By EBONY S. MOSLEY

VCU Medical Center is suffering from one of the most common problems hospitals in the United States are facing today. The emergency room is overcrowded and the wait for patients to see a doctor can take several hours. These long hours and congested waiting rooms are due to patients misusing the emergency room for minor problems.

When patients first arrive in the Emergency Room at VCU Medical Center, they check in and state their ailment. Patients are separated into triage rooms according to how sick they are (one way they VCU Medical Center has attempted to deal with overcrowding). After being sent to the correct level, patients are first sent to the waiting room to wait to be registered. Next, comes the wait for the doctor, which in some cases could take up to 8 hours. Patients are forced to stand in hallways and lean against walls because there are not enough seats to accommodate the large population.

Armesia Lamb, Virginia Commonwealth University dining staff member, says her wait in the ER was less than satisfying.

“I was there from 8 p.m. Saturday night to 5:30 a.m. Sunday,” said Lamb.

She remembers seeing and hearing the people before her complaining about how long they had been waiting, and knew she was going to be there a while.

“It’s ridiculous. You’re sick when you get there, and sicker when you leave.”

Julie Kacmarick, RA Clinical Coordinator at VCU Medical Center, knows first hand how hectic the emergency department can get.    She has seen all kinds of minor cases enter the ER from “people with back pain they have had for ten years, to people wanting a pregnancy test.”  Those who do not have regular primary doctors are using the ER for their trivial family physician problems.

Because of the policies at the Medical Center, everyone who comes in with an issue must be treated, no matter how petty the problem.

The overcrowding and long waits are just symptoms of a larger problem facing the nation– healthcare. People without healthcare are frequently using the ER because unlike at a primary care facility, they cannot be turned away.                    “The healthcare system is broken in the U.S.,” said VCU Mass Communications Professor Thomas Clarence, “that’s what needs to be fixed.”

Clarence also goes into one issue of why patients are using the ER for primary care problems, because there is an overall shortage of primary care physicians.

“There are not that many primary care doctors anymore. More doctors are moving into specialized doctors because they want to make more money.”

The issue of the shortage of doctors is an entire issue all in itself, but yet just another addition to the ER’s situation.

Although it is VCU Medical Center’s problem, patients also have responsibilities to help the hospital run efficiently. Patients should be better educated about their own health care and not misuse the Emergency Room for their minuscule problems. While they treat “approximately 85,000 patients per year” those patients will continue to deal with overcrowding and long waits until the problem is resolved.

Because VCU Medical Center’s Emergency Room’s problem is essentially more of a national issue than local, it is hard to say how and when it will be resolved.

sunnyhuckle says:

Plz to be excusin me? Ai culd hab hugs plz? Just got home from hospital, husband went in a ambulance. Bad copd attack all day while I was at work and did not know. To thick headed to ask for help. Waited for me to get home. Had to call ambulance, was too sick for me to drive.

Long story short, they had to put him to sleep and intubate and paralyze him so not to choke on tubes. Will prolly be in icu cupla days.Heart working to hard at breathing, afraid mite stop.

I found much peas heer (can’t spell ryte wen ai try ennymore) this morning at our “vigil”
Will be tew finding moar tonite. fankee.

Cupla funny things gabe meh comfurt in er:
Dispenser for chg (but no doi) (yes, chg, wif no r in it, confuzzled me) an wen they brawt in crash cart (just in case, he did not crash) ai thawt of awl the splort repairs I have witnessed, so cheezpeeps gave me comfort from afar.
*breaks for teh leeky ize naw*
back soon
{{{{{{{{{cheezpeepz}}}}}}}}}}}

sunnyhuckle says:

Sawry, forgot this, they said he very strong for so sick, an will be OK after being on tube for few days.

Update frum SunnyHucklez profile on 9/12/09:

Last night Dave arrested after I signed off, revived and stable. Surgeon called and is putting in larger iv to accomadate whatever, in his neck. No better, maybe a little worse as no improvement yet is not good Am fighting a blinding migraine, daughter here and gone to get meds, hopefully knock me out for a few hours so can go to hospital. Can’t believe a migraine at time like this!

I wrote this two hours ago on my iPod as I sat on a stalled 1 train. If it wasn’t for my iPod, I may have gone insane.  Here we go:

“I am writing this from a hot train. It was crowded about 30 minutes ago. That was 9:09. Since then, two things have happened:

1. A passenger has gotten sick.
2. We have been waiting for the EMS.

We are at the 59th street stop of the 1train. What really confuses me is that there is a hospital less then 4 blocks away.

The passengers are slowly filing out. I am in it for the long haul. I have a large piece of luggage with me. It would be the only day I have heavy things with me that this would happen.  I might need to transfer….

The conductor keeps repeating the announcement that we are waiting for the EMS. I really hope that ill passenger did not have a fatal condition because they are probably dead by now. As of this writing, the train has been in the station for 40 minutes. It appears that the EMS arrived around 9:55. Which Is more than 10 minutes per block. I am now waiting for the E train. Wish me luck.

JJRC

Sent from my iPod”

JJRC

Cody fell at work Wednesday and cut his arm very badly on an old fender.  The cut was 5 inches wide and cut through 3 muscles.  Thankfully no nerves or arteries were damaged.  He was rushed to the emergency room in Ruston and sedated.  The wound required surgery to stitch the muscles as close as possible together in hopes that they will grow back together and he has 23 staples in his arm holding it shut.  His arm is now wrapped and in a cast and sling but it’s very sore and he’s been prescribed Lortab for pain.  He had to stay overnight at the hospital and his mother and I stayed also.  He has limited use of his fingers and he can’t move his ring finger at all right now.  With time, he will regain full mobility of his arm but he will have to work on regaining full use of his hand/fingers.

5 inches wide

I’m not creeped out by much, but the lead of this piece (and the amount of time I’ve spent in hospitals over the years) was pretty awful.

I guess I’m even more disturbed by this line:

He was told someone would come in to deal with them – but this did not happen during the time he was on the ward.

The only action he saw was a staff member using ant spray.

Seriously? The way the hospital was dealing with these ants was to . . .send the nurses around with cans of the British equivalent of Raid? Is this the comprehensive pest management program the hospital spokesperson talked about?

If so, they need a new definition of “comprehensive” than the one that is generally accepted by most people.

Folkkäre musikern Kalle Moraeus spelade i sin ungdom in ett par rätt provokativa låter, varav hans schlagerdoftande  ”Kör mig hem till Säters hospital” cirkulerat i musikerkretsar sedan dess.

Skrev och frågade Kalle om bakgrunden till den här låten. Här följer Kalles roliga, tänkvärda och generösa svar (efter Kalles brev hittar du länken till låten):

Kalle har skrivit och bett mig ta bort hans text, eftersom den tydligen bara var avsedd för privat bruk. Sorry,  Kalle.

saters-hospital

Patients should phone their GP rather than drive in for a visit, according to National Health Service guidelines unveiled today.

Ministers want family doctors to hold more ‘phone-in’ surgeries to help the environment by cutting carbon emissions from cars.

They also want hospitals to achieve their green targets by reducing the amount of meat they serve to patients in wards.

Patient groups said the ‘telemedicine’ plans were fraught with danger because a misdiagnosis over the phone could lead to incorrect treatment and even death.

The Government says action is needed because the NHS is responsible for a quarter of all the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the public sector.

It produces 18million tons of the gas linked to global warming every a year  -  3.2 per cent of the total for the whole of Britain.

Dream – 2/4/2008

I go into a hospital, up the elevator, to a nurse’s station. Pain in my lower abdomen and groin. I lie on a table in a room. A kid and his dad are there, too. The boy plays with a game and sits on my table. I move to be alone. I go over by the window and sit on a table. The kid comes over again. Geez. I need to be by myself.

I have a cell phone and I call my girlfriend to let her know where I am. I tell her I am on the ninth floor, in Room 7.

I look outside across the street. There is a aconcert starting in front of a fraternity house. I think it might be The Elms that are going to play, but I realize that is not Chris at the drums.

The musicians are many and of varied ethnic backgrounds. There are two white drummers, three Asian female singers on the right wearing short shorts, a male Asian lead singer, three black women backup singers on the left who all have long dresses on. One of the backup singers has a large black bug fly into her mouth while she is singing. One of the other girls swats at it before it goes in her mouth. She keeps singing after it goes in. What a pro!

I am out of the room now, but re-enter. It’s now dark outside. The room is more like a bedroom now, with a dresser and bed. My girlfriend enters with me. A kid sits on the bed … a boy. An iron bust of a knight holding a baseball bat is on the dresser. I pick up a small ball from the boy and pitch it to the knight. He hits the ball into the center of the room weakly.

Patrick Swayze has pneumonia and has checked himself into a hospital for observation, it was revealed Friday at a press event for the Television Critics Association in Los Angeles.

“As we arrived here this morning we have some news,” said A&E president Abbe Raven. “Patrick Swayze has checked himself into the hospital. However, he asked us specifically to go forward with today’s panel. We wish him the very best with his recovery.”

Bob DeBitetto, the president and general manager of A&E , said that Swayze had decided to check himself into the hospital after he came down with pneumonia.

Swayze, who is battling pancreatic cancer, had been scheduled to discuss his new show, “The Beast.”

On an interview that aired Wednesday, the actor told Barbara Walters that his road has been difficult. “You can bet that I’m going through hell,” he said. “And I’ve only seen the beginning of it.”

Swayze, 56, who went public with his diagnosis last March, said the disease has taken an emotional toll. “There’s a lot of fear here,” he said. “Yeah, I’m scared. Yeah, I’m angry. Yeah, I’m (asking), why me.”

Despite his difficult year battling cancer, Swayze is still looking ahead. “I keep dreaming of a future, a future with a long and healthy life,” he said, “not lived in the shadow of cancer, but in the light.”

MSNBC

-X

My insomniac transgression is coming to a climax, as I attempt to fall asleep at 2 AM in the morning, but find myself wide awake, listening to the constant hum of some kind of electrical circuitry behind my head. A constant drone, whining all night at a constant volume, unnoticable, except when one wants to dream. After placing a pillow over my hill, and thinking thoughts of sleep, I fell asleep around 3 AM. I had dreams that involved the characters such as Tim Letson, and his fantasy younger brothers. They were hicks inside of a trashed car, standing there ready to meet my brothers. I awoke to the incessant buzzing of my alarm at 7:30 AM and did not move, except to turn off the alarm until 7:36 AM. I then put on a shirt, and the flannel I have been wearing for two weeks straight, and left the room to grab some breakfast from the Dining Hall. I had a half a grapefruit, a bagel with peanut butter and jelly, and Fruit Loops. The Fruit Loops were obviously covered in Soy Milk, which the lady behind the counter brought out for me without me even having to ask. I finished with five minutes to get to Math Lab, but had to piss horribly. I went to the computer lab where the class takes place and set down my belongings at the computer I usually use on Tuesday mornings for said class. I rushed to the unused bathrooms in the other computer lab, which is right next door. After completeling the natural exercise of my body I returned to class and delved into the day’s activity, which had something to do with polynomials, their zeros, and their graphs. I would have finished first, but I made a small mistake on one of the graphs, causing me to redo it, adding three minutes to the activity. The kid who usually gets done first, with all his emo glory, and his Ipod already out of his pocket, turned in his lab ahead of me. I now remeber, though, that I did not submit my lab online as I am suppose to do, but this will hopefully cause no point dedection unless the teacher decides to be a total douche because I did it once before. I will have to send him an email.

After lab, I dropped off my backpack and various class supplies in my room since the math lab is the only class I have on Tuesdays. I then went to Rite-Aid with two dollars in my pocket to buy a card for Ashley, a get well card, because she is in the Hosptial as stated in earlier posts. I could not find a card for less than or equal to two dollars, so I left to go back to the room to find out visiting hours for the Hospital she was staying at. The relevant website stated that they started at 11 AM, so I started watching a movie ‘Battle of Seattle’ to pass time before I tried my luck at Rite-Aid again, and then set off to the Hospital. At an appropriate time, I turned off the movie, and left to Rite-Aid, this time armed with my debit card, so money would not be a relevant barrier. I got some lame card, with something I cannot remember inscribed on the front. I then made my way to the hospital, which is about 1.08 miles from the Snowden Library according to Mapquest.

At the Hospital, i inquired at the Information Desk as to what room the patient Ashley was staying, got the information, then decided to write some kind of note in the card. The card was an attempt at being sweet and/or cute, and then waiting for the right elevator to descend so I could go to the floor she was staying on. I had some odd feeling in my stomach, as I did not want to walk into the room when some procedure was going, and put people in an ackward situation. When I got into the room, I noticed a woman I had never met before. Ashley quickly introduced me to her aunt, who, if I remember correctly, in named Victoria. We conversed for a small time about Ashley’s apparent health, and her actual health. She seemed fine, but this was due to the steroid injections she was taking. Also, the tonsils could not be removed, as it would be “a bloody mess, with infection spreading.” At some point, her aunt left to go and “roam,” leaving me and Ashley alone. We talked for a little about the homeopathic rememdies her aunt was recommending, which I am skeptical of, as I am skeptical of modern medicine even. At one point she needed to piss badly, but her piss needed to be measured for whatever perverse reason, so she had to wait until a nurse came and emptied the piss can. She then filled the piss can right back up. Moments later, a cafeteria worker brought her her lunch, which consisted of a bunch of liquid foods. Because of her strictly liquid diet, she is losing weight, and at a fast rate. In fact the ring which usually adorns her one finger will not stay on because the width of her fingers has shrunk. After she was done garbling down her meal, I wished my fond farewells, and wishes to her recovery.

I rushed back to the campus, because at about this time, it was nearly 1 PM, more than 5 hours since I had consumed breakfast. At lunch, I entered the Dining Hall when it was nearly empty. I had three servings of Polenta all Fungi, or something like that, and it was so unbelievably good, in fact, one of the best things I have ever had. I had the rices and vegetables, and minestrone soup, which was very good, better than  Olive Garden’s. Stuffed, I went back to my room, and surfed the internet for a time, and did relatively nothing. I eventually took a nap, and woke with 15 minutes left for supper. At dinner, I had potatoes, and minestrone soup, and some kind of tropical fruit main course, the name of which escapes me.

When I got back to the room, a packed up my homework, and then listened to such bands as Cryptic Slaughter and Fear, before going over to the library to study. At the library, I secured a private study room where I outlined and read a chapter from Chemistry. As this took the better part of one hour and forty five minutes, and because I did not feel like studying anymore, I went back to my room. I then chatted with Zachary C. over AIM about WIlson Area Breaking News, and then intend to read, and maybe finish, The Blind Watchmaker.

One of the churches that I am doing work with in NC is having what they call a Mina Project.  It is Hope Community Church in Cary.  They give away around 30,000 and the members figure out ways to invest the money so that it is multiplies.  (Parable of the talents)

14Matthew 25:14 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his property to them. 15 To one he gave five talents of money, to another two talents, and to another one talent, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. 16 The man who had received the five talents went at once and put his money to work and gained five more. 17 So also, the one with the two talents gained two more. 18 But the man who had received the one talent went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. 19 “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them.20 The man who had received the five talents brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.’21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’22 “The man with the two talents also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two talents; see, I have gained two more.’23 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ 24 “Then the man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.25 So I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ 26 “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?27 Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. 28 ” ‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents. 29 For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

This year they are hoping to see over 200,000 raised that will be used to build/refurbish both a hospital and a dorm/hotel in the Haiti.  The dorm will be for the people who volunteer to utilize their medical specialties in this clinic.

You can go to the link below to learn more about the Mina project.  I’d encourage all of you to try this in your own churches.  It is really teaching my whole family a lot about being entrusted with money/talent from God.

To learn more about the ministry this years funds will benefit, you can go to Hope for Haiti, where you can get all the information and also donate via paypal.  There are some powerful videos and detailed information on exactly how the funds will be used.

Hope for Haiti is an amazing story of redemption.

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

What is The Mina Project?

In simplest terms, it is Hope’s radical gesture of generosity to our local community and beyond. It is built on the

precept of Jesus’ parable of the minas (pronounced my-na), calling us to multiply and invest in God’s kingdom. What

better way to do that than to invest in and partner with local organizations and ministries which would benefit from

additional funding to better continue the benevolent works they have already begun.

How did this project get its name?
From Jesus’ parable of the minas as told in Luke 19:11-27, particularly verse 13 as the nobleman charges his

servants, “…‘Put this money to work, ‘he said, ‘until I come back.” The servants were given the money to invest and

work with to see by how much they could increase the amount given them. Since each was given a relatively small

sum, the nobleman’s purpose was not to increase his worth, but to see which of his servants would be worthy of

greater responsibility in his kingdom when he returned. We understand that Jesus is the nobleman inferred by the

parable and we are the servants to whom much has been entrusted on his behalf.

What exactly is a mina?
A varying weight or value of money used in ancient Greece and Asia. In Biblical times, five minas were worth about

three months wages.

How does Hope’s Mina Project work?
During the weekend services of August 23 & 24, 2008, each Hope attendee received an envelope bearing cash, with

various amounts of cash placed in each one ranging in increments from $10 to $500. In total, $50,000 was

distributed throughout all four services. The congregation has now been asked to go out and “multiply their minas”

however they choose; they can use the money to invest in a project or work or some other such means—they are

simply encouraged to be creative and faithful. Then at the conclusion of their project or work, all profits will be

returned as donations to benefit a pre-selected list of charitable organizations.

So, as anyone who has read my blog in the past knows about the relationship with me and my dad… or lack thereof…..

Today I get a letter from my Tia (aunt) Rosie telling me that my dad is in the hospital in San Antonio, in critical condition. She didn’t say what happened or anything else. This is all I know.

I am torn. I am thinking in my mind ” It could be too late for me to form a relationship with my dad. It might be my last chance”. But my heart is saying ” its  been too late for too long”. Or my heart and head are switched around. I dont know.

Im not sure if I should be wanting to rush down there in case this is the last chance. To get off my chest everything I have ever wanted to say. Or to maybe get that  approving and I have missed so much look. Or If I should just leave well enough alone. My anger and hurt is genuine, and I am not in the wrong no matter what I really feel. Cause they are my feelings. But I am torn and confused and there is no where to turn to get the right answer.

In the end I will pray for him. Pray for his recovery and stay right here in Ohio where I have been all my life. Where he has known I have been. Some ppl may think its wrong. Some ppl may say I should make the first step toward him. There is no right answer. There is no wrong answer. There is just me and my life, and the lack of a father growing up. When I say lack of a father growing up, I don’t just mean my dad. I mean any dad. I have never had a dad. Not a step dad, not a boyfriends of my moms, nothing. It would have been nice to have him around when I was little, even if it was just a few weekends a year…… I’m grown now. I don’t need a dad now. I needed one then. Sometimes I wonder how life would have been growing up with a dad (any dad) in the house…. I can’t even imagine.

I have learned through these conversations with my aunt that I have 2 brothers and 2 sisters in Texas. That grew up with a dad.  I’m happy for them. So he is not alone………

“[China] wants to be the major influence in the Pacific, there’s no doubt about that; it’s aiming to be that in a fairly short time.

It has [been] carefully planned, [there’s been] very strategically placed aid. You’ll notice Chinese aid is quite different…China is heading straight for the jugular” – Ron Crocombe (A report to the Australian Senate by the Foreign Affairs, Defence, and Trade References Committee: China’s Emergence: Implications for Australia, 2006).

With an economic growth rate averaging 10% a year for the past decade, the People’s Republic of China has become the fourth-largest economy and the second-largest energy consumer on earth. The Chinese economy is largely driven by domestic demand, with a population of more than a billion people, and is expected to continue to expand well into the 21st century.

I recently read the paper The Dragon Looks South, published by The Lowy Institute for International Policy and which I most definitely recommend to anyone who has an interest in not only Papua New Guinea, but also China’s influence in the South Pacific.

The paper focuses primarily on China’s booming aid program to the South Pacific and investigates why China is so engaged within the region by providing an in-depth analysis of its increased aid pledges from the period 2005 – 2007 toward the eight developing Pacific states that officially recognise China: the Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu.

The paper identifies a number of reasons as to why China is so interested in the South Pacific: 1) To access the region’s resources, 2) To establish intelligence facilities and island missile bases to block a US naval approach from Pearl Harbour, 3) To starve Taiwan of diplomatic recognition or try to win cheap votes in international organisations (E.g. China’s opposition to Japanese efforts to obtain a permanent seat on the UN Security Council).

PNG is China’s main resource interest in the region because of its mineral wealth, valuable timber resources, and extensive fish stocks. China has shown a keen interest in these resources which is aptly reflected in its $US 651 million investment in the Ramu nickel/cobalt mine investment in 2006.

Interestingly, the paper points out that of the 14 Pacific member states that make up the Pacific Islands Forum, PNG receives the smallest allocation of Chinese aid on a per capita basis (a population of 6 million doesn’t help). However, significant Chinese investment (on top of aid) boosts the importance of China to PNG – as in the case of the Ramu mine where talks have begun on a concessional loan to fund a hydropower project to meet the mine’s energy requirements, costing up to $US 248 million.

The paper also questions the Chinese approach to Pacific aid. It quotes the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that “Their [China and Taiwan] aid programs tend to focus on prestige projects in a ‘chequebook diplomacy’ competition, applying less rigorous standards of transparency, accountability and governance than other donors”.

A $US 3.2 million grant from China in 2005 was used to construct the Papa-Lealea road in PNG.

China delivers its aid in the Pacific via concessional loans, grant aid and technical assistance (and some debt relief where there lacks appropriate information). The vast majority of China’s aid during the period reviewed (2005–07) was directed at infrastructure projects such as sports facilities, government offices, roads and fish processing plants. These are almost always built by Chinese contractors using labour brought in from China, mirroring a pattern repeated in other regions.

The paper also criticised China’s aid program because some of its major aid projects (stadiums, swimming pools and unnecessary office complexes) not only do not appear to meet priority infrastructure and development needs but also have high maintenance costs. The provision of large loans from China also increases debt burdens.

One of the most interesting points of the paper was its in-depth analysis of China’s increased aid pledges from the period 2005 – 2007 toward the eight developing Pacific states that officially recognise China.

Here is the analysis on PNG:

Chinese Aid in the Pacific 2005–2007: Papua New Guinea

For PNG, government budget figures for Chinese grants have been used instead of pledged figures in calculating China’s aid to PNG. Pledged aid projects are detailed below as a guide to the projects China is funding, and are followed by budget figures.

2005

• $US 10.3 million for three building projects (2005–07): student dormitories and teachers’ houses at Vudal University, a computer building at Lae UNITECH and the renovation of Government House.
• $US 0.4 million for Taurama Military Hospital donated by the People’s Liberation Army.
• $US 3.2 million grant for the Papa-Lealea road.
• $US 0.18 million for wind-driven generators for the Duke of York Islands, East New Britain.
• $US 4.5 million in economic and technical assistance for wheat cultivation, dry-rice, mushroom growing equipment, medical equipment and anti-AIDS medicines.
• Nine Chinese doctors placed in Port Moresby General Hospital (since 2002).
• Funding for the Kandep wheat technical cooperation project in Enga Province (since 1995)

[Total Chinese aid grants in 2005 were reported with UN grants in the PNG budget and together were $US 6.1 million]

2006

• $US 65.4 million concessional loan to develop and implement the National Agriculture Development Plan. To be drawn down in 2007 and repaid over a 15–20 year period.
• $US 1.35 million grant for development projects.
• $US 0.1 million to purchase anti-malarial drugs.
• $US 3.6 million funding for a cold storage and fish processing facility in Morobe Province.
• $US 0.06 for the Wewak sports stadium feasibility study.
• PNG sought a concessional loan to fund the 240MW Ramu 2 hydro power plant to supply the Ramu Nickel Project and other centres (costing up to $US 248.6 million). The PNG Independent Public Business Corporation is still in discussions with China on the scale of this project and financing options.

[The PNG budget estimated Chinese aid grants in 2006 were $US 14.1 million].

2007

• $US 0.5 million for renovation of the Taurama Barracks.
• $US 0.4 million for projects to be determined.
• $US 2.5 million for development projects.
• $US 0.15 million for an international conference centre.
• 24 scholarships.
• 80 government personnel trained.
• Funding for a tour of China by media workers.

[The PNG budget projected Chinese aid grants in 2007 would be $US 10.7 million].

Total Chinese Aid in the Pacific 2005–2007

NOTE:

The Dragon Looks South is written by Fergus Hanson, Research Associate at The Lowy Institute for International Policy, and was published on 11 June 2008. You can download the paper here.

Haven’t been around since I went with my daughter BACK to the ER on Tuesday night. My one year old grandson was taken to his pediatrician Monday. She said he had pneumonia and sent him to the ER. 14 hours later they sent him home saying she was wrong and he had an ear infection. Tues. a.m. she took him BACK to the pediatrician and told her what had happened the night before including the fact that they NEVER once listened to his lungs!!!! They would ask her a question and as she was trying to answer cut her off!

The pediatrician went ahead an took xrays and showed my daughter the pneumonia. She said he was dehydrated and needed back to the hospital for iv fluids. She called ahead. She gave us the name of a doctor she talked to. She gave very detailed written info about what he had and he needed fluid. I drove the hour and went with them. I decided that I might be a bit more vocal than she is.

It took me getting very vocal. We arrived at 5pm. Told them he needs fluids. ONE HOUR later they triaged him! 101 temp so they gave him tylonal. Three hours later we could feel he was getting hotter. We asked that they take him temp. They told us we had to wait for 15 minutes until they could do that.

My son in law had went back several time to complain. The last time they got rude with him and said “if your doctor called ahead you wouldn’t be waiting here.” We then showed them the paperwork AGAIN that showed what she needed done and the name of the doctor she talked to…. they said “oh well, you’ll still have to wait!”

This made me rather mad. I pulled out my laptop and tried to find info on their website of chief of staff or administrator. When they didn’t have it listen (i am loudly telling daughter what I am doing). I said “I’m going to write a letter to the gainesville sun” So, I went to their forums and wrote a scathing review of the hospital ER which included “next time I will tell my daughter to take him to the vet as dogs get treated better than the people do here” There were people near by and they wanted to hear so I was reading it again while my daughter was on the phone to her aunt (a nurse) to find out how in the heck we get attention… how do we find out the head administrator etc . They called us back. Shannon headed to the peds room they had here in the night before.. they stopped us and said “we have a special room for you, the family room” We were being “punished” so to speak.

They came in and said he was fine. I argued with them. They sent the attending doc in an hour later. I said “his doctor says he has pneumonia, she showed us the xrays” he says “is she a radiologist?” (the resident said that they way the xrays were cloudy was normal for babies”) I replied “no she is a pediatrician, I would think she would know what NORMAL xrays for a baby would look like.” He said he has NO signs of infection. I then said well last night one of your physicians said he had an ear infection. He said “well, you could have 10 doctors diagnose one person and get 10 different answers.” To which I replied “how VERY reassuring.” He said I’ll be back in a sec and grabbed the xrays and left. AN HOUR later the resident returns. He said we took these xrays to the radiologist (the ones the pediatrician took — to this point they had been looking themselves and THEY are not radiologists!) “and the radiologist says there is pneumonia”

IMAGINE THAT!!! We then asked again that they PLease take his temp since it had been three hours since we asked. It was now 102. They did NOT start and IV. They got him to drink 2 ounces of pedialite and sent us home!!!!!!

I could not believe this. They did NOTHING. We didn’t even need to go there as he already had the antibiotic. The doc had sent him to be hydrated and they sent us home!!!!!

AHHHHHHHHHH. Ok, got that off my chest!

High temps, pneumonia and a three day hospital stay. Well, I’m home now from my very first hospital stay. Can’t say that I enjoyed myself, but it was good to get the care I needed. I’ve got a road ahead of me, that doesn’t involved a lot of activity, they say it takes a long time to recover. I have pneumonia in my right lung. I had lots of saline pumped into me, three rounds of IV antibiotics (it took 5 tries to get my IV in), they took their fair share of blood, and 18 breathing treatments! I have some stories to share about my stay in my hometown rural hospital! In the midst of this I have found myself a local doctor that I am glad to have found! She saw me after hours on Wednesday and determined that I really did need hospitalization. Dr. Patterson is a great Doctor!

My mom had her angiogram on Wednesday, they discovered multiple blockages and a not-so-great mitral valve, so they placed a balloon pump in her aorta and sent her to ICU to await surgery, which was hopefully going to be the next morning (Thursday).

But the surgery didn’t happen Thursday. And when Friday rolled around, my mom was still “stable” in ICU on the balloon pump, so they pushed back her surgery until the following Monday!

I totally understand that there are other patients who were in need of surgery, and that their surgery schedule was pretty full, but my mom will have ended up spending more than 4 needless days in the extremely expensive ICU as a result of this postponement of the surgery. It gets a little frustrating. And my mom has been doubly frustrated because she’s been flat on her back since Wednesday, unable to bend her right leg because of the balloon pump and all the monitors. Her heart’s been able to rest during that time, but she’s become a little restless herself.

But at least we’re nearing the time when they’re actually going to be doing something for her. Bright and early tomorrow morning (Monday) they should be taking her into surgery. The expected surgery will be a quintuple bypass as well as a mitral valve replacement or repair, but you never know what’s going to happen once the surgeon actually gets into the operating room. My dad went in expecting to have five bypasses and ended up with six, so we’ll know what actually happened sometime tomorrow afternoon.

This should be an interesting operation as my mom’s surgeon is an expert in “off the pump” bypasses. In other words, a bypass without having the heart/lung maching. I’m still amazed that’s even possible, but apparently it is, and the recovery time following an “off the pump” bypass is supposedly a little faster than the normal byspass surgery like my father had.

I only have internet access this afternoon and then I’ll be heading back into town, an hour away from here. We’ve been blessed to have been able to stay at a fully-furnished 3-bedroom house while my mom’s been in the hospital. It’s helped us avoid spending 2 hours a day driving to and from the hospital from my parents home. Unfortunately, there’s no interent access there, so I’ll probably be able to blog next when I return home Wednesday night.

Thank you all for your prayers for my mother’s health.

My grandfather passed on an heirloom Samurai sword to my dad this year. My dad has always held a lot of sentiment for this sword. Little did anyone know that it is also worth quite a bit of money. But to us, that is totally beside the point. Between my aunt and I, we got a pretty good rendition of how Grandpop got this sword. I share it with you below for your amusement and in tribute to him and everyone who served in the military so that we can celebrate all the freedoms we enjoy.

How the Japanese Samurai sword came into the possession of Colonel Harvey Clyde Hoffman (US Army Retired). [Story told by Dad to some family October 7, 2007 and transcribed by his daughter, Betsy Feltman.]

The 161st Station Hospital assigned to Eickleburgs 8th Army, stationed in the Philippines at Cebu City on Cebu Island, during WWII was scheduled to go in on the invasion of Japan. The bomb was dropped on Hiroshima and the 161st Station Hospital was then sent in as part of the occupation force to the country of Japan. The paratroopers who were the first to land in the occupied country had the Japanese swords surrendered to them. The paratrooper officers contacted the 161st Station Hospital to request that they be allowed to meet and have a social time with the nurses and officers. The paratrooper officers said they would bring swords for the officers of the 161st Station Hospital. When they arrived they had the swords and the swords were put in another area. Later the officers of the 161st Station Hospital were told they could go in and pick a sword, just one each. Dad was a Captain at that time and he got to go in and pick a sword. He looked at the swords and picked the one he liked. He has the sword he picked currently in his possession. (It is currently in my father’s possession…if he hasn’t sold it on e-bay or lost it…)

[Follow-up story told to and written by granddaughter Jennifer Scott on November 21, 2007.]

Jennifer- So Grandpop, the story says you looked at all the swords and picked the one you liked. What made you pick this one?

Grandpop- Laughing.

Jennifer—Did you go looking for the one with the most jewels in it?

Grandpop-Laughing. No, I looked them all over and opened them all up. I liked this one the most because this one had the most nicks on it so I figured it had been used to kill someone. I could tell it had been used a bit. I liked that it had all the buckles and straps and what-do-you-call-them so you could tie it to your belt or around your waist. They told us that if those pieces come off, you’ll never get them back on again.

Speaking of telling stories and writing them all down, I should have told you this one rather than the one about the sword.

This was on the Island of Leyte. Colonel Limon Richardson was in charge. There was a guy named Findlay who was in charge of supplies and should have had a yellow striped painted on his back. Colonel Richardson assigned Findlay to take some men and go up to the north to get bamboo for the roofing of the hospital they were building there. You know, they had built the walls with wood but needed bamboo for poles for the roof then they would put leaves and stuff on to make a roof. Well, none of the Americans had ever got that far up north and Findlay was scared and couldn’t carry out his assignment. So I ended up taking 45 pistols and loaded up two six by sixes—that’s that they called the big trucks because they had six wheels on ‘em—and went up the only road there was go to up to the north. There were American guard stations along the route, but finally we got to the last station and the corporal there told us, “no patrols beyond this point. You’re on your own if you go beyond this station.” Well, I had a job to do so I had to go do it and the Lord took care of me. We made it safely to a village and the head of the village came out to talk to us. We didn’t know whether they were going to kill us or what, but the head of the village told me “You’re the first American that has ever been here”. He then proceeded to tell Grandpop, who was a Captain at the time, that they had a Japanese fellow in the prison. They had caught him rummaging through some of their garbage looking for something to eat and they captured him and put him in jail until they could find someone to tell them what to do with him. The head of the village asked Grandpop to give him permission to drag him out into the town square and have him hung.

Grandpop asked to go see the prisoner. When he saw him the prisoner was very, very thin and he bowed over and over and over to Grandpop.

Grandpop told the head of the village to keep him where he was and feed him and that he’d send out a government team to interview him and decide what to do with him—that there were special teams to do just that. When Grandpop got back to camp, he did just that.

They got their bamboo loaded up and headed back to camp.

When they got back to camp, Colonel Richardson told the men to Jettison the bamboo—we’re going to invade Japan. So they did just that—jettisoned the bamboo as they weren’t going to need the hospital they were building there, and they all got on board their ships. Grandpop was on the lead ship of the Armada of Eickelburg 8th Army division out of Leyte.

The Japanese had given up before their ships arrived, and they were told the Japanese pilots were going to take them through the waters filled with land mines. They had no choice but to trust the Japanese pilots—there was no other way for them to navigate through the waters. The Japanese pilots were very observant and they did it—they led the ships through the mined waters.

When their ships pulled into port, all the little Japanese kids were sitting on the docks with two fingers raised in a V as a sign for victory. This made Grandpop laugh.

This led to the memory of another story—it was very cold in Japan in the wintertime so Grandpop and some men needed to go get some coal. They took interpreters to help them get 2 truckloads of coal. When they got to the village where they were supposed to get the coal, the villagers said “we have none”, but Grandpop had seen a huge pile of coal at the entrance to the village. He had the interpreters tell the villagers that they would get paid for the coal—that the government would pay them for it and told them to go load it up onto the trucks. This took place in Finch Haven—they got the coal and brought it back. By this time it was time to go home—Grandpop’s service time was up and they tried to get him to sign on for 3 more years but it was time to go home.

Jennifer—Were you married at this time? Were you and Grandmom already married? So there was something to go home to, right?

Grandpop- Oh yes…I got married (I missed what he said here—either the year, or how long before he left he was married, or what his rank was when he got married or something to that effect) before I left for duty.

I know I’ve gone quiet again after I said I would try and update more regularly.  I have thought everyday about posting but have had difficulty getting into the right head space.

…. and I’m still having difficulty trying to order what has happened in the last few weeks into one post!

James’s eye sight was not helped much by the glasses.  After about a week we went to the doctors for a referral to another specialist and the next day we went back to the optometrist.  He was shocked to see how bad James’s corneas looked – according to him they looked like they were full of tiny pin pricks.  He rang James’s GP who arranged for us to go to the Eye Hospital in Launceston that afternoon.  We had about half an hour to get ready and then headed off on the hour and a half drive, most of this drive James had his jacket over his head to reduce the amout of light hitting his eyes.  After waiting for a while James’s name was called.  We went in and saw the registrar who is normally stationed at the Eye and Ear Hospital in Melbourne.  Surprisingly he knew of APECED and had even seen a few other people with the condition.  We left the meeting with a scripts for two different types of eyedrops.   We spent the weekend trying to chase up one of the types of eyedrops, however we were unable to get them from the hospital.

On the next Tuesday we went back to the Eye Hospital.  We were informed that there was going to be a wait of at least 30 mins and the receptionist suggested that we might like to go for a walk.  We walked out the door, remembered that it was hot and went back inside to wait.  Two hours later James’s name was finally called!

James was tested for tear production which was within normal range.  The registrar was able to organise the eyedrops we had been unable to find.  He then got a senior doctor in for a consult.  They discussed a number of things including that they were concerned about the rate of progression, that a corneal stem cell transplant rarely works, and basically said that James’s eyesight is going to keep getting worse until he can no longer see.   They are also going to arrange a referral to whoever the APECED eye guy is in Sydney.

Since that visit we have been putting eye drops in James’s eyes every hour (we have to do both types 6 times a day, on alternate hours), James’s eyes have been less photosensitive, however his eyesight is still blurry.

As well as dealing with all the eye stuff, we are waiting for an appointment to get a suspicious lesion in James’s mouth checked out.  We showed the doctor and I mentioned that I had seen research saying that oral squarmous cell carcinoma is common in people with chronic candidiasis.  When I said this the doctor just nodded and then wrote a referral for us.  Unfortunately we have to wait until the 14th of April for that appointment.  The 14th of April is also my sisters wedding,  which is at 3pm, and our appointment is at 3.30pm meaning that we will be unable to make it to the wedding.  We didn’t have an option as if we didn’t take the appointment on the 14th of April we would have had to wait until the 23rd of May (which coincidentally is the same sister’s birthday!).  After the visit on the 14th we may also be able to work out when we can move back to the mainland.

So right now we are just waiting…. waiting and trying not to go crazy.