DETERMINED MOM FIGHTS BACK AGAINST DIABETES

Every year, for the month of May, New York Times and USA Today Best-selling Author Brenda Novak runs an online auction for diabetes research. The auction takes a full year to
plan and pull off, but it’s a labor of love—an effort to help all the people who, like her youngest son, suffer from diabetes. Her very first auction ran in 2005. It started small but
has grown every year by leaps and bounds.

         Yearly totals to date:
              2005 - $34,98
              2006 - $62,705

2007 - $141,700
2008 - $252,300
2009 - $270, 611
2010 - $303,000

The Brenda Novak Online Auction for Diabetes Research is the biggest online event for diabetes research in the world. Each year, with the help of generous donors--which include some of the biggest and brightest stars in publishing, like Debbie Macomber, Nicholas Sparks, Nora Roberts, James Patterson, Diana Gabaldon, Michael Connelly and John Grisham--Brenda offers up over 2400 fabulous items, creating a shopper’s paradise. As a cumulative total, she’s raised $1,055,780.
But the auction is more than your everyday charity gala. It’s a blast to participate in--a real community. We do drawings and give away prizes. Shoppers quickly become donors and donors quickly become shoppers. It’s an outstanding fundraising model!

Who or What is Responsible?

Ever since Adam and Eve had one son, Cain killed their other son Able the world's parents have had children that stray from their teachings. Sometimes the parents have taught by example and by word what is moral, right, and just. Other times either the parent is ill, passed away, or incapacitated in some way to where they are unable to do the job that is their privelege. And then there are children that are abandoned or live in abusive or currupt situations without parents or whose parents are compromised from previous generations or other influences.

Medical Non-Compliance = Murder in Massachussetts

 A visit to a medical doctor frequently results in the patient leaving with a prescription for medication. Not all patients fill the prescription at a pharmacy. 20-30% of prescriptions in the US are never filled.

One factor to consider is the increasing popularity for alternative medicine, either in place of or conjunction with regimens outlined by a medical doctor. Many hospitals and clinics across the nation are combining conventional medicine with complementary treatments. Not so for pediatric cancer patients.

Depression is also a risk factor in non-compliance.

Other major medication non-compliance issues include: 

·        discontinuing taking your medication prematurely,

·        not filling or refilling a prescription due to:

·        finances, 

·        preference for self care measures other than medication, 

·        perceived lack of benefit

·        convenience

·        denial.

A study done at Ohio State University published by the American Medical Association in 2008 showed a rate of 48 percent  non-compliance with Pediatric Cancer Regimen with depressed patients. There would have been a national outcry of rage if those families had been tried for attempted murder.

A similar situation  exists with Kristin LaBrie, a mother of an autistic child who is being treated for depression. The jury convicted her of the murder of her son Jeremy Fraser because she did not give all of the medications ordered for his non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. The chance that his death was caused by non-compliance (85% - 90 % survival rate with full compliance of all 5 stages of chemotherapy)  is as high as the chance that diagnosis of Leukemia (1 in 10 patients develop a second cancer within 10 years after receiving chemotherapy) was actually caused by the chemotherapy prescribed by the doctor.

Our society has regressed. Kristin LaBrie is from Salem, Massachusetts home of the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. This is one of our nations most tarnishing events. The 319 years of advancements in technology, medicine, and a democratic government don't seem to have overcome the misogynistic treatment of women.

Killer Synthetic Drugs

Synthetic substances that mimic marijuana, cocaine and other illegal drugs are making users across the nation seriously ill, causing seizures and hallucinations and even killing some people.

At least 2,700 people have fallen ill since January, compared with fewer than 3,200 cases in all of 2010. At that pace, medical emergencies related to synthetic drugs could go up nearly fivefold by the end of the year.

The recent surge in activity has not gone unnoticed by authorities. The Drug Enforcement Administration recently used emergency powers to outlaw five chemicals found in synthetic pot, placing them in the same category as heroin and cocaine.

But manufacturers are quick to adapt, often cranking out new formulas that are only a single molecule apart from the illegal ones.

Recreational drugs created in the laboratory have been around at least since the middle of the 20th century, when LSD was first studied. But these latest examples emerged only a few years ago, starting in Europe.

The products were typically made in China, India and other Asian nations and soon arrived in Britain and Germany, according to DEA spokesman Rusty Payne.

Reports of misuse are widespread.

In Kentucky, authorities say a young woman driving on a highway after using bath salts became convinced her 2-year-old was a demon. She allegedly stopped the car and dropped the child on his head. He survived and was taken from his mother's custody.

A Hawaii man pleaded guilty to attacking his girlfriend and trying to throw her off an 11th-floor balcony while high on "Spice."

In January, a Fulton, Miss., man who hallucinated after taking bath salts used a hunting knife to slit his face and stomach.

March, a 19-year-old man named Trevor Robinson-Davis died in suburban Minneapolis after overdosing at a party on a synthetic drug called 2C-E, a "cousin" to a banned rave-party drug. Ten others at the party became ill.

 Synthetic Drugs Glossary:

The term 'drugs' was originally used for dried plants, or parts thereof, that were used as pharmaceuticals directly or following the extraction of active ingredients. Today the term is also used to refer to substances of herbal or synthetic origin which, by acting on the central nervous system, may cause a state of mind different from what is considered normal. Consequently, the modern definition of the term 'drugs' includes pharmaceuticals, tobacco and alcohol, as well as controlled substances and designer drugs. Natural drugs are active ingredients, secondary metabolic products, of plants and other living systems, that may be isolated by extraction (morphine). Semi-synthetic drugs are products from natural sources, they have to undergo a chemical process (heroin, LSD). Synthetic drugs are artificially produced substances for the illicit market which are almost wholly manufactured from chemical compounds in illicit laboratories (amphetamine, benzodiazepines). Designer drugs are substances whose molecular structure has been modified in order to optimize their effect on the one hand, and in order to by-pass laws and regulations governing the control of substances on the other hand. Once designer drugs have been outlawed by the competent authorities they are called controlled substances (2 C-1). Bills making synthetic marijuana and synthetic cocaine illegal in Pennsylvania were passed unanimously Tuesday Feb. 15, 2011. In Louisiana municipalities did the same. Minnesota Schools discussed the matter in January 2011 due to the alarming increase of misuse. .

SAVE THE CHILD by Margaret Turley http://margaretturley.com P... on Twitpic

SAVE THE CHILD by Margaret Turley http://margaretturley.com P... on Twitpic

New Super Bug on East Coast and California

  New Super Bug  CRKP

Other Super Bugs: MRSA - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus .

VRE - Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci

What to do to avoid these deadly infections:

Vitamin D and Probiotics 

Other vitamins and supplements of significance for fighting of viruses and bacterial infections:  Beta Carotine/vitamin A, Vitamin C, all antioxidants.

Another product known for antimicrobial activity is Tea Tree Oil.


When prescribed - take the entire course of antibiotics.  Take probiotics along with the antibiotics to prevent overgrowth of harmful fungi and bacteria.

Don't use antibiotics except for in life threatening circumstances.

Natural immune stimulants include: colloidal silver, garlic.


Wash hands, do not touch open wounds, treat any break in the skin. (your bodies best defense). Wash soiled linens in hot water with germicidal agents.

Don't visit immune suppressed individuals (cancer patients, babies, elderly) when you have a cold. It can be fatal for them. Avoid hospitals when at all possible - they are a petri dish for mega super bugs.

Remember to seek professional help from your physician for any unusual symptoms, or illness that are not improving.

What We Can Do to Help Japan

Our hearts go out to Japan as it rocks from the devastating tsumami, earthquake and resultant nuclear crisis. Many international organizations are available to help. When we feel helpless, but still want to help in any way possible, please consider the following:


AMERICAN RED CROSS: Emergency Operation Centers are opened in the affected areas and staffed by the chapters. This disaster is on a scale larger than the Japanese Red Cross can typically manage. Donations to the American Red Cross can be allocated for the International Disaster Relief Fund, which then deploys to the region to help. Donate here.

GLOBALGIVING: Established a fund to disburse donations to organizations providing relief and emergency services to victims of the earthquake and tsunami. Donate here.

CONVOY OF HOPE: Disaster Response team established connection with in-country partners who have been impacted by the damage and are identifying the needs and areas where Convoy of Hope may be of the greatest assistance. Donate here.

INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS: Putting together relief teams, as well as supplies, and are in contact with partners in Japan and other affected countries to assess needs and coordinate our activities. Donate here.

SHELTER BOX: The first team is mobilizing to head to Japan and begin the response effort. Donate here.

My personal choice to donate for humanitarian aide to Japan is with my church: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints - The Mormons. Members and friends of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints often express interest in helping financially when natural disasters strike. The emergency response efforts of the Church in Japan and throughout the world are funded through the Humanitarian Aid Fund.  Those wishing to provide resources to the Church for these important initiatives may contribute to this fund.
Donate to LDS Humanitarian aid for Japan .

As we saw in Haiti - The US Navy is assisting in Japan. Support our troups as they aide the world.

'The Waterfall Concept' gives LDS addicts a blueprint for recovery | Mormon Times

'The Waterfall Concept' gives LDS addicts a blueprint for recovery | Mormon Times

Nurses at Risk for PTSD

PTSD is an occupational hazard for nursing. It is estimated that up to 14 percent of the overall general nursing population experience symptoms that meet the criteria to be diagnosed with PTSD, which is 4 times higher than the general adult population.
Critical care and emergency department (ED) nurses have a higher incidence of PTSD symptoms. As many as 25 percent of critical care nurses 33 percent of ED nurses have screened positive for symptoms of PTSD. Contributing factors for these areas may be the repeated exposure to mortality and morbidity. Nurses in these specialty areas often have repeated exposure to both the victims of traumatic event, as nurses in these specialties witness more deaths.
Other groups of nurses considered especially vulnerable to PTSD are military nurses, nurses in labor and delivery units, as well as those who are first responders to respond to disasters and may witness multiple deaths in one event. Among many other traumatic events that contribute to nurses developing PTSD are occupational hazards such as needlesticks and threats of violence from the patient and family members.
Another closely related problem is fatigue - a reality in nursing. Every day, during every shift, nurses can experience fatigue of their minds, bodies and spirits. Workload, work hours, work structures and many other factors can indirectly or directly cause fatigue in this professional group.
Professional, caring, competent, compassionate, and courageous nurses are what the public expects and the patients and families who entrust us with their care deserve. As nurses and nurse leaders, we have an obligation to be "fit for duty" when reporting to work, and a duty to construct and support healthy work environments for optimizing professional practice.
I believe this is probably why I am now retired from nursing. Not diagnosed as PTSD - but I have all the same symptoms described above after thirty four years of nursing.
I switched careers to writing - without the stress and worry that someone's life was in my hands. Instead I educate through blogs, writing articles, and books.

Choose to Live- Die in Hell/Choose to Die&leave your children motherless

12/22/10 NY TIMES

Arizona: Hospital Loses Catholic Affiliation

Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of Phoenix announced on Tuesday that St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center could no longer identify itself as Roman Catholic because it violated church teachings by ending a woman’s pregnancy in 2009. Hospital administrators said the procedure was necessary to save her life, and stood by their decision even after Bishop Olmsted excommunicated a nun on the hospital ethics committee. The hospital, which receives no money from the Phoenix diocese, can no longer hold Masses. But Catholics can continue to work and be treated there.

12/27/10 THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC

The Republic recognizes the bishop’s dedication and sincerity, but questions his compassion—particularly regarding the critical case in which an abortion was deemed necessary to save a woman’s life.

12/22/10 

OImsted also said that he was “very much worried” that the affair would divide the Catholic community and that he would “hope and pray” that the hospital would come back to full communion with the Church. “I’m very sad that this will happen, but it would be unfair to the people for me to make as if an institution was Catholic if it wasn’t following directives that are clearly known to them, given to them to serve them. I owe it to the faithful to know what’s happening there,” he said.

12/22/10 WASHINGTON POST

When an 11-weeks pregnant woman suffering serious health complications entered St. Joseph's Hospital, a Catholic medical center in Phoenix, Arizona last year, her care turned into a complicated tangle of moral wrangling that ended yesterday with the Bishop of Phoenix declaring that the hospital was no longer "Catholic."

12/21/10 THE GUARDIAN

"Tests showed that in the early stages of pregnancy her condition deteriorated rapidly and that before long her pulmonary hypertension - which can impair the working of the heart and lungs - had begun to seriously threaten her life. Doctors informed her that the risk of death was close to 100% if she continued with the pregnancy."

What happened to the protection that is mandated by HIPPA laws? Has Bishop Olmsted transgressed the law? Should he be prosecuted?

In general I am against abortion. But there are certain cases where the doctor deems the procedure medically necessary for the mother's health and the fetus is not going to be viable when it is delayed that the difficult decision must be made. Then it should be a private decision between the mother, and her healthcare professionals, assisted by her faith - and after that the law of the land.

Hopefully someday the law will uphold the rights of women to receive necessary medical care in all stages of life.

Julie Andrews at Radio City Music Hall

To commemorate her birthday , actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a special appearance at Manhattan 's  Radio   City   Music Hall  for the benefit of the AARP.

 

One of the musical numbers she performed was 'My Favorite Things'  from the legendary movie 'Sound Of Music'.   Here are the lyrics she used:
(Sing It!)  - If you sing it, its especially hysterical!!!    

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and  handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
   These are a few of my favorite things. 
Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
   These are a few of my favorite things. 
When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
  When the knees go bad, I simply remember my favorite things,
      And then I don't feel so bad. 
Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
     These are a few of my favorite things. 
Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
   When we remember our favorite things. 
When the joints ache, When the hips break,
      When the eyes grow dim,
  Then I remember the great life I've had,
       And then I don't feel so bad.  
(Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd  that lasted over four minutes and repeated encores. Please  share Ms. Andrews' clever wit and humor with others who  would appreciate it.)

Saving Youth From Sudden Cardiac Death

Nurse.com News by Tracy Boyd

Incidences of pediatric sudden cardiac death, or SCD, seem to occur more and more frequently. We hear of instances in the news at youth baseball games and high school sporting events across the country. The problem has garnered so much attention that New Jersey’s Saint Barnabas Health Care System recently hosted the conference “Saving Young Lives,” devoted to creating awareness about pediatric SCD.

“Sudden cardiac death is defined as a sudden unexpected death from a cardiovascular cause occurring within one hour of the onset of symptoms,” says Mary Beth Kearney, RN, MA, CCRN, CPNP, a clinical nurse specialist in pediatric cardiology at Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York in New Hyde Park. According to Kearney, who has lectured extensively and written articles on pediatric SCD, the overwhelming majority of SCD events in adolescents are arrhythmic, most often caused by primary electrical disorders and inherited arrhythmia syndromes, such as Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, long QT syndrome or Brugada syndrome. “In arrhythmic events, there is an abrupt loss of consciousness and pulselessness in the absence of other conditions,” she says.

Other conditions also play a part in pediatric SCD. “One of the most common causes of SCD in the young is a disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” says Denise Crosta, RN, MSN, APN, manager of pediatric cardiology at the Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center. “HCM occurs in one in 500 individuals, but is often unrecognized or misdiagnosed. In those cases, the presenting symptom could be sudden death.”

Cheryle Aizley, RN

Timing is Everything

Because these underlying conditions may not have been diagnosed, the problem only becomes known when the child collapses. In that instance, swift treatment is the only option and CPR becomes invaluable, says Cheryle Aizley, RN, APN-C, advanced practice nurse in pediatric critical care, pediatrics and pediatric sedation at Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark (N.J.) Beth Israel Medical Center. After being transported to the hospital, an interdisciplinary team springs into action. “The nursing, medical, respiratory therapy and pharmacy staff work together to stabilize the child and optimize his or her breathing and circulation,” Aizley says. “The team works together with the family and pediatric cardiac subspecialists to determine the cause and optimum treatment of the child’s condition. This generally includes electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, electroencephalogram, lab testing, a full health and family history and any other tests or treatments that the child’s condition requires.”

Similarly, the pediatric ED at Hackensack works closely with first responders in the community to ensure a seamless transition from the field to the ED, Crosta says. Once stabilized, the child would be moved to the pediatric ICU for further treatment and monitoring. The physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists and the rest of the healthcare team, which includes pediatric social workers and child life specialists, are specially trained in the needs of the critically ill child. “Any hospitalization can be traumatic, but an SCD event is life-altering, necessitating additional psychosocial support for the patient, family and sometimes the healthcare team,” she says.

Kearney agrees that optimal treatment comes from an interdisciplinary team of caregivers who treat not only the illness but also its psychological impact. “Cohen Children’s has a dedicated pediatric ED, a pediatric ICU and a pediatric cardiology department that forms a multidisciplinary team to investigate the probable cause, treatment options and screening of the whole family where indicated,” she says. “Emphasis is placed on the medical and psychological implications of such a catastrophic and life-changing event, which affects both the patient and the entire family.”

Staying ‘In the Know’

To educate the community, health professionals must be “in the know” when it comes to pediatric SCD. More than 350 participants attended the Saint Barnabas conference, which was a joint effort between four affiliates of the health system, including the Children’s Hospital of New Jersey at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center.

“Programs like the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy conference or the APN conference held at HUMC or the one held by Saint Barnabas affords attendees the opportunity to learn the information, ask questions as needed and have points clarified,” Crosta says. “In addition to these programs, departmental grand rounds is another educational source. At HUMC, sudden death and related topics have been presented at grand rounds on numerous occasions.”

The department of pediatric cardiology at Cohen Children’s provides education to the staff and the community on SCD. “Andrew Blaufox, MD, director of electrophysiology, has lectured extensively to the staff in the hospital and to community pediatricians in Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties on the topic of pediatric SCD,” Kearney says. “I myself have lectured on this topic to school nurses in Nassau and Suffolk, to the Nassau and Suffolk chapter of NAPNAP, as well as nursing grand rounds in the children’s hospital.”

Community Awareness

Although it seems pediatric SCD is becoming more and more prevalent, a child suffering from the condition is uncommon, Aizley says. “Sudden cardiac death is actually very rare in children,” she says. “Only about 500 to 1,000 cases are reported annually.” To help curb the number of incidences, ensuring that parents, teachers, coaches and other adults in the community are aware of pediatric SCD has become crucial to pediatric hospitals.

Saint Barnabas Health Care System’s “Playing with Heart” program offers free pediatric cardiac screenings based on American Heart Association recommendations to young athletes ages 6 to 18 throughout New Jersey. Staffed by pediatric cardiologists, each screening includes ECG testing of players and provides their parents or guardians with immediate results. If initial results identify a need for further testing, players are referred to their primary care provider for a referral to an appropriate specialist. In addition, the health system offers a CPR Training Center with more than 200 affiliated instructors, some of whom are nurses, who provide CPR training at the request of schools and community groups and at health fairs.

Cohen Children’s Medical Center provides all parents and caregivers of infants in the hospital training in CPR and offers a baby-sitting program that teaches infant and child CPR to youth in the community. The North Shore-LIJ Health System has an Office of Community and Public Health Education that coordinates programs for athletic coaches in terms of prevention of injuries and use of CPR and AED. “Pediatric cardiology is involved in EKG and echo screenings at various middle schools and high schools throughout Nassau and Suffolk,” Kearney says.

Screening Leads to Prevention

Prevention of SCD is a complicated task that involves several areas: screening during a health history, restrictions on sports participation, patient-specific therapy for members of high-risk groups and the development of organized rescue programs, Kearney says. “Patient and family history is critical for diagnosing possible etiologies of diseases that cause pediatric sudden cardiac death.”

A family approach to protecting our children is the philosophy behind the Gregory M. Hirsch Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at HUMC, Crosta says. The center is committed to providing individualized care, treatment and support to patients and families with HCM. “Experts in cardiology, genetics, radiology, pathology, electrophysiology, child-life and social work services use an interdisciplinary approach to offer optimal patient care,” she says. “The center is the first facility established in the area to screen families for HCM.” This unique approach, Crosta says, enhances care and communication between medical staff and families — communication that could save a young person’s life.