Monthly Archives: October 2009

Starting out feeling like a normal cold, the H1N1 flu virus will strike a person with deadly force. I know what this feels like.

On the morning of October 13, I woke up telling my mom that I didn’t feel good. I told her to just let me stay home today and sleep, and that I would get my work on the next day. So, she saw that I was really not feeling good, and told me to go back to bed. My mom, (Tammy Jordan) came home from work at the elementary school on that same day, and I told her that I felt like I was going to puke.

She told me to lay on the bed, but be ready to jump up if I needed. So, I laid in the bed for about 20 minutes after that, and here it came. I jumped up and ran to the bathroom and, after puking for about a constant 5 minutes, I drank some water and laid down, falling asleep immediately.

I woke up about 6 hours later, at about 3:00 in the morning, and I was freezing cold. I already had an electric blanket, along with my comforter and two other blankets, and I wanted more. I called my mom into my room, and she gave me two more blankets before I finally started to warm up. I fell back asleep, after I was warmed up.

On the morning of October 14, my mom woke me up and told me that I had a doctor’s appointment in 30 minutes. She had called the clinic as soon as they opened. I got up and brushed my teeth, so that I could go to the doctor.

When I got there, they made me put a mask over my face to keep the germs contained. When they took me back into the examining room, the nurse asked my mom what my symptoms were, and how long I had been having these symptoms. After the nurse was done asking questions, she left and the doctor came in about 5 minutes later.

The doctor looked at what the nurse had written on my chart, and after the doctor had asked a few more questions, I was diagnosed with the H1N1 flu virus. I was given a shot for the nausea, and given a bottle of Tamaflu to take twice daily.

The doctor told us if I had and problems breathing, or if it began to get any worse than it was, to come back immediately. So we returned home and I took one of the pills that she had given me, and tried to sleep. I didn’t even get the chance, as soon as I got downstairs, I began throwing up again.

Afterwards, I again went immediately to bed and awoke about 3 hours later, only to puke again. I had to drink something, though, to avoid dehydration. So, I drank a cup of 7up and went to sleep. I threw up about 3 more times that day, and slept a lot.

On October 15, i repeated the same symptoms as the day before, only it was worse. I had awoke many times the night before, being either extremely cold, or extremely hot.

I had maintained a constant fever the day before, and it was still with me. My whole body ached, and I could do nothing more than lay in the bed for the entire day.

One of the symptoms of the H1N1 virus is that you will sleep a lot. So, most of the day, when I wasn’t puking or trying to drink 7up, I was sleeping. This day passed, with me puking multiple times, and trying to keep down some crackers. I kept telling my mom that I was hungry, but I knew and she knew that I couldn’t keep anything down. All I could eat was some saltine crackers, and drink a little bit of 7up. By Friday, I could feel that the medicine given to me by the doctor was starting to help.

I was really feeling the effects of the medicine by Sunday. I felt much better than I did on the past Tuesday. I was so weak from lying in bed all week. I needed to get my strength back before returning to school. I was finally able to eat some chicken noodle soup, supplied by my mom.

I began to try and walk around the basement to try and get some strength back. I immediately felt my legs tremble and after taking only a few steps I became light-headed and needed to sit back down. However, I kept on trying and slowly started gaining my strength back.

By Tuesday, October 20, I was feeling much better and was ready to return to school on the next day. I made sure I got plenty of rest on Tuesday night and got up bright and early to attend school on Wednesday. I am glad that I am better now and hope I did not get anyone else sick in the process.

Written by Derek Purvis

“Politics? I’m not into that kinda stuff.” I only wish I could tell you how many times I’ve heard this statement in just the past four years. And every time I felt an urge to beat some sense into the poor soul. What do you mean you are not into that kinda stuff?! You have the power to choose your government, your leaders, and your’re not into that so-called “stuff”?

“I cant vote, so I don’t care.” You couldn’t walk at first, but that didn’t stop you from crawling did it?

“I don’t care! It doesn’t matter anyway.” You’ll see how much it matters when your taxes are so high that you and your future kids have to start skipping Christmas just to pay the heating tax.

I believe one of the worst things a young person can do is make the decision to “not be into that kind of stuff,” to not care what happens to the world around you, and to not care who pulls the strings. Just as long as no one tells you what to do, you don’t care who is in the white house, you don’t care who is signing the next bill, because you’re just not “into” that political thing. Well let me flip a switch for ya: That “political thing” decides how much you pay for taxes. It decides what your taxes should and will be used on. It creates laws and many other “things” that decide how your life will be run. “The government doesn’t run my life!” Unless you don’t pay taxes, go to school, or obey the traffic laws, then you’re right, the government doesn’t run your life. But if you do pay taxes to the government, stop at a red light or stop sign, or attend a public school then, I’m sorry, but the government is involved with your life, and it should be, to a certain extent.

Here is how the government is playing a big role in your every day life:

1: Paying money to support our troops, build highways, fund research to find a way to keep goats from farting in the atmosphere, and stop contributing to global warning.

2: Obeying the laws of the country by halting at a sign or a blinking light that keep people safe. If you don’t abide by the law, you will be detained for a while. By the way, learn to stop at red lights, please; the time it takes to wait for a red light is lot less (with a few exceptions) than waiting for an officer who purposely takes his own sweet time writing out the ticket to teach you a lesson in reckless driving.

3: Public schools are required to teach what they teach by laws of the government. Some classes are optional, and some, such as those that teach evolution, should be as well. You are learning what the government wants you to learn, both state and federal. Two plus two will always be four, I hope.

All I am trying to say is that we as Americans have one of the greatest rights in the world, to choose our leaders. Decide if you agree or disagree with your president on topics like abortion, same sex marriage, illegal immigration, taxes, or health care. If not, find the politician that resembles your views the closest and vote for him or her. And if there isn’t anyone who stands for your views, then become a leader yourself. Not all politicians like to listen to the people who voted them in, but it is our duty to keep them in check. Many people don’t realize that we are in charge, we the people, you, me, us, no matter how ridiculous the demand is. We are the bosses, and if the majority of Americas want a 400,000 pound bowl filled with spaghetti in the middle of the street in New York city and the politicians don’t give it to them, even though they are taking our tax dollars and spending it on things even more ridiculous than that, then someone needs to by fired! We have to fight for our country every day. Not against the terrorists, Nazi Germany, or North Korea, but our very own politicians.

After signing the constitution, Benjamin Franklin was asked by an elderly woman on the street, “What have you given us Mr. Franklin? A monarchy or a democracy?” Benjamin Franklin answered, “A Republic, if you can keep it.” If we can keep it? That’s right, it is our job and duty to make sure that our same freedom is kept intact for the next generation, and the next one and the next one, so that our future sons and daughters can live in hope of happiness. So they can have the rare freedom as we do, to pursue happiness. I’ve stated before that we as Americans do not have the right to be happy, but to strive to become happy. And if we make it great! But if not then we have no one to blame but ourselves.

Don’t downgrade political issues; watch the news sometimes, keep up with what’s going on, because we are just a few short elections away from being led into socialism, communism, or a monarchy. This is nothing new, this is the way it has always been; but the day will come when the people of the greatest nation on earth will decide to let others do it for them and let our country fall into the darkest state imaginable. It will crush all hope for other countries around the world who wish for the same chance as we do: to go to school, drive a car, play sports in front of hundreds of thousands of people. We are the little light in the great pit of darkness, America, the very name sends chills down the spine of those wishing to be free; and anger down those hoping to crush the most blessed nation on earth.

So when it comes time to do the pledge of allegiance, stand up! Put your hand over your heart! Boys, takes your hats off! In love and respect for this little island of hope that all man are created equal! And are endowed by their creator with certain rights, and in them is life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness!

So let the 9/11s come! Let the planes come rolling in! Bring it on! You may be able to knock us down but we will never be knocked out! Every time you hit us, we hit back. Every time you think you’ve hurt us beyond the point of repair we come back stronger and more prepared than ever! Other countries ask “Why!? How is it that these suborn Americans keep on going!? There seems to be no defeating them! Where do they get the strength to still stand?” I’ll tell you where! Because when it comes down to who is fighting because you are being told and who is fighting for all the people back at home, praying that mommy or daddy makes it back in one piece, and when it comes to the climax of the battle, we find a way to reach deep down in the pit of our souls and pull out some thing than no other country can seem to get a grasp on, and that is courage, that is bravery! That is the willingness to without hesitation, jump into a battle that seems impossible and pull out the victory in the end.

People always say, let me fight for my country, but what is your country? Those solders aren’t out there fighting for millions of people they don’t know. At least that’s not the reason. They are fighting for their mother and father, brothers, sisters, friends, children, and their comrades. Because in the end, it comes down to the heart of the solder. We are all soldiers, and even if we are not in a distant land fighting off enemies with a firearm. We are here fighting off enemies with the most powerful weapon known to man, a voice. One small voice that chose to stand up to the threats, to the possibility of being charged with treason. And that one voice became two, and those two became four and then eight, sixteen, all the way to thirteen colonies, and smashed the most powerful empire at the time with nothing but the will to be free. It was the heart of an American that led to the greatest victory of all time.

Today you can still have a victory, in the polls, even if the one you wanted to win didn’t get it, just the fact that you are given the chance to vote is a victory in itself. Look outside, waving back and forth from the top of that pole, what is that? That is the symbol, the symbol of victory of good over evil. As long as that symbol remains we will still be the land of the free, and the home of the brave. But the same old question still remains, will you fight for it?

Dedicated to the men and woman who have given their lives to keep this country safe.

by ERICA ROYBAL

It has nearly been a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform. Nearly every president since then has attempted to meet Teddy’s challenge by some means. In 1943, Mr. John Dingell introduced the first bill for comprehensive health care reform. Sixty-five years later Mr. Dingell’s son continues to introduce that bill at the beginning of every session. Nonetheless, every attempt by every single president and every single set of Congress representation has failed in the sense that American citizens remain left with health care hardships. According to various studies conducted across the country, more than 30 million American citizens cannot obtain coverage. One in every three American citizens goes without health coverage at one point or another. Everyday 14,000 Americans lose their coverage. A serious problem plagues the US health care system and this problem does not just curse the uninsured. America remains the only advanced democracy on Earth, the only wealthy nation that allows health care hardships for millions of its citizens. In America, party affiliation on Capitol Hill should not matter. The large bickering debate between killing health care reform and creating it should not continue. Greed should not exist. Nevertheless, the unfortunate truth remains greed does indeed exist, the bickering debate will continue, party affiliation on Capitol Hill does matter and Americans remain stuck with the most inefficient health system among several other countries. The 70,000 Americans that do have coverage remain living with a health care hardship because compared to several other rich countries the United States health care system consistently underperforms. In “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: An International Update on the Comparative Performance of American Health Care,” the study focused on interviews with physicians and patients in Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. Both physicians and patients spoke about their experiences and perceptions on their health systems. The second study explored the reasons why health costs in the US remain higher compared to eight other countries: Australia, Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and New Zealand. According to these two studies, the US health care system ranks last among other major rich countries in the areas that include efficiency, quality and access.

One of several significant components compared the health care systems: efficiency and healthier lives of the people inhabiting each country. The studies show that the US performs poorly on measures of national health expenditures, administrative costs, the usage of information technology and multidisciplinary teams or the usage of the team approach. The usage of information technology and the team approach work extremely well in the other countries to manage chronic conditions and coordinate care. The Director of The Common Wealth Fund, Karen Davis, commented to the Agence France Presse, “We pride ourselves on being advanced on so many areas of technology but it’s not the case on health information technology, other countries have just moved ahead.” Information technology and systems in countries like Germany, New Zealand and the U.K. enhance the ability of physicians to monitor patients with chronic conditions. These systems make it easy for physicians to print out medication lists even medications from other physicians and history reports. In this study, the U.K. and New Zealand ranked first and second as far as efficiency. In terms of healthier lives, the US ranks last. The study, “Multinational Comparisons of Health Systems Data,” found that even though the US spends the most on both ‘publicly and privately financed health insurance; its citizens had the most potential years of life lost because of circulatory and respiratory diseases’ and diabetes. Compared to the other countries, the US has significant higher death rates. Compared to Canada the death rates in the US continue to stay 25 to 50 percent higher. The study included that ill citizens of New Zealand remain less likely to acquire illness for a condition treatable by a doctor. Australia ranked first in terms of its citizens living healthier lives.

The observation of quality included five sub-components: effective care, safe care, coordinated care and patient-centered care. The US won the contest of poor performance in the categories of chronic care management and safe, coordinated and patient-centered care. The study concluded that Americans go without needed health care because of cost if they do not possess coverage. An additional component observed in the studies was equity. The US ranked a clear last. The Common Wealth Fund study summed up the fact that Americans with below-average incomes remain more likely to report ‘not visiting a doctor, not getting a recommended test, not attending treatment or follow up care, not filling a prescription and not seeing a dentist’. “The US spends twice what the average industrialized country spends on health care but we are clearly not getting value for the money,” stated Karen Davis.

Astonishing hardships remain placed upon the uninsured Americans who live day-to-day just one accident or illness away from bankruptcy. Uninsured translates to no affordable medical help and it means when an uninsured American’s health is at risk they are facing potential financial crises. These uninsured Americans do not mainly consist of people on welfare; they consist of primarily middle-class Americans. Some middle-class Americans cannot get insurance through their employer. Self-employed middle-class Americans cannot afford coverage since buying insurance independently costs three times more than the coverage one would receive from their employer. Several Americans willing and capable of paying for coverage remain uninsured and denied of coverage due to a previous illness or health conditions that insurance companies do not want to deal with because of the risk. Most obviously, due to the fact that America does not provide its citizens with universal health care accessibility remains at a low. From another perspective the US and Canada rank lowest on the component of prompt accessibility of appointments with physicians, while Germany ranks first.

The US ranks last of six nations overall. The US ranked last in most areas, including access to health care, patient safety, timeliness of care, efficiency and equity. Americans ranked last, in terms of whether they had a regular physician. “This study blows a lot of myths about the US health system,” stated Davis, “We spend three times what the average country spends on a day of hospital care and we also spend twice what the average country spends on prescription medication.” These rankings summarize evidence on measures based upon national mortality data and the perceptions and experiences of patients and doctors. America needs to remove financial barriers to care and improve the delivery of care for its citizens. New Zealand, Australia and the U.K. continue to demonstrate superior performance with Germany joining their superiority. “Our failure to ensure health insurance for all and encourage stable, long-term ties between physicians and patients shows in our poor performance on measures of quality, access, efficiency, equity, and health outcomes,” said Karen Davis. America differs from the other countries by the fact that Americans have no universal health insurance coverage. Maybe money holds a greater value in America than any class- notably the poor or the injured that cannot obtain coverage- of people. The United States continues to stay far behind in adopting modern health information technology, which translates into spiraling upward costs and poor care. Britain received the top score in overall ranking among the countries in the study, followed by Germany, New Zealand and Australia tied for third followed by Canada and the United States. These other rich countries have no financial burden and their citizens carry no health hardships however, they have long waiting lists for specialized services.

This year, the donations to Coin Wars are down. Student Council Adviser John Strate said “It’s way down… usually, we have at least two jars full for each class, we don’t even have a full jar for any class this year.”

Coin Wars, 2009

“In the past, we’ve given half of it to charity and half to student council.” John Strate said, “It’s going to cut down, we’re going to have to do more fundraising for student council; and whatever charity organization we decide to give it to won’t have as much.”

Lower donations to Coin Wars could be likely two possibilities: 1) people have less money in their pockets because of the recession, and 2) less promotion for Coin Wars this year.