Germs

Germs (not cooties) have been in the news a lot lately. A West Georgia college student is hospitalized here in Augusta due to a zip line accident that has ultimately led to multiple amputations. She remains in critical condition but has thankfully made some progress. She has been a victim of necrotizing fasciitis (also referred to as "flesh-eating bacteria.") This condition is caused by Group A Streptococcus (GAS)  which generally do not cause infections that lead to serious illness. But under certain conditions and/or with patients with weakened immune systems or other conditions, it can wreak havoc. The bacteria don't actually "eat" the flesh...they release a toxin into the tissue which can start a cascade of destruction of skin and muscle. Two more people in as many weeks have been treated for this same condition resulting from completely different circumstances, however.

I certainly would not make light of the seriousness of these folks' conditions and health struggles. On the contrary, I think, as 21st century folks, we have taken a pretty casual attitude towards certain health risks.

The era of germ theory as explanation for disease dates back to the 1800's ..some postulating similar explanations as early as the 1500's. Once physicians recognized that certain diseases were caused by microorganisms, medical treatments radically changed. Today we know that bacteria and viruses cause a host of illnesses. But once the medical community was able to identify causes and the discovery of penicillin and vaccines, many diseases that once could wipe out entire communities are almost completely eradicated. But that doesn't mean that the germs have gone away. And it doesn't mean that we can take for granted that they can no longer do us harm. It also doesn't mean that there aren't any other bad guys out there (or in there.)

On the one hand we are almost compulsive when it comes to antibacterial agents. We have hand sanitizers, antibacterial versions of hand soap, dishwashing detergent, laundry detergent, household cleaners, hand wipes, baby cleaning products and the list goes on and on. We are encouraged to wash our hands as often as reasonably possible since germs can spread through physical contact. I certainly don't want to shake hands with someone that has just sneezed into theirs.

But I am afraid that we have come to believe that we will no longer get seriously ill or infected by those spooky sounding bacteria and viruses. Influenza epidemics used to wipe out millions of people. Today we have given it the simple nickname...the flu. It's like a cold only more serious. If you have ever had a full blown version of the flu, you know what deathly sick feels like. People in the United States and other developed countries still die from influenza.

We also seem to take cuts, sores, and bruises pretty lightly. We have all that over-the-counter wound cleaning stuff (remember Bactine?) and Band-Aids so what's the big deal?

I've had my share of scares. A badly scraped lower leg resulting from unwisely trying to stretch a single into a double on the softball field became badly infected. My doctor also had an ultrasound performed to ensure that no blood clots had formed as a result of the trauma...I thought it was just a bad scrape.

A few years ago I found what looked like a spider bite on the inside of my leg down near my knee. The weird thing was that I had another one on the other leg in almost the exact same spot. I had recently slept in an old sleeping bag and I do sleep on my side sorta in a fetal position so I just assumed that the spider looked up and bit and then looked down and bit. The problem was that over the next several days I found "bites" all down my legs and the older ones went from itchy to painful like a bruise would feel. Prior to making an appointment with my doctor I did some research online, I found that it could certainly be multiple spider bites. But it could also be a staph infection and possibly the scary MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) a strain of the staph bacteria that does not respond well to commonly used antibiotics. Treatment confirmed that it was a staph infection. Left untreated. MRSA can result in necrotizing fasciitis.

If you get a cut, abrasion or a puncture wound, treat it as if it is going to get infected. Even a serious bruise can result in complications to include unleashing bacteria already in your body to begin the attack on the traumatized tissue.

Wash your hands often and keep your house cleaned with antibacterial cleaners. But, maybe more importantly,  also use good judgement when you get sick or injured. Germs are still out there and they still can hurt you.

July 12, 2012 UPDATE- Check out this article in the NY Times:  click here

I'm going to sue you!

Professional football players are suing the NFL because, in the course of playing football, their helmets hit other players helmets (in some cases, quite hard) and they have discovered that the numerous blows to the head were not good for them.

This out-of-left-field revelation that severe impacts to the head could result in long term issues has prompted these former players to blame it on the football league. The players had no idea this might be harmful. Didn't most professional football players attend at least 3-4 years at institutions of higher learning? But they had no idea. Bizarre. As Rod Serling would have said, "that's the signpost up ahead --your next stop, the Twilight Zone."

Players suing the NFL because playing football could cause head injuries would be like professional swimmers suing their governing body because swimming could lead to wetness.

I wonder if professional boxers are aware that having your head pounded by a fist covered with 16 ounce leather gloves might be a little harmful when done in 15 round increments over many years. Then there is the Ultimate Fighting leagues and Mixed Martial Arts contests where they literally just punch, elbow and kick the crapola out of each other until someone either gets knocked out, passes out, taps out or the fight actually comes to it's appointed ending. I think they should sue.

We have obese people suing fast food restaurants because they didn't know eating 2 Double Whoppers, a super-sized order of french fries and a trash can size cup of Mountain Dew four times a week might not be very good for you. Or people sue McDonalds because their hot coffee is actually hot and if you place the cup between your legs and some of it spills it might burn you. Cigarette smokers sue tobacco companies because they didn't know that inhaling burning tobacco leaves might cause some problems with their mouth, throat and lungs. Ever sit by a campfire and the wind direction changes, blowing all the smoke your way? Yeah, that makes me want to just sit still and savor the burning acrid fumes into my eyes, nose and throat. But maybe you smoked those cooling menthol brands of cigarettes. That would be more like a campfire that was burning Halls Mentho-Lyptus logs I guess. I think there have been warnings about tobacco usage for much of the last century. Yet, smokers didn't know.

If I fall off my bike I guess I can sue the bike manufacturer or, better yet... gravity. Maybe after growing up and discovering that my life isn't perfect, I could sue my parents for malpractice.

When I was still with E-Z-GO I was deposed during a preliminary proceeding involving a product liability lawsuit. There was a tragic accident involving a golf car and an SUV... on a highway...at night. The teenager driving the golf car was shuttling people across this rural South Carolina highway to attend a high school graduation party put on by a Dad who was a prominent doctor in the community. People parked across the highway and the golf cars provided a ride to the party. When the accident occurred, only the young driver was in the golf car. Alcoholic beverages were being consumed by  most of the attendees, adults and high schoolers alike. The plaintiff's attorneys argued that the golf car was not properly equipped to cross a highway at night. I did not disagree with that point. The golf car clearly states that it is for non-highway use only. They argued that the golf car should have been equipped with headlights and taillights so it could have been seen on the highway. We said that the operating instructions on the dash clearly stated that the golf car was for NON-HIGHWAY USE ONLY. We also indicated that a very large percentage of all golf is played in the daytime making lights on fleet golf cars unnecessary. E-Z-GO does make other models of vehicle that have uses other than golf and they are equipped differently. But this was a used golf car rented by the hosts from a local dealer (who was also being sued.) A young man was killed in a very unfortunate but avoidable accident. And somebody needed to be sued because it certainly had to be someone's fault (fault = you must pay me) other than the young man or the adults that held the party and provided the golf car for him to drive. The driver of the SUV was also sued for not seeing a 12 mph golf car with no lights crossing a 55 mph speed limit highway at night. They may have even sued the sun for setting because darkness may have also been at fault.

The point is that many people today do not take responsibility for their own actions and decisions. Professional football players are paid an obscene amount of money to play a very violent sport. That non-existent touch football league doesn't quite draw the same crowds or television revenue as its full contact cousin. Football players know that they risk injury including head and neck injuries. And hockey? Oh yeah, there's a safer sport. Fisticuffs are a vital element of the game. I think they should sue for millions for each missing tooth.

This would probably be a good point to tell you a great lawyer joke...but I won't. Now, don't get me wrong. There are plenty of people that get hurt or killed through no fault of their own. It is caused by a defective product, improper procedure, negligence or a host of other reasons. These people should have the ability to seek compensation for their losses. But every bad thing that might happen to you shouldn't be looked at as an immediate opportunity to sue somebody.

A patient goes in to see a doctor and says, "Hey Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor replies, "stop doing that." Good advice. If you are doing something that you know is bad for you..stop doing it... or quit whining about the consequences. And for heaven's sake stop looking for someone to sue.

Where's home?

We live in such a mobile society these days that the question "where's home?" no longer necessarily means "where is your house located?" I'll be 57 later this year and I have (as best I can remember) lived in 15 different houses/ apartments in 6 different states. Where's home? Facebook provides a place to indicate the current city in which you live as well as a declaration of your hometown so, I guess, those aren't necessarily the same thing (not that what Facebook thinks carries that much weight mind you...) Growing up in a military family, some of the places we lived were rental or military housing so, I never really got overly attached to houses. Still don't. Carol's maternal grandparents owned farm land in north Georgia and that house was always thought of as the "home place." It held great emotional value to her family for many years. Today that house looks pretty broken down and we don't even know who owns it now.

What makes a place home? There is a saying "home is where the heart is." I've never really understood exactly what that means, though. When we travel, we normally refer to the return trip as "heading home." So, the logical answer is that home is where you currently live. Right now, home for my daughter and son-in-law is a foreign country 7,000 miles away. Certainly they can't feel like they are at home can they? I mean, home must be our house or our son-in-law's parent's house...right?

They have a very nice, very new and modern apartment with some nice furnishings. After a long day of teaching (her) and flying helicopters (him) I am sure they both look forward to heading to their home. But they admit that they get homesick from time to time. So, where's home?

I think all of us have a longing for "home." But a street address can't be all there is to it. There is something more powerful than that to describe "home."

Carol and I are having an interesting conversation (debate) about what to do when we retire. I have floated the idea of selling the house, buying a motor home and hitting the road. We would certainly need to test this lifestyle out for a few months before making any long term decisions but, that's my idea. Carol's not diggin' my idea though...she isn't willing to not have a house of our own that doesn't have wheels under it. The idea that the location of "home" may be written in pencil is just not something she is prepared to do. (I figure I have about 5-6 more years to work on this plan to win her over...  I estimate my odds are 70/30 AGAINST)

As I have gotten older my longing for "home" has not diminished. It, in fact, has become more acute. But I now realize that my longing for home has everything to do with "who" and a lot less to do with "where." For me the who is Carol. Where she is is home to me. But there is another "who" that I long to be with. As beautiful a home as God has created for us here on earth, this is not "home" to me. There is a groaning I experience. Mark Buchanan, in his book "Things Unseen" attempts to describe it. He says that "groaning is holy speech." He says that "groaning is homesickness."

He recalls Emerson's words "[w]hen God wants to carry a point with his children, He plants His argument into the instincts."

Buchanan further writes:

"You want to go home. The instinct for heaven is just that: "homesickness, ancient as night, urgent as daybreak. All your longings--for the place you grew up, for the taste of raspberry tarts that your mother once pulled hot from the oven, for that bend in the river where your father took you fishing as a child, where the water was dark and swirling and the caddis flies hovered in the deep shade-- all these longings are a homesickness, a wanting in full what all these things only hint at, only prick you with. These are the things seen that conjure up in our emotions the Things Unseen. 'He has set eternity in the hearts of men' the writer of Ecclesiastes said; 'yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end' (3:11). Groaning is the lexicon and grammar of our dis-location, our sense of being in the wrong place. It is our mother tongue, the speech we fall back on when we can't recall the words to speak in earthly language, that foreign tongue we're trying to learn to speak fluently but keep garbling."

So, where's home? We were designed by our Creator to be in relationship. Where we go to experience and nurture those relationships...that's home. In the meantime, I groan.

Things Unseen by Mark Buchanan- Multnomah Publishers Copyright 2002 by Mark Buchanan