Messages By: yarncrazy

Don't get me wrong here.  I am not your "What do you think your'e doing?" person but I have in the past  and present spoken up when something needs to be said.  Shoplifter?  I have questioned what someone is doing, i.e., a little boy in WalMart taking a bra for his mother to try on?  Oh, come now.  I told him I'd like to meet his mom because it must be really embarassing for him to "pick out a bra for mom".  He dropped the bra, took off and I couldn't find him or his "mom".  I went to the store office and reported him giving a description,  what he was trying to take, etc.  They found him in "Shoes".  He had a bra - not the same one, sandals, a DVD,  and a CD under his jacket.  Older person?  I find an employee and let them know what I've observed.  Would I stop a shop lifter in the future?  Yes.  I would not confront them face to face unless there was absolutely no other choice.  I pay for that stuff that gets stolen in higher prices. 

 

Someone abusing a spouse, significant other, child?  You bet - in a heart beat.  I would prefer not to confront them face to face but would gather all the information I could and report it to authorities.  Yes, I have called the police on several occasions where things just weren't "right."  Was I right or wrong?  I was right each time. 

 

Suspicious person in the neighborhood?  I don't call 911, I call the "non-emergency number and report what I've observed.  Last time?  Two young heifers were grazing in our neighbor's back yard.  The problem - they didn't have any heifers.  The heifers had jumped the fence about 4 "blocks" from us and were having a grand time running around the neighborhood.  Were they caught?  We don't know.  The owner showed up with halters and leads and tried to approach the heifers.  The heifers took off, jumping over the police cruiser. 

 

Since I am an at-home person, I do keep an eye for the unusual in our neighborhood not because I'm nosy.  I just want our neighborhood to be safe. 

 

Other things?  I'm never sure what I'll do but, if the occasion arises, I will take some sort of action.  If we don't, we are not doing our duty to our fellow man.  'nough said.  Of course, I may be just getting grumpy in my old age!

Having an adult daughter with Asperger's is difficult.  Many psych docs do not believe Asperger's exists.  They also don't believe it can be found in adults.  Well, it can.  I also have Asperger's and I am 56 years old.  No wonder I was the "odd one"!  Now, my daughter struggles with a world that does not accept autism.  After all, autistic people sit on the floor and rock or bang their heads against the wall.  I think autism is genetic.  What I find difficult is all of a sudden 1 out of 150 children are autistic.  If 1 out of 150 children are being found to be autistic today, what about all the children who are autistic and never diagnosed?  And, how will our nation accept these children when they become adults.  My daughter is loving, giving, a nurturer.  Can she get a job?  No.  I do not want her to lie and say she doesn't have Asperger's but when she tells them, she is turned down for the job.  Her greatest challenge area is communication.  It always has been.  When she worked at our local cinema, she was fired because she misinterpreted what her supervisor wanted her to do.  That was in January 2006.  She still hasn't found work.  She has been declared  disabled and receives assistance but we supplement her income.  She lives at home.  I worry about the future.  We have no family to assist her and she doesn't qualify for adult services.  So what happens to her when my husband and I are gone?  A researcher made the comment recently that "we know that  you don't adjust your underwear in public.  People with autism don't think that way."  How true!  It's that little bit that's missing - that little bit that ruins their lives.  Meltdowns?  She still has them.  Meds?  Yes, she takes them.  What she takes helps take the "edge off".  So . . . what do we do with our children when they become adults?  Can they marry?  Can they have children?  Can they hold jobs?  I don't have any answers and I need to know.  I want my daughter to be self-sufficient.  She isn't quite there yet.  She may never be.  She will always need a little help as a reminder or a push.  Who's going to give it when I'm gone??

I have just read all of these posts and my emotions are running crazy.  I would love to hug all of you have have battled MRSA and all of you who have lost loved ones to MRSA.  I am also angry - very angry.  After having a hip replacement (successful) at one hospital, my husband fell and broke his right femur just below the end of the shaft of the "ball" shaft.  It was not healing well so his ortho put in a stabilizing plate with bands and screws at another hospital.  He was sent to a nursing home/rehab against my wishes and, you betcha, he got MRSA.  When he went in for his first debridement surgery, the ortho said he had a massive infection on, around, and underneath the plate.  He thought he got it all.  He hoped the infection had not entered the bone through the screws.  Well, it did.  Antibiotics were given - no effect.  9, yes 9 surgeries later, the removal of the prosthesis and plate, removal of bone, muscle,  and flesh, wound vac, IV therapies, hyperbaric chamber treatments, and continued antibiotic related renal failure from too much vancomycin my husband, who prior to the surgery was able to throw 200+ pound sheep and 70+ pound hay bales, sits in a wheelchair.  His mind has been affected.  I almost lost him twice - December 2006 and March 2007.  The infectious disease docs were amazed that he developed the infection again when they removed the prosthesis, scrubbed him "clean" and packed him full of antibiotic "beads".  He endured Pict lines into his heart.  The pain was beyond what anyone should have experienced.  I had to wean him from the oxycontin because he was "high" but still in pain.  He received a total of 13 units of high density blood.  He shouldn't be alive.  Thankfully, God placed him, and our family, with the right doctors and, although he is wheelchair bound, he is with us. 

 

When did this begin??  July 2005.  When I found out he had MRSA, I immediately went online to find out what I could do to help him heal.  I went to the CDC.  I sent 20 emails.  I DID NOT receive a response.  When I read their recommendations for medical staff dealing with MRSA, I got angry.  The staff at the hospital where he got the infection where not following ANY of their recommendations.  They even wanted to reuse tubing from an IV drip he was given the previous day.  The nurse got angry when we insisted she change it.  We began to insist on them wearing clothes, disposable gowns and masks.  They were angry.  They did not disinfect the room where he received his IVs or was in when he had his surgeries.  THEY DIDN'T WASH THEIR HANDS after working on him.

 

He "sports" a scar from about an inch below his waist to about an inch above his knee.  When we contacted the hospital they had a really "healthy" concern.  "Everyone has MRSA."  Thankfully, my nurse practitioner tested me every 3 months for MRSA.  Geez!  I didn't have it.  Neither did our daughter who helped me take care of him.  I even had our pets tested.  Negative.  When did this begin?  July 2005.  How many people do we know who have contracted MRSA from this hospital?  33.  How many people do we know have died as a result of contracting MRSA from this hospital?  3.  Does the hospital care?  Obviously, no. 

 

Our end result.  No attorney would take our case.  We proved through obtaining hospital records that his infection was contracted at the hospital and that once they knew he had MRSA, did not take CDC recommendations to stop the infection.  We settled on a tiny, tiny, tiny settlement.  This was after a meeting with them where I stated I was going to make a sign saying "Do Not Enter - MRSA Hospital - You May Die" and stand out in front of the hospital.  Of course, I also told them I would contact every major news organization before I did it.

 

What I find so amazing is the lack of concern from the medical field to make an effort to stop MRSA.  It wouldn't be hard.  It just means taking the CDC steps to stop it in the hospitals.  Yes, communite acquired MRSA is rising.  So you clean all those facilities too.  And,  for God's sakes, wash your hands.  That's the simplest and most effective way to stop MRSA, the flu, just about anything. 

 

We don't have to worry about the "great fly pandemic" they are predicting.  We have to really worry about a massive MRSA pandemic and we need to start now!!! 

I think you need to take a moment and realize that those who have contracted MRSA didn't do it because they wanted to suck up attention.  It was thrust on them.  Although the 8% of hospital workers you refer to who are "colonized with it" do exist, thousands have NOT been tested.  When a hospital in Philadelphia tested it's ENTIRE staff - not just medical staff - they started treatment immediately on those that tested positive.  The percentage of MRSA cases dropped significantly within a year.  VRE and VRSA are rare and often occur in patients who have had MRSA for a long time and have been given vacomycin, which is about the only effective antibiotic used for treatment of MRSA.  Yes, "bugs" are developing resistance to the antibiotics we have developed over the years; however, it is not from the development of these antibiotics, it is from overuse of them for every little thing that comes along, i.e., giving antibiotics for viruses because the patient insists on a quick fix. 

 

"It's always easier to blame somebody instead of dealing with your own grief."  I have read all the posts.  The word "blame" is poorly used.  I don't think we "blame" anyone for these infections.  It is the lack of precaution that is more the fault.  Dealing with the grief?  Walk a mile in our shoes. 

As a child who grew up physically (Mr. Belt and Mr. Hassock) and emotionally (You'll never do/be/complete anything/you're stupid/spoiled, etc) abused, I can attest that I bear very deep scars - more emotional than physical but the physical are there.   Having a child with autism has made discipline difficult and I have had to summon all the creativity I can to "change or modify" behavior.  Discipline is a nonfunctioning word in our house.  Each instance must be dealed with in its own unique way to assure understanding and distinguishing appropriate and inappropriate behaviour, etc.  What works once, may not work again.  To have a child who is extremely intelligent but bound up by autism make for a long and tiring day.  BUT, when you see the light come on or the verbal response positive and the "bad" behaviour no longer there, it's totally worth it all.  I vowed I would never strike or spank my child no yell at her or damage her self-worth and I haven't had to go that route.  Perhaps, throwing atemper tantrum myself in a busy holiday shopping mall to show how horrible your child looks worked better for me than cutting priviledges or taking toys away or limiting TV.  Again, it doesn't work for everyone.  Such things worked for me.  This is just another Dr. Phil show I won't be watching this season.    

Here we go again!  I'm not a Scrooge but I really don't care for this show.  The items are luxurious, often technical wonders, number one on the "most wanted" list, but 99% of them are totally impractical for the average person.  How about a year's worth of healthy food?  How about clothing certificates for the entire family?  How about home heating/cooling certificates?  How about pet food and care?  How about a gift certificate for auto maintenance?  How about health and prescription help?  How about being REALISTIC?????  I don't want a Wii.  I want good food on my table, heat and cooling for my home.  I want health and prescription coverage that enables me to be healthy.  I want to be able to pay my bills, property taxes, water bills, utilities, etc.  and not be worried if I'll have enough for all the other expenses in life.  I would love to have someone help us maintain our property and help me clean the house.  I'd like to take my husband to see his entire family.  They are all getting older and live in 3 different states.   Or, attend a family reunion.  I don't need gadgets or perfume or skin care products.  Doesn't Dr. Phil remember his childhood?  I guess not.  Who wants all those fancy things when you're sick or hungry or struggling?  Please get real with your holiday show!!!!