26 September 2012

M312 down. Thank God.

This needed saying again today: "Some people will say that politics and religion don't mix. Hogwash. If that's true, there's something seriously anemic about our faith, or something seriously suspect about our politics. Vote for the candidate or party who can do the most for your neighbour. Jesus told us to love our neighbour as ourselves. So think about your neighbour when you vote." Rev. Mark Bedford

And for me, that means voting, or contributing to the campaigns of people who would not ever vote against my rights or the rights of my fellow women, who are my neighbours. 91 of our MPs voted to study when life begins, so that they can limit the rights of pregnant women. The would make us state property when we are pregnant and force us to carry pregnancies to term against our wishes, regardless of the circumstances. Already have 3 kids in a 2 bedroom apartment? Too bad. You'll lose your job because you can't do it pregnant? Too bad. You have rough pregnancies and will spend 7 months vomiting and hooked up to IVs and won't be able to look after your other kids? Too bad. You were raped by your husband and he'll beat you if you're pregnant? Too bad. You're 9 years old? Too bad. They don't care.

I do care. I care about those people, my neighbours. I care about the fetuses too. I do, really. I wish no woman was ever in a situation where she had an unwanted pregnancy. I wish no pregnancies ever ended in abortion (or miscarriage), but the fetus's rights can never be considered before the woman's. If you do not have to donate an organ to keep someone alive, I do not have to donate my uterus to a fetus that attaches there without my permission. Having sex was my permission, you say? No. No, it wasn't.

And because it wasn't and wouldn't be, and because it wasn't for many other women, there will always be abortion. And women will die. And children will be without their mothers, husbands without wives, parents without daughters, and most importantly women without lives. And the supposedly Christian pro-life people who terribly want to outlaw abortion will say they brought it on themselves. And that is NOT loving one's neighbour. Not by any definition of love I am familiar with.

21 September 2012

Irony? Or just plain evil?

Quick annoyance of the day: Pantene gives away $1 to cancer research for every bottle sold. Pantene shampoo contains carcinogens such as retinyl palmitate and oxybenzone and dmdm hydantoin (okay, so that one is a possible carcinogen, but whatever). And THIS is why I hate those stupid walks for cancer. They're almost all sponsored by companies that fucking cause cancer.

13 September 2012

Celiac Disease Awareness

Today is Celiac Awareness Day. So, since this directly affects my family, you, dear comrade, get to read all about. Or click the back button. Whatevs.

Celiac is:
An autoimmune disease. When gluten proteins enter into the tissues of the small intestine, to digest, the body views the tissue, not just the gluten, as an intruder and destroys it. The villi of the small intestine become so damaged that malabsorption occurs. I became magnesium deficient to the point where I developed seizures. My husband doesn't absorb zinc or lysine when he has damage.

Deadly. Celiac kills. Not directly, but indirectly via cancer caused by damage. Bowel cancer and lymphoma are particularly more common in Celiac sufferers. Also, because it's an autoimmune disease, the person with it becomes more likely to get another autoimmune disease.

Common. 1 in 133 people are estimated to have celiac disease.

Uncomfortable. The symptoms of Celiac Disease include: * refers to symptoms someone in my family has had to deal with.

  • Abdominal cramps, gas and bloating*
  • Anemia*
  • Borborygmi (stomach rumbling)*
  • Coetaneous bleeding
  • Diarrhea*
  • Easy bruising*
  • Epistaxis (nose bleeding)
  • Failure to thrive
  • Fatigue or general weakness*
  • Flatulence*
  • Fluid retention*
  • Foul-smelling or grayish stools that are often fatty or oily*
  • Gastrointestinal symptoms*
  • Gastrointestinal hemorrhage
  • Hematuria (red urine)*
  • Hypocalcaemia/ hypomagnesaemia*
  • Infertility
  • Iron deficiency anemia*
  • lymphocytic gastritis*
  • Muscle weakness*
  • Muscle wasting
  • Nausea*
  • No obvious physical symptoms (just fatigue, overall not feeling well)
  • Osteoporosis
  • Pallor (unhealthy pale appearance)*
  • Panic Attacks*
  • Peripheral neuropathy (nerve damage)*
  • Stunted growth in children*
  • Vertigo*
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency*
  • Vitamin D deficiency
  • Vitamin K deficiency
  • Vomiting*
  • Voracious appetite*
  • Weight loss*
  • Obesity*

Once one is diagnosed and on a gluten-free diet, most symptoms clear up. Until the next OOPS. In my house, gluten exposure means a lot of things depending on which of us it is, including insomnia, paranoia, irrational anger, diarrhea, constipation, extreme muscle pain, swelling, abdominal distress, bloating, exhaustion.

Celiac is NOT:
Picky eating. I'd give my left foot for a soft, delicious doughnut. Or to be able to eat at your house. Or a restaurant. But I'd rather not risk cancer. Or 2 weeks of hell. 1 crumb. ONE. That's enough to make a person with celiac sick. The current labelling laws allow anything under 20 parts per million to be called gluten free, as long as it's not deliberately added. So cross-contamination levels are permitted. I still get sick. From less than 20ppm. In fact, Rice Dream, which claims to have removed all the gluten, and have less than 20ppm made me sick for years until I discovered their barley processing. Assholes.

Imaginary The next person to tell me this is all in my head gets to listen to that Friday song on a loop for a month. Except on Fridays, which will be It's a Small World day. Seriously, it's physiological and can be tested with blood work or endoscopy.

Trendy or A fad. I know the gluten-free diet is a fad right now. That's not really helping me. Because Random Celebrity claims to be gluten-free one day and is seen eating a bagel the next day, people like me and my family are often perceived to be following the trend, and our health concerns are not taken seriously. On the other hand, there are more gluten-free products right now.

If you know a Celiac who cheats, remind them that no symptoms doesn't mean no damage. Is that baguette worth cancer? And please, please, don't judge the ones who are super careful as neurotic. They're doing their best to keep themselves safe and comfortable. Think of it as rat poison. If someone put rat poison icing on your cake, would you scrape the rat poison off and eat it? What if there was only a very little bit of rat poison? Surely you'd eat that, right? A little can't hurt, right? Wrong.

So now you're aware. My job here is done.

06 September 2012

A quick hitter post

The spanking thing that's in the news. My take: I do not spank my children. I do however give them a swat on the ass if they happen to do something like wander into traffic. Because it's quick, it's in the moment, and it surprises the hell out of them. I WANT them to be afraid to wander into traffic. If the cars aren't enough, a swat (and that's a singular swat, not a whipping, not a beating, not smacks until it's red, etc) might be enough to save their lives. So I do it. I have NEVER had to swat Pop. Crackle, yes. Didn't help, because he didn't connect the two. Once, when he was riding in the stroller (he was about 4.5), he reached down to put his fingers in the spokes of the wheels. I hit him with my fingertips on the top of his head enough to make him stop, but not actually causing pain.. Someone screamed her head off at me from her car. From her angle, we were jogging down the street and I smacked my kid when he wasn't even looking at me. I kept him from breaking his fingers. He'll still do it again, but in that moment, he stopped to see why I'd done that. So I'd do it again if I had to, knowing it would keep him safe in that moment, and that it wouldn't keep him from doing it again. Snap is 17, so that would be awkward, but yes, the odd time when she was younger, I tried a smack on the butt to keep her from doing dangerous shit. It worked for her.

Spanking? Real spanking? Keep it in the bedroom between two consenting adults. :)