Wednesday, April 30, 2008

on a very serious note...

(Frequently breaking into sobs, Leroy Hubley testified Tuesday about the death of his wife, Bonnie, who died a month before their son, Randy, after they both received contaminated heparin at the same kidney dialysis clinic..)



i was watching a CNN WORLD NEWS REPORT earlier this evening (tuesday:us) when a reporter started recounting several testimonies that had taken place today before congress about families who had lost loved ones as a result of contaminated heparin (a blood thinner in liquid form). i watched leroy hubley (in the ap photograph above) recount losing his wife and then a month later losing his son due to the contamination. the brokenhearted man could barely speak.


tears came to my eyes for him, and my heart felt like it was in my throat.

this particular story hit close to home for me. for i had to give myself heparin shots on several occasions as well as receive heparin drip iv's. after katherine was born, i started having mini-strokes and have been on coumadin (a blood thinner in pill form) since 1993.

i never felt the need to question either drug.


i just took for granted the safety of the medicine.

after the report, i sat thinking...

 i've shared this with only a handful of those near and dear... a little over a year ago, i offered to carry a baby for a beloved couple who had tried to get pregnant for nearly 15 years with no avail. she has been a dear friend and life-long mentor to me, and it was something i really, really wanted to do for her if she accepted my offer. i told her i would be willing to see a specialist as i knew i would have to switch from coumadin to daily heparin shots if the doctors allowed me to do it.  then, if the specialist gave the okay, i was more than willing to do this for them. 

as it turned out, the high risk pregnancy specialist ran some tests and told me it was just too risky. i was really upset for some time after that because after a lot of thought and prayer, i really had my heart set on it. not only would i have been able to help them, i would also have been making myself productive (pardon the pun).


i wanted my dear friend to experience the joy my katherine had brought to me!!! 

~@~

now, after watching the news, i feel that it was probably a GOD thing that we didn't go ahead with the surrogacy. i could not imagine them going through all that and then me losing their baby because of a contaminated drug...
it is outrageous to me this day and time that our food and drug administration continually fails to do its job!


on tuesday, members of congress blasted the fda for approving scientific protein laboratories, a wisconsin company which owns the chinese-owned changzhou spl co. ltd., a heparin supplier, without inspecting it...

 TOO LITTLE TOO LATE, if you ask me!


and here's the real kicker, the fda believes that the contamination was deliberate!


~@~


my thoughts and prayers go out to all those who have lost loved ones due to this travesty.


GOD bless them and you too...


love,
dani

8 comments:

Tanya said...

Oh, this is so sad! those poor families! it's simply not good enough! Dani how beautiful are you... it is sad that you couldn't help your friend, but thank goodness God is watching out for us!

Have a great day,

Tanya :)

Elise said...

What a heartbreaking story all because some people are allegedly negligent when it comes to doing their job.

What a truly selfless person you are Dani, offering to carry a baby for your friend. This is the ultimate gift to give. Was your friend able to have a baby?

Sending love to you
Elise.

dani said...

tanya,
it is awfully sad. that poor man who lost two family members... he just couldn't even get out the words. he'd lost his life-long companion and son. he was just pitiful.
i just hope that out of this tragedy, lessons are learned and better standards are set that this type of corruption doesn't continue to happen.
bless you, tanya,
dani

dani said...

elise, i never looked at carrying my friend's baby as selfless, honestly... i think because i wanted to do it so badly; i still do:D i just wish i could.
they haven't even thought about it since that i know. i think the only reason they even considered it when i offered was because they knew and trusted me and i don't work outside my home(so there were no other conflicts with the exception of my health issue).
but, you're right it is so sad about the pharmaceutical debacle. those poor people.
love back to you,
dani

Tabitha said...

Hi Dani
I agree, what a terrible thing for those families to go through.
You are a truly wonderful person to offer to carry a baby for a friend ~ that takes a special kind of someone!!

Some things in life are just so unfair ~ that poor man ~ to have lost his wife and son is awful.

love and warmest wishes,
Tabitha X

Amanda said...

Was the drug contaminated, or was it administered wrongly?
It's a tragic story.
Youv'e got a big heart, Dani.

Love Amanda x

dani said...

tabitha,
it would have only been a privilege:D i really don't look at it as a wonderful act just a wonderful oportunity (that takes me from selfless to selfish;). and as i said i selfishly still would like to do it.
i hope you are having a relaxing evening...
l,
d xx

dani said...

amanda,
the drug was contaminated.
raw heparin comes from pig intestines; and some kind of disease killed a large part of the swine population in china a couple of years ago causing the price of raw heparin to soar. evidently the suppliers contaminated the supply by (adding/substituting) a sulfate compound that came from animal cartilage... cutting corners.
it's just awful!!!
l,
d xx