Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Joan Lunden's Blog - "I have breast cancer"
Pray for Joan and her family, and for all families and women who are in the fight against breast cancer.
Monday, June 23, 2014
2014 FIFA WORLD CUP MASCOT
But the mammals are pretty tough when they roll into a
protective ball, which is why Brazil picked a Brazilian three-banded armadillo
named Fuleco as the mascot for the 2014 World Cup.
A Legacy of Leprosy
Different though we may seem, humans and armadillos share an
unfortunate similarity—we’re the only animals that can naturally contract
Hansen’s disease, better known as leprosy.
Leprosy is caused by the Mycobacterium leprae bacterium.
This nasty bug prefers slightly cooler temperatures, which is why in humans it
causes serious damage to the extremities. Unfortunately for our armored
friends, armadillos tend to have a lower core body temperature than most
mammals. This means the bacterium is free to go crazy throughout their body
cavity, eventually causing organ failure and death.
“But in order to contract leprosy from an armadillo,” said
Loughry, “I always tell people you really have to want to, because it’s not
easy to get it.”
In other words, unless you butcher an armadillo while you
have open wounds on your hands, you’re unlikely to catch leprosy from one of
these animals.
If only the same were true for the armadillos. By sequencing
the bacterium’s genome, scientists have determined that leprosy didn’t exist in
the New World until Europeans arrived.
Surprisingly Brazil has a larger problem with Hansen's disease than India based on population - even with a early detection test and a cure.
Saturday, June 21, 2014
Earrings
We
are hoping to slowly add more earrings to our neglected shop. We’d like
to both jump start our business again and reduce our bead inventory.
Father Damien
The reason I enjoyed seeing this statue is because I'm an advocate for ending Hansen's disease (leprosy). It's still alive and well in Brazil and India and many other countries. There is a cure, and a blood test for early detection in Brazil, and they are now working on a vaccine. More to come later -- helping end one of the world's oldest known diseases!
The
Father Damien Statue, also called the Saint Damien of Molokaʻi Statue, is the
centerpiece of the entrance to the Hawaiʻi State Capitol and the Hawaiʻi State
Legislature in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. A second bronze cast is displayed in the
National Statuary Hall Collection in the United States Capitol along with the
Kamehameha Statue. The landmark memorializes the famous Hawaiʻi Catholic Church
priest from Belgium who sacrificed his life for the lepers of the island of
Molokaʻi. Father Damien is considered one of the preeminent heroes of Hawaiʻi,
and was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI on October 11, 2009. Cast in bronze, the
statue depicts Father Damien in his later years after being diagnosed with the
disease of those he attended.
President's Education Award
My son is the recipient of the President's Education Award for Academic Excellence for maintaining an A over from K to 8th grade.
Great Job - Mom and Emily =^..^=
Great Job - Mom and Emily =^..^=
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