5 Things Makes A Post

One of my favorite authors often uses that title to her blog posts when she's putting together seemingly random thoughts. So in the style of "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery," I decided to take a page from Sharon Lee. :)

1. Not sure where I first found the link, but Toni Bernhard, author of How To Be Sick (which is on my to-read list), has a post on Psychology Today titled 10 Tips From 10 Years Sick that's worth a read. 

2. A grad student at Tufts University Medical School is doing a research project on patient bloggers and has a survey seeking input from such bloggers. It took me about 10 minutes to complete it, and you can be entered to win an Amazon giftcard if you choose to share your contact information at the end (it's not required if you prefer to be anonymous). 

3. I'm not feeling well this week, although I think I'm mostly over the virus I caught nearly two weeks ago. But it's nearing the end of the school year, which makes it a super busy time. We went to the kindergarten class play (Ellie was one of two Peters in Peter Rabbit.) last night, and out for ice cream afterwards, so today I feel like I'm wearing one of those lead aprons they use at dentist offices during x-rays. Makes everything take more energy and hurt. But this too shall pass. 

4. I just finished reading The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. And wow, was it intense. Highly recommended for those who enjoy young adult, dystopian fiction. I just started Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and have been reading a bunch of others this spring as well. I've discovered that I have to alternate books like those with light, frothy stuff. But that's not a hardship since I enjoy light, frothy stuff too.

5. I read an AP story today about the results of an Oregon man's suicide using a "kit" that he bought online from a 91-year-old California woman. So now there's a big fuss and both law enforcement and the Legislature are looking into what they can do to make it illegal to sell suicide kits and debating how it fits into Oregon's current assisted suicide laws. What do I wish the Powers That Be would take from this article? That the guy who killed himself had suffered for years from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, a health condition that's more highly stigmatized than having HIV and has very little research being done despite the high numbers of people worldwide who are affected by it. (Interestingly, to me, it seems to be taken more seriously by the medical establishment in places like Great Britain than it does in the U.S.) Rather than criminalizing the selling of things that are readily available in Home Depots around the country, and spending tax dollars investigating, prosecuting and incarcerating people for doing so, how about we spend some more money on looking at what's causing CFS and whether there are any treatments that actually work.