New Strain of Swine Flu concern here in TX/Around the globe

It sounds like we are really in a spot of the unknown when it comes to this new strain of swine flu. It looks like it began in Mexico, but now has spread in TX, CA, NY, and around the globe to other foreign nations. I realize the CDC does not want panic, but they have raised the level to "4", which 6 is the highest alert as far as a pandemic.

I know I am certainly concerned. I live not far from Dallas, and there are many people living here that commute and work in Dallas. So, between people that have relatives in Mexico and have visited... even our neighbors were there not too long ago, to those who could carry it here from their work place or from shopping in the Dallas area... it does worry me. Due to the fact that it is actually killing "healthy" people, and those in the age range of about from 25 to 45... what does that mean for the elderly, the small children, and those like myself with compromised immune systems? Since I have several autoimmune illnesses, including Lupus, Sjogren's and Mixed Connective Tissue disorder... anyone with a less than healthy immune situation certainly I would think could be at higher risk of contracting this new strain, as well as having a more difficult time trying to get over it.

Lots of links and updated information coming in... take care... try and stay out of public places, away from those that are coughing and sneezing... wash hands frequently, try and not put your hands around your eyes, mouth and nose, especially when out and about in town... if symptoms arise that you feel could be flu in nature, contact your doctor or ER immediately, let them know they symptoms, so they can be more prepared to be extra cautious when someone who is possibly infected comes into the office or hospital.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/swine.flu/index.html?eref=rss_topstories

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090428/ap_on_he_me/us_med_swine_flu_us_cases

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/city/dallas/stories/042809dnmetflulocal.3fde1ea.html


Take care and be extra cautious....

Wondering Why Texas has a Nut case for Govenor

Here is the URL:

http://www.alternet.org/story/138306/why_is_texas_so_psycho/

This guy is refusing help from the stimulus package to aid those have lost jobs. Then he makes ridiculous remarks at the "tea party" in Austin! Like Texas "seceding" from the other states! What a joke!!!!

Judge for yourself----

Urgent! Need Your Help with the National Pain Care Act!

Urgent! Need Your help with the National Pain Care Act!
Current mood: restless

Here is the latest on the National Pain Care Act! Please view the video, and then sign the petitions. One in 4 people in this country suffer needlessly with chronic daily pain. This video will make it clear that all of us as chronic pain victims need your help. Your help is desperately needed to get this bill passed through the Senate. Please take a few moments to watch the video below, and the other link will show you the bill, and where to sign the petition to your Senators.

I appreciate everyone, and hope you will be a part of this life changing, dire needed bill.

Rhia


Here are the Urls:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0pUVsvqjeQ

http://www.petitiononline.com/npcpa09/petition.html

A Revelation to fix our Broken Health Care System

This is a impressive talk by Debra Ness in front of Congress gives all of us a new perspective how the government needs to handle this broken system. She talks about getting those who need help the most, those with chronic illnesses, multiple chronic problems, that are often left out of the system. These people are the ones that never get to a Primary Care Doctor, so their options usually boil down to when they are so ill, they have no choice but to go the the ER. This runs up bills, does not give them the care they need for chronic ailments, and are extremely costly.

Please take a few minutes to listen to what she had to say to Congress:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3NPkrchD4Y&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalpartnership.org%2Fsite%2FPageServer%3Fpagename%3Dmm_0422_Testimony%26autologin%3Dtrue%26AddInterest%3D1342&feature=player_embedded


Here is also an article about it, with further information:

http://blog.aflcio.org/2009/04/21/health-care-reform-must-focus-on-patients-needs/#more-13038


There is much that needs to be done to provide health care to everyone, drive down the high costs of prescriptions, office visits, hospital stays, and our other needs for our good health.

We need much more research for possible cures... for so many illnesses. We still need much more in regard to Cancer, Stroke, and Heart Disease. But there are many other Chronic Illnesses that are far from having anything to even control the symptoms in a good way, much less is anyone near any type of possible cure.

Things like migraine headaches, Lupus, Mixed Connective Tissue Disorder, Degenerative Joint Disease, Type 1 and 2 diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis, plus hundreds of the diseases that leave patients with no quality of life, take them out of the work force due to being ill, they do not have access to maintance health care, they often are left with no answers, and truly no really promising news on the horizon of more medications to not only stop the symptoms, and surely no cure at all for any of them.

The figures are staggering of how much employee time is lost due to migraines alone. When you add in Chronic Pain, and many other illnesses that leave you basically unable to function, families, the patients, their incomes, the companies... all suffer.

I urge to also to take a look at this website. There is a great deal of information here about equal pay for women, time off for children's illnesses, plus many other subjects important to all.

http://www.nationalpartnership.org/site/PageServer

Please Join me for a worth cause
Current mood: distraught
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes

This card is just to say I am thinking of you, wishing you the best, hope that life is well with you and your family, & hope that what is going on with this world, this economy, the war, and so many more things that are not so great at this, are not impacting your life at all, or if so, just a little. I realize there are so many people that are facing "dire straits" in their lives. Each and every day we are overwhelmed with issues that can dramatically put more stress on us, than we already have.

From the continuance of war, realizing the threats of terrorism we face, job losses, illnesses, the global warming situation, losing homes, many people that have worked a lifetime watching their retirement go down the drain, a not just broken, but a health care system that is totally failing many of us, strange weather that has brought droughts, floods, hurricanes, tornado's, loss of crops to farmers, and for some taken it's toll by wiping out their home and all of their belongings.
We face rising gas prices, rising grocery prices, prescription medications that are almost impossible to afford without insurance, that is if you can afford the insurance, companies going down the tubes, higher credit card rates, which is totally unfair, people so stressed over life that they are to the point of hopelessness, taking their families lives, and then their own.
Each morning I awake, I wonder if the nightmare for so many around our nation, and the world will be able to recover, regroup, and once again have "normal" back into their lives. I continue to try and keep hope and faith alive in my life, as well as pray my family and friends can make it through the nightmare of what all hits them with the economic, financial, job, bills and home situation they face.

I have found reaching out to touch others is a small way I can let them know, there is someone out here that really cares.

I am an active voice Against Domestic Violence, and Chronic Pain and Illnesses. Many of you already know that. I am also active in trying to clean up our world, make it greener, and do the things I can do to stop global warming, polluting our water, soil and air... as I try to educate myself online about what other things I can do for our Mother Earth, and the people here.

I have a new group here on Care2. The main "subject" is about Chronic Pain and Illness. I thought about opening a 2nd group about Domestic Violence, but rather than do that and spread myself too thin, I decided my one group can be a voice for other things besides Chronic Pain. So, there are posts about other things, from Domestic Violence, being "greener", and other subjects that weigh upon not just my heart but yours.

I realize we get bombarded these days with blogs, groups, personal websites, twitter, messengers, MySpace, Facebook, and gosh, I have lost track of all of them. When chat and groups were first online, we have like one basic one, which was MSN. I believe Yahoo joined in, and from there, there is an epidemic of all kinds of places to find others like minded, discussions on everything from health to space, and they can take up a great deal of time for the "owners" of the groups etc... plus lots of time for members, if they want to participate.

I am inviting you to join my group. You can take from it as much as as little as you like. I am NOT making it manditory for any members to have to post, but I would love to read a little about you, when you decide to join.

I have just began this group here on Care2, which is not just a site about "blogging, friends, and chatting". It serves a greater purpose in bringing those that like a place to find out lots of information, from politics, health, greener living, and so much more. You can write your own petition on something that you feel is important, whether it be about animal cruelty, protecting our waters, you name it, you can start a petition here for it.

So, Care2 serves a greater purpose... you can do free clicks daily, that will help so many causes, from breast cancer, to animals that are becoming extinct.

Your voice can be heard here... to the ones such as politicians and other non-profit groups helping so many needy causes.

I would love to have you as a member, even if you join, and prefer not to do much participation, but just enjoy what I and others post. If you feel passionate about a subject, whatever it may be, feel free to post it.

Here is the URL: http://www.care2.com/c2c/group/power_over_chronic_pain_illness
That is where you can join.

Thanks for all you do, as a friend, as a member of society, as an activist if you are one...plus all of the other million things each of us do that gives us hope, faith, and a new outlook each day at life.

I look forward to having you as a member...

With a huge hug, and sunshine for this day and many to come...


Rhia

In Celebration of Our Planet

I wish everyone a beautiful day today, and many more to follow this one. As we "celebrate" Mother Earth, take a moment to look at all of the splendor and wonderment of just how amazing our planet truly is. It sustains our lives and has for so many millions of years. It provides us light, heat, cold, food.... each and everything we need as far as the basic things to survive is right here surrounding us each and every day. For far too long, I feel many of us (I included at times), have lost our touch with just how vital all this planet offers is to us. From the air we breath, to all we harvest for food, to the rivers and streams for water, then the oceans and lakes full of fish... lands and forests which provide more food, the sun that gives us what plants need in order to grow... at times when we walk out of our front door daily, we lose sight of all that Earth brings to us.

Think about a vacation to another place or state you may have been to. Possibly to one of the oceans or gulfs, where you can gaze for miles and miles over the vastness of those waters, the feel of the spray from the waves, the salty taste of the water, the sand beneath your feet. Or possibly you have witnessed the Grand Canyon, with all of its glory, a wonder so awesome through the powers of what nature can do. What about Nigara Falls, camping in one of our National Forests, fishing for trout in a stream far away from the city, or any place we go to "get away" from all the the "man made" things in life, and back to nature, our roots, and where we began.

"She" has given and continues to give us so much, to the point of sustainging our very lives... now it is times we give back to her, protect her from further damage, put back what we have taken, invest in making her bountiful, and still able to support and sustain us as humans. Life literally would NOT exist at all, without what this planet gives to us, along with our universe.

As you reflect today, whether you plant a tree, make a garden, begin recycling, take a moment to see the trees budding out, watch the birds all around, smell the newness of Spring in the air, turn off lights that you don't need, buy something "green" or an energy saver today, or NOT buy something that you really do not need... whatever you do today, tomorrow and the many to follow, try and remember to take a moment to realize all we have to be thankful for.

During difficult times such as these, it is hard to reflect upon the positive. We as Americans, and people are going through some very harsh events now. Yet, if you just take a walk around a local park, take your kids to play at a playground, make a sand pile and play with your kids in it, watch the butterflies, bees, and other forms of life all around... those are the precious moments of knowing we are blessed to the fullest.

I wish you all the wonderment of what Earth means to you... and hope all is well in your corner of this spectacular planet...

Pam "Rhia"

"Slumdog Millionaire" Child Stars - You gotta be kidding me on this one

This really just hits me in the gut. I realize we sometimes live in our own little "glass bubble", without thinking about how many countries are still "barbaric"... not just 3rd world, but plain living in horrid conditions, doing horrid things to their own families, especially their children. We are bombarded with child-slave labor stories, yet I kind of feel we let it roll off our backs, like ducks on a pond do. We have become so used to seeing and hearing the "bad" news, we are almost "Immune" to allowing it to sink into our brains.

Yet, when I read this... I was absolutely appalled on several levels. First of all, in my naive brain, I thought these kids that made this movie got paid, and probably paid well enough to help their families out. I also thought that if the movie was a "hit" or not, these kids would get some kind of residual income from the film. I had never given thought about the fact, that actors I guess are offered a certain sum of money up front, and that usually is the actors that are famous. It is hard for me to fathom these kids starred in this movie, and I am not sure if they were even paid a dime for it. If not, to me that is just as bad as child labor. Yes, they were in a movie, but it is still "working" when you are in a film.

Of course, when you "Google" this subject, you get all kinds of links to places... some stating the maker of the film "Danny Boyle" says that all of the kids were paid well. They also were brought over here to the Oscars night. He states they were also set up with education funds, and money later when they finish school and are adults. Some of the articles also state that all of their families will be given better housing, and taken out of the slums of Mumbai. Of course he is the producer, director and so forth, so I guess he could be hiding something, but all of us know the truth will come out one way or the other.

Here are a couple of links with the stories:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/film/story/2009/03/01/slumdog-children-money.html?ref=rss

http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/271325/Slumdog-Millionaire-star-Rubina-Ali-who-played-Latika-is-offered-for-sale-by-dad-Rafiq-Qureshi-to-the-News-of-the-Worlds-Fake-Sheikh.html

The URL just above this is about the DAD of the little girl selling her off!!! Here she is, 9 years old and he is "cashing" in on his daughter like she is some kind of merchandise. This sounds like something from the dark ages... yet I in reality know child selling, child slave labor, babies being sold on the "black market" all still exist.

One step forward for humanity, then you see this and it makes me feel like I took 15 steps backwards.



Rhia



"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."

- Anne Frank

These incidences are beginning to be Epidemic it seems.

This issue of contaminated medical equipment and reusing equipment that is supposed to be thrown completely away has become an all out epidemic lately. From the latest, which is this one in South Dakota, which potentially put over 5,000 people in possible jeopardy of contracting HIV, Hepatitis and any other blood borne diseases, to VA hospitals, clinics in Vegas, just to name a few. Our nation is NOT some "3rd world" country, that is so poor that hospitals and clinics need to save instruments. Further more, even if it is a piece that is re-used, what ever happened to complete and thorough sanitation and the autoclave of them?

After personally undergoing more than 10 surgeries and procedures over the past two years, this terrifies me, and I am sure it terrifies others also. We go in with confidence that the hospital or clinic we visit, along with our doctors, nurses, and other staff that care for us should be using sterilized EVERYTHING! What are we going to do? Go into the operating room before surgery and check to see if all of the equipment is either disposable or clean? We have enough worry on our plates anytime we go in for a procedure or visit the doctor when some type of invasive tests will go on, about the risks, and our health, without having to add more stress on patients and their families that equipment is contaminated. Between this, and all of the hundreds of food, toys, animal food, and other things that continue to pile up with diseases, or possibly deadly additives, and now this every day announcement of yet another large group of people exposed to blood borne diseases, it makes me wonder what the heck the FDA is doing? What is going on with the board that certifies these health care places? I also in the back of my mind wonder if all of this is not just a coincidence, or is it possibly some type of "attack" on us as citizens of the US? I realize that may sound far fetched, but with these happenings being almost epidemic in proportion, I really wonder about a link to terrorism on our own soil again.

Here is a link to the latest :

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/17/south.dakota.urology.infection/index.html?eref=rss_health

A Stressed Out Generation - Our Children

I just read an article that truly hit a note with me. With all of what is going on in our nation and world, with loss of jobs, foreclosures, the government, war, and more that keep us busy wondering about life etc... sometimes we do not stop to reflect upon just how all of the new stresses in our lives effect our kids. When you think about all kids have to deal with at home (they are smart enough to pick up on parents being upset and stressed), to some of what they must fear in school, church and other activities, it is no wonder we are raising more kids with illnesses, addictions, mental and physical problems.. from anxiety and depression, to obesity and diabetes, to kids developing even high blood pressure and more. They face stressors daily that we never gave a thought to when we were young. It is a very critical situation... one that needs to be addressed, but there are no easy answers to any of it.

To me, this fits right in with Domestic Violence, Violence against kids, and also autoimmune illnesses and disease. Stress can be a leading factor in many illnesses, and high stress has been researched and some indications that stress over a long period of time certainly can contribute to developing autoimmune illnesses.

Here is a link to the article....

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/16/children.fears/index.html

Food for thought... for sure... Rhia

A Stupid Remark by Tx Governor Rick Perry should have people up in arms!!!

I could not believe my ears last evening as I heard Rick Perry's remarks that were so ridiculous, they made national news! He had the audacity, or possibly stupidity is a better term, to say "We, talking about Texas as a state", be supporting and with "right winged extremists". Then he went on further to stick both feet in his mouth and say as a state Texas should secede and be its own independent entity, rather than unified with the nation. I hope that people all over Texas heard his asinine, and almost to the point as I read several articles this morning about his statements, to be "anti-American" to even utter the words that our state should "secede" from the "union".
He, as far as I am concerned is a total embarrassment to our grand state of Texas, and it truly burned me up to think he was so oblivious, he would even make stupid remarks such as these. He also vowed NOT to take stimulus money to help the thousands of unemployed workers here. That is another blow to his intelligence! To think that our own governor, knowing the dire straits of so many Texans all over the state, are suffering due to job loss, unable to find jobs, the higher price of groceries, gas, utilities, and everything else, plus people losing everything including their homes due to losing jobs, would turn down money to help is fellow Texans should make each and one of us mad as heck!
I hope that those of us that heard and now read his statements, shall really take a good look at him at re-election time, and decide he is NOT who we need as governor of Texas. These statements, which are just a few of many, Governor Perry has made makes our state look like we are a bunch of backwards, stupid, "Texans", and everyone should here should be totally embarrassed by his crude remarks.My hopes are that many other people here are as outraged over his remarks as I am! He, as you will read in the article below, tried to "cover over" his remarks, yet as some asked him to, he never apologized for what he said.

Here is a link to the entire story for you to read:

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/politics/2009072921_perry17.html?syndication=rss


What makes this even worse, I did not find an article in the Houston paper or a Texas news article, but this one was in the "Seattle Times"! I would hope our newspapers and news media will also have articles over his speech, as the "tea parties" here, will also publish what he said. These types of remarks need to be out in the public, so all of us can have a better understanding of why things in Texas are not what many of the people here want from our state. He is a huge part of the problem, when it comes to many issues for Texans. From the latest on unemployment, to his standing on many important issues, his attitude I would hope is not the attitude of the majority of Texas citizens.

I am still boiling over how his remarks are so entirely wrong. Please feel free to post your own opinions.

Rhia


Here are a few more links that have the story:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/15/gov-rick-perry-texas-coul_n_187490.html

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/gen/ap/TX_Perry_Tea_Party.html