in my head that I did.  Yes, he was invited into our home many nights to report the news.  He's actually the one that I'd rather hear it from if I had to choose.  (If all the ladies besides Demetria didn't say "to-dyaaa" rather than "today."  It's one of those nails on a chalkboard thing!  LOL)

I didn't know he had a blog himself (really what he'd termed a "notebook" rather than a blog, and I don't blame him there!) that has been nice to read lately (two actually)... almost a way to humanize him more rather than casting the news aside, "Well who cares, I didn't know him..." but realizing that there are four children, a wife, friends, and more mourning his loss.  I do think that if I had my choice the way he went doesn't sound so bad...  He was walking with a close friend remembering the past on the street where he grew up.  Still, he was young.

It's definitely much better than the way that Kori and Olivia Bryant left the world on Friday.  I cannot imagine her terror prior to the F3 tornado hitting their home.  I hold onto my own son imagining and thinking now about the plans of the future during the next tornado warning.  I've been in several tornadoes in my life (near misses mostly) and one that missed me by just a tiny bit while I worked in a grocery story my senior year.  It completely demolished our little town...  a lot of things changed after that for me.  I have an immense amount of respect for the power of the tornado and sometimes find them so random in where they strike that I don't get that sense of terror when one is nearby... the odds are always in our favor.

A fund has been set up for the family.  Donations can be made to the John Bryant Family fund at any Bank of America branch.  I cannot imagine losing everything I own and my family in just a few moments.  He's definitely going to need a lot of prayer, help, and love to get through this tragedy.

though I didn't know him personally...

... I felt I did as many a night he would be on the television giving the nightly news.  Dan Miller passed away in his hometown of Augusta, GA while walking with his two friends from WSMV Rudy Kalis and Terry Bulger of an apparent heart attack.  They were there for the Masters' Tournament. 

From WSMV

the worm that is infecting hospitals worldwide

Things are slow at work right now.  The worm has hit.  Microsoft has put a bounty on its creator.  It's amazing to me the damage I'm hearing and reading about.  I just hope it stops soon!

Article.

more on nadya

Wow... first of all she is very disrespectful to her mother almost acting like her mother is not intelligent. Secondly, she has no responsibility in her own actions and uses the argument of "moving forward." She truly doesn't understand IVF or the odds or ethical debate. Obviously neither does her reproductive endocrinologist (RE) who should be banned from practice and/or forced to pay some sort of child support since he helped this situation to happen.

Another video. Her mother and Nadya discussing rather heatedly the children and her irresponsibility of implanting 6 embryos. I haven't heard any talk of embryos splitting or two sets of twins, etc... I'm thinking he implanted all 8.

thoughts about the octuplet mom

I have really, really been wanting to delve into my own thoughts about the octuplet mom, Suleman, recently and have with a small group of my friends, though rather briefly. I'm really amazed at how this woman appears from the outside either an accurate description by the media or someone who is really getting beat up by the same. My guess is that she truly is a mental train wreck.

First of all, yesterday her PR firm, The Killeen Furtney Group recently stopped representing Nadya Suleman because of death threats that came in to the firm's office, Killeen said Monday on CNN's "Larry King Live." I also noticed on her website that you can no longer (as of this minute) leave her a comment. I suppose she got a lot of hate and had to disable it. Without someone representing her, Nadya isn't going to have TIME to get online and check anything. She is accepting cash and credit card donations, by the way. No, I'm not donating a penny, though I feel very sorry for those 14 children.

Second, it is apparent at first glance that she has had some "work" done to her face (note her lips) and almost resembles in a different way, Angelina Jolie. Suleman rejects claims that she is obsessed with Jolie. "All lies. I have no interest in her. None," she says. "I've never been a fan of anybody famous. Now I kinda have a taste. But it's not being famous – it's being infamous. It's a nightmare."(People magazine - of course in newstands soon to attempt to lure you at the check out to buy the magazine). I do believe that she aligns herself with Jolie in obviously a different way.

Thirdly, I have a real problem with a mother who continues to try to have more children with no truly stable environment. There is no father, no job, no income, and no ROOM in their tiny living quarters to be able to raise 14 children. Her mother has spoken out against her and the media has really opened up all of her little secrets like $168,000 collected in disability from a riot she was in while working a mental hospital. She receives over $400/month in food stamps.

Octuplets mom Nadya Suleman had more to worry about than the demands of her ever-growing family: records reveals she was injured in a 1999 riot at a psychiatric hospital and got disability benefits from the state of California totaling nearly $168,000.

Suleman, 33 – who said in her first TV interview that she had always dreamed of having "a huge family" – received the payments as part of a workers' compensation settlement stemming from injuries she suffered during the disturbance, which left her with chronic back pain.

On Sept. 18, 1999, while on duty as a psychiatric technician at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk, Calif., Suleman responded to an emergency alert called when 20 patients rioted.

"While she attempted to hold down a female patient, she was struck on her back by a desk that was thrown by another patient in the ward," according to a document submitted last year to a state claims examiner. "She experienced the onset of immediate pain in her low back."

Permanent Damage

Doctors advised her against taking a job that involved "prolonged sitting, standing and walking," according to the workers' comp documents.

The State Compensation Insurance Fund's liability to Suleman ended on Aug. 28, 2008, after she had became pregnant with octuplets by in-vitro fertilization. (By then, she had already given birth to six other children.) Suleman had been paid $168,000 in disability benefits since August 2001.

Doctors concluded Suleman had suffered permanent damage to the lumbar area of her spine that could become more painful "with heavy lifting, repetitive bending, prolonged sitting, standing or walking."

Noting that she was pregnant, the doctors estimated 10 percent of her pain at the time was due to her pregnancy, and 90 percent was due to the injuries from the riot and a subsequent car accident.

A Second Claim

In 2001, while Suleman was leaving a doctor's office for treatment of the injury, her car was rear-ended, according to the records.

Suleman hurt her neck, back and shoulders, and filed an additional claim for workers' compensation, arguing the accident would not have occurred had she not been going for medical treatment for the earlier injury. It was unclear if she received funds for that claim.

I just want to go back in time to sitting in while she is discussing with her reproductive endocrinologist about wanting to do IVF. She tells him she has 6 children, although he already knew as he helped her with IVF in the past successfully. I want to sit in on the defense of how a doctor could go along with putting in 6 embryos.

Government is always wanting to get involved in things I don't want them to and not even thinking about getting involved in the things they should. As it is, the state of California is going to have to add a Nadya Suleman budget to their state budget for the fiscal year. It is truly unbelievable but the only victims are those children.

Edited to add: Now Suleman is about to lose her home. Can this story be any more of a train wreck?

microchips

Growing up in a rural area of the country and going to church in an old pentecostal church, there were sermons galore of the End Times.  Most of the time these sermons were not about Heaven and how beautiful and glorious it'll be but more about the conditions on Earth - one of which included the "Mark of the Beast."

As a child, sermons and discussions about the End Times and Tribulation bothered me.  Everyone was looking for "signs."  Israel no longer a nation.  The elimination of currency.  Direct deposit thus doing away with money and the only accepted way to "get paid" though at the time direct deposit didn't have a "name."  The list goes on and on.  I always listened to these sermons and filed things away.  I was warned, "Never take the Mark of the Beast." 

What is the Mark of the Beast?  Back then, it was hypothesized that the Mark was a chip that was put into your hand or head to force everyone to buy or sell with this chip.  There was no more tangible money, so it would make sense.  It made sense to me!  Of course!  Missing persons would be located by the chip with a satellite (GPS appears).  Illegal drugs would diminish.  Cash would be gone... perhaps opening the way for bartering with goods?  This is what I was taught to look for.

I've always been quite neutral on the whole topic 100% respecting the views of those that taught this but at the same time realizing that the technology was coming and imagine the chips used to bring home a pet could bring home a missing child, though it could also start a whole new trend of kidnappers digging out those chips, cutting off hands, etc...  Crazy thoughts.

Then the news today:

WORLD IN BRIEF: Bill targets AIDS patients

From News Services

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Lawmakers in Indonesia’s remote Papua province have thrown their support behind a controversial bill requiring some HIV/AIDS patients to be implanted with microchips —- part of extreme efforts to monitor the disease. Legislator John Manangsang said by implanting small computer chips beneath the skin of “sexually aggressive” patients, authorities would be in a better position to identify, track and ultimately punish those who deliberately infect others. If the proposed legislation gets a majority vote as expected, it will be enacted next month, he said.

Chavez declares vote a mandate

President Hugo Chavez on Monday said his allies’ victories in state and local elections mean Venezuelans want him to press ahead with his socialist policies. Pro-Chavez candidates held on to gubernatorial posts in 17 states in Sunday’s voting, but the oft-battered opposition also gained by winning five of the 23 states, including the two biggest —- Miranda and Zulia —- as well as mayoral races in the two largest cities, Caracas and Maracaibo.

Crisis worse than Carter expected

South African President Kgalema Motlanthe warned Monday that the situation in neighboring Zimbabwe could “implode and collapse” and announced a new round of talks to help resolve the crisis. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, meeting in South Africa with charity, donor and civil leaders from Zimbabwe, said the crisis appears to be much worse than anything ever imagined.

Refugees victims of looting, shooting

Soldiers went on an overnight looting and shooting spree in a sprawling Congolese refugee camp, stealing from hungry and traumatized people who have fled fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo’s east, witnesses said Monday. They said one woman was killed by a stray bullet Sunday night in Kibati, a village north of the eastern provincial capital of Goma that has been overrun by about 70,000 refugees.

Ties between countries cut back

North Korea detailed plans Monday to radically curtail ties with South Korea, announcing the end of daily cross-border train service and tours of a historic city in response to what it called Seoul’s “confrontational” policies since conservative, pro-U.S. President Lee Myung-bak took office in Seoul in February. North Korea’s army also said it will expel some South Koreans from a joint industrial zone but stopped short of closing the South Korean-run factories that are a key source of hard currency for the impoverished nation.

Made me think and remember today.

those friends on the internet are not real

I beg to differ.  There are real live people sitting behind their computer screens typing and back and forth their joys and sorrows, etc...  It's almost as if you can drive in your car and visit a friend or just hop on the internet and visit another. 

I find it sad that a young man hopped on that same internet to announce he was committing suicide.  How sad that everyone that watched him collapsed on a bed never once took into consideration that on the other end of that computer web cam was a real life passing away.  I don't hold all those people accountable; we all assume that those on the other end are not real.

I guess it's time to take inventory and redefine those friends online.

pharmaceutical company disclosure

Sometimes government intervention is good, as in the case of drug companies padding the pockets of physicians further driving up the cost for healthcare for you and me. I used to cringe at the site of a pharmaceutical rep, as a pharmacist, simply because I knew there was a chance that whatever came out of their mouth to the physician would probably sway his/her prescription writing for a week or so. I've seen it too many times. What bothers me about the profession is that the individual drug companies train their drug reps to say exactly what they want them to say, as if they were peddling cell phones, for example; however, they are representing a medication and why it is superior to its competition while watering down its adverse effects.

This doesn't even touch the effect on physicians' diagnoses and treatment of us through gifts, meals, etc... from these same companies. If I knew, as a physician, that zoloft and lexapro were similar in treatment and that I didn't particularly find one more superior, would I maybe choose the lexapro due to the dinner they paid for me last week?

According to the latest news, Eli Lily plans on disclosing how much money was paid to physicians to represent them with speeches, advice, or other ways.

By KEVIN FREKING, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 46 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - In an industry first, Eli Lilly and Co. says it will begin disclosing how much money it paid to individual doctors nationally for advice, speeches and other services.

ADVERTISEMENT

The drug company's move comes as members of Congress push a disclosure bill in an effort to prevent such payments from improperly influencing medical decisions.

Beginning next year, Eli Lilly will disclose payments of more than $500 to doctors for their roles as advisers and for speaking at educational seminars. In later years, the company will expand the types of payments disclosed to include such things as travel, entertainment and gifts.

Some have voiced concerns that doctors are influenced by these payments in their treatment decisions and that this in turn can drive up medical bills. Although most physicians believe that free lunches or trips have no effect on their medical judgment, research has shown that these type of payments can affect how people act.

"The ethical handwriting is on the wall. Disclosure is coming. States are pushing for it, and once a few states do, it's hard to imagine the federal government won't line up behind," said Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. "I think that's a good thing because we have a great deal of empirical evidence that gift giving can influence behavior in terms of prescriptions, publishing positive findings but suppressing negative findings, and generating enthusiasm for new drugs."

Eli Lilly was also the first drug company to publicly report its educational grants for medical conferences. Dr. John Lechleiter, president and CEO of the company, said that made good business sense for the drug industry.

"We've learned that letting people see for themselves what we're doing is a good way to restore trust," Lechleiter said.

In the past two years, lawmakers from both chambers of Congress introduced bills that would require drug and medical device manufacturers to disclose any payments to doctors exceeding $25, but the industry chafed at the strict reporting threshold. Eli Lilly had announced earlier that it intended to comply with key aspects of the legislation once some lawmakers in the Senate agreed to a higher reporting threshold of $500.

Scores of trade groups representing doctors, such as the American Medical Association, voiced their support for the legislation once it included the higher, $500 threshold. In a letter to lawmakers, the groups said the disclosures would "enhance the medical profession's ability to provide oversight and strengthen our ability to serve as stewards of medicine."

Eli Lilly's disclosure of payments to doctors will begin in the second half of 2009, and will cover payments made in the first half of the year. The company doesn't plan to report payments from 2008 or earlier, noting that the legislation before Congress also did not contemplate such a look back. Gradually, the company plans to expand its registry to incorporate all payments that the Physician Payment Sunshine Act would require to be made public.

Lechleiter said that physicians who advise the company or speak at conferences about their experiences in treating patients take time away from their medical practice. That's why they need to be compensated at fair, market rates.

"We're oftentimes taking them away from their practice for a day or more," Lechleiter said. "It's a service that they're providing and they deserve compensation for that."

A handful of states and the District of Columbia already have disclosure laws for payments from drug companies to doctors. Those states are Minnesota, Vermont, West Virginia and Maine. None of those states require disclosure of payments from medical device makers.

Dr. Peter Lurie, deputy director of the health research group at Public Citizen, said the state laws can let patients know when their doctors have a connection to a drug firm, but the state laws are not working very well. The laws have various exemptions and sometimes don't even disclose the information to the public, he said.

Lurie was skeptical that Eli Lilly's announcement represented a step forward on the issue of more transparency in health care.

"There are dozens of pharmaceutical companies. This is just one of them. Most won't follow this guideline at all, and there will be no enforcement," Lurie said. "This is Ely Lilly's attempt to forestall the federal legislation by saying we're in effect complying anyway."

Public Citizen, a consumer advocacy group, also objects to the $500 threshold for reporting. Lurie said it should be much lower — $25 per gift.

"Most of what will wind up being disclosed is speaker's fees, consulting and research grants," Lurie said. "But most people want to know more than that. They want to know about meals, travel and that sort of thing. A lot of people will be cut out by the $500 annual limit."

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, applauded Eli Lilly's announcement, but he said he would continue to push for legislation that requires disclosure of physician payments by drug and medical device manufacturers.

"Consumers and taxpayers deserve a federal requirement that applies to all kinds of payments to physicians in every state in the nation," Grassley said.

Grassley's bill calls for penalties of $1,000 to $5,000 for failure to report a payment, with an annual cap of $250,000 for knowingly failing to report. The legislation would pre-empt state reporting requirements.

The trade group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, has expressed support for Grassley's bill in the past.

Ken Johnson, senior vice president for the drug makers' trade group, said payments to physicians are an important part of the effort to inform health care providers about such things as new treatment options, appropriate dosing and potential interactions with other drugs.

"We believe that improving transparency in such interactions is a laudable, but complex, goal," Johnson said. "Any steps toward transparency should be structured in a way that would not chill these important exchanges."

Under Lilly's plan, the public will be able to access a listing of payments through an Internet database. The registry will be updated annually to reflect the previous year's payment information.

I agree that the threshold should be lower; lower enough to include a meal. When was the last time a meal cost YOU $500 or more?

the jawas

This link was posted by a friend of mine... thought I'd share.

he lived...

When Hurricane Ike was ready to hit the coast of Texas, CNN and Fox reported of a man who would not evacuate one of the hardest hit areas, Surfside Beach.  Ray Wilkinson is his name, although they didn't share that information early on; I sat and wondered if he made it or not.

He did make it according to this article.  I'm sure that my method of riding it out would have been more prayer and less beer, but of course I would have never stayed anyway.  Tornadoes are scary enough here in Tennessee, much less a storm that has similar winds but sustained for a longer amount of time.  No thank you!

prebiotics

Bottle-Fed Babies Can Avoid Allergies with Prebiotics

By Maureen Williams, ND

Healthnotes Newswire (August 14, 2008)—When it comes to protecting newborns from allergies, breast-feeding is best, but recent research provides good news for mothers who are unable or choose not to breast-feed: A new study found that young children of parents with allergies were less likely to develop allergies if they received formula with prebiotics—supplements that support the growth of healthy bacteria in the large intestine—during infancy.

Making bottle milk resemble breast milk

The study, published in the Journal of Nutrition, included 134 bottle-fed babies at increased risk of developing allergies because one or both of their parents had allergies. They were fed a hypoallergenic infant formula supplemented with either a combination of 90% galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) and 10% fructo-oligosaccharides (FOS) or placebo for the first six months of life and were followed for two years.

Oligosaccharides are short chains of sugars found in plant foods and breast milk. The healthy bacteria that colonize the human large intestine rely on these sugars to grow and reproduce. The combination of GOS and FOS used in this study was chosen because its effect on intestinal bacterial growth is similar to that of human breast milk.

Lasting benefits

The two-year-old children who had received the oligosaccharide-supplemented formula during infancy were less likely to have experienced allergies than the children who did not. They were half as likely to have had eczema, one-third as likely to have had recurrent wheezing, and one-seventh as likely to have had hives as children in the placebo group. They also had fewer upper respiratory tract infections such as ear, throat, and sinus infections, and fewer prescriptions for antibiotics.

“This is the first follow-up study, to our knowledge, showing that an early dietary intervention results in dual prevention for infection and allergy and that both effects last beyond the intervention period,” the study’s authors said.

Help for a growing problem

A dramatic rise in the incidence of allergies has been noted worldwide over the past few decades. Experts believe there are a number of reasons for this trend, including changes in diet and hygiene that affect the microflora of the lower intestine. Given that one of every two children with a parent with allergies will also have allergies by age two, this trend is likely to continue unless effective prevention strategies are identified.

“The first six months of life is a critical period for the developing immune system,” commented lead study author Dr. Sertac Arslanoglu of the Center for Infant Nutrition, Macedonio Melloni Hospital, University of Milan. “Breast-feeding is the best way to ensure healthy development of the immune system, but for parents who cannot breast-feed, an oligosaccharide-fortified infant formula appears to strengthen the immune system by positively influencing the balance of intestinal bacteria. This effect on the immune system seems to have lasting benefits for the health of the child.”

I have to say it makes me feel great that 6 months is coming as far as breastmilk goes... not him growing up so fast...

you can burn a homeless man

I'm pooped today. Literally. I sit here day after day in front of this screen and try to weigh out my life. What am I doing? Where am I going? What is going to happen? Why is life passing by so quickly? Is my house going to sell? Am I going to get out of debt? Blah, blah, blah. I read an article in the paper today about a homeless man here in Nashville who was sleeping on the cold sidewalk last winter (a year ago), and a 30 year old man who claims to have been intoxicated decided to throw a lighted match on him. He was on fire from the waist down. He spent about 6 months in the hospital, and he's mentally ill (schizophrenia). The man guilty of such a heinous act? Found guilty and sentenced to PROBATION. Yes, that's right. PROBATION. I cannot fathom such a thing. If the man laying on the sidewalk had been the mayor of a prominent city? Or what about the child of the richest people in the city? I'm floored. Anyway. Society today is governed and defined by riches and wealth. All around me I see it... and it leaches its way toward me most of the time. Anyway. That's all for now.