Life Spot

January 31, 2012

Ohio Passed HB14 Stopping BSL Today!

HB14 takes the Pit Bull Terrier off the "vicious" dog list!

Today around 2:20pm, all hell broke loose across the pit-bull loving social media world. I was glued to my computer, watching the Senate tally the vote on HB14, a bill which would remove pit bull dogs from the definition of “vicious dog” in Ohio, and make many other improvements that would help identify and track dogs that had a history of aggressive behavior. I strained to hear the votes as they came in, and my heart leapt each time I could make out a “yes” over the muffled audio. When all votes were cast, the result was a 27-5 win for dog lovers and enthusiasts across Ohio, and for those who passionately work against breed-specific legislation across the country.

Fireworks went off, hurrays were shouted(and typed) and lots of congratulations were passed all around. I felt very proud of my state. After the goosebumps went away and the tears of joy were wiped, a common question circulated: now what?

The Senate passed a slightly different version of the bill from the one that was handed to them by the House. It included several amendments, some of which were semantic and others which further improved the bill. If you’re a policy nerd like me and would like to read a summary of these amendments, you can find them here.

Since both chambers of the General Assembly need to agree upon a single iteration of the bill, the most likely scenario is that the House will take up the amendments added in the Senate version, and then vote on it again. Once passed, it will move to the Governor for his signature. It will take effect 90 days following the Governor’s signature.

We’re currently warming up for an election year in which all of Ohio’s Representatives and half of its Senators will be up for reelection. It is critical that Ohioans keep the pressure on our legislators so we can get this bill passed before campaign seasons draws them away from the Statehouse and potentially hot-button issues like this one. It is true that given that both houses have already passed versions of HB14, the chances of it becoming the law of the land are very, very good. That said, I’m just not willing to rest my bets on very, very good chances. For the sake of dogs across Ohio, we need to make the passage of HB14 this session an absolute certainty.

To email your state representative, click here.

http://centralohiodogblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/hb14-passed-the-senate-now-what/

Santorum: Baby Created in Rape Still a "Gift"!

At least the people got to see the real candidate before voting!

I hope this candidate realizes that 50% of voters are women and a lot of women have a way of convincing the men in their lives to vote their way!

It is unbelievable that a public speaker would actually make such a statement to the country. He has the right to believe what he want's to believe but to take such a serious issue and create a statement around it and then actually release that statement is completely shocking. What was he thinking? Was he thinking? If he has this kind of mind set on such matters, what else does he believe is in the best interest of the "people"?

In my opinion I believe he should make a public appology to all women in our country and especially to those who have been forced to make such a horrible decision that in it's self is so terribly hard to make and now have had more guilt put on them by a representative who is supposed to be supporting our civil rights not fighting against them.

Santorum: Baby Created in Rape Still a "Gift" | RH Reality Check:

'via Blog this'

The Brooke & Taylor Show!

Swifty’s Sweetest Fans!

Taylor Swift has to be one of the busiest girls in the world (touring, recording, shooting videos – and that’s just for her music career. The girl is also an actress and a businesswoman!), but she never fails to make time for charity, like her involvement with the Ronald McDonald House, which provides support for kids and families in need. At an event in New York City, Tay even took time to co-host a little YouTube broadcast with one of her sweetest fans! Check it out below.

Brooke's Blossoms

Brooke's Blossoms is a new service to help supply the beautiful little girls battling cancer and have lost the hair with Headbands & Hats with dolled up with Flowers, Bows, Feathers, & Bling. Anything to make them feel special and let there Diva Shine! This is all in Honor of Brooke Hester and the exciting part is she is getting to help Distribute them!!!!

There are several ways you can help. You can contribute with supplies for the Blossoms, messages for the Girls or a Monetary donation to go towards supplies. However you would like!!

http://www.brookefightsback.org
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brooke...

https://www.bopandtigerbeat.com/2012/01/the-brooke-taylor-show-swiftys-sweetest-fans/

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January 30, 2012

How is a Kidney Transplant Is Done.

The procedure of kidney transplant lasts for about 3 hours.

Kidney transplant is a surgical procedure conducted for replacing a malfunctioning kidney of the patient with a healthy kidney from the donor. Kidney transplant refers to the surgery performed for the replacement of a failed or diseased kidney with a healthy working kidney from another person. The person who receives the kidney is called a recipient, whereas the person who donates the kidney is called a donor. Kidney transplant is also referred to as renal transplant. It is carried out for the patients suffering from end-stage kidney diseases or renal failure. There are two types of renal failure, namely, acute and chronic.

The acute type causes sudden kidney failure in response to the treatment of other underlying conditions. In majority of the cases, it can be reversed back by managing the cause. In case of chronic type, failure of kidney takes place gradually because of a chronic health condition like hypertension. Chronic kidney failure is treated by dialysis (artificial filtering of blood) or kidney transplantation. Both conditions of renal failure may also result from other kidney diseases.

How is a Kidney Transplant Done
Based on the source of donated kidney, kidney transplant can be classified as deceased-donor or living-donor transplant. In the former case, the donated kidney is from a person who died recently, whereas in the latter case, the donated kidney is obtained from a living person. Living-donor type is further categorized into living related donor (donor is genetically related to the recipient) and living unrelated donor transplantation (donor is not genetically related to the recipient). In all the cases, the donor should be healthy and free of any kidney diseases.

For performing any type of kidney transplant, it is necessary to match the donor's and recipient's blood and other tissue conditions. Considering this, the living related donor matches better than the deceased and living unrelated donor types. In case of a deceased donor type, the healthy kidney collected from the deceased person is preserved in a saline solution for about 48 hours, which is maintained in cold storage conditions. During this time, the concerned physician conducts certain laboratory tests to check the compatibility of the donor and the recipient.

Kidney Transplant Procedure: Living Kidney Donor
For harvesting the kidney from a living donor, the donor is given anesthesia prior to the surgery. The surgeon makes a small cut on the side of the abdomen. The kidney is removed through the cut, which is then stitch after completion of the procedure. The harvested kidney is preserved in cold storage conditions. The donor can live a normal life after removal of the kidney, as the remaining kidney performs the normal bodily functions.

Kidney Transplant Procedure: Kidney Recipient
Prior to the surgery for kidney transplant, the recipient is given general anesthesia. A cut is made in the lower belly portion, from where the donated kidney is introduced inside the body of the recipient. Usually, the failed kidney of the recipient is not removed, as it increases the risk of morbidity. In such a condition, the surgeon connects the renal artery of the donated kidney to the external iliac artery and renal vein to the external iliac vein. In case of infections in the existing kidney of the recipient, the surgeon may consider removal of the failed kidney.

Kidney Transplant: Aftercare
The procedure of kidney transplant lasts for about 3 hours. In living related donor type, the introduced kidney starts functioning immediately, whereas in living unrelated type, it takes about 3-5 days for the normal functioning. For deceased donor transplant, recovery time may be as long as 15 days.

Kidney transplant is not a total cure for renal failure. Though the condition of the recipient improves in maximum cases of transplantation, there are still other unpredictable complications. An individual who has undergone kidney transplant should be administered certain prescribed medications in order to combat any bodily reactions (immune responses). Besides this, he/she has to be monitored throughout the life for any complication of kidney transplant.

By Ningthoujam Sandhyarani
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/how-is-a-kidney-transplant-done.html

Iowa Mother gives birth in a BIG way!

Mom of Iowa's Biggest Baby Makes Childbirth Look Easy!

At birth, full-term babies born in the U.S. tip the scales, on average, at around 7 pounds, 8 ounces, which of course doesn't mean that there aren't plenty of mothers giving birth to babies both smaller and larger. My healthy babies both weighed around 6 pounds (give or take a few ounces) when they made their debut -- though they didn't stay that small for long!

And bigger? Well, a woman in Iowa has just given birth to a baby boy that CNN reports might just be the largest infant ever to have been born "naturally" in the state. How big was the baby, Asher Stewardson? He weighed in at a whopping 13 pounds, 12 ounces, and measured 23 1/2 inches long! And get this, Asher's amazing mother delivered him vaginally, after six hours of pushing and with no drugs (nope, no epidural, no nothin').

I'll just give you a minute to take that in …Back? Yeah, I know, but you can uncross your legs now: The birth story of baby Asher has a totally happy ending. He's healthy (and cute as a button!), and his mom, Kendall Stewardson, is doing great, too.

It's also kind of a good reminder for the rest of us. Assuming Kendall wanted a natural birth and had some idea that her baby was going to be on the large side (Asher's older brother was 12 pounds at birth, though doctors thought, based on ultrasounds, Asher might be somewhat smaller), she got to follow through on her "birth plan," triumphing in a situation that to some people might have seemed nearly impossible.

Isn't it amazing how strong we women can be and how amazing the human body is? Congrats to the Stewardson family on their big, bouncy bundle of joy!

Can you imagine giving birth to a baby as big as Asher vaginally and without drugs?

Posted by Amy Reiter

http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/132242/mom_of_enormous_baby_makes?utm_medium=sm&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=beingamom_fanpage

January 25, 2012

Solar storm sparks dazzling northern lights!

It was part of the strongest solar storm in years!

A storm from the broiling sun turned the chilly northernmost skies of Earth into an ever-changing and awe-provoking art show of northern lights on Tuesday.

Even experienced stargazers were stunned by the intensity of the aurora borealis that swept across the night sky in northern Scandinavia after the biggest solar flare in six years.

"It has been absolutely incredible," British astronomer John Mason cried from the deck of the MS Midnatsol, a cruise ship plying the fjord-fringed coast of northern Norway.

"I saw my first aurora 40 years ago, and this is one of the best," Mason told The Associated Press, his voice nearly drowning in the cheers of awe-struck fellow passengers.

U.S. space weather experts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday evening that so far they had heard of no problems from the storm that triggered the auroras, which made it as far south as Wales, where the weather often doesn't cooperate with good viewing.

It was part of the strongest solar storm in years, but the sun is likely to get even more active in the next few months and years, said physicist Doug Biesecker at the U.S. Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colorado.

"To me this was a wake up call. The sun is reminding us that solar max is approaching," Biesecker said. "A lot worse is in store for us. We hope that you guys are paying attention. I would say we passed with flying colors."

Even before particles from the solar storm reached the Earth on Tuesday, a different aurora Monday night was dancing across the sky as far south as Ireland and England, where people rarely get a chance to catch the stunning light show.

Those northern lights were likely just variations in normal background solar wind, not the solar storm that erupted Sunday, Biesecker said.

Tuesday's colorful display may not have moved that far south, limiting its audience, but those who got to see it got brilliance in the sky that had not been around for years.

"It was the biggest northern lights I've seen in the five-six years that I've worked here," said Andreas Hermansson, a tour guide at the Ice Hotel in the Swedish town of Jukkasjarvi, above the Arctic Circle.

He was leading a group of tourists on a bus tour in the area when a green glow that had lingered in the sky for much of the evening virtually exploded into a spectacle of colors around 10:15 p.m.

"We stopped the bus. And suddenly it was just this gigantic display of dancing lights and Technicolor," said Michele Cahill, an Irish psychologist, who was on the tour. "It was an absolutely awesome display. It went on for over an hour. Literally one would have to lie on the ground to capture it all."

But in -30 degrees F (-35 C), that didn't seem like a good idea.

An aurora appears when a magnetic solar wind slams into the Earth's magnetic field, exciting electrons of oxygen and nitrogen.

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January 23, 2012

Brooke's Blossoms in Honor of Brooke Hester!

Brooke Elizabeth Hester is fighting back!

This strong and brave little girl is fighting Cancer~Stage 4 Neuroblastoma. She has a wonderful and very supportive family as well as millions of friends that love her very much. Brooke is 4 years old and loves pink, ponies, cats and dogs, and dinosaurs. She wants to be a veterinarian when she grows up. She has had to under go many tests and treatments including sonograms, nuclear scans and MRI/MRUs. Tests have shown a large tumor is in her abdomen pressing on her left kidney, spine, and internal organs. The prognosis is not good, but there have been advances for neurblastoma in the last few years. The cancer is also in her bone marrow, so she has a long battle ahead. For more information go to http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brookehester/mystory.

Her family is armed with prayer warriors, friends and family ready to help pull her through this, but financially, they face many days away from home and travelling to MD Anderson in her "road map" of cancer treatment for the mass and bone marrow. There is a great need for financial support during this journey and many ways you can help.

The family has set up a special donation account for Brooke if you are working on a fundraiser or just want to make a charitable contribution. It is through Wells Fargo, and anyone, anywhere can go to any branch and just request to give to the "Brooke Hester Donation Fund."

There is also a campaign on Facebook as a Fundrazr drive at: http://bit.ly/gATd5I

The family has a very strong faith, and know how much the power of prayer works miracles. Please pray for Brook a very sweet, sweet girl.

Brooke's Blossoms

There are several ways you can help. You can contribute with supplies for the Blossoms, messages for the Girls or a Monetary donation to go towards supplies. However you would like!! Contact Sunnie Joe Stewart for details.sunnie_stewart@yahoo.com

Sunnie Jo Stewart
PO Box 450
Kingsville, TX 78364