The Pressures of Life can be as Simple as the Chair you sit on

At the age of 10, I knew about pressure sores. When I was fifteen, I became more aware of how serious pressure sores can develop into dangerous infections. Due to my knowledge of pressure sores, and their risks of infections; I took extra precautions of my skin. As for example, I slept on my side until my arthritis and bursitis worsened.

For 55 years, I took great care of myself from the dangers of pressure sores. In June of 2004, I had two surgeries in one day. Upon discharge from the hospital to my home, the plan was that the "Visiting Nurses of Boston" would come for a short time to keep a check on me.

A young nurse came for a couple times a week, I asked her to inspect my skin. My request of inspection of my skin was not honored! Her excuse was that she did not have time to inspect my skin. In her education to become a nurse, she was taught to inspect a person's skin as one of the priorities. Therefore, she neglected one of her priorities of her education!

As a result of the young nurse’s negligence, my skin is now in danger for pressure sores. Pressure sores are a serious matter; they can lead into the next stage of degeneration. As the pressure sore developed without treatment, I progressed into stage two.

If the pressure sores break open; they will most likely lead into the next stage if untreated. The transgression from stage three to stage four is rapid, so the treatment and care of these sores are imperative.























According To American Academy of Family Physicians:

What are pressure sores?
Pressure sores are areas of injured skin and tissue. They are usually caused by sitting or lying in one position for too long. This puts pressure on certain areas of the body. The pressure can reduce the blood supply to the skin and the tissues under the skin. When a change in position doesn't occur often enough and the blood supply gets too low, a sore may form. Pressure sores are also called bedsores, pressure ulcers and decubitus ulcers.


Are pressure sores serious?
Pressure sores can be serious, depending on how much the skin and tissues have been damaged. You should call your doctor if you think a sore is forming.

Mild damage causes the skin to be discolored, but a sore doesn't form. In light-skinned people, the damaged skin may turn dark purple or red. In dark-skinned people, the area may become darker than normal. The area of damaged skin may also feel warmer than the surrounding skin.

Deep sores can go down into the muscle, or even to the bone. If pressure sores are not treated properly, they can become infected. An infection in a pressure sore can be serious. Pressure sores also hurt a lot and make it hard for a person to move around.

Who gets pressure sores?
Anyone who sits or lies in one position for a long time might get pressure sores. You are more likely to get pressure sores if you use a wheelchair or spend most of your time in bed. However, even people who are able to walk can get pressure sores when they must stay in bed because of an illness or injury. Some chronic diseases, such as diabetes and hardening of the arteries, make it hard for pressure sores to heal because of a poor blood supply to the area.



Inspired by JAH - April 17, 2009

Caregivers' Mission, According To Carolyn

Caregiver(s) steps out of the boundaries of expectations.
Caregiver(s) should always put the person in our care ahead of us. If the Person in care is an infant; we are always on "baby time"!

We should never let the Person in our care feel the "Fear of Uncertainty".

Without a Caregiver(s), persons who are dependent
upon us to promote their independence
could not participate in their communities.

Most of all, Caregiver(s) should promote: advocacy and quality for the protection of the person in our care,
security in the homes of persons with disabilities and elderly persons in our care.

Responsibility is the most important role of a Caregiver.
A Caregiver requires a unique personality involving maturity,
caring, patience, and flexibility.
Persons with disabilities and elderly persons,
who require care are dependent upon us to live in their homes.

Caregiver(s) are Parents caring for their disabled child.
Caregiver(s) are adult children caring for their elder Parents.
Caregiver(s) are young adult grandchildren
caring for either one or two Grand Parents.

A Caregiver promotes: compassion, health, wellness,
and a caring touch for those in need.

Caregiver(s) provides a positive atmosphere, and is willing to explore a variety of
opportunities in the Health Care Realm.

A Caregiver(s) has to take care of herself or himself first to care for a person, for example an Alzheimer's patient. If Caregiver(s) do not take care of themselves, they cannot take care of others.
Caregiver(s) who choose to be Caregiver(s) have one common
Denominator -- Exhaustion.
The Exhaustion is both Physical and Emotional!
Good Caregiver(s) require "Respite"!

Caregiver(s) Philosophy

We value "Teamwork" for persons in our care,
we consider to think "We and Us"!

There is absolutely no letter “I” in the word “Teamwork”!


We believe in "Building Long-Term", trusting relationships with the persons in our care, and the other "Caregivers" who we work with and depend upon.
We value our Truth and Integrity.

Never compromise our ideals for the persons in our care! Be consistent and fair as a Caregiver.

We became Caregivers to promote protection, and security in the homes of persons with disabilities. In addition, let us not forget the most fragile in our care. The elderly persons with disabilities such as persons who has strokes, persons with Alzheimer's Disease.



We are committed to ongoing training as a "Caregiver Member", and education, which develops pride, job enrichment, and our personal and professional growth.


We believe “Our People Make The Difference”; knowing that our future rests on our work ethic, image, knowledge, imagination, skills, dependability and integrity of our "Team Members", we respect and value these qualities most highly.

We value “Caregiver’s Image”.

Our public perception of our "Team Members" is necessary and essential to our success for the protection and security of the persons in our care.

We are committed to growth. We believe this provides the greatest assurance of security and promotional opportunities for each "Team Member".

Bushmeat Trade...According to the Humane Society of The United States

Virtually half of all primate species are threatened with extinction. Although humans are the only primates not dwindling in numbers, our actions—particularly our destruction of habitats—pose the major threat to all other primates, such as chimpanzees and gorillas. In some areas, however, unregulated hunting of primates for commercial use poses an even greater threat than does habitat destruction.

Bushmeat, or wild-animal meat, has been part of the traditional diet of many forest-dwelling African people. As Africa has become urbanized, however, bushmeat has become a valuable commodity. Commercial bushmeat hunters, who use shotguns and snares that can kill many more animals in much less time than the traditional spears and nets, are bringing the lucrative bushmeat to growing markets in villages and cities.

These hunters also benefit from logging operations in the region. Cameroon, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Liberia are the major producers of tropical timber in an African industry dominated by European logging companies. As British, French, German, Italian, and other international logging companies plow into the African forests, they not only destroy and fragment wildlife habitats, but they also expedite the bushmeat trade. Logging roads are used by bushmeat hunters to gain access to the deep forest and to transport the bushmeat out of the forest to markets, often with logging trucks. Hunters also sell bushmeat at logging settlements, the camps where loggers and their families live while working for the logging companies.

Commercial hunters converge on new logging operations and build camps along roadways. There they display fresh kills and sell them to logging truck drivers, who transport the meat to market. Logging company officials say they can do nothing to stop the drivers from transporting bushmeat on their vehicles because the extra money and meat are too enticing. In fact, few companies have tried to implement rules that would stop loggers from accepting meat from hunters, and those companies that have prohibited their workers from aiding hunters rarely enforce their rules.

Not only do logging companies facilitate commercial hunting and delivery of bushmeat to market, they also create a need for bushmeat by failing to provide food for their workers. As a result, loggers turn to bushmeat for subsistence. With as many as 4,000 residents, a single logging settlement can consume huge amounts of bushmeat. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), of which The HSUS is a member, reports that in the Republic of Congo, logging companies have held bimonthly hunts and provided local men with weapons and ammunition for providing fresh meat to loggers. Despite national laws against hunting protected species such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and bonobos, logging companies and commercial hunters foster the illegal meat trade.

Forest elephants, giant pangolins (anteater-like animals), duikers (small antelopes), leopards, dwarf crocodiles, and golden cats are also killed for the bushmeat trade. Although ape meat constitutes only a small percentage of the bushmeat trade, the trade decimates a large percentage of the threatened primate populations. The WSPA estimates that several thousand lowland gorillas are killed annually; one study projected an annual slaughter of 800 gorillas in eastern Cameroon alone.

Male lowland gorillas are particularly desired by hunters because their large body mass brings hunters more money at the market. Usually, these protective silverbacks are the only group members killed, but their loss is particularly devastating, since it can isolate surviving individuals and make them vulnerable to attacks by other primate groups.

Sometimes mother apes and monkeys are killed with their infants, but when babies do survive, the hunter usually captures them and takes them to market. There they are sold as pets. Sometimes the hunter takes an infant home to be eaten later or chained up for amusement. In a five-day span, WSPA investigators observed two chimpanzees and three gorillas chained in logging settlements.

Cities offer large markets for pet apes. Both Africans and foreigners can purchase young chimpanzees and gorillas for $100 (although chimpanzees are more commonly kept as pets). Once such animals mature, they become difficult for pet owners to handle. As a result, many pets end up in sanctuaries. If they survive, these victims of the bushmeat trade become dependent on human care.

Recent measures have been taken to reduce the overall trade in and hunting for bushmeat, but primates—and other endangered species—continue to be killed at alarming rates. Species such as crowned monkeys and dwarf crocodiles face extinction in some localities.

Organizations such as the Bushmeat Project, The WSPA, and coalitions of organizations such as the Ape Alliance, of which The HSUS is a member, are seeking solutions to the bushmeat crisis. In 1996, an agreement was made between The WSPA, the European Parliament, and a French-owned ammunition manufacturer to halt the west-central African production of gun cartridges powerful enough to kill a gorilla or forest elephant. The ammunition had been used in the region almost exclusively to poach large mammals, such as elephants, who are protected by national and international laws.

European logging companies in Africa must be held accountable for their role in the decimation of wild species through the commercial bushmeat trade. They should eliminate the hunting, trading, harboring, and transporting of endangered species in their settlements and set up programs to educate their workers about the importance of protecting primates and other endangered animals. Logging operators should also supply alternative forms of protein to their workers. African governments that contract out their timber cutting should promote bushmeat alternative programs.

Carolyn's Bio Summary

According to my Parents' memory, my diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy was at 13 months old. At birth, there were no apparent signs of any problems. Many people, including some professionals, assume that because Cerebral Palsy is a "non-progressive disorder", physical functioning will remain much the same throughout life. This is not necessarily the case.

While some people lose no more functioning than might be expected from the normal aging process, others will develop secondary physical problems. Well, it turns out that I am one of those persons who developed numerous secondary physical problems.

After I graduated from High School, and before my time in college, I corresponded with many soldiers serving in South Vietnam during the time of the Vietnam War. Most of the soldiers were located in Saigon and Da Nang. The most interesting ones were the married soldiers who only wanted to share their thoughts about their children and their wives.

At Bunker Hill Community College, I received an Associates Degree in Human Services. Then, I transferred to Boston University where I earned my BA degree in Medical Sociology. After graduating, I began my Masters Program in Medical Sociology, but then my symptoms escalated to the point where I had to take a "Medical Leave" from Boston University.

After Boston University, I did medical research in two of Boston's best Pediatric Hospitals...In addition, I worked at the Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston in the Egyptian Department. I did numerous projects for them. Assisting them with the Mummy Show was long and tedious work, but I learned much about Ancient Egypt.

What am I going to accomplish at the end of my life? Or, is it the beginning of my life...? I have had so many lives! Or, should I say, that I went through many "Adolescent Periods"!