Death and Life

What do you think you would feel like if they told you that you had a month or two to live? And then it turned out not to be true? Wouldn't that be a horrible event? Well that is exactly what happened to my husband's brother this weekend. His doctor told him he did not have gangrene in his foot and that it was not true about dying soon.

However, now he has been moved to the physical theraphy part of the hospital across town. It sounds like there is a possibility of gangrene setting in within his foot as there is no circulation from the ankle down. They are beginning to discuss amputating his foot but it would have to be done in Rochester, MN at the big hospital there as they can't do it here.

Then we wonder what is next? Would he have to go to a nursing home? Can you get an artificial foot? I don't know all that much about it but time will tell.

Funerals

Funerals are not everyone's fun thing to do but necessary. I worked for a man for 25 years and his wife died Dec 22 at the young age of 69. She was a real sweetheart and I am going to the funeral this morning. It is a beautiful sunny but cold day out. At least it isn't snowing or freezing rain. It is so very sad and it seems more so at Christmas time. The children and grandchilden too must be devastates along with her husband and her brothers and sisters. She was a special lady. We go to celebrate her life.

Palestinian Children Die in Blast

Three Palestinian children have been killed after an Israeli tank shell hit northern Gaza. Israel's military confirmed it launched an attack, saying it had targeted people setting up a rocket launcher. Doctors said two boys aged 10 and 12 died of shrapnel wounds. A 12 year old girl, who was critically injured in the blast, died also in the hospital. The Israeli army expressed sorrow for the deaths of the children, but said it held militant groups responsible.

Suicide Attack on Afgan US Firm

A suicide bomb attack on a US security firm convoy on the outskirts of the south Afghan city of Kandahar has killed 15 people and injured 20. The bombing, the second suicide attack in Kandahar in as many days, took place on the main road heading west to the troubled province of Helmand. At least six of the dead were civilians including women and children and at least three were security guards. More than 3,700 people have been killed in Afghan violence this year.

Hurricane Churns Up the Caribbean

Haiti and the Dominican Republic are braced for potential flooding as Hurricane Dean passes to the south after gathering force in the Caribbean. Winds have hit 145 mph and the storm may achieve the highest category, Five, with speeds of about 250 by the time it reaches Mexico on Monday. Dean has claimed three lives on islands in its path, and there are now fears it will directly pass over Jamaica. Forecasters warn this could be an unusually active Atlantic storm season.

Cat Has UnCanny Knack of Predicting Death

By now everyone has heard about the cat in a hospice unit that seems to predict death. It would seem that in 25 cases the cat went to the bedside of the person about 4 hours before the died and laid down beside them. Perhaps this was somewhat of a comfort to the person dying. The cat has been so predictable that the doctors call the family when the cat goes to a patient. The cat also stays while the body is removed and then moves on to the next one it somehow senses is dying.

More heat Wave Deaths

The heat wave that scorched California a year ago may have contributed to hundreds more deaths than the state has officially reported. As recently as last month, state officials reported that the two-week ordeal of triple digit temperatures that began on July 14, 2006, killed 143 people. Statistics compiled by the Associated Press from each of California's 58 counties show the number of deaths last July was 466 higher than the average over the previous six years. This is a spike many health officials attribute to the broiling heat.

Troops Storm Mosque in Pakistan

Troops stormed the compound of Islamabad's Red Mosque. This prompted a fierce firefight with militants accused of holding scores of hostages. At least 20 militants and 3 soldiers died in the fighting. The commandos attacked from three directions and quickly cleared the ground floor of the mosque according to an Army spokesman. Some 20 children who ran toward the troops were saved.

Greeks Swelter In The Heat

After days of record high temperatures that led to at least nine heatstroke deaths and extensive power outages, wildfires swept through Greece killing two people and destroying homes. Two men died trapped in flames after abandoning their truck on a forest fire outside the central Greek city of Larissa. A third man in the truck escaped unharmed. Temperatures remained below 104 in most parts of the country with a high of 105.8 in Athens. Emergency warnings remained in effect in most areas.

Sand More Deadly Than Sharks

When you are at the beach, waves and sharks aren't the only dangers. Sand holes have collapsed on more than two dozen young people and killed them over the last decade. Father and son doctors have made warning of this risk their personal campaign. At least 20 children and young adults in the United States have died since 1985 at the beach or backyard sand submersions. There were at least 8 others who died in Australia New Zealand and the United Kingdom. This was published in this week's issue of The New England Journal of Medicine. A sand hole can collapse horrifyingly fast.

30 Deaths From Heat

There have been nearly 30 deaths blamed of this year's first major heat wave in Southeastern Europe. They have been baking in soaring temperatures. It has really put a strain on air conditioning use in Greece and Albania in particular. It was 104 degrees in Athens on Friday with a top temperature of 113 recorded on the island of Rhodes. Romania was particularly hard hit. In the last few days 19 people have died from the heat. That included 14 in the capital, Bucharest. At least 7 people died in Serbia and in neighboring Macedonia, there were numerous calls from the elderly suffering cardiac and asthma problems. At least 3 people died due to heat in Albania, including a mother of four who collapsed while ending her fields. It is so sad and the heat has just begun there.