Biomedical – The Laughing Wolf

Links And Food For Thought

Sorry, dragging this morning as yesterday was a full and amazing day. As I’ve said before, my Sundays usually start about 0245 and yesterday it ran until well after 2000 hours as we had a picnic and more hosted by our Priest and his wife. It was great to see all the kids playing together (and burning off energy), and I was highly amused watching a 2-year-old young lady going flat out on everything from chasing the free-range chickens (some of whom were bigger than she was) to pushing other children on carts and tricycles. We even had a bit of a sing-along with a couple of people bringing guitars and getting into a variety of music. Good but long day.

The idea of euthanasia horrifies me on its own, but the growing partnership between such and the transplant industry is actually terrifying. Nevermind that it is ALWAYS a matter of “right to die” being a euphemism for “obligation to die” when in the hands of the state (both it and abortion are murder, period, full stop). For more on part of this and why I am no longer an organ donor, see here.

Today, I offer you two very good bits of food for thought. It was a coin toss on who went first, and so we start with this piece from Ian at the Law Dog Files/Bugscuffle Gazette. Then, go read this post from Vodka Pundit at PJ Media. I will also note that Vodka Pundit has been all over this topic for a while.

Organ transplantation has saved lives, restored sight, and done many other things that have had positive impact on many, many lives. The growing linkage between it and the evil of euthanasia can, and will, not merely taint things but turn transplantation into an outright and unmitigated evil. I think we went over that slippery slope a while back. All we are seeing now is that the slope has been well greased.

More soon I hope.

Getting hit by lightning is not fun! If you would like to help me in my recovery efforts, feel free to hit the fundraiser at A New Life on GiveSendGo, use the options in the Tip Jar in the upper right, or drop me a line to discuss other methods. If you want to know some of what it is going for, read here. There is also the Amazon Wish List in the Bard’s Jar. It is thanks to your gifts and prayers that I am still going. Thank you.

Medical Kits And Training

In this comment, Steve White asks about my trauma kit. Along with a couple of comments over at Instapundit where Sarah A. Hoyt kindly linked me, it reminded me that I haven’t talked much about medical kits and training, or at least not in a long while. It’s important, so let’s take a look at the topic.

We’ll start with the basic trauma kit I carry. It actually is the current version of the medical kit that I wore on my embeds in Iraq. Everyone carried a pouch with clotting pressure bandages, tourniquets, and other delights so that if you were hit the medics could pull from your pouch and not waste time rummaging through other bags, etc. A lot of the troops carried the pouch in the same place on their webbing, to make things faster and easier at need.

Inside my current pouch are a couple of clotting pressure bandages, some standard clotting bandages, kerlix, gloves, a tourniquet (I need to get a couple more to replace one lost to time, when you need them you often need more than one), epi-pen (allergies including to some of the clotting products), some hemostats, paramedic shears, and a CPR mask round out the major items. I also usually have a specific antihistamine in case of allergic reaction short of needing the epi pen.

Frankly, looking at dates, I need to start buying some new items to replace those headed out of date. Nice thing is, clotting bandages have come a long way. I’m glad a lot of them are now based on things other than shellfish shells, as I’m highly allergic to the shellfish. As I noted to a medic at the time, anaphylaxis is negotiable, bleeding out is not. Use the bandage, get the antihistamine into me, and hope for the best. There are a lot more options out there now, and also prices have come down.

Keep in mind that you do need one or two pressure bandages. The cause of major trauma doesn’t matter, what matters is you or others have taken major damage and getting bleeding under control is essential. You really need to be focused on that before almost anything else. Use tourniquets as needed, and pressure bandages along with clotting agents can keep things under control until proper medical care is available.

This kit is a decent sized pouch, but it is not so big that it is unwieldy to carry. You want something you can carry easily, and in fact it is not a bad idea to have a much smaller kit that can slip in a pocket or such as well as something larger like this. Having an even larger trauma kit at your Church, social hall, or home is also not a bad idea. Keep in mind that many places already have what I call an “ouch” kit, that is a basic everyday first aid kit with bandages, ointment, etc. Those are needed as well, as life is full of ouches.

You really need training for both. There are a lot of opportunities for training for cheap or free. Some places do Red Cross or other training at no- or low-cost, and that is a good way to start. The last time I took such, however, I was disappointed to see that the basic class was more on not-doing than doing, which seemed to be a reflection of both liability issues and ‘waiting for the experts to arrive.’

Fact is, experts are going to take minutes (or hours if they even show up at all) and in the event of trauma you have seconds in which to act. When I was in the Boy Scouts an eon or two back (and my thoughts on current Boy Scouts are best left unsaid), our training was focused around the fact that we may be the experts. This reflected the reality that Scouts were, at the time, intended to augment law enforcement and governments on several fronts, including emergency medical back in the days before paramedics. It also reflected that Scouts were often out in the back-of-beyond in the days before cell phones and the like, and it could be days before someone could be packed out to a place where ‘professional’ help could be contacted.

Side note: the late, great Jerry Pournelle wrote a series of short stories about Scouts (and especially Eagle Scouts) stepping up and doing things post disaster and post-apocalypse. Well worth the read as they are fun and full of practical advice and even planning advice.

So, short version is to get as much training as you can. Not saying everyone should do some version of combat lifesaver, but the closer you get to that the better off you and yours will be. You need to know how to handle the ouches in life for a start. From there, you need to know how to apply a tourniquet, control bleeding (one reason I have a couple of hemostats is that if needed I can use them on an artery or vein as opposed to trying to clamp such with my fingers), clear an airway, etc.

Again, back in the day most of us in my Boy Scout troop knew the theoretical process for performing an emergency tracheotomy with a knife and ball point pen. We also knew how to splint broken bones, reduce and control a compound fracture (where the bone has broken the skin), and a host of other things that would have our current credentialed non-elites screaming in horror and the liability lawyers salivating. My personal opinion is that you need to get as close to that today as you can. There are too many situations where the professionals are either going to be late, or not able to get there at all. That’s when it drops on you. Be prepared.

I will note that it is good to know CPR, and to understand that it is an emergency procedure rather than a medical procedure. I’m a little biased here as I actually got to work with the late Les (Leslie A.) Geddes, who helped revolutionize several parts of the (bio) medical field. In fact, I worked with him on a project to improve CPR. For years, no one had done research on the process, including how much force was needed to achieve the compression called for in the CPR standards. In the field, it was oft said that if the ribs weren’t cracking, you weren’t doing it hard enough. Broken ribs were and are a standard injury with CPR. Also, the success rate with CPR is so low that were it a medical procedure it would have been tossed long ago.

Les did that missing research, and built off the idea a former graduate student had of a system of CPR that used abdominal-only compressions. Much improved blood flow, no broken ribs, much less force needed, and it even caused the patient to breathe on their own without the need for mouth-to-mouth. Sadly, the person who took over the effort when Les passed then tragically passed themselves before much else was done. No idea where the process is, or if it is still even in development. It should be, but that is no guarantee. For me, if we have a rotary impeller moment I would use it even though it is at best experimental. Yes, I was trained on it and even performed it on Les in a demonstration (one of the scariest moments of my life TBH).

All that said, learn CPR as some chance is better than none. If you can, try to lay your hands on an AED unit. There are some organizations that give them out to Churches, schools, etc. for free. A much better alternative if you can get it.

One thing that you also need to keep in mind is liability. Not all states are equal, and I’ve been fortunate enough to mostly live in states that had some form of Good Samaritan law. These are laws that give you at least some protection from lawsuits for rendering first aid. These vary and rarely are true blanket laws. Learn what applies in your state and factor that into your planning. For some people out there have and will sue the person who saves their life. Read just recently about someone who sued the person who gave them CPR because their certificate was out of date. Again (and again) be prepared.

Now, sing it with me: get as much training as you can — even on things you don’t think you will ever need. It could be from how to suture a wound to inserting a urinary catheter. Knowing how to do basic medical care as well as emergency medical treatment is likely to come in handy in life. Find free courses and take them all. Find reduced-rate courses and take as many as you can. Training, and some basic gear, will always pay off.

Be prepared. Keep your family and friends close. Keep your things where you can find them in the dark.

Doctors Of Death

UPDATES BELOW

For years, I was an organ donor. Growing up, I had been taught that it was a good thing and I saw some of the good that came out of organ donation. Not that long ago, someone I knew got some extra time from a heart transplant. I’ve always checked the box on the driver’s license form and been glad to do so.

However, this editorial from three doctors in the Shady Lady, was the last straw for me. Things have been building for a while, and this post from Amy Poindexter put it into perspective for me. Long before COVID, I had begun hearing of bureaucrats run wild in regards transplants. Both in terms of harvesting and in terms of denying transplants for petty reasons.

The COVID-related denials were really just icing on the cake as far as I was concerned. There was no medical reason for requiring the jab, it was all about power, control, and greed. And, yes, there are economic “incentives” involved, just as there are to let chronic patients go. The health establishment squandered the trust of the public for greed, and they are so insulated and self-absorbed they have no idea how little people trust them.

Now we have these Doctors Of Death come out and argue for expanded harvesting and new definitions of death to facilitate it. It is evil, it is unethical, it is illegal currently (but that’s the point of this, to get the laws changed to allow it), and it is morally repulsive. They don’t get that, which says all that need be said.

Nor are they in isolation. David Strom does an excellent takedown of their equally reprehensible brothers-in-medicine who seek to use biological warfare against the population of the U.S./World. These so-called ethicists (a complete inversion of the term) feel that eating meat is bad; therefore, it is right, just, and proper to make everyone allergic to red meat so that they quit eating it. The world is saved; save, for those who die as a result of this biological warfare. And make no mistake, that is exactly what it is. Warfare. Warfare to produce a better world and a better human according to their sick and twisted standards.

Why is it sick and twisted? Well, let’s start with no freedom of choice, no mercy, no exceptions for those who have other conditions that require them to eat red meat (but, hey, the genetic cleansing is a bonus!), and no consideration that others don’t share their view on meat or supermen. They believe it, they believe it is right and good; therefore it is right and good and they will play god and make it so.

I can get really into the weeds on how both sets are sick, twisted, and evil; but, I think you get the start. On many levels what they are proposing is no different than that done by those behind the Tuskegee Experiment and others in the U.S., or Mengele and others in Nazi Germany. It is the same lack of humanity, the same overweening arrogance, and that their beliefs give them the knowledge and position make them better than those they would rule and experiment upon.

They are the master class, and you, peasant, should know your place and since you won’t do what they think you should do, they will force you to do what they want. After all, they know better than you, or me, or anyone outside their class.

It does bring to mind the timeless C.S. Lewis quote: “Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”

All of these people need to be shunned from polite society (at the least), and they should never be given access to power. May God illumine them. As for me, I took myself off the state and national organ donor systems last night. Next week, I will find the time to go to the BMV and request a driver’s license that says I am NOT a donor. That’s important if you do this, because hospitals can claim they went by that even if you pull yourself off the donor networks.

I’ve heard for years the crazed-sounding ‘they will kill you for your organs, man’ from various people. I didn’t believe them. Now, when the system stands up and says they want to kill you for your organs, and make major modifications to your body regardless of your wishes, believe them. You can’t trust the current system to do right. Prepare accordingly.

UPDATE I: I’m going to be interested on Monday in hearing how many people have done what I did. I know I am not alone, and am getting a lot of anecdotal info. Thing is, this may already be at a crisis point for the donation industry and it will be interesting to hear what they say and see how they handle this.

UPDATE II: You really want to read this as well…

Coulda Woulda Bonesa

When it comes to joint repair and replacement, there are two different issues that have to be addressed. One is the replacement itself, the construct that replaces the bone involved. The other is the material that normally fills and cushions the joint. I’ve actually had exposure to two different efforts to address those issues, and one of the reasons I’ve held out this long is the hope that advances in both areas would be more readily available.

Let’s start with the replacements. Currently, these are often metal and solid metal, which is very unlike the structure of normal bone. Bone itself is very porous on the inside, with the outside being solid and relatively smooth. This can and does create problems when trying to mate two very dissimilar structures. The differences in mass and other factors can create fractures and other issues.

Many years back, a company was doing work through the Center for Commercial Applications of Combustion in Space (CCACS) at the Colorado School of Mines, on a advanced bone replacement materials. The immediate goal was to get the data needed to create foaming metallic-ceramic replacements that would have the porosity of normal bone as well as the hard surfaces needed for the ball or socket. The idea was to be able to custom make these in the OR, as since the reaction was exothermic they would be sterile at manufacture. The long-range goal was to create a material that would do the same, but as bone and marrow grew into it, the material would dissolve so that at the end of a given time you would have all new and healthy bone and the replacement, having completed its duties as a scaffold, would have passed from the body.

I do wish either or both were available today! Unfortunately, I seem to recall that the research ended with the loss of Columbia and have not been able to find out much since I started trying to research it.

Now, the tissue that fills the gap in the joint is somewhat the ‘Holy Grail’ as my surgeon and I discussed yesterday. Yes, we did discuss the advanced materials and the state of current research. When I was at Purdue, I had the honor of working with the legendary Leslie A. Geddes. Short version is that he and his team not only developed early astronaut physiological monitoring systems (portions of which are still in use today), but also pioneered the implantable medical device field and regenerative medicine. There’s a reason he was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 2006 and it’s well worth reading even a short biographical sketch on him.

I’ve been following regenerative medicine and wish it was just a little further along (and covered by insurance). Part of the problem for me is that the osteoarthritis has done a lot of damage, and there is very little “pad” left in the joint. The majority of the area has none, and I’m pretty much bone-on-bone movement now. There are a couple of different prospects for having the body generate new filler, but neither appear to be quite where I need them to be. Five years from now may be a different story. In fact, I tried volunteering for some studies both to buy time/get some relief and help advance that research. Still wish that would have worked out.

If anyone hears of related research efforts, let me know as I would like to know more about them.

Sex In Space!

I was going to go with a different title, but what the hey! It’ll get attention, even if most of today is going to get into reproductive biology and some other physiological issues.

There have been rumors of sex in space almost as long as we’ve been going up into space. The Shuttle and Spacelab were particularly rife with them, and I presume it remains so for ISS. Can’t speak to ISS, but on the Shuttle given all the cameras and monitoring of the crew (and experiments, microaccelerometers are snitches), it would have been difficult to pull off completely undetected. Still love the rumors about alien orgies to breed a new hybrid race or save a dying alien race. Yep, those rumors are still floating around out there.

Given that Newton will claim his own, you are going to need either a confined space or other assistance staying together. Especially since most spacecraft are full of knobs, handles, and other things that can and will bruise when you go bouncing around the place. Yes, remember the whole “equal and opposite reaction” thing applies. Hence the confined space or other assistance. I seem to recall that doing some basic experimentation on the act itself almost got done in the form of a porn producer trying to rent a civilian version of the Vomit Comet to do a film.

As I noted in yesterday’s post, humans are going to be humans and if there hasn’t already been such, there soon will be sex in space. This could be problematic for some reasons, but to get to them, let’s do a quick review.

When you enter orbit and microgravity, which is freefall, lots of things happen. First up, given that it is freefall and you have that feeling of an elevator dropping out from under you, the inner ear can do some interesting things. Usually you adapt in a day or three, but I have heard that some never do. Note to self, this is why some form of short-term flight is a good thing, help sort.

Second, the fluids normally held in your lower body by gravity are no longer constrained. Sensors in your neck detect large amounts of fluid, and the kidneys kick in to overdrive. First few days I’m told you pee a lot. This puts the body on a good footing for microgravity, not so good for going back to gravity. Probably a discussion for another day.

Third, there are changes to your muscles and to your skeleton. It’s not just that the muscles atrophy and the bones get less dense. There are other changes, some of which are discussed in this article in Nature (wish it were in a more reputable journal, but…). The results are interesting, especially in regards planetary ventures and counteracting some of the changes.

There are a host of other things that happen, though one stands out to my mind for true long-term ventures. Essentially, astronauts tastes in food change the longer they are in microgravity. Short version is that they started to crave spicy (flavorful) and even hot foods. Lots of things they normally enjoyed apparently lost their flavor. Yet another issue to be considered for long-term efforts.

Which brings us back to sex and reproductive biology. The fact is, gravity plays a role in everything, including reproductive biology and development. There have been some studies done using frogs, since the development cycle is fairly fast. The most recent one with which I am familiar was the Frog Embryology Experiment on Spacelab J. Here’s a link to a PDF of the mission brochure which gives an overview of the experiments and why they were being done.

When sperm enters an egg, that spot actually rotates down in response to gravity, and becomes a marking point (start?) of bilateral symmetry and the spine. In most cases, things proceed normally and a you get a tadpole that becomes a normal frog. Same with a child in terms of human reproduction. The question is, what happens without gravity?

My memories of the mission are sketchy (stupid lightning), but I remember that the experimental group were funky. As in bent and crooked. Once they returned to gravity, however, they quickly became normal looking and grew up into normal frogs if I remember the mission report correctly.

Which still leaves the question: what happens when they, or any other developing organism, don’t return to gravity? I’m really hoping someone has been looking into this on ISS, but given how gun-shy NASA was about any discussion of (or investigations touching on) reproduction of any type…

There are many challenges to long-term space operations, and creating a permanent human presence off Earth (something much needed as soon as possible). One of the largest remains humans (including psych and social issues) and the human body.

Thank you Glenn for the Instalanche! Hope to post more later after the server hamsters catch up with things. 🙂

UPDATE: Some suggestions for follow-on research and some related topics for future outposts is here.

It’s Alive, It’s Alive!

It’s hard to believe that two weeks ago today I was technically dead. That my heart was stopped, my body put on a heart/lung bypass, and several things done while they had the chance. To my mind, they did three things: First, they replaced several arteries where the walls had become inflamed/thickened. Second, they put a metal clip on a spot on the back of my heart to prevent blood clots from forming. Third, they used both heat and cold on several spots to stop those areas as they were contributing to the atrial fibrilation.

They actually sent me home six days after the procedure, and while I do have a tendency to push and overdo things, I also have friends and a visiting physical therapist who cut me down to size very quickly on that. So, trying to follow the process, get in some good exercise without violating any restrictions, and slowly build back my strength and heal.

There has been very little pain involved in all of this. In fact, I’ve been amazed at how little pain there has been. After all, among other indignities, they cut my sternum in half, used a spreader on it, then glued/sutured/put on metal plates to put it all back together then. Indeed, some of the worst pain I had was where the ribs join the spine between the shoulder blades, as that area takes the brunt of the spreader. Some muscle relaxer and that was gone before I left the hospital. The worst part remains getting up in the morning, as the movement to get up and start getting out of bed without twisting everything is interesting, and you manage a bit of that anyway.

I don’t think anyone would have bet on my going home so soon. The first two or three days, everytime they stood me up/got me to stand up, my BP crashed. I suspect that if not for the external pacemaker attached to my heart, that it might have crashed as well. Things got figured out, and I rapidly went from a walker to no support at all. Right now, I’m home and while the physical therapist has limited the number of times I can go upstairs, I am mobile and as active as circumstances and guidelines allow. I do have a ways to go, but things are looking good right now.

The one thing I can’t emphasize enough right now is how gratefull I am for all the prayers and support that have come my way. I’m typing this post while sitting in a recliner that a number of my co-workers at the day job chipped in to get me when they found out I was going to buy one. The financial generosity of those who hit the tip jar has me covered for now in terms of bills and such while I don’t have a paycheck. Finally, the many prayers and good wishes have had an effect, and I don’t think I would be as far along as I am without them. God bless you all, and from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

More soon!

An Interesting Read On COVID-19

A friend shared this and I found it an interesting read. It is a different take on COVID-19 based off a supercomputer study done on the genetic composition. Hoping to get some feedback on the study from doctors, see what they say about it.

Some Important Reads On COVID-19 And Medicine

Back on April 29, I ended the daily COVID-19 updates (last one here with links to previous). One of the reasons I cited was that the numbers coming from the government (really, governments everywhere) were meaningless. “Right now, the numbers are meaningless, unreliable, and being used to stoke panic and push agendas. ”

John Hinderaker at Powerline has a very good post up on the “confusion” and how it is largely deliberate. He provides examples of various health officials deliberately putting out false and misleading data. I really do wish I thought we would see more people putting this type information out, along with how the media is willfully and deliberately putting out false and misleading data. For just one example, look at the daily death tolls, as the deaths reported that day did not all happen that day, but potentially even weeks ago as there is a reporting lag since none of our health systems are set up for immediate notifications.

Also, take the hospitalizations and ventilator usage with a large grain of salt. Quite a few outlets push gross numbers, rather than noting the breakdown between non-COVID usage versus COVID usage of each. The same is going on with the deaths attributed to COVID-19. Many deaths are being reported as COVID-19 when the person died with the disease rather than from it (cough, motorcycle crash, cough). There are some researchers going through the death certificates in various locations to try to work up accurate numbers which are a good guide to developing real science-based policy and reducing the panic the media and bureaucracy are deliberately and maliciously stoking.

Meantime, this article on vitamin D (D3 specifically) is well worth the read. This article is about the continuing efforts of the FDA to block medical technology, particularly related to COVID testing. Keep in mind that it was the CDC and FDA that blocked efforts on testing, treatment, and more from the start, hamstringing efforts to contain, control, and treat. See the COVID updates and other articles here for more info. This article on the loss of trust in government and our so-called experts and betters gets into what it will mean in political and social terms, and is also well worth the read. Hat tip to Instapundit for these articles.

More to come, and hope you enjoy this food for thought today.

Some Interesting Reads

On COVID19 and treatment, this study looks at T-cell reactions that provide a possible immunity, or at least a body primed to fight off COVID19, based off previous T-cell reactions to colds, which share some of the COVID genome. By testing blood samples taken well before the spread of COVID-19/SARS-COV-2, it would appear that some people do indeed have T-cells already primed to go after the disease. Interesting.

This article and this article by Molly Hemingway are well worth a read. One deals with the media and it’s coverage of the spymaster story and it’s crumbling. The other deals with the disturbing (though far from new) efforts and willingness to falsify history for political gain.

Yet More Medical Data on HCQ

The efforts by Big Tech (and Big Bureaucracy) to censor information about hydroxychloroquine have backfired spectacularly. More and more solid data is becoming available not only to those who dig for the data, but to the public as news stories now are getting out about those medical (not academic) studies.

For those interested in facts, read this study, this study, the information in this lawsuit filed by the Association of American Physicians & Surgeons, and finally, the information in this article from Brazil. Really hoping the latter group will do a formal study. The latter are also very correct that it is urgent to stop the politicalization of the treatment and deal with the medical results and facts.

Think I may try to link all the papers I can find in one easy place as soon as I have time.