Miscellaneous musings (time to clear out my head).

I can relate . . .
When I saw this morning's "Zits" I could so relate to it! The reason being that several weeks ago my doctor started me on both medication for my under active thyroid AND medication to lower my cholesterol. The effect that has is very similar to the mom in the cartoon in that I have killer hot flashes and just moderate exertion causes me to sweat like it's summer time -- never mind the fact that it's the dead of winter.

I'm going to try . . .

Early in the new year to obtain my General class Amateur Radio license. I received an e-mail from the American Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL) saying that in July, 2011 the question pool for the General class license will change which usually means it will become more difficult. Not to say I'm not up to a challenge, but why make something more difficult than it needs to be?

They made the ultimate sacrifice . . .

My sympathy goes out to the families of Chicago Firefighters Corey Ankum and Edward Stringer who made the ultimate sacrifice last week when they were killed by a roof collapse that occurred while they were searching a vacant warehouse that had caught on fire. Not to get on my soapbox, cause this could be a blog all to itself, but how many more firefighters have to die before the ICs (Incident Commanders) realize that sometimes a search of an abandoned building is not worth the potential loss of life?

Until next time . . .

Remembering the fallen

Eleven (11) years ago today the fire service as a whole and the fire department of Worcester, Massachusetts in particular were shaken by the death of six (6) firefighters in cold-storage warehouse building in Worcester. Making the ultimate sacrifice that day were:

1. F/F Paul Brotherton, age 41

2. Lt. Jeremiah Lucey, age 38

3. Lt. Thomas Spencer, age 42

4. F/F Timothy Jackson, age 51

5. F/F James Lyons, age 34

6. F/F Joseph McGuirk, age 38

My hope is, after reading this, you will take a minute and say a prayer for the families of these men and for those who everyday put their lives on the line to protect our lives and our property.

May their sacrifice that fateful night never be forgotten

Until next time . . .

What was it?

Normally, I don't waste time commenting on conspiracy theories espoused by the extreme right . . . but, after what I read yesterday, I felt the need to insert my 2.5 cents. Two weeks ago - Monday, November 8, 2010 - a camera crew from KCBS in Los Angeles shot the above video of a "mystery contrail" over the California coast. Within two or three days of the occurrence, the Pentagon determined that the so-called "mystery missle" wasn't a missle at all . . . but the contrail from a jetliner flying along the California coast. Explained Pentagon spokesman Colonel David Lapan: "With all the information that we have gathered over the last day and a half about this condensation trail ("contrail") off the coast of southern California Monday night, both within the Department of Defense and other U.S. government agencies, we have no evidence to suggest this was anything other than a contrail caused by an aircraft." CASE CLOSED.

Enter the conspiracy theorist

Not satisfied with the official - and quite plausible - explanation of what occurred, the conspiracy theorist began propagating their own theories -- the latest of which was released this past weekend in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin (http://g2bulletin.wnd.com/) and states, without fear of correction, that  "the exhaust and billowing plume emanated from a single source nozzle of a missile." My question is why are these folks trying to re-start the Cold War?

The conspiracy theorist didn't just say it was a missile, no, they also named the country they thought it originated from and why. According to Mr. Farah "the missile was fired from a submerged Chinese nuclear submarine off the west coast of the United States" Unless he was actually present in the alleged submarine, how could he say with any degree of credibility that it was launched from the same? Not only does Mr. Farah offered his idea what was seen, but why: "the alleged missile shot coincided with an increasing confrontation between the U.S. and China, and was likely meant to send a message to Washington." 


Oh, really Mr. Farah? I'll tell you what I think it was. Folks who had nothing better to do took a perfectly innocent, non-threatening, incident and used it as another attempt to bash the Obama White House.

Until next time . . .

Thoughts on pre-term birth from a preemie who made it (Part II)

Yesterday I posted part I of "Thoughts on pre-term birth from a preemie who made it". Today I will conclude with part II including sharing what it's look to be born pre-term AND have hydrocephalus. Today we'll start by taking a look at the medical conditions that might increase the risk that a woman will experience pre-term labor. These include:

1. Diabetes
2. High blood pressure & preeclampsia*
3. Infections (urinary, vaginal, sexually transmitted; possibly others)
4. Blood clotting disorders (thrombophilia)
5. Vaginal bleeding
6. Certain birth defects in the baby
7. Being pregnant with a single fetus after in vitro fertilization (IVF)
8. Being underweight prior to pregnancy
9. Obesity
10. Short-time period between pregnancies**


* Preeclampsia is a medical condition where hypertension arises in pregnancy in association with significant amounts of protein in the urine.


** Short-time period between pregnancies is less than six (6) to nine (9) months between birth and the beginning of the next pregnancy.

Can treatment prevent pre-term births?

Over the years, physicians have tried various strategies to help prevent pre-term delivery -- bed rest, intensive pre-natal care for high-risk women, and drug therapy to stop uterine contractions. As a rule, none of these are routinely effective, although the may help in some cases.

However - in 2003 - two encouraging studies concluded that treatment with the hormone progesterone*** reduced the incidence of pre-term birth in women who had suffered a previous pre-term birth. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends that progesterone  (sometimes called 17P)  be given when a woman is currently pregnant with one baby, and she previously delivered a baby before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy; either labor began on its own, without the use of drugs or other methods, or the membranes surrounding the baby in the woman's uterus ruptured too soon.

Today women who develop pre-term labor prior to 34-weeks are often treated with one of several drugs called tocolytics. These drugs can often delay delivery for about forty-eight (48) hours -- allowing doctors extra time to treat the expectant mom with corticosteroid drugs. The corticosteroids speed up the maturation of fetal lungs - and other organs - reducing the risk of death and serious complications associated with prematurity including respiratory distress syndrome and bleeding in the brain.


*** Progesterone (also known as P4) is a C-21 steroid hormone involved in the female menstrual cycle, pregnancy (supports gestation), and embryogenesis. 

Conclusion

I hope that you've found my blog educational and easy to read. Even though I am a surviving preemie, I learned quite a bit myself.

Me around age two.

I promised to share a little about my experience. I was born four (4) weeks pre-term and tipped the scales at exactly four pounds. As if that wasn't bad enough - and as I mentioned above - I had the early signs of hydrocephalus which continued to develop during the six (6) weeks before my mom and dad could take me home. Combine these two medical conditions and you have a REALLY good picture of what a bad shape I was in. Despite this (and because of LOTS of love and prayers I received) I was one of the lucky preemies who survived and thrived! Now I'm 47 years-old and semi-retired (due to osteo-arthritis) helping to spread the word that there is hope!

Until next time . . .




. .

Thoughts on pre-term birth from a preemie who made it (Part I)

To look at my picture at left, you would never think I was born pre-term and weighed in at a meager four (4) pounds -- but it's true. When I was born on Thursday, October 24, 1963, I entered this world, not only pre-term, but I had the early signs of Hydrocephalus . . . a condition which was almost always fatal. More about me later . . .promise!

What is pre-term birth?

In humans, the usual definition of pre-term birth is a birth that occurs prior to 37 weeks gestation. In the case of a "premature" infant, that is one that has not yet reached the level of fetal development that would generally allow life outside the womb. In a normal human fetus, several organ systems mature between the 34th and 37th weeks, and the fetus reaches adequate maturity by the end of the 37th week. One of the main organs that is most affected by pre-term birth is the lungs which are one of the last organs to develop inside the womb. Because of this, pre-term babies typically spend their first days / weeks on a ventilator.

It's estimated that in a single 24-hour period, more than 1,400 babies in the United States will be born prematurely. Many of these will be too small and too sick to go home. Instead, they will face weeks (or possibly months) in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit (NICU). Although these babies face a higher risk of serious medical complication and, possibly, death, most will eventually make it home.

Who is at risk?

Pre-term labor and delivery can affect any pregnant woman, however, it happens more often to some women than others. Researchers continue to study pre-term labor and birth, but still can't predict which women will give birth too early. So far three (3) groups have been determined to be at greatest risk:

1. Women who have had a previous pre-term birth.

2. Women who are pregnant with twins, triplets, or more.

3. Women who have certain uterine or cervical abnormalities.

In addition, some studies have also found that certain lifestyle factors may place a woman at higher risk of pre-term labor. These include:

1. Late or no pre-natal care.
2. Smoking
3. Consumption of alcohol.
4. Use of illegal or "recreational" drugs
5. Exposure to the medication DES.
6. Domestic violence including physical, sexual, or emotional abuse.
7. Lack of social support
8. Extremely high stress levels
9. Long working hours with long periods of standing.
10. Exposure to certain environmental pollutants.


There is much more information that I want to present, however, doing so in a single blog would make it a pain to read. For that reason, tomorrow, I will post the second part of "Thoughts on pre-term birth from a preemie who made it."


Until next time . . .