Diana's Musings: Mar 29, 2009

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Beware of Energy Drinks!

This is worth reading just so you know what your kids/g'kids are drinking! I didn’t pay this much attention at first but the more I thought about it,the more I saw how it can be relevant.

When you look at the explanation on the slides you realize that an if you are in a hurry or need a pick-me-up, there is the potential to stop off at the local convenience store and purchase an energy drink. This energy drink could basically be a can of malt liquor. Be cautious about what you are buying or what your children may buy.

The info came from work but applies to all. I've edited out the work specific info.

Alcohol In Energy Drinks
A Growing Concern Among Parents and Employers

The Problem: Public health and safety officials have become alarmed by the newest entry into the world of alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic energy drinks are prepackaged beverages that contain not only alcohol but also caffeine and other stimulants.

What's In These Drinks?

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) limits caffeine to 65 milligrams per serving of a food or beverage.
Energy drinks are currently not regulated by the FDA. Some can contain as much as 300 milligrams of caffeine in a single serving.
And then add alcohol to ALL that caffeine?

At 23½ ounces and 9.9 percent alcohol, a single can of Joose is the equivalent of three beers and eight cups of coffee.

Why Is It So Dangerous?

Since energy drinks are stimulants and alcohol is a depressant, the combination of effects can be dangerous.
Fatigue is one of the ways the body normally tells someone that they've had enough alcohol to drink. Since these energy drinks also contain a stimulant (caffeine), the effects are masked so you may not realize how much alcohol you have consumed.
Alcohol and caffeine are very dehydrating which can hinder your body's ability to metabolize the alcohol.
This could increase the toxicity and symptoms during the next day.
Dehydration when working in hot environments can also increase the risk of heat related illnesses.
The stimulant effect can give the person the impression they aren't impaired. No matter how alert you feel, the alcohol in the drink will raise your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) just like having alcoholic drinks.
Once the stimulant effect wears off, the depressant effects of the alcohol will remain. Serious alcohol induced sickness can occur such as vomiting while asleep or respiratory depression.

Alcoholic Energy Drinks Even Look Like Regular Energy Drinks

This new line of alcoholic beverage product is extremely similar in look to the popular energy drinks that contain no alcohol.

Clerks and retailers may not be able to differentiate between nonalcoholic and alcoholic beverages being sold.

Can You Tell the Difference?

Which of these have alcohol in them?

How’d You Do?

If you chose Sparks, Charge and Tilt, you are correct.

If not, lets discuss how you can better identify the different types.

Examining the Container

If you are suspicious of someone drinking an energy drink containing alcohol, check the container.
Any alcoholic drinks are required to show the Alcohol Volume (ALC VOL) on the can/bottle.
In this case, Sparks Energy drinks contain 6.0% ALC VOL.

Raise Awareness

It is up to us (those that are aware) to ensure...

underage kids aren’t buying these alcoholic drinks,
and that retailers aren’t selling these drinks to them.

Don’t let the labels fool you. These drinks are not as harmless as they appear.

Empty Nest Syndrome

Ok, let me say this right up front. I was always under the impression that the empty nest syndrome happened to old people. That said, I am NOT old! I'm not even close! Old is a state of mind and I don't qualify.

When I was young and had my children (Tink is trying to be a critic again and blocking my view. Nice kitty, now go and play. Tink just sulked off and took up her post on the cat perch. Her tail is swishing her agitation!)

Tinkerbell came to us as the last part of our four-legged family, when our daughter moved and couldn't take her with them. Tink had a BAAAADDDD attitude at first, but after intense squirt bottle therapy, she learned I am the queen cat in this house and she better mind her p's and q's. She's learned to get along with all of our animals. I do think she's jeolous of Harley Jane though. She also get a little nervous when the house is full of either two dogs or the grandkids. She's my first lap kitty.

As I was saying...

When I was young and had my children I didn't think hardly at all about what I would do when my children would be grown and move out of the house. Of course, I didn't know at the time I would get my wish, or close to it, for 10 kids. When I was a young adult I would tell anyone I knew that I wanted 10 kids. Ten just sounded right to me. Most people looked at me like I was crazy!

After meeing an old high school classmate a few years out of high school, who was divorced and had a child in Washington state; bearing two children, a subsequent divorce, then meeting the man of my heart who had kids, then taking in his best friend's niece, and finally having my daughter from Washington return to the fold, there were eight kids to live with us. Thankfully they were not all at home at the same time! The most for a short time was five. But eight was close enough to 10!

I digress.

After having a noisy, crazy, loving, not always perfect, upside down life for at least 20 years, (33 for my dh) full of kids and their antics. I never thought I'd enjoy, yes, I said ENJOY being an empty nester!

I never said it was easy - at first - but I've grown to cherish my quiet household!!

It was always hard to say goodbye to each child as they moved on to adulthood and out of the house. As the house noises became quieter, I put the thought of the last child leaving home for good out of my head.

When our son, the youngest at home, moved out for the trial of adulthood, I moped for weeks. Somewhere inside I knew this was only a summer trial of separation but it sure felt final. Then he moved back home and all was back to as it should be I thought since I wasn't ready to give into the empty nest bliss yet.

Then the son met his wonderful wife-to-be and they were married. Ouch! Even if I wasn't ready he was. This was going to be final.

I knew I had to come to grips with this "thing". I cried (and I NEVER cry- or hardly ever!) for months. I did a ton of soul searching. What I realized was....drum roll please....

I realized a Mom is a mom forever. Period. The part of me that nurtures, loves, guides, and takes care of everyone else was not going to go away. I prayed asking to have something to "mother". Some animal to love, discipline, and spoil since I needed to mother someone or something or go crazy! And take everyone else around me to crazy-ville too especially my dh who was left alone with me! So we went looking for a dog. One to protect me when he traveled and give me companionship and love.

First there was Lucas, our yellow lab we rescued from the Humane Society. He was a good dog but had been abused too much to be around kids. One awful day he went after a grandkid. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt - only scared but that was enough. I ended up putting him out of his misery and held him as the vet put him to sleep. I cried for weeks. More of this crying thing...just not good for me.

During the time Lucas was with us I aked God to send something else to mother since Lucas didn't take up all of my time. God sent us Pumpkin.

Pumpkin was orange as a baby hence his name. His mom was an abdoned cat left to fend for herself. She has since become feral. But Pumpkin was the runt of the litter. Momma cat had moved all of her kittens again but hadn't come back for this one. Poor baby was crying in the ditch across from our house. I crossed the road, put him in a box, left him with dog food and water in the garage and went to work. I had full intentions of taking him to the Humane Society. God had different plans. Our daughter came by the house and even offered to take him to the Humane Society by her house. Pumpkin was in the box in her truck. But he kept getting out of the box. I didn't want her to get into an accident so I said we would take the kitten there after her Dad got home. By that time I was hooked! I asked my dh if we could keep him. He said yes! Poor Pumpkin was so traumatized that dh held him for over two days. That clinched that. Pumpkin is dh's cat. Oh, he loves me and will show me a little affection but he pines for dh when he's gone. That's ok though, dh needed a cat to love him too.

After I had to put Lucas to sleep, my heart ached. When I healed, I again asked God for something to mother. God sent me Buster Brown. He's our wonderful, kid-loving, spoiled rotten, ball catching, pool swimming, spring-shedding-enough-for-a-mattres, joyful, licking, Austrialian sheep herding dog. He's a big hoss but oh so very loving. He also is a great watchdog! Buster also came from the corn field just like Pumpkin. The kids call them our four-legged children of the corn.

Buster giving dh hugs!

The last animal love of our lives is Harley Jane. She is our sometimes dog. She is our daughter's and son-in-law's dog. She was Buster's surrogate mom. She was really the one who potty trained Buster. All of the good gentle qualities of Buster were nutured by Harley. Of course, he's taught Harley a few things too - like how to get into the garbage - one of his very few bad qualities.

Pumpkin and Harley

Harley's ready for bed. I don't spoil her do I?

Then there were grandkids! And that is another story in and of itself!

Loss

http://www.comfortqueen.com/comfort-during-fearful-times-my-mom

I saved this link a while ago. Every time I read it, I open a bit more to the fact that I will be gone from this existance some day. How will my children and grandchildren cope? How would my dh cope? I hope with love and grace. May they read this and know that they can go on without my physical presence, that I will always be there in memories, and loving them always.

The kitchen table

Have you ever pondered the function of the kitchen table?

Of course, it is there for displaying food for your family. But I say the lowly kitchen table is lowly no more! The kitchen table holds together the fabric of our lives.

Where do good friends go to relax over a cup of tea to talk? The kitchen table. Good friends don't sit politely in the living room. They dish out the truth, pain, and love at the kitchen table.

Where are the family meals eaten? At the kitchen table. The mundane, daily comings and goings are discussed, but so also the serious, life-changing events of our lives.

Where do we perform the tasks of balancing the checkbook, or writing the Christmas cards and thank-you notes, or pull the all-nighter for that important test? The kitchen table.

So, I say to you - clear off the kitchen table and bring it back where it belongs - holding together the fabric of our lives.

Poem sites I like...

Words can inspire, build, create, sadden, tear down, invoke emotion; the list goes on infinitely. Words joined together in poetic format have a particular enticement for me. The author's meaning at times is crystal clear; at others the poem needs to be pondered for an indefinate amount of time.

I remember the first time I felt the pull of the poem. It was in 8th grade. We had to read "Casey at the bat". The teacher choose students to read outloud portions of the poem to the class. This can be really, really, really boring if no feeling and emotion is put into the reading. Not so when I read. The chatter grew quiet, the room was still. Hard to do with poetry and 8th grade boys. Now you try. Read it with baseball in mind.

Casey at the Bat

The outlook wasn't brilliant for the Mudville nine that day;
The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play,
And then when Cooney died at first, and Barrows did the same,
A pall-like silence fell upon the patrons of the game.

A straggling few got up to go in deep despair.
The rest clung to that hope which springs eternal in the human breast;
They thought, "If only Casey could but get a whack at that--We'd put up even money now, with Casey at the bat."

But Flynn preceded Casey, as did also Jimmy Blake,
And the former was a hoodoo, while the latter was a cake;
So upon that stricken multitude grim melancholy sat,
For there seemed but little chance of Casey getting to the bat.

But Flynn let drive a single, to the wonderment of all,
And Blake, the much despisèd, tore the cover off the ball;
And when the dust had lifted, and men saw what had occurred,
There was Jimmy safe at second and Flynn a-hugging third.

Then from five thousand throats and more there rose a lusty yell;
It rumbled through the valley, it rattled in the dell;
It pounded on the mountain and recoiled upon the flat,
For Casey, mighty Casey, was advancing to the bat.

There was ease in Casey's manner as he stepped into his place;
There was pride in Casey's bearing and a smile lit Casey's face.
And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat,
No stranger in the crowd could doubt 'twas Casey at the bat.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;
Five thousand tongues applauded when he wiped them on his shirt;
Then while the writhing pitcher ground the ball into his hip,
Defiance flashed in Casey's eye, a sneer curled Casey's lip.

And now the leather-covered sphere came hurtling through the air,
And Casey stood a-watching it in haughty grandeur there.
Close by the sturdy batsman the ball unheeded sped--"That ain't my style," said Casey.
"Strike one!" the umpire said.

From the benches, black with people, there went up a muffled roar,
Like the beating of the storm-waves on a stern and distant shore;
"Kill him! Kill the umpire!" shouted some one on the stand;
And it's likely they'd have killed him had not Casey raised his hand.

With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone;
He stilled the rising tumult; he bade the game go on;
He signaled to the pitcher, and once more the dun sphere flew;
But Casey still ignored it, and the umpire said, "Strike two!"

"Fraud!" cried the maddened thousands, and echo answered "Fraud!"
But one scornful look from Casey and the audience was awed.
They saw his face grow stern and cold, they saw his muscles strain,
And they knew that Casey wouldn't let that ball go by again.

The sneer has fled from Casey's lip, his teeth are clenched in hate;
He pounds with cruel violence his bat upon the plate.
And now the pitcher holds the ball, and now he lets it go.
And now the air is shattered by the force of Casey's blow.

Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright;
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light,
And somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout;
But there is no joy in Mudville--great Casey has struck out.

Ernest Lawrence Thayer
Ernest Lawrence Thayer

http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~oliver/soc220/Lectures220/Angelou.htm

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/inaug/mon/poem.htm

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-gift-outright

Head injuries - take seriously!

This is the entire article posted on CNN's website. Bottom line? Have head injuries checked by a hospital. You never know who's life you will save.

updated 9:26 a.m. EDT, Thu March 26, 2009

Natasha's lesson helps save Ohio girl

By Elizabeth Cohen CNN Senior Medical Correspondent

(CNN) -- Connie and Donald McCracken were watching CNN one evening last week when they learned of the tragic death of actress Natasha Richardson from a head injury. Immediately, their minds turned to their 7-year-old daughter, Morgan, who was upstairs getting ready for bed.

An injured Morgan McCracken has benefited from awareness after Natasha Richardson's death.

Two days earlier, Morgan, her father, and brother had been playing baseball in the yard of their Mentor, Ohio, home when her father hit a line drive that landed just above Morgan's left temple. A lump formed, but the McCrackens iced it down and the swelling subsided within an hour.
"For the next two days, she was perfectly fine," Donald McCracken says. "She had no symptoms. She went to school both days and got an A on her spelling test as usual. There were no issues whatsoever."
But after hearing about Richardson's death, the McCrackens wondered if Morgan was really as OK as she seemed. After all, Richardson had been talking and lucid immediately after her fatal injury.
When they went upstairs to kiss Morgan good night, she complained of a headache. "Because of Natasha, we called the pediatrician immediately. And by the time I got off the phone with him, Morgan was sobbing, her head hurt so much," McCracken says.
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The McCrackens took Morgan to the emergency room at LakeWest Hospital in neighboring Willoughby, where doctors ordered a CT scan and immediately put Morgan on a helicopter to Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, with her father by her side.
"I knew it was bad when she had to get there by helicopter in six minutes, instead of the 30 minutes it would have taken to get to Cleveland in an ambulance," McCracken said.
When the helicopter arrived at Rainbow, the McCrackens were greeted by Dr. Alan Cohen, the hospital's chief of pediatric neurosurgery. He whisked Morgan into the operating room, pausing for a moment to tell McCracken that his daughter had the same injury as Richardson: an epidural hematoma.
McCracken remembers standing in the emergency room, feeling like the life had just been sucked out of him. "My heart sank," he says. "It just sank."
Unlike Richardson's, Morgan's story has a happy ending. After surgery and five days in the hospital, she's at home and doing fine. "Dr. Cohen told us that if we hadn't brought her in Thursday night, she never would have woken up," McCracken says.
Now the McCrackens sometimes wonder if they waited too long to get Morgan to a doctor. After hearing about Richardson's death, many people are asking themselves the same question: Do all head injuries need attention, even ones that seem minor?
"Sometimes there's a gray zone, and there's no right answer," Cohen says. Watch for tips on when to go to the ER »
In most cases, it's pretty clear when someone needs medical attention after a head injury, says Greg Ayotte, a spokesperson for the Brain Injury Association of America and a cognitive rehabilitation therapist. "They're confused, they're agitated, or they might be dizzy or unresponsive," he says.
But then there's what doctors call the "talk and die" scenario, where someone seems fine, only to die hours, or sometimes even days later.
"Talk and die" can happen with several different kinds of brain injuries. In the case of epidural hematomas, the injury Richardson and Morgan had, blood pools in the area between the lining of the brain and the skull. "Fluid is building up in a contained space, creating pressure. Something's got to give, and that something is the brain," Ayotte says. If you don't get to the hospital to have surgery to drain the fluid, "the deterioration can happen very quickly."
Here, from Ayotte and other experts, is a list of what to do after someone has suffered a head injury.
1. Be vigilant
Keep an eye on someone who has hit his head, even if the person never lost consciousness. "A lot of folks are still under the assumption that as long as you're not knocked out, you're OK, and that's not true," Ayotte says.
2. Look for dizziness, vomiting, headache and confusion
If the injured person has these signs, take him or her to an emergency room, says Dr. Jam Ghajar, clinical professor of neurological surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, and president of the Brain Trauma Foundation.
3. Look for changes in symptoms and behavior
Any sudden change, such as Morgan's headache going from mild to severe in minutes, means the person needs medical attention. For example, Ghajar says, if a person gets suddenly sleepy in the first 12 hours after a hit, it may mean the parts of the brain responsible for staying awake are experiencing pressure from a bleed.
4. Be especially wary if someone a) has been drinking alcohol, b) is on blood thinners, c) is elderly or d) is a young athlete
It's tough to distinguish brain-injured behavior from drunken behavior, so when in doubt, take the person to the hospital, Ghajar says. Also, blood thinners can turn a mild bleed into a major bleed, so be especially vigilant if the injured person is taking blood thinners such as warfarin.
He also warns people to be extra vigilant when an elderly person hits his or her head. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has information on traumatic brain injury and senior citizens. The CDC also has information on concussions in young athletes.
5. Go to a certified trauma center if you can
The American College of Surgeons has a list of certified trauma facilities; a hospital that's not a trauma center may not have a neurosurgeon on call. You can also look on this map from the American Trauma Society. Find your state, select trauma centers, update the map, and you can find information about trauma centers in your area.
Health Library
MayoClinic.com: Intercranial hematoma
MayoClinic.com: Traumatic brain injury
The McCrackens say they look back and still can't believe Morgan suffered such a severe injury and didn't show any signs for 48 hours. "She didn't black out, her speech wasn't slurred, she wasn't dizzy, she wasn't any of the things you'd expect," McCracken says. "And you don't want to be one of those panicky parents who takes their child to the emergency room all the time."
Cohen's advice after a head injury: When in doubt, go. "It's always better to err on the side of being conservative," he says.

You Can Lead Horse…

My Mom always used the saying, “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.” At the time I hated that saying! Since then I’ve used it on my own children and grandchildren.

Then I didn’t understand the wisdom in those words. It's taken a lifetime to understand that wisdom. And I'm still working on it!!

Parents too often take on the false belief that if they raise their children in a certain way the individual child will be perfect and will follow in the footsteps as they were taught. That thinking doesn't hold true for 2-year-olds, teens, or young adults. "You can lead a horse to water..."

Most parents also take on the false idea that if their child somehow goes against what they were taught it is their (the parents') fault. Not true. At some point in adulthood, you must make a conscious choice not to be exactly like "fill in the name, characteristic or person." That person has a characteristics that offends, or is undesirable. How many times did you say "I won't be like so-and-so", only to turn around and do a similar thing? "You can lead a horse to water..."

Two-year-olds, who are just giving parents practice for the teenage years, teens, and yound adults subscribe to the notion that Mom and Dad aren't up-to-date with today's standards, are dumb, couldn't possibly understand what it is like in today's world, and a mirade of other ridiculous ideas. "You can lead a horse to water..."

Being an adult is not an age, it is a mindset. It is doing the right thing for others because it is the right action, not for praise or accolades. Parenting is the hardest job on earth! Sometimes it takes a lifetime to become an adult. It is letting go of "self" to do the best you can do at that moment in time! "You can lead a horse to water..."

Diana's Musings