Before you read on..

My writing skills this semester have been challenged beyond my wildest imagination. I’ve never been one who had a need for a research paper, or knowing how to cite properly. Most of my writing has been of my own creation, giving me complete freedom. But not this time around. Finding useful information was on of my biggest challenges because there is a fountain of information pertaining to so many topics that narrowing the search wasn’t always the easiest. By taking the time to listen to not only my lovely instructor, but my classmates as well, I was able to find some great sources for my works. I think one of the main things I will take away from this is to listen and ask for help when you think you need it. I’ve chosen to show case my writing from the ones I think are the best to the ones I’m least proud of. Many of the topics I chose to write about center around the medical field, which is something that has had a great impact on my life. My main goal was to bring awareness to certain issues which most people have never had to deal with and have little knowledge of. Personal experiences have played a huge role in the writing for the semester, and helped me on a personal level as well.

The reason I feel my narrative is my best piece of writing is that it was my story. All the information was lived first hand, and I didn’t have to hunt down someone who did. Epilepsy has become something of a passion for me in the last four years and I feel my essay shows that. I was able to convey more emotion in that one piece than any other, and I feel that enhances the message. This semester I was brought out of my comfort zone by being asked to share and read aloud my works. I didn’t really see what benefit could come from read to my peers until I got to my causal, in that one I write about mental illness and how society views those afflicted. Being born and raised in the U.S, I never thought that using what I thought were common abbreviations, such as ADHD or PTSD, would be a challenge for someone who’s first language wasn’t English. After I read those one of my classmate asked me to explain what they meant, and that showed that to get a great audience, I needed to make some changes to the way I viewed what I was writing.

The Journey of Epilepsy

Becoming a parent is one of the most bizarre things that happens in life, at least for me. I was never one of those girls who got excided at the thought of children, nor one who wanted one of my own. I couldn’t get why normally sane woman went to mush at the very sight of a child. Don’t get me wrong, kids are cute, but to go to that level of crazy was not something I could understand. I’m sure you can imagine how much of a surprise it was for me when my own little “gift” came a long. I’m still not sure who was more shocked, myself or my friends, I even had one of them tell me they thought I would eat a baby. Clearly that is quite far from the truth. I did have a bit of knowledge of what to do with a child, so I wasn’t a complete novice. I don’t think any amount of practice can really prepare anyone for a child of their own; it’s helpful but doesn’t quite get the point across.

Nothing about my little girl has been normal. The stress of pregnancy wasn’t really due to her, more all the other people around me. Having that many hormones racing through your body at anyone time is enough to make one crazy, but throw in a bunch of nosy people and an absent dad, and you got a party! When delivery came around, I was well passed ready to see her. Things didn’t go very smoothly for either of us; she wasn’t tolerating labor well, and I was panicking about her. It was a big mess. But the best moment in my life was looking into that utterly perfect face and knowing she was mine. From there things went as smooth as can be expected with a newborn around.

It wasn’t until Isabelle was two months old that the seizure, or bad guys as we call them, first really showed up. She had been known to do odd jerking movements, but everyone assured me this was perfectly normal. It took a bit of creativity on our part to show our doctor what was happening. At first, all I could do was explain them over and over, trying to convey the seriousness of these episodes, but with no success. Finally, my dad came up with the great idea to video tape them, as we couldn’t make her have one in front of those who needed to see them. It worked. We were able to bring the video in and say, “Look, this is what I’ve been telling you for months now. This is not normal.” Soon after that was the beginning of the test, which will always be a “normal” part of life now.

The first test she had to see what was going on was an EEG. An EEG or Electroencephalograph is the recording of electrical activity along the scalp from the firing of neutrons within the brain. The general experience was not a pleasant one. First the test was done at a hospital that had never done an EEG on a five month old. Second the guy administering the test had some of the worst bedside manner I’ve ever seen, telling us we couldn’t talk to her or moves around the room. Also the location of the Neuro area was in the psych ward, which surely didn’t invoke confidence for me. I felt like I was the world’s meanest mom as I held her to my chest so the tech could set all the electrodes. The cries and shrieks were heart breaking, but what could I do, this was what we needed done. The rest of the test passed in a slow silence, none of us knowing what to expect next.

A week later I received a call from our doctor, the result hand finally come in. Dr. Villavert always starts the conversation of the same way, “Hi Briana, how are?”

“Pretty good, how are you?” My heart slowly started to accelerate, I knew why she was calling and I couldn’t wait to get her talking.

“I’m good. So I just got the results from Dr. Miller,” she paused, which made me worried. This was not going to be what I wanted to hear. “Based on his notes here, everything is perfectly normal.” It took me a moment to actually hear what she had said. Normal, how in God’s name could this be normal?

“So what does that mean exactly?” I tried hard to keep the anger out of my voice, with little success.

“His notes state that there was nothing abnormal in the tests and that she should out grow these episodes by eighteen month.” She said it all like it was the best news, which in most cases it is.

“Did he say what would happen if she didn’t?” She wasn’t prepared for that question.

“Dr. Miller seems fairly confident that she should have no problem out growing these. Maybe he could answer that question better himself.” It was her way of finalizing the conversation, since I didn’t respond the way I should have.

“Ok, thanks Dr. V.” We said our goodbyes and after I hung up the phone I sat there for a moment thinking it all over. My heart was telling me they got it wrong, but how could I prove it. They did the best test they could to find out what was going on and nothing came up, so what now? I took my parents out back to talk it over with them. My mom showed relief at the words normal, until I told her my fears. The wonderful thing about my family is they never showed doubt in me. We agreed to wait it out, till she was at least a year old before doing anything further, unless something more came up.

We spent the next six months waiting for the other shoe to drop. I knew this battle wasn’t over yet, that we had a long way to go still, but all I could do is wait out the time. The week of her first birthday I made the call to the Children’s Hospital to set up another EEG. This one was worse in some ways but better in most. It turns out that as they get older you must sleep deprive them the night before. Making a one year old get only three hours of sleep is one of the cruelest things I’ve done, and adding the gluing of electrodes seemed like overkill. The EEG tech, Joseph, was one of the nicest and most helpful people I’ve met throughout this journey. He took the time to explain what he was doing and why, helping me feel a bit better about it all. Shortly before Christmas the call came with the results. The difference in our doctors’ voice from the first time was noticeable; there was a note of regret as she spoke that this time something was off. The relief I felt wasn’t as sweet as I thought it would be, instead I now had to worry of what came next. We got a neurologist lined up for two months out, but we still didn’t have a name for it. All I could say was that she had abnormal brain waves, like that really explains any of it.

When two months had past, we were sitting in the Children’s Hospital Neurology and Neuropsychology Department filling out paperwork and getting of feel for the way life would be from then on. The doctor was as I expected, he was tall and sort of willowy with graying hair and a nicely aged faced. He looked like some bodies favorite grandpa with the high waisted khaki slacks and worn out leather shoes. He gave off the sense of comfort and ease, something I deeply need by this point. The conversation that came wasn’t easy but it did bring the comfort of knowledge. I now hard a word for what Isabelle was dealing with, epilepsy. Most people never have seen a seizure in their lives, but my baby was living with them and having one almost daily. The appointment took over an hour and at the end he was pushing to put her on medication to control the seizures. I never wanted her on medication if it could be avoided, and at the time I thought it could. I didn’t want to add a chemical into her little body unless it was absolutely necessary. Dr. Levishon and I agreed to wait until after she had an MRI before talking about meds to give me a chance to think it through and read up on epilepsy.

By April of 2007 Isabelle had undergone two EEG and an MRI. Shortly before the MRI her seizures had changed to the point that only medication would help. We went through countless medications trying to find the right one for her; it took over a year to start seeing any changes in the seizure activity. Everything about this journey has been a rollercoaster ride. Its present us countless challenges, some of which we still face today. But through it all my little girl has shown that its up to you how you handle a situation, if you go in all doom and gloom, that’s exactly what you will get. Learn to simply be here and be grateful it’s not you being poked and prodded, or loosing complete control of your body. I’m still not the best at it but I have one hell of a teacher.

The Vaccine debate

It’s a topic that has gained much notice in the last ten years and is at the forefront of most new parents’ minds. Is there a valid link between childhood vaccines and Autism? It’s the cause of many debates between health care professionals and parents, with each side having what seem to be valid arguments, many people are left confused as to what they should do. When my daughter’s eighteen month check up was approaching, many family members were trying to persuade me to not vaccinate her. They felt that having epilepsy was hard enough why add autism into the mix. For us, we were able to compromise; I chose to space out the DTP and MMR into two visits. But for many parents there isn’t a gray area, it’s either vaccinate and give your child autism or don’t and they could potentially come down with a life threatening virus. I chose to compromise not because I thought vaccines caused autism but it would help keep the peace among my family.

With celebrities like Jenny McCarthy and Jim Carry indorsing the move to not vaccinate children, many are feeling the pressure, including scientist and Politian’s. The main claim from the non-vaccination group is the mercury in the childhood vaccines has caused an increase in autism among America’s youth. According to Carol Weber; Thimerosal, a mercury containing organic compound; has been used as a preservative in many vaccines since the 1930’s to inhibit bacterial growth (245).The only problem is; most drug manufactures have taken Thimerosal out of vaccine since as early as the 1990’s.

Thimerosal was introduced in the mid 1900’s to help combat bacterial contamination in childhood vaccines after several major safety issues in the early 20^th century. According to Jeffrey Baker’s article “Mercury, Vaccines, and Autism: One Controversy, Three Histories”, there were two major cases of bacterial contamination in vaccines. One case in Columbia, South Carolina in 1916 were a tainted batch of typhoid vaccine caused over sixty severe reactions, twenty six abscesses and four deaths(02). Or in 1928 in Queensland, Australia where 12 of 21 children vaccinated with the diphtheria vaccine died of “multiple staphylococcal abscesses and toxemia” (245). There preservatives found in earlier vaccines either where able to combat the bacteria but less the effectiveness of the vaccine or allow the spread of bacteria and keep the vaccines at the strength they needed. It was because of cases like Queensland and Columbia that drug manufactures were searching for a new preservative. When thimerosal was introduced, drug companies were already using mercury containing preservative such as phenol and cresol which were potentially harmful (Baker 02). In the 1970’s the public first became aware of the potential risks of mercury poisoning after several incidents with Methylmercury (Weber 209). Methylmercury is found in fish and industrial pollution, which has been linked to neurotoxicity in people exposed to large amounts.

After the California Department of Developmental Services published a report stating that autism rates have increased 273% over a ten year period, the public began using the term “autism epidemic”(Weber 290). With this report coupled with their personal struggles, parents began the quest for a cause and a cure. The general consensus is that after the fifteen to eighteen month round of shots, many parents feel that’s when their children slipped away. At the average age of eighteen months, infants are given at least two shots with three viruses in each. On the web site, Generation Rescue, Jenny McCarthy writes that before her son Evan received his MMR shot she asked the doctor if this was the “autism shot”. She goes on to say that “soon thereafter -- boom -- the soul's gone from his eyes." This situation along with her son having severe seizures brought Jenny to embark on her own research, leading her to vaccines. Given her experiences it’s easy to see how she got there. When you search the web about autism and possible causes, many sites point to that conclusion.

Many of the top activists for eliminating thimerosal are taking drastic measures to try and force the government to reform the requirements vaccines should meet. Some are going as far as throwing parties with truly sick children, some with chicken pox and such, to build up natural immunities. It seems many have forgotten why vaccines are still around. Diseases like small pox, which according to Lynne Levitsky, “more than 48,000 people contracted annually over one hundred years ago”. Before immunizations were a common practice, over 170,000 people contracted diphtheria annually, and over 500,000 cases of measles were reported each year in the United States alone. Perhaps drug manufactures need to overhaul the ingredients in vaccines used today, but to go without these important diseases preventing shot seems like the wrong path to me. Protect your kids from what you can and let the rest be as it may.

Work Cited List

Baker, Jeffrey P. "Mercury, Vaccines, and Autism One Controversy, Three Histories." American Journal of Public Health 98.2 (2008): 244-253. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 6 Dec. 2009.

Levitsky, Lynne L. "Childhood Immunizations and Chronic Illness." New England Journal of Medicine Apr. 2004: 1380+.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. < http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=24923154&site=ehost-live>

McCarthy, Jenny. “Evan’s Story.” Generation Rescue. 2007. 7 December 2009

Weber, Carol J. "Update on Autism and Childhood Vaccines." Urologic Nursing 28.4 (2008): 290- 291. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 9 Nov. 2009. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=34536866&site=ehost-live

Mental Illness

We all know someone who has dealt with or is dealing with a mental illness. With the war there has been a lot of focus on Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and how that is affecting our troops. But PTSD isn’t the only disorder affecting America; from dissociative identity disorder, to schizophrenia and its various differences, Americans are facing some overwhelming and powerful psychological disorders. According to the National Institute of Mental Health one in four adults eighteen and older have some form of mental illness, in children one in five have at least one form of mental illness themselves. In today society you see two extremes with mental illness, one of constantly seeking attention for disorders which they do not have or those whom do not seek the help they need due to stigmas associated with mental health.

For hundreds of years a person suffering from a mental illness was often shut off from the rest of the world, most were place in an asylum. At that point in history, little was know about mental health or psychiatry for that matter, leading to some poor treatment which has left a taint on some people’s opinions of mental health. Schizophrenia was one and still is one of the diseases that little is known about. The United States Congress published a book in 1994 describing the effects of schizophrenia on a person. What they wrote is that a persons thought processes, perceptions, emotions and behaviors are all affected. Many have hallucination and delusions that interrupted their daily lives (United States Congress 114). Sandra Ackerman writes that “schizophrenia is named for the abnormal division or split (“schizo”) between thought and emotion that characterizes the disorder in many cases” (64). It is known to affect over one million people in the United States and has had a leading role in films such as Donnie Darko, A Beautiful Mind and Through a Glass Darkly. These films give a general overlay of the disorder but don’t really explain much, if anything, that the characters suffering from schizophrenia go through. The limited information coupled with the films often leave a bad impression on the viewer, leading them to think that all patients with schizophrenia are either gifted like Nash from A Beautiful Mind or with some dark fantasy world like Donnie.

In the book, Knowledge in Ferment, they describe Dissociative Identity disorder as a person with “two or more distinct personality states with impaired recall among the different personalities (108).” People suffering from dissociative identity disorder can have block of time where they don’t remember anything and in some cases, have even done something criminal. It is that angle that Hollywood is known to take. With films like Psycho, Fight Club and even The Lord of the Rings: the Two Towers and Return of the King, they showcase character’s in homicidal or incredibly violent roles. With all the negative attention, people think that anyone with a dissociative disorder or multiple personality disorder are violent and dangerous. The idea even transitions into those with schizophrenia, giving people the wrong idea.

The lack of information couple with the stereotypes that Hollywood has place on these disorders has caused the public to have many misconception of a greater number of illnesses. People need to get a better understanding of the conditions affecting the American public before making a snap judgment of some one with a mental illness. In order for people to get the help they need, they need the support of friends, family and their community.

Works Cited

Ackerman, Sandra. Discovering the Brain. Washington D.C: National Academy Press, 1992

Beenakker, Carlo, et al. Knowledge in Ferment: Dilemmas in Science, Scholarships and Society. The Netherlands: Leiden University Press, 2007

“Statistics.” National Institute of Mental Health. 06, Aug. 2009. < http://www.nimh.nih.gov/index.shtml>

United States Congress. Mental Disorders and Genetics: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Society. Washington D.C: GPO, 1994

Sex Sells

Using sex appeal in advertising has been around for more than a hundred years and yet it’s still a topic of great debate. In the late eighteen hundreds their sexy ads featured topless to nude women standing alone to sell a product; a practice that continued for at least twenty years, until the late twenties when even industrial ads couldn’t continue the practice. As time changed, so did the type of ads used. The sixties and seventies gave birth to some of the most notable and notorious advertising campaigns still around today.

The job of a good advertisement is to grab your attention and get you to remember that product and sell that product as well. The ad should leave a lasting impression, whether good or bad is for you to decide. Most ad creators find something that works and stick to it. Look at Victoria’s Secret; they came out with a magazine with gorgeous models wearing nothing but bras and panties, in suggestive poses to sell their lingerie. The ads grab your attention and show focus on the lingerie with simple backdrops and well focused lighting.

Calvin Klein is no different. His campaigns have always been racy, often being the center of some controversy, but it’s clearly worked. Looking at a long green velvet couch, you notice the two shirtless boys one sitting the other laying flat on his back, the other sitting at the laying one’s head. The girl perched atop the laying boy is topless as well with her face in the other boys’ hands. Lastly your eyes are drawn to the finale boy laying in wait on the floor. At first the sex is the dominant feature of the ad; granted no one is actually doing the nasty, the idea is there in the poses and the lack of clothing besides the jeans. But soon the jeans become the focus; it almost seems weird for the models to still be in them. Klein is known to be a minimalist and his ad id a clear example of that. Through the lack of other clothing, you know the ad is for the jeans. Most people are able to recognize the CK logo, since it’s been used for years, making it an even more obvious message.

Klein is known for taking virtually unknown models and transforming them into big stars. His advertisement plays on that concept in some ways. The target audience is teen age kids, and a lot of teens have the dream of being a model or an actress. With Klein’s reputation, many of these teens will support his products in hopes of joining the ranks of Brooke Shields, Kate Moss and Mark Wahlberg. His ads are racy, overtly sexual and almost always the center of some debate, but they grab your attention from the first viewing and have helped him sell more jeans than many other name brands.

The ad