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There was a 69 year old gentleman who told me the heart-wrenching story about his wife, who is dying of cancer and in the care of a hospice facility where she is not expected to live past the next week. His son's daughter, who had been a long time family friend prior to her marriage into the family, had suddenly passed away 2 weeks ago, suspected suicide via drug overdose but the family didn't wish to pursue an autopsy. This man and his family are from a very rural part of the state, simple-minded individuals but very emotional, especially regarding the current state of his family's welfare.
At the time we spoke, this same gentleman had a 2 day history of what he called "chest pain", which began soon after eating a friend's homemade meatloaf 2 days ago. Thinking it was indigestion, he took 2 Rolaids that night with complete relief of his pain. The next morning, he had the same "chest pain", and took another Rolaids, which he said didn't do much that time. After speaking with his son about his symptoms, he decided to try drinking baking soda dissolved in water, which he heard was a pretty reliable home remedy, and said his pain was relieved temporarily. When it returned again the morning after (the morning we spoke), his son brought him to the Emergency Department. He was worked up for the standard MI labs and also given a GI cocktail to try to treat what sounded like GERD. Lo and behold, he said his pain was completely gone after the GI cocktail. Though his first set of cardiac markers were minimally elevated, a 3-hour follow-up set was negative. The consulting cardiologist was coincidentally in the ED at the time his second set of cardiac enzymes resulted, so the case and all labwork were discussed, and the cardiologist stated "I'll take a look". He returned about 10 minutes later and said to have the man follow-up in his office for an outpatient nuclear stress test. The message was relayed to the gentleman, who was discharged from the ED at that time.
That lovely gentleman returned to the Emergency Department approximately 4 hours later status post cardiac arrest, DOA.
The son asked over and over again how it could possibly be that he was just in the ED and arrested but mere hours later. That's a good question.
All I'm saying is: don't wait to tell him you love him. When the time comes, it's here, and there ain't nothing you can do to stop it.
--
“.. almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”
- Steve Jobs, CEO and co-founder, Apple Inc.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
Majesty
"Life is just this way, broken, and I am crazy to hope for something else."
-- Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You
-- Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Something That Needs Nothing
"We turned away from each other and set about tightening all the tiny ropes of our misery."
-- Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You
-- Miranda July, No One Belongs Here More Than You
Friday, June 26, 2009
Who's Bad?
Believe it or not, there was a time when popular music wasn't solely samples and remakes of old hits. There were artists that composed their own unsampled tracks and wrote lyrics that reflected something happening in their lives. Yes, even pop music consisted of a certain level of depth, but even more so unbelievable, was the immense versatility required to entertain music listeners of the time. Most musicians weren't just singers; they were songwriters, lyricists, dancers, and choreographers. Amidst the sea of talented pop artists, there was one person that stood out to the rest of the world, his name: Michael Jackson.
You'd probably be hard-pressed to find someone in the world that is unfamiliar with at least one Michael Jackson hit; conversely, you'd probably be ostracized by your friends for mentioning a suspected pedophile that dangled a baby from a hotel balcony. Alas, the man notorious for unleashing an assortment of gasps, grunts, squeaks, and squeals across airwaves years ago has been crowned the King of Pop, and rightly so. He began to build his kingdom from the early age of eleven with the Jackson 5's number one single, I Want You Back, which featured a distinguished staccato bass line beneath the innocent voice of a boy soprano pleading for another chance with the love of his life. From here, Jackson began to develop an image for himself that became the face of Motown and iconic of the perfect entertainer.
Fast forward ten years and Jackson has released the album, Off the Wall, which found itself in the hands of over 15 million listeners worldwide and consisted of two number one singles, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough (and the kaleidoscope background) and Rock With You. Having teamed up with award-winning producer and composer Quincy Jones, Off the Wall excited listeners across the nation and sparked a creativity for the duo to create the world's best selling album only three years later, Thriller. From the epic moonwalking at the first live performance of Billie Jean, to the signature badass driving-rock sounds of Beat It featuring Eddie Van Halen, to the intricate choreography in the mini feature-length music video for Thriller, the album became, and continues to be, the most influential album of all time. The release of Thriller was the musical equivalent of dropping an atomic bomb on the world, with only nine tracks leaving an impression in music history for years to come. Last year, it celebrated its 25 year anniversary since its initial release shortly before being inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame, and it is not uncommon to continue to see its music sampled by artists today. Pop music artists today continue to cite the album as a huge influence on their performance style and writing.
Creating an album to follow up a milestone in music history was a feat that only the King of Pop could achieve. Although Thriller had seven top ten hit singles with two being number ones, in 1987, Jackson released Bad, the only album in the world to date having five number one singles. The album consisted of songs ranging from hit ballads such as "Man in the Mirror" and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" to dance favorites like "The Way You Make Me Feel" and the frequently covered "Smooth Criminal" which showed his versatility as a singer. The album's title song "Bad" was a brilliantly funk-inspired track, with the blare of trumpets heralding its beginning and the 16 minute full length music video guest starring Wesley Snipes as the hoodlum that's apparently not as "bad" as MJ.
In the early 90s, a new genre of grunge alternative rock music began to take hold of America with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam leading the movement. Even with the culture's change in musical taste, Jackson's album Dangerous released, with "Black or White" immediately jumping to the top of the charts. This upbeat track featured a distinct electric guitar riff that complemented its in-your-face anti-racism message. It was also one of a few that he composed over the years that had intended to serve a humanitarian purpose (see also: We Are the World, co-composed with Lionel Richie, and What More Can I Give, written for the victims of 9/11).
After a ten year hiatus in original music composition due to overindulging in court appearances for multiple hearings for suspected molestation, divorcing, marrying, and divorcing again, Jackson released Invincible, his last album containing entirely new material. Many of the songs on this album were nostalgic of his old sound, although nowhere near as fresh and original as the ultimate entertainer that the world knew from a decade before. Regardless, Michael Jackson remains a living legend in the eyes of many, his solo career marked with one Grammy and Billboard number one hit for each square kilometer of his recently foreclosed California home at Neverland Ranch (that's thirteen total).
Despite his extraordinary efforts and achievements in the music industry, Jackson has also been a magnet for negative media attention. Is he deserving of it? Not necessarily. Although he did purchase ATV Publishing, the company that controls all copyrights belonging to John Lennon/Paul McCartney compositions, and named his son and daughter, respectively, Prince Michael Jackson and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, he's not all that bad of a guy. Almost reminiscent of a recent case regarding R. Kelly, in 1993, the news was flooded with rumors from the courtroom as Jackson fought a suspected molestation case against a thirteen year old boy that frequented Neverland Ranch. However, unlike the non-child porn possessing Pied Piper, Jackson's lawyers settled with the boy's family outside of court for a mere $15 million, which was no admission of guilt by any means. And his not-so-natural skin color? He obviously has vitiligo, a chronic condition where your body begins to kill the pigment-forming skin cells forming light-colored blotchy patches on the skin. So it doesn't completely explain his almost-white skin color, but if you had tons of money, you'd probably get a chemical skin treatment to cover the fact that you had a chronic skin condition... right?
Alright alright, so the fact of the matter is that unfortunately you might still get made fun of by your friends for liking Michael Jackson. But rest assured, in another twenty years you'll still be able to claw the air like a zombie when Thriller comes on and everyone will understand why.
RIP Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
You'd probably be hard-pressed to find someone in the world that is unfamiliar with at least one Michael Jackson hit; conversely, you'd probably be ostracized by your friends for mentioning a suspected pedophile that dangled a baby from a hotel balcony. Alas, the man notorious for unleashing an assortment of gasps, grunts, squeaks, and squeals across airwaves years ago has been crowned the King of Pop, and rightly so. He began to build his kingdom from the early age of eleven with the Jackson 5's number one single, I Want You Back, which featured a distinguished staccato bass line beneath the innocent voice of a boy soprano pleading for another chance with the love of his life. From here, Jackson began to develop an image for himself that became the face of Motown and iconic of the perfect entertainer.
Fast forward ten years and Jackson has released the album, Off the Wall, which found itself in the hands of over 15 million listeners worldwide and consisted of two number one singles, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough (and the kaleidoscope background) and Rock With You. Having teamed up with award-winning producer and composer Quincy Jones, Off the Wall excited listeners across the nation and sparked a creativity for the duo to create the world's best selling album only three years later, Thriller. From the epic moonwalking at the first live performance of Billie Jean, to the signature badass driving-rock sounds of Beat It featuring Eddie Van Halen, to the intricate choreography in the mini feature-length music video for Thriller, the album became, and continues to be, the most influential album of all time. The release of Thriller was the musical equivalent of dropping an atomic bomb on the world, with only nine tracks leaving an impression in music history for years to come. Last year, it celebrated its 25 year anniversary since its initial release shortly before being inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame, and it is not uncommon to continue to see its music sampled by artists today. Pop music artists today continue to cite the album as a huge influence on their performance style and writing.
Creating an album to follow up a milestone in music history was a feat that only the King of Pop could achieve. Although Thriller had seven top ten hit singles with two being number ones, in 1987, Jackson released Bad, the only album in the world to date having five number one singles. The album consisted of songs ranging from hit ballads such as "Man in the Mirror" and "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" to dance favorites like "The Way You Make Me Feel" and the frequently covered "Smooth Criminal" which showed his versatility as a singer. The album's title song "Bad" was a brilliantly funk-inspired track, with the blare of trumpets heralding its beginning and the 16 minute full length music video guest starring Wesley Snipes as the hoodlum that's apparently not as "bad" as MJ.
In the early 90s, a new genre of grunge alternative rock music began to take hold of America with bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam leading the movement. Even with the culture's change in musical taste, Jackson's album Dangerous released, with "Black or White" immediately jumping to the top of the charts. This upbeat track featured a distinct electric guitar riff that complemented its in-your-face anti-racism message. It was also one of a few that he composed over the years that had intended to serve a humanitarian purpose (see also: We Are the World, co-composed with Lionel Richie, and What More Can I Give, written for the victims of 9/11).
After a ten year hiatus in original music composition due to overindulging in court appearances for multiple hearings for suspected molestation, divorcing, marrying, and divorcing again, Jackson released Invincible, his last album containing entirely new material. Many of the songs on this album were nostalgic of his old sound, although nowhere near as fresh and original as the ultimate entertainer that the world knew from a decade before. Regardless, Michael Jackson remains a living legend in the eyes of many, his solo career marked with one Grammy and Billboard number one hit for each square kilometer of his recently foreclosed California home at Neverland Ranch (that's thirteen total).
Despite his extraordinary efforts and achievements in the music industry, Jackson has also been a magnet for negative media attention. Is he deserving of it? Not necessarily. Although he did purchase ATV Publishing, the company that controls all copyrights belonging to John Lennon/Paul McCartney compositions, and named his son and daughter, respectively, Prince Michael Jackson and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, he's not all that bad of a guy. Almost reminiscent of a recent case regarding R. Kelly, in 1993, the news was flooded with rumors from the courtroom as Jackson fought a suspected molestation case against a thirteen year old boy that frequented Neverland Ranch. However, unlike the non-child porn possessing Pied Piper, Jackson's lawyers settled with the boy's family outside of court for a mere $15 million, which was no admission of guilt by any means. And his not-so-natural skin color? He obviously has vitiligo, a chronic condition where your body begins to kill the pigment-forming skin cells forming light-colored blotchy patches on the skin. So it doesn't completely explain his almost-white skin color, but if you had tons of money, you'd probably get a chemical skin treatment to cover the fact that you had a chronic skin condition... right?
Alright alright, so the fact of the matter is that unfortunately you might still get made fun of by your friends for liking Michael Jackson. But rest assured, in another twenty years you'll still be able to claw the air like a zombie when Thriller comes on and everyone will understand why.
RIP Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
Monday, April 27, 2009
...One hell of a drug.
54 year old African-american female came into our clinic today. When I rescheduled her last week for this appointment, she wasn't "feeling good"; she then called back the next day to complain about how someone from the clinic called her to "give her hell" about how she didn't come to her appointment. After surveying all employees at the clinic, I found that her accusation was indeed false.
So back to today: she comes into the clinic wearing skinny black spandex pants and a backless shirt showing more cleavage than I thought was physically possible. It's 96°F outside and a cool 60°F in the townhome-turned-clinic and she's complaining to herself in the waiting area that it's "too hot in here". As I'm looking through her patient history, one major detail piques my interest. When she started coming to this clinic in October 2008, she was taking a lot of prescription pain-killers that were not prescribed to her, an assortment of uppers, down-ers, and numb-ers: Vicodin, codeine, Xanax, and Zoloft were among the ones that I recognized. Her last appointment with us 3 weeks ago shows that she's now enrolled in a program at a methadone clinic. Methadone basically keeps you from feeling the symptoms of opioid withdrawal while maintaining "pain relief" [really is awesome stuff, suggested wiki reading].
I call her to the back. I look over her prescribed medication list and ask if she's still taking her lisinopril, to which she replies "I did today". I take her blood pressure and I am completely blown away: 174 over 98. 'Impossible', I thought to myself, 'How is this lady even living a normal life?' I took it again on the other arm: even higher this time. Starting to doubt my blood pressure reading abilities, I said, "Let's go weigh you and we'll try this again". Weight's fine. Tried the BP readings again, and to my dismay, both arms were at/around a high of 177 over 102. Now this entire time she's bumbling to herself about how pissed off she is about this and that, I would have only been able to hear it had the thoughts in my head not been screaming "STAGE II HYPERTENSION" at me. After excusing myself from the treatment room to find the overseeing nurse, I'm thinking to myself that we need to get this lady to an ER (while I text the same thought to my best friend). The nurse looks over her chart and shakes her head in disappointment, "Missed appointments, drug rehab, methadone clinic, and she's still taking a 30 day prescription that was supposed to run out last month...let's go try talking some sense into her".
I followed her into the treatment room and listened to the nurse explain how the BP medication needs to be taken regularly while setting up for another reading. Record high score: 184 over 104. Awesome. The nurse asks a few questions about the rehab treatment she's been undergoing recently then tells her that she needs to be seen by a physician. The patient angrily yelled, "<removed for explicit nature>! And I sure as hell see enough doctors every week, I don't need another one telling me how to live my life!" Game over. We lose.
Things I must ponder at a later date, when I have time:
The unappreciative nature of some people disgust me.
So back to today: she comes into the clinic wearing skinny black spandex pants and a backless shirt showing more cleavage than I thought was physically possible. It's 96°F outside and a cool 60°F in the townhome-turned-clinic and she's complaining to herself in the waiting area that it's "too hot in here". As I'm looking through her patient history, one major detail piques my interest. When she started coming to this clinic in October 2008, she was taking a lot of prescription pain-killers that were not prescribed to her, an assortment of uppers, down-ers, and numb-ers: Vicodin, codeine, Xanax, and Zoloft were among the ones that I recognized. Her last appointment with us 3 weeks ago shows that she's now enrolled in a program at a methadone clinic. Methadone basically keeps you from feeling the symptoms of opioid withdrawal while maintaining "pain relief" [really is awesome stuff, suggested wiki reading].
I call her to the back. I look over her prescribed medication list and ask if she's still taking her lisinopril, to which she replies "I did today". I take her blood pressure and I am completely blown away: 174 over 98. 'Impossible', I thought to myself, 'How is this lady even living a normal life?' I took it again on the other arm: even higher this time. Starting to doubt my blood pressure reading abilities, I said, "Let's go weigh you and we'll try this again". Weight's fine. Tried the BP readings again, and to my dismay, both arms were at/around a high of 177 over 102. Now this entire time she's bumbling to herself about how pissed off she is about this and that, I would have only been able to hear it had the thoughts in my head not been screaming "STAGE II HYPERTENSION" at me. After excusing myself from the treatment room to find the overseeing nurse, I'm thinking to myself that we need to get this lady to an ER (while I text the same thought to my best friend). The nurse looks over her chart and shakes her head in disappointment, "Missed appointments, drug rehab, methadone clinic, and she's still taking a 30 day prescription that was supposed to run out last month...let's go try talking some sense into her".
I followed her into the treatment room and listened to the nurse explain how the BP medication needs to be taken regularly while setting up for another reading. Record high score: 184 over 104. Awesome. The nurse asks a few questions about the rehab treatment she's been undergoing recently then tells her that she needs to be seen by a physician. The patient angrily yelled, "<removed for explicit nature>! And I sure as hell see enough doctors every week, I don't need another one telling me how to live my life!" Game over. We lose.
Things I must ponder at a later date, when I have time:
- She's been enrolled at this methadone clinic for at least 2 months now. Methadone causes low blood pressure and hypoventilation [1][2]. Why does she have high BP now?
- IF she indeed took the lisinopril this morning, why didn't she have lower BP today than 3 weeks ago, when she had not taken it for a week? With the other people I've seen, even if they haven't been taking their BP meds regularly, if they take it the morning of their appointment, their BP shows a drastic decrease.
- With no health insurance, no steady job, possibly family that has abandoned hope for you; why would you NOT take the FREE assistance from people that are experienced and professionally licensed health care providers?
The unappreciative nature of some people disgust me.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
I've had enough change.
Richmond Tax Day Tea PartyWednesday, April 15. 6:00pm.
Kanawha Plaza at 8th Street and Canal Street: Richmond, VA
We Are Patriots. We Are Defenders of the Constitution. We Believe That Ignorance and Freedom Cannot Co-Exist. We Believe, as Our Founding Fathers Did, That the Only Way for the Nation to Prosper Is to Have Equal Protection of "Rights", and Not to Allow the Government to Get Involved in Trying to Provide Equal Distribution of "Things."
"We must not let our rulers load us with perpetual debt."
- Thomas Jefferson. July 12, 1816.
"I spoke in Charlottesville earlier today. They had about 1,400 people, and I think you've got them by more than 3 to 1."
www.richmondteaparty.com
You know, I'm no right wing extremist. In fact, I don't consider myself "right wing" at all. But, damn it, the debt is bad enough without squandering more money on stuff like the war in the Middle East and steps toward universal health care. Yeah, I went to the Richmond Tea Party in the cold and rain. Yeah, I took these pictures and video with my phone. Unlike walking around campus at VCU, it was comforting to know that more than 5,000 other citizens agreed with me.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
To the slumlords of Richmond City
Metro Properties
200 West Franklin Street
Richmond, VA 23220
31 March 2009
removed for evaluation
Moral of the story: Don't rent from Metro Properties.
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