Rest in Peace Randy Pausch

"Never underestimate the importance of having fun. I'm dying and I'm having fun. And I'm going to keep having fun every day because there's no other way to play it." ~Randy Pausch

I See You

I love my new SiteMeter! I can see who's looking at my blog and where they're from. It's fabulous! I can see that the State of Ohio (Columbus) has been here and so has my stalker in California. I'd love to see what the State has to say, so go ahead and leave me a nice encouraging message. Wonder why they keep coming by? Hmmm.....you'd think they would be out searching for answers to all the cancer clusters in Ohio. Nah, not our trusted health officials, they'd rather be reading blogs than actually doing their jobs. Bravo....and welcome back y'all.

Ask Erin Brockovich

Anyone who knows me knows that I am on a mission. Here's a little history: Nearly 4 years ago my daughter Lauren was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, a rare cancer especially in children. Within months of her diagnosis, I learned of 2 other teens in our small community with the same rare cancer. We all live within a mile of each other and all the kids were diagnosed within months of each other. I do believe in coincidences, but after tons of research I learned that there are only about 350 new cases of thyroid cancer diagnosed each year in teens. Three of those new cases were in my small town, I do NOT believe this is a coincidence.

Since our story went public, dozens more residents of our community came forward with either stories of thyroid tumors or cancer. There were even 2 more young girls in my neighborhood with benign thyroid tumors that had to be removed. So it seemed very logical to me to contact every State and local agency I could think of to help us find some answers. The Ohio Health Department did in fact start and investigation into the cancer cluster, but closed it with no explanation or concern for our kids or the local community. The local health department is useless and the EPA referred us back to the Ohio Health Department.

Fast forward to now.....I saw that Erin Brockovich has a new site where you can ask her questions, so I did. And here it is:

Question:

Dear Erin,

I hope you can help us. What do you think the chances are of 3 teenagers being diagnosed with the same type of thyroid cancer (papillary) within months of each other, all living within a mile of each other? This happened in our small rural town of Trenton, OH nearly 4 years ago. We have recently learned of another teenage girl in a neighboring community diagnosed with the same cancer. There are also 2 girls in the neighborhood with benign thyroid tumors. What could be happening here? We can’t get anyone to help us and the State Health Department has turned their backs on us after starting an investigation a few years ago. We were told by a leading thyroid cancer expert that the odds were “astronomical” that this could happen so what should we do?? Please help us. Thank you.

Stephanie

-Erin’s Reply-

Dear Stephanie,

Please understand that I am not the doctor nor expert here. Having said that, after 17 years working in environmental cases with many renowned experts, when we see numerous people coming down with the same cancers it always raises a flag.You are right to be concerned and are on the right path to uncovering answers just by emailing me or others, talking to neighbors, getting the State Health Department to even begin an investigation and becoming curious as to what could be happening. When communities ask questions and start using common sense, things begin tohappen. Keep it up!

Are you aware of any industry that is near you or near the teenagers who have been diagnosed? Is there something common which they all do besides your water supply? Is there a ball field or area which they may play sports or hang out at? Is there a landfill near you? These are some of the things that I would look for. Also, don’t hesitate to just use Freedom of Information and write to yourlocal agencies to see if there is a reported contamination in the area or a Superfund site. Many times this type of information is just sitting in a file somewhere. It’s happened to me more often than not. Most important, talk with and work with your neighbors. Do a door to door survey and find out what is going on with others.

Good luck and if you need any help don’t hesitate to write again.

Until next time, keep alert to the world around you.

Erin Brockovich

Friday Foto Finish

The grass got a little wet too.

Home Alone

Hubby's gone. Kids are gone. It's just me and the animals. Glorious!

So last night me and my partner in crime hung out at a local biker bar to sell tickets for our Harley raffle. What a hoot! We had a prime spot to sit and watch the bikers parade through the parking lot and show off their goods. Some were just okay, but then you get some hot mama who rode in on her hot pink Harley, high heels and pink leather jacket. Suddenly, I wanted to be her. Just for a day. She looked H-O-T and she knew it! She handled that bike like no man I've ever seen. I'm still in awe.

I must say that bikers are some of the most generous and genuine people I've ever met. They always welcome us with open arms and open their wallets for our organization. We met Kenny from the band Stagger Lee and he graciously promoted us all night and even sent us a really nice email this morning thanking us for trying to make a difference. Sweetness!

So since the hubby has been gone I've turned into a wannabe biker babe groupie. Honey, come home!

I'm so blessed

This picture sort of sums up the past two weeks with Lauren in Europe. We saw the most magical places that I've only read about. From the Leaning Tower of Pisa to the nude beaches on the French Riviera. Every day was a new adventure that I will treasure forever. I will be eternally grateful to my mom for sending us on this fabulous trip of a lifetime. Here's a rundown of our last two weeks:

Day 1- Madrid, Spain- Prado Museum, Mayor Plaza, and lots of interesting experiences on the subway

Day 2- Madrid, Spain- Flamenco Dance, tour of city including a bull fighting arena, Hard Rock Cafe, taxi ride with a driver that spoke no English

Day 3- Zaragoza, Spain- Basilica del Pilar, city tour and bus ride to Barcelona

Day 4- Barcelona, Spain- City bus tour, free time in Barcelona, Hard Rock Cafe

Day 5- Carcassonne, France- One of my favorite stops, the entire little medieval town is enclosed inside walls, Pont du Gard

Day 6- Avignon, France- Popes Palace, perfume factory, city tour, Cannes Beach (yep, they are topless there) and a short stop in Nice, France

Day 7- Leaning Tower of Pisa, bus ride through Monacco (WOW!) to Florence

Day 8- Florence, Italy- city tour, pottery factory with free samples of Lemoncello, short stop in Assisi (another one of my favorites)

Day 9- Rome, Italy- I was too pooped to pop that day, I enjoyed a glorious day at the hotel swimming pool, did some laundry, took a nap, and thoroughly enjoyed a quiet day alone. I decided to save Rome for me and my hubby another time

Day 10- Pompeii, Italy- city tour, tasted (and bought) some more Lemoncello, bus ride to Naples and Sorrento, Italy

Day 11- Capri, Italy- city tour, boat ride around the beautiful Island of Capri, bus ride back to Rome

Day 12- Flight from Rome to Munich to Chicago to Cincinnati, it's great to be home!



Most of our culture shock came from the hotels in Europe. That was an experience in itself. No matter how small the bathroom was, each one had a bidet. That, of course, made us all very curious. No one would admit to actually using it and I'll never tell. It also seemed that no two showers were the same and I spent a lot of time trying to figure them out. Air conditioning in the hotel room was also rare, which did not make mama happy, but I realize it was all part of the experience.

I am happy to be home with my lumpy pillow, loads of laundry and air conditioning!