Medicines and Medical Concerns

Being the daughter of a military officer I have always learned to be prepared. As a young girl I was in Girl Scouts and most of my life I needed some form of CPR or First Aid classes for some job or license. So I have always been the one full of calm during the storm. My neighbors here in Colorado loved me during the first few winters we had after our move to our house. When the power went out I would walk the block seeing who needed candles or wood to keep little ones calm during a blizzard or snow to your ears day. My freezer is always well stocked and my fridge always had plenty of milk in case of emergencies. Well that is one reason I had a few run ins with my inlaws.
At my home and all my cars, I carry at least one first aid kit. I have a fully stocked medicine cabinet and bandages for just about any medical need. I can't remember how many patched knees or boobooed elbows I have mended over the years. My kids call me the street nurse. When my daughter Aieysha was 4 we were cutting some branches on the tree out front and my husband and I decided we were done for a bit and we went downstairs to change clothes. My husband being the careful father, put the giant metal cutters in the garage on the shelf and went downstairs with me. It didn't seem more than five minutes and I heard screams from my youngest daughter at the time. I told my husband "please go check on her while I finish folding this load of laundry real quick", well he trotted up the stairs and just minutes later I heard him calling my name in a panic of "Faiszah, Faiszah, Faiszah". Ok, so what is going on? I rushed up the stairs and to the door and found my four year old daughter standing with blood pouring down her first finger. I looked and although it was appearing to be attached I knew somehow that it wasn't. Thinking quickly I grabbed a towel from the bathroom and grasp her hand with it to staunch the flow of blood. I then ordered my husband to get everyone in the car. What was I thinking? Get everyone out I don't need a bunch of kids whining at the hospital. So, I got her into the passenger side and buckled her in and we were off. By the time I had driven 1/2 mile, she was blacking out so I pulled into the firestation and asked for assistance from the paramedics. I told them what had happened and they looked and said oh it is a cut but we will call an ambulance to take her in. Well I will save the long version of the story and tell you it was indeed cut all the way through too less than 1 cm of skin holding her little finger on. Suhayb had used the pruners to cut some small branches and let his sister hold while he cut and just got so carried away that he had severed her finger. We are still thankful till today that she did not shake her finger or it would have been a loss. The small centimeter of skin holding her finger in place also carried the main blood vessel to her finger and by not shaking it, it had survived to live on. A bunch of bandages and a fancy splint and we were on our way.
So this story leads me to our medical needs while overseas. My daughter Aieysha had a bump on the underside of her foot that I thought was the beginning of a planter wart so I told her that as soon as we got to Libya I would get some medicine and we would fix it. Here we have these cool freeze off packages that work well and I had used a few times before for other kids. Well after arrival her foot began to hurt her and I don't know how many days I asked for medicine to fix it. Like the headlice what was the concern. They all have feet that hurt them. Well she is 13 and should not have feet that hurt her. After a month and a half we finally got the opportunity to send my son to the pharmacy to get medicine for headlice and he showed me the store where he had bought the stuff as the man spoke English and I knew I may have to explain what I needed. Well you don't find the freeze off type there. So remembering the old remedy of wart removal I looked for compound W. No, but they had salyicilic acid. Just the right level of acid to put on her foot was 1% content the pharmacists said. And it was a cream. So I needed q-tips and bandages. And we began the long treatment of her wart that had grown into three bunches by then and another between her big toe and her next one. Now that we have returned home the wart finally came off. A stronger dose could have been more helpful but she hated to have her foot scraped so that delayed removal too. So after I came home I used a freeze off brand to get the rest. No scraping needed. I left behind a book on herbal remedies but no fear I have two more here in the states as well as you can find them at most Goodwill or Thrift stores. I would also suggest a basic first aid book and that you take most medical supplies that you know you use or need. I had a stethoscope and a othomological scope in my bag and darn I had left behind my blood pressure kits. Oh well add that one to the list. Although many of the families in the area had diabetic relatives I never saw a meter used. They were curious of mine and asked me a few times to check someone. No problem I had a abundant supply of strips. But I only used it on people who I knew had diabetes. How do you keep your diabetes in check if you don't use a meter? Oh well. Thankfully I follow the old girl scout motto of always be prepared. At home I have a bag that has a non battery flashlight a weather radio and TV and so many items that will go unlisted. You would think I was planning for Armageddon. Well if you missed the TV recently here in the USA, we had three incidents of hostages of children at school in one week. One in Colorado, that left one dead girl, one in Pennsylvania at a Amish school that left 5 dead and 6 wounded and one that is unknown to me as I have seen very little TV. I think I unpacked my bags too soon. Homeschooling is looking more beautiful every day. And I thought Columbine was bad. What kind of man goes into a school of little amish girls and sends all the people out and lines up the girls and binds them then shoots them point blank? And by the way he was a loving father of three kids. Boy if he had been Muslim the story would be different. Oh well.
Finally I recommend a book on medicines and their usages. I haven't really looked at one besides the one I own a doctors medical reference book. It is by maker the names of the meds so I didn't know yet if it will be useful but I will let you know. Also I looked into Baker's Ammonia here in the USA. I know you use it for baking there. Well warning for those of us who eat cookie dough. DON"T EAT IT!!! It evaporates into harmless product after cooking but can be lethal if eaten prior. We use baking powder. Well I looked it up on the internet and found it was what we use to call smelling salts. And the pharmacy did not carry it any longer. Only in vials for sports and not recommended any more for that purpose as well.
Or maybe it has some other use and she thought it best to tell me it was unavailable. With the use of over the counter cough medicines to make Meth drugs they have removed all that contain the needed ingredients from the shelves and now you must get it from an attendant. Then you must give them your name and address and show id. If you try to purchase more than a certain amount you are told no and the system is supposed to alert them if you try. Oh well what are us big families to do in the cold season? More than two people sick and you can go through a few bottles a day. But apparently now the makers have made copies that do not contain the needed drug so they are available but some people are saying they do not work as well. This applies to allergy meds too.
As I mentioned in my last article, I had two incidents of medical emergencies of young family members. One broke his arm both bones and a week later playing with his younger brother, he stabbed his brother with a stick and it went into his mouth and cut a huge gash into his lower gum line a the jaw. They pulled out the stick and Salem rushed him to the hospital. Well it seems as medical emergencies follow me or the old rule of "bad things happen in threes". My kids had just gotten back to school last week and the boys were delayed an extra day for meeting with the dean and counselors. Well come Friday we had another emergency. Suhayl was in Gym class outside playing Flag Football. You know the one where you throw a football but they can only attempt to remove a flag that is attached to your side as a way of "tackling" you. Well he finally got the ball tossed his way and the force of the throw or the uneven ground caused him to fall backwards onto an young mans knee who was behind him attempting to grab his flag. Well his spine impacted with the kids knee and he was down. Apparently he didn't get up right away and the coach yelled "hey your fine get up". So a friend helped him up and he went to the sideline to rest. He really didn't feel well so they escorted him to the nurse. Well we all know they have cut back on funding so nurses are overworked and overstressed at most schools. Fortunately, Cherry Creek Schools know the necessity of nurses in the system and pay the fees to keep them on but they have days when they are sorely stressed. Anyway she icepacked him and after a bit he said he felt ok and returned to his classes. By the end of day though the pain was unbearable and he could barely walk. He called me to pick him up. Why, had you missed the bus? He can't walk! What do you mean you can't walk? Well I hurt my back at school. Oh my god, so I rushed to the school to get him. We arrived back home and I began to look for my kids medical cards and to contact the provider to see what hospital I could take him too. (Don't you just love HMO and PPO's) Thankfully it was the nearest although going back to the injury to Aieysha I hated that hospital. I waited just long enough for hubby to arrive and we were off. I arrived and after a bit of a wait we were seen. They did a few xrays and came back saying something was blurry on one and they needed a CAT scan to be sure. Ok, can I worry yet? I was trying to reassure my son that he was ok. His father had a car accident before Aieysha was born that affected the same area and he is left with permanent injuries. So Suhayl was pretty worried. All the while we waited I wondered why the school had never called. The nurse there called a hundred times last year for my other son. Even the hospital was amazed that they did not call an ambulance for him. Well the CAT scan showed that he had fractured three of his vertebrae. Not the actual vertebrae thank god but the flange that radiates off the side like a undeveloped rib. He fractured the L1, L3 and L4 and possibly the sacarial area as well. We took him home and were told to see a radiological on Monday. Well I notified by email his teachers and my hubby made a unpolite call to the school Monday while I took him to the doctor. The nurse was horrified. And apparently the coach just mumbled about being sued. Yeah like you can sue the school. Here you sign a paper that unless you take out an insurance policy the school is not liable for injuries while on campus. REALLY. But I'm not sure if it covers lack of responsibility on the part of a teacher or nurse to seek medical care. Well after we saw the doctor on Monday we were relieved to know it was the small flanges not the actual vertebrae that was damaged and yes he will have some pain for a few weeks but he will be ok. No physical activities for a while too.
On our way out I was chatting with a young attendant who I mentioned on how prepared I was for injuries. I told her I was team medic for my sons hockey team as well and about the only thing I did not carry was items to make a splint. She was so kind she went into one of the rooms and brought me back some splints. They are foam with a metal interior that form to the injury. How sweet. I mentioned a CPR mouth guard as being the only item yet to acquire. Sorry she had left hers at home or she would have provided me with one as well. Since the hospital uses bags they do not supply them but she suggested a medical supply store. I thanked her for her kindness.
Ok, so now it is Tuesday and we go back to school. I took the boys so I could speak with the nurse about his limitations. She was happy to see him and again apologized for not calling or thinking more seriously of the injury. I told her I understood as the school nurse at my daughters school and I were good friends and I understood how their days could be. But she will be on alert now.
Well seeing as it has now been three injuries I think I am safe for awhile. We have a older home that many people feel is haunted. Many of the houses on the block have unusual accidents occur and weird things that happen. And I have had a few friends of my kids over the years refuse to stay the night in our home and they really hate the basement. They report a very angry male being in the home (not including my hubby hehe). Some of the houses on the block are more intense than others and we find for some reason or another the people don't stay long. They always seem to have marital issues that most report didn't happen before moving there. I find that injuries start occurring and I play Quran in the house and he settles down for a time. I guess I need to pull out the CD player again. Believe what you want but it works. I feel it too and sometimes when we are arguing in the house more than usual I pull out the CD and play Quran for awhile. I live on old settler land and one time pulled up data on the area. It belonged to early settlers and before they ran off the Indians it belonged to native Americans. I came across someone with the same family name who lost a large tract of land to nonpayment of mortgage. It was sold at state auction. The land now is worth billions. Too bad I can't go in and claim damages. But I know my native ancestors have much more rights than any settler ever had. But all of mine are from the southern part of the USA. Well in final thoughts I would say be prepared. I don't know where our world is headed too. Here we have nature to destroy our lives and gunmen to attack or schools. But each part of the world is facing its own problems so start preparing. When I have my new house built in Libya I am including a basement. I'm using it as a gaming room, movie theater, and playing area but also it will serve as a shelter in the event of storms or other disasters. And I will encorporate some ideas for using natural resources in my home as well such as solar power and a wood burning fireplace to boot. If I come accross any good websites I will let you all know.