Sharon's Blog

How to make wire-wrapped ART! Jewelry

sharonsblog — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 20:06:54 +0000

Serial rapist attacking women in Wilmington??

sharonsblog — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 15:01:53 +0000

Victim of weekend attack warns other women to be careful

Staff Photo | Mike Spencer

RoxAnne, who was attacked and beaten early Saturday morning, talks about what took place. To watch a video of RoxAnne’s interview, go to www.starnewsonline.com/multimedia.

For 15 minutes early Saturday, RoxAnne was driving around Wilmington with a man she thought would kill her. But throughout the ordeal, even when he began beating her, she says, he never seemed angry.

“He was calm,” said RoxAnne, who asked not to be fully identified because she fears her assailant may return. “He was doing it like he was baking a cake – no emotion whatsoever.”

RoxAnne was badly beaten but escaped to the home of a stranger, who let her in and called police, she says.

Days later RoxAnne is recovering, but she worries that her assailant, with his calm manner, could catch another young woman off guard. She wants other women to be careful – not to go out alone at night.

To her, the attacker looks similar to the sketch released by police in connection with a brutal attack on a young woman downtown last month.

He’s stocky, RoxAnne said, about 5 feet 9 inches tall, with a dark complexion. Although he could be mistaken for an African American, RoxAnne said she doesn’t think he is.

Wilmington police are investigating the attack on RoxAnne and another woman this weekend, according to a statement. But they don’t know whether the incidents are related to the prior attack.

Separate investigations

On July 24, a young woman was sexually assaulted and stabbed in a church courtyard near the intersection of Third and Market streets. The 24-year-old needed operations and a lengthy hospital stay afterward.

After that attack, police urged caution and asked people to walk in groups at night. They also released a sketch of a stocky man and asked the public for help identifying him.

Then early Saturday morning, two women were attacked.

While both women described an assailant who appears similar to the man in the previous sketch, police are following leads and investigating the cases separately, according to a statement from Lucy Crockett, spokeswoman for the department.

Here is what police have said about the two attacks Saturday morning:

The first was reported at 4:47 a.m. RoxAnne stopped at a gas station at the intersection of South College Road and Long Leaf Hills Drive. There, she saw a man she thought she knew, and he jumped into her car about the time she realized it wasn’t who she thought it was. He ordered her to drive.

After about 15 minutes, she pulled into a closed convenience store off Pine Grove Road. The man grabbed her and beat her, RoxAnne said. She escaped and ran to a house for help.

RoxAnne said her attacker took her white Volkswagen Jetta. It was recovered several hours later in Sneads Ferry.

About 90 minutes after the first attack was reported, another woman was grabbed from behind while jogging in the 3100 block of Rachel Place, according to a statement from Crockett. The man punched the woman but stopped when she screamed. The woman ran, escaping with minor injuries, including a bloody nose.

That victim described her assailant as about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing 150 to 160 pounds. He was stocky, 20 to 30 years old and had a short haircut.

Moments before the attack, the runner saw her assailant standing by a white sedan, according to police. The second victim also said the man resembled the suspect in the composite sketch released in the downtown attack.

Earlier reports of Saturday’s attack on RoxAnne incorrectly described items that were in the car when it was stolen. The police item was a training uniform for a civilian police force based out of Camp Lejeune and not related to the Jacksonville Police Department. The uniform, a shirt with an embroidered badge on it and khaki-colored cargo pants, were in the car when it was recovered, according to the statement from Crockett.

Still scared

RoxAnne now wonders whether she did everything she could to foil a man who, she believes, went on to attack someone else.

She’s also still nursing injuries. Days later, her right eye is still swollen almost shut, and she has scrapes on her face. She walks slowly because of bruised ribs where the man kicked her.

She drove him around for 15 minutes and he never let on he was going to attack, though RoxAnne says she knew all along it was coming. He ordered her to go to her apartment complex, but she refused to stop there and kept driving. She went to a closed convenience store parking lot and refused to go any further. That’s when the man turned violent, she says.

“He grabbed me around the head and started pulling me toward his lap,” she says. “And pushing my head like he was going to snap my neck.” RoxAnne hit the gas. “I couldn’t see where I was driving, I was honking the horn, I had my foot on the gas.”

RoxAnne says the car stopped at a building nearby and from there, her memory is hazy. She thinks she blacked out for a moment. “Next thing I remember is ending up on the side of that building in the grass … him dragging me into the grass,” she said. “I knew I was going to die. There was no doubt in my mind. I started begging and crying and pleading.”

But RoxAnne says her assailant ignored her pleas. All that saved her, she says, is acting more hurt than she was and convincing him she couldn’t move. After that, he let up for a second and she fled. RoxAnne said she ran through woods and brush and climbed over a tall fence before making it to a residential neighborhood. The man followed, but must have eventually gone back for her car, she says.

RoxAnne still lives in fear because the assailant has her house keys and knows which apartment complex she lives in.

But RoxAnne also hopes her experience reminds other women that at least one predator is still on the loose.

“There’s got to be a reason I went through this,” she said. “Maybe somebody hears this and it keeps them from going out alone at night.”

More stupid kid stuff

sharonsblog — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 15:32:03 +0000

We lived in a somewhat rural area when I was growing up, we lived up on top of a great hill and we had a huge green water tower. It was surrounded by a fence that was supposed to keep people out.

When I was about 10 years old some of the older neighborhood kids [including 2 of my older sisters] agreed that it was time for my “Initiation of the Tower” which involved several steps.

The first step involved filling small baby food jars with house paints and throwing the jars against the tower, causing them to smash and allow the paint to drip down…sort of ancient graffiti I guess.

After step 1 was completed I was supposed to scale the fence [step 2] and climb the tower using the caged ladder that was attached to it. This led to step 3 which was to sign my name in permanent marker on TOP of the tower. I can only remember ever being ‘up high’ twice before that. Both times had been when I took airplane rides with my Dad and my Uncle [who owned our local airport], and I was terrified the entire time.

If you wanted to climb the tower ladder you either needed a length of rope or a taller kid to help you reach the ladder, the bottom rung was at least 7 feet off the ground. I got a boost up from my sisters [Carol & Diane] I started climbing, my sisters were behind me, so climbing back down was not an option because they refused to get out of my way. I was probably 30 feet up and I froze, the voices below yelling at me to keep going, chiding me and calling me names. But I was frozen with fear I COULDN’T move. After 10 or 15 minutes they retreated and I was allowed to come down off the ladder, it would be years before I hears the end of this story!

Turns out I suffer from vertigo and being up high is not a good thing for me to be.

Side snippet: We used to throw rocks at the tower causing it to make a HUGE pinging sound that echoed and could be heard all the way to our house. Our Dad would get pissed off and drive up there in his car to catch us, we always appointed someone to be the LookOut so IF Dad decided to barge up on us, we’d know before he got there and we’d just take off running.

I think sometimes it sucked to be my Dad because he was such a control freak but so hugely outnumbered.

Stupid things I did as a kid

sharonsblog — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:15:27 +0000

I am the 5th of 7 children, back in the 50′ and 60’s when nice Catholic families had tons of kids and Mom’s didn’t know how to say “NO” to their husbands and birth control was frowned upon…

I was born in June 1959. Most of my stupid kid years happened before 1970 [ages 1 thru 10]

Let’s see, I used to let my sister’s tie me to the crab apple tree in our yard to see if I could be like “Houdini” and escape. I was very good at getting out of their ropes, so they decided to start running the ropes through my clothing, belt loops, the legs of my shorts and sleeves of my shirts.

I was probably about 6 years old, they tied me up real good then they took off to go play without me…which really made me mad. I struggled and pulled and squirmed but I couldn’t get loose. Eventually I figured out that IF I was going to free myself I had to shed my clothes.

My Mom stopped me as I was running up the path to the back yard wearing only my underpants. HaHa

Stupid Things I did as a kid

sharonsblog — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:06:52 +0000

When I was a kid, growing up in the 60’s and 70’s…Our father forbade us to play with the Puerto Rican kids that lived in the apartment above the local pizza parlor…they were nice kids, but I guess it’s because they were Puerto Rican [?]

We used to say we were going to the baseball field of our school and walk a few extra blocks to the pizza parlor to play with the FORBIDDEN PR kids. We’d climb the rickety fire escape and climb in through their kitchen window. I remember their Mom was really pretty and shy, she’d make us sugary-sweet snacks and let us stay and watch cartoons on their beat up black and white TV set.

One day we were up in their apartment and suddenly I heard my Dad’s booming voice down in the parking lot bellowing our names [my parents gave us all names that were 1 syllable-2 syllable OR 2 syllable-1 syllable because it was easier to call us...example: mine was Sharon [2] Lee[1], my brothers were David[2] Wayne[1] and Paul[1] Richard[2]

Anyway, he was bellowing and he sounded mad…REALLY mad!! We knew he was onto us, but none of us was brave enough to stick our head out the window or answer him, so we just pressed ourselves up flat against the wall and started reciting “Hail Mary’s” hoping maybe he’d go away.

He didn’t go away, instead he found his way into the building and was suddenly at the Peurto Rican family’s apartment door, knocking rather loudly. Their Mom panicked and scurried to answer the door as my brother David dove out the kitchen window and flew down the fire escape quickly followed by Paul and then me.

My brothers both made it down to the ground and were sprinting across the parking lot to freedom, I took a mis-step on my way down the rickety fire escape and ended up falling through some missing grating and I scraped layers of skin off my entire left side from my shin all the way up my side, to my arm pit and up to my fingers. I lay on the ground in a crumpled bloody heap.

My brothers kept running and hid in a grove of trees, covertly watching what transpired. My Dad was above me looking out the PR lady’s kitchen window, he yelled down to me “Now do you see whay I didn’t want you playing down here??” He came down with a towel, wrapped me in it and took me home to my Mom, the Nurse. I still have a scar on the inside of my upper arm from that, and I never told my Dad that my brothers had been with me that day.

Stupid Things Kids Do….

sharonsblog — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:00:38 +0000

Byetta linked to deaths/necrotizing pancreatitis.

sharonsblog — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:40:59 +0000

Byetta, a drug used to treat type 2 diabetes, has been linked to hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis, prompting the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to issue a new warning about the side effect. The FDA first notified healthcare providers about Byetta’s association with acute pancreatitis in October 2007, but since then, the agency has received six additional reports – two involving fatalities – of necrotizing or hemorrhagic pancreatitis linked to the drug.

Byetta is made by Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. The drug was approved by the FDA in 2005 to help type 2 diabetics better control blood sugar when other drugs were not adequate. The twice-daily injection is a synthetic form of a lizard hormone that boosts the production of insulin. Insulin is vital to controlling blood sugar levels.

Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas that can cause bleeding, tissue damage and infection. Severe cases of pancreatitis can lead to the release of toxins and enzymes into the blood stream that can injure the heart, lungs, kidneys or other organs. In some instances, acute pancreatitis can be fatal.

Last October, the FDA said that 30 people developed pancreatitis that was associated with the use of Byetta. Of those, 5 later suffered from kidney failure. Six patients experienced the onset or worsening of symptoms after their dosage of Byetta was increased from 5 milligrams twice daily to 10 milligrams twice daily. And according to the FDA, pancreatitis symptoms in 22 patients subsided or improved once they quit taking Byetta.

At that time, the FDA said that Amylin had agreed to include information about acute pancreatitis in the PRECAUTIONS section of the Byetta label, but that information has yet to be added.

Today, the FDA said that it had received reports of 6 cases of hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis in patients taking Byetta since its October alert. All patients required hospitalization, two patients died and four patients were recovering at time of reporting. Byetta was discontinued in all 6 cases.

The FDA alert said that Byetta and other potentially suspect drugs should be promptly discontinued if pancreatitis is suspected. There are no signs or symptoms that distinguish acute hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis associated with Byetta from the less severe form of pancreatitis. If pancreatitis is confirmed, doctors should initiate appropriate treatment and carefully monitor the patient until recovery. Byetta should not be restarted. Doctors should consider antidiabetic therapies other than Byetta in patients with a history of pancreatitis, the FDA said.

The FDA also said that healthcare professionals should instruct patients taking Byetta to seek prompt medical care if they experience unexplained persistent severe abdominal pain which may or may not be accompanied by vomiting.

The FDA said it is working with Amylin to add stronger and more prominent warnings in the product label about the risk of acute hemorrhagic or necrotizing pancreatitis.

Author’s Note: I have been using Byetta injections for 2 years.

O is for Oh My!!

sharonsblog — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 17:56:48 +0000

Uh-Huh! Uh-Huh! Uh-Huh! Uh-Huh! Yo my girl Hillary! Former first lady, will she be president, Who knows, maybe!

Yo! Barack Obamaaaaaa! I’m the black democrat, no I ain’t no punk.

Hillary’s a hot MAMA! She’s got her eyes on the prize and I’m talkin’ ’bout my junk!

Hillary! Where you at??

>^..^< Meow

This is the funniest video I have seen in a loooong time! ENJOY!

Flammable Flame Thrower Car WATCH THE VIDEO

sharonsblog — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 16:01:46 +0000

Flammable Car WATCH THE VIDEO

Cancer updates: Not my favorite subject but cause for discussion

sharonsblog — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:04:27 +0000

I posted this July 10th, 2007 [a year ago]
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Cancer updates:

I hate writing them, but at the same time it is so therapeutic…sometimes it helps me realize I am worried about nothing, other times it prompts me to see my oncologist.

I didn’t have another appointment with my Oncologist until late August but recent developments have caused me to get an earlier appointment which eerily turns out to be this Friday, Friday the 13th [of July 2007]

The recent developments are that I am 20 months POST menopause. This means I haven’t had a period for almost 2 years. I think my surgeries in April and June of 2004 sent me into menopause a bit earlier than I would have gone through it naturally. I am NOT complaining, I have had periods since I was 11 years old and I had my last child 21 years ago, my periods could stop anytime they liked and I’d be happy about it. I think 35 years of periods is plenty for one woman to suffer through. And suffer I did! My monthlies were horrible, at times lasting 8 to 10 days, bloating, cramping, weight gain, heavy flow…YECH! I am happy tobe done with it!

However, on July 3rd I began spotting and bled for a week. THIS is NOT normal for someone who has been post-menopausal for 20 months. And it is cause for concern. It can point towards uterine or cervical cancer. And that thought is always in the back of my mind…”all it takes is one BAD cancer cell to be left behind after treatment. One tiny bad cell.” I also believe that once a cancer patient ALWAYS a cancer patient. There is no cure, just lulls between occurrences. [or recurrences]. I am also worried about this persistent cough that I just can’t seem to shake. So, anyway, I made an appointment for this Friday morning. My Oncologist is smart and thorough and I trust him completely.

A friend of mine in the UK, I met her online because we share the same kind of cancer, she is a few years older than me and was diagnosed 4 years before me. She has had 2 new recrrences of her primary cancer in 7 years. She eventually had to have a complete hysterectomy and 12 weeks of chemo, she is cancer-free for the time being but that gives her very little security and she finds it difficult to plan her distant future. She feels stuck in the ‘NOW’ and unable to move very far into her future because she doesn’t know how much of a future she has.

Now logic tells me that we are ALL in the same boat unless we are clairvoyant. NONE of us knows what our future holds, but the difference between me, and her and a normally healthy person is that the healthy person doesn’t have that one tiny cell hovering overhead all the time. The worry is not so prevelant. The what-ifs do not loom so vast on their horizon as it does mine, or hers, or anyone who has cancer.

What will I do if my Oncologist says my cancer is back? I will agree to whatever treatment plan he has for me, I will participate in my treatment and try to get well. I won’t make promises I cannot keep. I will get my duckies in a row and prepare for the worst but hope for the best. Because that’s all I can do.

We don’t have any control over cancer. We cut it out, burn it out and poison it. We chase it away and pray it never comes back. For some of us, the cancer is too strong, too powerful and IT wins. But we all have the right to put up a fight. We all have the right to stand our ground. We also have the right to say enough IS enough, or I am too tired to fight.

If you were diagnosed with terminal cancer today, what would you do with the time you had left here on this earth?

That’s a powerful question. Are you brave enough to answer it truthfully?

Think about it.

Then… post your answer below.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
July 2007 through July 2008
This past year has not been an easy one, however, one good thing that HASN’T happened to me is CANCER. I have had a lot of health issues this year but cancer wasn’t one of them.
I was diagnosed with severe osteoarthritis and spend a lot of time in a wheelchair. I don’t go out a lot, mostly quick trips to WalMart or to the doctor for an appointment. My orthopedic surgeon tells me I need both knees replaced [total knee replacement]
Because I am a diabetic and have chronic lyme disease he suggests we do the surgeries a year apart.
I am scared. I do not want to have these surgeries. Not now, not a year from now, not ever.
The surgery is difficult, the scar is huge, the recovery can be difficult and it’s not guaranteed. My Doctor put my knee function at about 40% and said he can be sure to recover 80%, but I will have to have the surgery again in 10-13 years, and the level of function will go down, so it would be less than 80%. My Doctor told me I do have a choice. I can have the surgery or I can spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. He still wants me to be seen by an infectious disease specialist to be sure I can ‘handle’ the surgery. I don’t know what to do, I find it difficult to make a decision at this time.