Hi to the group.
     First I want to thank Adam for thinking of we old folks on the home front and using his
precious cyber time to set this up;  I know we'll all find it useful as the months go by. 
I'm agfo Evan's mom.  He's posted in the Kaolack region near Kaffrine, where I'm told it is
now starting to get very, very hot.  We are also hoping to visit , but need to wait until we get
the ok from our pcv as to the timing of it all, which isn't easy to predict just yet, but I don't
think his particular work load and mind set will allow a visit before Nov, Dec or in early 2007.  
We haven't started to grapple with the logistics yet.
     For now we're still trying to sort out the least expensive way to stay in cell phone contact. 
We've tried calling cards, $5 Africa phone cards, setting up an ATT special rate for Senegal,
and have looked into call back services and Skype.  The biggest issue other than cost is that
he can call out but we almost never are able to get a trunk line in if we want to call him back
when he's available to save his nickel.  This probably is just the way it's going to be for the
next two years.   Any keeping in touch advice would be appreciated.
     Hope everyone's volunteer is in good health for the moment.

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Hello all,
I'm just checking in. Peter has just spent a few weeks in sick bay at
the headquarters in Dakar. It has been difficult being so far away and
uncertain of the standards of the medical care that he received. Peter
is now on the mend and I think he has returned to his village. Our
plans are to meet up with him in Italy over Christmas. Sigh, I can't
wait. It is hard to believe a year has gone by. I am to the point where
I don't just want to see him I need to see him! He sounds great when I
talk with him, loving his experience and is talking about staying on
another year. (another big sigh!)
We are from Providence, RI - don't konw if I ever shared that
information.
How are all of you doing- seems no one is active on this site anymore.
Cheers. Edie

Hello all,
I'm just checking in. Peter has just spent a few weeks in sick bay at
the headquarters in Dakar. It has been difficult being so far away and
uncertain of the standards of the medical care that he received. Peter
is now on the mend and I think he has returned to his village. Our
plans are to meet up with him in Italy over Christmas. Sigh, I can't
wait. It is hard to believe a year has gone by. I am to the point where
I don't just want to see him I need to see him! He sounds great when I
talk with him, loving his experience and is talking about staying on
another year. (another big sigh!)
We are from Providence, RI - don't konw if I ever shared that
information.
How are all of you doing- seems no one is active on this site anymore.
Cheers. Edie

Jacque,

I was so excited to get to meet Meryl when she was home in early September.  We sent some things for Kari back to Senegal with her, including an airline ticket that will bring Kari home for Christmas!!  We are very excited - only a little over 10 weeks before she's home (but who's counting?).  Meryl was an absolute joy!  Meeting and talking with her made us feel closer to Kari, and it was nice to know that Kari has such a good friend in such a far away place.

Kari has been struggling again with stomach problems.  Just can't seem to shake it.  She spent some time in the sick bay in Dakar in August and was all better (or so she thought), but was having problems again last week.  We talked to her on Sunday and her spirits were high - she's really learning to roll with the punches, I guess.

My best to everyone - may all our children be safe!

Barb Browning



Jacqueline Guyer <jacqueline.guyer@gmail.com> wrote:

I very much appreciate you news and am sorry I'm not getting to chat also.  Our Meryl is keeping us posted using Skype and her blog but we do miss her.  I believe our sons will be making a trip to Senegal in Dec. on about the 17th so we're in the process of planning.  I'll be able to send more info once their plans are made.  Jacque Guyer

On 9/26/06, warrentreut <warrentreut@...> wrote:

Hello all,
I'm just checking in. Peter has just spent a few weeks in sick bay at
the headquarters in Dakar. It has been difficult being so far away and
uncertain of the standards of the medical care that he received. Peter
is now on the mend and I think he has returned to his village. Our
plans are to meet up with him in Italy over Christmas. Sigh, I can't
wait. It is hard to believe a year has gone by. I am to the point where
I don't just want to see him I need to see him! He sounds great when I
talk with him, loving his experience and is talking about staying on
another year. (another big sigh!)
We are from Providence, RI - don't konw if I ever shared that
information.
How are all of you doing- seems no one is active on this site anymore.
Cheers. Edie

--
Jacque

---

Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business.

Hi everyone,
This is Agfo Evan's mom checking in belatedly from Hastings-on-Hudson
in NY. It's good to hear that the PCVs are all hanging in there, and
that people are making plans to get together, as are we. Evan has
decided to come home for Christmas, so I'm busy making a mental list
of what used to be his favorite meals, as when asked what he'd like to
do stateside, his only response was "eat".
So now I think we will still try to visit Senegal next year, perhaps
in March before it gets outrageously hot. We would like to see his
village and meet some of the cast of characters, and don't know yet
what to do with rest of the visit, but we'll get to plan a bit when he
comes home. If anyone has tips on what to bring as small, useful
gifts when meeting an extended host family, please pass them along.
My other comment for anyone out there comes from the concerned parent
part of my brain. Evan has mentioned and railed against the overly
complex and spotty system for distributing meds, including malaria
prophylaxis. That instead of just regularly supplying anti-malarials,
request forms always have to be filled out and picked up by Peace
Corps reps and then pills are distributed, except the system breaks
down and the volunteers wind up borrowing from one another until a
supply comes in. This is not very heartening, though I guess it has
worked so far, but I am curious if it is a flaw in the Kaffrine area,
where Evan is working, or if it is endemic. So if anyone has heard a
similar story, I'd be curious to hear it.
Regards to all, and I hope for a good holiday season for everyone.
Kathleen

On 10/25/06, e warren <warrentreut@...> wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Michele-
>
> I know what you mean about the phone calls. Everytime I talk with Peter the
> call always it puts me in the best mood. Usually I can only reach him on
> the days that he goes to market as the cell-phone reception in his village
> is minimal. He does not have electricity but tells me that if I sign up for
> SKYPE, I can call him from my computer for 2 cents a minute.
>
> As far as Italy goes, after doing some preliminary research we have narrowed
> our travels to Rome for 4 or 5 days and then off to Florence for a week
> where we will stay as a home base and travel Tuscany- from there we are
> looking at more places than we have time but are considering Siena, Lucca,
> Pisa, Ravenna, San Martino, Padua (a stretch but I want to see the Giotto's
> there) as you can see, we will run out of time. Right now I am researching
> pensione as I will be traveling with Petie and his brother. We don't want
> to spend much on lodging.
>
> I'm at work so I must run.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Edie
>
> Michele Coady <michelelc@...> wrote:
>
>
>
> Hi all,
>
> We haven't done a lot on this site lately have we? I am sorry to hear
> about Peter and I hope he continues to improve. I talked to Adam yesterday
> which always makes my day! He seems to be doing well and we are trying to
> figure out our January vacation plans when I will travel to Senegal for a
> week and then we will go to either Greece or Italy. Edie, I would love to
> hear about your plans for Italy in December since we can't make up our minds
> at this point which place to go to.
>
> Adam has a girlfriend - I think she is from the PC group that started the
> cycle before. She is in a village fairly close to him so I think they see
> each other every couple of weeks or so. Adam also has a puppy now since he
> was really missing his dog at home.
>
> Hope everyone on this alias is doing ok and your kids in Senegal are also
> doing well.
>
> thanks,
> Michele
>
>
> On 9/26/06, warrentreut <warrentreut@...> wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Hello all,
> > I'm just checking in. Peter has just spent a few weeks in sick bay at
> > the headquarters in Dakar. It has been difficult being so far away and
> > uncertain of the standards of the medical care that he received. Peter
> > is now on the mend and I think he has returned to his village. Our
> > plans are to meet up with him in Italy over Christmas. Sigh, I can't
> > wait. It is hard to believe a year has gone by. I am to the point where
> > I don't just want to see him I need to see him! He sounds great when I
> > talk with him, loving his experience and is talking about staying on
> > another year. (another big sigh!)
> > We are from Providence, RI - don't konw if I ever shared that
> > information.
> > How are all of you doing- seems no one is active on this site anymore.
> > Cheers. Edie
> >
> >
>
>
>
>
>
> ________________________________
> All-new Yahoo! Mail - Fire up a more powerful email and get things done
> faster.
>
>
>
>

---------- Forwarded message ----------

 


I was feeling a little nosey,
so I thought I would look in on you and see
if you are sitting at your computer.

Yup, there you are!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.   

Jeannie and RED
 

 

 

--
Jacque

Happy New Year e buon ano to all.  I am with Peter outside of Florence and our visit is almost over.  We have had a very Merry Christmas in Italy.  His goals on this vacation were simple:  "food and art."  We have been successful!  He had lost about 15 pounds as a result of eating much less and having a very high metabolism.  It is discouraging that at 125,I now weigh the same my son.  I hope all of you had the joy of being reunited and finding the time to reconnect with your pcv children.   Health, peace and joy in 2007. Cheers, E.

Michele Coady <michelelc@...> wrote:

:-)

On 12/23/06, Jacqueline Guyer <jacqueline.guyer@... > wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

I was feeling a little nosey,
so I thought I would look in on you and see
if you are sitting at your computer.

Yup, there you are!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.   

Jeannie and RED
 

 

 

--
Jacque

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Happy New Year e buon ano to all.  I am with Peter outside of Florence and our visit is almost over.  We have had a very Merry Christmas in Italy.  His goals on this vacation were simple:  "food and art."  We have been successful!  He had lost about 15 pounds as a result of eating much less and having a very high metabolism.  It is discouraging that at 125,I now weigh the same my son.  I hope all of you had the joy of being reunited and finding the time to reconnect with your pcv children.   Health, peace and joy in 2007. Cheers, E.

Michele Coady <michelelc@...> wrote:

:-)

On 12/23/06, Jacqueline Guyer <jacqueline.guyer@...> wrote:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

I was feeling a little nosey,
so I thought I would look in on you and see
if you are sitting at your computer.

Yup, there you are!

Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.   

Jeannie and RED
 

 

 

--
Jacque

__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

If this kind of thing freaks you out, read this anyway...it is very
IMPORTANT.
This woman does a great job of describing what was felt during her
heart attack.

THE TIME TO READ

     I've meant to send this to my women friends to warn them that
it's
true that women rarely have the same dramatic symptoms that men have
when
experiencing a heart attack...you know, the sudden stabbing pain in
the
chest, the cold sweat, grabbing the chest & dropping to the floor that
we
see in the movies.

       Having had a completely unexpected heart attack about 10:30
p.m.
with NO prior exertion, NO prior emotional trauma that one would
suspect
might've brought it on, it was this past April,'06, about 1-1/2 hours
after
I'd spent a pleasant 2 hrs. rehearsing with the Note-a-Belles.

      I was sitting all snuggly & warm on a cold evening, with my
purring
cat in my lap, reading an interesting story my friend had sent me, and
actually thinking, "A-A-h, this is the life, all cozy and warm in my
soft,
cushy Lazy Boy with my feet propped up."  A moment later, I felt that
awful
sensation of indigestion, when you've been in a hurry and grabbed a
bite of
sandwich and washed it down with a dash of water, and that hurried
bite
seems to feel like you've swallowed a golf ball going down the
esophagus in
slow motion and it is most uncomfortable. You realize you shouldn't
have
gulped it down so fast and needed to chew it more thoroughly and this
time
drink a glass of wa ter to hasten its progress down to the stomach,
which
doesn't do much good, as your esophagus and throat muscles are in spasm
and
it hurts to swallow.

       This was my initial sensation---the only trouble was that I
hadn't
taken a bite of anything since about 5:00 p.m. After that had seemed
to
subside, the next sensation was like little squeezing motions that
seemed
to be racing up my SPINE (hind-sight, it was probably my aorta
spasming),
gaining speed as they continued racing up and under my sternum (breast
bone, where one presses rhythmically when administering CPR).  This
fascinating process continued on into my throat and branched out into
both
jaws.

       AHA!!  NOW I stopped puzzling about what was happening.  We all
have
read  and/or heard about pain in the jaws being one of the signals of
a
heart attack happening, haven't we?

       I said aloud to myself and the cat, "Dear God, I think I'm
having a
heart attack!" I lowered the footrest, dumping the cat from my lap,
started
to take a step and fell on the floor instead. I thought to myself, "If
this
is a heart attack, I shouldn't be walking into the next room where the
phone is or anywhere else.......but, on the other hand, if I don't,
nobody
will know that I need help.  And if I wait any longer, I may not be
able to
get up in moment."


       I pulled myself up with the arms of the chair, walked slowly
into
the next room and dialed the paramedics.  I guess when one reaches
them,
your address automatically flashes on a screen, as the operator
verified my
address immediately and asked my symptoms.


       I told her I thought I was having a heart attack due to the
pressure
building under the sternum and radiating into my jaws.  I didn't feel
hysterical or afraid, just stating the facts, ma'm. She said she was
sending the paramedics over immediately, asked if the front door was
near
to me, and if so, to unbolt the door and then lie down on the floor
where
they could see me when they came in.  No, I didn't take an aspirin, as
I'm
allergic to it, but I did take a 100 mg magnesium oxide
capsule...which
bottle I keep handily in reach on the kitchen
counter...which is a small detour on my way to the front door...with
about
a 3/4 glass of water to get it dissolving ASAP into my bloodstream.


       Magnesium relaxes blood vessels as it dissolves to get them
expanded
to let blood get through the constriction of the vessels. I then laid
down
on the floor as instructed and lost consciousness, as I don't remember
the
medics coming in...their  examination...lifting me onto a gurney or
getting
me into their ambulance...or hearing the call they made to St. Jude ER
on
the way.  But I did briefly awaken when we arrived and saw that the
cardiologist was already there in his surgical blues and cap, helping
the
medics pull my stretcher out of the ambulance.

       He was bending over me asking questions (probably something
like
"Have you  taken any medications?") but I couldn't make my mind
interpret
what he was saying, or form an answer, and nodded off again...not
waking up
until the cardiologist and partner had already threaded the teeny
angiogram
balloon up my femoral artery into the aorta and into my heart where
they
installed two side-by-side stents to hold open my right coronary artery
and
now was being taken into the CCU, and looking up at the three anxious
faces
of Karen, Mark, and Wendy. Since I'd been a patient at St. Jude in 2002
for
my TIA treatment, they had my emergency info in their system and had
called
my kids. I spent two days in CCU and two in general ward, then was
discharged.


       I know it sounds like all my thinking and actions at home must
have
taken at least 20-30 minutes before calling the paramedics, but
actually it
took perhaps 4-5 minutes before the call, and both the fire station and
St.
Jude are only minutes away from my home, and my Cardiologist was
already to
go to the OR in his scrubs and get going on restarting my heart (which
had
stopped somewhere between my arrival and the procedure) and installing
the
stents.


       Why have I written all of this to you with so much detail?
Because I
want all of you who are so important in my life to know what I learned
firsthand, as a Certified Medical Back-Office Assistant in Internal
Medicine Clinics, and as one who has lived through a heart attack due
to:

1. Being aware that  something very different was happening in my body
...not
the usual men's symptoms, but inexplicable things happening (until my
sternum and jaws got into the act ). It is said that many more women
than
men die of their first (and last!) heart attack because they didn't
know
they were  having one, and commonly mistake it as indigestion...take
some
Maalox or other anti-"heartburn" preparation...and go to bed...hoping
they'll feel better in the morning when they wake up....which doesn't
happen.
       My female friends, your symptoms might not be exactly like mine,
so
I advise you to call the paramedics if ANYTHING is unpleasantly
happening
that you've not felt before. It is better to have a "false alarm"
visitation than to risk your life guessing what it might be!

2. Note that I said "Call the Paramedics," Ladies. TIME IS OF THE
ESSENCE!
Do NOT try to drive yourself to the ER. You're a hazard to others on
the
road, and so is your panicked husband/friend who will be speeding and
looking anxiously at what's happening with you instead of the road, and
so
are your kids or friends a hazard as well. As sure as I sit here, they
will
get the attention of a cop who will pull you over for speeding--more
wasted
time.
       Do NOT call your doctor--he doesn't know where you live and if
it's
at night you won't reach him anyway, and if it's daytime, his
assistants
(or answering service) will tell you to call the Paramedics. He
doesn't
carry the equipment in his car that you need to be saved!  The
Paramedics
do--principally OXYGEN that you need ASAP. Your Dr. will be notified
later.

3. Don't assume it couldn't be a heart attack because you have a
normal
cholesterol count -- I did, and do, too. Research has discovered that
a
cholesterol elevated  reading is rarely the cause of an heart attack
(unless it's unbelievably high, and/or accompanied by high blood
pressure.)
heart attack's are usually caused by long-term stress and inflammation
in
the body, which dumps all sorts of deadly hormones into your system to
sludge things up in there (and, of course, family genetics can be a
factor.
I qualify for the latter, and the years 2005 and 2006 have been the
most
stressful of my life since Jack died in 1981.)

4. Read on for the e-mail I received today that prompted my above
lecture
to you:

SUBJECT:  Drinking ice water at mealtime (which I've always done until
now.)
Noting neither Urban Legions nor Snopes has a anything to say about
this
one, it must be true.  Interesting, if you've read it before, re-read
it.
It may save your life.  Send it to your friends and family.  It may
save
their lives....

This is a very good article. Not only about the warm water after your
meal, but about ladies and their heart attacks.  This makes
sense...the
Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals...not cold
water...maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!!
Nothing to lose--everything to gain...

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to
you.
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold
water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It
will
slow down the digestion.  Once this "sludge" reacts with the stomach's
hydrochloric acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine
faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine.  Very soon,
this
will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup
or
warm water after a meal. (Make it green tea--a great antioxidant!)

A serious note about heart attacks: Women should know that not every
heart
attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting.  Be aware of
intense
pain in the jaw line, or even pressure there and under sternum, or
"indigestion" symptoms, especially if you haven't eaten in several
hours.
You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart
attack, but heaviness /pressure under the sternum is common.

Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms, but not
necessarily
in the women.  60% of people who have heart attacks while they are
asleep
do not wake up.

Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and
be
aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive.

A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this email and sends it to
ten
people, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.

**Please be a true friend, and send this article to all the friends
you
care about.**

 

 

--
Jacque