The Documentary: The Bleeding Edge

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’ve had a busy week of work and writing. The writing is going very well, and the story is coming together. I can’t wait to see how it turns out.

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But enough about that. Today, I want to talk about a documentary I watched this weekend with my hubby. It’s on Netflix and it’s titled “The Bleeding Edge.”

It’s a documentary shining the light on the medical device industry, and the main story was about the Essure sterilization device used in women. This device was like a spring designed to be placed inside the fallopian tubes where it created a blockage so the sperm could not meet the egg. It sounds perfect in theory.

However, there were many side effects. Pain in the pelvic area and the abdomen. There were perforated uteruses, colons, and stomachs because the springs would break and float freely through the body.

Many women complained. Many women became pregnant, and the babies didn’t make it because the springs perforated the amniotic sac which caused early labor. The babies were born prematurely and died.

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In Europe, the authorities took the product off the market because of all the above. It wasn’t removed from market in the US until 2018. After the FDA forced the manufacturer to post a list of side effects (black box) on the product and required the company to conduct a study on users of the device for three years after the procedure. With the FDA restricting the sale of Essure, the manufacturer pulled it from the market when the sales dropped by 70%.

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This is a disturbing story on so many levels. It illustrates how the medical device industry places their importance on profits instead of lives. In my humble opinion, the device was making so much money for the company, it was cheaper to pay the lawsuits than to stop production.

To learn more about Essure, clink this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essure

This is what’s wrong with our system today. Big corporations are putting profits above human lives, and our government lets them get away with it. I know I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but we need to hold our government accountable. They are the watchdogs for this industry and all other industries for that matter.

The problem is these companies also make contributions to campaigns for these politicians. It puts our politicians in a bind because now they owe these corporations their loyalty. To stop this, we should make it illegal for corporations to make campaign contributions. I know that probably won’t stop them from contributing, but it’ll make it harder. This probably won’t stop corporations from taking advantage of the public. It’s going to take victims speaking out to stop this from happening. How do you feel about this type of abuse? What do you think we can do about it? Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

Summer Rant

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy week of work, writing, and running. I love summer because of its longer days. I get more done and spend more time outside which is good for my heart and soul.

I hope you’re all getting out into the sunshine and fresh air. It does wonders for your body and mood. But enough about that, today I want to talk about dealing with all the stress in our world today.

It just seems to me that people are angrier than ever. I see it on social media and in daily life. In fact, I just had an experience that left me baffled. This was the weekend of the fourth of July, and my boys had a couple friends come over, and they brought fireworks with them. It was about nine in the evening and still light outside.

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They were having a great time as they shot them off. Out of nowhere, a new neighbor appeared. I had had one conversation with her where I introduced myself and welcomed her and her family to the neighborhood. She had never met my boys or their friends, but I digress.

She came barreling out of her home which is probably two hundred feet from the cul-de-sac, and when she was close enough for my boys to hear her, she said, “Don’t f**** with me.”

These were the first words out of her mouth.

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Then she proceeded to yell at them because their fireworks were loud, and her two kids were trying to sleep. Now, I understand she has young children, and she probably needed a few hours of time by herself. My boys are teenagers and didn’t even know her or the fact she had young kids. What I object to is the fact, that she came down spoiling for a fight right away. If she had approached my boys and just asked them to stop lighting the fireworks because her kids were trying to sleep, they would’ve complied without a problem.

The next day she did apologize to my son by texting me. However, I still didn’t feel good about the situation, so when I ran into her, I said, “When you have an issue with my boys, I want you to come to me.”

She said, “Okay.”

That was the end of the conversation, but I feel I got my point across. She doesn’t have the authority to tell my kids what to do, or to discipline them for that matter, and there is a state ordinance that people can light fireworks on their own property that supersedes any association bylaws between June 29th and July 4th. All my boys had to do was move ten feet onto our driveway and they would’ve been within their rights.

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My oldest handled the situation by promising to stop what they were doing, and I was proud how he handled it, but my neighbor’s behavior upset me.

When did we become a society where we’re spoiling for a fight right out of the gate?  I see this on social media too. I have people who’re mutual friends of mine who don’t know each other but will argue relentlessly with each other on social media. I’ve had to delete a few posts because of this.

How did we get here?

What happened to cooperation instead of competition?

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How did we become so divided?

We all want the same thing. A safe place to raise our kids and live our lives. How did we get so far away from that common goal?

How do we get back?

These are the questions I ask myself late at night when I can’t get to sleep, and last night I couldn’t sleep (too much caffeine during the day) hence this post.

How about you? Do these questions nag you? Do you have any solutions? Please leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!

What I’ve Been Reading

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of vacation. I really needed to get away. We had fun in the sun, took kids tubing, and ate out a few times. It was so relaxing.

But enough about that. Today I want to talk about a book that I read before my vacation. It was an incredible story by one of my favorite authors. The book is “Our Missing Hearts,” by Celeste Ng. The cover and blurb are below.

An instant New York Times bestseller • A New York Times Notable Book of 2022 • Named a Best Book of 2022 by People, TIME Magazine, The Washington Post, USA Today, NPR, Los Angeles Times, and Oprah Daily, and more • A Reese’s Book Club Pick

From the #1 bestselling author of Little Fires Everywhere, comes the inspiring new novel about a mother’s unshakeable love.
 
“It’s impossible not to be moved.” —Stephen King, The New York Times Book Review
 
“Riveting, tender, and timely.” —People, Book of the Week

“Thought-provoking, heart-wrenching . . . I was so invested in the future of this mother and son, and I can’t wait to hear what you think of this deeply suspenseful story!” —Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)

Twelve-year-old Bird Gardner lives a quiet existence with his loving father, a former linguist who now shelves books in a university library. His mother Margaret, a Chinese American poet, left without a trace when he was nine years old. He doesn’t know what happened to her—only that her books have been banned—and he resents that she cared more about her work than about him. 

Then one day, Bird receives a mysterious letter containing only a cryptic drawing, and soon he is pulled into a quest to find her. His journey will take him back to the many folktales she poured into his head as a child, through the ranks of an underground network of heroic librarians, and finally to New York City, where he will finally learn the truth about what happened to his mother, and what the future holds for them both.

Our Missing Hearts is an old story made new, of the ways supposedly civilized communities can ignore the most searing injustice. It’s about the lessons and legacies we pass on to our children, and the power of art to create change.

My Thoughts:

This was a beautifully written story, and it has all the feels. It’s the story of a young boy, Bird, whose mother leaves without a trace when he’s nine years old. She’s a young poet who writes incredibly moving poems. They’re interpreted as against the establishment although she never intended for her poems to be interpreted in this way.

In the story, people who are considered against the establishment get their children taken away from them. It’s for their own good. To prevent this from happening to her own family, Margaret (the mother of Bird) just one day vanishes. Bird’s father tells him she just left them one day. He tells the same story to anyone who asks about her.

They fool the authorities and Bird is allowed to stay with his father, but his mother makes contact through a drawing sent to Bird. So, Bird decides to leave and find her. This is the story of their reunion, and the price Margaret pays for all the children who’ve been taken from their families because of her poems. She feels responsible.

I loved this story. I loved how intricately the author weaves this story. It tugs at your heartstrings. In the beginning, I didn’t like Margaret very much. How could she leave her family like that? But when you realize she did it to protect her son and keep him with his father, you understand. You understand what a price she paid to protect her child. What mother wouldn’t do that? It’s an amazing story, so if you’re looking for an awesome summer read, this is it.

The Movie “The Sound of Freedom”

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a busy week of work and some writing. I feel like I’m ready to put my story together. I’ve been working on the structure and plot, and it has finally come together nicely. Cross your fingers for me!

But enough about that. Today, I want to talk about a movie I saw with my sister and mother. It’s titled, “The Sound of Freedom.” It was an eye-opening story.

It’s the story of a brother and sister who get stolen from their family and kidnapped by human traffickers. It’s the story of an FBI agent who quit his job to save these children. Over 1.2 million children are sold into slavery every year. These children work in mines, farms, and in industrial factories as well as the sex industry.

According to the movie, the United States is the biggest contributor to these staggering numbers.

When I learned that, it turned my stomach. It seems that sixty percent of children who are trafficked each year come from the foster care system. This is so sad. Our children are our number one valuable resource, and we’re selling them into child labor.

This movie has shown what one man can accomplish when he sets his mind to it. I believe if we had more people involved in stopping this horrendous activity, we’d be able to stop this.

If you can get out and see this movie, I strongly recommend it. I’m looking for ways to stop this horrible industry. Do you have any ideas? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you!

Our Most Valuable Resource

Hello everyone, I hope all is well with you. I’m back today after a week of working, running, and hiking. I’m still writing, but since it’s been so nice out, I’ve had the desire to be outside as much as possible. So, I’ve been having a hard time sitting still.

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But enough about that, today, I’d like to talk about our most valuable natural resource. It’s our children.  We should be investing in their education and creating a world where they can grow and prosper.

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We need to create a world where they can have life sustaining jobs, and we need to take care of the earth, so they don’t inherit a bigger mess than they already are.

I wish we could work on the pollution problem in our world. All the plastic in the oceans is bad for everyone. The problem is how do you enforce other countries to follow the same guidelines and rules as us? This is the ultimate problem we’re facing in our world today.

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I feel strongly that we need to come together globally if we’re going to save our planet. We need to get everyone on the same page. I’m sure other countries feel the need to take care of the earth. Why can’t we have a summit that’s dedicated to creating some guidelines for all the countries who use our oceans and seas? It would be hard work, but I’m sure we could come to some sort of agreement that everyone can live with. It’s certainly worth a shot.

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We also need to make sure there are life sustaining jobs out there for our young people.  I know we love our kids and want to be with them as much as possible, but we’re not going to be around forever, and we need them to grow to be strong and independent, so they can take care of themselves.

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We need to revamp our education system. Look at what Finland is doing. They’re doing something right that’s for sure. Since the 1980’s they’ve made focusing on basics their priority. The list below are the guidelines they’re using for their educational system.

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• Education should be an instrument to balance out social inequality.
• All students receive free school meals.
• Ease of access to health care.
• Psychological counseling
• Individualized guidance

Their children aren’t bogged down with homework every night after school, and there is no standardized testing. They have developed a culture of cooperation instead of competition. In Finland, there is a lesser dichotomy to focus on college education versus trade schools. Both are considered professional and fulfilling careers. We need to make changes to our system to emulate Finland. It’s working wonders for them and will benefit our children. I’m sure of it.

What are your thoughts about the world we live in? Do you have any ideas on how we can save the future for our kids?

Leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you!