TREATMENT OF ALLERGIC NOSES: AVOIDING CAT AND DOG ALLERGENS

Cat allergens
Removing the pet from the interior of the home of the cat allergic person is clearly the most effective way to manage an allergy to cats. Symptoms may not improve significantly for some two months following the pet’s removal, however.
Special central system filters can prove helpful to a cat-allergic person. Cat allergen, Fel d 1, is easily airborne and has a long “hang” time. Its time aloft, however, may be long enough to permit an air conditioning unit to capture and filter it.
Outdoor cats are not a major problem, so long as the allergic person does not have close contact with them. However, if a highly cat-allergic person elects to go outside, hold the cat in his or her lap, and pet and hug the cat, significant symptoms can result. In addition, the cat “comes in” on the clothes.
Carpet Removal, Steam Cleaning, Vacuuming
The effectiveness of carpet removal, steam cleaning, and vacuuming for getting rid of cat allergen cannot be recommended. You can reduce the allergy-causing ability of cat allergen in your home by spraying a tannic acid solution (Allergen Inhibitor Solution) into your carpet and furniture on a regular basis. To avoid staining and color changes, follow the direction of the manufacturer closely.
To date, the most effective measure one can take in reducing exposure to cat allergen is to remove the cat from the home. If you are not willing to do this, you may need to resign yourself to a life of symptoms, pills, sprays, and/or shots. If you aren’t going to get the cat out of the house, then at least give your little feline friend a bath, regularly. Your veterinarian can provide directions for bathing your cat. Doing this weekly will help reduce your exposure to cat allergen.
Dog allergens
Like cat allergens, dog allergens are best dealt with either by not having a dog or by keeping it 100 percent outside. If there is a question regarding the importance of the dog allergen, then a trial removal from the home for 4 to 6 weeks might be considered. To be meaningful, such a trial removal should be accompanied by a thorough cleaning of the area(s) in which the dog has lived, shortly after the dog’s departure.
*37/322/5*

TREATMENT OF ALLERGIC NOSES: AVOIDING CAT AND DOG ALLERGENSCat allergensRemoving the pet from the interior of the home of the cat allergic person is clearly the most effective way to manage an allergy to cats. Symptoms may not improve significantly for some two months following the pet’s removal, however.Special central system filters can prove helpful to a cat-allergic person. Cat allergen, Fel d 1, is easily airborne and has a long “hang” time. Its time aloft, however, may be long enough to permit an air conditioning unit to capture and filter it.Outdoor cats are not a major problem, so long as the allergic person does not have close contact with them. However, if a highly cat-allergic person elects to go outside, hold the cat in his or her lap, and pet and hug the cat, significant symptoms can result. In addition, the cat “comes in” on the clothes.
Carpet Removal, Steam Cleaning, VacuumingThe effectiveness of carpet removal, steam cleaning, and vacuuming for getting rid of cat allergen cannot be recommended. You can reduce the allergy-causing ability of cat allergen in your home by spraying a tannic acid solution (Allergen Inhibitor Solution) into your carpet and furniture on a regular basis. To avoid staining and color changes, follow the direction of the manufacturer closely.To date, the most effective measure one can take in reducing exposure to cat allergen is to remove the cat from the home. If you are not willing to do this, you may need to resign yourself to a life of symptoms, pills, sprays, and/or shots. If you aren’t going to get the cat out of the house, then at least give your little feline friend a bath, regularly. Your veterinarian can provide directions for bathing your cat. Doing this weekly will help reduce your exposure to cat allergen.
Dog allergensLike cat allergens, dog allergens are best dealt with either by not having a dog or by keeping it 100 percent outside. If there is a question regarding the importance of the dog allergen, then a trial removal from the home for 4 to 6 weeks might be considered. To be meaningful, such a trial removal should be accompanied by a thorough cleaning of the area(s) in which the dog has lived, shortly after the dog’s departure.*37/322/5*

THE NEW GERM THEORY OF DISEASE: WATER POWER

The evidence for evolutionary control of the harmfulness of diarrheal pathogens is at a more advanced state than the evidence for vector-borne pathogens. Evolutionary considerations suggest that provisioning of clean water supplies should cause an evolutionary reduction in the harmfulness of diarrheal pathogens. Indeed, much of the evidence that waterborne transmission causes evolutionary increases in harmfulness comes from studies in which the provisioning of clean water supplies was associated with a replacement of harmful diarrheal pathogens with similar but milder pathogens. The most harmful agents of bacterial dysentery, for example, were replaced like clockwork by milder species in country after country as water supplies were purified. These studies indicate that the same trends would occur in poorer countries if sufficient investment was made in cleaning up water supplies. Does this change occur on a finer level within particular species of pathogens? If so, would the time period be sufficiently short to allow this evolutionary change to be incorporated into a control strategy? In theory such changes could be stronger and more rapid; the more similar bacteria are, the greater the intensity of competition between them, particularly because the cross-reactive immune response becomes stronger as pathogens become more similar.
One can imagine some large-scale experiments that could resolve the issue. For example, one could release a diarrheal pathogen like the agent of cholera, Vibrio cholerae, in one country with a poor water supply and in another country with a protected water supply and then follow the evolutionary trajectory in each over the next decade to see whether V. cholerae evolved reduced harmfulness in the region with the protected water supply. Obviously the ethical problems with such an experiment would make its rejection a no-brainer for a funding agency. The next best thing would be to see whether a natural version of this experiment had occurred and could be analyzed to find out if the predicted changes had taken place. In January 1991 such a natural experiment occurred. Cholera arrived in Peru and quickly spread throughout Central and South America, to countries with both good and poor water quality. Although this arrival caused and is still causing great difficulties for the inhabitants of Latin America, it created an opportunity to assess whether a disease organism like the agent of cholera could become rapidly more benign in response to transmission in an area with clean water supplies.
V. cholerae is particularly amenable to such study largely because its inherent harmfulness is quantifiable by measuring its toxigenicity, the amount of toxin it produces under carefully controlled growth conditions. The specific onset of the epidemic allows for the assessment of whether any evolutionary reduction in V. cholerae’s toxigenicity could occur in a time period comparable to that over which other kinds of interventions might provide beneficial effects. Specifically, if the toxigenicity of V. cholerae declined in areas with relatively safe water supplies but not in countries with unsafe water supplies during the 1990s, evolutionary control of virulence through improvement of water quality would occur over a time period comparable to the best of the alternative options, such as vaccination programs or interventions to reduce the frequency of infection. Since 1996 my colleagues in Latin America have sent strains Vibrio cholerae to our lab at Amherst to test this idea.
The key experiments were done in 1998 and 1999 largely through the hard work of two of my students, Alissa and Jill Saunders, a pair of identical twins whose effervescence and ail-American charm made stepping into the lab during this period eerily like stepping into a commercial for Doublemint gum. They led a crew that tested about one hundred strains sent in from Chile, Peru, and Guatemala. The particular prediction was that the toxigenicity of strains isolated from Chile, where water supplies are relatively safe, should have declined during the 1990s; the toxigenicity of strains from Peru and Guatemala should not have declined as much, if at all, because water supplies in these countries have been less free of fecal contamination. The strains isolated from Chile in 1991 were variable in their toxigenicity; but strains with high toxigenicity were absent from collections made just a few years later. Not so in Peru and Guatemala, where a broad range of toxigenicity persisted throughout the decade. The corresponding difference in the incidence of cholera in Chile was particularly dramatic. In 1994 only one case of cholera was reported in Chile. In neighboring Peru twenty-five thousand were reported.
The entire set of findings on diarrheal diseases offers strong support for the idea that the diarrheal disease problem as a whole could be greatly ameliorated by an intervention that gives people what they would prefer to have anyhow. All else being equal, people prefer water that is not contaminated with fecal material. As is the case with mosquito-proof housing, people do not have to know about the long-term evolutionary benefits of the intervention, nor do they have to be forced to accept something they are averse to. They need only be offered ready access to uncontaminated water that is as aesthetically pleasing as the contaminated water.
The evidence from Latin America also lends support to the idea that the evolution of antibiotic resistance can be controlled by controlling the evolution of pathogen harmfulness. If increased harmfulness favors increased antibiotic usage, which in turn favors increased antibiotic resistance, then one should find the more harmful lineages within a region to be more resistant to antibiotics. The Guatemalan strains provide the best test of this idea because they vary widely in toxigenicity and because the antibiotic usage pattern is known. Trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole was the drug of choice in Guatemala during the 1990s. In accordance with the theoretical predictions, the resistance to this drug was significantly correlated with harmfulness. By causing evolution toward benignity through the provisioning of safe water, one should be able to reverse the process, thereby favoring reduced antibiotic resistance as well. The data set as a whole is therefore encouraging with regard to the possibilities of controlling the evolution of both harmfulness and antibiotic resistance through water purification.
These ideas can be similarly applied to the other factors that allow transmission from immobile hosts. Mosquito-proofing of housing, for example, should favor not only reduced virulence of malaria but also reduced antimalarial drug resistance. Similarly, according to the logic presented in chapter 1, reductions in attendant-borne transmission in hospitals should favor the evolution of reduced harmfulness and reduced antibiotic resistance among the pathogens acquired in hospitals.
*59\225\2*

THE NEW GERM THEORY OF DISEASE: WATER POWERThe evidence for evolutionary control of the harmfulness of diarrheal pathogens is at a more advanced state than the evidence for vector-borne pathogens. Evolutionary considerations suggest that provisioning of clean water supplies should cause an evolutionary reduction in the harmfulness of diarrheal pathogens. Indeed, much of the evidence that waterborne transmission causes evolutionary increases in harmfulness comes from studies in which the provisioning of clean water supplies was associated with a replacement of harmful diarrheal pathogens with similar but milder pathogens. The most harmful agents of bacterial dysentery, for example, were replaced like clockwork by milder species in country after country as water supplies were purified. These studies indicate that the same trends would occur in poorer countries if sufficient investment was made in cleaning up water supplies. Does this change occur on a finer level within particular species of pathogens? If so, would the time period be sufficiently short to allow this evolutionary change to be incorporated into a control strategy? In theory such changes could be stronger and more rapid; the more similar bacteria are, the greater the intensity of competition between them, particularly because the cross-reactive immune response becomes stronger as pathogens become more similar.One can imagine some large-scale experiments that could resolve the issue. For example, one could release a diarrheal pathogen like the agent of cholera, Vibrio cholerae, in one country with a poor water supply and in another country with a protected water supply and then follow the evolutionary trajectory in each over the next decade to see whether V. cholerae evolved reduced harmfulness in the region with the protected water supply. Obviously the ethical problems with such an experiment would make its rejection a no-brainer for a funding agency. The next best thing would be to see whether a natural version of this experiment had occurred and could be analyzed to find out if the predicted changes had taken place. In January 1991 such a natural experiment occurred. Cholera arrived in Peru and quickly spread throughout Central and South America, to countries with both good and poor water quality. Although this arrival caused and is still causing great difficulties for the inhabitants of Latin America, it created an opportunity to assess whether a disease organism like the agent of cholera could become rapidly more benign in response to transmission in an area with clean water supplies.V. cholerae is particularly amenable to such study largely because its inherent harmfulness is quantifiable by measuring its toxigenicity, the amount of toxin it produces under carefully controlled growth conditions. The specific onset of the epidemic allows for the assessment of whether any evolutionary reduction in V. cholerae’s toxigenicity could occur in a time period comparable to that over which other kinds of interventions might provide beneficial effects. Specifically, if the toxigenicity of V. cholerae declined in areas with relatively safe water supplies but not in countries with unsafe water supplies during the 1990s, evolutionary control of virulence through improvement of water quality would occur over a time period comparable to the best of the alternative options, such as vaccination programs or interventions to reduce the frequency of infection. Since 1996 my colleagues in Latin America have sent strains Vibrio cholerae to our lab at Amherst to test this idea.The key experiments were done in 1998 and 1999 largely through the hard work of two of my students, Alissa and Jill Saunders, a pair of identical twins whose effervescence and ail-American charm made stepping into the lab during this period eerily like stepping into a commercial for Doublemint gum. They led a crew that tested about one hundred strains sent in from Chile, Peru, and Guatemala. The particular prediction was that the toxigenicity of strains isolated from Chile, where water supplies are relatively safe, should have declined during the 1990s; the toxigenicity of strains from Peru and Guatemala should not have declined as much, if at all, because water supplies in these countries have been less free of fecal contamination. The strains isolated from Chile in 1991 were variable in their toxigenicity; but strains with high toxigenicity were absent from collections made just a few years later. Not so in Peru and Guatemala, where a broad range of toxigenicity persisted throughout the decade. The corresponding difference in the incidence of cholera in Chile was particularly dramatic. In 1994 only one case of cholera was reported in Chile. In neighboring Peru twenty-five thousand were reported.The entire set of findings on diarrheal diseases offers strong support for the idea that the diarrheal disease problem as a whole could be greatly ameliorated by an intervention that gives people what they would prefer to have anyhow. All else being equal, people prefer water that is not contaminated with fecal material. As is the case with mosquito-proof housing, people do not have to know about the long-term evolutionary benefits of the intervention, nor do they have to be forced to accept something they are averse to. They need only be offered ready access to uncontaminated water that is as aesthetically pleasing as the contaminated water.The evidence from Latin America also lends support to the idea that the evolution of antibiotic resistance can be controlled by controlling the evolution of pathogen harmfulness. If increased harmfulness favors increased antibiotic usage, which in turn favors increased antibiotic resistance, then one should find the more harmful lineages within a region to be more resistant to antibiotics. The Guatemalan strains provide the best test of this idea because they vary widely in toxigenicity and because the antibiotic usage pattern is known. Trimethoprimsulfamethoxazole was the drug of choice in Guatemala during the 1990s. In accordance with the theoretical predictions, the resistance to this drug was significantly correlated with harmfulness. By causing evolution toward benignity through the provisioning of safe water, one should be able to reverse the process, thereby favoring reduced antibiotic resistance as well. The data set as a whole is therefore encouraging with regard to the possibilities of controlling the evolution of both harmfulness and antibiotic resistance through water purification.These ideas can be similarly applied to the other factors that allow transmission from immobile hosts. Mosquito-proofing of housing, for example, should favor not only reduced virulence of malaria but also reduced antimalarial drug resistance. Similarly, according to the logic presented in chapter 1, reductions in attendant-borne transmission in hospitals should favor the evolution of reduced harmfulness and reduced antibiotic resistance among the pathogens acquired in hospitals.*59\225\2*

TREATMENT FOR NASAL PROBLEMS

If you suffer frequently from head colds it is advisable to sniff up calcium powder (Urticalcin) from time to time, in the way people used to take snuff years ago. When the air is cold it is also beneficial to lubricate the nasal passages regularly with a good lanolin cream. A reliable choice for this purpose is Bioforce Cream; it may even prevent a head cold from developing if applied early enough. When you walk too fast or run, you do not usually breathe through the nose. Hence you should try to slow down, at least enough to allow you to continue breathing through the nose. This will also be of benefit to the heart, since there will be less of a strain placed on it.

Nasal polyps may restrict the proper intake of air through the nose. Even though these growths are benign, their presence can be a source of great discomfort. The only effective cure for them is Teucrium marum verum (cat thyme). But should they not yield to this treatment, surgery would be indicated.
*125/28/1*
Dvpharm.com – Pharmacy Information

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE NOSE 2

First of all, the nose is designed in such a way that the mucous membranes keep dust and bacteria from entering the body, pro­vided, of course, that we breathe in and out through the nose and that it is not blocked. It is true that we can also breathe through the mouth rather than the nose, but this will make us lose the benefit of the built-in screening device, exposing us to a higher risk of catching colds and infections. Mouth-breathing poses a definite threat to the throat, the bronchial passages and the lungs.

It is interesting to note that the nostrils react to pleasant and unpleasant odours by a simple dilation or contraction of the walls, thus increasing or decreasing the flow of air. Strangely enough, the nose walls (conchae) also react to cold feet. When the feet are cold the walls contract, become cold and dry and cause the glands to stop functioning, so that dust and bacteria are no longer filtered out. It is easy to see why a cold will almost inevitably result, followed by catarrh or a runny nose. You can now understand why it is important to avoid getting cold feet and inhaling bacteria by breathing through the mouth. If the mucous membranes are functioning properly they are able to destroy all cold germs enter­ing through the nose. It is therefore a necessary requirement for good health to cultivate the habit of breathing through the nose at all times.
*124/28/1*
Prescription meds without a prescription

BENEFITS OF REGULAR DRY MASSAGE

Here is an impressive list of benefits you derive from regular dry brush massage:
1.  It will effectively remove the dead layers of skin and other impurities, and keep pores open.
2.  It will stimulate and increase blood circulation in all underlying organs and tissues, and especially in the small blood capillaries of your skin.
3.  It will revitalize and increase the eliminative capacity of your skin and help to throw toxins out of the system.
4.  It will stimulate the hormone- and oil-producing glands.
5.  It has a powerful rejuvenating influence on the nervous system by stimulating nerve endings in the skin.
6.  It will help prevent colds, especially when used in combination with hot-and-cold showers.
7.  It will contribute to a healthier muscle tone and a better distribution of fat deposits.
8.  It will rejuvenate the complexion and make it look younger.
9.  It will make you feel better all over.
10. It will improve your health generally, and help prevent premature aging.
Since the dry brush massage also happens to be one of the most pleasant and enjoyable do-it-yourself health measures, don’t you think that the above list is impressive enough to convince you to give this million-dollar health and beauty secret an honest try? Once you try it, you will be “sold on it” for the rest of your life!
*125/103/5*

FERTILITY: INFERTILE COUPLES

Jayne and Dr. Lawrence Reed of Houston are parents to two adopted children. They have tried to have a child of their own for 10 years. They went through countless tests and treatments. Dr. Reed’s sperm was normal. Mrs. Reed ovulated, but irregularly. Then one doctor discovered that she had too much testosterone. (All women produce this male sex hormone.)
The physician prescribed Prednisone, a hormone that depressed the adrenal output. Mrs. Reed conceived three times, but each pregnancy failed. Something else was wrong that escaped science.
“We want more children, and my time is running out,” says Mrs. Reed, who is 37. “We have a huge house that we built so we could have a large family.” They’re still trying.
In 20 percent of infertility cases, the problem lies with both the husband and the wife. They may be having sex too infrequently. Or, if the husband’s sperm count is just below the normal range and the wife ovulates intermittently, the couple could be infertile.
Artificial Insemination
Doctors occasionally collect the husband’s lazy sperm and place it at the mouth of the wife’s womb or even inside the womb itself to raise the chances of fertilization. Here, too, doctors borrow from IVF technology. Before insemination, the sperm is placed in the same fluid used for in vitro fertilization. This seems to increase chances of a “take.”
When the husband has no sperm at all or a sperm count so low that fertilization is impossible, many couples rely on artificial insemination with sperm from an unrelated donor whose identity is unknown to them. In recent years, thousands of couples have “adopted” sperm from a sperm bank.
The late Dr. Sophie Kleegman, the New York gynecologist who 40 years ago pioneered sexual and fertility studies, said, “Infertility patients are not sick, but they are heartsick, and the help they seek is, to them, as urgent as any in medical practice.” At last, doctors have heeded those words.
*124/266/5*

WHY ME . . . WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME: GOD HAS HIS HAND ON THIS BOY . . .

Larry graduated from a local two-year junior college, Friday, June 13, 1975, and it was one of the proudest nights of my life. Larry had been president of his class and president of the school choir. He had been voted the most outstanding student and had offers of several scholarships. He had also just returned from Russia where he traveled with a Christian singing group.
The pastor of one of the leading churches in Southern California was commencement speaker that night, and he also presented Larry with the Outstanding Student Award. To close the ceremonies, which were held outdoors in the college stadium, Larry led the entire audience in singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”
The commencement speaker talked with us afterwards and commented on all of Larry’s honors by saying, “I hope you have a car with a big trunk to carry home all this glory!” I said that all we had was a Chevy, and we all laughed. Then the speaker added, “I’ve spoken with your son, and I know that God has His hand on this boy and will use him in a wonderful way.”
Bill and I were absolutely thrilled with his words about Larry. We took all the ribbons, cups, and awards home to display on our mantle. How proud we were of Larry and of his accomplishments!
The next day I planned to pick up my sister and her husband who had been in Hawaii and were going to stop in our area for just twenty-four hours en route home to Minnesota. We wanted to make it a special event since it was the first time we had seen them since Tim’s death.
We had it all arranged. I would pick them up at the LA. airport, take them to Anaheim where we would all be staying at a motel near Disneyland, and then we would all go to the big bicentennial celebration at Disneyland that evening and enjoy the first presentation of the “Main Street Electrical Parade.” Then we would stay in Anaheim, have some time together on Sunday, which was also Father’s Day, and eat dinner at Knott’s Berry Farm before they had to catch their plane.
Everything was in order for a fantastic time. What I didn’t know was that this would be the most devastating day of my life!
As I headed out the door for the airport, someone telephoned, wanting to borrow Larry’s big red Basic Youth Conflicts notebook. I went to his room and, as I lifted it out of his drawer, I saw a stack of homosexual magazines, pictures, and other stuff that I knew nothing about. There were also cassette tapes and letters from other young men. Why would Larry HAVE this? Could it be a research project at school? No, school was all over now.
I began to shake inside, but I told myself, “You have to get to the airport . . . you can’t fall apart right now. There must be some logical answer as to WHY he has this stuff in his drawer.”
I didn’t have time to think, or question, and I couldn’t collapse—at least not right now. How could we have a homosexual child? I didn’t know anyone who had one, I didn’t want one, and surely this could not be! Bill and I had a ministry going to help hurting parents, but not THIS kind of hurt! It would be easier to kill him and kill myself rather than lace this!
I quickly grabbed two arm loads of the “stuff” and threw it in the trunk of my car. I couldn’t bear to have it in my home. Last night my car trunk had been full of glory, and now it was full of garbage! I hastily wrote a note to Larry, telling him to meet us as planned at the Disneyland flagpole at K:00 p.m. that evening. Then I added that I had found the “stuff” and that I had it with me, just in case he might be looking for it.
My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding, and suddenly I felt as if I had an elephant on my chest. In the note I also told Larry that I loved him and God loved him and that if he would PLEASE help me get through the weekend with these relatives, then we would fix it on Monday! I had always believed that God and mothers can fix anything.
Driving to the airport, I began to feel all the symptoms of panic—shortness of breath, heaving inside, and throbbing in my head. It felt as if someone had shoved a shag rug down my throat and I was gagging on it. My eyes were so full of tears I could hardly see to drive. Then my teeth seemed to start to itch! Evidently the nerve endings around my mouth were responding to the stress, but I just HAD to hold together until the relatives left the next day.
I got to the airport just in time to meet Janet and Mel as they came off the plane. Her first words were, “Boy, you look terrible. Are you sick?”
I said, “Of course not; it was just something I couldn’t swallow.” (Couldn’t swallow was right!)
They had already been to baggage claim, and I saw that Janet had two pieces of purple luggage. Now, I knew nothing about homosexuality and even less about lesbianism, but I had heard somewhere that lesbians like purple. A crazy thought hit me: MY SISTER IS A LESBIAN! SHE HAS PURPLE LUGGAGE! She works for the Billy Graham Association, is married to a minister, and she has PURPLE luggage! My own sister must be a lesbian because of this purple luggage!
I Didn’t Dare Open the Trunk!
When we got to my car, I became frantic trying to think of how I could avoid opening my car trunk. All of Larry’s homosexual “stuff was in there, and I had not bothered to cover it up with a blanket. Mel and Janet had brought some pineapples from Hawaii, as well as some of those dreadful leis that smell like funerals, and somehow I scrunched them and their belongings in the backseat without opening the trunk. We started for Anaheim and the motel, and I prayed I could ignore my panic symptoms and somehow stay on the road.
My mind was so shattered from finding out about Larry that it seemed as if the whole world was crashing around me. If my own son, whom I had loved and raised for twenty years, was a homosexual and my sister was a lesbian, what was left to believe in? I had heard of people who live in “la-la land,” and I was definitely on the way there myself. I felt as if I had been on another planet and had just come back to visit the world. I wanted to go back to where I had come from, but there was no place to escape the weirdness of it all.
As we drove along the freeway, the crazy thoughts would not leave my tortured mind. My brother-in-law pointed out the Big “A” on the Angels’ Stadium, and all I could think of was, Oh, they’re all homosexuals, they’re all homosexuals! It seemed to me that the shades had gone up and everyone had become homosexual.
We got to the motel where Janet and Mel changed into more comfortable clothes, and then we crossed the street to Disneyland. It was a special weekend, with the bicentennial celebration, the first night of the Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled, and it was also Flag Day. Instead of the usual A-B-C-D-E coupon books Disneyland uses for tickets, we were all given a red, white, and blue headband with a big feather sticking out of it. On the headband were the words ‘I’M A YANKEE DOODLE DANDY” in bold, bright letters. You couldn’t escape wearing the headband because it was your ticket to the park that evening.
So, there I was, trying to act normal in Disneyland with what seemed like fifty thousand people around me all wearing “I’M A YANKEE DOODLE DANDY” feathered headbands. And all the while I kept wondering if everyone I saw was a homosexual!
As 8:00 p.m. drew near, we went over to the flagpole, and Bill went off to buy popcorn. Bill is loving and dependable, but it seems that any time there is a crisis, he is off buying popcorn. I tell him that when he dies, I’m going to have inscribed on his tombstone, “Bill is not here, he’s out buying popcorn.”
Janet, Mel, and I greeted Larry as he walked up. The last time we had all been together was at Tim’s funeral, so they were really glad to see him. I wasn’t sure I was, but I knew I couldn’t throw up or anything—not just yet.
*12\316\2*

WHY ME . . . WHY DID THIS HAPPEN TO ME: GOD HAS HIS HAND ON THIS BOY . . .Larry graduated from a local two-year junior college, Friday, June 13, 1975, and it was one of the proudest nights of my life. Larry had been president of his class and president of the school choir. He had been voted the most outstanding student and had offers of several scholarships. He had also just returned from Russia where he traveled with a Christian singing group.The pastor of one of the leading churches in Southern California was commencement speaker that night, and he also presented Larry with the Outstanding Student Award. To close the ceremonies, which were held outdoors in the college stadium, Larry led the entire audience in singing “The Battle Hymn of the Republic.”The commencement speaker talked with us afterwards and commented on all of Larry’s honors by saying, “I hope you have a car with a big trunk to carry home all this glory!” I said that all we had was a Chevy, and we all laughed. Then the speaker added, “I’ve spoken with your son, and I know that God has His hand on this boy and will use him in a wonderful way.”Bill and I were absolutely thrilled with his words about Larry. We took all the ribbons, cups, and awards home to display on our mantle. How proud we were of Larry and of his accomplishments!The next day I planned to pick up my sister and her husband who had been in Hawaii and were going to stop in our area for just twenty-four hours en route home to Minnesota. We wanted to make it a special event since it was the first time we had seen them since Tim’s death.We had it all arranged. I would pick them up at the LA. airport, take them to Anaheim where we would all be staying at a motel near Disneyland, and then we would all go to the big bicentennial celebration at Disneyland that evening and enjoy the first presentation of the “Main Street Electrical Parade.” Then we would stay in Anaheim, have some time together on Sunday, which was also Father’s Day, and eat dinner at Knott’s Berry Farm before they had to catch their plane.Everything was in order for a fantastic time. What I didn’t know was that this would be the most devastating day of my life!As I headed out the door for the airport, someone telephoned, wanting to borrow Larry’s big red Basic Youth Conflicts notebook. I went to his room and, as I lifted it out of his drawer, I saw a stack of homosexual magazines, pictures, and other stuff that I knew nothing about. There were also cassette tapes and letters from other young men. Why would Larry HAVE this? Could it be a research project at school? No, school was all over now.I began to shake inside, but I told myself, “You have to get to the airport . . . you can’t fall apart right now. There must be some logical answer as to WHY he has this stuff in his drawer.”I didn’t have time to think, or question, and I couldn’t collapse—at least not right now. How could we have a homosexual child? I didn’t know anyone who had one, I didn’t want one, and surely this could not be! Bill and I had a ministry going to help hurting parents, but not THIS kind of hurt! It would be easier to kill him and kill myself rather than lace this!I quickly grabbed two arm loads of the “stuff” and threw it in the trunk of my car. I couldn’t bear to have it in my home. Last night my car trunk had been full of glory, and now it was full of garbage! I hastily wrote a note to Larry, telling him to meet us as planned at the Disneyland flagpole at K:00 p.m. that evening. Then I added that I had found the “stuff” and that I had it with me, just in case he might be looking for it.My hands were shaking, my heart was pounding, and suddenly I felt as if I had an elephant on my chest. In the note I also told Larry that I loved him and God loved him and that if he would PLEASE help me get through the weekend with these relatives, then we would fix it on Monday! I had always believed that God and mothers can fix anything.Driving to the airport, I began to feel all the symptoms of panic—shortness of breath, heaving inside, and throbbing in my head. It felt as if someone had shoved a shag rug down my throat and I was gagging on it. My eyes were so full of tears I could hardly see to drive. Then my teeth seemed to start to itch! Evidently the nerve endings around my mouth were responding to the stress, but I just HAD to hold together until the relatives left the next day.I got to the airport just in time to meet Janet and Mel as they came off the plane. Her first words were, “Boy, you look terrible. Are you sick?”I said, “Of course not; it was just something I couldn’t swallow.” (Couldn’t swallow was right!)They had already been to baggage claim, and I saw that Janet had two pieces of purple luggage. Now, I knew nothing about homosexuality and even less about lesbianism, but I had heard somewhere that lesbians like purple. A crazy thought hit me: MY SISTER IS A LESBIAN! SHE HAS PURPLE LUGGAGE! She works for the Billy Graham Association, is married to a minister, and she has PURPLE luggage! My own sister must be a lesbian because of this purple luggage!
I Didn’t Dare Open the Trunk!When we got to my car, I became frantic trying to think of how I could avoid opening my car trunk. All of Larry’s homosexual “stuff was in there, and I had not bothered to cover it up with a blanket. Mel and Janet had brought some pineapples from Hawaii, as well as some of those dreadful leis that smell like funerals, and somehow I scrunched them and their belongings in the backseat without opening the trunk. We started for Anaheim and the motel, and I prayed I could ignore my panic symptoms and somehow stay on the road.My mind was so shattered from finding out about Larry that it seemed as if the whole world was crashing around me. If my own son, whom I had loved and raised for twenty years, was a homosexual and my sister was a lesbian, what was left to believe in? I had heard of people who live in “la-la land,” and I was definitely on the way there myself. I felt as if I had been on another planet and had just come back to visit the world. I wanted to go back to where I had come from, but there was no place to escape the weirdness of it all.As we drove along the freeway, the crazy thoughts would not leave my tortured mind. My brother-in-law pointed out the Big “A” on the Angels’ Stadium, and all I could think of was, Oh, they’re all homosexuals, they’re all homosexuals! It seemed to me that the shades had gone up and everyone had become homosexual.We got to the motel where Janet and Mel changed into more comfortable clothes, and then we crossed the street to Disneyland. It was a special weekend, with the bicentennial celebration, the first night of the Main Street Electrical Parade scheduled, and it was also Flag Day. Instead of the usual A-B-C-D-E coupon books Disneyland uses for tickets, we were all given a red, white, and blue headband with a big feather sticking out of it. On the headband were the words ‘I’M A YANKEE DOODLE DANDY” in bold, bright letters. You couldn’t escape wearing the headband because it was your ticket to the park that evening.So, there I was, trying to act normal in Disneyland with what seemed like fifty thousand people around me all wearing “I’M A YANKEE DOODLE DANDY” feathered headbands. And all the while I kept wondering if everyone I saw was a homosexual!As 8:00 p.m. drew near, we went over to the flagpole, and Bill went off to buy popcorn. Bill is loving and dependable, but it seems that any time there is a crisis, he is off buying popcorn. I tell him that when he dies, I’m going to have inscribed on his tombstone, “Bill is not here, he’s out buying popcorn.”Janet, Mel, and I greeted Larry as he walked up. The last time we had all been together was at Tim’s funeral, so they were really glad to see him. I wasn’t sure I was, but I knew I couldn’t throw up or anything—not just yet.*12\316\2*

CHILD’S HEALTH/BOWEL DISORDERS: CONSTIPATION

The frequency of bowel movements varies greatly from individual to individual, and also depends on age, so it is difficult to give a precise definition for the word ‘constipation’. Babies may have as many as four or more bowel movements each day, especially if they are breastfed. On the other hand, some may have a single movement daily, or even less often. Constipation is best considered as a reduction in a child’s usual frequency of passing stools, often associated with pain and difficulty in passing a bowel movement.

Investigations

Sometimes the doctor will order an X-ray of the child’s abdomen to document the extent of the child’s constipation. If the doctor suspects that there may be neurological or other reasons for the constipation, he may order other special investigations, but this will be very uncommon.

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BOTTLE-FEEDING

Many parents choose to bottle-feed their baby using humanised formula. Modern formulas are derived from cow’s milk, and are modified to resemble breastmilk nutritionally although they do not carry the same protection against infection.

Strict attention must be paid to sterilisation of equipment and only freshly prepared formula should be used, following the manufacturer’s instructions closely. Be accurate with amounts, as deviations from those recommended may give your baby diarrhoea or constipation. Always wash your hands thoroughly before starting, and make sure that the water has been boiled for at least 5 minutes then cooled before mixing. Prepared formula should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than 24 hours; after this time it should be discarded due to the risk of contamination. Never reheat formula after it has been used. When transporting milk, it is best to keep it chilled to prevent the formation of bacteria.

The amount and frequency of feeds will vary from baby to baby, and is best determined according to demand. Most babies will initially require feeds every 3-4 hours. Feeding time is usually around 20-30 minutes duration and your baby may need to stop halfway through a feed to be burped. You can prevent your baby from developing excessive wind by ensuring that you hold the bottle at an angle so that no air can pass into the teat. If your baby does not wish to finish the whole bottle, do not try to force him.

The same intimacy can be achieved between you and your baby while bottle-feeding, as with breastfeeding. The biggest advantage of bottle-feeds is that the father can share equally in the experience. Feeding is a time for closeness and pleasure for both parent and child, no matter which method you decide to use.

A small proportion of babies may be allergic to cow’s milk protein, and soya milk formulas may be a preferable alternative. If you feel that your baby cannot tolerate cow’s milk formulas, speak to your maternal and child health nurse, or your doctor.

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OUR MARITAL HEALTH/SEX AND PROBLEMS OF DAILY LIVING: LOVE REACTION AND SEXUAL WITHDRAWAL

LOVE REACTION: Loss can emphasize the value of the presence of others, and the bereaved spouse may turn to the partner for a renewal of intimacy and love. If the partner is puzzled by such a need, by a request for romance at this time of sadness, or if the partner overtly or covertly rejects such a longing for love and its manifestation through sex, hostility and anger can result, worsening the grief reaction and even jeopardizing general health.

Sometimes the grieving partner “tests” his or her own relationship for love at the time of loss, making sure his or her most important source of social and intimate support is still intact. An unsuspecting partner may “flunk” this love test, never knowing that he or she has been tested, and the grieving partner sinks further into depression at what he or she sees as yet another loss.

SEXUAL WITHDRAWAL: Bereavement Brings with it a range of physical and emotional reactions. Nausea, disequilibrium, muscle and joint pain, chronic headache, sweating and chills, bowel and urinary disruption, and other symptoms of bereavement are not uncommon and may delay return to sexual intimacy.

Emotionally, guilt or self-blame regarding the loss may result in a self-imposed compensatory celibacy, a paying of penance for imaginary or real responsibility for the loss. The partner’s attempts to break through such withdrawal may be perceived as insensitivity, and the partner may become a target for projection of the blame and self-recrimination felt by the bereaved.

Sometimes a compulsive searching is part of the grieving process; searching for the lost person and the feelings lost because of the bereavement. This cognitive and emotional wandering results in a distractability that represents yet another form of sexual withdrawal. It may show in listlessness, lack of attention, fading in and out of attention, failure to listen, and long periods of passivity and for the marital partner.

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