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Why some people walk away from a plane crash or thrive after a job loss, while others don’t stand a chance. And what’s luck got to do with it anyway?
Tim Archibald for Newsweek (left); Courtesy of Stanford Hospital Clinics
Ellin Klor, and a scan of the knitting needle that pierced her heart
By Ben Sherwood | NEWSWEEK
Published Jan 24, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Feb 2, 2009
The knitting needle pierced her heart. Then it saved her life. Ellin Klor savors the irony, but it wasn’t always so, especially when doctors cracked open her chest in the operating room to pry out the wooden needle that had punctured her breastbone and penetrated her right ventricle. Jan. 9, 2006, was her lucky day. After dinner with her family, the 58-year-old children’s librarian was anxious to show the gang in her knitting group some new patterns, so she grabbed three bags stuffed with books, yarn and needles and headed to a friend’s house in Palo Alto, Calif. Already late, she could tell from the other cars that some of the knitters had arrived. She hoisted her bags from the back seat. “The scourge of a librarian,” she recalls, “carrying too much stuff around.” Klor climbed the first of two wide steps, stubbed her foot and suddenly fell down, landing chest first on a sack filled with unfinished knitting. Klor, 5 feet 4 with soft hazel eyes and a generous, round face, had long considered herself a bit of a klutz, so her spill wasn’t exactly a surprise. When she took a breath, her chest hurt, but she figured it was nothing. Inside, the knitters were already working in the living room. Klor wanted to get started, but the ache in the middle of her chest was getting worse with each breath. It wasn’t an ordinary pang. She looked down at her red Façonnable sweater and lifted it up. The next
image is ingrained in her memory. A jagged splinter of a wooden knitting needle, nearly four inches long, was jutting from her chest. It had clearly broken in half, piercing her clothing and lodging in the middle of her bra right between her breasts. “Oh, my God,” she whispered. Her friends gaped at the needle and urgently calculated the options. First and foremost, should they try to pull it out? “No, don’t touch it,” Klor declared. It was pure instinct: she didn’t want anyone to go near the injury until she was at the hospital. Doctors would say later this was the first decision that helped save her life. Plucking the spike would have been like pulling a plug or uncorking a bottle, and she might have bled out in the living room.
Klor and her friends faced the next critical question: should they jump in a car and race to the emergency room? “No,” Klor decided. “Call 911 right now.” Waiting for the paramedics was a second lifesaving choice. If the needle had moved even the slightest amount in transit to the ER, the injury to her heart might have proved fatal. So Klor carefully sat down on a sofa to wait for the ambulance. She felt alert and even noticed something very odd. She had been impaled and yet there wasn’t a single drop of blood anywhere. How was this possible? The next string of images flew by like a strange TV drama. Paramedics. Stretcher. Sirens. IV. Oxygen. Emergency room. CT scan.
At the Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, Klor waited anxiously for the ER doctors to tell her the extent of her problems. To distract herself, she focused on her daughter, Callie. Her thoughts also turned to her husband, Hal, a rugged research engineer who once hiked two miles on a broken ankle. Sometimes he teased her lovingly that she was “a little wimpy.” What would Hal say when he heard about this?
When the ER team finally briefed her on the results of her scans, she felt the first flood of fear. Their tone was urgent. The needle had penetrated her sternum, the long flat breastbone that’s supposed to protect the heart, lungs and major blood vessels from trauma. Over the years, this team had extracted every imaginable object sticking from every conceivable body part, but they told her a knitting needle was unprecedented. Paparazzi style, a young doctor snapped her photo and then took mug-shot close-ups of the offending object. Then the doctors delivered the scary news: the point of the needle had grazed her heart, nicking the right ventricle. They could see internal bleeding. They needed to operate as soon as possible.
Less than an hour after her tumble, trauma surgeons would cut her open, crack her sternum, stitch up her heart, wire her breastbone back together and sew her up. They would leave a seven-inch scar from her neck to the middle of her chest. They would save her life. And then, by chance or fate, the knitting needle would save her life all over again. In fact, Klor’s real struggle for survival was just beginning.
Why do some people live and others die? Why do a few stay calm and collected under extreme pressure when others panic and unravel? How do some bounce back from adversity while others collapse and surrender?
(more…)
SHAMWOW
January 28, 2009
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Why is Joe Isuzu pimping shamwow?
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Seattle Post-Intelligencer | July 27, 2008
Manufacturers of scented detergents, laundry sheets and air fresheners aren’t required to list all of their ingredients on their labels—or anywhere else. But many of these common household items contain potentially dangerous chemicals, a University of Washington study has found.
UW engineering professor Anne Steinemann’s analysis of some of these popular items found 100 different volatile organic compounds measuring 300 parts per billion or more—some of which can be cancerous or cause harm to respiratory, reproductive, neurological and other organ systems.
Some chemicals are categorized as hazardous or toxic by federal regulatory agencies. But the labels tell a different story, naming only innocuous-sounding “perfume” or “biodegradable” contents.
Industry representatives have denied their products are unsafe.
But tests that Steinemann ordered of dryer sheets, fabric softeners, detergents and air fresheners showed that 10 of the 100 volatile organic compounds identified qualified under federal rules as toxic or hazardous.
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Man cuts off own head with chainsaw after flat is earmarked to be bulldozed by developers
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:00 PM on 14th July 2008
A ‘vulnerable’ man cut off his own head with a chainsaw after being ordered to move out of his home to make way for developers, police believe.
David Phyall’s severed head was found beside the power tool inside his housing association flat shortly after receiving his eviction notice.
Detectives were today investigating the possibility that the 58-year-old killed himself rather than leave his home of eight years.
Grisly: David Phyall’s body and severed head were found in his flat, above
He was the last resident living on an estate earmarked for demolition. All 71 surrounding flats were empty.
Paramedics and police made the gruesome find after receiving a 999 call.
An inquest is now being carried out into the exact cause of death and what had happened to Mr Phyall, described as ‘vulnerable’, beforehand.
It is understood police are not treating his death as suspicious.
Mr Phyall had lived in his flat at Bishopstoke in Eastleigh, Eastley, Hants, since 2000 and was fighting to stay there despite plans to bulldoze the entire area and rebuild it.
Many flats had already been boarded up.
Mr Phyall rented the property from Atlantic Housing Ltd.
He had been unhappy since the plans to level the flats and rebuild them were passed in 2006.
It is thought that he may have even been served with an eviction notice issued through the courts shortly before his death.
An inquest opened and adjourned by deputy central Hampshire coroner Simon Burge.
It listed the possible cause of death of Mr Phyall as ‘complete transaction of the neck’ and ‘chainsaw wound to the neck.’
An ambulance service spokesman said: ‘We were called to an address in Bishopstoke to reports to a “concerns for welfare.”
‘A rapid response vehicle attended and a search found a patient had sustained serious injuries.’
Ron Turtle, chairman of the Stoke Residents’ Association, said there was one tenant left whom he believed to be a disabled man who rented a ground-floor flat from Atlantic Housing.
He said: ‘They had offered him several places that were similar but he just didn’t want to move. In the end they had to go to court.’
Lib Dem Bishopstoke Parish Council chairman Anne Winstanley said: ‘The last I heard they were still negotiating with him to try to provide what he required to move into as an alternative.
‘It sounds very tragic for whatever the reason he met his death.’
Councillor Winstanley added that Bodmin Road had become a target for vandalism and nuisance behaviour in recent months.
The flats are thought to have been built in the 1960s but Atlantic Housing had revealed it would cost them more to repair than rebuild.
Southampton building firm Drew Smith were awarded a 7.8m pounds contract to design and build 54 replacement flats and 24 houses.
Three of the flats at Bodmin Road had been purchased by tenants under the right to buy but were repurchased by Atlantic Housing to enable the redevelopment to take place.
Atlantic Housing was unavailable for comment.
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Tags: spam
Subject: SOMEONE YOU CALL YOUR FRIEND, WANTS YOU DEAD.
From: “BLOOD BLOOD” <mayhissolerestinpice6@gala.net>
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:38:08 +0100
Delivered-to: 423-melmetts@graffrealty.com
——————————————————————
SOMEONE YOU CALL YOUR FRIEND, WANTS YOU DEAD.
I felt very sorry and bad for you, that your life is going to end like this if you don’t comply, i was paid to eliminate you and I have to do it within 10 days.
Someone you call your friend wants you dead by all means, and the person have spent a lot of money on this, the person came to us and told us that he wants you dead and he provided us your names, photograph and other necessary information we needed about you. If you are in doubt with this I will send you your name and where you are residing in my next mail.
Meanwhile, I have sent my boys to track you down and they have carried out the necessary investigation needed for the operation, but I ordered them to stop for a while and not to strike immediately because I just felt something good and sympathetic about you. I decided to contact you first and know why somebody will want you dead by all means. Right now my men are monitoring you, their eyes are on you, and even the place you think is safer for you to hide might not be.
Now do you want to LIVE OR DIE? It is up to you. Get back to me now if you are ready to enter deal with me, I mean life trade, who knows, and I might just spear your life, $8,000 is all you need to spend. You will first of all pay $3,000 then I will send the tape of the person that want you dead to you and when the tape gets to you, you will pay the remaining $5,000. If you are not ready for my help, then I will have no choice but to carry on the assignment after all I have already being paid before now.
Warning: do not think of contacting the police or even tell anyone because I will extend it to any member of your family since you are aware that somebody want you dead, and the person knows some members of your family as well.
For your own good I will advise you not to go out once is 7pm until I make out time to see you and give you the tape of my discussion with the person who want you dead then you can use it to take any legal action. Good luck as I await your reply to this e-mail contact: mayhissolrestinpeace3@gmail.com
Bye.
William yahman.
MY REPLY:
O Yes, by all means I will pay you kind sir! I have contacted my bank and they are puting together 8999 monopoly moneys for you. Jes tell me my name and addres. Do you feel lucky?
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A Look Inside What’s Been Called America’s Biggest Pharmacy’s Pill-Flipping Scheme
CHICAGO, June 13, 2008
(CBS) It’s America’s biggest drugstore chain.
“Beyond the reach of cell phones and superhighways, there’s a place called ‘perfect,’” rings the familiar ad for Walgreens.
In a perfect world, however, Walgreens wouldn’t be accused of ripping off taxpayers. But we’re nowhere near perfect. CBS News investigative correspondent Sharyl Attkisson reports.
Michael Behn, a former federal prosecutor, said, “The pharmacies nationwide had a pill flipping scheme.”
Behn helped expose how Walgreens exploited a Medicaid loophole.
To save taxpayer dollars, Medicaid limits how much it pays for popular forms of drugs.
But it doesn’t bother to set price-ceilings on rarely-used versions.
Take generic Zantac, or ranitidine, for example. The antacid is a huge seller in tablet form. Medicaid limits payment to 34 cents apiece.
The same drug as capsules has no price-ceiling because it was so rarely-prescribed. Medicaid pays $1.25 each.
Walgreens figured it could pocket millions by switching patients from tablets to capsules.
Behn explained to Attkisson, “These are the ranitidine capsules.”
“This is what was being prescribed?” Attkisson asked, pointing to the tablets. “And this is what was being given?” pointing to the capsules.
Behn replied, “Correct. At three times or more the cost to taxpayers,” Behn answered.
The scheme was blown wide open by a whistleblower, a pharmacist who doesn’t want to appear on camera. He said Walgreens rigged its computers to automatically switch to the most expensive type of pill.
“The only way in which a computer system could switch from a tablet and a capsule, is if someone went in and manipulated the computer system,” Behn said.
Attkisson asked, “And the fact that this was done nationwide indicates this was a corporate policy?”
Behn responded, “That’s what we alleged.”
By gaming the system, Walgreens managed to change over almost all Medicaid customers from cheap generic Zantac tablets to pricy capsules.
In Florida alone, it cost taxpayers an extra $1.2 million the first year.
And the pill-switching went on for several years nationwide, including other prescriptions: generic Prozac (fluoxetine) for depression, and generic Eldepryl (selegiline) for Parkinson’s.
Walgreens denies wrongdoing and declined to be interviewed.
But they recently agreed to pay back the government more than $35 million.
And they’re not the only ones. CVS and Omnicare quietly settled similar cases coughing up $86 million more.
The whole pill-flipping episode proves just how imperfect some drugstore chains can be.
Posted by curmudgeonblog in Uncategorized.
Associated Press | May 21, 2008
TOKYO, Japan (AP) — When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.
Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor’s roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.
He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.
“I’m Mr. Yosuke Nakamura,” the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.
“We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we’ve found Yosuke,” Uemura said.
The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years.
But Yosuke apparently wasn’t keen on opening up to police officials.
“I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me,” Uemura said.
Posted by curmudgeonblog in Uncategorized.
New York Times
By SHAILA DEWAN and BRENDA GOODMAN
Published: May 18, 2008
To gas prices, the cost of rice and foreclosure rates, add this economic indicator: the number of tips to the police from people hoping to collect reward money.
Posted by curmudgeonblog in Uncategorized.
Daily Mail | May 15, 2008
New home, old prison: Natascha Kampusch
Natascha Kampusch has bought the “house of horrors” where she was kept for nearly a decade.
Miss Kampusch, 20, was held by Wolfgang Priklopil for eight and a half years at the home near Vienna, 90 miles from the underground prison built by Josef Fritzl.
Miss Kampusch said: “I know it’s grotesque – I now have to pay the electricity, water and taxes on a house I never wanted to live in.”
But she said she would rather own the home herself than see it turned into a tourist attraction.
Miss Kampusch, who is believed to have made more than £1million from interviews, is thought to have paid about £200,000 for the house, which was owned by her captor’s mother.
She has complex feelings for her kidnapper, who killed himself shortly after she escaped. She reportedly carries around a picture of him in her handbag.
She has visited the house since she escaped on August 23, 2006.
“Nothing is as threatening as it was back then,” she told the German magazine Bunte.
“But at the same time, it’s still a house of horrors for me. It’s a very dark past.
“It’s as if I lost my memory and have now started a completely new life.”
She lives on her own and is currently studying to catch up on years of missed education.
Today, she is due to attend a civil court case where a man convicted of harassing her mother will claim Mrs Kampusch was in league with Priklopil and virtually “gave” her daughter away to him.
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