Monthly Archives: October 2009

Slice of American Awesomeness

**So a few weeks ago I got an email saying that I would have the opportunity to pre-view(or pre-hear, really) the new Five for Fighting album Slice.  I.love.F4F.  Love.  Really love.  And I am so pumped that I was able to get my hands on an early release. Obviously, this is a sponsored review, but I am giving my true, unbiased opinion.**

You know that one really awesome sweatshirt you’ve had since college?  How when the weather finally turns cool and you have the chance to put it on, it’s even more awesome than you remember?  It’s warm and comfy and home.   This album is like that. This album is home.  Same amazing sound as all the previous albums, but not boring or over-done.

John, aka Five for Fighting himself, says it best:
Slice is where I’ve come from, where I am, and a few scraps I’ve picked up in between.
All in a slice of time.

From the moment I heard the first notes of the piano on the first song of the new Five for Fighting album Slice, I was smitten.  The lyrics are introspective and intriguing.  The sounds are comforting and familiar.  Already, in just a week or so, this has become my new favorite album.  I like it.  My kids like it.  Even my husband likes it.  (That’s a big deal!  Our musical preferences don’t overlap too much!)

I first heard the sound of John Ondrasik (of “Superman(It’s Not Easy)” fame) on a TV commercial.  After singing that one phrase over and over and over and over in my head for weeks, I finally decided to do a little research and found out it was  Five for Fighting.  Being close to Christmas when I figured it out, all of his CDs were on my wish list.  I got them two years ago, and they are my “go to” CDs.  They were the first things I put on my iPod when I got it.  They are the CDs that never leave my car.  They are the ones I put on to soothe me, to pump me up, or to help me chill out.

And you all know my posts lately haven’t been Ms. Susie Sunshine lately, and one of the songs that really hit home with me on this album is “Hope”.  Starting with an old gospel hymn sound, the song morphs into a moving and inspirational ballad.  And really, who doesn’t love a good ballad?

If you’re looking for some exotic new sound, you may not find it here.  But if you’re looking for some really good sing-at-the-top-of-your-lungs-in-the-car feel-good music, download it here today!   You won’t be disappointed.

P.S. Several years ago(when my infatuation had just begun), I saw John on GMA.  Diane Sawyer asked him, “Why the name “Five for Fighting“?  Apparently it’s a hockey term; you have to sit out and cool down for five minutes of a game if you fight.

P.P.S. For a much better actual review of the album, and for some pretty interesting facts about John, the album and his music, go to his biography on his website.  Scroll down to read about the development of Slice and the story behind the music.

P.P.P.S. My personal favorites on Slice are “Notes to an Unknown Soldier” (such a moving tribute to those serving our country), “Hope”(for when I need a pick me up), and “Augie Nieto”(mostly because Augie Nieto is fun to say).

Mouthwatering Monday: Apples Brown Betty

IMG_3518 Ok…I’ll give you just a moment to stop drooling before I tell you how to make it.
It really is even better than it looks.

1 large Granny Smith apple or 2-3 small ones
2 cans big and flaky cresent rolls(6 per can)
3/4 cup sugar
1ish tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup Mountain Dew
1/2 stick butter

Cut the apple(s) into 8 slices.  Wrap crecent roll dough around 1 large apple slice or 2 smaller apple slices.  Place seam down in  baking dish.  Set aside.

In saucepan, mix sugar and cinnamon, then water, butter and Mountain Dew.  Bring to a boil.  Cool slightly.  Pour over rolls and bake at 350° for 20-30 mins, or until golden brown.  After removing from oven, spoon juices over top of the rolls.

Enjoy!

Sentences on Sunday

Carter,
Calm is not a word I usually use to describe you.  But for a second in time you were calm…and I caught it on film.  I love this picture of you:

Lydia,
You are the girliest of girly girls.  And even though I’m not, I love to watch you be girly!  Your latest game is to pick out all my high heel shoes and put them in your closet.  You make me laugh with your ‘clop, clop, clop, clop, clop, clop’  all the way from my room to yours.

HighHeels Little Asa,
That smile…it just kills me.  Nothing in the world is sweeter.  Not many more pictures of you with a toothless grin.  There are three little teeth just dying to pop up.

Mourning

Today Heather‘s dad posted on her blog.  He talked about, among other things, mourning.  He is obviously mourning the passing of his granddaughter, Maddie.  But he also mentioned friends who had died years ago, and how he still mourns them now.

Somehow, in a weird way, this is comforting to me.  (Wait…hear me out before you make ugly comments.)  I’m glad to know I’m not the only one who doesn’t “get over it”, even “over” people I never met or didn’t know very well.

I remember a kid that I grew up with who died of cancer at a young age.  I think of him every so often, and can always see his eyes.  His eyes were, are haunting.  His death was my first taste of mortality.  Someone my age, younger than me actually, could die.  Wow.

I remember when my grandfather died.  How angry I got when people were talking and laughing just like everything was normal.  I remember my nine-year-old self wanting to yell, “He’s dead, and he’s never coming back.  How can you be having fun right now?”  And now there are times when I still get angry.  Not because of people laughing and living like they should, but because I can’t hear his voice anymore.  Because no matter how hard I try, I can’t recall his smell.

In high school the sister of a friend was killed in a car accident.

Another girl I knew from high school was killed in a wreck not long after she finished her first year of college.

A friend of a friend died of a freak heart problem he didn’t even know he had.

My grandmother, Mama Jo, who had a plethera of medical issues ultimately died of sepsis after a nasty go round with surgery-requiring diverticulitis.  It blows my mind that she never saw any of my children.

The father of a childhood friend died.  Another friend lost her mom.

Breast cancer stole away another friend’s mom.  I never even met her, but I met her daughter.

(Side note:  This month is Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Please go here to see what you can do.)

I’ve heard Marshall and other physicians talk about patients they’ve lost.

Death is devastating.
Death is overwhelming.
Death is not the end.
I’m sure of that.

And I’m also sure that I think of all these people for a reason.
Whenever I think of Maddie, I send up a prayer for Mike & Heather.
Whenever I pass the Larry Bearden Crosswalk sign, I think of my friend Chan, even though I haven’t talked to him in years.
Whenever I look up at the photograph I have of my grandparents on their wedding day, I thank God for the love they had and the impact they had on my life.

And I wonder…will I ever not miss them?  Will there ever be a day I don’t hear someone say “Mama Jo” and not get a lump in my throat?  Will there ever come a time I see purple and not think of Maddie?  Will I ever see a teenage girl in a softball uniform and not wonder how Jessica’s parents are doing?

Mourning doesn’t ever end.  Grief may dissapate some.
The memories may go from technicolor to black and white.
But they aren’t gone.

Not So Bad After All

Woken with a start by 3 year old crying for milk.  Fix milk.  Notice throat feels scratchy.  Must.Drink.OJ.  Try to pick up unopened OJ container.  It’s stuck, and there’s OJ everywhere.  (Stupid leaky bottle.)  Clean fridge.  Get everyone dressed, fed and ready.  Go to the car.  Dead battery.  Jump off.  Rain.  Changing a (stuck) battery in the rain.  Late for school.  Run by the grocery store to return leaking OJ and buy a mop.  Go to car. Realize I forgot to buy a mop bucket.  Get baby back out of his seat, in the rain, to go get a blasted bucket.  See motorcade for Staff Sergeant Alex French, a local soldier who died in Afganistan.  Realize that I’m holding my breath.  Tear up.  Sob.  Gain my composure.  Thank God for our troops.  Remind myself that dealing with little OJ spill doesn’t even begin to compare to sacrifices made during warfare.  Go to local consignment sale.  Stand in line for half an hour.  Get almost to the checkout.  Get call from Carter’s teacher: “Did you bring a lunch for him?”  Drats.  No.  Get out of line.  Lose cell phone.  Go to house, pick up lunch box and deliver it to the school.  Go back to sale.  Get back in line.  Find cell phone.  Notice the date for the first time today: October 7th.  Another 7th.  One more month.  Six already?  So fast.  So slow.  I am always crushed for Mike and Heather on the 7th.  I wonder if I will ever forget bright-eyed Madeline.  I won’t.  Her story, her life…is imprinted on my heart forever.

Two lives, both cut tragically short.
Very different circumstances.
Very different causes.
Just very different.
Yet the same: I never met either of them, but they have both changed my life.
I will not forget.

Thank you, Mike & Heather, for sharing her with us-those who never met her, but had fallen in love with her regardless.  Thank you, SSG French, for protecting us and giving the ultimate.  Thank you both for reminding me of how fragile life can be.  And that little things such as forgotten lunches and sticky messes really aren’t a big deal.

Join me in celebrating the lives of Madeline Alice Spohr and Alex French IV:

Friends of Maddie is a wonderful organization whose mission is “to provide support to the families of critically ill babies in an effort to help ease the transition into NICU life and to be an ally until the end of their child’s hospital stay.”

For those of you in my area, there is a “French Children Benefit Fund” at The Magnolia State Bank or “The French Benefit Fund” at The Exchange Bank.

For those of you not in the area, but wanting to support the familes of fallen soliders, click here to see military-related charities which are approved by the BBB.

ReCharge

This past weekend I went to a Christian retreat center with a bunch of middle schoolers.  I have to admit that I wasn’t looking forward to it too much, but we had an amazing time.  And, although I’m still so very tired, it lived up to it’s name: ReCharge.  The spiritual recharging was much needed.  And has gotten me back where I should be…or at least on the way.

The speakers were fantastic.  The breakout sessions were fun and informative.  The fellowship couldn’t have been more fun…even without the good old internet.

And I have tons and tons of pictures.  However, they aren’t exclusively of me, and I’m not going to plaster the faces of “my church kids” all over the place.

But I can show you what surrounded me as I had my quiet time each morning.

woodland

fall leaves

You can find more of my daily pictures here, where I’m attempting to do Project 365.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

sad face

The Doctor is In: Vaccines

My husband is a pediatrician. Once a week I share this space with him so that he can give you up-to-date and pertinent information about a variety of medical topics. If there are topics that you would like to see him address, please email me at queenofhaddock(at)gmail(dot)com.

**************

***Disclaimer – this is my personal statement regarding vaccines and includes things that I tell my own patients/parents in visits to my office. This is not meant to be a substitute for a visit to or discussion with your pediatrician. For any questions regarding your child’s health you should of course discuss them with your pediatrician. This is meant only to provide information, which I hope you find helpful.***

So the most common thing folks have been asking about after my first two posts is some info about vaccines, with inquiries ranging from whether they link to autism, immune system stimulation, vaccine components, and the list goes on…this post could easily be ten to fifteen pages in length and barely scratch the surface, as there are countless books, journals, and other publications on the topic.  I’ll try to hit a few quick points on each of them without rambling too extensively.

I’m going to leave autism and vaccines to its own post, as I could not do it justice as a part of a larger post.  Entire volumes have been devoted to this topic, so I will only be hitting a few of the highlights. (SPOILER ALERT!! Vaccines DO NOT cause autism!)

Vaccines are probably the single most important advancement in public health and prevention of disease. Many people alive today truly do not appreciate the impact of vaccines, as they have never seen anyone with an active case of polio, diphtheria, even chicken pox.  I for one had chicken pox as a child, but in all of my time in medical school and since, I’ve seen one case.  I do know a few individuals who had polio in their lifetime.  One such individual was the pastor of the church we attended while I was in medical school, and he walks with a limp because of what polio did to him.  There once was a time when parents truly feared letting their children swim in the public pools for fear of the ravages of diseases which are now rarely found outside of the pages of a textbook.  Smallpox, which claimed the lives of some 300-500 million people in the 20th century (yes, 300 MILLION!) has been eradicated from the face of the planet, existing now only in deep freeze in two laboratories on two separate continents.  Even more so than antibiotics, vaccines have been hands down the most important advancement in health care and disease prevention.  The smallpox vaccine was in fact the first vaccine, developed in 1796 by Edward Jenner.

Regarding immune stimulation, many parents are concerned about “over stimulating” the immune system with the number of vaccines that children receive today vs. just the original smallpox vaccine.  To that concern there are several answers.  First, the immune system of children and adults alike is stimulated dozens of times every day with various allergens, viruses, bacteria, etc. that we encounter in everyday life.  It is in fact this stimulation that helps the immune system to develop properly. Viruses and bacteria have various proteins on their surfaces – those proteins are duplicated in the vaccine so that the immune system can see them, learn them, and recognize them on the virus or bacteria should it ever try to cause infection. Although it is true that the number of injections is higher than in the past, the total immune system stimulation is in fact less.  The small pox virus had over 200 unique proteins which were presented in the vaccine.  The entire combination of proteins presented to the immune system throughout the childhood vaccination schedule currently numbers about 153.  So even though there are more total injections, all of them combined represent only about 75% of the immune stimulation of the original single smallpox vaccine.  And as noted above, just a few weeks of normal living will present your immune system with more stimulation than the entire vaccination schedule.

As far as vaccine components are concerned, several different components are introduced during the production process.  Preservatives are used to prevent bacterial or fungal contamination.  The most infamous of those was thimerosal, which I will address in another post.  Briefly, it is now removed from the vast majority of vaccines, but was never a cause of any serious illness or condition.  The other currently used preservatives are very safe and are beneficial in preventing contamination of vaccines.  Prior to the use of preservatives contamination of vaccine vials by bacteria and fungus was not uncommon.

Another component of vaccines is adjuvants, which are included to enhance the immune response to the vaccines.  Currently aluminum salts are the only adjuvants used in the United States.  The amount of aluminum present in vaccines is comparable to that found in the environment, and in fact is comparable to that found in infant formula, foods, even breast milk.  Most infants will consume the same amount of aluminum in three days of breastfeeding as is found in most vaccines.

Additives are included in vaccines to keep them stable in varying temperatures, and to keep their components from adhering to sides of the vial. Types of additives include sugars, amino acids, and proteins.  The most common concern with these additives is the risk of an allergic reaction.  The most common cause of immediate reactions to these components is gelatin, and even it is rare (about 1 case per 2 million doses).  Simply being aware of any food allergies will prevent exposure in these cases – if you have food allergies to gelatin or eggs, make your doctor aware of them so that appropriate action and precautions may be taken. Also of concern for some parents are residuals of chemicals from the manufacturing process.  The first are inactivating agents which are used to eliminate bacterial toxins or the infectious capacity of viruses.  The most common agent of concern is formaldehyde.  While it is true that diluted formaldehyde is used during the manufacturing process, the vast majority is removed before the final product is shipped out.  The amount remaining is far less than the amount found naturally circulating in YOUR blood. That’s right – you have formaldehyde naturally circulating in your blood.  Formaldehyde is an essential component in human metabolism, and is required to synthesize amino acids and components of DNA.

Antibiotics are also used during the manufacturing process of vaccines to prevent contamination by bacteria.  The concern by parents in this is that there may be some residual antibiotic that may cause an allergic reaction.  First, the antibiotics that most commonly cause severe allergic reactions (penicillins, cephalosporins, sulfonamides) are not used in the manufacturing process. The only detectable antibiotic in vaccines is neomycin, and severe allergic reactions to the amount found in vaccines have never been clearly documented.  Rarely a delayed, less severe reaction may be seen, but this is not a reason to not be vaccinated.

Other residuals from the manufacturing process include egg proteins and yeast proteins.  Influenza and yellow fever vaccines are manufactured using eggs, and have enough egg protein to cause a severe reaction for those who are severely allergic to eggs.  Therefore, if you have an egg allergy, you should inform your physician prior to receiving influenza vaccine.  The only other vaccine that is produced using eggs is the MMR vaccine, but the amount of egg proteins is not enough to cause a severe reaction and even those with severe egg allergies may safely receive the MMR vaccine. As regards yeast, the hepatitis B vaccines are the only ones with residual yeast proteins.  To date no yeast-specific antibody has been detected in anyone who has had a reaction after hepatitis B vaccination, and so the risk of anaphylaxis after receiving hepatitis B vaccine is still theoretical.

The take home message is this: when all is said and done, vaccines are safe, extremely effective, and remain the greatest public health advancement to date.  There is NO reason to delay or refuse vaccines routinely. Often when we see an outbreak of vaccine-preventable disease, many of which can be fatal, it originates in a cluster of children who are denied vaccination.  So vaccinate your children with confidence, and give them the good health they deserve.

Sources cited:

http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/autism.cfm

http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/immunizations.cfm

www.cdc.gov/vaccines

www.vaccineinformation.org

www.cispimmunize.org

Offit, Paul A. Autism’s False Prophet: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure. New York: Columbia UP, 2008.

Offit, Paul A., and Rita K. Jew. “Addressing Parents’ Concerns: Do Vaccines Contain Harmful Preservatives, Adjuvants, Additives, or Residuals?” Pediatrics 112 (2003): 1394-401.

Finally…

…after months of hearing “dadadadada”, today you finally said “mama”.

…one tooth has broken ground, and another one is beginning to peek through.

…you can keep up with Carter and Lydia by “chasing” them with your army crawl(except when you end up going backwards).

…you can pull yourself up to standing.

…I have to admit that you’re not a baby-baby anymore.