Pieces of Time and Pivotal Moments

Written by Patricia Gatto


Pieces of Time and Pivotal Moments Patricia Gatto ©2004 All Rights Reserved. Joyful Productions

Life is comprised of pieces of time sprinkled with pivotal moments. Sometimes these moments have immediate impact. Other times, they are slow to manifest and reveal their importance. But if you listen closely torepparttar soft whispers of life, they will guide you on an unexpected journey filled with beauty, understanding and fulfillment. One such moment occurred for me about eight years ago.

On this particular day, I was helping my mom redo her bedroom. We rearrangedrepparttar 110906 furniture, cleaned, polished and changedrepparttar 110907 curtains and bedding. Then out camerepparttar 110908 new floral arrangements, potpourri and matching candles. Proudly, we stepped back to admire our work. That's when Mom decided we needed a little atmosphere and she litrepparttar 110909 candles.

Evidently, there was a residue of cleaning solution on her hands, becauserepparttar 110910 moment she flickedrepparttar 110911 lighter, flames burst inrepparttar 110912 air. Large blisters instantly formed on her hands and she began to shake. Asrepparttar 110913 tears rolled down her face, she looked up at me and whispered, "The children."

Those were her first words, not a cry, not a scream, not a curse – "the children". I panicked. I though she was in shock. I hurried her intorepparttar 110914 bathroom to tend to her wounds butrepparttar 110915 blisters were so large she couldn't move her fingers. I realized I would have to take her torepparttar 110916 doctor; I was also concerned about her state of mind. Her response seemed so strange. "Mom, what do you mean,repparttar 110917 children?" I asked.

She looked up at me withrepparttar 110918 sweetest, most sympathetic tear-filled eyes I had ever seen. "The poor children who get burnt." Then she continued to explain, "I saw it on Oprah. If this is painful for me, how much pain would a child be in? I feel so sorry for them…what they must go through."

That was her answer. My mom had second and third degree burns, her hands were swollen, blistered and shaking, but her tears were forrepparttar 110919 children. Children she saw on Oprah. My thoughts were less pure. At that moment, I didn't care about anyone but her.

Four years ago this October, I lost my mom to cancer. True to her nature, she never complained during her illness. Not once. Even in her suffering, she taught me valuable lessons. One of these lessons came when we were in her hospital room waiting for test results. The doctor finally arrived, flew intorepparttar 110920 room, delivered his devastating news and then abruptly left.

MOSQUITOES ARE A HAZARD TO YOUR PET'S HEALTH TOO

Written by Scottie Johnson


None of us likes to be bitten by mosquitoes and sometimes it is easy to forget that our pets suffer from mosquito bites too.

Mosquitoes feed on blood, and they will take it where they can find it. Onlyrepparttar female bites,repparttar 110905 males feed on plant nectar. Whilerepparttar 110906 female may have preferred hosts, she must have protein from blood to produce eggs. And, one blood meal is often not enough to produce a clutch of eggs. Oftenrepparttar 110907 female will feed, rest to digestrepparttar 110908 meal and feed again up to three times before she can get enough protein to produce her eggs.

So, each time your pet is outside in mosquito territory, it is a sitting target for a hungry female mosquito that is eager to reproduce.

Many species of mosquitoes will choose birds over humans or pets, but they have even been known to feed on frogs and other reptiles, if that is what they can find for a blood meal.

Most responsible pet owners know ofrepparttar 110909 hazards from mosquito bites associated with heartworm disease in cats and dogs. Mosquitoes carry parasite larvae, which they transmit to your pet once they bite. The parasite larvae then migrate torepparttar 110910 heart and major circulatory organs in your pet, where it develops into an adult worm that can reach ten inches in length.

The problem with heartworms is that they can take many years to develop into an adult that can cause symptoms in your cat or dog. Dogs are usually more at risk than cats, simply because they are usually outdoors more often. Byrepparttar 110911 timerepparttar 110912 symptoms develop, treatment is long and difficult. Sometimesrepparttar 110913 pet owner is unaware ofrepparttar 110914 problem until repparttar 110915 animal simply dies during exertion, a tragic ending that is very preventable.

Protection against heartworms is as easy as a trip to your veterinarian. Many effective medicines, which are given orally, can prevent development ofrepparttar 110916 larvae, if an infected mosquito bites your pet. The biggest failure of these medicines is pet owner default. They must be administered faithfully once per month with no lapse in treatment. And, just because it seems like mosquito season is at bay, don't lapse and forget to give your pet its dose. Many mosquitoes over-winter in protected places and they arouse ready to bite long before you might expect them.

Luckily, it is now possible to get a shot for your pet that will afford protection against heartworms for up to six months. Even diligent and caring pet owners can sometimes forget aboutrepparttar 110917 narrow window of opportunity for administeringrepparttar 110918 oral medication. This new advancement spares you and your petrepparttar 110919 risky aftermath of those lapses.

Now, pet owners have an even greater concern about mosquito bites to their pets. While rare, West Nile virus has been reported in both dogs and cats. There are very few reported cases of pet fatalities in dogs and cats, butrepparttar 110920 risk still exists. Instead, most ofrepparttar 110921 time, repparttar 110922 animal may test positive forrepparttar 110923 virus, without having symptoms.

If your pet has West Nile virus, it may haverepparttar 110924 following symptoms: fever, depression or lethargy, muscle weakness or spasms, impaired coordination, seizures or paralysis. If your pet has these symptoms, consult your veterinarian immediately.

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