Ed Icionsub

I saw this advertisement and had to wonder, what the hell is WRONG with this woman? Why on earth would anyone paint a little boys toenails bright pink? This makes not sense to me all. Little kids don’t need to be wearing makeup unless it is Halloween and part of their costume!

If the kid wants to paint something, couldn’t the mom find a coloring book or a model airplane or something for him to paint? When we were kids we were happy to have paper plates to color on! You don’t paint your body until you are in junior high school, and that’s for girls. Boys have other important things to do and worry about, like playing baseball or football and working on cars.

But more importantly, what does painting toenails have to do with selling children’s clothes? It’s not like they are selling nail polish!

Lunch has become such a problem for me. I am trying to watch my weight and not overdo hamburgers or other fattening meals. But I get sick of salads really fast. It is especially tough in the office, when everyone else goes out to the fast food places and bring their meals back to our kitchen to eat them. I smell the food and it makes my stomach growl.

Today I decided to go to the grocery store and buy some healthy lunch food items and take them back to the office with me. I can keep them in the refrigerator and just make a fast lunch myself. It will save me time and money, and hopefully this spare tire will start to wear off.

The only splurge on something unhealthy was a pack of bologna. It was on sale for $1 and it was so tempting – I caved and bought a pack to take with me for an occasional sandwich. What can I say? I like my bologna.

When you are thrust into the world of illness and disease, it can be overwhelming to find someone who will speak to you in plain English and not try to keep you helpless with an overuse of medical jargon. When my son was so very ill, we spent weeks upon weeks in the hospitals advocating for his care. He was too sick to speak up for himself. If someone spoke about things he didn’t understand, he just stopped listening – he couldn’t deal with the extra stress of not knowing the medical jargon.

The last month of his life we brought him home, in part to shield him from the stresses of the daily hospital routines. We were interested in finding out about hospice care, but there was a huge waiting list and he never got to use their services. So my wife and I fixed up his bedroom and we tended to him ourselves, the best we could. We had a hospital bed, an IV pole, oxygen tanks and all kinds of monitors and supplies.

Some things were given to us at the hospital or the doctor’s office. Other things we had to find out own sources. I found pulse oximeters for sale online and used one every two hours to monitor his blood oxygen levels. We were under strict orders to call the doctor immediately if the numbers dropped too low. And, eventually they did.

Our grandson has food allergies and I am so frustrated with his doctors who don’t seem to care at all about it. They have the attitude of, if its not causing severe reactions that interfere with his breathing, then don’t worry about it. But the allergies DO have an effect – in his appearance (hives and facial rashes) and his behavior (antsy, unfocused, loud, argumentative) . All I wanted to know is what exactly is he allergic to so we can avoid those foods. The doctors refuse to have him tested, stating that they feel there is no medical need for the tests.

So, on my own I am doing some research into food allergies and pediatric allergists that might be able to help him. I did fin a support group, called Kids With Food Allergies, but I am looking for much more detailed information, such as doctors in this area who can see him and online resources that go into detail about symptoms and causes..

Today we heard the sad news that Elizabeth Taylor has passed away. She was 79 years old and battled a series of health issues over the years. But she was the prettiest, most glamorous movie star that I can remember. I would call her one of the few Super Stars from Hollywood’s best days. I know I have seen every one of her movies, from National Velvet to Butterfield 8.

Rest In Peace, Liz.