National Suicide Prevention Week

As this year's National Suicide Prevention Week draws to a close, let's remember two young men who chose to take their lives this year rather than face the continual torment of bullying.

Carl Walker-Hoover and Jaheem Herrera were eleven-years-old. Faced with endless anti-gay teasing, these two saw no way out. They chose to end their pain and their lives.

We need to remember these two youths whenever we see or hear anti-LGBT language, especially from our children. That there are those that cannot see the need for anti-harassment legislation in the face of the pain of the Walker-Hoover and Herrera families is madness.

Recent studies show that LGBT youth are up to four times as likely to attempt suicide as their straight peers. They face harassment, both physical and verbal, that can be devastating. Schools, the one place that we hope that our children feel safe, can be a torture chamber. The 2007 National School Climate Survey found that "found that nearly 9 out of 10 LGBT students (86.2%) experienced harassment at school in the past year, three-fifths (60.8%) felt unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation and about a third (32.7%) skipped a day of school in the past month because of feeling unsafe."

Those are shocking numbers. And not all LGBT youth face the same kind of risks. Transgender youth face even harsher conditions than their LBG peers. 82% of transgender youth surveyed by GSLEN reported feeling unsafe at school. "About nine in ten transgender students reported being verbally harassed at school because of their gender expression (87%) and their sexual orientation (89%), and
over half experienced this form of harassment often or frequently." 47% skipped one or more days of school because they felt unsafe or uncomfortable.

Living in that kind of daily environment, often coupled with difficult family relationships and societal norms that they challenge whenever attempt to be true to themselves, creates enormous pressure on LGBT youth. It's not just higher suicide rates that result. When harassment is severe, LGBT students are less likely to pursue higher education and have lower grades.

What can you do? Talk to your children. Support GLAD, GSLEN and other LGBT organizations. Support the Trevor Project. Support the legislative efforts in your state, if they exist, to put anti-harassment laws on the books.

Remember Carl, Jaheem and the countless others who chose to end their lives rather than continue to suffer.

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RTT- I'm back, sorta

Hey, it's Tuesday, so go visit the Unmom for more randomness. Really. Go visit Keely. If you want to hang around here, be prepared for some egregious and most likely awkward randomness. It's probably the best I can come up with.

Someone of the canine persuasion in our household has developed an on-again/ off-again case of the squats. (I did try to warn you.)  Fairly certain it's not the puppy who seems to have an iron constitution. Could be Rowan. His farts can clear the room when he gets ahold of anything that doesn't come out of the Purina bag. Myrddin could be the culprit as well. Can't really say for sure which one. But it sure makes for some unpleasant homecomings.

Youngest bought herself her first car. I think I may have already made this announcement. But I can add this tidbit. She's already spent more than she paid for the car just to get the brakes fixed. Now for the tires and the bumper and the AC. You get the picture.  POS is too nice a term. It's a junker. Not even suitable for the demolition derby.

The girl cat that was really a boy cat is now officially an it. Eldest reports he has a penchant for climbing drapes. And crawling into the refrigerator. Water does not deter him. Harsh words and swats on the behind do not deter him. Eldest is going to try a shake can and see if she can put the fear of God into him. Whee. Glad it's her and not me. His new name is Mishka, by the way.

Myrddin has discovered that he can jump the fence. He only does it in the morning when he's out with just Aibhne. (Rowan has decided he's allergic to mornings and refuses to go out with them. Smart dog.) Whether he is jumping the fence to get away from the pup or chasing a bird or squirrel is yet to be determined. What we do know is that he kinda flips out when he does it and comes to the front door, scratching and whining to be let back inside. And that he doesn't do it when Rowan is out with them. As in, they were outside most of the day on Saturday and he stayed put.  Unless of course, he jumped back. Oi.

Labor Day weekend was it's usual long and drawn out affair. We usually head over to a friend's house who hosts an annual game weekend. Played lots of board games and card games and stayed up way too late. It's supposed to be relaxing and refreshing and not exhausting. Late nights are not on the menu for me though I can't seem to get that across to my husband or kids.

I want to thank those of you who commented on my last post. I'm trying to take this latest hiccup in stride. I have an appointment for a physical in October but will call and try to get in this week to discuss the changes in my condition and start the process towards getting an actual diagnosis. I'm feeling better since I purchased something to provide a little compression in the torso.

Not much randomness in me this week. This will have to do. See ya'll tomorrow for Weird Wednesday.

Bear with me

I haven't been posting much of late mostly because of two things. One, a newfound obsession with the FarmVille app on Facebook. It's crazy addicting and a glorious time suck.

It was a welcome diversion from the other thing that's been slowing me down. I had a odd swelling in my left breast and was overdue for a mammogram so I used my year old appointment sheet and scheduled one. Flipped my OB out. I did things out of order. Oooh. Anyway, I was not overly surprised when the radiologist wanted to schedule an ultrasound of my left breast. The time in between the mammogram and the ultrasound wasn't terribly unpleasant. A little stressed but not too. Until my OB called me in for an exam and decided to refer me to a specialist. That was on a Friday. My appointment with the specialist was on Monday. Not a fun weekend.

The words Inflammatory Breast Cancer were tossed around. I didn't have a lump but the condition of the breast raised the possibility of this rare cancer. The idea of having cancer kept sneaking up on me all weekend. I didn't really think that it was likely but I wouldn't know for sure until further tests were done. Thank you, Pseudo for listening to my rambling concerns. You were a great help.

We did a biopsy on that Monday, though the specialist was fairly certain it wasn't cancerous. Indeed it was not.

What it turns out to be is still awaiting a definitive diagnosis but I am personally 99% certain I know what it is. I have Primary Lymphedema and I've talked about it before on this blog. What I believe to be happening is that my Lymphedema (LE) has progressed. It is no longer confined to my legs but has spread to my chest and specifically my left breast.

So what does this mean? Well, for starters it means I have to change some very basic things about my daily life. I can no longer wear a standard bra. I generally wear sports bras since I really detest underwires and most bras in general. They turn out to be possibly the worse thing I could have been using. I will have to buy special compression bras or garments. At this point, I have no idea if my insurance will cover it. I hope that once I get a diagnosis, they will. Blue Cross has been really great about the current garments my daughter and I have to wear for the LE in our legs.

That's one of things that has me down about this the most. My daughter is 19. She has had LE since she was about 12. It's already impacted her life choices. Now she has to face the very real possibility that at some point in her life, her LE may move into other areas, something I'm sure she never considered.

What's really depressing the most about this possible diagnosis is the impact it may have on my health. I am already having days when my breathing is affected. Today has been really unpleasant. My chest hurts. It's hurt all day. I've had a few moments were I've been short of breath. I know how devastating respiratory illness can be and how horribly it can impact a person's life. My parents both died of congestive heart failure brought on by chronic pulmonary disease. My Mom was a smoker. She had emphysema and Chronic Pulmonary Obstructive Disease. She got to where she could hardly walk from one end of the house to the other without getting short of breath. It took her 10 long years to die. People talk about how horrible lung cancer is but from my point of view that's the way to go if you're a smoker. Make no mistake, smoking is going to kill you and as horrible a way to die as lung cancer is, it's at least quick. It's not a slow suffocation that gradually robs you of the will to live. And I have no desire to repeat their experience.

None.

The entire possibility, the specter of that fate, is enough to drive me mad. I'm talking stark, raving bonkers.

Extra appendages...

The kitten has them.

As in she...

... is a he.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

Funny every damn time.

Sorry I never got video of "Kiss the Kitty". I got no cooperation whatsoever from either the dog, the cat or the children. Surprise, surprise.

But this announcement makes it all better.

Weird Wednesday

I'm back! And boy did I find some good ones....

We start with the tale of the business man who didn't want to miss his flight. So he called in a bomb threat. Isn't it amazing how they can track down who makes a phone call to the airport like that? Isn't more amazing that there's someone in the world who apparently has no clue that technology exists to do just this?

From India we move to Australia, just a hop, skip and jump across the Pacific where we find that rumors abound about how protesters plan to disrupt the Repco World Rally Championship. Frozen koala seems to be on the menu. Which is odd considering they're protesting the environmental damage caused by the race. I don't know about you, but tossing a frozen koala at a race car seems counterproductive to my claims to be concerned about the environment.

I don't know whether to be concerned, amused or vaguely insulted. The government is enlisting Elmo to teach kids how to stave of the Swine Flu. Seriously. Elmo. The government says we shouldn't be concerned, but lets call out the muppets to remind the kiddos to wash their hands.

As always there's a long list of stupid criminals. A long, long list. They're not all here, of course, cause all it takes is a Google search of stupid and criminal and you'll get more than enough hits to entertain you on a rainy afternoon, but I digress. Let's start with one that made me giggle. A grocery store in Zachary, LA caught a woman on tape stealing a 24-can case of beer. Simple enough. Except for how she stole it. She lifted up her house dress, wedged the case between her thighs and waddled out. And apparently it took a while to figure out who she was and where she lived. The theft was Aug. 22. Police learned her identity last week and located her Monday. Top notch police work there guys. Oh, and she volunteered to demonstrate how she "hid" the 20 pound case. Police declined.

We move slightly further north to Knoxville, TN where police learned that it's not enough to handcuff your suspect and put him in the cruiser. You need to take your keys with you. Steven Seiber was detained on suspicion of possession of crack cocaine, handcuffed and placed in the cruiser while officers dealt with other individuals. Despite being told he would only be issued a misdemeanor citation and released, Seiber decided he wasn't going to be taken alive. He wiggled his hands under his bum and to the front, crawled through the opening in the security screen, got behind the wheel and took off. After a merry chase that ended in one crashed cruiser, he was arrested under considerably more serious charges.

In North Carolina, the police continue the "can't get a break" theme. Cumberland County Deputy Lyn Lavallis responded to a complaint about a dog. While talking to the woman, the dog in question entered the driveway. And proceed to gnaw on all 4 tires. Four flat tires later, the owner received a bill for $500 to replace the tires. The dog didn't attack a person, just ate the tires. Bet he likes to chase cars and thought he had finally caught one.

We finish our tales of stupid criminals and the police with the story of Kansas man who was arrested for impersonating an officer. Note to self: if I'm going to try to impress a girl by claiming I'm a cop, don't threaten to arrest her when she's reluctant to come home with me. It might tip her that things are not quite what they seem. Seriously, dude? Did you think that was really going to work? Doofus.

That's it for today. Wednesday Weirdness will resume it's regularly scheduled idiocy next week. Later.