April 2004 Archives
Rosaries for the Troops
Want to provide some spiritual comfort for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines serving in the Persian Gulf and Afghanistan? The Military Archdiocese is collecting Rosaries to send overseas to our Catholic (and non-Catholic) servicemen. It seems even non-Catholics are taking comfort in the prayers of the Rosary.
So clean out your drawers of old Rosaries you don’t use anymore, or if you know how to make your own start making them again, or even just go down to your local Catholic bookstore and buy a whole bunch. (This is a great service project for a youth group or confirmation class, by the way.)
When you do, send them (and a small donation to help defray postage costs) to:
Jo Ann Redmond
Director of Administration
Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA
415 Michigan Avenue, N.E., Suite 300
P.O. Box 4469
Washington, D.C. 20017
The troops will be very grateful.
NPR : Kerry and the Catholic Vote
I only caught the tail end as I was getting out of the shower, but what I caught conviced me that I need to really get my act together and finish writing my letter to the editor on this topic. Groan. When I get home to a computer that actually plays audio I will listen word by word and craft my specific comments. Help me out if you can - either send me suggestions (comment box or e-mail) or write your own letter. You can send to morning@npr.org. You can also CC the NPR ombudsman (who is currently up to his ears in emails protesting the summary dismissal of Bob Edwards, but that is another story entirely).
(from my inbox - republished here verbatim.)
As you probably know, the Cesarean section rate has been increasing steadily
since 1996 and now is the highest it has ever been – 26.1% in 2002. Some
experts predict it could rise to 50% in the next decade if the dramatic increase
we’ve seen in the last several years continues. Cesarean surgery can be
life-saving; however almost half, and some say as many as two thirds, of all
Cesareans performed in the U.S. are unnecessary.
A song of November
There seem to be a lot of us here.
At a wonderful new parishioner's blog Basia me, Catholica sum
Is that Kiss me, I'm Catholic?
(free registration required)
As our eyes have been opened, the militant language of the abortion rights leadership starts to ring hollow.
Link via Earl.
I just finished watching a very powerful episode of Life On the Rock on EWTN. A woman who had had 3 abortions spoke about her remorse, regrets, and healing. A chance phrase I heard on the TV - "coming out" about being an abortion survivor - resonated with me. That has to be the darkest closet to be hiding in, filled with pain and guilt. Sins fester in the dark, whereas the light, though painful, is ultimately healing.
40 years later. Review and commentary by Peggy Noonan. Link via Mark.
What she said!
Apologia
has a couple of excellent (as usual) posts about men and women, husbands and wives, and what has or hasn't changed in the last 30 years or so.
For once, I have been relatively 'speechless' in the comments boxes - not because I have nothing to say but more because I don't know where to start.
I think that Micki (smockmomma) had the definitive comment, however. Go read.
You may recall that Simon Benkovic, son of EWTN regular Johnette Benkovic, was killed in a car accident after surviving Iraq. Above is a great tribute and a teaching on Christian grief.
At Ever New.
One of the neat things about being Catholic is that we have both/and, not either/or. We don't have to choose between supporting the rights of the born and the unborn, we can support both.
Yes indeed!
Looking down into the congregation from the choir loft, I see in our parish a 50-50 ratio between men and women. However, what I don't see are many children, and even fewer teens. The parish is aging and the next generation is way too small..... but among the (predominantly middle aged) regular mass-goers there as lots of men.
A blog of a Catholic father and husband, struggling to work out his salvation with fear and trembling in the People's Republic of Massachusetts.
Link via Dom Bettinelli
More on the religion session from bloggercon2 (part 1 is here)
I still haven't recovered my notes, nor have any transcripts been published yet. Still, I think that I have a few more insights and comments that I hope you find of interest.
There was a lot of discussion about what the role of the blog should be. (This was actually throughout all the sessions at the conference, and was a pretty interesting thread). Is a blog primarily informative (journalistic model), is it community building (akin to BBS and listserv phenomena), is it persuasive, is it referential (like a prayer book or missal), - just what is the raison d'etre of a blog and how does a soi-disant godblog fit into the picture?
Like any good discussion/seminar, there were more questions than answers in the room. We could have spent the whole session just chewing on the concept of what is a religion and what then is a religiously oriented blog? Given that the room included everything from atheists to zen buddhists, it went all over the field and nothing was really answered.
After abortion has first person coverage on the march for death.
I am working on a letter to the editor about Kerry and Communion - it isn't going well at all (which tells me who is fighting against it!). I have several ideas that I want to include in at least my first draft, and then I will have to edit judiciously to meet the word limits. In the meantime, I have another thought that I want to share with you all.
Our culture has become so sexualized that we have lost the concept of non-sexual friendship and love. Emotional attractions between persons are now considered merely a prelude to physical and sexual intimacy. This plays out in heterosexual and homosexual attractions - no longer is friendship seen as the thing of value. I think that this may be one of the greatest barriers we currently have to lasting marriage. We have placed all our energies into the sexual aspects, and while they are indeed important, marriage is much more than simply getting it on regularly.
And it has also affected same-sex friendships. Used to be, two adult women could share living quarters and be good friends and both be celibate heterosexual women. Now, they would assume that their friendship (even love) would mean that they were homosexual and would have to act upon that. I imagine that something of the same also happens to men, confused by our culture, but not being male I would not presume to assume that to be the case.
It is even getting to the point where any physical affection is assumed to carry sexual overtones. Parents hugging their children, giving baths to toddlers, etc - all of these can be viewed with suspicion. How frightening this gets! What have we lost?
A great set of musings based on a recent Discover magazine article , from Mark at Vociferous Yawpings.
It is easy to get discouraged when things are going bad. But we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of pain and suffering. Remember, next time your little hut is burning to the ground it just may be a smoke signal that summons the grace of God. For all the negative things we have to say to ourselves, God has a positive answer for it:
I am looking for some clearly written and understandable books that present information and/or meditations on the Passion. I thought of Mark Shea's recent guidebook to the movie TPOTC, but I am also looking for more classic stuff. Especially valuable would be material that is available on the web. thanks!
Fiat Mihi to The Fortifying Brew (permalinks all googled out, as usual).
What she said!
Fearful mom-to-be wants a C-section
Is anxiety about giving birth a good enough reason to have a Cesarian delivery?
Anne Wilson gives some great links and thoughts on how to not support Chinese slave labor.
Link via Lilac Rose.
Velveteen Rabbi posts a good summary of the first part of the session on religion and blogging. If only I hadn't lost my notes!
Musings on Muses from Flambeaux's lively wife!
Over at Eutychus Fell: Becoming Catholic. Especially offered by him for those North Koreans killed in the train collision, but I also offer it up for the residents of Utica Illinois, the dead of Iraq (especially the busload of Kindergarten students), and all the unborn who are being killed around the world. Lord have mercy on us all.
By request (sorry for the delay)
Bill over at Fathers Know Best posted a recipe for home made baby wipes awhile back. In the Comments box, I promised to post info on the hows of cloth diapering (at least from my perspective as the mom of 6 all of whom were cloth diapered even with 2 in diapers at the same time). Mea culpa, it has taken me a while to get around to it. But better late than never. I think that the Sleepy Mommies may also have a few posts on the topic, so check them out also.
Basics: well you need diapers, a way to keep them on the baby, and at least some times you will want a diaper cover to protect baby's outerwear.
You guys know that I have no issue with the truly needed cesareans, or even with some that might be a little questionable but are done after other things have been tried. But this I just don't understand.
C-sections on demand are rising fast
(despite the fact that according to)
The Maternity Center Association, a pregnancy advocacy group, released an analysis last week of 300 previous studies and concluded that having a C-section increases the chances of infection, pain, rehospitalization and breast-feeding problems. C-sections also increase the potential for problems in future pregnancies....
U.S. Catholic Bishops - Pro-Life Activities
A Way of Life, A Way of Love
Natural Family Planning Awareness Week
Hope you can make sense of it!
********************************
Listening now to a session for library type stuff, a gentleman who does a blog for a science research kind of place made the statement that ‘scientists don’t blog’ – got me thinking about the scientists I know in St Blogs and how they do blog but not necessarily on science. Maybe that has to do with things like patentability, caution, publishing prematurely ?
Story telling as value exchange (per a futurist)
Librarians talking about how the internet can add to or subtract from the physical space.
Blogwithoutalibrary.net
Content management, how to scale. Just in time information. How to access the information – taxonomy, indexing, categories,
What is the diff between a webpage and a weblog? Dynamism?
Tone – blogs more informal, chatty, friendly - personalities
Pages more formal and structured – impersonal
Find your voice – filtering data into info?
Fletcher School of law and Diplomacy at Tufts has a blog.
Trust factor important
Information gatekeepers
Sharing spaces
How do students own and manipulate information? Incremental changes vs state change?
Community of interest around ideas.
Remaking of social conventions around passions – new infrastructure for self-organizing communities. Knowledge sharing.
What are the differences between blog communities and email based communities – forums, etc. Fixed topic vs moving targets.
Email based communities vs weblog based communities
Weblogs are less susceptible to peer pressure and personalities in the conversation
Filtering and self-filtering is less in blogs – the ‘expert’ syndrome is less of an impediment to expression of ideas.
A blog is a bit of private property – there is a different dynamic – politeness etc?
How do we index data, retrieve it, categorize it. Reputation networks taking the place of top-down authority. (kind of like the volunteer book reviews on amazon). Network effects and power laws, leading to breakdown of democracy?
Citation linking? Authority is more fluid. Knowledge and authority linkage. Popularity does not equal authority. How expert is the expert? How expert is the user? Critical thinking is key.
Blogs adversely affected google (ratings by popularity ) because of all the linkages found.
Blog as a tool for the self to keep information organized, especially the recurring needs information.
Weblog based book clubs etc.
Crash Kills Man Moments After Son Is Born in Car
A good argument for staying home. Actually, I tell families that if it looks like the baby is coming, STOP the car and get off the road!
Given the limited time available for catechesis in most programs, do you think that the directors of these programs (or the individual catechists) should initiate discussion about or refer approvingly to not yet authenticated Marian apparitions?
Does it benefit teenagers - who (for example) don't even know (let alone understand) Church teachings on sexual morality or the Real Presence or how we are saved - to be referred to a webpage about (say) Medjugorje or similar events?
My understanding about pedagogy is that a basic idea is that you start with the basic foundation and then build on that. There are certain basics that one would hope all Catholics know and believe (the things that make us Catholic and not something else). Events like Medjugorje fall into the classification of private revelation - and are not dogma. I would hope that the priority of teaching would start with the CCC and the Bible taught in parallel. Once a child or a catechumen is grounded in those truths, then becomes the time to discuss private revelations. And I would hope that the discussion begins with those revelations that have been investigated and found 'not contrary to the faith'.
On another note - have any of you read the notes in the Catholic Youth Bible (NRSV, published by Saint Mary's Press)? It is being used in a local CCD and Confirmation class. I had occasion recently to read the note on Satan (book of Job) and on Ephesians 5 and I was just floored. (eg" the notion of Satan as an evildoer seems to have been borrowed from a similar figure in Persian religion" , "we should not interpret Eph 5:21 - 6:4 as commanding submissive behavior of married women today").
Any comments?
strictly from memory!
The religion/blog session was interesting and I wish that I had my notes. The session was webcast and I hope that there will be some kind of archive published with at least the IRC notes/links and the stuff that made it into recording. I checked the site, and so far nothing yet, but I think it probably is just that the principal organizers are still doing other stuff.
An interesting observation from a Jewish blogger was that blogging is very much like Talmudic study. My take on this statement was that bloggers, link Talmud scholars, work by taking a bit of verbiage, linking it here, there, bringing in all kinds of potentially relevant stuff, trying to make sense and to rediscover that sense as times change.
Others brought out an idea that the blogosphere is very much like the concept (quotation cited to Martin Luthere, I have no idea if this is real) "Every man his own priest". Very Protestant (American style, Congregational or whatnot) in that there is not a hierarchy. There were questions about how/why blogs in religious areas act to question authority or foment dissent.
I pointed out that most Catholic blogs are not about questioning authority or trying to set up one's own church, but rather about trying to apply the existing authority/hierarchy/belief system to everyday life.
There were also conversations about blogs as spiritual journals, inspirational readings, and if this replaces or supplements more traditional forms of religious or spiritual practice.
I am pretty sure I was the only Catholic in the room. There were Atheists, Wiccans, at least one Jewish gentleman, a Buddhist, and I think some Muslims and assorted others. I didn't hear anyone identify themself as Evangelical or generic Christian.
There were a few who were offended or upset by the term 'godblog' - and there was some discussion about definitions. There was also some conversation about Truth (with a capital 'T') and conviction and how there are many bloggers (particularly in the religious blogosphere) who really do believe that we have possession of an absolute truth and how that truth informs all that we do.
I wanted to talk a lttle bit more about the place of authority but I kept my mouth shut, as there was a LOT going on - all at the same time. It was an ADD environment, with the conversation taking place verbally and through IRC and the IRC person also pulling down links to various sites and posting them in real time to the projection screen. Someone would mention a site, and bingo, there it would be. One person asked if there were any blogs run by pastors or persons on staff on behalf of a church, and I popped up with Catholic Ragemonkey as one I know personally. (It probably should have been Dappled Things - oh well!) I was also able to supply a link to a blog run by a Calvinist (of the Puritan type Reformed Church) for someone who asked. There was also discussion of Little Green Footballs as being emblematic of something, but alas I don't remember what!
Anyhow, if more stuff pops into my brain, or if MS Word mysteriously restores my missing two pages of note, I will post further. And if I get my laptop reconnected to the net, I will cut and paste my raw notes on the library session. I am afraid that the International session is lost and gone forever unless the written notes reappear. I know that it was interesting and that there were a lot of good thoughts drifting around - but it was also right after lunch and the data was going straight from my eyes and ears to my fingers without staying overly long in my brain.
Some days it just doesn't pay to trust any technology more sophisticated than paper and pencil. I have already blogged a bit about how I was never able to access the wireless network down there, but I at least took notes on the laptop so I wouldn't feel too stupid about having lugged it down there. My thought was that I would just cut and paste my notes to the blog. Well, I haven't been able to get online with my laptop since I got home, so there goes that great idea. So I printed out hard copy of my notes, only to discover that I am missing the last half of what I entered. Great. My notes end with the stuff about library blogs, a topic which I personally found very interesting, but not the sum total of what I wanted to share with you all. I also lost URLs for links that I had typed in. I'm getting very frustrated with this whole thing.
Did I tell you that I got lost not once but twice on my way down to Cambridge? I had been looking for a park and ride and the only thing that was suggested was parking at the Alewife station for the MBTA Red Line and taking it in to Harvard Square. Turns out that Alewife is actually pretty close. The directions for getting to Alewife and getting to Harvard Square were almost identical in terms of getting off the interstated and driving around in circles. It took me almost as long to find Alewife (going around and around and asking three different people for directions ) as it did for me to drive to the MA state line from my home in NH. Then, when I got off the subway, I walked 2 blocks in the wrong direction before getting properly oriented. Dyslexia. Fun.
The Revealer's recent article cites Kurt Vonnegut and then discusses a recent film campaign and internet hoax connection. Worth reading if you, like me, were/are an SF reader.
I will try to blog a bit about bloggercon later, after I figure out how to beat my laptop into submission. I will say that I was upset that I could not log onto the wireless network at the con, and that there was no one there who could help me to trouble shoot. Now that I'm home, I can't log on to my high-speed access and I think that I may have screwed something up in trying to get logged on down at bloggercon. I am posting from another computer in my house, but my notes are all (of course) on my laptop.
As far as I can tell, I was the only one there from St. Blog's.
el camino real
returned from Lenten hiatus with a new template and some very thought provoking postings. Be sure to scroll down and view the icon of the Resurrection.
Theology of the Body junkies, there is more food for thought as well. Jeff went through some comments on old posts and added some of his own thoughts, too.
like my domestic church, the inn at the end of the world, video meliora.
I have not been able to access your sites for over 24 hours now. Blogger seems to be playing some kind of game. Or have your URLs suddenly been changed?
update: I figured out the problem. Apparantly the www prefix was messing things up. I've edited my blogroll and so far, so good.
I will be off to Boston to attend bloggercon 2. Anyone who is going, let me know! I am not terribly fond of Boston traffic or parking.....
The Lady in the Pew does it again.
In another forum, I asked "Is it more important that we worship God in a way that makes us feel good, or that we worship Him the way HE desires to be worshipped?" Kelly hits the nail on the head, as usual.
from an older Adoremus Bulletin (circa 1997).
Food for thought.
Was this not part of the institution of the priesthood? Do you agree or disagree with my thought, that washing the feet of women AT THIS PARTICULAR RITE somehow flies in the face of the concept of a male priesthood? I mean, we choose 12 specifically to represent the 12 apostles, who did include even Judas who betrayed Him, and Peter who denied Him. He did not wash the feet of Magdalen (who had washed His feet with her tears and dried them with her hair), nor His mother who had washed His feet hundreds if not thousands of times. He washed those whom He had chosen as his bishops, and none others.
I think I am finally ready to talk about my parish's Easter Triduum.
This is a small parish, with an orthodox pastor who picks his battles carefully (in my opinion). He is involved in Cursillo, is an excellent confessor, and has a truly pastoral heart. He did not think, growing up, that he could become a priest because he is partially deaf. But God had other plans, and pulled him out of the world of business to become a diocesan priest. He has been a blessing to the parish.
Our music director is a wonderful godly woman, and I have a great deal of personal respect for her even if I often disagree with her choices in music. We are stuck with the OCP books, and she has a fondness for stuff that I find inane or worse. I haven't found it worthwhile to argue about too many things - although I was strongly tempted to scream when I learned that the (heterodox) song Ashes was going to be part of the Ash Wednesday liturgy. The choir is dedicated and talented - and I would guess that the average age of choir members is somewhere around 60 - I think that John and I are among the younger members and we aren't exactly spring chickens.
from TSO
Grab the book nearest to you, turn to page 18, find line 4. Write down what it says:
showeth His handiwork
Stretch your left arm out as far as you can. What do you touch first?
my bed
What is the last thing you watched on TV?
Father Corapi on EWTN
What is on the walls of the room you are in?
Books on one entire wall, mirror and windows on another, more books and closets on the other two
What is the last movie you saw?
The Passion of the Christ
If you became a multi-millionaire overnight, what would you buy first?
A new organ for my parish, and the Adoremus hymnals/ Magnificat magazine subscriptions for the pews to go with it.
Tell me something about you that I don't know.
I don't know what you do or don't know about me. so how can I answer that question?
I do so miss Dylan and his insights and poetry. I was reminded, painfully, of him when I read this fragment of e.e.cummings
i whi have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun's birthday, this is the birth
day of life and love and wings; and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth
....
now the ears of my ears are awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened
in Madeleine L'Engle's Walking on Water
Then I popped over to Flos Carmeli, and Steve posted a bit of Dylan news. Co-incidence? God incidence, I say.
What is really interesting is the reason I had even opened up Walking on Water. On impulse, I wandered over to Disordered Affections (it used to be a regular stop but I stopped reading when she went months between posts). Scrolling down to the many posts I have missed, I found one titled "What I'm Reading Now" - and Walking on Water was at the top of the list.
Madeleine L'Engle and Dylan are connected in my brain, anyhow. It is probably
because this time last year, I was mailing books back and forth with him.
Please keep praying.
He is risen indeed.
My Hungarian/Russian godmother taught me how to say this in Russian, but alas, I only remember the first part (and probably am not spelling it right either!)
Christos voskreses.
How wonderful it would be to live someplace where the greeting and response for the next 40 days would be "Christ is risen - He is risen indeed".
Alas, to our secular culture, tomorrow, Easter will be over. But for us, it has just begun.
Now is the time to sing great Alleluias to our King.
Here are a few suggestions - some of my favorites. (from the Oremus online hymnal)
Jesus Christ is Risen Today
Hail Thee Festival Day
Welcome Happy Morning
Ye sons and Daughters
The Strife is O'er
I am sure that the Summa Mammas' parish sang at least one of these.
Treasury of Latin Prayers
A wonderful resource, found through fellow convert Alan Phipps, who celebrates 7 years as a Catholic. Ad Multos Annos!
If you haven't read Alan's blog before, I highly recommend it. He recently posted about how Latin has become an important part of his prayer life, and it caused me to wonder something.
Charismatic/Pentecostal Christians place great importance to praying to God in a 'prayer language' (a form of speaking in tongues). I wonder just a little bit, if this is a way God has helped some to meet the human need for special and ritual language in which to speak to God, a need that can be also met through praying in Latin (or Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic ), praying in a language that is NOT used for mundane (everyday) or vulgar (common) purposes. Your thoughts?
Today is Holy Saturday, and it is the Passover Sabbath. All is quiet to the human eye.
The scene from TPOTC that struck me the most was just a little one - some of you may not even remember it. It is where Jesus looks at Mary, and with a little choke in His voice says "Behold, I make all things new."
That is indeed what He did, and what He is continually doing.
Today, we recollect, as it says in the Creed,
"He descended into Hell"
He went and personally escorted those waiting for his Sacrificial offering out of darkness into the light of His Heavenly Father. He claimed them as His chosen, just as He desires to claim us.
Will we heed Him? Will we accept the gift He offers us?
for home schoolers and others who are puzzled by how things never turn out quite according to plan.
Reformed Musings
is written by a dear sister in Christ who I know through the Association of Christian Childbirth Professionals. You will notice that she is definitely not Catholic in her outlook or theology. However, we have in common our love of Jesus, and a whole host of other ideas. Please bop over to her site and say hello.
a Good Friday story
from M'lynn.
Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium
sanguinisque pretiosi quem in mundi pretium
fructus ventris generosi rex effudit gentium.
Jeff Sharlet, editor of The Revealer, writes:
I'll be moderating a discussion session on religion, spirituality, and God blogs at Bloggercon, a conference about weblogs at Harvard Law School on April 17th. I'm pulling together a brief essay that'll serve as a starting point for the discussion right now. And I need your help.
below is most of what I posted in his comments box. If you make a comment here, please also let Jeff know.
Jeff at The Revealer passed on information about what looks like a marvelous opportunity - right in my (figuratively speaking) back yard.
I just registered to attend. I would be interested in meeting up with any Boston area bloggers who might be around on April 17. I may have my 15 y/o daughter in tow, as my husband will be on his way to the NAB national meeting that weekend.
Who decided that rote memorization was an intrinsically evil way to teach and learn stuff? At the ripe age of 49, I find that fragments of things that I memorized as a child, sometimes without much insight or understanding, pop into my brain at very opportune times. I was catechized as an Anglican in the 3rd and 4th grades, memorizing an Anglican Catechism (which I think was probably a hybrid of the Baltimore Catechism and the catechism in the Book of Common Prayer, since as High Church we recognized seven sacraments, not two). I still remember many of the questions and answers - and if someone were to quiz me in the exact phrases of the questions, I think the answers would pop out of the dusty recesses of my brain.
Patty Bonds survives car accident (car is totalled).
Patrick Madrid heavily burdened
Pete Vere battles a bad case of shingles
Lord, watch over these your servants. We know that it is not a coincidence that they are under simultaneous burdens, and we ask that you send your angels to protect them and their ministries and their families from the powers of evil.
St Michael the Archangel, pray for them
St Joseph the worker, pray for them
St Patrick bishop of Ireland, pray for them
St Peter the Apostle, pray for them
all the angels and saints, protect them from harm
through the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit we pray.
amen
Birth story is up at The Edge of the Precipice.
All I can say is, there is a time and a place for modern technology, and this was it.
at Catholic Ragemonkey
I am not sure, but I think my pastor may also be a convert. I know that both he and his predecessor are what it called "late" vocations. They both always say, they weren't late, they were in God's perfect time.
over at Recta Ratio
I haven't the energy myself.
Holidays without family around are tough.
Channel 4 to screen graphic film of abortion
I have very mixed feelings about this.
Kevin Miller blogs about a disturbing practice. Women whose babies have 'anomalies incompatable with life' are being offered the option of having labor induced at extremely preterm gestational ages in some Catholic hospitals. These babies are then allowed to die from not only their lethal anomalies, but also their extreme prematurity.
Many do not consider this to be induced abortion. I think that they are wrong in that opinion. Let's look at the dictionary definition of abortion (from Dictionary.com).
update on Jade
Jennifer had to take Jade back again to the hospital this morning because she is worse. (Read the post below for what happened prior to that if I missed sending it to you). She has so many red spots her whole back is scarlet. It can be a reaction to the Rocephin because many people who have a PCN and/or amoxicillin/ampicillin allergy also can have a reaction to Rocephin and other cephalasporins (a class of drugs). I warned Jen it could happen after she told me what they did, but apparently the hospital didn't think it was an important enough detail to tell her themselves.
As always, your thoughts and prayers are appreciated.
(Prior message)
They kept her several hrs, were going to do a central line, but D refused, so they gave her two Rocephin shots and decided she must have an amoxicillin allergy. They did manage to get some blood from a heel stick, but didn't do any cultures. Her fever went away with the feeding tube hydration. Jen is still worried because Jade is breathing funny, but her chest xray was ok. They didn't test for strep (no throat cultures or any other cultures). Jen thinks she has strep throat herself.
(not hers, thankfully)
and request for prayer
from my friend and fellow pro-life midwife Nancy:
Jen(daughter) took Jade (granddaughter) to the DR today and the DR had her take Jade to St. Joes Emergency room. She hasn't called yet, so we don't know what is going on for sure. Jade was having trouble breathing and had spots all over her body. She's been on antibiotics the past week for an ear infection
please say a few prayers for Jade (and Jen, she's been having a hard time lately and is pregnant, so hopefully whatever Jade has won't hurt Jen or the baby)
**********
Jade was born with some pretty severe health problems as well.
Christus Medicus, miserere nobis
a blog by a medical student.
eutychus fell is a convert blog.
Links via the Curt Jester.
Amy Welborn has some great news.
So does Bill White.
Congrats! and may Blessed Gianna, and all the saints and angels, watch over you!
Times Against Humanity - O tempora, o mores! points out this article about non-medical use of prenatal ultrasound imaging.
The author is a pro-life, NFP only doctor. She points out that images like those produced by this technology give the lie to many of the pro-abortion statements like those that describe a first trimester baby as "a lump of tissue only potentially human".
Still, I have some reservations about the widespread use of any imaging technology. I already have patients who want US mainly to know gender. I also know how stressed out parents get when an US shows a potential problem, even those that turn out to be 'false alarms'. It seems they assume that US is a toy, not a tool.
I am also not as hopeful that seeing the baby will prevent abortion. Already, most abortion clinics do US to date pregnancies so that they can choose the surgical technique. It hasn't seemed to stop the process.
Still, I will wait and see.
Scoll down to posting of 3/31/2004 01:34:53 PM for a wonderful contemplation of .marriage and human fallibility.
Santificarnos
has moved to a new and aexpanded format. Please drop by and say hello.
