My most perfect day: Brave Hannah at home for what could be her last Christmas

By Tessa Cunningham
Last updated at 10:35 PM on 25th December 2008

For Hannah Jones, it was a Christmas Day perfect in every way. Lots of lovely food, presents and, best of all, she was at home.
Hannah was determined to spend the day with her loving family because this could be their last Christmas together.
She is the brave 13-year-old leukaemia victim who recently won a High Court battle for the right to refuse a heart transplant which could save her life.

At the time she declared: 'Being in hospital reminds me of bad times. I've spent long enough there. I just want to be home - even if my life might be shorter.'
Those poignant words hung over Hannah's family as they put in an extra-special effort to create yesterday's magical Christmas.

Even though money was tight, they spared no expense decorating their house in Hereford with the tallest tree from the garden centre, the twinkliest decorations and of course, the best and fanciest presents for all their four children.
'It was the most perfect day,' said Hannah. 'I'm just so lucky to be here. Being with my family is all I want. It's been very important to celebrate this Christmas as if it were the last. I believe it won't be, I have so much to live for, but the truth is no one knows exactly how long is left.'
Hannah has been fighting acute myeloid leukaemia since she was four.

Last year tests showed her heart was severely enlarged as a side-effect of chemotherapy and doctors said her best chance was a transplant, although it would be risky with no guarantee of success.
When she refused and asked to go home, Hereford Hospital started High Court proceedings to remove her from her parents' custody to allow the transplant - accusing them of 'preventing' their daughter's treatment and threatening to send police officers to remove Hannah forcibly from her home.

It was only when she convinced a child protection officer that she knew her own mind, that proceedings were finally dropped.
And that gave her the chance to spend Christmas at home with her parents Andrew and Kirsty, brother Oliver, 11, and sisters Lucy, ten and four-year- old Phoebe.

'I had a brilliant Christmas morning,' said Hannah, grinning from ear to ear.

'I felt a little tired, but we all got up at the crack of dawn to rip open our presents. I got loads of make-up and a new High School Musical game for my Nintendo DS.
'I also got the Addams Family on DVD so I'm going to get into bed and watch that later when I'm too tired to stay up. My best present was a Disney bracelet from my dad - it's really pretty.

'I know the doctors don't expect me to live much longer. But I've proved them wrong and I will do so again if I have to.'
The family's Christmas celebrations actually kicked off earlier in December with a trip to Walt Disney World in Florida.
It was touch and go whether the family could fly because Hannah's health was so precarious until an anonymous benefactor offered £200,000 in insurance cover.
The family stayed at Give Kids The World - a village specially designed for sick children. Hannah's face lights up as she recalls the treats she enjoyed.
'The chalets were all painted bright colours and lit up with fairy lights. It was magical,' she grins.
'We had our meals in the Gingerbread House where the tables were all made out of sweets. It was amazing. There was a miniature train running around the village taking us to whatever play park or ice-cream parlour we fancied. We could eat free banana splits all day. It was fantastic. Seeing Phoebe's face when she met Mickey Mouse was just amazing.'
The Disney trip was followed by another special event when Hannah and her mother were invited by Prince Charles to help him and the Duchess of Cornwall decorate the Christmas tree at their London home, Clarence House.
'I had to pinch myself that it was really happening,' says Hannah, still brimming with excitement. 'Not many people get the chance to meet Prince Charles.
'We got a letter saying what we were supposed to wear. It said, "No denim please" which was fine as I don't wear a lot of denim. I was so excited. I showed the letter to all my schoolfriends - it was the only way they would believe me. There were eight children and we each got to chat to Prince Charles - Camilla was ill in bed on the day. He was so sweet - much smaller than I'd imagined and quiet.'
Hannah's mother, an intensive care nurse, said: 'Seeing her with the prince by the Christmas tree and Hannah asking, "Can you just stand over there while I take your photo?" was magical.
'After the children had decorated the tree, we all went through to the dining room for lunch. It was a real family room full of snaps of William and Harry as boys.
'There were bow-tied waiters who served the children sausage and mash in the shape of faces. The mums had salmon sandwiches and champagne.'
Although Camilla was too unwell to join the party, she made a surprise appearance at the end.

'Just as we were leaving she appeared on the stairs,' recalled Mrs Jones.
'She had no make-up on - I don't think she'd even brushed her hair. She waved at us and said, "I can't come down because I've got flu but thank you for coming".'
Back at home, Hannah helped prepare the family's festive meal and organised a party on Christmas Eve for family and friends.
'I was excited about opening my presents on Christmas morning but the best part was watching Phoebe,' she said.

'She was wild with happiness. She was ripping the paper into shreds and throwing it over her head like confetti.'
The celebrations were in marked contrast to the same time last year, when Hannah returned home from the hospice where she had been staying for a fortnight. She was too ill to eat or even leave her bed for more than a few minutes.
'This year was wonderful,' she said. 'We have a tradition that we set fire to the Christmas pudding. When Mum brought it into the room all flaming, I knew it had been the best Christmas ever.'

Their dreams are insured

MYSORE: Sameeulla (31), who has studied up to VIII standard, works as a head loader at Devaraja Market in Mysore. He dreams of making his daughter Noor Afreen, born on April 25, 2006, a doctor. He hopes that Bhagyalakshmi scheme will come in handy for this.

After the birth of the child in K.R. Hospital, the doctor on duty informed him that their daughter was “lucky” as she will get the benefit of Bhagyalakshmi scheme. With the help of the anganawadi worker, they received an insurance bond from LIC in just three months, says Noor Asma, mother of the child.

“I have a son studying in pre-nursery school. I wanted her to study and get educated like him. I learnt that Noor Afreen will get a scholarship till she completes her PUC. But I had decided to allow her to study whatever she wants, even before learning about the scholarship. I was impressed by the doctor, who conducted the delivery, and I dream of making my daughter a doctor. The scheme will help me realise that dream,” she said.

When a Job Disappears, So Does the Health Care

ASHLAND, Ohio — As jobless numbers reach levels not seen in 25 years, another crisis is unfolding for millions of people who lost their health insurance along with their jobs, joining the ranks of the uninsured.

The crisis is on display here. Starla D. Darling, 27, was pregnant when she learned that her insurance coverage was about to end. She rushed to the hospital, took a medication to induce labor and then had an emergency Caesarean section, in the hope that her Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan would pay for the delivery.

Wendy R. Carter, 41, who recently lost her job and her health benefits, is struggling to pay $12,942 in bills for a partial hysterectomy at a local hospital. Her daughter, Betsy A. Carter, 19, has pain in her lower right jaw, where a wisdom tooth is growing in. But she has not seen a dentist because she has no health insurance.

Ms. Darling and Wendy Carter are among 275 people who worked at an Archway cookie factory here in north central Ohio. The company provided excellent health benefits. But the plant shut down abruptly this fall, leaving workers without coverage, like millions of people battered by the worst economic crisis since the Depression.

About 10.3 million Americans were unemployed in November, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of unemployed has increased by 2.8 million, or 36 percent, since January of this year, and by 4.3 million, or 71 percent, since January 2001.

Most people are covered through the workplace, so when they lose their jobs, they lose their health benefits. On average, for each jobless worker who has lost insurance, at least one child or spouse covered under the same policy has also lost protection, public health experts said.

Expanding access to health insurance, with federal subsidies, was a priority for President-elect Barack Obama and the new Democratic Congress. The increase in the ranks of the uninsured, including middle-class families with strong ties to the work force, adds urgency to their efforts.

“This shows why — no matter how bad the condition of the economy — we can’t delay pursuing comprehensive health care,” said Senator Sherrod Brown, Democrat of Ohio. “There are too many victims who are innocent of anything but working at the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Some parts of the federal safety net are more responsive to economic distress. The number of people on food stamps set a record in September, with 31.6 million people receiving benefits, up by two million in one month.

Nearly 4.4 million people are receiving unemployment insurance benefits, an increase of 60 percent in the past year. But more than half of unemployed workers are not receiving help because they do not qualify or have exhausted their benefits.

About 1.7 million families receive cash under the main federal-state welfare program, little changed from a year earlier. Welfare serves about 4 of 10 eligible families and fewer than one in four poor children.

In a letter dated Oct. 3, Archway told workers that their jobs would be eliminated, and their insurance terminated on Oct. 6, because of “unforeseeable business circumstances.” The company, owned by a private equity firm based in Greenwich, Conn., filed a petition for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code.

Archway workers typically made $13 to $20 an hour. To save money in a tough economy, they are canceling appointments with doctors and dentists, putting off surgery, and going without prescription medicines for themselves and their children.

Archway cited “the challenging economic environment” as a reason for closing.

“We have been operating at a loss due largely to the significant increases in raw material costs, such as flour, butter, sugar and dairy, and the record high fuel costs across the country,” the company said.

At this time of year, the Archway plant would usually be bustling as employees worked overtime to make Christmas cookies. This year the plant is silent. The aromas of cinnamon and licorice are missing. More than 40 trailers sit in the parking lot with nothing to haul.

In the weeks before it filed for bankruptcy protection, Archway apparently fell behind in paying for its employee health plan. In its bankruptcy filing, Archway said it owed more than $700,000 to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, one of its largest creditors.

Richard D. Jackson, 53, was an oven operator at the bakery for 30 years. Mr. Jackson and his two daughters often used the Archway health plan to pay for doctor’s visits, imaging, surgery and medicines. Now that he has no insurance, he takes his Effexor antidepressant pills every other day, rather than daily, as prescribed.

Another former Archway employee, Jeffrey D. Austen, 50, said he had canceled shoulder surgery scheduled for Oct. 13 at the Cleveland Clinic because he had no way to pay for it.

“I had already lined up an orthopedic surgeon and an anesthesiologist,” Mr. Austen said.

In mid-October, Janet M. Esbenshade, 37, who had been a packer at the Archway plant, began to notice that her vision was blurred. “My eyes were burning, itching and watery,” Ms. Esbenshade said. “Pus was oozing out. If I had had insurance, I would have gone to an eye doctor right away.”

She waited two weeks. The infection became worse. She went to the hospital on Oct. 26. Doctors found that she had keratitis, a painful condition that she may have picked up from an old pair of contact lenses. They prescribed antibiotics, which have cleared up the infection.

Ms. Esbenshade has two daughters, ages 6 and 10, with asthma. She has explained to them why “we are not Christmas shopping this year — unless, by some miracle, Mommy goes back to work and gets a paycheck.”

She said she had told the girls, “I would rather you stay out of the hospital and take your medication than buy you a little toy right now because I think your health is more important.”

Private deliveries costly

IN THE island's public hospitals, including Victoria Jubilee in Kingston, delivery services are free. If one walks through the doors with a referral, one will not pay for antenatal care, doctors' fees, the paediatrician, a Caesarean section (C-section), or any tests to be done, including ultrasounds.

At the islands' private hospitals, fees, including the charge made by doctors in attendance, can leave parents out of pocket by as much as $160,000.

But, the service is said to be a cut above the rest, with some facilities promising personalised service, gift baskets and even a photo-shoot afterwards with baby and mom.

Ann-Shauna Greenfrom Kingston paid a total of $120,000 for the birth of her first child in 2005, and in 2007, $165,000 for the second.

Today, the cost might be higher. Our research shows that doctors' fees in December 2008 range from $30,000-$135,000, a sum which does not include hospital charges, which start from $40,000 upwards in private facilities.

On both occasions, the costs for Ann-Shauna Green included the price of a C-section.

She explains, "I had to do a C-section because I had fibroids and the second time I had to do a C-section because I did a C-section the first."

Green selected Andrews Memorial Hospital she said, because her doctor worked there and also because she did not know she had to register months in advance to get into a public hospital.

For both deliveries, the couple used insurance, which helped them to cover about 70 per cent of the costs.

Little things

Green claims: "I was appalled at the cost of little things, like needles and bed sheets, that the hospital billed us for. It was outrageous! I had to shut my eyes and pay it or I wouldn't have been able to get my child registered."

To have a child delivered at Andrews Hospital, currently, one has to register in the seventh month and pay a deposit of $45,000. The final bill, which might be between $55,000 and $60,000, will depend on materials used and length of stay in the hospital

These charges do not include the fee for C-sections, the doctors' bills, the paediatrician's bill, and any additional tests done.

The paediatrician's fee is $4,500 per visit at Andrews. The cost of a private room at the hospital is $8,000 daily. For a semi-private room in which there are two persons, mothers will pay $7,000.

Hospital stay might be as much as three days to a week if there is a C-section done or if other complications arise.

University Hospital

At the University Hospital of The West Indies (UHWI) in St Andrew, which is not classified as a public hospital, those using the public clinic for delivery will pay $12,000 and up for a normal delivery. This includes antenatal care, plus one night's stay at the hospital. The mother's booking fee or deposit will be $10,000.

The cost of doing a C-section at the training hospital is $30,000. A deposit of $15,000 is required for this operation.

If one needs additional tests or needs drugs, the bill will go up. The UHWI charges $1,200 for one day's room and board, a cost which will be multiplied if a C-section is done or if complications set in and the mother's stay needs to be longer.

Private-birthing services are also offered at the UHWI. For this, the cost of antenatal care is $30,000. An ultrasound will cost $3,500. There are no private rooms at this hospital but the private fee ensures that you are assigned the doctor of your choice. Those who use the public clinic will be seen by any doctors available.

Nuttall

Nuttall Memorial Hospital in St Andrew also offers private-birthing facilities. A deposit of $40,000 is required at this hospital.

The cost of a C-section here is $120,000 without insurance. For normal deliveries, the hospital bill otherwise might be as high as $60,000, depending on medication, room and board and the use of disposables.

The cost of room and board at Nuttall is $6,500 per night. If your doctor does not work at Nuttall, you will be assigned to one who does.

At Nuttall, the paediatrician's fee is $15,000 upwards, which is different from the doctor's delivery fee. To use services at Nuttall, one must book delivery by the seventh month of pregnancy.

After mother's slaying, daughter awaits dad's fate

By MEGHAN BARR, The Associated Press 2:01 a.m. November 30, 2008

JACKSON, Ohio — Her father waits behind a glass wall, clothed in the jail standard gray-and-white striped shirt and pants. He has tidied up some since their last visit: What's left of his thinning hair has been trimmed, and his face is clean of stubble.
Debby Crabtree approaches the row of prisoners. They are seated in small glass pods – like telephone booths, she thinks. The inmates have just 30 minutes to connect with the outside world before the guards will lead them away.
"I wanted to know, was he OK, was he getting his medications?" Crabtree explains. "You know, things you would want to know about your dad. It's almost as if he were in a hospital."
Instead, her father, 74-year-old David Evans Sr., is one of the oldest souls locked up in the Scioto County Jail. If convicted at trial in January, he could become one of the oldest people ever sentenced to death in Ohio.
The story of how Evans got here began decades ago, when he was just a teenager who fell head-over-heels in love and married his high school sweetheart. Together they raised an old-fashioned farming family, tilling land in a lush valley of southern Ohio.
But now his wife, Carol Evans, is gone – and police say he hired someone to kill her. Day by day, memory by memory, their eldest daughter looks into the past and struggles to understand what might has happened.
"By the time it all settles out, I've lost my mom, I've lost my dad," Crabtree says, fighting back tears. "I've never seen my father as a person capable of this kind of evil."
Dave Evans has pleaded not guilty to murder, aggravated murder and conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, among other charges.
During these fleeting jail visits, Crabtree, 55, does not dwell on what she calls the ugliness.
"Over the years," she observes later, "love and hate can get mixed up."
She tries to forget how, on a sunny morning in March, she drove along a road rimmed with cornstalks to the sand-colored farmhouse where she grew up. She tries to forget climbing the staircase to her mother's bedroom, and the sight of her mother's body, strangled with an extension cord.
Crabtree takes a seat on a stool facing the window and picks up the phone.
–––
The man came alone, and he had a key.
A few hours before dawn on March 26, he slipped inside the house where Carol Evans was sleeping.
Spotless as usual, the brown-paneled home bore signs of her orderly routine – shoes laid out neatly in front of the couch, suitcase packed for an upcoming trip.
At the foot of the stairs, arranged in a perfect row in order of age, hung the photographs of her five children: Dave Jr., Debby, Mike, Randy and Ellen.
"She used to tell people that she would pray for her kids in order at night," Crabtree says. "And sometimes she fell asleep before she got to Randy, and she felt bad about that."
Her assailant climbed the stairs. When police arrived, they found closet doors ajar, blankets and sheets pulled from shelves and tossed around the upstairs hallway.
The man stole a revolver and a lockbox containing cash and jewelry. The gun and some of the jewelry were later recovered.
Left untouched was the display case filled with Carol Evans' prized collection of elephant figurines: elephants made of glass and brass, some with their trunks raised to the sky, for good luck.
The crime rattled this town of about 6,000 people where murders are rare, according to Lt. John Manering of the Jackson County sheriff's office.
Carol Evans was a gracious, well-respected former high school principal, and the family name is prominent locally. There's the Evans Center, a downtown strip mall, and the Evans-owned Chevron gas station, which shut down last fall. And there's the Evans farmland, more than 900 acres of it, trampled by cattle and hogs, planted with corn and soybeans.
The clan is among a fading breed of farming families here. They work and play together – aunts, uncles and cousins included. They go to high school football games, cook Sunday dinners. They've always lived this way, Crabtree says, only they used to congregate at her mother's house.
"One time at Myrtle Beach last summer, a lady came up and asked if she could take a picture of us because she could see that we were four generations of women," she said. "She just thought that was wonderful."
But the investigation into her mother's death led police to the center of the family. On June 9, police arrested Dave Evans Sr.
"He was a prime suspect from the beginning," says Jackson County Sheriff John Shasteen. "As for motive, as far as I'm concerned it's just pure greed. He wanted all the assets, all the money."
–––
He was a football player, she was a cheerleader. They were picture-perfect sweethearts, their images sealed forever in the pages of their high school yearbook: the broad-shouldered, athletic boy and the pretty, dark-haired girl.
Dave Evans and Carol Miller got married on March 1, 1952, when she was president of the junior class and he was a senior at Oak Hill High School, a few miles outside of Jackson. Nine months later, their first child was born.
"They were just young and crazy in love," Crabtree says.
They had four more babies, purchased a large plot of farmland and set about raising their children. Carol Evans would drive a tractor while her sons helped their father in the fields.
She went back to school and steadily climbed the ranks as an educator. Her husband farmed and ran a string of successful small businesses.
"He liked to start things and watch them grow," Crabtree says. "And then move on to the next thing."
Their land holdings grew, and so did the family's assets. At the time of Carol's death, the couple's revocable trust was worth at least $1 million. Her life insurance policy amounted to $500,000.
But as the years passed and the children grew up, the marriage began to disintegrate.
"I knew there were times maybe Dave and Carol had marital problems," says Mayor Randy Heath. "It's not a big town. Everybody talks."
The courts documented their fractured relationship. Dave Evans filed for divorce in 1984. They remarried 10 years later. Four months after that, he filed for divorce again.
"I mean, what can you say?" Crabtree says. "We used to joke about it. `Does anyone know if Mom and Dad are married right now?'"
They remarried for the last time in 1996.
Her father was the driving force behind each divorce, Crabtree says.
"My mom never left. She stayed at the farm," she said. "My mom has always been the heart of the family. She has always been his rock."
In the weeks before the slaying, Dave Evans spent most nights in his apartment downtown. But Carol still looked after him, arranging his medications – aftereffects of a debilitating stroke in 2006 – in small pill containers so that he wouldn't forget to take them, Shasteen says.
"Dave was a hard-working man who made some very bad decisions," says county Prosecutor Jonathan Blanton.
"At what point do you make a decision that your wife ought to be dead?" he asks. "That's the $64,000 question. When did this seem like a good idea?"
–––
Sometime during the summer of 2007, police say Dave Evans Sr. began offering money for the killing of his wife.
At the time, according to authorities, he was having a relationship with a 28-year-old named Heather Speakman. She was a drug addict who often ran into trouble with the law, police say. Her criminal record lists charges ranging from petty theft to assault. Her mother, Rhonda Bailey, ran the Evans Chevron station.
"When Heather was in jail, that was the first time we really suspected something," Crabtree says. "Someone told us Dad went to visit her."
Her father was behaving strangely – taking phone calls from strange people, handing out money to people who couldn't pay him back, Crabtree says. Speakman later told police that Evans gave her more than $100,000, but denied having a sexual relationship with him.
Privately, the family wondered if Evans had fully recovered from the stroke, suffered as he was climbing into the back of a pickup truck. They wondered if he might be getting himself into some kind of trouble. It never occurred to them, Crabtree says, that their mother might be in danger.
Police say the scheme to kill Carol Evans dragged on for months.
The turning point came on March 19, a week before her death. Speakman introduced Evans to a friend of hers: Terry Vance, 30, who had been convicted years earlier of drug possession.
Vance agreed to kill Carol Evans for $50,000, police say. To facilitate the crime, Dave Evans Sr. obtained a 1999 Mazda Protege and a key to the house, Manering says.
Arrests came in quick succession.
Vance and Speakman struck deals, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated murder, among other charges, and agreeing to testify against Evans. Vance later confessed to the slaying but was sentenced to 18 years in prison on the original charges, Blanton says.
A third person, 49-year-old Randy Faught, pleaded guilty to extortion and was sentenced to five years in prison. Authorities say Faught blackmailed Evans and threatened to expose the alleged plot to police.
Blanton says all three – rooted in Jackson's illicit drug scene – accepted money to kill Carol Evans at some point during the past two years.
"No one came forward and gave police the opportunity to stop this – in spite of all the knowing," Blanton says.
Evans' attorney, Rick Faulkner, insists that his client is not guilty.
Crabtree says the notion that her father could have arranged her mother's death for the money is incomprehensible. Her siblings declined to be interviewed.
"If it's about numbers, there's always been a lot of money," she says. "I can't reconcile that."
As the days grow shorter in southern Ohio and Crabtree watches autumn bleed into winter, every day brings a new reminder of her mother's absence.
Crabtree's daughter Sarah, who says her grandmother was her best friend, is adamant that this tragedy will not define the family's legacy.
"It's so far from what our family is and has ever been and ever will be," says the 31-year-old law student. "It's not my Grandma's legacy, I know that for sure."
But as family members wait for this chapter to be committed to history, they struggle to make sense of it.
"It's not all about my dad, for lack of a better word, losing his mind and coming up with a plan to do away with Mom," Crabtree says. "He wasn't going to replace Mom with Heather Speakman."
She pauses, thinking.
"But maybe it'll be just this simple. Maybe it'll be exactly what they say it is."

Number of US children without health insurance declines

WASHINGTON: According to a new report by Families USA, the number of American children without health insurance declined by about 6 percent last year.

The report also found that most uninsured children - 88.2 percent - come from families with at least one parent working, and more than half live in two-parent households.

The report said, to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, a program jointly financed by the state and federal governments to provide health insurance for about seven million low-income children.

Massachusetts had the lowest rate of uninsured children in the country - just 4.6 percent.

Momma Chol Helps Sudanese Refugees Cross 'Bridge' to US Society

By Alyssa Zamora
Jacksonville, Florida

This is American Profiles, VOA's weekly spotlight on notable Americans who are having a positive impact on the world. Alyssa Zamora introduces us to Sharon Svihel, who has made it her life's work to help Sudanese refugees adjust to American society.

Sharon Svihel became interested in Africa in 1997 when she fostered a teenage Lost Boy from Sudan. Chol Ajang is now a proud college graduate and inspirational public speaker, and Svihel is still involved with Sudanese refugees.

Now known as Momma Chol, the spirited grandmother of 11 has helped hundreds of those who fled genocide and political unrest in Sudan.


Momma Chol enjoys a hug with Anthony Akech's older daughter

Momma Chol spends most mornings visiting a handful of Sudanese families in Jacksonville, Florida. This region - with its warm climate and network of community support - has become one of the major resettlement areas for refugees from Africa as well as from Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

On a recent day, Momma Chol arrives at Anthony Akech's apartment with a bag full of presents for his two young daughters.

For more than a decade, Momma Chol has done whatever she can to make it easier for Sudanese refugees to find a home, make a living, learn English and get an education. She grew up in a strict religious family, and after college, she took a job in business. But a seed planted by one relative pulled her away from that traditional career into a life of service.

A Prophetic Vision Fulfilled


A young Sister Theophane after she decided to become a missionary in Hong Kong
She says her Aunt Theophane, a lifelong missionary in Hong Kong, made a lasting impression on her as a child.

"She would say to me, 'I just really believe God is going to make you a missionary someday, and out of everyone in the family, I think God has chosen you,'" Momma Chol recalls. "It wasn't until adopting my daughter from Korea that I thought maybe someday I'll be going over there [to Asia]."

"Little did I know that God had a different plan, and he was directing me to Africa," she adds.

Momma Chol has traveled to Africa on behalf of various resettlement agencies, including World Relief and Lutheran Social Services. She also was instrumental in starting Jacksonville's Aid Sudan Foundation in 2004. Momma Chol's faith in God and drive to help others eventually paved the way for Bridges to Sudan.

She co-founded the nonprofit group last year with former social worker Tina Jaeckle, now a social and behavioral sciences professor at a local college. Bridges to Sudan offers classes on relationships, parenting, cooking, time management and American social norms.


Sudanese mothers at a nutrition class sponsored by Bridges to Sudan

Momma Chol says she has found her purpose in life.

"Being able to watch a child smile or see a family be together and be able to make a living for themselves without having to feel like they have to ask for help," she says.

But, she stresses, "We know they need help."

Bridges to Sudan fills the service gaps that Momma Chol says government programs fail to consider.

"It's just horrible to watch someone that is struggling so much," she says. "But because services are not in place, they wouldn't have a chance, and we need to give them that."

She points out that Sudanese refugees have left behind a horrific experience. In addition to surviving war and torture, they were living with no water, no sanitation and no electricity.

"And coming here, to a modern area that has everything," she says, "it's very unrealistic for anyone to … expect that they're going to learn English and expect them - in two or three months - to get everything they need."

She says adapting to the American way of life does not take months, but years.

An Everyday Hero

For Anthony Akech, who came to the United States in 2001, a good life in America was perhaps beyond his reach before he met Momma Chol. He says it was difficult to keep a job and support himself. His wife was still in Sudan at the time. But he says Momma Chol gave his family hope for a better life.

"She cooked for us, and that time I don't have bed to sleep, so she send people to buy bed, blanket and bring them to my apartment," he says. "She helped me a lot. She helped me pay bill for my doctor. I don't have insurance at time. I don't have anything. I can't pay it. And she find a way."


Anthony Akech, now on the organization's board of directors, returned home with Momma Chol in 2004 to deliver medical supplies to several villages

Akech is now a U.S. citizen, studying for his associate's degree at a local college and working at a stable, full-time job. He says he is most grateful to Momma Chol for always treating him like family.

After he was shot in the leg during a carjacking, he says she was the only person who came to his bedside.

"She stayed with me for all day and all night every day. I was having severe pain in my leg," he recalls. "If you need help, then she can be a hero for you."

But the humble Momma Chol says she is the lucky one for having the opportunity to meet people like Anthony Akech, who are survivors, who can teach Americans a lesson about the value of life.

Halloween safety tips

Halloween es un tiempo de diversión para los niños, pero también puede ser de miedo para los padres y conductores.
“Con chiquillos emocionados yendo frenéticamente de un vecindario a otro, los conductores necesitan estar particularmente cuidadosos”, indicó Ray Palermo, Director de Información Pública para el Plan de Seguro de Maestros. “Sin embargo, siguiendo algunos consejos simples, los padres, niños, conductores y propietarios de casas pueden todos tener un momento seguro y agradable”.
Los siguientes son unos consejos que los conductores, los pequeños pidiendo “dulce o travesura” y sus padres, pueden seguir para ayudar a garantizar un Halloween divertido y seguro:
Si los niños están fuera en la noche, los conductores necesitan ser particularmente cuidadosos en la penumbra y cuando conducen en colinas y alrededor de las curvas, donde la visibilidad es limitada . Utilice las luces altas para ver y ser visto.
* Los que piden dulces siempre deber estar acompañados por un adulto o viajar en grupos. Se les debe decir a los niños que no coman ningún dulce o golosina que no esté envuelto hasta que regresen a casa, donde sus papás puedan verlos. Asegurarse de que sus hijos ya hayan comida antes de salir, puede ayudar.
* Los padres quizá quieran limitar a los niños para que acuden a eventos locales organizador por las estaciones de policía, bomberos, centros para personas mayores o negocios locales – u organizar su propio evento a través de sus escuelas.
* Los padres deberían incorporar cinta reflectora a los disfraces o colores brillantes para incrementar la visibilidad. El maquillaje, en vez de máscaras, deberá utilizarse para asegurar que los niños no tengan una visión obstruida de sus alrededores.
* Los pequeños pidiendo dulces podrían quedar atrapados por la emoción del día y no ser tan cuidadosos como deberían. Ellos siempre deben cruzar en las esquinas y ver hacia ambos lados antes de cruzar. Los conductores deben estar atentos al camino y en las aceras, en caso de que alguien salga de entre los coches estacionados.
* Los niños deben permanecer en las aceras – o si no están disponibles, caminar viendo de frente el tráfico. Deben llevar consigo una linterna.
* Los propietarios de casas deben limpiar sus jardines de cualquier cosa que pueden ocasionar un tropezón y asegurarse de tener una luz en puerta frontal o el camino y evitar decoraciones que utilicen una flama abierta que pudiera incendiar el disfraz de un niño.

Carnation couple charged in "worst case" child abuse of teen daughter

Carnation couple charged in "worst case" child abuse of teen daughter
Calling it the "worst case" of abuse a detective had ever seen, King County prosecutors have charged a Carnation couple last Friday with criminal mistreatment after police found their 14-year-old daughter emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from severe malnutrition.

By Sonia Krishnan and Christine Clarridge

Seattle Times staff reporters
Calling it the "worst case" of abuse a detective had ever seen, the King County Sheriff's Office arrested a Carnation couple last Friday on suspicion of criminal mistreatment after police found their 14-year-old daughter emaciated, dehydrated and suffering from severe malnutrition.

King County prosecutors today filed criminal mistreatment charges against the girl's father, Jon Pomeroy, 43, and her stepmother, Rebecca Long, 44.

The couple were arrested Friday evening and released on their own recognizance after a first court appearance on Saturday.

If convicted of first- and second-degree criminal mistreatment as charged, Pomeroy and Long could face three and four years in prison, according to King County prosecutor spokesman Dan Donohoe.

An arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 27 in King County Superior Court.

Police said they do not intend to arrest the couple immediately.

"We have no reason to run out and arrest them," said Sgt. John Urquhart, a spokesman for the King County Sheriff's Office. "The judge didn't believe they were a flight threat or a threat to the community, and neither do we."

The investigation began Aug. 13, when a sheriff's deputy went to the house on a welfare check after a call from Child Protective Services (CPS), police said. A neighbor had called CPS "after hearing screaming coming from the house the night before," according to a news release.

Authorities say Long and Pomeroy, a software engineer who worked at Estorian Inc. in Bellevue, had withheld water from the girl as a form of punishment. She weighed only 48 pounds and was 4-foot-7 when the investigation began. Police described her as resembling a 7- or 8-year-old.

Hospitalized two weeks

The girl was admitted to Seattle's Children's Hospital for treatment of severe malnutrition, where she stayed for two weeks.

Her 12-year-old brother appeared to not have been treated as badly; he was a normal height and weight. However, neither child was enrolled in school, said Urquhart.

The lead detective on the case, who has been with the special-assault unit for 16 years, said "he's never seen a case of abuse this bad," Urquhart said.According to police, the girl said her stepmother disciplined her by "restricting her water intake" to about half of a small Dixie cup per day.

The girl and her brother "were forced to sleep on the floor in the same room as their parents, and a heavy dresser was pushed in front of the door to keep her from sneaking out and getting water."

That happened after the girl was caught one night sneaking out of her own room to drink water from the toilet, according to police. She told police she feared her stepmother would hear the faucets if she used them. For food, police said, she was mostly given toast.

The stepmother, who did not work outside the home and claimed to be home-schooling the children, also directly monitored her stepdaughter's showers and bathroom habits "to keep her from surreptitiously drinking water," police said. Showers were restricted to every two or three weeks.

The girl told police that her stepmother once duct-taped her hands behind her back and dunked her head in the toilet to discipline her.

Eroded teeth

Doctors evaluated the girl's teeth and found all of them to be eroded and chipped. She told investigators her teeth hurt when she eats, and she recently broke a tooth while eating celery.

Doctors extracted six teeth under general anesthesia and capped the rest. They said the extreme dental erosion was "likely due to the shutdown of her salivary function due to extreme dehydration over an extended period of time," according to police.

Doctors found she has not gained weight since age 9.

Detectives served a search warrant on the residence and found the girl's room had a double deadbolt on the door, indicating that she was locked in the room at times during the day, police said.

They also collected evidence that the family had health insurance and the girl's brother had seen a doctor in the past few years. The family's two dogs were in good health and had recent trips to a veterinary clinic.

Two-month investigation

Even though the children were removed from the home in August, it took two months to complete an investigation before deputies could arrest the parents, Urquhart said.

Prosecutors said the couple were investigated by Child Protective Services in 2005 when the girl reported being locked in her room for extended periods of time. The CPS investigation concluded that the allegations were founded after Long admitted to locking the girl in her room, but the case was not referred for criminal prosecution, prosecutors said.

Urquhart said the girl and her brother are in foster care and doing well. They are now enrolled in school. The girl's foster father reports that she has gained 20 pounds in the past six weeks, goes to a private school, is making friends and does not appear to have behavioral issues, police and prosecutors said.

Grandfather fell out of touch

The children's biological mother and Pomeroy married in the early 1990s in Albuquerque, where he was working for Word Perfect, according to the mother's father, Robert Stokes, 73, of Bosque Farms, N.M. Stokes said Pomeroy was "quiet, and just a little odd."

The couple moved to Orem, Utah, in the mid-'90s and had the two children. The couple separated and divorced while in Utah, and Pomeroy was given custody of the children.

Stokes said he had received a few "nice letters" from his grandchildren in the beginning, but the contacts became less and less frequent. "I haven't heard from him in some time — years," Stokes said.

Stokes learned that his grandchildren had been taken into custody when he received a message on his answering machine from a Department of Social and Health Services caseworker.

"I haven't had a chance to get back in touch," Stokes said. "I'm just sick about this."

"To themselves" kind of people

The house where the family lives is on a cul-de-sac near the north end of Lake Marcel, about 40 miles east of Seattle, between the communities of Duvall and Carnation.

One neighbor, who declined to give his name other than to say his first name was Jordan, said he'd talked to people at the home only twice in about two years.

"They're very 'to-themselves' kind of people," he said. "I never knew they had a daughter," he said. "They just stayed inside a lot. I never heard any screaming. Police took the kids awhile ago."

He said a sport-utility vehicle and a car normally were parked in the driveway at the home, but no vehicles were there today and the house appeared unoccupied.

Sonia Krishnan: 206-515-5546 or skrishnan@seattletimes.com

Seattle Times staff reporters Mike Carter, Peyton Whitely and Christine Clarridge and news researcher Gene Balk contributed to this report.

Kidney transplant recipient has a fresh take on life

Just six months after receiving a new kidney, Todd Mills was ready for a 4.5-kilometre walk to help others like himself.

"I haven't jumped into too much physical activity yet ... Next year I'll probably do the run and get right into it," said Todd before the start of the Give the Gift of Life Fun Run and Walk on Sunday morning.

The White City resident, who will turn 28 in two weeks, was the lucky recipient of a kidney donation in March. He, along with his wife Crystal and three-year-old daughter Eve, led the first annual walk, which raises money and awareness for organ donation in Canada.

Todd and Crystal were newlyweds and expecting their first child when he learned that, at age 24, he was turned down for a life insurance application.

"I was kind of surprised and sort of in disbelief. I found out I had a kidney disease and went from there. It progressed pretty rapidly and I ended up on dialysis. That was quite the life changing experience," explained Todd.

Crystal said it was devastating at first to learn of his illness. She admitted it was very tough to be juggling a baby while caring and worrying about her husband.

"If you can take it away from that individual at that point is what you try to do and carry a lot of it on your own. It was difficult at first because we had no idea what to expect," she explained.

Todd started dialysis when he was 26 due to the deterioration of his kidney function and was placed on the waiting list for a transplant. He received his new kidney on March 15.

"I had a couple rough patches after that but beyond that, I'm here now and everything is looking good so far," he said.

Roughly 100 people were expected to take part in Sunday's event with recipients of organ donations wearing green T-shirts to distinguish them in the crowd.

The event was designed to raise awareness of organ donation for which Canada has one of the worst records in the developed world.

Todd admitted organ donation was something he really didn't think about until he was in need of one.

"People do take their bodies for granted and it is such an easy thing to say, 'I'll donate my organs to someone else' but people don't do it. I don't know what it is, I was the same way. It took something like this to open my eyes. That's why I'm out here to hopefully encourage other people to do that same," he said.

Todd credits his wife and daughter for pulling him through the difficult time. While there were a few bumps in his recovery, Todd's admitted he is feeling really good.

"Maybe in the last six or seven weeks, I've really turned the corner and started to feel like myself again," he said.

Health fair brings attention kids

By Carolyn Casey
Rocky Mount Telegram

Residents gathered on the east side of Rocky Mount Saturday to better understand health issues affecting youth today.

Opportunities Industrialization Center’s Medical Center held a child health fair at its office to educate the community on the major health problems in the area and the resources available to residents.

“We have a lot of health fairs that are always geared to adults and seniors,” OIC Medical Center Office Manager Rita Boddie said. “We really fell we need to bring a lot of attention to our children’s health.”

One of the fair’s main objectives was to inform children, as well as their parents, about the risks youth face, Boddie said. The two major health problems pediatric physicians at OIC see are juvenile diabetes and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The OIC Medical Center estimates between 30 percent and 40 percent of its youth patients have ADHD, when the average statistic hovers around 5 percent in school-aged children.

Dr. Kari Lewis with ADHD Behavior Education Services said some surrounding counties, such as Johnston County, also are seeing higher numbers of children with the disorder.

Lewis couldn’t explain the numbers, but she said, “sometimes it’s overreported because of possible lack of discipline.”

Lewis was one of several speakers that addressed the crowd as she stressed ADHD is a disorder that people continue to cope with into adulthood.

“It’s really a prevalent problem,” she said. “I think a key thing to remember is it used to be characterized only as a childhood problem.”

In addition to speakers, organizations set up booths along the center’s parking lot handing out free information and discussing local resources, and free Tdap vaccines were given.

Representatives from Almand’s Drug Store, which has a location across the street from the medical center, shared information on its medical assistance program that allows patients who can’t afford private insurance to buy prescriptions for $4.

Community Care Plan of Eastern Carolina was on hand, teaching children about nutritious food and proper food portions.

The day also included a few fun perks. Children jumped in a bouncing inflatable play house and had their faces painted.

As Mikayla Edgerton, 10, stood in line to get her face painted, her dad, Tony Edgerton, said attending the fair was his children’s suggestion.

“It’s something to do for the kids, and it’s teaching them something,” he said.

Organizers said they hope the fair becomes an annual program. The plan is to continue the quasi-back-to-school event a few weeks into the school year, so parents can bring their children to the medical center once they know which vaccines each child needs, Practice Manager Queen Bethea said.

“We’re hoping this can be an annual event,” she said. “and recognize our kids and let them know we appreciate them.”

Study: stressed mothers may raise fat children

BEIJING, Sept. 3 -- Millions of poor children in the United States may be getting fat before age 10 because their mothers are stressed out and the youngsters seek escape in unhealthy comfort food, researchers said on Tuesday.

The stress is rooted in poverty and can be brought on by money woes, work loads, insufficient health insurance and other factors, said Craig Gundersen of the University of Illinois, who led the study.

"People will eat in response to feeling stress," he said in a telephone interview, and in this case children may be eating more in response to stress-related trouble at home.

The findings show there is a need for a firm social safety net for poor families with protections such as food stamps; better financial education to help people better manage money; and adequate health insurance coverage, he said.

Gundersen and colleagues at Iowa State University and Michigan State University looked at data on 841 children in families living below the poverty line who were part of a government nutrition survey conducted from 1999 to 2002.

"We found that the cumulative stress experienced by the child's mother is an important determinant of child overweight," the research team reported in a study published in the September issue of Pediatrics.

Children in stressed homes where there was plentiful food were more likely to be overweight or obese than those living in stressed situations where food was scarce, they added, because while both were reacting to stress, the former group had food available in which to find refuge.

"Children in food-secure households may have a greater ability to consume more 'comfort foods,' which are often unhealthy, in response to the (stress) they experience," they wrote.

Because most American children do not live in settings where food is scarce, the findings on maternal stress "may be an important factor for children in the United States who are overweight or obese," they concluded.

"Our findings are particularly relevant for children between the ages of 3 and 10," the researchers wrote, because older children can find release outside the home through friends or work.

An estimated 17 percent of US children between the ages of 2 and 19 are obese and another 16 percent are overweight.

"A number of mothers in this study suffer from at least one symptom of depression and anxiety. By providing these women with relevant medical care and counseling, these symptoms may be alleviated with the further indirect benefit of reducing childhood overweight," the researchers wrote.

Hulshof Rolls Out His Health Care Plan

(Springfield, MO) -- Many people believe a key issue in this year's Missouri gubernatorial campaign is affordable health care.

Wednesday, the Republican who wants to lead the state came to Springfield to unveil his plan.

Congressman Kenny Hulshof wants to establish the "Healthy Missouri Access Exchange -- or Health MAX.

The idea is that any individual, small business or employer will have the option of naming Health MAX as their plan.

Once in the system -- users can choose from a variety of plans to fit their needs.

Hulshof says Health MAX addresses the needs of low income Missourians because they would be able to save money in a state sponsored health savings account.
"And part of the savings, we have a modest co-pay," Hushof said. "We think part of the situation we're in now is that people don't take ownership of their own health care decisions. And so we want them to be involved in their own health care decisions."

Hulshof also says health max will also offer health spending debit cards -- and tax incentives will be offered for Missourians to join the program.

Hulshof's opponent, Democrat Jay Nixon's health care plan has a buy in option for any Missouri child into the children health insurance program which right now is only for lower income children.

It creates a one-stop-shop website for Missourians to compare insurance options and restores the health care cuts made in 2005.

Dad of slain boys offers to plead guilty to avoid death

A Glendale Heights father accused of setting his two sons on fire has offered to admit he killed them, but only if his own life is spared.


DuPage County Public Defender Robert Miller said in court Thursday that Kaushik J. Patel wants to plead guilty and spend the rest of his life in prison if prosecutors drop their intention to seek the death penalty.

DuPage State's Attorney Joseph Birkett declined to say if he will accept the plea offer, but a decision may come as early as the next court date on Sept. 11.

Patel, 34, is charged with causing the fatal injuries Nov. 18 after luring his two sons with new toy cars into a bathroom of their home on the 1800 block of Harvest Lane and setting them on fire with gasoline.

The boys' mother was not home when the fire broke out.

Afterward, Kaushik Patel buckled the children into the back seat of his car and drove them to his older brother's house about five miles away in Hanover Park. A relative called 911.

The boys weren't expected to survive that first night, but struggled for months inside Loyola Medical Center's burn unit in Maywood. The youngest child, Om, 4, was the first to die, on Jan. 17. Vishv, 7, survived several surgeries but took a sudden turn for the worse and died Feb. 19.

Their father survived severe burns. He has remained in DuPage County jail on a $10 million cash bond since his Feb. 15 release from the hospital.

Kaushik Patel declined a request Thursday to be interviewed. But, in a March 7 jailhouse interview, he told the Daily Herald it was an accident and he meant to harm only himself in a botched suicide attempt.

"It wasn't murder," he said. "No one understands. I love my kids. I was not trying to kill them, only me."

Patel said he was suicidal over marital problems that arose after his mother-in-law moved in with the couple a few years earlier. He and his wife, Nishaben, wed Aug. 12, 1997, in an arranged marriage in their native India, five years after he had immigrated to the United States.

The couple divorced July 1 after reaching an agreement in which Kaushik Patel voluntarily relinquished any right to their home, two cars, $25,000 in jewelry and the boys' life-insurance policies.

Authorities said they don't believe the accident defense. They said both boys' injuries were much more severe, indicating they had more gasoline doused on them than their father. Police also said Patel made incriminating statements that night to his brother in which he admitted it was a botched murder-suicide attempt.

Frugal Family Challenge: Can these parents trim expenses?

Some people spend too much on clothes. For others, it's stuff for the house. Mitzi Walker's financial downfall is food. Walker loves to eat out. Her family goes to O'Charley's or Ruby Tuesday at least once a week.

On other nights, they get takeout. Add in quick trips to McDonald's and Taco Bell, and she and her family eat out somewhere nearly every day. And with three kids, ages 1 through 5, even a quick visit to a fast-food restaurant can get expensive, Walker says.

Jimmie Walker has his own financial temptations. He likes to buy high-end electronics. An iPhone. Computers. A flat-screen TV.

Mitzi admits that she also likes to buy clothes for the children even before they outgrow the outfits they already have. And pretty soon, she'll need to buy even more clothes. The Walkers are expecting their fourth child by Christmas.

Jimmie, 30, is a government engineer; Mitzi, 28, is an accountant. They make a comfortable living, but they're spending more than they earn. As a result, they often turn to credit cards to make up the gap. They have at least 15 credit cards with a combined balance of about $30,000.

The Walkers, who are both from Memphis, try to visit their families at least once a year. They usually spend about $3,000 for airfares and hotel rooms.

"And every time, we have to charge it," Mitzi says. "Especially if we know we're only going once (a year), it seems like we should save the money."

Putting aside money for the trip is particularly important now, because by next year, their youngest child will be too old to sit on his parents' laps during the flight. That means they'll have to buy a ticket for him. And in a couple of years, they'll have to buy a ticket for the new baby, too.

The Walkers have some savings, but not much: about $21,000 for their retirement, $1,700 for the children's college educations and $500 for emergencies.

To help the couple gain more control over their spending, financial planner Tim Wyman has given both Walkers a small notebook and instructed them to write down every expense, from a 50-cent candy bar to the mortgage bill. That's the only way they'll get a handle on their spending, he says.

"Budgets don't work," Wyman says. "I want them to be thinking in terms of a spending plan, and the beginning work has to be understanding where the dollars are going."

By tracking their expenses, Wyman says, the Walkers should be able to save $500 during the 30-day challenge.

That's an ambitious goal. But the Walkers have already managed to make some small changes. Jimmie recently downgraded their satellite service, saving $15 a month. And after discovering that they're spending $50 a month on movie rentals, the Walkers are planning to switch to a less-costly subscription service.

Reaching their goal will require more sweeping changes, such as cutting back on trips to the mall. But Jimmie believes his competitive nature will help him resist the temptation to spend.

"I'm always up for a challenge," he says.

Young cancer survivors receive special support

By 2010 -- just two years from now -- one in every 250 Americans between ages 15 and 45 will be a survivor of some form of childhood cancer. That number may seem small, but it represents big strides in battling what is the leading cause of death by disease in young people.
As more children and teenagers near the end of or complete treatment for cancers, the focus shifts from getting them cured to making their adult lives healthy and enriched. Hospitals across the country have created cancer survivorship programs geared specifically for children and adolescents.

The Center for Survivors of Childhood Cancer at Rainbow Babies & Children's Hospital started its Kids Kicking Cancer program in 2004 with a grant from the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Other services at the center include a long-term follow-up clinic and a school liaison program.

The Cleveland Clinic's High-Five Clinic at its children's hospital works with young people who are at least five years removed from an initial diagnosis and off therapy for at least two years. That program, also started in 2004, has financial backing from the Scott Hamilton CARES (Cancer Alliance for Research Education and Survivorship) Initiative.

Both hospital programs tackle the physical, mental and financial issues that come with being a young cancer survivor. The overall survival rate for childhood cancers is around 80 percent to 85 percent.
"We're at a point now where we have a better handle on the impact and significance of what a child survivor means," said Dr. John Letterio, Rainbow's chief of pediatric hematology and oncology. "We've had two, three decades to see the impact."

Rainbow's Kids Kicking Cancer has created sports clinics to promote physical activity and fitness. The first soccer clinic was held in 2006. In July, the program held its first golf skills clinic. Tennis and swimming are on the way.

It's a way for the Rainbow staff to keep connected with the families while physically preparing patients for life after treatment, Letterio said.

With gentle reminders not to run, jump or spin on the golf greens, 17 Rainbow patients took their first tentative steps on the greens a couple weeks ago.

As siblings played nearby and parents took photos, several coaches and golf pros showed the children -- all either undergoing treatment or who have completed it -- the finer points of putting and driving.

"This is an environment that's safe," said Pamela Martin of Lakewood as she kept an eye on her 6-year-old daughter Claire, diagnosed with leukemia at 2½. "She's with other children with similar issues.

"A lot of times, parents of children with cancer are afraid of putting them in the mainstream because of their immune systems," Martin said. "But it's important. All kids need to be active."

Transitioning patients back to their regular pediatricians, working with families on insurance and other financial matters, and coming to grips with long-term "late effects" of cancer treatments -- including the development of aggressive sarcomas and lower-than-normal levels of bone mineral density -- are all issues that survivorship programs continue to grapple with, said Pam Gabris, director of the National Children's Cancer Society.

In 2005, the St. Louis-based society started Beyond the Cure, which works with children 18 and under and their families. It sponsors survivorship conferences across the country and works with programs at a handful of hospitals.

Many families are so focused on their child getting better that they don't have the capacity to deal with anything beyond that, said Gabris. "You've got to constantly try to find ways to reach them."

One challenge in particular is communicating the long-term effects of radiation and chemotherapy that, short-term, are designed to keep a child alive, said Rainbow's Letterio.

Almost no one is thinking about fertility issues when a child is first diagnosed with cancer.

That's true for Rick Buzinski, who said he has not broached the issuewith his son, Christopher. The 11-year-old, who also has cerebral palsy,is being treated for an optical glioma that doctors discovered behindhis eye when he was 6. The tumor is treated withextensive chemotherapy, which Christopher received for more than ayear.

"It's kind of hard at this age, especially dealing with his special needs," Buzinski said. "But we're trying to get him to be more independent. We tell him that he can do whatever he wants to do because people will be there to help him."

The family of a girl diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 16 may not realize that she now has a higher risk of developing breast cancer as an adult.

A child struggling with school work may unknowingly be suffering from "chemo brain," in which the effects of chemotherapy have been shown to hinder concentration and memory.

"How do we help [families] understand the risk of therapies?" he said. "As we move forward in the future, we have to really start thinking carefully about the management of the survivor."

Miraculous recovery

EAST COUNTY – Skylar Potter is no different from most toddlers – cute and curious, entranced by cartoon character Dora the Explorer and in love with her orange tabby, Freckles.

Yet the 2-year-old is dealing with challenges no child should face.

She is relearning how to talk, how to walk, how to throw a ball. Just three months ago, Skylar did these things with ease. That was before she suffered a traumatic brain injury May 17 in a horrific traffic accident near her home just east of El Cajon.

For weeks, Skylar's parents, Ricky Potter and Ashley Pederson, feared she might not live. If not for a neighbor who administered CPR and rescue breathing, the firefighters and paramedics who cared for her, and the doctors and nurses at Rady Children's Hospital, she might not have.

After a two-month hospital stay, including three weeks in a medically induced coma in the intensive-care unit, Skylar went home July 18. Tomorrow, Potter, 24, and Pederson, 19, will host a barbecue at El Monte Park in Lakeside to thank the people who helped save their daughter.

The only thing, Potter said, is that “ 'thank you' really doesn't do justice.”

Firefighters and paramedics from the San Miguel Consolidated Fire Protection District and the Santee Fire Department have visited Skylar at the hospital and at home. Businesses also came to the family's aid, donating a steel-reinforced car seat, a gently used car and free auto insurance for a year.

New director brings vision to Centro de Ayuda

By ELISABETH HULETTE, Staff Writer

Bits of Americana have appeared around the Centro de Ayuda, a Hispanic help center in Annapolis.

There's an American flag right inside the door and a picture of an eagle on the wall. And in the office of new director Irene Zoppi, there's a painting of the Statue of Liberty.

They tie together Ms. Zoppi's hopes that the center will be a bridge between longtime residents and the city's growing immigrant community.

"They want to be Americans," she said. "They want to be here. We need to work together."

Ms. Zoppi took over as director in the spring, when founder Mary Schumaker retired. She brought with her two elements key to its survival - a vision for growth and the will to keep it going despite cuts to its funding by the county.

"We're here to help," she said. "Lack of funding? We'll still be here."

Born in Puerto Rico, Ms. Zoppi moved to the United States in college. She holds a master's degree in business administration from The Johns Hopkins University and a doctorate in education policy from the University of Maryland at College Park. Her father's side of the family is directly descended from President Lincoln, and she's a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution.

She's also a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve - she served in Operation Desert Storm and speaks passionately of her belief in duty, honor and loyalty.

The mighty Quinns keep it in the family

John O'Keeffe profiles the very private Quinn family, whose chief recently suffered a staggering €1bn loss at Anglo Irish Bank

Depending on who you believe, Sean Quinn is either one of the most astute businessmen that this country has ever produced or an uncomplicated quarry man who has got ahead of himself and is now about to suffer one of the greatest financial free-falls that this downturn can offer.

The success of the Quinn Family Group has been well documented and has held the attention of business journalists in recent years. Observers can rest assured that, should the portents of doom prove correct, any cataclysmic fall from grace will be met with even greater interest both here and abroad. The story over the last week has, after all, not been good for the group, which is estimated to be nursing a €1bn loss from Sean Quinn's 15 per cent leveraged derivative position in Anglo Irish Bank.

He has said that he will continue to tough out the market downturn and convert his contracts for difference (CFD) into ordinary stock. CFDs allow investors to buy an interest in a stock for an initial outlay of as little as 10 per cent of its market price. However, when share prices fall, the holder must then cover the losses from their CFD provider. Nice work if you can get it. The problem is, sometimes it can get you first.

Amid all the media commentary about Sean Quinn's well worn path to riches (from the paternal gift of a gravel pit to his position last year as the world's 177th richest man, and the UK's 12th, with a business value then of €4.4bn), little is known about the family who surround him. He "jealously guards" his family privacy and, as he rarely gives interviews himself, commentary on his family has invariably remained vague.

His brother, Peter Quinn, is regarded as the real strategist of the family and not a man averse to risk-taking. As GAA President in the first half of the Nineties, he is credited with being the brains behind the commercialisation of Croke Park and, indeed, the GAA as an organisation. Unafraid to speak his mind, a year ago he attacked almost every institution in the State while also having a go at what he called the "non-risk taking dead hands" in Ireland.

A chartered accountant by profession and a significant shareholder in the Quinn Group, Peter once described his brother Sean as "an eternal optimist, which is necessary in business". The next few months will prove instructive as to whether this optimism was groundless or not.

Sean Quinn's wife and five children are the people who have been most sheltered from the public eye, yet they are also riding the current financial tsunami that has beset the group. In fact, an internet search on any of his offspring's names -- Aoife, Ciara, Sean Jr, Colette or Brenda Quinn -- reveals little more than unrelated Facebook entries or doppelgangers who are experts in golf and pottery. To be central cogs in the Quinn family group and yet avoid internet detection may prove to be among family members' greatest achievements.

His wife Patricia, 55, owns 9.4 per cent of Quinn Group -- which, even at its current market valuation, would make her a paper millionaire many

times over. All children are now believed to work within the group in various capacities and they hold various stakes, though each will almost certainly end up with a fifth of its assets in due course.

Ciara, 31, is the eldest and perhaps the most well known offspring, having married Blanchardstown solicitor Niall McPartland in November of last year in the media glare. She holds a whopping 22.7 per cent share of the company but, like her father, would appear to choose frugality over excess. Her wedding reception was held in the family-owned four-star Slieve Russell Hotel and, despite the presence of two brand new Rolls Royce Phantoms (costing €350,000 apiece), much to the disappointment of the paparazzi and onlookers, ostentation was not the order of the day. She is a director of Quinn Hotel Properties and is thought to have a major input into the nine hotels in the Quinn Hotel Group.

Sean Jr, 29, holds 20.3 per cent of the company and is considered by many to be the heir apparent. Indeed, he may be one of the few family members able to raise a smile as he is listed as having only one directorship in the Republic --in the Quinn Insurance Group, which last week came out as a winner in the risk equalisation legal battle.

He lives in a penthouse apartment in the exclusive Farmleigh Woods, which adjoins Farmleigh House in Dublin and where until recently three-bed penthouse units were selling for prices from €2.3m. Then there is the small matter of a golf course. He also owns The Belfry, one of Britain's most exclusive and historic golf venues. In short, life's good.

Colette, 32, holds 6.8 per cent and directs the pub and hotel companies and is listed as having 13 directorships within the State.

Aoife, 26, has the smallest stake of 6.7 per cent, according to company records, but even after the battering the group has taken since last week, this represents more than €200m. She is also a director of the Holiday Inn in Nottingham, valued at about €8m.

Youngest child Brenda has a 20 per cent share of the company held in trust by her parents. All the Quinn children are believed to have further significant assets outside the main group.

Commentators have noted that the family could suffer huge financial losses and still have a war chest that most of us could only dream of, but to Daddy it was never about that; for him, creating jobs remains the priority.

"The more you have, the more you want and the more you expect," he said in a recent interview, adding that when he started in the business he used to get excited when he saw his only lorry on the road. If less is indeed more, then Quinn and his family may yet have even better days to come.

Notwithstanding what many regard as the ill-timed investment in Anglo Irish Bank, it is said that Sean Quinn can read financial statements better than any accountant. Write the Quinn family off at your peril.

Reliance Life Insurance launches Project School on Wheels

Project ‘School on Wheels’ aims to bring a mobile school close to children living in the slums of Mumbai. Before any intervention, every child is counseled to ascertain his or her profile

Reliance Life Insurance, one of the fastest growing life insurance companies in the country, today launched its project ‘School on Wheels’ in association with Project Crayon, an NGO focused on Child Rights and Youth Development.

The project, which is a part of Reliance Life Insurance’s Corporate Social Responsibility endeavor, was launched by Tina Ambani here today.

Ambani inaugurated the mobile school amid a large group of children, parents, project coordinators and senior officials from both Reliance Life Insurance and Project Crayon.

Project ‘School on Wheels’ aims to bring a mobile school close to children living in the slums of Mumbai. Before any intervention, every child is counseled to ascertain his or her profile. The overall approach is to prepare these children for admission to a formal education stream, impart appropriate moral and social values, and bring them to the mainstream of society.

“Education equals empowerment, the ability to craft a better future,” said Mrs Ambani. “Our vision is to provide access to basic education to underprivileged children and open their eyes to their own potential and the world that awaits them. This initiative is in line with the Group’s commitment to bring value to the lives of underprivileged children across India.”

The focus of the project will initially be on the slums around Chembur and Mankhurd. The mobile school will cater to the slums in and around these areas in the first phase with more than 50 children having been already identified and selected for this project.

“It is a small but important step towards making a difference in the lives of these children and thereby leading them to a better future,” said Mr. P. Nandagopal, CEO, Reliance Life Insurance. “We are sanguine that the success of this project will serve as a precursor to many such wonderful opportunities for us to truly make a difference in the lives of a wider segment of society.”

The bus, customized to function as a school, is fully equipped with a computer and library, and has dedicated teachers to conduct classes. In the course of its daily routine, it will cover a few selected slum areas and will run a three-hour class at each of these centres. The teaching methodology will be non-formal and largely based on the Avehi Abacus syllabus.

The computer will provide a platform for educational software, movies, music and other entertainment-based educational programs to be delivered to the children. Activities such as clay making, card designing, theatre/play acting and art classes shall form a part of the overall curriculum.

“We are extremely pleased to see leading organizations such as Reliance Life Insurance take up their socio-economic responsibilities with such zeal and enthusiasm,” said Devika Kulavoor, Founder Trustee, Project Crayon. “It is of interest to note that as a result of the preparatory work for this project, five children have already joined a formal education stream and have been enrolled with a private English medium school in the vicinity. We are sure that this project will be a great success and have a positive impact on the lives of many children.”

These children will also be provided with toys and educational games as incentives to keep them motivated to attend the school. Various other support services such as first aid, transportation to schools and health camps will also form a part of the programme.

‘School on Wheels’ is a one-year project, which will be monitored and reviewed quarterly.

Boosting Population a Vague Science

11 July 2008
By Nabi Abdullaev / Staff Writer
The fact that Russia's population is shrinking should come as a surprise to no one. According to the State Statistics Service, 12 million more Russians died than were born from 1992 to 2007, with the arrival of 5.5 million immigrants only partially compensating for the loss.

It is clear from statements by political leaders that the government is aware of the problem and the serious threat that it poses to future economic growth and security as the country's work force shrinks.

What is also clear, according to demographers and public health experts, is that the government hasn't made enough effort to get to the root of the problem or to measure whether the policies it has put in place to deal with the demographic crisis are really helping. Although some financial incentives have been created to help couples have more children, experts say a much more comprehensive approach is necessary.

Given existing trends, demographers say the population will shrink from the current level of 142 million to something between 125 million and 135 million by 2025, and could fall to as low as 100 million by 2050.

This demographic decline has serious economic consequences -- there will be as many as 8 million fewer people in the work force by 2015 and possibly 19 million less by 2025, according to study by a group of Russian demographers sponsored by the United Nations and released in late April.

Population change is dependent on three main factors: the birthrate, the death rate and immigration rates. Last October, then-President Vladimir Putin approved a government demographic strategy through 2025 that sets targets in each of these three categories. But while this strategy shows that the government is concerned about the current situation, the program's goals suggest that it has little interest in understanding the roots of the problem, preferring to throw money at it instead.

Demographers have calculated that, in Russia, the replacement fertility rate -- the number of births per woman necessary to maintain the current population -- is 2.15. In 2006, the fertility rate was 1.3 children for every woman.

The number of babies born last year jumped to about 2 million -- up 8.3 percent from the year before and a post-Soviet record. Still, the fertility rate rose only to 1.4 children per woman.

State officials wasted no time in claiming that government policy was to thank for a new baby boom, with Health and Social Development Minister Tatyana Golikova only the most recent example.

"It is a true demographic explosion that no other developed country has generated," Golikova said in a speech on April 26. "We are proud that ... Russians have had the right reaction to the measures to encourage births."

The measures introduced by the government included an increase in monthly social payments to mothers, making it easier for young families to get mortgages, and "mother's capital" -- a one-time payment of around $10,000 for those women giving birth to a second child. Access to the money comes only three years after the child is born, and it must be used for the child's benefit, such as improving the family's living conditions or paying for education.

Demographers doubt, however, that government perks were the sole or even the main cause of the rise in births.

Vladimir Arkhangelsky, of the Research Center for Population Problems at Moscow State University, said the latest spike in births is the result of an increase in the number of women reaching their peak childbearing years. These women were themselves products of an early 1980s baby boom, which followed increases in Soviet-era social payments and an anti-alcohol campaign.

Arkhangelsky and other demographers say the number of children being born will likely fall off again in about five years as the women of the 1980s baby boom move out of their most fertile years and are replaced by the much smaller generation born in the 1990s.

According to the State Statistics Service, in 2007 there were 24.1 percent fewer females from the age of 10 to 19 than in the 20 to 29 age group. There were 44.1 percent fewer females under the age of nine than in the 20 to 29 group.

An added concern is that, even if the new benefits are partially responsible for the increase in births, they may still have a negative effect on the country's wealth disparity in the future. Women living below the poverty rate experienced a more significant rise in birthrate than any other segment of the female population, said Valery Yelizarov, head of the Research Center for Population Problems.

According to the Social Insurance Fund, the government body that issues birth certificates, about half of the women who gave birth last year reported a monthly income below the poverty line for Russia -- 3,500 rubles ($150). About 70 percent of the mothers reported a monthly income of less than 7,000 rubles ($300).

"The government needs to think of how to stimulate [births among] those who are more successful in life," Yelizarov said.

According to the government demographic strategy, incentives designed to get families to have more than one child should boost the birthrate by 50 percent by 2025. But the global trend, and particularly in developed countries, has been away from larger families, leading some experts to express doubts that the target can be met.

Karl Kulessa, the UN's population agency chief in Russia, said there were many social and economic factors that work against bigger families.

Benefits for larger families introduced by the French government have played at least some part in a jump in the birthrate from 1.7 babies per woman in 1994 to almost 2.0 in 2006. But to achieve similar results in Russia, the government needs not only to provide families with the financial resources to provide for more children but also to influence attitudes in a country where one-child families are the norm, Arkhangelsky said.

Attention all agents: Japan Airlines international fuel surcharge increase

NOTE:
• International Insurance surcharge is USD3.20 per person for each segment. This should also be collected as YQ’.
• Insurance surcharge for Japan Domestic sectors is as follows: JPY300 - When Japan Domestic fares are purchased separately from international fares, the insurance surcharge will not be applied. When Japan Domestic sectors are included in international fares, the insurance surcharge will be applied. This should also be collected as ‘YQ’.

Applies to: All fares and tickets (including child, and JMB award tickets.) Infants without seat are exempted from fuel surcharge.

Collection Method: Fuel Surcharge and Insurance surcharge will be collected on international air tickets or MCOs. The Special fees and Charges code ‘YQ’ will be used and entered in the TAX/FEE/CHARGE/BOX. The current BSR at time of ticketing will be used to convert from USD to AUD.

Ticket Reissue/1St Intl Flight Change: When the first international sector of the ticket is changed or rerouted (regardless of fare type), difference between previous Fuel Surcharge and the revised Fuel
Surcharge will be collected. (All tickets must be reissued). If reissue is due to any other sector than the 1st international flight the fuel surcharge increase is not charged.