This is really IMPORTANT! Take a Stand - BE HEARD -- TIME IS RUNNING OUT! YOUR Rights are at stake!

I worked in labor and delivery, newborn nursery, and pediatrics for years. I could write a book with all the the things that I have experienced. One thing that stood out above all was the preciousness of life and the grief when it is lost -- even before that life enters the world.

Before I get onto my soapbox, I feel there another equally important message here--that of being forced to do something against your faith. This could lead to someone to lose their career or go to jail. This is a severe threat to anyone who has a conscience--not just in this case. What if you were made to commit an act so totally against your values just because you worked in a particular career? This is major danger to our rights.

So I'm getting on the soapbox now--and it's Red and Gold with purple tassles LOL:
I have seen it with my own eyes, I know a child in the womb is a living child. My belief is what the Bible tells us -- life begins at conception when God breathes a spirit into that child. For those that do not believe in God, they think of the cells as just that -- a lump of cells -- how sad. I hope that they never have to experience a reality proving otherwise.

That being said, as a nurse I always had the right to live by my conscience and NOT take part in an abortion because it was against my core beliefs. Legislation is about to change that and REQUIRE doctors and I believe all medical personnel to assist in abortions against their own convictions. This will be both emotionally and spiritually devastating to someone. Unless you have witnessed it yourself, you cannot understand the depth at which it grips you to see such a procedure. (in its numerous stages)

Please check out and sign the petition at HERE.

Take a stand where it counts!



Be Heard Project -Protect Pro-Life Doctors from beheard on Vimeo.

Laser - Medical and Cosmetic Tattoos and the Like

Well, I guess I am putting out a Public Service Announcement of sorts by this post, but I wanted to share this with you.

I have a beautiful friend Carrie or "Cariangel" as she is affectionately referred to by many. Yes, that is Cariangel's picture here courtesy of her website. Geez, I think it's been about 15 years that we have known each other--maybe more. We don't get to see each other much these days, but she is a special person that I keep in my prayers. One of these days we will get to catch a bite together or something when our schedules work it out.

I was reading about her new venture "Total-Laser" and I was really impressed to read her bio. I was not aware that she had become so accomplished in her field--and that it she had progressed to that point that she also was using it to help others, including cancer patients. Very cool.

Cariangel is a tattoo artist and also has her own shop. (Mind you, I will not be getting any tattoos, thank you. But, I don't judge those that have them either because that is their outer costume and only God can see their heart.) Cariangel did not rest on her laurels, she perfected her artistry techniques and has furthered her education to become a Medical and Cosmetic Tattoo Artist as well as a Certified Laser Technician (Lasers can help with a laundry list of problems).

I have worked with many cancer patients and when I read the section on how Cariangel is able to give women back their self-esteem, I understood. I really hadn't thought about that aspect of the tattoo industry since I don't think about tats very much. I also see the benefit of tattooing for burn victims and those with other problems (have a lot of freckles you would like to get ride of?)

Many of you that read my blog are all around the world (it is so awesome to see that too -- thanx), but I thought for those of you in the New York and Tri-State Area at least, I would let you know of Caringel's new business and all the services the are provided including hair removal (men, she even does backs!).

Cariangel, partnering with another Certified Laser Technician Dana (who also brings other expertise) and a doctor providing other enhancements, have opened their doors for business. They are located in prestigious Bronxville, New York in Westchester County (that has to say something in itself).

Check out Total-Laser and Cariangel's Bio HERE.

Carrie -- I wish you the best as you enter this new phase in your life. HUGS :) oh and p.s.-- look who you are sharing the page with (below) :)

Plane Down in Hudson River, Bucky Covington, Jason Castro, Michael Castro -- Oh My

Well, today was another frigid temperature experience here in the northeast. Just taking the trash to the curb caused my fingers to go numb and begin to feel pain. Thank God that I don't work outside and that I do not have to wait outside to take the train into the City.

I saw people bundled up and people that were not wise enough to wear appropriate clothing. It is really important to dress warm and stay dry when you go out in frigid temperatures. Some people may not even know of the possibility of experiencing Frostbite for exposure to freezing temperatures. Frostbite occurs when the tissues freeze and cause damage (nose, fingers, toes etc). It starts with that pins and needles tingling and can increase to a severe damage of the tissues. It is kind of like when you leave meat or chicken in the freezer and it comes out with that yucky freezer burn and you have to throw it away. My father had damage from frostbite he had gotten while serving in the military in WWII experiencing severe winters during his tour.

For those of you in the Sunny parts of the country and the world right now that can't even begin to fathom my comments LOL oh pooh! I hope you appreciate your weather, because we are wanting some of it.

Well, a lot of things have been swirling around in my head today -- Definitely how blessed I am to have such a wonderful family, all the news about what is being called the miraculous landing of the airliner in the Hudson River yesterday (and how people were praying with one another on board during the minutes before and after impact), all of the emails I have received about Bucky Covington's recent performances in Las Vegas and his upcoming shows, goings on of Jason Castro and Jason Michael Carroll, the buzz all over the web about Michael Castro's audition on American Idol, and the upcoming Inaguration and the Inaugural prayer.

Since there are so many topics running thru the brain today, I will refrain from concentrating on one in particular because it is late and it is cold, and tomorrow is another day (Lord willing).

I was told tonight that someone was waiting for me to write the blog and has been looking out for it today and it has not appeared as yet LOL. I'm sorry it's late, but I'm putting it up before midnight--so we're all good :)

I was also asked today why I write about music and musicans, well first off it is because I love music. But, I've gotten to the point in my life where I really don't care to listen to someone's music if they are not a person with values. I am saddened for those with "tudes" or are "divas", or that let money and their success go to their heads, and those who are not appreciative. Being successful at singing or playing music may make someone a celebrity, but in my book, they are just a person with a different career choice (albeit who makes lots more money), but they are definitely not worthy of being treated like a god--respect, yes--worship, no.) (My God shall have no gods before Him.) I do appreciate their being put into a position of influence that they can use for God's glory if they are willing (and when they do, I like them even more) and I do enjoy meeting them and being about my Father's work. I know He has caused me to be in certain situations.

Oops, well, guess what -- I sat here so long, it is after midnight in New York and so I missed my Friday night deadline. So, I am posting this as is right now and going to bed!

Thank you Lord for saving all passengers and crew on the airliner that landed in the Hudson River yesterday. I ask that you speak to the hearts of those who were on board and draw them closer to you--let them know you have a purpose for their lives.
Amen.

Night all. Catch ya tomorrow.

(p.s. I will spellcheck and redo grammar tomorrow LOL)

Heart Attack in Women - symptoms

Ok, I have been slacking the last few days since I hurt my eye. Then, I actually watched TV instead of blogging.. my bad. To make up for my procrastination, I will post a few blogs today.

I am sharing the following information which was sent to me by my good friend Linda in TX who is an RN. (I am also a nurse and sharing medical information is therefore important to me.)

You may have seen this before (it is an RN's account of a heart attack), but I am posting it anyway because of the importance factor. When we usually hear about symptoms for heart attacks, they are usually those that men experience--Women's bodies work differently in some respects.

So, please read the experience below, but also check out WebMD for more info on Women's heart attack symptoms etc.

FEMALE HEART ATTACKS

I was aware that female heart attacks are different, but this is the best description I've ever read.

Women and heart attacks (Myocardial Infarction). Did you know that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have when experiencing heart attack ... you know, the sudden stabbing pain in the chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that we see in the movies. Here is the story of one woman's experience:

I had a heart attack at about 10:30 PM with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would suspect might've brought it on. I was sitting all snugly & warm on a cold evening, with my purring cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and actually thinking, "A-A-h, this is the life", all cozy and warm in my soft, cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up.

A moment later, I felt that awful sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a bite of sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried bite seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the esophagus in slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't have gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this time drink a glass of water to hasten its progress down to the stomach. This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I hadn't taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m.

After it seemed to subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that seemed to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta spasming), gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).

This fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into both jaws. "AHA!! NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening -- we all have read and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the 20 signals of an MI happening, haven't we? I said aloud to myself and the cat, 'Dear God, I think I'm having a heart attack!'"

I lowered the footrest dumping the cat from my lap, started to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, If this is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the phone is or anywhere else ... but, on the other hand, if I don't, nobody will know that I need help, and if I wait any longer I may not be able to get up in moment.

I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly into the next room and dialed the Paramedics .. I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the pressure building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws. I didn't feel hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts. She said she was sending the Paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was near to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor where they could see me when they came in.

I unlocked the door and then lay down on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember the medics coming in, their examination, lifting me onto a gurney or getting me into their ambulance, or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER on the way, but I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the Cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping the medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance. He was bending over me asking questions (probably something like "Have you taken any medications?" but I couldn't make my mind interpret what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again, not waking up until the Cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny angiogram balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where they installed 2 side-by-side stents to hold open my right coronary artery.

I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must have taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the Paramedics, but actually it took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and St. Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was already to go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which had stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure installing the stents.

Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail? Because I want all of you to know what I learned first hand.

1. Be aware that something very different is happening in your body not the usual men's symptoms but inexplicable things happening (until my sternum and jaws got into the act). It is said that many more women than men die of their first (and last) MI because they didn't know they were having one and commonly mistake it as indigestion, take some Maalox or other anti-heartburn preparation and go to bed, hoping they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up ... which doesn't happen.

My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine, so I advise you to call the Paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly happening that you've not felt before. It is better to have a 'false alarm' visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics." And if you can, take an aspirin. Ladies, TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!

-Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER you are a hazard to others on the road.
-Do NOT have your panicked husband who will be speeding and looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road.
-Do NOT call your doctor -- he doesn't know where you live and if it's at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his assistants (or answering service) will tell you to 20 call the Paramedics. He doesn't carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved! The Paramedics do, principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a normal cholesterol count. Research has discovered that a cholesterol elevated reading is rarely the cause of an MI (unless it's unbelievably high and/or accompanied by high blood pressure). MI's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation in the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to sludge things up in there.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep.

Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

Brad Paisley has a good idea.. Checking for Ticks

So, a really good friend of mine (let's call her Marie) recently contracted Lyme Disease. Right now, I know several people that have been diagnosed with Lyme disease after being bitten by a deer tick. Your little critters bring them into the house too. I remember finding a deer tick now and then crawling on the carpet near our dog. Occasionally, the ticks were on the dogs and they were engorged with blood and looked like a Raisinette. UGH

Marie has basically been through hell and back -- actually she still is going thru hell on earth and hasn't come back yet. Her experience is so horrific that she is still in treatment for the original symptoms and now battling complications from the antibiotics.

After working in the garden, Marie found a tiny deer tick stuck in her skin which she removed. Several days or weeks later (not sure) she found the classic "bulls-eye" rash resulting from the infected tick and visited the doctor who prescribed antibiotics. Once you get the bulls-eye symptom, you pretty much know the tick was a carrier. The blood tests that the doctor's take can give you a false negative result for Lyme -- that stinks! The doctors gave Marie a course of antibiotics but she immediately reacted and went into anaphalactic shock.

If you don't know what anaphalactic shock is, it is a severe allergic reaction that causes your throat to close up, your tissues to swell, and basically put you on death's doorstop. In fact, if you don't get treatment right away, you most likely will be leaving us to see the Lord (well, that is of course if you have already surrendered your life to him on earth). Marie was was rushed by ambulance to the hospital due to her allergic reaction to the antibiotics. The problem now arose in that they found that all of the antibiotic options that were available caused Marie to go into anaphalatic shock -- that doesn't leave much hope. So, while they are trying to treat the original Lyme symptoms, the spirochete was doing it's thing and attacking Marie's body giving her extreme pain in her joints and assorted locations.

Marie had to spend several weeks in the hospital and part of that time in the ICU. The team of doctors were pulling their hair out trying to find something that could be used to treat the Lyme in Marie's body. They are administering antibiotics which she is still allergic to, but the symptoms are being monitored and so far she has not had an extreme allergic reaction so it is their only hope at this point. Marie is still receiving daily IV treatments in an attempt to irradicate this predator from her body before it ravages it permanently. Everyday right now is a struggle and we pray it doesn't get worse.

I wanted to share this with you as well as the importance of wearing the right clothes when you are outside among trees and tall grasses, checking yourself thoroughly when you get inside, and getting immediate treatment if you have been bitten.

Marie told me (which I have not substantiated but I will still share) that there is controversy in the medical community as to how Lyme should be treated. Allegedly, the Infectious Disease doctors say a course of antibiotics for 10 days should be sufficient. The Lyme specialists feel that it is necessary to have a 21 regimen of antibiotics to kill the spirochete. Gee, I rather go with the 21 days even if a doctor thinks 10 days is sufficent. I understand the whole concept of not taking antibiotics when unnecessary and that germs actually become resistant to antibiotics after a period of time, but in this case, I should think it is better to be safe than sorry. You also may get false negative results for Lyme so have them retest you if you encounter this situation.

I remember about 30 years ago, I took care of a child that was in a coma and for a long while, the doctors could not find out the cause. Finally, they found a tick in the child's scalp. The child developed Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever as well. When the tick was removed, the child came out of the coma. EWWWWWWW Ticks are bad news.

There is a lot of information on the internet about Lyme. Here is two sites which may be helpful:
CDC

Mayo Clinic

I also ask your prayers for Marie. That being said, Lord God I ask that you touch Marie's body and give her the strength to deal with this situation and heal her of this monsterous disease. Thank you Lord. Amen.