Schizophrenia is a difficult battle

I have had personal experience with someone in my family who battled mental illness. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 18.  He passed away in 2008 from complications due to HepC.  His battle waged war on his mother, his siblings, his daughter and everyone who knew him.  He was volatile and down right scary at times.  His mother took such good care of him and believe me, this wasn't easy.  I didn't meet him until he was in his 30's.  When he was younger there were fights, police at the house, visits to Rusk (a mental hospital in East Texas), violence, hospital visits and times when he would just go missing.  I think those periods when he was gone were the hardest moments for his mother to handle because she didn't know whether he would come back home alive.  He had a serious drug problem for a while and he abused alcohol as well most of his life until he became diabetic.  He contracted Hepatitis C from IV drug use.  I was very concerned for the well being of my children when we all were together.  If he was taking his meds he was okay.  But if he wasn't, the whole family would be on edge. If you have ever seen the movie "A Beautiful Mind" you know what daily life looks like for someone living with schizophrenia.  I thought that movie adequately showed glimpses of what life is like day to day for schizophrenics.   On a positive note, I saw how much his mother loved him.  Her love for him was truly an example of unconditional love.  His siblings would be angry for all of the problems he caused himself and the family but his mother was never angry. She was always kind, gentle, understanding and she never gave up on him.  She absolutely amazed me at times.

When he was in high school he was a great golfer and a talented writer.  His success in life was very short lived. He was married for a short while and did have a daughter.  His ex wife was unable to handle the eruptions in his behavior that became increasingly worse year after year.  After his daughter got married, she did not want to have children because she was afraid of the possibility of passing this gene along to her children.  I am happy to say she gave birth to twin boys about five years ago and they are both perfectly healthy and normal.

After his death, his mother became actively involved in the Mental Health Association of Texas.  I learned through his life that although you cannot see a mental illness the repercussions are enormous for anyone who suffers from one.  Mental illness sufferers are misunderstood, shunned, and often times estranged from their families.

Blog 2

Women in Oaxaca, Mexico face the same challenges as other women in the world.  What differs for them than the women in our country are the deep rooted cultural beliefs that are imposed upon them.  The information relayed to them is persuasive and almost to the point of misleading with regards to menopause.  HRT is the recommeded treatment for most women but the reason for its use differs than what American women hear.  The doctors there tell the women that if they don't use HRT their marriages will dissolve.  The majority of the town of Oaxaca are uneducated working class women whose families are their pride and joy.      At a seminar regarding menopause and HRT women heard that men will start straying from their marriage if menopause and the effects of it cause any decrease in their sexual relationship. This is a synopsis of the information relayed, "Therefore,  it is up to the woman,  to  remain sexually  available  and  interested  to  maintain  the  integrity  of  not  only  her  relationship with  her  husband,  but  her  entire  family.  The  message  reiterated several  times  in  this seminar was  that  HRT could  prevent  the  potential  dissolution  of  the culturally prized nuclear family"  (Ramirez 2006).  In their local newspaper this warning was found regarding menopause, "a special report by one of the state medical associations about the 'Specialized Manufacturing  heterosexuality Treatment  for  Menopausal  Problems'  indicated  that  it  is  important  for  medicine  to  have a  holistic  perspective  with  regard  to  menopause  because  it  affects  not  only  the  health  of the  woman  but  the  health  and  well  being  of  her  family" (Ramirez 2006).  This country is a devout Catholic nation.  As a Catholic I can speak with certainty that women there take their role of mother as a God given task.  The threat of losing her husband and breaking up her family would cause any woman there to take notice.  Interestingly in Mexico women as a whole do not suffer the same Western types of symptoms, like hot flashes, and mood swings.

In our society we are taught to expect these bodily changes.  We, however, are not threatened with our families breaking up and our husbands leaving the marriage to satisfy their sexual needs because of menopause.

Work cited:

Ramirez, Michelle.  (Nov-Dec 2006).  "Manufacturing Heterosexuality:  Hormone Replacement Therapy and Menopause in Urban Oaxaca." Culture, Health & Sexuality, Vol. 8, No. 6.  pp.  545-558.  Retrieved from:  <http://www.jstor.org/stable/4005564>.

For our first blog assignment I watched "There's No Small Stuff" Being Poor in Louisville, KY.  Watching Mary Turner shop for her family reminds me of myself.  I am constantly bargaining in my head with thoughts like this, "okay, if I buy this meat then I won't be able to get any treats" or "we really need more fresh fruits and vegetables but they are so expensive."  I completely commiserate with her plight.  I, however, do not live in rural Kentucky.  I also have to fee three teenagers.  We cannot even make it through a full week on $200, yet she has to make this $200 (or less) last for a month, sometimes borrowing from other bill payments.  When it is nearing the end of the month she cuts back feeding her family to only one meal a day.

There were many things she said in this four minute video that made me physically uncomfortable.  Her statement that "everything is large" really hit home with me (unnaturalcausesdoc, 2008).  Sometimes I feel that way in my own life.  Thinking that Mary wakes up every morning and says to herself, "Oh God, not another day" is unfair and terribly sad (unnaturalcausesdoc, 2008).  Knowing others who reside on the easter side of her county are living longer than she and her family members is another totally depressing reality.  What can be done?

When she coughed during the interview I couldn't help but think she may be a smoker and could possibly be sick.  In our text we read this regarding women and prescriptions, "Kaiser Family Foundation found 1 in 5 (21%) non elderly women did not fill a prescription because of the cost, compared with 13% of men (Alexander, 23).  Mary is non-elderly and has admitted that she has to decide whether she wants her family to eat or to have electricity.  Getting the medicine she needs would probably not  happen for Mary.  This is just one example in Mary's life that exemplifies the obvious link between health and poverty.

Our health care system is desperately overworked.  We have the highest gross national product yet we "ran 30th in life expectancy" (unnaturalcausesdoc, 2008).  One of the experts in the video "Unnatural Causes" stated we have "huge inequalities in our society" which causes the desperate state of illness in our country (unnaturalcausesdoc, 2008).  I believe one way to improve American health is education in wellness and illness prevention.  I wish we could incorporate this type of curriculum into all schools that illustrate simple ways to stay healthy that do not necessarily cost a lot of money to implement.  Mary Turner's family does not  have enough resources to alter their whole lifestyle.  But arming her children with easy and free ways to keep their family healthy could have a positive ripple effect in their world and others living in poverty.

Works cited:

Alexander, Linda, LaRosa, Judith, Bader, Helaine, Garfield, Susan, Alexander, William James, (2010).  New Dimentions in Women's Health.  Sudbury, MA.  Jones and Bartlett Publishers.

Unnaturalcausesdoc.  (2008, Mar 26).  Unnatural Causes [video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE7v5cHlHDQ.

Unnaturalcausesdoc.  (2008, July 10).  There's No Small Stuff [video file].  Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dshh1JLO3ps.

my education journey

One of the things I've enjoyed the most about pursuing my degree is how my confidence has grown.  When you try new things and even if you don't succeed the way you'd like at first - you realize that you are a capable person and you can learn and grow with each new experience.

I began my higher education journey almost 30 years ago.  I have dreamed of the day when I could actually say "I have a college degree!"  It has been something that has been nagging at me nearly every day since I left school the first time.  With lots of twists and turns in my life, and three kids later,  I am almost there!

Best of luck to each of you this semester!