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"I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." Maya Angelo

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• Happy Tweetsgiving!
• Happy Thanksgiving!!
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holidays, gratitude, thanksgiving

Image via Wikipedia [not Michael Brewer's arm]

Michael is doing better. Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital initially predicted Michael would need to stay in the intensive care unit for five months. Instead, he was moved to a burn unit after five weeks. He is talking and taking tentative steps - and playing Tony Hawk video games and watching "ICarly," one of his favorite TV shows.

He is scheduled to undergo his first skin graft on the backs of his legs next week. But his recovery is not all smooth. He is in intense pain, said his mother, especially when a nurse changes his dressings every day and gently washes his wounds.

Michael calls it his "torture time."

"He screams," she said. "But he cranks up Ozzy on the boom box and focuses on the music."

Michael doesn't dwell on the Oct. 12 attack.

"He's my hero," she said. "The fact that he can get through this on a daily basis without showing any anger is just incredible to me."

Three of the five teens accused in the attack were charged earlier this month as adults. Two others were released without charges.

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michael brewer, burn, victim, teen, violence, parents, awareness

Terri is a positive mom I follow on twitter, also known as the 'tadahmom'. Terri has contributed to Little Bytes News in the past. Her book, Ignite The Fire!, is available once again by popular demand. It is filled with inspiration for parents to make homeschooling fun with creative ways to teach and encourage your children. I offered to help get the word out because it sounds like a great resource for parents, but also to help Terri spread the word about Terri's book and her situation. Please read below:

Here comes the heart string pull —- As a single mom (Terri) is in the real estate industry, the past two years have been extremely difficult financially for us. Many people in our community have helped with monetary gifts. And those have been so appreciated! There are times we would not have had electricity or even had our rent paid had it not been for the love and support of those in my community (both online and in person). My desire though is to be able to support the kids with my own hands, while still being able to be home with them to continue the foundation that began 18 years ago. If I can get just 100 people to purchase Ignite the Fire I will be able to pay my November rent! Yes, I still owe November rent. :-( I believe in the book I wrote ten years ago. The testimonies I receive about how it has changed the lives of families and freed them to really educate their children have both humbled and encouraged me.

Oh yea…don’t forget to go order your own copy of Ignite the Fire! http://www.homeschool.terricamp.com

Thank you for all your help! Enjoy the book and let me know how it is.

No longer manufactured, although still available, Playmobil’s Security Check Point, pictured above, reflected the age of heightened caution and security following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York. Handout No longer manufactured, although still available, Playmobil’s Security Check Point, pictured above, reflected the age of heightened caution and security following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New ...

The vehicle that many children are asking for this holiday season is not a fire truck. It's not a school bus or a race car. It's a bright green, clunky recycling truck, made of recycled milk jugs and stored in eco-friendly, cardboard packaging.

The truck's popularity on major toy lists and gift guides is a sign of the times, and an example of a growing trend among toymakers to try to make children's playthings fit into larger societal concerns and even political agendas. They include an American Girl doll, which retails for US$95 and delivers a lesson on the harsh recessionary reality with her back story of living in a car with her single mom; a Playmobil airport security checkpoint; and a baby doll that demands breastfeeding, not bottle.

Some experts say these kinds of toys are important because they can help children better understand larger social themes and their parents' values, but others say it is merely parental meddling in children's play, and that even with the best of parental intentions, you can't necessarily influence how your children play.

Christine Williams, a professor of sociology at the University of Texas and author of Inside Toyland, said that studies have found that middle-class parents see toy giving as an opportunity to cultivate sophisticated tastes and refined opinions in their children.

"Middle-class parents would say a recycling truck conveys the right kind of values that I want my child to have," she said. "Every toy bought is an educational opportunity to cultivate the hothouse flower that is their child."

The recycling truck, made by Green Toys, is featured in all kinds of gift guides, including Dr. Toy's list of 100 best products for 2009; its virtues are often extolled in the almost breathless manner afforded by SavvyMom, a national online parenting magazine: "It's a truck, it's a lesson in recycling, it's an example to us all."

Read more...

Share your thoughts? Do you think parents should purchase toys for their children that teach a political agenda or issue or purchase toys based on children's interest and learning ability?

toys, kids, christmas, holidays, politics

[Pennsylvania]House bill 492 proposes emergency powers to "compel a person to submit
to a physical examination or testing, or both, as necessary to diagnose
or treat the person." This is to be done "without resort to judicial or
quasi-judicial authority." This legislation will also require that "any
physician or other health care provider to perform the medical
examination or testing, or both" under penalty of law. In addition,
"the public health authority may, for such period as the state of
public health emergency exists, compel a person to be vaccinated or
treated, or both, for an infectious disease." In other words, the
rights of the patient and physician can be removed solely because a
government public health authority believes a health emergency is
imminent. This dictatorial power is to be accomplished without any
judicial review.

What about the big pharmaceutical companies? I was recently reading about the pharmaceutical company, Baxter, who is projecting earnings of $30 - 40 million this quarter alone from swine flu vaccinations. Indeed, "Baxter International Inc., best known for its drug pumps and products for blood disorders and kidney disease, said it sees a lucrative new revenue source in vaccines and a multiyear opportunity in H1N1 swine flu vaccines." (5) It appears that big pharma is seizing upon the hysteria around this flu to potentially establish a new flu vaccine for years to come. This is despite the fact that a majority of the people may be already immune to the current H1N1 virus and the potential for pandemic swine flu in the years to come is likely minimal.

What about harm from the vaccine? Public health officials and the media like to portray the vaccine as virtually harmless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Although most immediate side-effects are minimal, it is well established that people can experience severe allergic reactions and Guillain-Barre syndrome, a severe neurological condition characterized by ascending paralysis. These conditions can lead to death and frequently do if unrecognized. In addition, there may be long-term side-effects related to adjuvants and mercury in vaccines that yet to have been fully characterized due to a lack of randomized studies for vaccinations. To add insult to injury, this vaccination has been rushed through the usual safety evaluation for vaccines in order that the government might "save" us from the deadly swine flu. So why take the risk if the benefits at this point are ill-defined. Indeed, physicians are mandated by law to tell their patients about all risks, benefits, and alternatives to any proposed treatment. Surely, any self-respecting physician should uphold his/her Hippocratic Oath by sharing the information with their patients.

Finally, it is not my right to tell you whether or not you should get flu vaccines, much less force you. Under the constitution, nobody else should have that right either. Unfortunately, it may be soon that our constitutional rights are only as good as the next flu season.

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swine flu, pandemic, epidemic, h1n1

A British hospital wants to remove a 1-year-old boy born with[Congenital Myasthenic Syndrome] a rare neuromuscular condition from life support, but the child's father is fighting to keep him alive.

The baby's mother agrees with hospital officials, who sought High Court permission Monday to remove the boy from the ventilator that allows him to breathe, British media reported.

"RB's mother has sat by her son's bedside every day since he was born," her lawyer, Anthony Fairweather, said in a statement, according to Sky News. "In her mind the intolerable suffering experienced by her son must outweigh her own personal grief should she lose her child."

The infant, known only as "Baby RB," was born with congenital myasthenic syndrome, a muscle weakness that limits the movement of his limbs and his ability to breathe on his own. He has been in the hospital since birth.

Doctors treating the baby say he has such poor quality of life that it's not in his best interests to keep him alive. [We are talking about a country where they have socialized medicine and rather euthanize people who become a burden on the system.]But lawyers for the father argue that the child's brain is not affected by the condition and that Baby RB can see, hear, feel, recognize his parents and even play with toys.[my emphasis]

"This is a tragic case. The father feels very strongly that 'Baby RB' has a quality of life that demands the trust should continue to provide life-sustaining treatment. The father clearly adores his son and hopes to demonstrate to the court that the trust's application should be rejected," Christopher Cuddihee, a lawyer representing the father, told the Sunday Telegraph.
 
According to an aol news(non scientific) polls,at the time of this post, most voters do not think a patient should be removed from life support if the family opposes it:

Should a patient ever be removed from life support if the family opposes it?

No	53%
Yes	26%
I don't know	2

Total Votes:
106,347

Sadly, in this day and age with advancements in medical care we are left with making decisions whether to sustain life or end a life. Prior to having such treatments people would do all they could to support and keep their loved ones comfortable and then let them recover or die naturally.

However, thanks to medical technology we are able to sustain someone's life longer and hope for a recovery or at least provide them with the care and comfort needed to allow them to live, share smiles, hear voices and other senses such as 'Baby RB'.

In addition, according to the Sunday Telegraph article, "the father, in his twenties and who is amicably separated from the mother,
believes a simple tracheostomy procedure, which creates an opening in the
neck to deliver oxygen to the lungs, would allow Baby RB to be discharged
from hospital to be cared for at home."

For this reason alone, nobody should take away someone's life, let alone a court who has no emotional or genetic connection, make a decision to end a life when one of the parents or a family member is willing to care for and love that person with all their heart!

Whether you are religious or not, we all have a right to life. It is a God given right, we are all here for a reason.

Therefore, nobody should have the choice to take it away, this is why murder is illegal and abortion should be considered a crime, along with euthanasia and mercy killing. What this mother wants to do to her child is heartless and soulless. I hope she reconsiders and finds it in her heart to do the right thing, if not for the baby's sake at least for the father.

Why not let the father care for and love his baby with all he has? There is no harm to the child. It is selfish for society or anyone else to consider the baby a burden on society or themselves just because they don't want to deal with it or think the child is hopeless. That is a selfish way to view the situation and an irresponsible decision, making it easy on the parent or person who does not want the emotional, personal nor financial burden any longer.

It is my belief, a society that puts a culture of death before life and God's will is a society doomed to fail. When you let bureaucrats make life saving decisions you are putting man's will before God's will. (not to sound like a 'bible thumper' or 'religious freak', but we are all created in His image and put on this earth for a reason!!)Even if you are not religious, don't you at least agree we all have a right to live?? Don't you think parents should have the right to care for us without courts making decisions about our children's lives? At least one of the parents is willing to care for this child and love this child, why not let him??

According to Sky News, if the trust wins, it would be the first time a British court has ruled
against the wishes of a parent whose child does not suffer from brain damage.

Anyway, this story touched my heart and soul this week. Please say prayers for 'Baby RB' and his father that he is kept alive so that he can be loved and share his father's love.

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Dad Fights To Keep Baby Son Alive

Update:
I'm sad to report that since originally preparing the above story, the father who fought to save his son's life has now given in to the wishes of the mother and the doctors, presuming they know what is best for his son. According to The Independent:

A seriously ill baby, whose parents disagreed about his medical care, will have his ventilator switched off after the father withdrew his objection to allow doctors to end his son's life.

The father told a judge that he had given his consent after he was sure that every possible medical avenue to help his son had been fully explored.

The judge made his ruling stating the choices for RB were 'stark' He said:"One [option] is for his time on the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit to end in a planned way, with the administration of a large dose of sedative, the removal of the ventilation tube and his consequent death. The other is to contemplate his discharge from hospital on home ventilation after a tracheotomy."

What a sad conclusion to a hopeful situation...I wish the father would reconsider and let his son live, and attempt the tracheotomy as an option that could help his son live outside the hospital. Please keep them all in your prayers.