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Painter Mommy

Fun stuff in the Everyday Life of a Busy Mom & Entrepreneur

Save a Life: Donate Your Umbilical Cord Blood

May 17, 2012 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

Thanks to advances in medical science – particularly over the last 20 years or so – there are now many lifesaving and symptom controlling treatments available for a whole range of diseases and serious medical conditions that were previously virtually untreatable.  Great progress has also been made in the prevention of stroke and heart attacks and the treatment of cancer. Researchers are working all the time to improve these existing methods and are striving to identify new ones.

Blood transfusions are an essential tool used in lifesaving situations, as are organ donations and procedures involving bone marrow transplant.  The part that stem cells can play in the treatment of such patients has been found to be invaluable. In view of that fact there is now a way to save lives that is accessible to every mother, via a safe and painless five-minute routine at the time of her baby’s birth? The good news is that the technique of collecting, processing and storing umbilical cord blood now makes it possible for almost every expectant mother to be a lifesaver.

 

The importance of donating umbilical cord blood

 Umbilical cord blood contains un-specialized cells ­– medical researchers have discovered that, when stimulated, these have the potential to become specialized stem cells with the attributes needed to form healthy body tissue, muscle or new blood cells. Instead of discarding the umbilical cord after birth along with the placenta, scientists established that if they collected the blood, processed, froze and stored it in an umbilical stem cell bank, it could be used later in the treatment of a growing number of serious conditions.  Amongst others, these include, leukemia and other cancers. In the future it is hoped that other illnesses can also be treated in this way, including stroke, HIV and AIDS, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, to name a few.

 

A simple way to save a life

 Although the process of draining the umbilical cord takes only a few minutes following the birth of the baby, there are a few things for the mother to do earlier in her pregnancy. She needs to check if her hospital works with a specific cord blood bank and to give her permission for the donation, complete a questionnaire about her health and allow a small blood sample to be checked in case of any infection. If all is well, then mom-to-be is set up to save a life when her new baby is born by donating the umbilical cord blood. There should be no concerns about the process to be undergone, and in case of any complication the health and safety of mother and baby is prioritized in all cases.

 

Donating umbilical cord blood to a public bank

 There are two types of cord blood bank – private and public. Private banks store the donation specifically for the donor’s family. Whilst this offers a degree of reassurance in the event of a serious illness developing, there is very little likelihood of this, plus there are substantial fees for the family to pay the bank initially at the time of the donation, and then annually for continuing storage. An umbilical stem cell bank that is public, on the other hand, makes no charge for handling the donation and the cord blood can be made available to those in need of it, as long as it is a good match for the proposed recipient.

The beauty of using a public cord blood bank is that children with life-threatening illnesses, such as lymphoma and Sickle Cell Anemia can access stem cell donations that would otherwise not be available to them.

 

Stuck in Bed

April 10, 2012 by Painter Mommy Leave a Comment

Guest Post written by our friend Solomon Thompson

I have the flu and I must say it sucks. I can’t breathe can hardly even move, the only thing I can do is lay here in bed. I guess I can’t complain too much though because I am actually enjoying the Lifetime Movie network. I didn’t have this channel until recently when a friend of mine talked me into signing up for satellite TV. She just wouldn’t shut up about direct tv brooklyn until I called them a few weeks ago, and honestly right now I am glad I did, it makes me believe that I might actually survive this horrid flu. I’ve never been one to watch TV in bed, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this small episode of being bed ridden spoils me and I start planning actual days in bed to enjoy the Lifetime Movie network. I am also getting spoiled on the TLC channel; I mean who knew watching Cake Boss could be so fun? I never did until now. Like I said, I’m getting spoiled with all these wonderful channels.

We All Have Mononucleosis

July 10, 2010 by Painter Mommy 12 Comments

Can you believe it?  My children and I have Mononucleosis (other wise known as “mono” or “the kissing disease”).   The only thing I ever knew about mono was from kids in high school who had gotten it and missed like a month of school.

For us, it all started back in March when my son, who was around 16 months at the time.  Once of the glands under his jaw had gotten extremely swollen and he was very cranky all the time.  We took him to the doctor to get checked out.  We even had bloodwork done, but somehow they missed the fact that it was mono – kinda frustrating.  If I knew, I would’ve done all that I could to prevent it from spreading.

Well, once the summer started back in mid June, my oldest son (6) had gotten very sick with strep throat and then a few weeks later, my daughter (4) got a bad stomach flu.  She had some other odd symptoms, so I decided to take her to the doctor to see what was wrong.  They wound up doing blood work on her and it came back positive for mono.  I then took my other 2 sons to get checked as well and they came back positive for mono as well.  Over the course of these past few weeks I picked up a few things myself – first bronchitis, then the stomach flu, and now a sinus infection.  I have been very weak and tired and I really think that I have mono as well.  And the reason we are all picking up these other random sicknesses is because our immune system is already compromised because of the mono.

So, I have mono and I have 3 children who have it as well.  What a summer right?  We have been stuck in the house for weeks.  Mono is highly contagious so we have not been able to do any of things that we had planned to do over the summer with our friends.

I did a lot of research about mononucleosis in children and I found the same things that it says about older children or adults – there is really nothing that can be done about it than ride it out.  Mono is a viral infection caused by the Epstein-Barr virus.  It is spread by saliva and close contact.  And how can you avoid that with small children?

According to Google Health, it says that mono can cause a whole myriad of symptoms, but the main one is fatigue and a general sick feeling.  Other symptoms include:

  • Drowsiness
  • Fever
  • General discomfort, uneasiness, or ill feeling
  • Loss of appetite
  • Muscle aches or stiffness
  • Rash
  • Sore throat
  • Swollen lymph nodes, especially in the neck and armpit
  • Swollen spleen

Each of my children has had different symptoms from each other so it has been interesting to watch and definitely not easy to understand.

And since there is no medicine or antibiotic that will kill this sickness, the only thing they suggest is to relieve the symptoms.  These are some of the things that will help.

  • Drink plenty of fluids.
  • Gargle with warm salt water to ease a sore throat.
  • Get plenty of rest.
  • Take acetaminophen or ibuprofen for pain and fever.

The thing that bothers me the most is that you really don’t know how long it will last.  It can often last weeks or even months.  And it can also be contagious for that entire time as well.

So, there goes our summer!  Another crazy trial we have to face…

The thing that I am grateful for though, is that even though we cannot really be around other children right now – my children are able to be with each other and entertain themselves.  I am so blessed to have 4 children and even though when sickness comes in our home, it is definitely harder to deal with… I would not want to trade my family for anything in the world.

So, how about you?  Have you ever had to deal with mono?  What symptoms did you have?  How long did it last?  I would love to heard from you.

How do you feel about the Flu Shot?

January 26, 2009 by Painter Mommy 9 Comments

I went to the Doctor this past Friday and they asked me if I wanted to get the flu shot.? I was hesitant because I had my mom visiting for the weekend and I really didn’t want to get the flu.? I have heard on several occasions of people coming down with a mild case of the flu from the shot.? After all, they are injecting little bit of the flu into you right?

The Doctor assured me that I would be fine and that the only thing that? might happen would be for my arm to get a little sore.

Friday I was fine.? But on Saturday I started feeling achy.? Sunday it got worse, and now Monday – I really have the flu!? What the heck?? Now my head is pounding and my whole body aches from head to toe.? I was so looking forward to today because my 3 & 4 yr olds are in preschool for a full day.?? I had planned on getting lots of work done today, but that probably won’t happen, because I am having a hard time just typing this post from my bed.

I am interested to know what your thoughts are about the flu shot.? Please leave me a comment and fill out the poll below.? You can pick more than one answer.

[poll id=”2″]

Thanks so much!? I am going to put my laptop back on my desk and lay down and get some rest.

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photo credit: Andres Rueda

Is it OK to use a Nose Aspirator on a Baby?

December 28, 2008 by Painter Mommy 10 Comments

I have three children who have all been sick over the past several days.? It started with my son who is 4, then passed to my daughter who is 3 and now both me and my baby boy (2 1/2 months old) are fighting it.

It kinda made me laugh in the hospital, after I had the baby, and the doctor said to try and keep my other children away from the baby when they are sick.? I honestly tried over this past week to keep everyone separate, but the more I tried – the more my other 2 wanted to touch and kiss the baby – runny noses and all.? Every hour I would catch my son leaning into the baby’s swing rubbing his yucky nose against the baby’s face.?? I mean it was inevitable that the baby would get sick!

It is really horrible though.? My baby is sooo congested, he can hardly breath.? He is coughing & sneezing and it just about kills me to see such a tiny human being suffer.

My mom has been putting her 2 cents in (2 hours away – by phone) that I need to call the doctor and find out what to do.? She always makes a big deal about stuff and says that I am too lax when it comes to stuff like this.? I promised her that if the baby wasn’t better by Monday I would bring him to the doctor.

When I had my first child, the hospital sent us home with this bulb like thing that I found out later was called a “nose aspirator”.? I had no intentions of ever using it (just like the anal thermometer, but that is another story) until my little one got so sick at 4 months old and needed help getting the snot out of his nose.

Ziek Plezier

So, I have to admit, that YES I have used “The Bulb” on my children on more than one occasion.? Now that my 2 older ones can blow their own noses, it has been nice not having to worry about “The Bulb”.? I put it away quite a while ago until my husband told me that I needed to get it out yesterday and use it on our new baby.

Boy do I hate that thing!

How the heck do you use it?? How far do you stick it in their nose?? What direction should it be pointing – back?? up?? I never can get the thing to work right!? After much struggle yesterday afternoon, as my husband looked on and the baby was screaming bloody murder – finally – frustrated and at the end of my rope, I tossed “the bulb” to my husband and told HIM to do it.? And of course, he cleared the baby’s nose without a problem.? Go figure!

So, the reason I am bringing this up, is because I am wondering how you all feel about this torturous tool – the Nose Aspirator.? Are you FOR it?? or AGAINST it?

Please take some time to comment on your own experiences.? Maybe I won’t feel so bad if you all feel the same as I do!? LOL

Oh and please vote!

[poll id=”1″]

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