McCleary MRSA Prevention

I read in the Bangor Daily News today that Pastor Todd Bell’s lawyers claim there have been death threats against him.  That is outrageous, and unacceptable. There is never any place for death threats.  It must stop.

https://bangordailynews.com/2020/09/09/news/york/sanford-pastor-connected-to-coronavirus-outbreak-getting-death-threats-lawyers-say/?fbclid=IwAR1vnhdAZMxWpTDn0d1J1JubSzcUqD0c9zQ4bwvRYMZBZw-jzxgguKSQnyM

However, COVID 19 threatens death to vulnerable people every day.  Even otherwise healthy young people have died of COVID 19.  It is very contagious, and it can be deadly. That is exactly the reason that most of us have altered our lives so much over the past 6 months.  We can’t hire lawyers to protect our lives from COVID. We just have to follow some pretty simple life saving rules.

I remember the first rumblings about COVID.  I went to Sam’s Club and a woman ahead of me was scrubbing off the handle to the shopping cart.  I use to walk by those wipes in stores, and just cleaned my hands when I got home.  That day was different. I felt a startling shift in the need to do such things, religiously. I told that lady, “that is a great idea” and I scrubbed the shopping cart handle. AND I washed my hands when I got home.

It wasn’t long after my Sam’s club visit, that all hell broke loose.  The cases went from 1 case and Trump saying it was a hoax, to now about 6,000,000 cases and 200,000 deaths.  We had blissful days in Maine while Seattle was exploding with COVID.  Maine didn’t see any cases for quite a while.  But, we knew it was coming….

Then we got our first case, and our second. etc.  Then we had our first death and our second, etc.  But, all things considered, Maine has done very well to stem the spread of COVID.  That was until a Pastor Todd Bell joined with other science deniers and rule breakers to officiate a wedding in Millinocket, Maine, my home town.  That was the start of the largest COVID 19 outbreak in Maine, and it keeps growing.

Less than a week after the August 7 wedding I started hearing some things about an outbreak up home. We are one month and 2 days out from that wedding, and now about 160 people, possibly more have been affected.   3 people have died, none of them attended the wedding.  They were secondary or tertiary contacts.  Others have been hospitalized.  And fortunately many have managed their illness at home.  This story has not ended.

Unless Todd Bell has been living under a rock, (and we KNOW he hasn’t because he thrives on attention) , he has seen,  heard and read about the havoc that wedding caused in our State.  He has been educated and warned by State officials about what is expected of Churches AND schools in this state, under executive orders from our Governor.  The rules are for ALL churches and his isn’t excluded.   Those orders are to protect each and every Mainer, including Pastor Bell and his flock.  Yet, he defiantly holds church services, without masks or distancing.  He did this knowing that his own personal church outbreak had doubled last week from 5 to 10 victims.  His choir, crowded in the front of the church without masks, sings hymns.  Singing is known to spread COVID droplets efficiently, especially when no masks are worn.

What will it take to bring this pastor into compliance?  Will it take a death in his own Church?  Will they have to cough, and choke and collapse right in front of him?  Will he go to them to help or will he stand back because he knows they have COVID?  Will he pray over them?  I don’t know that he has prayed for the others who have died, or their survivors, or all of the other people he has left in his path.

He has publicly scoffed at the executive orders of the State of Maine.  He has laughed at all of us.

Pastor Todd Bell’s actions threaten the lives of his flock. So, could his actions be considered a “death threat”?   Members of  his flock leave that church and go back into the community to their homes, jobs, stores, and other public places.  My guess is that most of them don’t wear masks.  That is a clear display of their selfishness and disregard for others and preventative rules. They have likely learned well from their  science defying pastor.

Should they be allowed to continue this defiance and spread of disease?  I don’t think so.  I think they have been handled with diplomacy, education, warnings, and fairness long enough.  I think they have wreaked enough havoc on our State. I think it is time to shut them down.

But, certainly not with death threats.

Andrew Day

This is a story about two men in my family and a squirrel family.  I have been married to Mike Day, for 45 years this year.  He is a quiet gentle man who  has the patience of a saint.  He has stuck it out with me and that speaks for itself!  My son Andrew Day is my youngest and he is also a special and big hearted man.  None of us expected notoriety for their patience and kindness but then last Sunday a weird thing happened.

Andrew was visiting us at our Pearl Street home in Bangor and he was about to leave when he looked out our front window.  He said, “Uhoh, there is some cat/squirrel action out there”.   At the end of the driveway across the street, there was a big old orange cat, stalking what we thought was a single squirrel on our side of the street.  We thought we were seeing an injured adult squirrel.  He went outside to find FOUR baby squirrels, all joined together at the tail by a weird ball of debris.  Oh no, what to do!!!  They couldn’t walk or run because they would all pull in different directions.  They couldn’t climb a tree because one or two of them would weigh the others down.  Mother squirrel was on the side of a tree across the street and she was frantically screaming and crying for her babies.  The babies all huddled in a crevice at the base of one our maple trees.

Andrew called for the Bangor, ME animal control.  The dispatch told him they weren’t available on a Sunday, so they put in a call for us to the Game Warden service.  We knew these babies were in jeopardy.  The Game warden called back and he couldn’t come right away, because he was at a remote pond.  When we described our predicament, he said he would just use his pocket knife to cut away the debris, and he would need our help to do it.  So, based on that, my men decided they could do this themselves.

They gathered up some rudimentary tools.  We got a large plastic rake, a soil cultivator tool,  3 foot deep box, scissors, long leather gloves (no bites or scratches for them!), some branch trimmers, and a grabber which is used by handicapped people to pick things up or reach things.  Mike got the rake under the squirrels and Andrew used the claw like cultivator to gently help them into the box.  The little buggers had picked up a number of long branches during their excursion, and Mike cut away all of those.  Andrew then spent almost an hour and a half cutting, trimming and picking away at the ball of stuff that cemented the babies together.   At the end of this operation, they used some Dawn detergent to lubricate and condition the remaining small tangles and then they were separated.  Whew!

The tails were tattered and skinny for lack of hair, but they were intact.  The little guys were stressed and tired, and they curled up around each other and rested under an old blanket while I called the warden.  We couldn’t see the mother squirrel anywhere and were uncertain about the next step.  He told me that their only chance for life was with their mother, and to let them out of the box.  We did.  They ran off immediately, and separately, for the first time I think!   Two went up the tree where their nest was, and the two others went in different directions.

About an hour later, we saw Mamma squirrel nudging one of the babies up the tree.  We were all happy and relieved that the little family was back together.  Andrew’s friend Peg dropped by to support Andrew and a couple of neighbors stopped to satisfy their curiosity.  We were all pretty triumphant that these little guys would make it.

THEN! Andrew posted his video of the babies, before they were separated, on YouTube.  A friend of a friend who writes for the Bangor Daily News asked to do a story for the newspaper. http://actoutwithaislinn.bangordailynews.com/2017/05/22/recreation/four-baby-squirrels-with-tails-tangled-together-rescued-by-bangor-men/

WLBZ Channel 2 news asked for an interview.  http://www.wlbz2.com/life/a-tale-of-4-squirrels/442317489

Mike’s and Andrew’s big hearted heroism had spread far beyond our family, a friend and a couple of neighbors. In fact, the story went viral and so did the video.  After only 3 days, there are almost 150,000 hits on his video and numerous media reports.

I love this story and telling it, because it just plain warms my heart.  But, both Mike and Andrew are a little embarrassed by all of the attention.  Neither of them think they did something heroic.  I beg to differ!

This is the Bangor Daily news story about a very brave and determined woman.  She felt that a grave injustice was done to her when she sought care at EMMC in 2007.  She had abdominal cramping and was 16 weeks pregnant.  Her hometown hospital has no OB/GYN service or doctor.  So she travelled the 70 miles to EMMC for care.  They examined her, determined that her baby was dead and sent her home.  Please read the three stories that the BDN wrote regarding this womans case. 

It is my opinion that this brave woman may have made a statement to Maine and US hospitals that even if they have a policy that protects THEM if they discharge a miscarrying woman, it isn’t the right thing to do.  I believe she may have set a precident with her determination to reveal the injustice done to her.

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/bdn/Jury-deliberates-Morin-miscarriage-case,156701

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Statewide/Woman-ends-testimony-in-stillborn-fetus-case-in-Bangor-court,156563

http://new.bangordailynews.com/2010/10/19/news/bangor/woman-sues-emmc-over-stillbirth-at-home/

I was surprised to read that the Vinal Haven,  Maine  MRSA outbreak continues.  It was declared by the previous Maine Public Health director that the outbreak was controlled last fall.

When I spoke to one of the Island’s MRSA victims, he told me that it had spread into at least one young family last fall.  He also stated that in his opinion that the outbreak originated in the mainland hospital rather than on lobster boats.  It then spread amoungst the lobster men on lobster boats.  I cannot confirm this, but since 85% of MRSA is Health care associated, I do not doubt him.

Aggressive MRSA education for the public and for Health care providers is necessary.  Also, aggressive screening, isolation and other preventative measures in our hospitals and all health care settings are necessary if we are ever going beat this horrible infection.

http://www.bangordailynews.com/story/Midcoast/MRSA-infections-persist-on-Vinalhaven,155268

A local guest editor, Dr Eric Steele, Bangor, ME, writes about transparency regarding Medical Errors in today’s Bangor Daily news.  This link tells the story of an unfortunate man who lost his life in a small Maine Hospital because of a huge overdose of Epinephrine.  Dr Steele, while recognizing the tragedy of the mans death, also applauds the hospital because they accepted the responsibility of this error ,made changes to correct the problem and apologized to the family.

If only this same thing could be done for the thousands of people who die each hear from Hospital Acquired Infections.  Many things are being done, but the most important one for MRSA is not being done as practice in the State of Maine.  Active Detection and Isolation is a proven method of prevention for MRSA.  Mandatory public reporting as also been successful in making hospitals accountable and transparent about these infections, and yet the Maine Hospital Association and Epidemiologists and other representatives from all Maine hopsitals have rejected and fought both of these measures.

I hope that Dr Steele is as serious about HAIs as he is about other Medical Errors. 

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/147267.html?comment_result=posted#comments-post

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/135860.html

Below is a photo of a Hand MRSA.  Many of the infections on Vinalhaven affected the hands.

This is an update on a link I added here a few days back.  It is good to hear that the MRSA outbreak on Vinalhaven Island in Maine has been controlled.  Comments in this article make it sound like they were plagued with flea  bites. 

MRSA is a bit more serious than claimed here.  Some of these victims had to be treated with powerful IV antibiotics.  Some of them will be plagued with repeated infections and all of the victims families have been exposed within their homes to MRSA.  Simple exposure is not in and of itself a problem.  But, many of them may have become colonized.  that means they will carry the MRSA bug.  That is also not a problem UNLESS they become gravely ill and/or need hospitalization for invasive procedure. MRSA can then rear it’s ugly head and cause a myriad of problems.  Patients must make their doctor and hospital aware of their close exposure to the infection.  If the doctor does not order a MRSA screening, the patient should demand one.  If they are colonized, they can have a simple treatment that will decrease their chances of serious active infection a great deal.  And, they can be separated from patient who do not carry MRSA thus avoiding spread of the desease.

I suggested that former MRSA patients and caretakers of MRSA patients to be included in the populations to be screened by our hospitals here in Maine.  They were not included.  My opinion is that was a big mistake.  Nobody wants to incite panic, but a little bit of panic makes people pay attention and absorb important information about their health and risks to it.   MRSA status on admission to the hospitals is a very important status to be aware of.

So, it is good that the Maine CDC got right on this outbreak and worked to control it.  I just hope they added  this  important patient education (about avoiding serious infection in the future) to their investigation  process on the Island.