Category Archives: medical news

local news, medical news, State news

Rewrite this cruel abortion law!

Have we become so wedded in Texas to the notion of following a hidebound ideology that we cannot consider the human impact from policies that come out of our Legislature?

Don’t answer that. I know the answer. I believe it is yes.

Kate Cox is now the official poster woman for a policy that needs a serious revisiting when the next Legislature convenes in January 2025. Cox is the Dallas woman who was pregnant with a child who was doomed to die days if not hours after being born. Cox needed an abortion. Why? Because doctors told her that giving birth could harm her reproductive future, that she might be unable to get pregnant again.

Cox could obtain that abortion in Texas because of a cruel law that makes the procedure illegal, except when a pregnancy endangers the mother’s life. No other exceptions are allowed. Cox got kicked around. A lower court granted her permission; the Texas Supreme Court nixed that ruling. Then it issued a permanent ruling that disallowed Cox’s desire to end her pregnancy.

She went out of state to receive the procedure.

This is an insane law. It needs to be rewritten to allow for the type of exception that Cox faced.

The so-called “pro-life” movement is heralding the SCOTEX decision. This movement has nothing to do with being pro-life. It is instead a “pro-birth” movement that put Kate Cox’s parental future in dire peril.

The Texas law — one of the nation’s most restrictive — makes abortion illegal after six weeks of pregnancy. Hell, many women don’t even know they’re pregnant so soon after conception! That didn’t matter to the numbskulls who forced this bill onto the books.

To worsen matters, they wrote a law that punishes doctors who perform an abortion with criminal penalties. And, of course, they didn’t allow for the type of circumstance that Kate Cox faced were she to give birth to a baby who had zero chance of survival.

Think for a moment about the heartbreak that awaited Cox and her husband and their family.

The next Texas Legislature has the power to improve a bad law by broadening the exceptions allowed for ending a pregnancy. If our legislators have a beating heart, they will act to lessen the chance of other women being trapped in the vise that could have delivered permanent reproductive damage to Kate Cox.

medical news, State news

They’re ignoring the ‘bosses’

To whom or what are our Texas legislators listening when it comes to abortion?

They do not heed the views of the bosses who elect them to public office. That’s for damn sure!

They have enacted an anti-abortion law that makes the practice of ending a pregnancy an illegal act. Meanwhile, a Dallas woman who faces possible permanent fertility damage if she is forced to give birth to a girl who is doomed to die is being kicked around like the political football she has become.

What is so damn troubling is that our lawmakers are ignoring the will of the people who put them into office. Texans, by a significant majority, favor women retaining the right to control their bodies and they oppose (mostly male) legislators making decisions they have no business making.

This is a representative democracy, last time I checked. Therefore, the people who represent the masses need to heed the will of their employers. That would be people such as the women in this state who are trapped by a law that bans abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, with damn near zero exceptions.

Kate Cox, the Dallas woman I mentioned, faces the heartache of giving birth to a baby who will die and, moreover, she well might be unable to give birth to another child in the future.

This is utter insanity.

local news, medical news

‘Pro-birth’ policy must go

Kate Cox well might be forced to do something no sane human being should insist she do: give birth to a baby who is doomed to die.

The Dallas resident is trying to end a pregnancy she knows will end tragically. Her unborn daughter cannot live outside her mother’s womb for more than a few days. However, the abomination of a Texas law is requiring her to give birth because the law doesn’t cover the health of the infant as an exemption to its restrictions on abortion.

One court ruled in Cox’s favor. The Texas Supreme Court overruled the lower court and issued a temporary hold on the ruling.

The so-called “pro-life” movement has shown itself to be a “pro-birth” movement intent on making women who know their child will not survive go through the agony of giving birth only to watch their child die.

Here’s an idea for Gov. Greg Abbott to consider: Call a special session but instead of seeking to force private school vouchers on us, he should call legislators back to amend the law that well could force Kate Cox and other women to endure a needless heartache.

local news, medical news

Woman deserves better treatment

Kate Cox deserves better treatment than what she is getting from the Texas legal system.

The Dallas resident is being caught in a whipsaw over the issue of abortion. A court ruled that because the baby she is carrying is doomed to die shortly after birth that Cox is entitled to end the pregnancy contrary to the heartless Texas law that requires her to give birth.

Then the Texas Supreme Court stepped in and overruled the lower court, telling Cox that the baby’s well-being isn’t covered under the limited exceptions carried in the Texas abortion law.

The case is now being appealed again and Cox is waiting to learn whether she will be forced to give birth only to watch her baby daughter die.

This is cruelty that defies description.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton weighed in, too, vowing to sue Cox and her physician if she is allowed to end the pregnancy. What’s more, Cox’s doctor faces criminal penalty if he assists her in this effort.

This is utter madness! Cox faces the possibility of being unable to conceive another child if she is forced to give birth.

What on Earth have we unleashed in Texas if this woman is denied the opportunity to determine her own child-bearing future?

legal news, medical news

Getting ready for a burning

I have concluded that the only way I should bid farewell to the most horrible year of my life is to light a fire.

The idea comes, in fact, from a friend in Beaumont, Texas. I am going to heed his advice.

I intend to gather up every paper 2023 calendar I have in my Princeton, Texas, home. I then will place them in a fire pit I have in my back yard.

Then I am going to light them on fire. Burn them into ashes and embers. I want zero evidence of their presence in my home.

The year 2023 will be known in my house as the Year of the Broken Heart. It shattered into a million pieces on Feb. 3 when my dear bride, Kathy Anne, passed away from the savage effects of glioblastoma, an aggressive brain cancer.

It took some time to find my way out of the darkness, but I am essentially free of that pain. Most of the time. It still hurts on occasion, such as yesterday when I got weepy with my son talking about his Mom.

Then came the loss of Toby the Puppy on Dec. 1. He suffered cancer in various organs. He got too weak to continue the chemotherapy treatments. He had become a valued companion and buddy. We grieved together. My sons and I let him go and my heart broke all over again.

So … I now await the new year. 2024 will be a year of continuing recovery, but the journey is a lot brighter than when it began earlier in this most miserable year of my life.

And to my friend, Dan, who prompted me with this notion I offer a heartfelt thank you.

Fire in the hole!

local news, medical news

Puppy Tales, Part 106: Phase 2 begins

Those of you who wonder about Toby the Puppy’s progress in his fight against cancer are entitled to hear the latest news.

He is doing well!

My pup has just begun the second phase of his treatment. He endured the radiation treatment. Toby’s appetite kinda/sorta went into the tank for a time after that phase of his treatment. Then it recovered. He has resumed his gluttonous eating habits, which of course pleases me to no end.

Now comes the chemo phase. The doctor’s office drew blood from my puppy this morning, then phoned me with the result. Toby’s doctor declared, “Toby is doing great.” Then she said that my puppy is “as good a candidate for chemotherapy as any patient I’ve ever had.”

She performed rectal exam and declared that his prostate “doesn’t seem as enlarged as it was before.” His cancer includes his prostate gland. I am trying to compute the 2+2 equation, and it is telling me the radiation helped control the cancer.

Now we proceed to Phase 2. Chemotherapy won’t be as frequent as radiation, but it will last bit longer.

My constant companion and best pal is a fighter. He is holding up quite well. I am grateful beyond all measure for the treatment he is getting. This has been the worst year of my life … hands down! I am harboring a measure of hope that the immediate future for my precious pup is looking a good bit brighter.

local news, medical news

Puppy Tales, Part 105: What a champ!

Toby the Puppy has had quite a year, to be sure. He lost his Mommy to cancer in February and has mourned Kathy Anne’s passing along with the rest of the family.

That wasn’t the end of it for him, though. He and I headed east for few days this past summer. My puppy came down with a urinary tract infection, got it treated initially in North Carolina, then we got home to get some disturbing news.

Toby the Puppy was diagnosed with cancer. It has infected one of his kidneys, his prostate gland and his bladder.

Since then, though, I am happy to report some relatively good news.

Toby the Puppy finished his radiation treatment sequence. The doc tells me his tumor “has not grown. It looks the same.” I accept that as good news. The clinic staff hasn’t discussed “prognosis” with me. Indeed, I am not yet prepared to have that discussion.

I am prepared to look positively toward the immediate future with Toby the Puppy standing with me as we continue our journey forward to a new life.

I cannot predict how or when his current challenge will end. The doc tells me the radiation and the chemo treatment that will follow are both proven to be effective in fighting the disease he has. He talks about “controlling” the mass they found, which I interpret to mean extending my puppy’s life.

He is comfortable. Toby is still full of piddle and vinegar. He is as sweet as he always has been since the moment he joined our family in the summer of 2014.

He is my champion … and he is making Kathy Anne proud, too.

local news, medical news

Blog performs priceless function

You know already that I love this gig of writing a blog, so much so that I have just crossed the 700-day mark.

Seven hundred consecutive days of posting a commentary on High Plains Blogger! I consider that a big … deal, if you get my drift.

I get a particular question from time to time, which goes like this: How are you able to write so frequently? My answer is that I do not know or why that it happens. I am prone to respond simply that “It’s what I do and it’s who I am.”

I’m not boasting about it. I merely want to call attention to this streak because, in a manner that many of you will understand, it has served as a form of therapy for me since I experienced the worst day of my life.

Feb. 3 came and went. The day began with my dear bride struggling to regain consciousness after suffering a grand mal seizure about six days earlier. The day ended with a phone call from the hospital telling me Kathy Anne had “just passed.” The glioblastoma lesion in her brain took her from us and it shattered many hearts.

I have sought in the months since then to tell the story of my personal journey through this darkness. My family and I are going through it together, but as a form of therapy, writing about this passage has given me strength. It helps clear my head … along with the road trips I have been able to take with my trusted companion, Toby the Puppy.

I likely would have continued this streak without the tragedy that befell us but since we have been dealt this hand, I am continuing to play it for as long as it is reasonable.

I want to thank you for reading it and sharing it when the spirit moves you.

Seven hundred consecutive days of blogging means a great deal to me. It happens to mean even more as I am able to continue to use this forum as a guide path that leads me toward the light.

medical news

COVID not gone!

Some distressing news came in the other day when I learned that a longtime friend and former colleague died of complications from COVID-19.

It served as a gigantic reminder that the coronavirus that has killed more than 1 million Americans is still around.  It still is harming us. We must be mindful of its presence. We should take all necessary precautions once we are aware of any possible exposure to the killer virus.

Kenton Brooks was just 67 years of age. He was still working, as far as I know, in the business of daily journalism. He had contracted the virus while working and living in Muskogee, Okla. His symptoms deteriorated rapidly and he was rushed to ICU in Tulsa, where he passed away.

He is far from the first friend I have lost to this disease. I hope he is the last one, at least for a good while.

I have heard all along that we likely never will be rid completely of the virus, that it won’t be eradicated. Indeed, I have heard in recent days about a possible spike in cases in the country, caused in large part by Americans getting out more and perhaps ignoring the precautions they had taken to avoid being stricken.

I have been reawakened to the need to take care of myself. Social distancing is back on my to-do list of precautions, along with frequent hand-washing/sanitizing; and, yes, I am going to keep masks handy in case the need should arise for me to wear one.

I also admit to being a bit nonchalant about the disease. My friend’s passing has cured me of it.

medical news, political news

Why now, RFK Jr.?

Many things get past this old codger, one of them being the Democratic Party presidential candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

I’ll stipulate once more that RFK Jr. was given the name of my first political hero, his father. His campaign for the White House, though, is based on conspiracies that, to my mind, do not exist.

Moreover, he expresses deep personal affection for President Biden, who enjoys the overwhelming support of RFK Jr.’s family.

He says the mandated COVID-19 vaccines were an overreach by the government, which he said should never have required us to be vaccinated against a virus that killed about 1 million Americans.

Hmm. Wow! What do you suppose the death toll would have been had the Biden administration not ordered the vaccines? My hunch: a whole lot more than those who perished.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not be elected president. Not this year. Not any year. Never. He sounds like a goofball nut case seeking to make a name for himself. Imagine that if you will … a man with arguably one of the most revered political names of the past century seeking even more attention.

I’m still trying to wrap my arms around this guy’s candidacy.

For now, I am left merely to shake my noggin in astonishment.