Happy Easter Eve

Mom and I had to run some errands on this cold, windy Easter Eve, and while we were the way back home we stopped at Walgreens to pick up some Jello that was on sale.  FYI - if you live close to a Walgreens and you like Jello, that's the place to buy it.  They always have coupons in their sale papers for Jello and other cool things like canned Mandarin oranges and tiny shrimp.  Since the store was literally on our way home, we stopped in there to get our Jello.  Let me say that it's taken us ten minutes to calm down after we got home.  It was a madhouse.  I'd guess that 90% of the customers in the store were in the Easter candy aisle.  It was quite a frenzy.  Picture if you will frantic mothers and grandmothers, grabbing at Easter candy as if they were grabbing for a life jacket on a sinking ship.  They were just reaching in and grabbing candy without even seeing what it was, and tossing it into their shopping cart.  As I saw arms and elbows moving in all directions, I said a quick prayer of thanks that we didn't have to buy any Easter candy today or else would have probably been trampled.  It reminded me of a farm scene - when the farmer pours out food for the hogs, and they all run up and congregate around the feed, rooting and shoving to get their spot at the feed trough.  Yep, that's what it looked like at the Easter candy aisle in the drugstore.

It's Not Supposed To Be This Way

It has been one wild weather week here in the Ohio Valley.  I'd venture to bet that there's not too many places in the country where you have the air conditioner on one day and the furnace on the next.  After a week of temperatures in the mid 80s, we started off this week with sunshine, heat and humidity.  Tuesday afternoon before the massive cold front moved through, it was 84 degrees.  The storms hit, and the high Wednesday was 40.  It's been cold ever since. 

I braved the cold and watched my beloved Louisville Bats win their season opener last night, but not before I bundled up.  I had on two pair of socks, my thermal long underwear, a t-shirt underneath a long sleeved t-shirt, my big down-filled winter parka, scarf and gloves.  And believe me when I tell you I was not overdressed.  It was the norm last night at Slugger Field.  As we sat there watching the game and seeing our breath everytime we spoke, I thought that this must be how the Green Bay Packer fans feel at Lambeau Field during football season; you just don't expect to have to wear a winter parka to a baseball game.  But the weather gets crazier.  This evening, as we drove downtown for the Good Friday service at church, I had to turn on the windshield wipers because it was snowing so hard.  Yes, you heard me.  It was snowing. Hard, too.  In fact, it snowed off and on most of the day.  At times, you could hardly see it was snowing so hard.  I think this is a first for me:  driving in snow going to an Easter service.  But it makes sense to me, though; I remember about ten years ago, going to a Christmas Day service wearing just our shirts over our arms - no coats nor jackets because it was so warm. 

It's supposed to be very cold tomorrow and on Easter Sunday.  I feel sorry for the kids going to Easter egg hunts tomorrow.  If it's windy like it was today, the eggs will be blown everywhere.  And I know the cold weather will put a damper on women wanting to wear their spring dresses on Easter Sunday.  But I guess we'll just have to wait awhile to wear our spring clothes until it warms up - which might be July.

 

File Under: WTF?

Vet Claims Doctors Removed Wrong Testicle

AP

LOS ANGELES (April 4) - An Air Force veteran filed a federal claim after undergoing an operation at a Veterans Administration hospital in which a healthy testicle was removed instead of a potentially cancerous one.

Benjamin Houghton, 47, was to have had his left testicle removed on June 14 at the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center because there was a chance it could harbor cancer cells. It also was atrophied and painful.

But doctors mistakenly removed the right testicle, according to medical records and the claim, which seeks $200,000 for future care and unspecified damages.

"At first I thought it was a joke," Houghton told the Los Angeles Times. "Then I was shocked. I told them, 'What do I do now?"'

Houghton, his wife, Monica, and their attorney, Dr. Susan Friery, said they hoped to get the VA's attention by going public with the situation.

The claim was filed on Aug. 8 under the Federal Tort Claims Act. If it is denied, Houghton can sue the government in a federal court, Friery said.

Dr. Dean Norman, chief of staff for the Greater Los Angeles VA system, has formally apologized to Houghton and his wife.

"We are making every attempt that we can to care for Mr. Houghton, but it's in litigation, and that's all we can tell you," he said. Norman added that the hospital has made changes in practices as a result of the case.

The mistake appeared to result from a series of missteps, according to Houghton's medical records.

First, a consent form said the right testicle was to be removed and a left vasectomy performed, when it should have been the opposite. Records do not say who prepared the form. It was signed by both Houghton and the surgeon, John T. Leppert, a fifth-year University of California, Los Angeles, medical resident.

Houghton's wife said her husband did not have his glasses so he could not read it.

Next, the surgical site was to be marked with a pen.

Houghton said he was asked to identify the surgical site and pointed to his left testicle, but no one marked it. Houghton's records don't mention a mark.

Finally, the VA hospital required that a "time-out"be taken in the operating room to double-check that doctors were targeting the correct site, doing the correct procedure and operating on the correct patient.

The medical records show that a time-out was called, but it's unclear whether medical personnel consulted any document besides the erroneous consent form.

Houghton still hasn't had the other testicle removed.

 

Just when we thought things couldn't get any worse at the VA hospitals, a veteran gets the wrong testicle surgically removed.  And to make matters worse, they haven't even removed the one they were supposed to.  WTF?

Where's Hot Water When You Need It?

We had some water issues in the lunchroom at work today - due to circumstances beyond our control, we had no water dispensing from the water spout on the refrigerator, nor did we have any cold water coming from the faucet.  We had hot water, though, so I guess it wasn't a total wash out.  But after lunch when we instinctively went to the kitchen sink to wash our hands, an interesting thought occurred to me: how come when we want hot water, it takes forever for it to get hot; but when we don't want it to be scalding hot, it usually is?

Case in point, today at lunch.  As I said, we didn't have any cold water in the lunchroom, and after lunch I went to the sink like I always do to wash my hands.  Any other time if I'd turned on the hot water, it would have taken ten minutes for it to get hot.  But today, it took about ten seconds.  It just didn't make any sense.  If I'd been at home and wanted some hot water from the faucet for a cup of instant coffee or tea, it would have taken ten minutes of the water running for it to get hot.  But today when I was hoping that the water would stay cool so I could wash my hands, it came out scalding hot as soon as I turned the faucet on.  If I'd wanted the water to be hot, it would have taken forever. Not today; it took just seconds.  Like I said, it just makes no sense. 

 

Keep Up The Good Work, Samkon

This weekend, I had an experience that not many people get to have: I met an NFL player that was on fantasy football team this past season.  How cool is that?  The player is running back Samkon Gado. 

I met Samkon at church this Sunday.  He was at Walnut Street this weekend to speak at the annual sports banquet, and he was at the Sunday morning services as well.  He spoke during the services, giving his testimony and talking about growing up in Nigeria and his college days at Liberty University in Virginia.  During his four years at Liberty University, the football team had the worst record in the country. During his senior year, he sat the bench most of the season, but got to start as running back with the team's two running backs were injured. It was during that game when NFL scouts noticed Samkon, and were impressed.  To quote Samkon, he said "The NFL liked me because I was big and I was fast."  After graduating with his B.S. degree, the Kansas City Chiefs signed him to their practice squad.  He was injured during training camp and was released.  Samkon said he questioned about continuing on with a career in the NFL or doing what he said he felt called to do -- medical missionary work.  He said that he prayed and asked God to lead him to a missionary field that desparately needed help; little did he know that his answer would be in the NFL.  Two weeks later, he was contacted by the Green Bay Packers to try out, and was signed to their practice squad. He was sixth on the depth chart.  Within two weeks, all five running backs on the roster were injured and Samkon played in his first NFL game. Incidentally, he said that was the first NFL game he ever attended.  He continued on with the Packers and after starting the 2006 season, was traded to the Houston Texans.  During his time with Green Bay, he set some impressive franchise records for a rookie: most rushing yards in a game (171) and most touchdowns in a season (7).

After the church service ended on Sunday, most of the congregation rushed out to make it to Sunday School, since the service had lasted a bit longer than usual, but I stayed a few minutes to meet Samkon.  I thought there would be a big crowd around him, but there was only a couple of people talking with him when I walked up.  I shook his big strong hand and thanked him for sharing his story with us today, and I smiled and told him how I proudly had him on my fantasy football team this past season.  He smiled a huge smile and thanked me for having faith in him and his football abilities.  I thanked him for being such a great influence and hero in a time when usually all we hear are stories of professional atheletes being arrested.  He shook my hand again, and smiled and asked that our church pray for him and his work.  I assured him that we would.

The Trouble With PAMSs

As if dealing with PATs isn't bad enough, now it seems that we have their younger counterparts, the PAMSs, to deal with.  In case you weren't aware, the PAMSs are none other than Punk Ass Middle Schoolers.  From TWITs involvement and interaction with PATs, and based on some information I've received, it seems that PAMSs are more aggressive and very deserving of the "punk" in their name.  Case in point: a very disturbing incident today involving a faithful reader and some PAMSs.

I will not even us initials in telling this story, to protect my friend and faithful reader from any possible retaliation from any PAMSs that read this.  They can come after me if they want - all I have to say is just bring it on, punks.  Back to the story.  My faithful reader emailed me this morning and told of an incident that had just happened at her place of employment.  Her office is close to a middle school, and some of the PAMSs get dropped off by the bus by her office parking lot.  We think that these PAMSs had watched yesterday's pay-per-view showing of Wrestlemania, because they were practicing some wrestling moves as they beat up one of their fellow PAMSs.  One of the more aggressive PAMSs even got on top of a car in my friend's office parking lot and jumped down onto the PAMS that he was beating up.  I think we might need to change their title from PAMS to FT: Future Thug.

Link Of The Week

I love TV theme songs.  I always have.  When I was in 8th grade, my group in gym class choreographed a jump rope routine to the "Charlies Angels" theme song.  The theme to "Rockford Files" and "Magnum PI" were also some of my favorites, as well as the theme to "Dallas." I had a couple of albums with all of the popular TV theme songs, and I think I wore them out playing them on my stereo.  As technology advanced, the first ringtone that I bought for a cell phone was the theme for "The Jeffersons", another of my all-time favorite TV theme songs. 

I found a cool site this week that has the original theme song for just about every TV show that has ever had a theme song.  Visit http://www.televisiontunes.com and check it out.  They're all in MP3 format, so the sound quality is just awesome.  Go on and move on up like George and Weezy.