Hospice
I was very surprised to find out that hospice was first start in about 1967. It seems like it would have been something that should have been in place for a lot longer.
It took a little convincing but my father agreed to have hospice come in. Right now they are only coming to his house for visits twice a week. They evaluated him for it last week, however he has drastically gone downhill since then. I visited him yesterday and he is so weak and frail he can’t even stand. They have him on morphine for the pain and are trying to find something to give him so he can eat, he can’t hold anything down. He’s got sleeping pills so he is finally getting a little sleep. The family has been gathering there to help and to help him tie up loose ends. It’s difficult to see him dying like he is. The doctors give him at most 5 months, but in his present condition I doubt we’ll have him for another 5 weeks. It is my hope to have hospice reevaluate his condition and be there for 8 hour shifts. He’s also on oxygen now and needs more medical aide.
I thank hospice for what they are doing, and for helping all of us to let him go with as much dignity a person can have in this condition.
Melamine in Our Infant Formula
They announced on the news today that traces of melamine were found in a couple of our infant formulas. Good Start was named and Enfamil Lipil.
My dear grandson has been drinking the Enfamil Lipil since the first week of October. They haven’t said they are recalling the formula probably because the FDA doesn’t know what the safe amount is of Melamine that an infant can have without being harmed.
Over 53,000 babies in China were sickened by the chemical that was intentionally added to the formula over there. Four or Five died from it.
We’ve got a call in to a nurse we work with however with Thanksgiving tomarrow, I doubt she’ll get the message to get back to us. With the FDA not reacting I’m sure the answer from the medical community will be that it’s only trace amounts and not to worry. Somehow that doesn’t make us feel any better.
Bad Bosses Linked to Heart Attacks
A recent study which followed men for ten years reveiled that those that worked for mean or otherwise incompetent bosses were 64% more likely to have heart attacks both fatal and mild.
The reason is that such bosses who don’t value or appreciate their workers add stress on the worker who then is likely to adopt a less than healthy lifestyle.
This is no wonder. When you feel belittled and undervalued day after day it does take a toll on your self esteem. Add to that feeling trapped in the job because of the bad economy does not help.
I have seen too many bosses who don’t have a clue on how to inspire or motivate their workers. You can almost see the invisible whip as they yell more, more, better, better. I have worked for bosses where you can give them 199 great pieces of work and make a mistake on the 200th, and all you hear about is that one that’s a mistake.
Well, Here We Go Already
If the federal government mandates that all Americans have health insurance, two health insurance industry leaders say that they will insure everybody regardless of disability or illness.
They further say that people will wait until they are very ill before getting insurance unless the government requires it. This is said to be in-line with what Obama wants. The only difference is that Obama wants to start slow only madating coverage for children for now, whereas the insurance leaders want it to include adults too.
Of course the insurance industry wants everyone to be forced to join them. Money, money, money! The fact remains as one of the uninsured I can tell you, I have no more money now for insurance than I did before Obama was elected. So what’s in our future now? An army of homeless, hungry, but medically insured people?
Medicare Drug Plan
Today is the first day of the six week period that seniors have to select their Medicare drug plan, that’s Medicare part D. It’s changed as far as some drug charges so it’s a major project once again. All seniors should sign up for one of these plans because if you don’t you may have to pay very expensive penalties later on if you do need to use it to get medication.
The government has a website to guide you through the selection, however that can be confusing also. Terry Savage has written an article with a step by step guide to using the government website so my advice is to follow this link and use Terry’s guide.
Hospital Bacteria
A nasty bacteria call Clostridium difficile or C. diff. is making more hospital patients sick than formally thought. 1 in 100 get it and it leads to severe diarrhea, pain, and nausea. It can also cause failure of the colon and even death. The problem seems to be in all hospitals evenly acrosse the board and the answer or at least part of the answer is better hand washing for hospital staff.
A little over 7,000 patients will get the bacteria and about 300 of them will die from complications related.
The problem with this bacteria is that it can live on hard surfaces for months and the only thing that can kill them is bleach. Hospitals only use bleach when an infection has already broken out.
Most hospitals already have stations in every room of an antibacterial hand washing solution, but this particular bacteria is immune to it. Washing hands with soap and water doesn’t kill them either but what it does is help to rinse the spores off of the hands and down the drains.
Update
Sorry for the silence this past week. We lost our modem and had to switch services, we’ve just been hooked back up this morning.
My father had a CAT Scan and they rushed him up the waiting list for the colonoscopy. My parents tell me he’s got a mass in the colon and cancer cells in three of his organs. My sister, however had a chance to sneak a peek at his doctors report and tells me he’s got cancer throughout his entire body. All his major organs have tumors and he’s so weak he can barely lift his arms. He’s waiting to see an oncologist, but I think we all know the immediate outcome of this situation.
My mothers been so sick this past year, he’s been ignoring his own aches, pains, and fatigue, and now it’s seems it’s probably too late.
We’re talking about what’s to be done upon his death and planning his funeral, per his insistance. Nothing has been harder.
I appreciate the fact that they got him in for the colonoscopy early, but the subject now seems moot.
China Cracking Down on Melamine Eggs
China says it’s cracking down on feed manufacturers after finding melamine tainted eggs. This melamine hunt came about after finding melamine in pet food and animal feed.
China says they have closed 238 animal feed companies and have destoyed over 3600 tons of tainted feed. Those that are discovered dealing in melamine tainted feed will lose their business licenses and face criminal charges and prosecution.
It makes you wonder how widespread this melamine contamination goes. It’s already killed several infants and sickened tens of thousands of others. Now we find that it’s been used in animal feed, and who knows what else.
Even if the people who did this were not aware of the terrible health problems melamine poses, they certainly did know that they were diluting the original product and at the very least cutting the quality. With it in the feed will it be in the meat that people will eat? I’m sure we’ll have an answer to that very soon.
Melamine and Halloween Candy
Melamine is the chemical that is making all those babies in China sick. It makes milk look like it has more protein than it actually does so that the manufacturer can stretch out the original product.
Canada has issued a warning about Sherwood Brands chocolate coins sold in 840 gram packages that contain 240 pieces. Lot code is 1928S1 and UPC code 0 36077 11240 7. Sherwood Brands says this applies to Canada only and none have been shipped to the US.
They say that chocolate is not being shipped to the US from China since the melamine was discovered, and that all of it’s products are tested for Melamine before being shipped to Canada and the US.
Cadbury has taken several products off the market in Austrailia, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, but said the products in the US and Canada are safe.
Although no candy has been cited the FDA warns against consuming this list of products.
- Koala’s March Crème filled Cookies
- YILI Brand Sour Milk Drink
- YILI Brand Pure Milk Drink
- Blue Cat Flavored Drinks
- White Rabbit Candies
- Mr. Brown Mandehling Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Arabica Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Blue Mountain Blend Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Caramel Macchiato Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown French Vanilla Instant Coffee (3-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Mandheling Blend instant Coffee (2-in-1)
- Mr. Brown Milk Tea (3-in-1)
Of course do not use any infant formula that’s made in China
Women and Their Sexual Problems, Oh Well
I had to laugh when I read this report. Sorry, I know this is a serious issue, but duh!
This study says that about 40% of all women suffer some kind of sexual dysfunction, but only 12% of them are upset about it. The numbers reflect that
“The highest prevalence of sexual dysfunction was in older women, but they experienced less associated distress,” Shifren said. “The most distress occurred at mid-life, and the youngest women had the lowest prevalence of problems and of associated distress.”
First, woman do not have the same sexual drive as men do, because males are made to continue procreation till old age and death, whereas womens bodies tell them after they are no longer to bare children to not be concerned about it. However what our bodies make us feel and what we conciously want to be able to feel are sometimes two different things.
Middle age women are most likely the most distressed because of a touch of middle age crises, it’s a sign of getting old and of course that’s distressing. Also middle age and older woman no longer have to take care of little ones who take up all their waking time and drain them of most of their energy so there’s room for little else, now that they have the time I can see where it must be upsetting that they don’t have the drive.
The two main dysfunctions they are citing are the inability to climax and the lack of desire. Most likely to my way of thinking, it’s men that tell women that their lack of desire is a problem. Men don’t understand that sex is not as high a priority for women as it is for them.