ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis): Letter From a Man with ALS

A Random Letter From a Victim of ALS

By: Fat Lester

The following are the contents of an email that a friend and colleague passed along to me. He is raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA) to help find a cure for ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis).

Out of nowhere (he does not know this man - hence the anonymity - nor does he know how the man obtained his top-secret email address. That said, he found the letter quite the motivational tool to summon his best efforts in attempting to solicit donations from family, friends and social media contacts, and as one of those whom he asked to help spread his message, I was given his permission to publish the contents of the letter he received from an actual ALS victim provided I keep the gentleman's identity private and include no information that could lead to his identity being tied to the substance of the message itself.

Without further adieu, here is the letter minus the greetings and signatures:

Dear Peter,

On January 25, 2012 I was diagnosed with ALS. From that evening on-my life has changed drastically. I have always been a very active person but due to the progression of the disease, my activities are limited. I left work shortly after finding out I have ALS to spend more time with my family and to acquire much needed rest. My symptoms were, and still are, muscle aches/twitches, headaches, stiff neck, noticeable muscle loss in my chest/back, cramps in my legs/feet and general fatigue.

My upper body is my weakest and biggest problem at this time. It is now getting difficult or impossible to do some of my everyday activities because I can barely raise my arms. Shaving, bathing, dressing, getting in and out of the bed are all a challenge and require assistance.

The people at MDA of Greater New Orleans have been a Godsend. They are so helpful and are always willing to help you with any issue you face. The staff at the MDA clinic that I go to every 3 months is also wonderful – they are friendly, knowledgeable professionals that will do anything to help.

I have a very supportive family and close friends that are always there for me no matter what my needs are. My wife and I have met some great friends, other pALS (People Living with ALS) and their wives. We get together often for dinner and other activities and find that these are the most wonderful relationships. We are all dealing with the same struggles, even though we are at different stages with ALS, but understand what each other is going through. This group bond that we have as made a huge difference in our lives.

If it weren’t for organizations like MDA I would not have had the opportunity to meet these pALS and receive the help we need. I know there are more hard situations in the future, but with all the support I have, I will get through it all.

Thank you for supporting the Covington Lock-Up, MDA and my family.

Since we're keeping the author of the message anonymous, there will be no signature or goodbye message included here. That said, if that does not touch upon a soft spot in your heart, one must wonder if you even have one.

That disease (ALS) is among the most debilitating and torturous illnesses in the history of mankind, and my heart goes out to everyone and anyone who has ever suffered from it, God rest their souls.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)

The friend posted a blog about ALS, why he is motivated to help find a cure and why he feels that you and anyone else reading his blog should donate to the MDA Lock-Up event Thursday, May 23 in Covington, Louisiana. The friend will be "arrested" as a "repeat offender" and will need to post "bail" (your donations) in order to be granted release from the makeshift holding cell at the restaurant at which the event is being held.I will ask all readers of this blog though to please consider donating anything you can --- even if its just a single dollar --- to his "bail bond" as finding a cure for ALS is about as good a cause as one could conceive of to financially support.
If you can afford to help out, please do so, and know that his company, EGAN Medical Equipment, will be matching each and every dollar donated up to $1,000.

Unruly Women's Threats, Demands: Criminal Fraud or Postpartum Psychosis?

Crazy Postpartum Moms Make Company Rethink Generous Return Policy

By: Fat Lester

This article began as a comment in response to an article written by Jennifer Moyer about postpartum psychosis.

Reading Ms. Moyer's article left me wondering whether or not a disgusting behavior I've experienced at work far too many times is the product of a sociopathic scam artist engaging in criminal, fraudulent behavior; or a mentally ill woman desperately in need of some help. Prior to reading Moyer's article, I had always presumed that the behavior was the former, never even so much as considering the latter.

I work for a company that sells maternity and postpartum supports (orthopedic undergarments designed to provide physical support to women during and post-pregnancy).

We often receive requests for refunds months after women order a maternity support such as the Prenatal Cradle. The obvious suspicion here is that these women want to have their cake and eat it too, using the product until it is no longer needed, then attempting to return it for a full refund after giving birth.

These women all seem to have one thing in common: a mentality that that they deserve and are entitled to receiving their money back despite our company totally fulfilling our obligation for the initial transaction. It's not like these requests come days or weeks after the orders are placed (we do receive such requests, but these often are eligible for an exchange or refund).

The ones that come months afterward are those to which I am referring. The women will call with a tone-of-voice clearly meant to bully the person on the other end of the line. They threaten everything from writing negative reviews to filing chargeback disputes with their credit card companies (we've yet to lose one when they follow-through on these requests). Each time, it appears as though the woman genuinely believes she's the first to ever think of the idea, and thus should be able to pull the wool over our eyes without any problem.

When informed that requests made so long after the initial transaction are ineligible for a refund, they have been known to become so abusive that the owner of the company ordered all customer service personnel to immediately discontinue such calls when the customer becomes abusive and/or threatening.

Anyway, do you think that this behavior would fall into the category of postpartum psychosis? That certainly would explain this rage-fueled mentality that until now we've only been able to explain by writing them off as lunatics, bullies and/or scam artists.

The question is whether or not they planned to attempt to get their money back prior to giving birth, as that would answer the question of whether or not they are simply scam artists who have realized that they can often have their cake and eat it too by threatening online retailers, many of whom simply give in to such uncivilized behavior. My employer stands firm on principle, insisting that such demands constitute fraud, and has even suggested that the act is criminal in nature.

What is your opinion about this? Are these women really merely suffering from a legitimate mental illness or are they simply dishonest scam artists who have figured out how to abuse the system successfully?

Vitamin D3 and Chronic Hair Loss

Vitamin D3 May Help Reverse Chronic Hair Loss

By: Peter Egan

Chronic Telogen Effluvium: Can Vitamin D3 Reverse It?

A particularly interesting post appeared on the Vitamin D3 blog Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Unlike the other articles and news stories detailing scientific research and clinical trials in terms normal people can understand, this post was actually a lengthy comment submitted by a reader in response to an article confirming a link between vitamin D deficiency and alopecia, a form of premature hair loss.

The lady detailed her experience with Chronic Telogen Effluvium, a hair loss condition considered to be among the most severe, with little known about the condition, its cause or how to fix it.

According to "Elle", she had tried every solution under the sun to try to regrow her hair after being diagnosed with chronic telogen effluvium to no avail. She checked her own records from all of the blood tests she'd had conducted over the years, and was shocked to learn that despite her doctor(s) never once mentioning anything of the sort, her vitamin D levels were alarmingly low in each test in which they were measured.

For the past three months, she has been on an intensive vitamin D3 supplement regimen, and claims that her hair has not only stopped falling out, but also has started to grow back.

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Great Beaches, Better Prices

Mississippi Gulf Coast: Great Beaches, Better Prices

As those with whom I am closest are already aware, in early 2012 I made a fairly significant move from Covington, Louisiana to Long Beach, Mississippi. The move was motivated by a desire to reside literally ON the beach, and have the luxury of walking outside and fishing, sunbathing, etc.

For the first six months or so following the move, I was commuting to-and-from Covington from Long Beach, a round-trip that comes out to approximately three hours per day.

Needless to say, it wasn't long before I'd grown weary of the excessive drive time, not to mention all of the lost productivity that comes with it. I decided within weeks of the time I began residing along the coast that I would eventually be taking my talents and my business interests to Long Beach. A little over half a year later, that process is well underway, a commercially-zoned piece of property secured in downtown Long Beach to go with the beachfront condominium in which I've been residing was the missing piece. I am presently in the process of moving all of the inventory and equipment from Covington to my new "home town".

Long Beach is everything I had hoped it would be and then some. While the fishing isn't always great, it's not altogether bad either. There are days when the fish are biting and days when they're not.

Likewise, there are days when the beaches are full of local talent (and/or tourists), and days when the only females on the beach are their with their husbands and/or children.

The change has done me some good. The increased sun exposure has led to significant weight loss on my behalf, which is likely the result of increased testosterone levels, a little-known side-effect of men soaking up the sun's natural rays on a regular and consistent basis.

About a month ago, a beautiful girl came into my life from literally out-of-nowhere, and as much as I tried to fight it I fell in love with her immediately. She couldn't help but comment repeatedly during our first couple of outings together that the physical attraction she felt for me was unlike anything she's ever experienced. While I may otherwise overlook such remarks as pure flattery, I've seen myself in the mirror lately and quite frankly I can see where she's coming from.

The sun exposure coupled with stress and a lot of exercise has me in the best shape I've been in since high school, and the combination of factors has me as happy as I've ever been in my 30 years on earth. I just thank God for the past six weeks (and in a more general sense the past 7 months), and hope and pray that the string of recent blessings continues.

Oh, one other thing worthy of mention is the fact that Long Beach is effectively a ghost town where the pre-Katrina homeowners cannot give away their property, so anyone looking to snatch up a nice house, apartment or condo on or near the beach may want to take a close look at Long Beach. I did, and as of today it ranks among the very best decisions I've ever made.

Man's Weight Loss Secret 'Exposed'

WARNING: This Weight Loss System Only Works for Responsible People Who Are Not Lazy

Little did I know when I made the decision to keep a stray puppy who showed up at my medical equipment store and chased away my customers for four days that the decision would ultimately turn out to be among the best I've ever made - at least as it pertains to my own personal health and fitness.

The puppy, who appears to be some variation of a golden retriever mixed with chow, originally appeared during the heart of winter, antisocial and severely malnourished. She would not allow people to come within about 30 feet of her, but for whatever reason hung around the store, which is located along a very heavily trafficked thoroughfare in Covington, Louisiana.

It's a miracle that she wasn't killed by a passing vehicle during those days before I was able to catch her. Well, turned out she was a runaway, almost certainly due to abuse sufferd at the hands of her previous owner. Extremely skittish, while not aggressive, she would snap in defense when anyone made any attempt at touching her - particularly her head, neck and face.
This made her "unadoptable". The Humane Society wouldn't take her, and I refused to bring her to the pound because I know what they do to dogs there (they systematically and methodically kill them). Thus, I decided to take her home with me and work on establishing a bond of trust with her in hopes of taming her enough to find her a good home.
Well, she grew on me, as I did her. While she still has her moments, and is still hyper-sensitive to any agressive talk or movements, she's come an awful long way for a dog that everyone else had left for dead (with many advising me to bring her to the pound and let them murder her).
She's also had a bit of an unexpected impact on me personally, and my relative degree of health and fitness, to be specific. You see, I live in a condo with no backyard in suburban Long Beach, Mississippi. Dogs occasionally have to "go". In fact, for those dogs that reside primarily indoors, they must be walked several times a day, 4-5 at the absolute minimum. They also have what to humans seems like an infinite amount of energy to burn off, which lends to the walks being very fast-paced, occasionally graduating into outright jogging.
I moved to Long Beach about 8 weeks ago. Prior to that, I had lived in a rural community where the dog had plenty of green space to roam about as she saw fit without any leash or restraint. With the move, I had inadvertantly taken on the responsibility of walking and exercising the dog.
When I moved, my clothes also fit me --- quite well in fact. That has changed so much that this past weekend I came to grips with the reality that I'm going to have to buy an entire new wardrobe. While fishing in the surf along the Mississippi gulf coast on a beach that while not crowded, is frequented by enough people that it is by no means isolated, and certainly not private.
One can imagine the thoughts going through my head after wading out about 100 feet into water about 4-6 inches below waist-deep. The first real wave that came along brought the water level to my chest, and my bathing suit to my ankles. This was a bathing suit that had fit rather well when I first moved to the area, so I had no reason whatsoever to suspect that the weight from the water added to the suit itself as a result of being wet was sufficient to prevent the shorts from staying in place. It was so bad in-fact that I had to literally hold them up by grabbing the waistline of the shorts with my fist and holding it around my hips. Luckily, there were no children around to witness the traumatic spectable.
The worst part was the walk back. I had to carry two fishing poles, a large tackle box and an ice chest, having to pause every few steps to pull up my shorts before they fell too far.
While certainly not a pleasant experience (briefly losing my britches in plain view of everyone on the beach), and without a doubt anything but a pretty sight (at least for most), the flip-side is that I'm in the best shape now that I've been in since my early 20's, and I have my rescued dog to thank for it. All those walks, runs and jogs have definitely paid off in terms of my health.
Sure, she's put a pretty big drain on my wallet, but I'll gladly trade the money it costs to feed and care for her along with the cost of my new wardrobe, not to mention being put in a bit of a compromising position for the better part of an hour in exchange for peak fitness.
So, if you're struggling to lose weight or have a desire to lose weight, are a responsible and caring person, and are not inherently lazy, you may want to consider visiting your local animal shelter and adopting a dog. This goes for anyone, including both men and women experiencing weight gain - so long as the individual is responsible and motivated enough for such a long-term physical commitment.
A pet is a major responsibility, and is not right for everyone --- especially those with anger issues, who lack empathy or who are downright lazy, narcissistic or irresponsible. However, if you do qualify as someone suitable to become a pet-owner, a puppy can be a wonderful way to improve your quiality of life, a loyal companion whose love is truly unconditional, and on top of all of that a pretty darn good way to motivate oneself to exercise and lose weight.
It sure worked for me. Just ask everyone at the beach whose vision was forever scarred by an untimely wave that left no room for doubt that I am in fact in far better shape than I was two months ago, with at least four inches gone from my waste that had been there as recently as February.

Good Doctors vs Bad Doctors

In my experience growing up in a family that eats, sleeps and breathes healthcare and medicine (father owns several healthcare-related companies; mother is a primary care nurse practitioner and is also the owner of a Covington skin care spa; and a sister who is a MD (ENT, to be specific), I have a few thoughts about an article I came across at About.com about (no pun intended) how to distinguish good doctors from the not-so-good ones. I take exception to the title of the article, which is why I will refrain from using it here.

The article mentions a survey that was obviously conducted in such a way that doctors would appear to be dishonest creeps once the results were in. Not surprisingly, the survey was conducted by Massachusetts-based researchers, most affiliated with Harvard University.

I'd like to see the context and the way in which the questions were presented and phrased before taking any statistics from the study at face value. There surely must have been more information provided to the doctors surveyed than the minimal information reported in the 'Patients.About' article. No doctor would answer the questions supposedly asked without context. The author of the piece included a link to the abstract, but offered nothing by way of details in terms of the use "gotcha!" questions in conducting the survey.

"Good" Nurse Practitioner Pam Egan

That said, I somewhat agree with the 6-point plan for patients proposed as a solution to a problem the article claims exists (although this author has his doubts about the size, scope and nature of the problem, if it even exists at all). The alleged problem is doctor dishonesty, and the six-point plan suggests such things as seeking second opinions, trusting one's intuition and urging patients to not 'put up with arrogant doctors...'. To read the entire piece, see the above link (for more practical reading, continue on with this piece).

To begin, there is this thing called Google these days, and anyone in the civilized world can use it to access any information that exists in the world to be presented at the user's fingertips at the speed of light. Anyone taking a medication for which the person has any questions, it never hurts to do a little self-research to compliment the information provided by the doctor and/or manufacturer of the drug.

Additionally, intuition is an extremely important and often overlooked component of finding the best doctors. If you feel uncomfortable around your doctor, it's probably not because he or she is wearing a white coat and has loads of credentials that may make he or she appear to be some sort of authority figure to some patients. If one feels uncomfortable around his/her doctor, there's probably a good reason --- even if one cannot pinpoint the exact source of the discomfort.

Patients should always ask about treatment options. If a doctor does not provide all or at least most of the credible information available via the internet, it may be time to either ask the doctor the reason why he or she omitted one of more treatment options for whichever condition or disease the patient was diagnosed. If the answer is unsatisfactory, it may be time to find a new doctor.

I would take patient reviews of physicians with a grain of salt. As a business owner, I am well aware of the myriad of tactics, tricks and paid services businesses (inevitably including some physicians, clinics and other healthcare professionals) use to artificially control and/or manipulate their own respective reputations. This may come in the form of reviewing oneself under a different name, or exchanging friendly reviews with other businesses, professionals, etc. Other tactics include writing false negative reviews of competing businesses/professionals and paying companies to manage reputation. A number of companies have cropped up over the past 18 months purporting to specialize in "reputation management", for what its worth.

Furthermore, there are myriad reasons why a legitimate customer may leave a disproportionately negative review of a company or individual. Some customers, clients and patients lack the degree of honesty and integrity necessary to be credible when writing a review of a business, person or organization. Just look at this example of an incident involving a couple of scam artists and a used bedside commode.

I wouldn't seek a second opinion unless the health or medical issue/condition/disease was very serious, or if I intuitively felt as though the doctor was (or may be) wrong.

I wouldn't attempt to self-diagnose, which is essentialy what differential diagnosis is when conducted by the patient; but I would research the symptoms. If another condition seemed more plausible than the diagnosis issued by the physician, then it would be time to seek a second opinion.

One final means of weeding out bad doctors is to talk with them about nutrition. The days of reactionary 20th Century medicine are over. The amount of research that has been conducted involving the relationship between nutritional deficiencies and propensity for disease is staggering, and probably more than double the amount of such information available just ten years ago when vitamin D supplements contained a plant-based form of the nutrient that is not well absorbed by humans (vitamin D2, ergocalciferol), but which is cheaper to produce than the more bioactive (readily absorbed for use by the body) form used in most supplements today (vitamin D3, cholecalciferol).

21st Century physicians should not be averse to discussing the role of nutrition in the big picture of one's overall health. The information is readily available, and slowly but surely the stigma long assiciated with doctors, nurse practitioners and other healthcare professionals making claims regarding nutrition (or the lack thereof) as a contributing factor to disease are (or at least should be) long over. The peer pressure physicians face with regard to the role of nutrition in medicine has started to subside in recent years, and a genuinely good primary care, family/general practice doctor who is well informed will ask his or her patients if they'd like to have a blood test conducted to measure one's nutrient levels in order to identify any potentially harmful deficiencies.

Be very wary of those general/family practice and/or primary care doctors who either won't speak in depth about the role of nutrition towards overall health, or who pooh-pooh the notion that vitamins and supplements can help to prevent disease and/or other health maladies.

Following the advice outlined above should help patients find a good doctor who is trustworthy as well as informed.

New Orleans Home Health Care Nurse's Assailants Caught

About a week ago, there was a horribly tragic story in the New Orleans Times Picayune about a home health care nurse who was brutally gang raped while on her way to see a patient. The news shook the community, and the healthcare community in particular.
While there is really no positive way of looking at the crime that took place when that poor woman was victimized, there is one small bit of good news to the story.

The NOPD (New Orleans Police Department) has made an arrest in conjunction with the case, and appears to be hot on the trail of the others suspected to have been involved in the crime. All I can say is that I sincerely hope they catch every single one of them, and that they (if found guilty) never see the light of day again.

Home health care nurses routinely make visits directly to the homes of patients, where they do things like change wound dressings, bathe immobile patients, clean wounds and so forth. They are different from home health aids, which are more like babysitters for the elderly than an actual skilled RN.

Growing up in a household with two healthcare professionals as my parents, I can definitely relate to this poor woman's agony in a way not everyone can.

I hope the DA assigns his best prosecutors to the case, and I hope the defense lawyers aren't any better than they have to be, as if these guys actually did what they are accused of, they need not be allowed to interact with normal society again - every again.
For more on the arrest that was made, there's a pretty good article at the Nursing Ethics Network: http://www.nursingethicsnetwork.org/arrest-made-in-gang-rape-of-home-health-care-nurse.html.

Author's Note: The nurse who was victimized was not employed nor affiliated with my family's respective businesses in any way, although our hearts do go out to her and she is nonetheless in our prayers. Nobody should ever have to endure that. Ever.

Drug Shortages in the U.S. Completely Unacceptable

There is absolutely no excuse for an absence of anesthesia drugs in a hospital in the United States of America preventing a surgery to be performed on schedule or as planned. I am not interested in hearing the various excuses being made by the responsible parties.

It absolutely incredible to me that criminals on the street have no problem whatsoever obtaining high-end pain relief drugs yet major hospitals in the U.S. have to issue their patients Tylenol because of these so-called "shortages".

It's not just hospitals that are finding themselves unable to obtain sufficient quantities of medicine to meet patient demand. Retail and infusion pharmacies are also finding themselves on the short end of the stick, unable to obtain the medicines their patients (customers) need.

Can pharmacies sue drug manufacturers for failing to fulfill demand?

It might be time to begin exploring the possibility of instituting fines for pharmaceutical companies that fail to meet demand. Another option would be to coerce them into entering binding contracts which would hold them liable for compensatory damages in the event their supply fails to meet demand.


Whatever the solution, this entire fiasco is reminiscent of paragraph in George Orwell's 1984 about razor shortages and shortages in general, and for this to be happening in the United States is surreal in addition to being completely and totally unacceptable.


This is America, and if the existing pharmaceutical firms aren't able to get the job done, then it's time for a new competitor to emerge who isn't afraid to create enough of a supply to meet an ever-increasing demand.

What is Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), and Why is it Important?

Vitamin D3 - Cholecalciferol

Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol) - The Nutrient of the Century

Vitamin D3 is a form of vitamin D. It is also referred to as cholecalciferol and calciol. Cholecalciferol is the raw form of the nutrient that humans obtain through exposure to sunlight. Calciol is the form the nutrient takes after it has been processed for use by the body.

Vitamin D3 is a secosteroid and a fat-soluble hormone. It is structurally similar to steroids such as testosterone, cholesterol and cortisol.

Humans can obtain vitamin D3 is a variety of different ways. First, the nutrient is naturally present in certain foods such as eggs and cold water fish such as mackerel, salmon and sardines. The primary means through which humans ingest vitamin D3 is direct exposure to sunlight, hence why it is commonly referred to as the "sunshine vitamin." Individuals who cannot obtain enough vitamin D3 through sun exposure and diet are advised to take a high-quality vitamin D3 supplement.

It is important for those who take vitamin D supplements to make sure the supplements they are taking are of vitamin D3 and not vitamin D2. Vitamin D2, also known as ergocalciferol, is made from plant-based materials. It is synthetic, and is not as bioavailable (also known as "bioidentical") as is D3. Cholecalciferol is five-times (or 500%) more bioavailable than Ergocalciferol, which means that D3 is converted into a usable form by the body at a rate five times faster than is the case with D2.

Vitamin D3 supplements have been shown to help to prevent a laundry list of diseases and illnesses.

Vitamin D Deficiency

Vitamin D deficiency, also known as vitamin D insufficiency, is a condition involving chronically low levels of 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol in the blood.

Vitamin D deficiency has been associated with an increases propensity for diagnosis of more than 30 different diseases, illnesses and health problems.

The complete list of diseases and ailments linked to vitamin D deficiency is below:

• Breast Cancer
• Skin Cancer
• Prostate Cancer
• ADHD
• Alzheimer's
• Autism
• Multiple Sclerosis
• Allergies
• Parkinson's Disease
• Depression
• AIDS
• Fibromyalgia
• Rickets
• Influenza
• H1N1 Flu
• Various Autoimmune Disorders
• Osteoporosis
• Lung Transplant Rejection
• Asthma
• Childhood Obesity
• Chronic Pain
• Tooth Loss
• Gingivitis
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Arterial Stiffness
• Metabolic Syndrome
• Heart Disease
• High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
• Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
• Lupus
• Psoriatic Arthritis

For more information about diseases associated with vitamin D deficiency, please see the article about vitamin D deficiency appearing at the Vitamin D3 Blog.

Video: What is Vitamin D Deficiency?

Additional Vitamin D3 Resources

• Vitamin D3 Questions
  Forum for the discussion of topics related to Vitamin D, and in particular, Vitamin D3. If you have any questions pertaining to cholecalciferol (D3), this is the place to ask them and get them answered promptly.
• Information About Vitamin D3 - Cholecalciferol
  Vitamin D3, or cholecalciferol, is a specific form of vitamin D that humans and other animals generate as a byproduct of exposure to sunlight. The nutrient is sometimes classified as a "fat-soluble hormone".

Northshore Gas Station Hit with Lawsuit

A woman who slipped and fell in the parking lot of a Northshore convenience store has filed suit, alleging that the store was negligent is failing to clean up "oil or other slippery substance" that was present in the parking lot of a Kangaroo Express in St. Tammany Parish.

Julia L. Moore, also of St. Tammany Parish, claims she broke her wrist while attempting to break her fall after she slipped and fell in the parking lot after apparently walking over the allegedly slippery substance. Naturally, she is seeking damages to compensate her for her pain and suffering resulting from her injury, as well as for medical expenses. Ms. Moore claims her injury required surgery, and it's safe to assume she's either sporting a wrist brace or a heavy-duty wrist splint these days.

According to Michelle Keahey of LouisianaRecord.com, the plaintiff is accusing the Kangaroo Express (officially known as The Pantry Inc.) of negligence for "failing to maintain safe premises, failing to remove oil or other slippery substance from the parking lot area of the gas station and convenience store, failing to clean up or remove a spill after being provided constructive or actual knowledge of the spill."

The defendant had the case relocated to Federal District Court in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Endocrine Society Emphasizes Vitamin D3 Supplementation

Endocrine Society Emphasizes Vitamin D3 Supplementation

The Endocrine Society has published a new set of recommendations regarding daily vitamin D3 intake. In the recommendation, which was published in the June online edition of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, the organization essentially recommends that almost everyone participate in a daily vitamin d supplement regimen. The amount of the nutrient taken by each person would depend on the person's age and his or her potential risk of developing vitamin D deficiency.

The research that led to the mass-recommendation noticed that vitamin D deficiency was widespread across all age groups, hence why the organization issued a broad recommendation that everyone supplement with vitamin D, and with those most vulnerable to deficiency directed to take the highest dosages.

Vitamin D deficiency is a health condition in which a person's blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D3, also known as calcifediol, are severely depleted for a recurring or prolonged period of time. The condition can contribute to the development and/or worsening of more than two dozen illnesses and various medical conditions.

The condition can be corrected by taking two specific measures:

1. Make it a point to sunbathe whenever possible, soaking up as much of the sun's rays as is possible without overdoing it. Let your body tell you when you've had enough, unless you've been drinking alcohol, in which case you will want to return to the shade after a predetermined period of time so as to make sure you're not being overexposed.
2. Take a daily, high-quality and high-potency vitamin D3 supplement.

The latter of the two options comes with the least amount of associated risk. While vitamin D3 toxicity is always a remote possibility, it is highly uncommon and should not be a concern so long as you take the supplement according to your doctor's instructions.

Vitamin D3 is available from some food sources like eggs and milk, but in order to obtain the amount recommended by the Endocrine Society a person should be sunbathing and/or supplementing in addition to eating a diet rich in D3.

Vitamin D2 is not as effective or efficient a form of the nutrient as is D3. Ideally, when shopping for vitamin D3 supplements, consumers will be diligent to check the labels to see what form of vitamin D the supplement contains. The recommendation of this author is to go with D3 instead of D2 whenever possible.

Dog Swallows Fishing Hook, Survives

A recent fishing trip out on the Tchefuncte River in Covington, Louisiana nearly turned disastrous when my two year old male pit bull mix Tank found a jug from a previous fishing adventure that was attached to about three feet of twine with a #4 steel fishing hook at the end of it. The hook still had a dead, dried-up shrimp attached to it from a previous fishing trip that was somehow overlooked while cleaning out the boat.

Needless to say, the dog found the jug with the dried-up shrimp on the end of it and proceeded to swallow the shrimp (and the hook). A friend alerted me to the fact that my dog was trying to eat a fishing hook, but by the time either of us could maneuver our way to the opposite end of the boat (where the dog was stationed), he had already completely swallowed it and had moved on to swallowing the twine connecting the hook to the jug.

Fat Lester's Pit Bull Mix "Tank"

In a split-second decision, I decided against attempting to dislodge the hook, figuring that it would be better to have the hook loose in his stomach than stuck inside his throat or esophagus. He is a large dog (90 pounds or so), but it was a large hook, and the risk of exacerbating the problem only increased with the prospect of an amateur like myself attempting to dislodge a fishing hook from a dog's stomach.

Instead of trying to get the hook out, I immediately grabbed the jug and cut the twine where there was slack at the end nearest the jug so as to not tug on the twine and risk setting the hook inside my dog's stomach. From there, I rushed the boat back to the dock and immediately took the dog to the veterinary ER (emergency room) on Florida Street in Mandeville, Louisiana.

After admitting him to the doggie ER, the doctor proceeded to ask me for a full account of what happened, and I was more than willing to comply, providing her with every seemingly insignificant detail of the event. From there, she proceeded to x-ray Tank to confirm my statement that I was sure I had not inadvertently pulled the twine enough to set the hook inside the dog's body. Sure enough, by the good grace of God the hook was still in the dog's stomach.  It had not been set (piercing beyond the barb so as to lock the hook in place), and had not yet entered the animal's intestines. This, as luck would have it, would turn out to be his saving grace.

The fishing hook swallowed by Fat Lester's dog Tank

Because the hook was still loose inside the dog's stomach, the vet was confident enough about the situation to attempt an upper endoscopy to remove the hook. Given that the alternative was a pretty serious surgery to go in through the dog's belly, cut open his stomach and remove the hook, Tank's fate rested in the potential success or failure of the endoscopy procedure.

For anyone unfamiliar with the term, an endoscopy is a minimally invasive diagnostic procedure used to examine a patient's esophagus, stomach and duodenum using a thin, flexible tube known as an endoscope that can transmit images from inside the patient's body to a TV monitor for an up-close, zoomed-in view. The device can be equipped with additional devices that can do such things as grab or latch onto small objects inside the patient's upper GI (gastrointestinal) tract.

An endoscope is a piece of diagnostic medical equipment used to perform endoscopies (the procedure defined above involving the lowering of the flexible, camera-equipped tube into the patient's upper digestive tract).

Anyway, the doctor briefed me on the situation prior to attempting the procedure. She informed me that if unsuccessful, she would have to perform surgery in order to save the dog, and I granted her approval to take whatever necessary actions needed to be taken in order to save the dog. She assured me that she would not perform surgery unless the endoscopy procedure failed.

Much to my relief, about two hours after leaving the veterinary emergency clinic, I received a phone call from the vet stating that the procedure was a success, my dog was doing fine and was recovering, and that I could come by the next morning to pick him up and settle up on my bill, which came out to more than $1,300.00. She advised against going to pick him up that night, as he was fairly heavily sedated with buprenorphine and was better off spending the night under the supervision of caring animal health professionals in the event something should go wrong in the hours following the procedure.

We had no such bad luck, and the next morning at 9:00 I went back to the animal ER and picked up my dog, who by then had worked up quite an appetite and was extremely happy to see me.

Thanks Dr. Stockton for helping save my dog!

Dr. Donna Stockton: Veterinarian who saved Tank Dog

Jennifer Rexford Oil Spill Agitprop Video Debunked as Fraud

I live in South Louisiana, have spoken with those on the front-lines of the cleanup efforts and I am EXTREMELY skeptical of the credibility of Jennifer Rexford's claims made in a series of bizarre but apparently fictional YouTube videos.

Rexford is the ostensible identity of the woman who released a series of YouTube videos in which she fires off a litany of allegations involving her health and supposed misdeeds by British Petroleum (BP). These include an array of what she described as "symptoms" including but not limited to death.

The woman purporting to be Jennifer Rexford charges that she came down from her home in Florida to help with the cleanup and Gulf restoration efforts. She claims she has succumbed to a bizarre combination of severe symptoms resulting in death, although she did not specify if death had already occurred, was likely to occur or may occur at some point in the future.

In late October - when the cleanup efforts were wrapping up and well before residents and cleanup workers had five-plus months to recover from whatever ill-effects they did incur as a result of contact with oil and tarballs breathing in whatever fumes were present since the cleanup ended - I represented a top statewide elected official at a meeting of the Louisiana Shrimp Association in Buras, Louisiana. The shrimpers and fishermen were the initial first-responders and performed the bulk of the cleanup work, and virtually all of the high-risk work.

For almost two hours I sat and listened to the concerns being expressed by those on the front lines and not once did any of the 150 or so people in attendance express any concerns about their post-spill health some six months after they had begun their cleanup work.

[Photo: Jennifer Rexford, the woman behind the bizarre but apparently fictional videos]

If anyone should have suffered debilitating illness as a direct result of the spill it should have been the shrimpers, fishermen and oystermen of Southeast Louisiana. If anyone participating in the cleanup effort were to have come down with oil spill-related symptoms such as those described in the woman in that video it would have happened when they were being repeatedly exposed to the oil and had high levels of the associated contaminants in their symptoms.

The exception would be the potential the spill may have for contributing to multifactorial diseases such as cancer that could manifest themselves at some point into the indefinite future. Note the key words here are potential, may and contributing. The illnesses that would fall into this category are widely understood to be the product of a number of factors including but not limited to diet, lifestyle, genetics and any instances of unusual or extraordinary exposure to toxins, contaminants and such.

The shrimpers expressed concerns about the fact that it isn't known whether or not their involvement in the cleanup efforts will CONTRIBUTE to the development of diseases such as cancer, Parkinson's and others later on in life. No one once indicated that after six months of cleanup work they had experienced any noticeable ill effects from their work in the Gulf recovery efforts.

If indeed this woman's claims were valid, there would have been other examples from some of the thousands of people who had significantly higher levels of exposure than the woman in the agitprop video.

In addition to all that, there is the question of what if any effect the cleanup work had to do with the the woman's condition and its associated symptoms.

Severe neurological damage, paralysis, internal bleeding and death were the "symptoms" listed by the D-list propagandist appearing in the video. Nobody has contacted the local media or any of the numerous high-ranking elected officials both on a local and state-wide effort with whom I am close with. People who worked in the cleanup would be calling Billy Nungesser's office, the office of Senator David Vitter, Mary Landrieu's office and Bobby Jindal's office and demanding they take action, which I know for a fact any of the four above absolutely would should such a matter be brought to their attention (and be truthful and valid).

The woman made no mention of --- wait for it --- going to see a doctor.  It would seem logical that someone experiencing severe neurological damage, paralysis, internal bleeding and death would maybe consider going to the ER and getting a diagnosis and ostensibly medicines and/or whatever other treatments are needed to stabilize and/or cure the condition. [Side-note: It's taking everything I've got right now to refrain from writing in all caps and ending my sentences with series of exclamation points. The degree of this pathetic clown's bullshit may be eligible for a place in the Guinness Book of Records.]

The scary clown mentioned absolutely ZERO names of towns, parishes, locales and jurisdictions that would have inevitably come up had a real Louisiana local or out-of-town volunteer (or paid) cleanup worker been involved with the video. She did not mention Billy Nungesser's name, which she would have done had she been telling the truth.

Her story is completely inconsistent with the hundreds of people I've personally spoken with who actually were involved with the cleanup efforts, her symptoms are inconsistent with exposure to petro-chemicals, inconsistent with the symptoms of actual illnesses and inconsistent with each other.

This woman is 100% full of shit and needed to be called on it.

Due to the incendiary nature of this woman's agitprop, I decided it was best not to embed the video into this post or even link to it. The fact that over 16,000 people have already viewed it is troubling enough, and I don't think it merits the additional exposure. I will provide the URL though for anyone who wishes to assess the video for themselves: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MouIgUtgbgM

UPDATE: Bullshit Called on Jennifer Rexford Story

UPDATE 2:Why Newspapers Won't Report Jennifer Rexford's Claims

TSA Scanners More Dangerous Than Smoking

I just came across a video of an interview with two scientists with backgrounds in the study of radiation. Both said that they would be unwilling to subject themselves to the TSA's airport porno scanners not because they're uncomfortable with Uncle Sam becoming a peeping Tom, but because they believe the radiation emitting devices are extremely dangerous.

The scanners are just plain wrong on so many levels, and it goes far beyond the fact that they can be hazardous to your health.

It speaks volumes that the two radiation scientists refuse to go through the machines. The technology hasn't even been around long enough to have had adequate time to study the mid to long term effects of this type of radiation on passengers. What's more, they have no idea how the people who operate the devices will fare. If these machines are dangerous for the normal air traveler, they could be a death sentence for the TSA workers being subjected to repeat exposure.

All that aside, there is still the issue of these machines constituting a pervert's wonderland and a peeping Tom's dream come true. The role of the government as sexual predator in the nation's airports has got to be illegal. The right lawyers just haven't stepped up to the plate yet to bring down the porno scanners.

Big Sis Janetalia may be a-okay with being ogled while naked or being groped by strangers, but that doesn't mean the rest of us should have to put up with it.

Vitamin D3: It's More Important Than You Think

Vitamin D3: It's More Important Than You Think

Vitamin D3, also known as (cholecalciferol), is the most bio-available form of Vitamin D, which is essential for skin, bone and immune health.

Vitamin D3 is far more important to every day health and the prevention of long-term illness than a vast (but rapidly shrinking) majority of people currently understand. In moderation, the sun can be both extremely therapeutic as well as a major force helping to ward off illness. Of course, you don't want to overdo it. As we all know, too much sun exposure can be hazardous to your health and to your skin.

It has long been established that supplementing with Vitamin D3 may help lower blood pressure and cholesterol in patients struggling with high levels of either and/or both.

Vitamin D3 is the single most important vitamin for bone health. It plays a vital role in the synthesis of calcium and magnesium in the bones. A few of the many, many diseases resulting from Vitamin D Deficiency are rickets, osteoporosis and heart disease.

I personally do not supplement with D3 during the summer months when I wear as little as possible when outdoors (I have relatively dark skin for a white guy, and I generally do not burn). However, come winter, Vitamin D3 is a daily staple and a major part of my nutritional supplementation regimen.

Worldwide Interest in Vitamin D3 Soaring

Worldwide Interest in Vitamin D3 Soaring

In light of new research that shed light on the myriad health benefits offered by Vitamin D3 (Cholecalciferol), the mainstream news media as well as scientific journals have finally caught on to this groundbreaking research, leading to an exponential swelling of public interest in the topic.

Esteemed Nurse Practitioner and Health Columnist Pamela Egan has been years ahead of the curve in making known the medical and scientific facts underlying the health miracle that is Vitamin D3 for quite some time now (at least several years now). She has written numerous articles appearing on many different websites (including her own - PamelaEgan.com), as well as in newspapers, magazines and health journals describing the differences between D3 and other forms of the nutrient, as well as why the former is so far superior to the latter.

Nurse Practitioner Egan has been on the forefront of Vitamin D3 research and deserves to be credited as a pioneer in the media, writing years ago what the medical establishment has only recently began to recognize and accept as fact, which has been partially responsible for the swelling of interest in the topic over the past few months.

Shown below is a 'Google Insights' graph, depicting the swelling of interest surrounding the topics of the benefits offered by naturally healthy levels of Vitamin D3 and the dangers of Vitamin D3 Deficiency over the course of the past six years (when Pam first began writing on the topic).