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Archive for November, 2011

Trying to help my other cousin...

November 18th, 2011 at 03:34 am

This is my cousin Dean and his wife...


My cousin Dean was born with a heart defect and has had to have many surgeries since he was born, the latest just a few years before he married Lindsay. They have two daughters and a son.

Before they got married, Dean had a genetic test done to see if his heart defect was genetic, and the doctors assured him it wasn't. His two daughters are just fine, the son, though, wasn't growing right. They finally found out that he also had a heart defect, though a different kind than Dean did. They did surgery when he was about a month old (? I think he was that old already), and he seems to be doing just fine now too.

Lindsay was working for Marriott, at home. She worked during the day, and Dean worked nights. To save money on day care, while the two oldest daughters are at school, Dean took care of Griffin and tried to sleep while Lindsay worked, and Lindsay took care of the kids at night while Dean was at work.

Lindsay rolled her car coming home one night, and was paralyzed. She was in the car for hours, with no one seeing her until around 2:00 in the morning.

These two are the nicest people you will ever meet.

I hope this doesn't break the blog rules.

Text is http://ptacekfamily.blogspot.com/?spref=fb and Link is
http://ptacekfamily.blogspot.com/?spref=fb

Trying to convince my cousin...

November 16th, 2011 at 03:48 pm

My cousin has cancer. I've written about her before a while ago. She had surgery to take out one ovary, did chemo, thought she was cancer free, then they found cancer in the other one.

Since I had my baby in May, I am exclusively breastfeeding him. I went back to work 6 weeks after he was born, and I work 3 days at work and 2 days at home every week. I have to pump for him, and well, I think I'm part Holstein because, damn. I only have to pump once in the morning to get all he needs, so I have quite the freezer stash going.

I read an article saying that a man who had prostate cancer who was a doctor decided to try to drink breastmilk to see if it would do anything to help get rid of the cancer. He tracked his PSA (? I think that is the relevant number) and when he was drinking 2 oz breastmilk from a family friend every day (in a smoothy, to get over the ick factory), the PSA number was steady or went down, but when his donor decided to wean her child, he had to get the milk from a milk bank. When he got the pasteurized stuff, it didn't work, but when he got the stuff barely pasteurized, it did.

I have since done more research, and the reason he even thought of it was that some researchers in Sweden showed that human breast milk kills cancer cells. When it is exposed to an acid, one of the proteins unfolds and becomes a cancer fighting machine.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100419132403.htm

I've read other articles saying babies that are formula fed have 9 time more incidences of cancer than breastfed babies. Also, even if breastmilk doesn't kill the cancer, the protein and carbohydrates in breastmilk, along with antibodies and everything else, etc., help those who drink it feel better after chemo.

I went over to her house 2 weeks ago with 32 oz of milk, and started pumping more to replenish. I just have to add one more 15 minute pumping session in the afternoon, and have plenty.

I called her house today, and got ahold of her mom (my aunt). I asked if she needed more, because by now she should be about out. Aunt told me she hadn't tried it yet Frown

I totally understand the ick factor. But if it could work!?! Why not try it?

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Edited to add:
Here is the original study:
http://www.pnas.org/content/92/17/8064.full.pdf

Teaching a good lesson? Or being greedy?

November 6th, 2011 at 08:12 pm

My 55 year old uncle lives with my parents. He is slightly retarded, and went to school but can't read and can't count. He can tell time but doesn't really know what time means. If he were a kid today, he would be mainstreamed and would probably have found a job, but back in the 50's they didn't do that (or my grandparents chose not to do that) so he has never had a job and has lived with my grandma or my parents his whole life. I know other people with more severe limitations that live on their own and have jobs.

My grandma gets his Social Security money and gives him dribs and drabs of it, and pays my parents some of it for food and housing. Probably illegal, as she spends most of his money on things for her, but she can pull up bogus receipts saying the money was spent on him, so investigations don't catch her.

When my parents go to my brothers or sisters games, he has to pay for his way in and anything at the concession stand. They don't charge him for any gas or anything else.

My brother is now playing basketball at a junior college 2 1/2 hours away, and we went to the game last night. I drove and took my mom and uncle (dad was busy and so was my husband). I filled up when I left town, picked them up, drove out and back bucking a 35 mile wind the whole way, and then filled up in town again. Gas cost $60 for that tank. I told them we would split it 3 ways, so each of us would pay $20.

My uncle didn't have that much money to pay me. He is going to have to ask my grandma for more money, and I have a feeling grandma is going to throw a fit. Because she is greedy and manipulative.

I don't really care if she throws a fit or not. But what do you think? My uncle has been sheltered his whole life and doesn't have any responsibility other than making sure that the animals have water every day and washing dishes. Am I teaching a good lesson? Or being greed myself?