Children’s Treatment Rights
There was a story not too long ago about a 13 year old boy who had cancer. His parent decided after one chemo treatment that they didn’t want any more for their son. They cited religious reasons why they stopped the treatments. The doctors reported them and a judge ruled that he get the chemo. Mom took off with the boy to hide him, but eventually came back.
The update on this story is that the boy has had his first treatment since being back, and he’s not doing well on it at all.
This story is important to all of us because we could be in the same situation one day. We need to be clear about our stance on this issue. How old doea a child have to be before it becomes their own choice. Does the law see that the answer to that question is the same as our answer to it?
How much control do we have as parents? Do we obey the law or do what we feel is best for our children?
Sentenced For Spreading HIV
A former martial arts instructor has been sentenced to a 45 year jail term for intentionally spreading HIV to several woman without telling them he was infected. The women are now HIV positive and are of course not very happy about it.
Wow, that’s really an awful thing to do to another human being. I just have one question. What about the responsibility of the woman who willingly engaged in sex with a man they didn’t know, or didn’t know well? Are these women stupid? They’ve never heard of sexuallly tranmitted diseases before? I don’t feel too sorry for them if the sex was of mutual consent.
Yes he should have told them, and no, they don’t deserve HIV, no one does. However for each of us, it’s our job to be educated and informed about our decisions.
China Fighting Smoking
China wants to put gruesome pictures of bleeding brains, rotten lungs, and other signs of smokers to deter people from smoking, They believe that the youth of China would think twice after seeing what can happen from smoking.
Well here’s a heads up China. I’m a smoker and I’ve seen all those photos and I’m still smoking. If you want to deter kids from taking up the nasty habit, don’t have the kids around role models who smoke. This would include parents, siblings, and classmates. If a child grows up in a house that is host to smokers, the child will think it’s OK to do and maybe even expected of them.
Likewise, if they grow up in a house of non smokers and people who put down smiking they will be less likely to even try it.
China ia a large country with a large population of smokers. Good luck with your ugly pictures.
Swine Flu Numbers
I’m looking occasionally at the numbers of folks who have caught swine flu and died from it. What I’m seening is headlines saying that the number of dead from swine flu are on the rise, when in fact we’re talking about four or five more people.
I know that it kills even healthy young people and I know if you’re near someon who has it, its easy to catch, but knowing that a regular flu kills 136,000 a year, I find that the numbers of swine flu cases just don’t impress me.
Now don’t get me wrong, I think that it’s more than wise to error on the side of caution. The main thing is the handwashing and the avoiding of the spreading of germs. That is not only useful in avoiding the flu but so many other germs and diseases. Too many people do not think it’s a big deal and that’s why we have so many food recalls.
So, while this might not be a pandemic, you should still be careful and mindful of your personal habits and the habits of those around you.
Buriel Finally
On this coming Monday we are finally putting my parents ashes into their graves. I had a lot of problems with the insurance, which did just pay.
I am still, and will probably always be haunted by the final days my father had to endure, and I am still asking why he had to suffer like he did.
They can put people into comas, or other drugs, that will take their minds far away from the prison of pain and suffering they may be in. So why don’t they?
It seems to me that they don’t want to take away their awareness, so they could say goodbye. Well I don’t know about you, but I’d be willing to sign a paper that says if I have cacer and can’t respond, please knock me out. If my final awarness only knows the pain and suffering I’d rather skip it.
There are thousands of people in their final days, won’t someone speak for them?
More on Swine Flu
The World Health Organization has decided that they will not be declaring the swine flu outbreak as a pandemic. They say that it will not help governments to fight the flu any better.
They and others were sure throwing that word around a lot when the outbreak first started. I was expecting thousands of dead within the first few weeks. However, I’m glad it didn’t come to pass. People are still getting it and some are still dying, but at a handful at a time.
Don’t forget that it’s still here, but don’t loose your heads about it either.
Medical Residents and Sleep
I have watched my share of medical shows on TV and one of the things you learn from these shows is that doctors in training work very long shifts, somtimes 24, 36, or even more hours straight. That has always worried me. As a patient walking into an ER, I don’t want an overtired doctor working on me.
There are plenty of other jobs where there are limits on the amount of hours they can work in a shift and in a pay period, like airline pilots, air traffic control, and truck driviers, to name a few. Seems to me doctors should be right up there in that list.
Beside money, which is always the very bottom line, the other reasoning for these long shifts is that when a person comes in and is seen by one of the doctors, tests have to be done and most of the time these tests take hours. If a doctor or resident only works 8 to 10 hour shifts, they may be off duty by the time the test results come back, which means another doctor would be on duty and not familiar with the case.
I’m not sure whether I agree that it’s a valid point for working long shifts, but I do know that I find it troublesome that doctors know the body needs the proper amount of sleep and yet they go about life without it themselves.
They do have restictions on shift hours, however they are still too long, and if one life is lost because of this it’s one life too many. Stick to a max of 16 hours at a time, and call it a day.