Avoiding the extended dangers of post-Harvey flooding

Update 1 of 1: 8/31/17 at 5:17 p.m. This news release from Texas A&M discusses the fecal coliform (i.e bacteria typically found in human feces) contamination of Harvey's stormwater.  

Next time I'll return to writing about my first trimester highlights and challenges, but today I wanted to take some time to reflect on the awful tragedy of Hurricane/Tropical Storm Harvey. As one of the many states in which I have resided, and still have family and friends, TX will always be near and dear to me. It's devastating to see the aftermath of Harvey, but it's also very heartwarming to see all of the positive stories of first responders, and everyday people helping each other. Here's a link to a good NPR article that lists a number of organizations where you can donate supplies for those in the affected area. I'm planning to donate supplies for infants and new moms.  I already had planned to donate such items to my local Salvation Army, but now I'll just send them to TX.  I have lots of new and very gently used baby clothes, diapers, etc., that my Superman of a son has already outgrown.  I can't begin to imagine how stressful it is for all of those new and expectant moms in the southern TX right now.

As a microbiologist, one really important thing I wanted to reiterate, is that, as much as possible, people should try to avoid exposure to the flood waters in the coming days and weeks.  I've seen news stories of children and adults splashing and voluntarily submerging themselves in the storm water. I know that it's a stressful time, and one way to try to help children cope--or for adults to cope--might be to do something "fun" like splash around and make the most of being surrounded by all that water.  However, it's extremely important to remember that all the flooding will include flooding of sewers, meat processing facilities, and other potentially hazardous sites such as municipal trash facilities.  In the coming days there will no doubt be serious issues with decomposing organic material, that may include large animals, and sadly even humans whose bodies have not yet been located.  As a result, the pathogen/potential pathogen load in the flood water will increase. Even wading in the water may prove to be harmful, especially if one has cuts and abrasions that may be exposed to harmful bacteria, viruses and fungi.  Added to these biological hazards are the potential chemical hazards from flooded petrochemical processing plants, service stations, hospitals, morgues, hardware stores, and other chemical manufacturers and suppliers.  Just this morning the Arkema, Inc. chemical plant exploded near to Houston.
  
I remember 12 years ago during the Katrina search and rescue operations a colleague whose family member was a first responder in the area recounted how they were rescuing some victims who had been in the flood waters for extended periods of time, and had severe skin rashes [due to infections]. More important than the infrastructure clean-up and repair that has already begun, it will be so important for those in the affected areas to keep themselves as healthy as possible. One way to do this is to limit exposure to flood waters so as to avoid the many pathogenic and chemical contaminants that will remain in the flood water long after Harvey is gone. Keeping kids away from the water will be a challenge, but it's something that all parents in the affected area should try to do for the next few weeks/months.

Hey baby, it's been a while...

It's been quite a while since my last post. I've been super busy:  first moving, and then moving again after a fire in my condo building; living like a gypsy, and then finally finding my little slice of paradiso. All the while my biggest priority has been ensuring I remained as stress-free as possible during my pregnancy, and thankfully delivering the world most awesome little boy.  I know, I'm a bit biased.  I've decided to make my next few posts about some things I found very helpful before, during, and after my pregnancy.

And now for the standard disclaimer:  I'm a microbiologist, not an OB/Gyn. The information contained in this post is based on my personal experience and not meant to be medical advice.  If you are pregnant, wish to become pregnant, or a recent mommy, you should consult your primary care provider for medical advice.

Prenatal Insight

Okay, so I'll start with the prenatal insight. Although I'm in my late 30s (alright 39 is as late as it can get), despite the conventional evidence that most women will have a harder time getting pregnant after 35, it was not a challenge for me to get pregnant,  In fact it was the opposite... but that's all I will say. I believe the main reason for this is because I was in good health--emotionally and physically.  Although my weight was a bit more than ideal, I exercised regularly, and for the most part I ate healthy, home-cooked meals.  I've always preferred making my own food as opposed to eating out, or eating fast food.  Don't get me wrong, I love me a Five Guys every once in a while, but I could never allow myself to make it a habit.  I know what Type II diabetes and hypertension can do to the body, and my goal is to avoid them now and in the future.  Throughout the years eating healthy has been one of the most important factors in maintaining my overall health.  I've never been a size 2,  and my weight has fluctuated over the years, but it's usually directly correlated to the amount of exercise I engage in, as opposed to unhealthy eating habits.  At most times in my life I maintain my exercise routine by walking. A lot.  I've walked seven or eight miles in a day without a second thought.

During my pregnancy I only gained about 20 lbs over all. In fact, most people who saw me on a regular basis didn't even realize I was pregnant. It did help that it was winter and I could wear bulky clothes.  As a reference Kim Kardashian had gained over 50 pounds with six weeks left in her first pregnancy.  I don't envy Kim her weight gain, but I do applaud and admire her ability to snap back into top physical form. For the record, I won't be dropping 50 pounds within 3 months of my delivery, but I will be losing the weight I gained and even more, because I'm determine to return to what I call my "ultimate healthy body" before my next birthday. Plus, I have closets filled with vintage clothes I love that I'm planning to wear until they have holes in them.

I was never a fan of drinking plain water (bad, I know), but, during my first trimester, I became very good at it as a means to stay hydrated.  Given that I was probably losing about a gallon of water a day in urine, gulping huge glasses of water became routine. This is one thing I plan to continue doing postnatal--not the losing lots of urine part, the drinking lots of water. Also, I have been a fan of taking prenatal vitamins for years, not because I was actively attempting to become pregnant for years, but because it's my belief that it can't hurt to be as healthy as possible and to take them as my regular vitamins.  So, at the "advanced maternal age" (that's what they label you medically if you're my age and pregnant) of 38yrs, 9mths., I had an easy, breezy conception and a problem-free pregnancy. Well, mostly problem-free pregancy.  My first trimester was an awful blur of nausea, but I actually only vomited once. Next time I'll provide some insight into how I managed to get through the purple haze of nausea for two excruciating months, and talk about some websites and products I found extremely  helpful. Oh, by the way: my pregnancy test was a $1 test from the Dollar Store. I took it almost on a whim. They work.

The monster often has a familiar face

As a child, unbeknownst to my parents, I'd often spend all night reading books when I was supposed to be fast asleep. As I got older it seemed that I'd lost this "skill" and instead of being able to read through the night, picking up a book while in bed often led to me dozing within the first few lines.  Eureka! I'd stumbled upon a bonafide  cure for insomnia (not that I've ever been an insomniac--just a night owl most of my life).

Tonight, for the first time in over a decade, picking up a book to lull me back to sleep had the opposite effect.  After falling asleep too early for my usual bedtime on a Sunday night, I found myself up at 3am. In an effort to go back to sleep quickly I started reading The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold.  I'd seen--and loved--the hauntingly sad movie adaptation of the book years earlier, so I knew what to expect. Or at least I thought I did.

For the first time in a very long time, instead of falling asleep from reading, I found myself having to put down the book so that I would not keep reading it all night long.  The story is not fanciful or a rare literary masterpiece in the traditional sense.  But what it is matters more than reading a classical Shakespearean tale.  The sadness of this story takes on a whole new dimension.  Not very many books dealing with child abduction and murder tell the story from this perspective. It's frightening because it's reality for so many children and their families. It makes you want to do more than just teach your kids about the dangers of this world that are sometimes disguised as the neighbor next door, or the kindly looking, familiar face from church... it makes you want to never take your eyes of your child. Ever. Because you know that just like Suzie Salmon, who was an intelligent, thoughtful child, looking forward to going to high school and all of the things that little girls and boys her age might look forward to--your child might have a very temporary moment where he/she trusts the wrong person, and before they can run away or even call for help, the monster disguised as the familiar face, or the friendly face, can forever shatter your child's life, and your world.

Real life horror stories such as those of Jaycee Dugard and the Cleveland Kidnapping survivors offer some insight into the horrors that child victims might face at the hands of their abductors.  But there are so many others who are unable to even speak of their horrors because unfortunately, they have not survived the monsters who robbed them of their innocence and their lives.

At the end of the movie version of The Lovely Bones, I felt some measure of satisfaction that "Mr. Harvey" had been struck dead--almost supernaturally-- by a falling icicle.  In some ways I hoped that it would be a very, very long time before anyone even found his body, and an even longer time before his turn in Hell was up.  But on the other hand, I hoped that, they did find his body immediately, because then Suzie's parents would know that this monster was no longer out there alive and able to hurt other children.

Like Suzie Salmon's monster, real life monsters often have familiar, or superficially friendly faces. It's a balancing act to teach children to be compassionate, friendly and confident out in the world, while at the same time (as my mom likes to put it) "maintain vigilance" against those who would attempt do do them harm. There's no easy way to deal with this issue as a parent. One just has to do the best and hope for the best in a world that still has far too many monsters waiting to prey on the unsuspecting.