Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Buy American

A good friend forwarded me the email quoted below. Now those who know me well know how I feel about the whole "viral email" phenomenon. The main problem I see is that the "facts" in those emails are often sketchy at best. I have not done even the basic Snopes search of the claims in the email. But given the current economic climate, I think it is worth a thinking about. I'll share some thoughts at the end.

The findings are as follows.....

1. Ford- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number plus 10 Excursions to NY Fire Dept. The company also offered ER response team service s and office space to displaced government employees.

2. GM- $1 million to American Red Cross matching employee contributions of the same number and a fleet of vans, suv's, and trucks.

3. Daimler Chrysler- $10 million to support of the children and victims of the Sept. 11 attack.

4. Harley Davidson motorcycles- $1 million and 30 new motorcycles to the New York Police Dept.

5. Volkswagen-Employees and management created a Sept 11 Foundation, funded initial with $2 million, for the assistance of the children and victims of the WTC.

6. Hyundai- $300,000 to the American Red Cross.

7. Audi-Nothing.

8. BMW-Nothing.

9. Daewoo- Nothing.

10. Fiat-Nothing.

11. Honda- Nothing despite boasting of second best sales month ever in August 2001

12. Isuzu- Nothing.

13. Mitsubishi-Nothing.

14. Nissan-Nothing.
;
15. Porsche-Nothing.20 Press release with condolences via the Porsche website.

16. Subaru- Nothing.

17. Suzuki- Nothing.

18. Toyota-Nothing despite claims of high sales in July and August 2001. Condolences posted on the website

Whenever the time may be for you to purchase or lease a new vehicle, keep this information in mind. You might want to give more consideration to a car manufactured by an American-owned and / or American based company.

Apart from Hyundai and Volkswagen, the foreign car
companies contributed nothing at all to the citizens of the United States .

It's OK for these companies to take money out of this
country, but it is apparently not acceptable to return some in a time of crisis. I believe we should not forget things like this.

Say thank you in a way that gets their attention..


For me, the point is not whether the facts are accurate. It is also not that foreign car companies should have done something for America following 9/11. They would no doubt say that they have their own problems and American companies are not starting foundations in -- for example -- Korea to help with whatever their problems may be.

The point, at least for me is this: We have a choice. Yeah, you say, so what?

We are in serious economic times. I don't think that American consumers can buy us out of this problem, some would argue that rampant consumerism helped get us into this mess in the first place. But if you are buying a car, or bottled water, or a t-shirt, shouldn't you think about buying from an American manufacturer first. Better yet, one that is local to you if you have the chance.

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Nathaniel

Today was my cousin Nathaniel's funeral. He died after a long battle with cancer. There is so much I could say, regrets, loss, hope and comfort for his wife and kids. All totally inadequate, and not something that really belongs out on the web. But since the family gathered 3,000 miles away, and I could not be there, I will fling this prayer to the aether:

Go in peace Nathaniel . . .

Sunday, November 09, 2008

Sunday

Karylinn continues to get better each day. But not nearly as better as she would like. When we first got home, even rolling over in bed was painful. Now it seems to be better and she can get up and about -- a little bit -- without so much pain. But it is definitely slow going.

So what's the prognosis? Her doctor says that 80% of patients get 80% better right away. We know she is not in that category. There is also a very small percentage who don't ever get better. but those folks have no relief at all right after surgery. Karylinn did have relief, so that's not her category either. What the doctor says is that the nerve has been hammered for a long time, is angry, and is going to take time to heal. Or, as my Dad more colorfully put it: "If an elephant has been standing on your foot, it's going to hurt for a while even after the elephant moves." Good point.

So the next question is: how is the improvement going to be? Slow and steady? Or better fast and then taper off? The doctor says he thinks that a lot of patients have gradual improvement for a while and then suddenly turn the corner. That's what he thinks will happen here. We will know more after Tuesday when we see him again.

Friday, November 07, 2008

Homecoming.

It has been a long haul, but Karylinn gets to go home today. She is still having more pain than expected and her doctor is concerned about it. As I understand the report, she is having continued fallout from the tear in the nerve sack and loss of spinal fluid. He is confident that she is past the worst of it but the healing can take a long time -- two to eight weeks.

Before anyone asks, I'll answer. No, I don't know what that means. Unfortunately I have not been able to be there when the doctor was there the last couple of times. Karylinn is really good at capturing that kind of detail, but when you are the one on your back alternating between pain and pain meds, it's bound to affect what you can take in. Hopefully I will get a chance to talk direct to the doctor later today.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Thursday and Hospital

Sigh.

Let me say that again SIGH

It's Thursday and we were hoping that Karylinn would come home today. While it could happen, it certainly will not be before noon as once predicted. This morning she had a lot of pain when the physical therapist was there. (Didn't get the meds ahead of the pain - Oops) But the doctor also is apparently not ready to release her.

I had court and so was not able to be there when the doctor was in. He will be checking in on her this afternoon and hopefully we will get some better news then. Until we do, continued prayers, good wishes, hot buttered karma or whatever would be great.

--Patton

Monday, November 03, 2008

Surgery Results

Karylinn's surgery went well with a "Comma But"

The disk bulge was larger than expected and all removed successfully. The nerves were freed up well and when she woke up, felt no more pain in the leg, though the back incision was painful.

Comma but, there was a complication going in. What happened is that of the muscles and ligaments that had to be moved out of the way, there was one that adhered to the sack containing the nerves. There was a tear that caused some spinal fluid to leak. The good news is that the repair was good. The bad news is that in order for the repair to heal, she needs to stay flat on her back for two days.

So we're here at the hospital until Wednesday at least. Fam, you know how to reach me

Saturday, November 01, 2008

Surgery Again

Who's surgery? No, No, not me.

For some time, Karylinn has been dealing with quite a lot of lower back pain. While I had thought that I had become a pain in her "side" it turns out there is a medical reason.
Seriously, she has a herniated disk affecting her L4 L5 and S1 vertebrae. She has been suffering with this off and on since about a year ago. A couple of weeks back, we met with a surgeon and Monday is the day. The plan is to remove the parts of the disk that is impinging on her nerves and grind down the bone in places where the nerve channel is narrowed.

While many patients who have this surgery are out of the hospital the same day, that is not a prediction and the decision of when she goes home will depend on how she does. Apparently almost all patients have a good result over time and a high percentage get immediate relief.

Any thoughts and prayers that you can send along will be gratefully received. Prayers for steady, skillful hands for Dr. Button and strength and healing for Karylinn are on my list!

I will keep you posted when we have news.