Do You Know What Pulmonary Hypertension Is?

You might have it and not know it

May 5th is World Pulmonary Hypertension Day
But November is Pulmonary Hypertension Month

This is a horrible, debilitating and deadly disease
and much too little is known about it

Not well known

Pulmonary Hypertension is a fatal disease that many people have and don't know it. It is not well understood by most family physicians, and they will often diagnose asthma instead. Even some hospitals will refuse to treat a PH'er.

My wife has been on a Facebook group with other PH'ers, and we have lost several of them in the past two years. One of them went to her local hospital in a city of 50,000, and they refused to treat her. They sent her on a 5 hour road trip to the nearest hospital that would treat PH'ers. A few days later she died.

Symptoms

The major symptoms are:

Shortness of breath (dyspnea), initially while exercising and eventually while at rest
Fatigue
Dizziness or fainting spells (syncope)
Chest pressure or pain
Swelling (edema) in your ankles, legs and eventually in your abdomen (ascites)
Bluish color to your lips and skin (cyanosis)

Racing pulse or heart palpitations


What is it

Briefly, it is an increase in blood pressure between your heart and lungs. Left untreated, it can destroy your heart in as little as two years. With treatment, you can survive for another ten to twenty years but life will not be easy. There are no age restrictions that apply to PH; anyone is susceptible.

To find out more about this horrible disease please visit the Mayo Clinic.

For support or to make a donation to badly needed research, please visit the PHAssociation

Pulmonary Hypertension - Fatal, Incurable - HELP

November is Pulmonary Hypertension month

PH is incurable and fatal. PH'ers are desperate for a cure. 

You can help.

Tara Suplicki:

Day 22 We are in the fight for our lives here...

Every Breath that we take is harder than the last if we are doing anything such as physical, and for some of us it can be just as little as talking that takes our breath away. 

Yes medicine can make us stable for a while or even help us improve slightly...but it will never cure us... 

Even a lung transplant is not a cure for us. It is just a band-aid to hopefully give us more time with our family and friends. 

Help us find a cure!! 

Help us get our bills through Congress!! 

Help us get our Disease known by more people!! 

I want to see the World Periwinkle next November!!

COLOR THE WORLD PERIWINKLE DAY 

Pray PHor a Cure

This young woman, as beautiful inside as outside, is one of many amazing, young women who have left husband and children behind because there is no cure. Shawna left us 2 years ago, making the world a poorer place for her departure, but enriching Heaven with her arrival. I wish we could have known you longer.

PH also effects men and children; children like 

Katie Grace and Aubrey Starr. 

Please pray! Pray for a cure; pray for those suffering, trying to breath; pray about what you might do to help. But just pray!

The Agony and Strength of Mothers of Sick Children

Katie's Dream for a Cure

Katie's Dream for a Cure feeling frustrated at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.
19 November at 12:14 ·

Katie Grace has been intibated for 2 months now.

Katie Grace's mom:
So stinking super frustrated and upset with our team today. Katie Grace finally got to a point they are willing to extibate her yet after 2 month of living like this they don't feel it's emergency to get this gosh darn tube out. Average length of time for intubation is 14 days. Hello people. Why make her suffer and possibly cause more damage We were supposed to do it this week now "maybe " next week

Katie has already endured a lung transplant that was supposed to
cure her PH. It didn't.

Katie's Dream for a Cure feeling hopeful at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford.

15 November at 23:43 · Palo Alto, CA, United States · 

So I was asked this week if I thought what we are doing is what she would want? Katie Grace is by far one of the strongest fighters I know. I am not sure what will happen here. I know my prayers are for a true miracle. Today they had to place another chest tube. 😢. 

Yes she has been doing better but 2 steps forward 1 step back. But tonight Katie Grace surprised us all when she did this while listening to last year's cvchs (high school) doing "Everything is Awesome " always able to find her joy

Progress is measured in small steps

Concord, CA, United States · Edited · 
For all Mothers of children with PH:

"When children come face to face with the Goliath's of disease — cancer, heart defects, cystic fibrosis, brain injuries and many more — it’s their mothers who gather the stones that this child will use to fight the fearsome foe. We often revere the doctors who take care of these little ones, and it’s true, they are heroes. They make the stones so that we have weapons with which to go into battle. But often, there is a forgotten hero: the mother who gathers each and every stone, places it into tiny hands and stands by while her baby takes his best shot.

Mothers who take care of children with serious diseases don’t have the same luxuries that the rest of us have. Every parent carries the nagging fears: What if something happens to my child? Will I be able to give my child all the things they need to help them live a happy, healthy life? How can I help them realize their full potential? And perhaps it all comes back to this question: Am I enough? Am I enough to give my child what she needs?

But, for mothers whose children are healthy, we can put those fears on the back burner. We don’t often have to look that scary monster in the eye and face the reality. We can hide our heads under the covers and pretend that as long as we can’t see the monster, he can’t come and get us. For mothers who are battling a child’s illness, that’s a luxury they cannot afford. They are forced to face the monster head on, and their monsters look like this:

* Explaining to a child why they must face yet another surgery that will bring incredible pain.
*Holding frail little hands as they vomit and lose their hair and cry from the pain and frustration of chemo and explaining why the medicine seems so much worse than the disease.
*Navigating the fine line between protecting the health of your medically fragile child and allowing them freedom to experience the joys of childhood.
*Grieving the loss of the child you envisioned yours would be and coming to accept the reality of the one you have.
*Managing the guilt that you carry for so much of your time and energy being focused on your sick child, knowing that your well children need you, too.
*Talking to your child about the reality of death, knowing that you would trade places with them in a second if you could. But instead, you’re faced with the heart-wrenching task of letting them go on before you.

These are just some of the burdens that the mothers of sick children carry. They carry them around every single day, and the weight is heavier than you and I can possibly know. What is astonishing, though, about this thing called motherhood is that somehow, someway there is still incredible joy. Their pain is deep, but their joy runs deep, too.

They are faced with the harsh, unfair realities so they’ve been forced to clarify what is truly important to them. They know that the most precious parts of their lives may not be around forever, so they’ll appreciate every moment. Their child’s illness has given them a higher calling, a purpose in life that is beyond any desire they’ve ever had. They know exactly what they’re fighting for.

For the rest of us who look at these mothers and think, “I don’t know how she does it,” know this: It’s not their abilities that are superhuman, it’s their love. It is this intense love for their child that pushes them out of bed every morning and forces them to keep going, no matter what odds are stacked against them.

Look around at the mothers who are fighting for the lives and well-being of their children. Let them know you recognize that you can’t possibly understand what it’s like to walk in their shoes, but you know enough to appreciate every single step they take. Share in their hopes, their joys, their triumphs and their disappointments. Listen and learn: Their hard-won wisdom will take you far.

But most of all, love them. Love them well because they have loved others well." by Courtney Schmidt.

Beautifully written, Courtenay. Thank you for sharing. You are my hero today in representing all mothers of PH children and other seriously ill children. God bless you.

Aubrie Starr to Get Right Heart Catheter September 1st

Aubrie is scheduled to be in Levine's Children's Hospital, Charlotte, North Carolina, September 1st.

She will be sedated and receive a right heart catheter.

Because of the risks she faces having pulmonary hypertension and using anesthesia she will be accompanied by two cardiology anesthesiologists.

We do not know yet if she will be admitted to Levines or released the same day that will be determined during and after her procedure.

Please keep her in your prayers leading up to this day. Pray God will give us clear results. That we will get clarification we need about the true conditions of her lungs.

With every PH child a RHC is dangerous; please pray for her safety and God be with each Dr, nurse and staff member involved in her care.

Thank you all for your prayers, help and support thus far!

Please put a picture of Aubrie somewhere where you will see it and pray for her each time you do.

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr Update 23 July 2015

Aubrie saw her cardiologist today.

She will be having another right heart catheter before the end of August. After talking with the doctor I have decided that the catheter lab physicians will not be putting a pin hole in Aubries left atrium; I am not comfortable with the risks. This is a procedure she may receive in the future but I told them not now, not yet, not until I feel it really is something that would benefit her more than put her at risk for more complications.

We are still waiting to get physical therapy setup as well as speech therapy. I am hoping these will move along quickly and be started soon.

Aubrie will be due for a follow up appt in Cinncinati before the end of the year. We have began raising funds to help us travel and cover medical expenses and lost wages. Anything will help. 

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.

Indian State Minister Slammed over Plans to ‘Normalise’ Gays

New Delhi: A state minister from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s party sparked outrage on Tuesday over his plans to make homosexuals “normal”, one day after UN chief Ban Ki-moon accused India of fostering intolerance with its gay sex ban.

Ramesh Tawadkar, from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), announced plans to open up centres to treat gays and lesbians in the coastal resort state of Goa.

“We will make them normal. We will have centres for them, like Alcoholics Anonymous centres,” Tawadkar told reporters on Monday, adding that the Goa government would “train them and give them medicines too”.

Ramesh Tawadkar

Tawadkar, Goa’s sports and youth affairs minister, made the comments after releasing the state’s policy on youth issues which listed lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders (LGBT) as a stigmatised group that needed attention.

 Tawadkar’s comments drew widespread criticism and ridicule from gay rights groups who branded them offensive, while hostile remarks were posted on Twitter and other social media.

UN Secretary-General Ban said laws against gay and lesbian relationships breed intolerance, although he did not refer specifically to India’s colonial-era ban on gay sex.

Speaking on a visit to the capital New Delhi on Monday night, Ban said he “staunchly opposed the criminalisation of homosexuality”.

“I am proud to stand for the equality of all people — including those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender,” Ban said in an address to a gathering that included India’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi.

“I speak out because laws criminalising consensual, adult same-sex relationships violate basic rights to privacy and to freedom from discrimination. Even if they are not enforced, these laws breed intolerance.”

Goa is one of India's smallest state but easily its richest.
Goa was the site of the first European settlement in India
There are still signs of its Portuguese heritage visible

India’s Supreme Court reimposed a ban on gay sex in late 2013, ruling that responsibility for changing the 1861 law rested with lawmakers and not judges.

Gay sex had been effectively legalised in 2009 when the Delhi High Court ruled that banning “carnal intercourse against the order of nature” was a violation of fundamental rights.

Anjali Gopalan, founder of Naz Foundation, which first launched a case to decriminalise homosexual sex, called minister Tawadkar an “incompetent nincompoop”. Oh no! Not that! How will he ever recover?

“We should not respond to this kind of stupidity. If anyone needs treatment, it’s people like him ... he should realise he sounds like a complete fool,” Gopalan said.

Funny, 25 or 30 years ago he would have been called a genius.

Pulmonary Hypertension - The Monster Claims Another

Another Facebook PHriend gone! And 2 little girls fighting for their lives. They need your prayers and they need a cure.

Patricia McFarland-Myers

I don't mean to go all PH on you today. But we've just lost another beautiful phriend to this monster. RIP Lori Rodriguez. Lord we need a cure!

Lori Sobrowski Rodriguez - beautiful, happy, young woman passed away yesterday from PH-related heart failure. This photo is stunning in that it was taken Christmas Day, 2014.



Right - the last photo that she posted. How poignant an you get?


Breathe For Riley
Yesterday at 13:57 ·

Had to call Dr Hanna today. Always glad when he is the one that answers the pulmonary hypertension emergency cell phone for CHOP families.

Riley looked funny (extremely pale, dark nails) this morning so I put her monitor on and her oxygen level was only 65% on 4 liters. He told me to give her extra lasix and keep him posted.

I ran out and bought a scale and she put on over a pound since coming home (all fluid). She then got her dose of steroids and came up to about 80% on 5 liters.

She hasn't really left the couch since coming home. Most of her toys haven't even been taken out of boxes because she hasn't had much interest in anything but laying down.

We have tickets tomorrow for Disney on Ice, and I'm hoping we can have her stable enough to go because she is really looking forward to it.

Riley Buchanan is 6 years old and awaiting a lung transplant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

http://www.gofundme.com/rileysnewlungs


Hope PHor Aubrie Starr

Sunday morning Prayers for Aubrey please.
Aubrie still has a fever, no word on her test. She still will not eat and sleeping a lot :-(


Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
Yesterday at 04:47 ·

Aubrie is back in the hospital again. Fever was up to 103.5 last night so we brought her to the ER. Aubrie has an infection in her lungs, they are testing to find out why. It could possibly be the Flu, if that comes back negative then it's on to the next test. We are also waiting on blood cultures taken last night. Fever was down last night but back up this morning.

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
18 December at 20:10 · Edited ·

Today I received a call, Aubrie's case was denied by the specialty center at Chapel Hill. Now I will begin working with her team to find her a good out of state lung transplant specialty center.

Then we will have to send them her case and pray we find someone experienced enough to agree to guide us in her care.

We will begin trying to setup fund raisers to help pay for traveling and extended stay expenses soon. Once we are with a specialty center and she is listed for transplant it is possible we may have to completely relocate until she has her transplant and completes all recovery. Please continue to keep us in your prayers!


Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
2 December at 20:01 ·
Update: Aubrie's breathing has been so much better!!! She is playing again and happy as ever. So glad that tomorrow on my day off I will be able to spend some time with her having fun and not at any appts or with her feeling bad, tomorrow's mommy and me time is going to be great!!

Hope and Pray PHor Aubrie Starr

It's that time of the year, Aubrie has needed her first breathing treatment of the year tonight. She fell asleep so I had to hold her head as far upright as I could. Thankfully the machine didn't wake her up. 

Hopefully putting her back on allergy meds and breathing treatment will help. 

Looks like I am going to start next week limiting Aubries activities again. No visitors and avoiding public places. Some people don't understand how deadly a simple cold could be for a child with pulmonary hypertension. It's my job to protect her every way possible. 

Let my nightly bleaching and sanitizing frenzy begin!

And let us remember to keep this precious little girl in our prayers, and her mother too. Find out more about Aubrie here.

Nigeria Considering Charges Against Diplomat Who Brought Ebola to Port Harcourt

The Nigerian diplomat attached to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Olubukun Koye who escaped from quarantine in Lagos after testing positive to Ebola virus and travelled to Port Harcourt for treatment, an action that resulted in the death of the doctor who treated him (Iyke Enemuo) may face manslaughter charges.

Olubukun Koye ECOWAS

This is coming on the heels of report that the number of persons under surveillance in the state (Rivers State) for Ebola Virus Disease has increased from 100 to 160.

 Late Dr. Iyke Enemuo

According to Thisday, Sources said that the issue of Koye (a primary contact of the index case, late Liberian Partick Sawyer) who defied instruction not to leave Lagos after being placed in the isolation unit, was discussed at the Federal Executive Committee meeting on Wednesday and that the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation Mohammed Adoki was directed to look into the Nigerian laws and see how he could be sanctioned for his action that resulted in the death of Enemuo.

Ebola Hits Nigerian Seaport of Port Harcourt - Dr Dies, Hospital Closed, 200 Quarantined

Just like a Nurse who was suspected to have contracted the Ebola virus escaped from Lagos to Enugu some weeks back, another woman, this time the sister of the Doctor who died of Ebola in Port Harcourt has escaped. It was gathered that the woman escaped to Abia State to avoid being quarantined along with others who came into contact with the late doctor.

The good news is that one of her siblings, who is also a Medical Doctor, has forced her to return to the quarantine center in Port Harcourt.

Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Port Harcourt is a city of more than a million people and is Nigeria's main seaport.

The woman, whose action would have further endangered the lives of more Nigerians, helped care for her brother, the late Doctor, before it was discovered that he died of the deadly Ebola.

At least 200 people who came in contact with Dr. Enemuo, who died last Friday in Port Harcourt, and most of those who visited his hospital and the hotel where Dr. Iyke Enemuo treated the ECOWAS (The Economic Community Of West African States) staff that took the disease to Port Harcourt have been quarantined.

The ECOWAS diplomat who had had contact with late Patrick Sawyer flew to Port Harcourt the same day he died, and met up with Dr. Enemuo. Possibly aware of the deadly nature of the disease the diplomat was suffering from, Dr. Enemuo opted to treat him secretly at a local hotel.

After recovering, the ECOWAS staff flew back to Lagos to seek clearance to travel out of Nigeria.

Quarantined and checked for Ebola in Lagos, he was found to be free of the virus. However, a few days after he left Port Harcourt, Dr. Enemuo took ill and was hospitalized at Good Health Hospital in Port Harcourt where he died of Ebola.

The hospital has now been closed down, until further notice.

The good news is that antidotes are being discovered in several countries; the bad news is that they haven't been properly tested, and there seems to be little cooperation between different countries involved resulting in a lot of duplicated work and probable delays.

Little Aubrey Starr's Condition Worsens as Doctors Undecided as to What to Do

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
17 July
Have to leave here in the morning at 6:30am to take Aubrie to the specialty children's hospital to see her cardiologist and PH team. She had some episodes of passing out over the weekend, a couple nights of low stats and has been exhausted more than normal. Hopefully we can finally find out if anything has changed with her Pulmonary Hypertension. I will keep everyone posted!!

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
18 July
Aubries drs feel that with her condition being so difficult to truly know what is going on all the time it is in our best interest to get a second opinion from a lung transplant specialty team. They will begin sharing notes and information with a team in Chapel Hill. It may be that she is fine where she is right now or it could mean she needs a central IV line or a sub q line. It may be that a transplant is best. Nothing has been decided they are just seeking a more experienced decision. It does appear her condition may progressing. As I am made aware of thing with her care I will let all of know as well. Thank you all for being such wonderful prayer warriors for our family! God's got this, he has a plan laid out etched in stone. The Lord is our strength!

Hope PHor Aubrie Starr
3 hours ago
Aubrie has been so tired today and she hasn't done much except ride in her car that I push and get carried around every where.  She was so exhausted she went to sleep for her nap around 1:00pm and didn't get up until 4:30pm. She was already back to sleep at 9:00pm. Pray for her body to get the rest it needs. With God all things are possible!

The official page for Aubrie Starr a patient diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension and branch pulmonary artery hypoplasia. Please pray for Aubrie Starr!

https://www.facebook.com/hopephoraubriestarr?fref=nf

Antidepressant Drugs May Not Be Best Treatment - SSRIs Reduce Brain’s Capacity To Produce Serotonin

For the past 25 years, people suffering from depression have been treated with antidepressant drugs like Zoloft, Prozac and Paxil — three of the world’s best-selling selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs. But people are questioning whether these drugs are the appropriate treatment for depression, and if they could even be causing harm.

The drugs are designed to address a chemical imbalance in the brain and thereby relieve the symptoms of depression. In this case, it’s a shortage of serotonin that antidepressants work to correct.

In fact, there are pharmaceutical treatments targeting chemical imbalances for just about every form of mental illness, from schizophrenia to ADHD, and a raft of anxiety disorders. Hundreds of millions of prescriptions are written for antipsychotic, antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications every year in the United States alone, producing billions of dollars in revenue for pharmaceutical companies. Who, of course, are quite willing to sacrifice your mental health for the sake of a few dollars.

Robert Whitaker

Robert Whitaker has won numerous awards as a journalist covering medicine and science, including the George Polk Award for Medical Writing and a National Association for Science Writers’ Award for best magazine article. (Courtesy Robert Whitaker)

But what if the very premise behind these drugs is flawed? What if mental illnesses like depression aren’t really caused by chemical imbalances, and that millions of the people who are prescribed those drugs derive no benefit from them? And what if those drugs could actually make their mental illness worse and more intractable over the long term?

Investigative journalist Robert Whitaker argued that psychiatric drugs are a largely ineffective way of treating mental illness in his 2010 book called Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America.

Whitaker maintains that the foundation of modern psychiatry, the chemical imbalance model, is scientifically unproven.

“If you dig into the science behind it,” Whitaker told Michael Enright, host of The Sunday Edition on CBC Radio, “you’ll find out that it’s not true, and that this was a hypothesis that arose in the 1960s, that depression was due to low serotonin, and that it was investigated and found not to be true by the early 1980s. And there was subsequent research to see if this was so, and it never panned out.

“And as early as 1998, the American Psychiatric Association in its textbook says we’re not finding that people with depression have any abnormality in their serotonin, (thanks for telling us APA) but because it’s such an effective metaphor for getting people to take the drugs and sell the drugs, it’s continued to be promoted.”

Whitaker’s book was unsurprisingly controversial upon its release, but it went on to win the 2010 Investigative Reporters and Editors Book Award. And since its publication, an increasing number of influential psychiatric researchers have publicly come around to Whitaker's point of view.

​In fact, Ronald Pies, a psychiatrist and the former editor of The Psychiatric Times, refers to the chemical imbalance hypothesis as an “urban legend” that well-informed psychiatrists never bought into.

Whitaker says that when Anatomy of an Epidemic came out, the controversy wasn’t so much over his debunking of the chemical imbalance hypothesis. It was over his finding that people who took psychiatric drugs were more likely to exhibit symptoms five years after being diagnosed than those who did not take the drugs.

Thomas Insel, the director of the National Institute of Mental Health in the U.S., has weighed in on antipsychotic drugs and reached a conclusion that echoes Whitaker’s: That antipsychotic drugs impede long-term recovery rates.

According to Whitaker, research suggests that while people suffering from depression may not have low serotonin levels to begin with, the use of SSRIs reduces the brain’s capacity to produce serotonin on its own, leading to a worsening of symptoms when patients stop taking the drugs.

“One of the worries,” said Whitaker, “is that if you’re on these medications long enough, when you come off, will your brain re-normalize? And that’s an open question now.

“What is quite clear is that the drug alone rarely leads to long-term recovery.”

One has to wonder if this was the plan all along by the pharmaceutical companies - convince people they need the drug, then, after they have been on it for awhile, they really do need it, and can't get off it. It's a win-win for moral-less pharmaceutical companies devoid of any conscience. 

Questions About John Paul Jackson's Fight with Cancer - Update 2/21/15

Update: 21 February 2015

This from JPJs website:

"Over this past weekend we've started to see signs that his weakened breathing is causing vital organs to become oxygen deprived," reads a post on his website.

Jackson has been battling cancer since May 2014 after doctors found a large, aggressive growth in his leg that needed immediate treatment. Through this experience, he wrote how cancer taught him much about how seriously God takes our fears and vowed to use prayer to fight it.

"I am pursuing the kingdom of God and equipping people to do the same as vigorously as I am able. I refuse to allow the enemy a stronghold in my thoughts. God is great and all-powerful," Jackson said in 2014. "I believe He will take me through this battle. In the process, God will gain a great victory and His name will be glorified."

John Paul Jackson passed into the presence of the Lord on February 18th, 2015. 

My questions at the bottom of this post are still valid, but perhaps his passing and his attitude before passing will help us to answer them. I will be back in a few days with more thoughts on this.


The following article appeared in a Christian news web-site. I reproduce it, in part, for 2 reasons: 1. To encourage you to pray for him
2. To ask some genuine questions about his approach to the disease.

In no way do I wish to impune or criticize Jackson, He is a man of God and a Christian in very good standing as far as I can tell. But God has me asking questions about how we pray and how we glorify Him and this is a great opportunity to verbalize those questions. I will save them until you have read the excerpt.

John Paul Jackson Vows to Fight Aggressive Cancer With Prayer

John Paul Jackson, perhaps best known for his prophetic dream interpretations, has been diagnosed with cancer. Doctors found a large, aggressive cancerous growth in his leg that needs immediate treatment.

John Paul Jackson

“I have said on many occasions that I do not always understand God’s ways, especially in the heat of a test, but I do always trust Him, in good times and in difficult times,” Jackson writes. He called the cancer his “greatest personal test.”

In the face of the cancer diagnoses, Jackson has canceled his upcoming speaking engagements to prepare for what he calls a “rigorous treatment protocol.”

“I have not ruled out any and all forms of treatment paths, but at the top of that list is prayer. I know that God can heal me in one instant or through the hands of doctors over time,” Jackson says. “We are focusing our faith for a miracle, while following doctor’s advice until my healing is complete.”

During his treatment, Jackson vows to do what God has called him to do as best he can. But he will not include travel in the mix.

“I am pursuing the kingdom of God and equipping people to do the same as vigorously as I am able. I refuse to allow the enemy a stronghold in my thoughts. God is great and all-powerful,” Jackson says. “I believe He will take me through this battle. In the process, God will gain a great victory and His name will be glorified.”

Jackson has asked believers everywhere to join in the battle with him by offering two minutes a day to ask God to heal him and destroy the works of the evil one.

So here are my questions:

Is sickness always the fault of the devil?
Does God make people sick?
Is being healed either miraculously or through doctors, the best way to glorify God?
If not, how can we best glorify God in our sickness?
Should we pray for God's will to be done when we pray for healing?

I would love to hear your thoughts on this, and if you can back them up with scripture, that would be really great. God bless.

Gary

Alexah, Fighting for Her Life and Getting Very Tired

Toughest Days, 20 days
By Heather Hebert — 6 hours ago

Work woes. Friendship issues. Financial difficulties. None of these experiences hold a candle to yesterday, today, or the next 3 days to follow. I can handle stress. I'm built for it. Heartbreak is a different ballgame. It's a game with no rules, it's always unfair, and no one wins.

If you have been praying for Alexah, keep praying. Pray harder. Pray for her mental strength. Pray she fights physically and mentally.

Today was another trial of clamping the ECMO. Again, it went well. She is still battling her PH. It is still very severe. The remodulin was actually reduced today because she was struggling directly after increases. I believe the rapid increase was also contributing to her sad feelings and overall bad feeling. I am hoping the reduction in the remodulin dose will improve her progress until she is off ECMO. For now, the plan is to TRY and come off ECMO after the weekend, depending on her progress over the weekend.

After the discussion regarding the medical plan, the doctor asked if we could intervene with Alexah and provide a mental outlet for her. During this tear-filled meeting, he expressed that it was important for Alexah to be able to acknowledge and express her feelings about being sick. Knowing that coming off ECMO could go well or poorly, he wanted Alexah to be heard. Alexah will start with her specialist tonight. I pray this offers her some relief.

A clot was located in the ECMO today. A very scary moment for us, but the team, cool as usual, handled the situation before it could become a threat. Part of the line was removed and replaced with new line. These are the dangers of staying on ECMO too long.

As the room cleared out from the replacement, I returned to sit with Alexah. I held her hand. I whispered in her ear that she was going to get better, I was going to take her home soon, and we were going to play dolls and watch movies. She squinted her eyes shut and tears rolled out of the corners of her eyes. She shook her head side to side.....no. Heartbreak.

She can't give up. She can't stop fighting. She can't leave me. Not now. Not because of this unfair game.

Pray. Remember, God answers prayer.

Hope and Pray PHor Aubrie Starr and a Cure Phor Pulmonary Hypertension

Aubrie Starr is about one year old and suffers from a terrible disease called Pulmonary Hypertension. PH is a significant increase in blood pressure only between the lungs and the heart. Untreated, PH will destroy the right ventricle of the heart within 2 or 3 years resulting in death. Careful treatment can allow some patients to live for ten to twenty years.


The only 'cure' right now is a complete lung transplant, and often that has to coincide with a complete heart transplant. Most doctors and most hospitals know little about PH, consequently, it is frequently mis-diagnosed and poorly or wrongly treated.

There is one other cure not listed in the annals of medicine, and that is prayer. My wife was diagnosed with PH two years ago. Last year, I was pressed by God to take her to an event involving some dear old Christian friends and ask them to pray for her. I did, they did, and my wife was instantly healed - confirmed by two specialists one month and 6 months later.

On her Facebook page my wife has a friend who went into septic shock, died and went to Heaven, but returned to life with no renal damage whatsoever. Read her amazing story here.

So, God is still in the healing business, which is why I am putting these updates from Aubrie's mom on my blog. I'm asking you to take a minute or two and pray for this delightful little girl, and also to pray PHor a cure for PH.

Note: Aubrie suffers from chronic pneumonia as well as PH. She had been in to see a specialist just two days earlier. He, I believe, ran numerous tests on her.

Aubrie's mom:
Well I took Aubrie to get her synagis shot. While in there she began to breathe super fast working hard to breathe. The nurse pulled someone in there to look at her. We transferred to a physicians room. She had chest X-rays and he called her pulmonologist. 

Some of Aubrie's results just came in, literally at that moment. 

Her bronchoscope has already shown she has a bacteria infection in her lungs and she is aspirating into her lungs. We are waiting for the culture to be complete but for now we are treating these with antibiotics for a month and she is going back on antacids. 

God put all this into place at the right moment with the right people! 

My baby's going to be getting better, I know it, I have faith, God's got this!!!

UAE Dad Tortures Daughter to Death in Exorcism Attempt

Dubai: An Emirati father brutally tortured his eight-year-old daughter to death and injured her seven-year-old sister because he wanted to exorcise jinn from their bodies, Gulf News learnt yesterday.

This story is a follow-up to one I just posted at http://northwoodssaveachild.blogspot.ca/2014/01/child-sexual-abusers-may-face-more-than.html. In that piece it was revealed that a new 'child's rights' law was drafted, originally named Wadeema's Law, it was later changed to Child Rights Law.

The 29-year-old father, Hamad S., thought jinn possessed his daughters so he tortured them more because he was provoked every time the girls laughed when he beat them, said a police lieutenant during prosecution questioning.

Prosecutors charged Hamad and his 27-year-old Emirati girlfriend, Al Onoud A., with illegally grounding the two daughters in a flat and torturing eight-year-old Wudeema to death and injuring seven-year-old Meera. The latter sustained 10 per cent permanent disability.

Gulf News obtained a copy of the charges, in which the lieutenant cited Hamad alleging that he used excessive beating and torturing to exorcise the jinn from his daughters’ bodies. Jinn, apparently, is evil, perhaps demonic spirits.

Wadeema

Hamad and Al Onoud entered their pleas before the Dubai Court of First Instance on Wednesday.

“I did not torture Wudeema to death. I took Meera to Rashid Hospital to treat her broken arm… I didn’t torture her. I did not confine them, but I used to take them out,” Hamad told Presiding Judge Maher Salama Al Mahdi yesterday.

Al Onoud surprised the crammed court when she contended: “Hamad did not do anything to the girls. I beat and tortured them with hot water, electric wire, an iron… I electrocuted them with the taser gun.”

Senior Chief Prosecutor Mohammad Ali Rustom, Head of Family and Juveniles Prosecution, asked the court to implement a capital punishment against the suspects. The couple was also accused of hiding Wudeema’s body by burying it without obtaining proper permission.

“I was present with Hamad when he buried Wudeema,” claimed Al Onoud, who is believed to be pregnant.
Hamad admitted that he buried his dead daughter in Al Badayer area in Sharjah.

Concerning the charge of torturing Meera and causing her a permanent disability, Hamad maintained: “The Taser gun was not working. I didn’t torture her.”

The father asked the court to get a copy of the medical report from Rashid Hospital to prove that he took Meera for treatment when her arm was fractured.

Following Wednesday’s hearing, the mother was heard shouting at Al Onoud: “You will go to hell and be tortured there.”

Two lawyers will be appointed to defend the suspects and prosecution witnesses will testify when the court reconvenes on Wednesday.

Saood Juma’a Saeed, grand father of Wadeema shows her photo
who was allegedly killed by her father, as grand mother
Eida Mohammad Salman and uncle Mohammad looks on

.

Global Warming, Climate Change, Is It Our Fault? Can We Fix It?

I am not endorsing Professor Plimus' stand here, but he sure does raise some interesting points.

Ian Rutherford Plimer is an Australian geologist, professor emeritus of earth sciences at the University of Melbourne, professor of mining geology at the University of Adelaide, and the director of multiple mineral exploration and mining companies. He has published 130 scientific papers, six books and edited the Encyclopedia of Geology. 

These are his extensive credentials.

Born               12 February 1946 (age 67)
Residence       Australia
Nationality       Australian
Fields              Earth Science, Geology, Mining Engineering
Institutions       University of New England,University of Newcastle,University of Melbourne,University of Adelaide
Alma mater      University of New South Wales, Macquarie University
Thesis              The pipe deposits of tungsten-molybdenum-bismuth in eastern Australia (1976)
Notable awards Eureka Prize (1995, 2002),Centenary Medal(2003), Clarke Medal (2004)


Where Does the Carbon Dioxide Really Come From? 

Professor Ian Plimer's book in a brief summary.

PLIMER: "Okay, here's the bombshell. The volcanic eruption in Iceland . Since its first spewing of volcanic ash has, in just FOUR DAYS, NEGATED EVERY SINGLE EFFORT you have made in the past five years to control CO2 emissions on our planet - all of you.Of course, you know about this evil carbon dioxide that we are trying to suppress - it’s that vital chemical compound that every plant requires to live and grow and to synthesize into oxygen for us humans and all animal life. 

I know....it's very disheartening to realize that all of the carbon emission savings you have accomplished while suffering the inconvenience and expense of driving Prius hybrids, buying fabric grocery bags, sitting up till midnight to finish your kids "The Green Revolution" science project, throwing out all of your non-green cleaning supplies, using only two squares of toilet paper, putting a brick in your toilet tank reservoir, selling your SUV and speedboat, vacationing at home instead of abroad,nearly getting hit every day on your bicycle, replacing all of your 50 cent light bulbs with $10.00 light bulbs.....well, all of those things you have done have all gone down the tubes in just four days.

The volcanic ash emitted into the Earth's atmosphere in just four days - yes, FOUR DAYS - by that volcano in Iceland has totally erased every single effort you have made to reduce the evil beast, carbon. And there are around 200 active volcanoes on the planet spewing out this crud at any one time - EVERY DAY.

I don't really want to rain on your parade too much, but I should mention that when the volcano Mt Pinatubo erupted in the Philippines in 1991, it spewed out more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than the entire human race had emitted in all its years on earth. 

Yes, folks, Mt Pinatubo was active for over One year - think about it.

Of course, I shouldn't spoil this 'touchy-feely tree-hugging' moment and mention the effect of solar and cosmic activity and the well-recognized 800-year global heating and cooling cycle, which keeps happening despite our completely insignificant efforts to affect climate change.

And I do wish I had a silver lining to this volcanic ash cloud, but the fact of the matter is that the bush fire season across the western USA and Australia this year alone will negate your efforts to reduce carbon in our world for the next two to three years. And it happens every year. 

Just remember that your government just tried to impose a whopping carbon tax on you, on the basis of the bogus 'human-caused' climate-change scenario.

Hey, isn’t it interesting how they don’t mention 'Global Warming' anymore, but just 'Climate Change' - you know why? 

It’s because the planet has COOLED by 0.7 degrees in the past century and these global warming bullshitartists got caught with their pants down.

And, just keep in mind that you might yet have an Emissions Trading Scheme - that whopping new tax - imposed on you that will achieve absolutely nothing except make you poorer.

It won’t stop any volcanoes from erupting, that’s for sure.

But, hey, .....go give the world a hug and have a nice day.

There is no question that the planet is warming. I have no idea where Professor Plimer came up with the idea that it has cooled by 0.7 deg. C in the past century, but I would love to know. 

That man's activities contribute to that warming is also not in question. What the question is is, how much are we contributing, and if we reduce carbon emissions, how much of an affect would it have on global warming. Professor Plimus is saying that the answers to both questions is, 1) 'not very much' and 2) 'not at all'. 

If he is right, then carbon trading and a whole bunch of other 'green' measures are nowhere close to being worth the effort or expense.

Amazing Testimonies of Heaven and God's Miraculous Healing

Below is an exchange on Facebook where my wife, Patricia, has a lot of PH friends. My wife was instantly healed of PH when a group of friends and I prayed for her. The story is on the link just below. 

I post it to give glory to God Who still heals today, and to give hope to those who are dealing with chronic problems. Don't give up hope. Whether your healing comes in this world or the next, it will come if you believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.

Meanwhile, please pray phor a cure for PH. There are way too many people suffering and dying from this horrible disease.

Patricia McFarland-Myers -Yesterday as I stood in line at the Post Office I was overwhelmed by God's Grace. 2 yrs ago I could not stand in line. I was in a Wheelchair. 1 yr. ago I had the incurable disease PH (Pulmonary Hypertension).

We moved back to B.C. to be closer to more family...after Gary & friends prayed Drs. are saying they can't find it. See full story.

2 days ago either our son Bob or Hubby & I had no place to live after Christmas. (We are using his small cute apt.) I stood in line at the Post office to send a very modest rent to a young man in England. We will be house sitting his beautiful furnished high-rise apt. for possibly the next 6 yrs. Humbled by Gods Grace. I feel like Tye Pennington had just yelled "Move that Bus!"

For those of you who don't know, my PHriend who posted above Alice Jaehne has a great experience too. She was all but dead 3 months ago. She was on life support...She saw Heaven. 4/5days later she was back at home. God is listening. If you don't think so. .just ask Him.
about an hour ago via mobile · Edited · Like


Alice Marie Jaehne - Hello, I am the ph friend Patricia is referring to.

On Sept 30 my husband called 911 and my last memory was him running down the hall for the phone, next memory I was in a place so bright it was absolutely stunning! I knew I was in heaven, my brother died in 2012, he was with me, he had become a quadriplegic 10 yrs ago when he rolled his big rig to avoid what he thought was a card load of kids! His voice was barely a whisper with all the tubes, but in heaven when he talked to me it was his voice before the accident, I was just stunned, then I heard another voice telling me it was not my time!

Then I woke up and it was 4 days later, I was still on the life support and failed the first breathing test, 24 hours later I passed on day 5 and got off the breathing machine and went home on day 6. I had gone into renal failure and had full blown sepsis shock and the dr. told my husband if they could bring me back I would be on dialysis the remainder of my life. 

We know the Lord was working with those dr's because they were in shock that when I woke they tested my kidneys and today I do not have even 1 percent of kidney damage. PRAISE GOD! I looked up full blown sepsis shock and its not pretty but for me to have full working kidneys and come off life supports also is truly a miracle, not to mention getting to see a glimpse if heaven. 

So for any that are not sure if there is a God or heaven Patricia McFarland and I can tell you there is and the Lord was with us both, Patricia's miracle just touches my heart so deeply, it shows how powerful prayer is and that God listens to us all no matter how big or small! I know that people on here were praying for me, and my husband by my side praying, I want to thank you all because your prayers worked and I am very grateful!


Velma Jean Ettlin God is so great and I do love when we get yes but some times he says no with the same love.
I experienced a miracle healing of a blown disk in my lower back in 1975 and a no when the disk in my neck blew. Later God did heal me thru a dr and surgery. He taught me to praise with a yes and to praise louder with a no. We dont always get a yes but God is in control.
about a minute ago via mobile · Like

Velma Jean Ettlin I write this for those that have prayed and didn't get a yes. Just know God always hears and answers for your best.

Could Dandelion Tea Cause Cancer Cells to Commit Suicide?

Researchers in Windsor, Ont., have received an additional $157,000 grant for a total of $217,000 to study how effective dandelion root extract is in fighting cancer.

Siyaram Pandey, a biochemist at the University of Windsor, has been studying the anti-cancer potential of dandelion root extract for almost two years.

His team’s first phase of research showed that dandelion root extract forced a very aggressive and drug-resistant type of blood cancer cell, known as chronic monocytic myeloid leukemia, to essentially commit suicide.

Researchers then discovered that repeated treatment with low dose dandelion root extract was effective in killing most of the cancerous cells.

Those initial findings landed the research team a $60,000 grant from Seeds4Hope, which provides money for local cancer research.

Pandey then applied for continued funding from the Lotte and John Hecht Memorial Foundation. That $157,000 came through earlier this week bringing the total to $217,000.

Pandey admits he was skeptical when he was first approached by local oncologist, Dr. Caroline Hamm, who was curious about cancer patients who had been drinking dandelion tea and seemed to be getting better.

"To be honest I was very pessimistic," Pandey said in a statement. "She said it could be coincidental but it couldn’t hurt to see if there is anything."

Hamm was convinced that the weed contains an active ingredient, but warned earlier this year that "it can harm as well as benefit."

She told CBC News in February that taking dandelion extract tea could interfere with regular chemotherapy, and she urged patients not to mix the natural remedy with other cancer drugs without speaking to a doctor first.

Pandey conducted a literature review and could only find one journal article suggesting dandelions may have cancer-killing properties. But he and his team of graduate students collected a bunch of the weeds anyway, ground them up with a mixture of water in a food processor and developed a simple formula they could experiment with.

They tested the formula on several lines of commercially available leukemia cells and much to their surprise, found that the formula caused those cells to kill themselves, a process called apoptosis.

"It was startling, but it was not that startling until we saw that it was non-toxic to the normal cells," he said.

john-dicarlo-dandelion-tea

John DiCarlo, 72, was admitted to hospital three years ago with leukemia. Even after aggressive treatment, he was sent home to put his affairs in order with his wife and four children.

The cancer clinic suggested he try the tea. Four months later, he returned to the clinic in remission. He has been cancer free for three years.

He said his doctor credits the dandelions.

"He said, 'You are doing pretty good, you aren't a sick man anymore'," DiCarlo told CBC News in February.