Sunday, October 12, 2014
Virus documentary
This video didn't focus on Ebola per say as much as the title suggested. However, it was eye opening and offers a good deal of perspective into the history if various viruses that have made the jump and caused outbreaks of disease in the human population.
Inside a BSL-4, the proper level of protection
A commenter recommended this video which goes into great detail about the requirements for protecting laboratory testing locations against the various levels of pathogens. Ebola is a categorized in the most severe level, BSL-4.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Training changes because...
the mission could change. Who can't help but watch the world developments in the Ebola epidemic closely. I'm certain I'm not the only military spouse out there with a healthy respect for infectious diseases with high fatality rates. When the orders came out for 3,000 personal to deploy to Africa to simply help with relief and infrastructure it was impossible not to feel absolutely panic stricken. While a promise of no boots on the ground was being reiterated across the media (against an enemy you could at least lob a weapon at), we were suppose to rejoice that our military loved ones were being activated to combat a villain with no known weakness nor cure? There are no words of reassurance that can comfort a family preparing for that kind of deployment. There but for the Grace of God go I, my family has not been presented with this particular mission. From our post we can only sympathize with those who have been chosen.
Earlier today frustration set in while bogged down reading comments regarding this deployment. Notably, most commenters do not feel this sort of mission is wise nor serves to protect our nation's best interest. Many even speculate that sending so many of our men and women could actually endanger more lives, which was my first inclination as well. Still, I'm trying to give the mission the benefit of the doubt. However, It's quite a struggle to come to terms with this decision. Even though it's been reiterated that every precaution will be taken it still seems inherently risky to military men, women, their families, and their communities. The only statement that rings true was how little margin for error we have when it comes to fighting Ebola. Still, a number of commenters relentlessly defended the necessity of this mercy mission (thought many were quick to resort to name calling and belittling the intelligence of anyone who disagreed, which is too often the case with comment threads).
One very persistent defender of the deployment kept insisting that our military wasn't going to be put into direct contact with Ebola. However, surely she could have seen this news reports, that mentioned how some personal are being trained to be care providers for those infected with Ebola. The report seems to contradict, the October 7th, press conference from the DOD still denies soldiers will serve as healthcare providers. Still they admit that they're still evaluating the needs of the situation, and seem to leave this issue open to future changes. Would this commenter be so ardent if the mission changes and they do start using our military personal to treat Ebola victims?
A couple weeks ago, while listening to a representative from the World Health Organization, on the News hour (PBS radio) I couldn't dispute her assessment that the U.S. offer of 3,000 for construction wasn't going to solve the real problem at hand; a lack of medical personal to actively care for the Ebola patients. Had our leadership come right out and stated they plan to send medical personal to care for the afflicted, would as many be as supportive as they are now. Since then the orders have changed to increase the number of troops, including medical personal (as every Army unit has a doctor or Physician's Assistant attached to it) as well as specially trained laboratory personal who will be handling specimens to test for Ebola. Now the number stands at 4,000, who will "stay as long as we're needed, but not longer than we're needed," according to Gen. Rodriguez.
Sometimes protective gear isn't enough. To be constantly on guard from making contact with bodily fluids, when caring for someone is challenging. It's not hard for me to imagine how the nursing assistant in Spain made accidental contact and contracted Ebola. Even the most thought out plans, procedures, and protocols can go awry or suffer failures. Medical mistakes happen all the time. Gowns, gloves, mask, and protective gear can fail and might not be effective. At one point in my career I was assigned to fit test my fellow nurses for mask to protect them from Tuberculosis (T.B.). Even with three incremental sizes, not everyone could be fitted properly with a mask that would protect them should they have encountered a patient with T.B. Anyone who couldn't get a tight fit with one of the three available masks had to request a specialized respirator hood instead. If none of the available mask available fit properly (which was testing using a aerosol saccharin test), a good number of nurses can be left no options for accessible adequate protective gear. In my case, the hospital had the respirator masks, but there were kept locked away, available only upon request and a special trip to the basement. Of course contagious patient usually arrived before one knew what's ailing them precluding total eradication of risk for the frontline responder. Naturally, whatever resources are available will be utilized even if they aren't going to work 100% of the time. Perhaps they've improved he gear since then. Let's hope!
Germs find ways. They adapt and evolve. Despite the gross speculation of some, Viruses don't discriminate. Instead they are opportunistic especially when it comes to populations who traditionally have weakened or underdeveloped immune systems (the young, elderly, or folks with co-morbidities).
Some folks are better equipped then others to survive a viral onslaught. You can see this in stories about both Ebola and the Enterovirus D68 epidemic. Most children will only get cold like symptoms, while others are going into respiratory distress or developing mysterious paralysis. Still, a third of the afflicted children were completely healthy before contracting ED68. Reading about the abandoned and shunned children of Ebola victims it's a testament to how resilient some individuals will be despite the worst of conditions. It's a pity for everyone to shun the survivors, because it's likely they could offer us clues as to how to beat this. Quite the opposite of spurn, they should be hoped for.
Oct. 12, 2014 Update... So a healthcare worker in Texas has contracted Ebola from treating the first case, the man who came over from Liberia and later died. Of course the CDC is stating there was some sort of breach in protocol. However, I have a hard time believing that any of the doctors and nurses carelessly disregarded the protocols for personal protection. They know that their lives depend upon that safety equipment. Interestingly, according to one commenter claiming to currently work in Emergency Medicine, the level of protective gear isn't adequate. I'd like to research this accusation further, but apparently, Ebola requires very expensive BSL-4 level suits to protect healthcare personal from transmitting the virus. The commenter claims that media pictures indicated these personal were only wearing BSL-3 (Mask, gown, gloves, and shield) and it's not enough. If that's all the hospital issued to these doctors and nurses, than it's not their fault there was a breach.
Earlier today frustration set in while bogged down reading comments regarding this deployment. Notably, most commenters do not feel this sort of mission is wise nor serves to protect our nation's best interest. Many even speculate that sending so many of our men and women could actually endanger more lives, which was my first inclination as well. Still, I'm trying to give the mission the benefit of the doubt. However, It's quite a struggle to come to terms with this decision. Even though it's been reiterated that every precaution will be taken it still seems inherently risky to military men, women, their families, and their communities. The only statement that rings true was how little margin for error we have when it comes to fighting Ebola. Still, a number of commenters relentlessly defended the necessity of this mercy mission (thought many were quick to resort to name calling and belittling the intelligence of anyone who disagreed, which is too often the case with comment threads).
One very persistent defender of the deployment kept insisting that our military wasn't going to be put into direct contact with Ebola. However, surely she could have seen this news reports, that mentioned how some personal are being trained to be care providers for those infected with Ebola. The report seems to contradict, the October 7th, press conference from the DOD still denies soldiers will serve as healthcare providers. Still they admit that they're still evaluating the needs of the situation, and seem to leave this issue open to future changes. Would this commenter be so ardent if the mission changes and they do start using our military personal to treat Ebola victims?
Q: Could you tell us how the decision was made to not have U.S. military medical personnel treat Ebola patients directly, and do you have any concerns about manning these Ebola Treatment Units? On the ground, there's been calls from Doctors Without Borders that more people are needed, not necessarily more facilities, although both are needed, so if you could answer one of those.
A couple weeks ago, while listening to a representative from the World Health Organization, on the News hour (PBS radio) I couldn't dispute her assessment that the U.S. offer of 3,000 for construction wasn't going to solve the real problem at hand; a lack of medical personal to actively care for the Ebola patients. Had our leadership come right out and stated they plan to send medical personal to care for the afflicted, would as many be as supportive as they are now. Since then the orders have changed to increase the number of troops, including medical personal (as every Army unit has a doctor or Physician's Assistant attached to it) as well as specially trained laboratory personal who will be handling specimens to test for Ebola. Now the number stands at 4,000, who will "stay as long as we're needed, but not longer than we're needed," according to Gen. Rodriguez.
Sometimes protective gear isn't enough. To be constantly on guard from making contact with bodily fluids, when caring for someone is challenging. It's not hard for me to imagine how the nursing assistant in Spain made accidental contact and contracted Ebola. Even the most thought out plans, procedures, and protocols can go awry or suffer failures. Medical mistakes happen all the time. Gowns, gloves, mask, and protective gear can fail and might not be effective. At one point in my career I was assigned to fit test my fellow nurses for mask to protect them from Tuberculosis (T.B.). Even with three incremental sizes, not everyone could be fitted properly with a mask that would protect them should they have encountered a patient with T.B. Anyone who couldn't get a tight fit with one of the three available masks had to request a specialized respirator hood instead. If none of the available mask available fit properly (which was testing using a aerosol saccharin test), a good number of nurses can be left no options for accessible adequate protective gear. In my case, the hospital had the respirator masks, but there were kept locked away, available only upon request and a special trip to the basement. Of course contagious patient usually arrived before one knew what's ailing them precluding total eradication of risk for the frontline responder. Naturally, whatever resources are available will be utilized even if they aren't going to work 100% of the time. Perhaps they've improved he gear since then. Let's hope!
Germs find ways. They adapt and evolve. Despite the gross speculation of some, Viruses don't discriminate. Instead they are opportunistic especially when it comes to populations who traditionally have weakened or underdeveloped immune systems (the young, elderly, or folks with co-morbidities).
Some folks are better equipped then others to survive a viral onslaught. You can see this in stories about both Ebola and the Enterovirus D68 epidemic. Most children will only get cold like symptoms, while others are going into respiratory distress or developing mysterious paralysis. Still, a third of the afflicted children were completely healthy before contracting ED68. Reading about the abandoned and shunned children of Ebola victims it's a testament to how resilient some individuals will be despite the worst of conditions. It's a pity for everyone to shun the survivors, because it's likely they could offer us clues as to how to beat this. Quite the opposite of spurn, they should be hoped for.
Oct. 12, 2014 Update... So a healthcare worker in Texas has contracted Ebola from treating the first case, the man who came over from Liberia and later died. Of course the CDC is stating there was some sort of breach in protocol. However, I have a hard time believing that any of the doctors and nurses carelessly disregarded the protocols for personal protection. They know that their lives depend upon that safety equipment. Interestingly, according to one commenter claiming to currently work in Emergency Medicine, the level of protective gear isn't adequate. I'd like to research this accusation further, but apparently, Ebola requires very expensive BSL-4 level suits to protect healthcare personal from transmitting the virus. The commenter claims that media pictures indicated these personal were only wearing BSL-3 (Mask, gown, gloves, and shield) and it's not enough. If that's all the hospital issued to these doctors and nurses, than it's not their fault there was a breach.
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Work is my medicine...
progress is my vice.
Projects sitting on the back burner grate my nerves. Stagnation has a way of impeding my humor. Someone once told me there's never any reason to be bored because you could always find things you should be doing. If you are bored then there's bound to be something you're ignoring. Don't just sit there, go get your work done.
While there really are times when I do need to just sit down and rest, today it was time to get some chores knocked out.
Progress in the kitchen had stalled out, with the same set of doors sitting in the shed for the past three weeks waiting for the final top still unapplied. Finally, I had a chance to remedy the delay. As I employed the paint brushes, my husband got to work mounting the wine wrack, which has also been sitting uninstalled for a couple months. Alas, one of the dreaded conundrums in the kitchen has been overcome. This wrack fills the gap left by the cabinet that was removed to make room for the new refrigerator. After being unable to find something that would fit the dimensions we had our wrack made by Unique Display Cases, an etsy shop, based in NY. He sent it to us ready for finish which allowed me to match to our cabinets.
Projects sitting on the back burner grate my nerves. Stagnation has a way of impeding my humor. Someone once told me there's never any reason to be bored because you could always find things you should be doing. If you are bored then there's bound to be something you're ignoring. Don't just sit there, go get your work done.
While there really are times when I do need to just sit down and rest, today it was time to get some chores knocked out.
Progress in the kitchen had stalled out, with the same set of doors sitting in the shed for the past three weeks waiting for the final top still unapplied. Finally, I had a chance to remedy the delay. As I employed the paint brushes, my husband got to work mounting the wine wrack, which has also been sitting uninstalled for a couple months. Alas, one of the dreaded conundrums in the kitchen has been overcome. This wrack fills the gap left by the cabinet that was removed to make room for the new refrigerator. After being unable to find something that would fit the dimensions we had our wrack made by Unique Display Cases, an etsy shop, based in NY. He sent it to us ready for finish which allowed me to match to our cabinets.
Saturday, September 27, 2014
I don't do frivilous anymore
One of the areas we've been striving to find ways to make improvements is professional development for my husband's career. As the army size is shrinking (even though the tempo isn't) things feel a lot more competitive. These are hard times to be starting a new career, so our aim is to stay more than qualified for his current track. Currently, he's taking two certification courses to compliment his advanced degree and expand his world knowledge base. This adds an extra 6 hours a week to his already full time work schedule, but it's a sacrifice worth making.
This evening he was noting that had he been thinking perhaps we should have made plans to attend the military ball his top boss is hosting, because folks who attend get noticed. We don't seem to do "getting noticed" very well. Quite to the contrary I'm more apt to take the "try not to get noticed" route these days. I have a hard time viewing a ball as anything other than an outlandish event for frivolous merrymaking. It's been almost nine years since I've attended on, and nearly as long since we've actually been invited to boot!
The chief issue is procuring child care accommodations. With our ever full schedule and line of fiscal priorities, hiring a sitter is at the bottom of a very long to-do list. Since I can't even get a sitting for pressing emergencies (Yah, I've had to drag all 6 kids to the ER more than once) because I simply don't have anyone readily on tap. A child care professional (who is comfortable dealing with special needs teenagers) seems like an absolute luxury we could never afford... not to mention find. It feels like such a tremendous imposition so I rarely ask anyone to watch our kids. So to waste such a request on something like a military ball just seems out of the question. Besides, If I were to have a evening get away, a ball is hardly the first placed I'd think to go... well cause I don't really think along those lines anymore.
If attendance is required for career advancement, that does seem a trifle more important. Indeed, it used to be, back when the "Corp has" days, that a no show at a formal event was absolutely non starter, as your appearance was a well understood necessity to the successful promotion of ones military career. Over the years though, these things have become less important, and often space limitations dictated that not everyone could attend anyhow. Given the uptick in competiveness, perhaps we're harkening back to the bygone days of old. In that case, given we've missed the ball (don't they know it's the big track meet weekend!) Mia Culpa!
This evening he was noting that had he been thinking perhaps we should have made plans to attend the military ball his top boss is hosting, because folks who attend get noticed. We don't seem to do "getting noticed" very well. Quite to the contrary I'm more apt to take the "try not to get noticed" route these days. I have a hard time viewing a ball as anything other than an outlandish event for frivolous merrymaking. It's been almost nine years since I've attended on, and nearly as long since we've actually been invited to boot!
The chief issue is procuring child care accommodations. With our ever full schedule and line of fiscal priorities, hiring a sitter is at the bottom of a very long to-do list. Since I can't even get a sitting for pressing emergencies (Yah, I've had to drag all 6 kids to the ER more than once) because I simply don't have anyone readily on tap. A child care professional (who is comfortable dealing with special needs teenagers) seems like an absolute luxury we could never afford... not to mention find. It feels like such a tremendous imposition so I rarely ask anyone to watch our kids. So to waste such a request on something like a military ball just seems out of the question. Besides, If I were to have a evening get away, a ball is hardly the first placed I'd think to go... well cause I don't really think along those lines anymore.
If attendance is required for career advancement, that does seem a trifle more important. Indeed, it used to be, back when the "Corp has" days, that a no show at a formal event was absolutely non starter, as your appearance was a well understood necessity to the successful promotion of ones military career. Over the years though, these things have become less important, and often space limitations dictated that not everyone could attend anyhow. Given the uptick in competiveness, perhaps we're harkening back to the bygone days of old. In that case, given we've missed the ball (don't they know it's the big track meet weekend!) Mia Culpa!
Monday, September 22, 2014
Oh Come ON!
Rant: Neighbors dogs think my yard is their yard, and have demonstrated how pathetic the wire fence between the yards is...
Rave: except that my dogs (past and present) were always contained by the same fence. Grant it, our current dog is quite little. Our former, Saint of a dog, Laddie, never once tried to scale or jump that fence. Man was he a wonderful dog! He wouldn't even jump the baby gates in the house. A boundary was a boundary and he was so obedient. I miss that dog! Neighbors who don't even know our names still stop us to ask what happened to our beautiful collie. Everyone knew him and clearly we're not the only ones who miss seeing that long snout trotting though the neighborhood. Man, was he awesome! He could walk right past any barking dog and hardly wiggle a whisker. As long as the gate was actually closed he never took off. Occasionally, someone would invite him to take himself for a walk by leaving the gate wide open, and he would oblige the unintended privileges. I suppose it's a testament to his character that we never received any complaints from his (very infrequent) explorations. I surely suspect God broke the mold after he made that one. Sadly, time takes us all, and after a very rapid decline in health, Laddie went back to God.
Rant: I'm not too sure of the neighbor dogs who seem to pop over quite often, especially when we're outside. I've been restricting our outdoor time because I feel we need to be on guard of these invasion. So essentially, I don't want anyone going outside without me...which is really pressing on my nerves having to take the time to go stand guard to make sure the neighbor dog isn't jumping into our yard and chasing our dog or my kids. It makes me a bit terse as well as tense.
Rave: The house behind us finally closed and the new owners moved in. They also have a large dog, however, they built a large privacy fence. It's so private back there now, I can't even see their dog. I'm hoping the adage, Good fences make good neighbors, is true!
Rant: Of course I'd love to construct a privacy fence to the sides of my yard too! Unfortunately, we've got a line of pressing home repair projects ensuring we're not going to be getting to a fence (aside from perhaps installing new wire) anytime soon.
Rave: So on that note... I'm trying to focus on the positives and the successes we've had with the home. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed by the tasks that lay ahead I look around at those we used to see undone, now complete and behind us. Thank God for small victories!
Rave: except that my dogs (past and present) were always contained by the same fence. Grant it, our current dog is quite little. Our former, Saint of a dog, Laddie, never once tried to scale or jump that fence. Man was he a wonderful dog! He wouldn't even jump the baby gates in the house. A boundary was a boundary and he was so obedient. I miss that dog! Neighbors who don't even know our names still stop us to ask what happened to our beautiful collie. Everyone knew him and clearly we're not the only ones who miss seeing that long snout trotting though the neighborhood. Man, was he awesome! He could walk right past any barking dog and hardly wiggle a whisker. As long as the gate was actually closed he never took off. Occasionally, someone would invite him to take himself for a walk by leaving the gate wide open, and he would oblige the unintended privileges. I suppose it's a testament to his character that we never received any complaints from his (very infrequent) explorations. I surely suspect God broke the mold after he made that one. Sadly, time takes us all, and after a very rapid decline in health, Laddie went back to God.
Rant: I'm not too sure of the neighbor dogs who seem to pop over quite often, especially when we're outside. I've been restricting our outdoor time because I feel we need to be on guard of these invasion. So essentially, I don't want anyone going outside without me...which is really pressing on my nerves having to take the time to go stand guard to make sure the neighbor dog isn't jumping into our yard and chasing our dog or my kids. It makes me a bit terse as well as tense.
Rave: The house behind us finally closed and the new owners moved in. They also have a large dog, however, they built a large privacy fence. It's so private back there now, I can't even see their dog. I'm hoping the adage, Good fences make good neighbors, is true!
Rant: Of course I'd love to construct a privacy fence to the sides of my yard too! Unfortunately, we've got a line of pressing home repair projects ensuring we're not going to be getting to a fence (aside from perhaps installing new wire) anytime soon.
Rave: So on that note... I'm trying to focus on the positives and the successes we've had with the home. Whenever I start to feel overwhelmed by the tasks that lay ahead I look around at those we used to see undone, now complete and behind us. Thank God for small victories!
Monday, September 15, 2014
How do you define emergency fund worthy events?
The dishwasher (that was never very good at actually cleaning the dishes) isn't dispensing water. A few years back there was a recall on this particular model and GE sent us an offer of either $100 towards the purchase of a new GE dishwasher (not very impressive) or free replacement of the heat coil found to be prone to catching fire. Hoping the dishwasher would outlast our stay in the house, we elected to have it retrofitted with the new coil and press forward. However, given our previous research into the mater we had absolutely no intensions on spending another dime on the (not very) old G.E. So we decided that perhaps, with it's current malfunction, it was time to buy a new dishwasher, especially since everyone seem to be having a sale last weekend, allowing us to find a suitable clearance model at a manageable price (plus military discount). Perhaps we wouldn't have to dip into the emergency fund.
This morning a stairwell full of water along with an overflowing utility sink sunk the hopes of our emergency fund remaining untouched this month. Our go-to plumber is prompt, efficient, popular, and not cheap (but none of them are). Despite our best efforts to discourage the use of the sink for disposing food waste (the disposal just isn't cutting it), our line downstairs was clogged with a lot of kitchen waste. Thankfully, the sewer plumbing wasn't affected (you'd think with a household such as our we'd have that sort of problem often). While the plumber's tab left my husband biting his knuckle, we suspect our kitchen expenditures might not yet be over. Perhaps we also need a new garbage disposal too, because the underlying problem (too much food waste down the drain) wasn't one of the issues we dared ask the plumber to fix today. Snaking the line was expensive enough.
Though the thought crossed my mind that perhaps we should purchase one of those heavy duty snaking machines and learn to do these things ourselves... We've had that drain snaked about four times since moving into this house (about once a year at this rate) and it seems it's just par for the course, an annual maintenance requirement.
What constitutes an emergency? The dishwasher just went out without much warning, (though we'd already decided we'd replace it if the need arrived), so that could be an anticipated expense. The drain needing to be snaked is also somewhat predictable too. I suppose something will sneak in there one of these days, then I'll know the answer.
This morning a stairwell full of water along with an overflowing utility sink sunk the hopes of our emergency fund remaining untouched this month. Our go-to plumber is prompt, efficient, popular, and not cheap (but none of them are). Despite our best efforts to discourage the use of the sink for disposing food waste (the disposal just isn't cutting it), our line downstairs was clogged with a lot of kitchen waste. Thankfully, the sewer plumbing wasn't affected (you'd think with a household such as our we'd have that sort of problem often). While the plumber's tab left my husband biting his knuckle, we suspect our kitchen expenditures might not yet be over. Perhaps we also need a new garbage disposal too, because the underlying problem (too much food waste down the drain) wasn't one of the issues we dared ask the plumber to fix today. Snaking the line was expensive enough.
Though the thought crossed my mind that perhaps we should purchase one of those heavy duty snaking machines and learn to do these things ourselves... We've had that drain snaked about four times since moving into this house (about once a year at this rate) and it seems it's just par for the course, an annual maintenance requirement.
What constitutes an emergency? The dishwasher just went out without much warning, (though we'd already decided we'd replace it if the need arrived), so that could be an anticipated expense. The drain needing to be snaked is also somewhat predictable too. I suppose something will sneak in there one of these days, then I'll know the answer.
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