ElementalMom

You betcha. Cause it can’t be gloom and doom all the time. HT to Jason, who said it reminded him of me at work the other day.

• I'm 352nd against discrimination by health insurers. Women deserve equal coverage for equal premiums. http://seiu.org/ticket #fem2 #hc09 #
• RT @symplesolutions: You need to discover your purpose, for we we each have one and it is not working for some factory or industrial complex #
• RT @350: Oct 24 is Global Day of Climate Action. I'm joining here: http://bit.ly/1th5kA You? #
• RT @350: On Oct. 24, in drought-ravaged Somalia, villagers will set up 350 solar cookers to show that renewable energy is the answer. #
• Just when you thought it couldn't be more ridiculous: rape is a pre-existing condition. http://bit.ly/N9Pay #
• Aurora has a new tooth! That explains the last few days of craziness… #
• Heading out to our local 350.org action: http://bit.ly/121epC #
• @symplesolutions Why does he declare an emergency? Isn't it a bigger emergency that people are homeless due to foreclosure? #foreclosure in reply to symplesolutions #
• @birthsage You love it from *there* Gloria. Right here, it's not so loveable. in reply to birthsage #
• Scary. Cool. Scary. Cool. Scary… http://bit.ly/QBV0l #

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I’m hoping that this becomes a series on this blog… I’m looking for nominations. But to start it off… I love this guy. Warning, tons and tons and tons of F-bombs. But I gotta say… the idea of working my stress out with a baseball bat had not occurred to me. Might be a good place to start…

Just saw this over at Ginmar’s blog. And I weep for the things we lost in our culture, between his generation, and ours, apparently.

Every day, I read a little more about the financial crisis, and I get angry.

Every day, I read a little more about someone near me becoming homeless due to foreclosure, and I get angry.

Every day, I read another story about someone who has lost their job and can’t find another one, and I get angry.

Every day, I get closer to the end of my own unemployment benefits, and realize that the clock is ticking, while bankers and financiers make millions, billions, in bonuses for having done this to us.

And I wonder, where is Robin Hood?

I’m sure you remember the story. Robbed from the rich? Gave to the poor? Kept hope alive for the downtrodden when the upper class decided that bleeding the poor to death was the best way to finance themselves? Short guy, floppy hat, big bow and arrow?

So many folks thought Obama would save us. He hasn’t. He hasn’t even made a good start. Every single bailout has been for the rich; an increasing transfer of cash from the bottom to the top.

Every theoretical economist I can find out there sees civil war coming. Most of them see it coming by 2011 or so, when food and water and fuel and housing are no longer affordable for most Americans.

Most Americans. Did you read that? Most of us will be cold and hungry and on the streets, pretty much as soon as the first tax bill for the bailouts hits. Or just after that, when the business we work for collapses. Or when the business our neighbor works for collapses, which means he can’t pay his taxes, which means more of the bill comes to us… and strangely, none of it goes to them who got bailed out.

Will our generation provide us with a Robin Hood? Is there anyone out there brave enough, mad enough, dangerous enough, to take them on, and get a little back for the little guy?

Poossibly. Possibly not. But it’s a lot nicer than thinking about what I really think is going to happen, which is more like the French Revolution and less like Merry Olde England. I like arrows better than guillotines, and I like heroes better than bloodthirsty mobs. But if we can’t have one… hey… maybe we can have the other.

The Breech Birth Conference was amazing. I’m still sort of in shock that I got to attend. As the only non-professional on the ticket, I was just a little intimidated, but! I got Jane Evans to commit to letting me help her get online, and I got Lisa Barrett to commit to learning how to Twitter! Hurrah!

A few high points:

• Got a strong sense of how much work is still to be done with regards to breech birth. Holy cow, the idea that hands and knees is an innovation just flabbergasted me. It really demonstrated how huge the gap is between the obstetrical model and the midwifery model. The very idea of “putting a woman in a position” just made my skin crawl.
• Got a strong sense of how deeply, profoundly, insanely flawed the American system really is. Listening to so many perspectives from so many other countries was so fantastic, and the fact that the conference organizers pulled so many people in from so many places was absolutely a credit to them.

• Finally got to see Birth, the play. Been hearing about it for ages, and this was the first opportunity I’d gotten to see it. I was really impressed; I’ve got a background in street theater, and formal theater folks always impress me.

• The Rideau Canal through Ottawa was the most gorgeous thing; how enlightened for a city to plan ahead for skating! I want to go back when it’s ice (and if you know me, you know how bizarre that is, I normally don’t like winter!)

A few low points:

• There was so much to cram into just two days of conference sessions. I was a breakout session, and every other person presenting at the same time was bummed they didn’t get to see the other presenters at that time. Everyone was so unique and so interesting, that missing even one session was frustrating.

• The OBs you get at something like this tend to be the good guys. And they have trouble believing that the bad guys even exist. So there’s some education to be done there.

So that’s my opinion. I hope I have enough to offer in the way of new social media info for them to invite me back next time. And hey America… when are we having ours? =)

This in, by way of Asterisk:

Hospital Forces Lesbian to Die Alone; Judge Gives Stamp of Approval

U.S. District Judge Adalberto Jordan dismissed a lawsuit yesterday, essentially finding that the Jackson Memorial Hospital was within its rights to leave a dying woman alone while denying her present and immediate family to visit her, be updated on her condition, or even to provide the hospital with medically necessary information.

Named in the now-dismissed suit were Jackson social worker Garnett Frederick and attending physicians Alois Zauner and Carlos Alberto Cruz, who made the decision not to allow Janice Langbehn, Lisa Pond’s partner, to have standard family access to information, even after receiving durable Power of Attorney and a Living Will naming Janice as legal guardian with authority to make end-of-life decisions.

Jennifer Piedra, spokesperson for Jackson Memorial, released this statement after Judge Jordan said they could continue to turn [lesbian and gay] people away from their dying family members:

We have always believed and known that the staff at Jackson treats everyone equally, and that their main concern is the well-being of the patients in their care. At Jackson Health System, we believe in a culture of inclusion. For more than 90 years, the institution has taken great pride in serving everyone who enters its doors, regardless of race, creed, religious beliefs or sexual orientation. We also employ a very diverse workforce, one that mirrors the community we serve.

Jackson will continue to work with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community to ensure that everyone knows they are welcome at all of our facilities, where they will receive the highest quality of medical care.

Yes, that sounds perfectly reasonable. If only there were a way to judge their words against their actions. Oh wait, there is, and guess what! They’re completely and plainly full of it! In March, Janice told the story of Lisa’s final hours:

On February 18, 2007, Lisa Pond, my partner of nearly 18 years and 3 of our 4 adopted children: Danielle, David and Katie were on board the Rfamily cruise preparing to set sail. Before leaving port, Lisa suddenly collapsed while watching the children play basketball. The kids were banging on the stateroom door saying, “Mommy was hurt!” I opened the door, and took one look at Lisa and knew the situation was very serious. As a medical social worker for many years, I have seen people in critical condition. I knew that my life partner was gravely ill. As the ship was about to leave, we had no choice but to seek medical help in an unfamiliar city. After local medics arrived, we hurried off the ship to the closest hospital in Miami, Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital.

As Lisa was put into the ambulance I had no idea when she signed “I love you” to the kids and I it would be the last time I would see her beautiful blue eyes. We arrived at the trauma center minutes before her ambulance. I tried to follow her gurney into the trauma area and was stopped by the trauma team and told to go to the waiting room. The kids and I did as we were told.

We arrived shortly after 3:30 in the afternoon, around 4pm, a social worker came out and introduced himself as Garnett Frederick and said, “you are in an anti-gay city and state. And without a health care proxy you will not see Lisa nor know of her condition”. He then turned to leave; I stopped him and asked for his fax number because I said “we had legal Durable Powers of Attorney” and would get him the documents. Within a short time of meeting this social worker, I contacted friends in Lacey, WA, our hometown, who went to our house and faxed the legal documents required for me to make medical decisions for Lisa.

I never imagined as I paced that tiny waiting room that I would not see Lisa’s bright blue eyes again or hold her warm, loving hands. Feeling helpless as I continued to wait, I attempted to sneak back into the trauma bay but all the doors to the trauma area had key codes, preventing me from entering. Sitting alone with our luggage, our children and my thoughts, I watched numbly as other families were invited back into the trauma center to visit with loved ones. I was still waiting to hear what was happening with Lisa, realizing as the time passed that I was not being allowed to see her and if the social worker’s words were any indication it was because we were gay.

Anger, despair and disbelief wracked my brain as I tried to figure out a way to find out what was going on with Lisa. I finally thought to call our family doctor back in Olympia (on a Sunday afternoon at home) to see if she could find out what was happening. While on the phone with our doctor in Olympia, a surgeon appeared. The surgeon told me that Lisa, who was just 39 years old, had suffered massive bleeding in her brain from an aneurysm.

A short while later, two more surgeons appeared and explained the massive bleed in Lisa’s brain gave her little chance to survive and if she did it would be in a persistent vegetative state. Lisa had made me promise to her over and over in our 18 years together to never allow this to happen to her. I let the surgeons know Lisa wishes, which were also spelled out in her Living Wills and Advance Directive. I was then promised by the doctors that I would be brought to see Lisa as “soon as she was cleaned up”. At that point all life saving measures ceased and I asked that she be prepared for organ donation.

Yet, the children and I continued to wait and wait. A Hospital Chaplain appeared and asked if I wanted to pray and I looked at her dumbfounded as if I hadn’t already been doing that for over four hours. I immediately asked for a Catholic Priest to perform Lisa’s Last rites. A short time later, a Catholic priest escorted me back to recite the Last Rites and it was my first time in nearly 5hrs of seeing Lisa. After seeing her I knew the children needed to see her immediately and be able to say their goodbyes and begin the grieving process. Yet the priest escorted me back out to the waiting room. Where I was faced with the young faces of our beautiful children to explain “other mommy” was going to heaven.

Lisa Marie Pond
1967 – 2007

I continued to assert myself over the ensuing hours again that we needed to be with Lisa. I even showed the Admitting clerk the children’s birth certificates with both Lisa and my name on them… and said if you won’t let me back, let her children be with her. I was told they were “too young”. I thought how old do you need to be to say goodbye to your mother?

In nearly eight hours, Lisa lay at Ryder Trauma Center moving toward brain death – completely alone and I continue to this day to feel like a failure for not being there to hold her hand to tell her how much we loved her, to comfort her and to sign in her hand “I love you”. All my pleas fell on deaf ears.

Lisa’s sister arrived driving straight from Jacksonville as soon as I knew Lisa would not survive. She announced who she was and I was at her side staring at the same person who had been denying me access all those hours. It was only then that I was told Lisa had been moved almost an hour earlier to ICU… and the hospital just kept the children and I waiting in the same waiting room, where Lisa was not even at.

On Monday February 19, 2007 at 10:45am, Lisa was officially declared Brain Dead. It was then that individuals from the Organ Donation Agency became involved (who I must point out are completely separate professionals from Jackson Memorial Hospital) that I finally was validated as Lisa’s spouse. They asked me which organs she wanted donated.

Explain to me again how a straight couple would have been split like this even for five minutes, let alone hours. Explain to me how three children would have been kept from their straight mother’s side, how a dying straight person would be treated in such an cruel, vicious, I-don’t-have-enough-words way.

Tell me again why the word “marriage” doesn’t matter. Tell me again that we should just be patient and not rock the boat. Better yet, tell it to Lisa Pond’s partner and children.

Yesterday a judge shrugged his shoulders and left LGBT victims unprotected. When will Americans demand better? Will Americans demand better?

For what it’s worth, I’ve been left alone alone in a hospital before. That time alone in one in the room is what a lot of women have mentioned as the worst part of a surgery. I can’t even imagine the shriveled soul of someone who could do such a thing. Blog about it. Talk about it. Do what you can, to make it stop.

• this should not be nearly as funny as it is. http://bit.ly/7nMEb #
• Aurora woke up crying. Then Kes woke up crying. Brought Kes to Aurora's room, got her settled, got him settled. Gonna be a rough night. #
• Still. Fussing. With. Breech. Preso. Gah! #
• Getting the boat ready for rain. It's amazing how things spread out when you're not actively sailing much. #
• @alecmuffett a .12ga shotgun and a hillside of tin cans, actually. It's not as British, but works wonders. in reply to alecmuffett #
• RT @SustainableSeas: RT @minsd: Landmark ocean law turns 10 http://bit.ly/1AqNFu #California #Ocean #MLPA #Conservation #Blue #
• Stop the shot! Yeah! http://bit.ly/16Pa47 #
• barometer reads 996.8. I've never seen it that low on the water. Storm surge is ~ 4 feet higher than high tide. #
• holy cow… the gale alarm just went off again… pressure @994 and falling. That's insanely low for sea level. #
• Hey, my preconference workshop just hit the site for TrustBirth 2010! YEAH! http://bit.ly/G0XDJ Go birthgeeks! #
• LOVE the Onion: If God Had Wanted Me To Be Accepting Of Gays, He Would Have Given Me The Warmth And Compassion To Do So http://bit.ly/AoKCE #
• Beethoven's 5th, whitecaps outside the boat. Perfect. #
• @rozsavage OOOH! I dig Keen! Their kids shoes are the BEST for boats! in reply to rozsavage #
• @MissAdventuring I am SO doing this!!! The Buckminster Fuller Challenge http://bit.ly/lJAxj in reply to MissAdventuring #
• Wind is blowing steadily enough that there are now regular waves inside the marina. 994 and dropping. Wish I had a working anometer. #
• @AnnNavarro You don't outrun this kind of storm. We're safe here on the dock, tho. in reply to AnnNavarro #
• @AnnNavarro LOL. J & the kids put on their foulies and are out running errands! The boys dig this weather. Puddles and pretend flying! #
• @alecmuffett How funny. That's exactly what I just made. Didja do the broth from scratch? =) in reply to alecmuffett #
• and just like that, wind down to almost nothing, and no more rain. Weird. #
• @NooneeWilga Here on the water, we use waves and whitecaps with Beauforts. =) in reply to NooneeWilga #

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• RT @PJA64X: You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you. — John Wooden #
• soaking in the dawn sunshine, sipping tea. #
• Channeling my Fabulous Self. It's gonna be one of those days. #
• Finished my acupressure certification! Woot! #
• OK, this is super cool… VeggieTrader! Freecycle for produce! http://bit.ly/PlVgK #
• RT @2Shaye: My first global article: http://bit.ly/Y2XB3 Pls RT – thank you! #homebirth #midwifery #VBAC #HBAC #
• Not going out for fleet week. In a fit of good taste, considering the number of boats I've never seen before going by. #
• This looks awesome. How many changers are there out there? http://bit.ly/1yIola #
• Remains of the typhoon are heading this way… hope I'll be able to catch my flight out Wednesday anyway. #breechbirthconference #
• Fussing over my preso for Breech Birth Canada. I just hope I don't offend too many people… and I motivate the rest. #breechbirth #
• getting ready to start a big ol pot of beef stew for my horde of little carnivores. #

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From Alan Huber’s Birth Issues blog:

What do you call people of childbearing age? If you’re 40 and over, you would call them twenty or thirty something’s. If you’re under 40, they are known as; millennials or digital natives.

Most obstetricians, midwives, family physicians, childbirth educators and administrators are in the over 40 category. They need to get their message heard by pregnant women, i.e., millennials. Just as you didn’t like your parents music, and your children don’t like your music, most birth care providers don’t know how to create and place a message that the millennials will hear and act upon.

At the 2009 Controversies in Childbirth Conference, super geek, and frustrated birth advocate, Laureen Hudson, presented an amazing seminar on getting your message heard. Of course, one hour is insufficient to learn how to bridge the digital generation gap.

Laureen has agreed to a, full afternoon, hands-on workshop with participants encouraged to bring your laptops, so you not only learn, but you actually:

Create an online presence on; Websites, Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Blogs.
Including:
How to build an audience
How much time will it take
The importance of your online reputation
How to be found on search engines
What works
What you should avoid and much more…

Space is extremely limited because of the limited number of WiFi connections and you are urged to register now at the conference website: http://www.birthconference.org

The Controversies in Childbirth Conference will be held February 19-21, 2010, in Tampa, Florida. Laureen’s pre-conference workshop will be held on Thursday, February 18th.

This is an amazing opportunity to improve your business marketing and learn to digitally connect with patients and clients. Hope to see you in Tampa!

• @sufficiency Mrsvickies.com Seriously. #profoodchat in reply to sufficiency #
• @alecmuffett Unbelievably ridiculous. in reply to alecmuffett #
• Done tweaking resume. Now working on my preso for Breech Birth Conf in Ottawa. #
• Just realized that I am, oh, two weeks late on my Xsport article. GAH! Better get moving mas rapido. #
• Never did hear back from the BofA cust svc rep here on Twitter. Apparently that was an empty promise. Go BofA! #BofAfail #
• @jonaiello OK, now I need to find Cosmos for the boys to watch… Thanks. in reply to jonaiello #
• @LaureenH OMG! The entire Cosmos show is on Netflix intant watch!!!!! I know what *we're* doing today! WOOT! in reply to LaureenH #
• OK. This year, I *really* need to learn to knit/crochet. Anyone in Emeryville/Berkeley/Oakland up for teaching me? #
• RT @HealthFreedomUS: Published a new post: Action eAlert: The Great Culling – Vaccines and Depopulation; NY Rally @http://zz.gd/101cb2 #
• Dissolving into a cup of green tea, and contemplating the preparation of dinner. #
• Needing to track down an industrial sewing machine to borrow to fix the bimini with tomorrow. Gotta get it done before the rains start. #
• Friend just lost her baby at ~34 weeks, and has a cesarean to boot. Other than food and listening, not sure what else to do. #
• Wind just shifted hard to the south and picked up quite a few knots. Looks like I won't get the bimini done before the rain after all. #
• People who get vaccinated are more likely to get swine flu. Go Canada! http://bit.ly/17Qt9n #swineflu #
• Woah. Serious homeschooling arguments. http://bit.ly/2GQS30 #
• Tsunami warning in effect for CA. They're expecting 20-65 cm. Yes, you read that right. Woo-hoo. #
• @lifeofreilly ohfercryingoutloud. Go get the studies on the vaccines, and rerun their statistics. Then x-ref that to the study sponsor. in reply to lifeofreilly #
• @jonaiello http://WCATWC.ARH.NOAA.GOV is the site to watch. 21:31 PDT is when it's supposed to hit SF Bay. in reply to jonaiello #
• @quennessa Details. I want details. in reply to quennessa #
• After refusing nappage all day, Aurora just went down. I am no doubt cursed. #
• RT @jonaiello: Dems declare victory passing "reform". GOP declares victory defeating "socialism". Big business laughs. We bend over. #
• @birthsage Amen Gloria. Amen. in reply to birthsage #
• Back from story time at the Oakland Library… now pounding on editing and gardening! #
• Editing workbook for Self Publishing Boot Camp. Great stuff, I really recommend the workshop! #missadventuring #
• \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ #
• Hm. I see Aurora has sent her very first tweet. Starting them young, I am… #
• Actually managed to drag myself out of bed early! And it's *cold*. #
• ellen's new site is up! Go have a look! Support an artist! http://bit.ly/LP47h #
• RT @GlacierOutdoor: "If people concentrated on the really important things in life, there'd be a shortage of fishing poles." -Doug Larson #
• Little victories… I have now officially had enough friends close their accounts that BofA has now lost more than my loan is worth. #BofA #
• It's a little victory, and one they probably can't/won't track, but I am not stopping there. One unhappy customer tells how many? #BofA #
• @bbart BofA would have to connect the dots, which I am doubtful they can do. But I am hoping I can keep inspiring people. #BofA in reply to bbart #
• Researching appropriate behavior/dress/customs for jewish funerals. Sad time. #
• Letter so awesome, it almost makes me want to be a librarian. http://bit.ly/d9gdu #
• @jonaiello what, is there seismology on the CBEST? in reply to jonaiello #
• @StaceyCrew Dunno, but if you find out, let me know! in reply to StaceyCrew #
• RT @birthsage: starting Tues., tag posts with #homebirthtuesday because that will tie all the posts into a tweetstream so we can all see. #
• @jonaiello LUCK! Not that you'll need it… in reply to jonaiello #
• @quennessa Whyfor? in reply to quennessa #
• @jcatsexton Rowan is happy to help save you. in reply to jcatsexton #

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