Hypothermia and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Cases Soar in City After Hurricane

Summary:

1. Number of cold-exposure cases in NY area tripled in weeks after Sandy than any recent weeks.
2. Most of NY's power has been restored, still few thousand living in cold.
3. Department warned heath care providers that living in unheated homes can "cause illness and death".
4. This shows how unprepared and shocking NY area was hit by Sandy.

Opinion:

            I'm sure that we have all heard about Hurricane Sandy, but the magnitude of the hurricane cannot be accurately acknowledged up in The Great White North because we had no sever impacts like the Eastern US did. More specifically, in this particular storm, the NY area was schocked and unprepared for this massive storm and many were found dead or ill. Even up to this day, there are still many thousands that are living in the cold and could suffer from hypothermia, and even the people that are back in their homes have a risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

            To put this into perspective, one astonishing fact about this storm is that the amount of cold-exposure cases TRIPLED, not doubled, but tripled than any other weeks in decades. Imagine all of a sudden you go from a nice warm apartment to cold, wet and stormy conditions that could kill you or sicken you with hypothermia. But that's not even the only main concern here, the amount of carbon monoxide poisoning has gone up significantly as well because of this storm. The amount of carbon monoxide poisonings were 10x as high than they were expecting during the week of the storm and 6x as high the following week.

            As you can see, this may have not affected us in the friendly confines of Aurora, ON, but in New York, they were hit, and were hit hard.

Nick Bell

Outrage in China after five runaway boys die in a dumpster after lighting fire for warmth

Summary:

1. 5 runaway boys seeking shelter and warmth in China lit a dumpster on fire, died from carbon monoxide   poisoning
2. Boys were all brothers or cousins ages 9-13.
3. Surname: Tao
4. Sons of threes brothers; two of whom are migrant workers away from home.
5. Most of them grew up unsupervised; were taken care of blind grandmother.
6. Been missing for more than a week

Opinion:

       It was a sad story to hear. 5 runaway boys seeking simply for life's essentials were found dead trying to light a dumpster on fire for warmth died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

       Now, there are those who say, why would they leave their homes in the first place? They died because of their irresponsibility to resolve problems at home and move on. That is a perfectly legitimate argument, but I have to side with the fact that they did not just leave their homes for no reason, most likely the left for something that was out of their control or something that wasn't going to stop, and that's not their fault. I am not blaming anyone here, because we as the public don't know all of the detail as to why these boys that were all related ran away in the first place, but we cannot let the parents of these children off the hook completely here, because in the end, 5 boys (innocent or not) died looking for necessities for survival.

       Whosoever fault it was, this could have been prevented and to me, that is the most disheartening part of this whole story, my thoughts and prayers are with the families of the these young men.

Nick Bell

The Hazards of Growing Up Painlessly

Summary:

1. Young girl in from Patterson, GA feels no pain
2. Started when she was born, did not cry to anything (broken ankles, diaper rashes)
3. was around 2 when a doctor finally diagnosed her with "Congenital insensitivity to pain"
4. Condition was so rare, doctors basically said "Good Luck!"
5. Went on many shows and appeared on many magazines in 2004 (GMA, People)
6. Still feels emotional pain, just not physical
7. Rare case that has its benefits and problems as well

Opinion:

       The first moment of her life was not one filled with tears and disbelief, but more along the lines of no tears, no cares and no pain. Ashlyn Blocker has a rare case diagnosed 21 months after she was born with "Congenital insensitivity to pain". Medical to English translation: she doesn't feels any physical pain whatsoever.

       Tara, Ashlyn's mom, said that she knew that something was wrong when Ashlyn had a terrible diaper rash and never cried once about that or the time she had pink eye at two years old, or how about the time when she broke her ankle and ran on it for two days before her parents noticed something was wrong. She has never had to endure physical pain in her life, which can help if you accidentally put your hands on a cars muffler, but it can also have its disadvantages as well.

       Firstly, Ashlyn's parents had to take extra precaution to ensure that she would severely injure herself without her feeling anything. The wrapped her arms up to make sure she wouldn't bite her arms, had to have someone keep an eye on her every time she was on the playground at school. Secondly, she has never had to endure physical pain, so therefore, she cannot learn from what she can and can't do; something that concerned her parents when she was little and still concerns them today.

       Of course, with such a rare case, all of the top American companies wanted to get their hands on this girl and her story. Shows like Good Morning America and magazines such as People were banging on the door to get some information straight from the source.

       But through all of this, the now thirteen year old Ashlyn Blocker lives a normal early teenage girl life. Dancing on her bed to "Call Me Maybe", going to school and having friends that have a friend who can still feel emotional pain and suffering.

       She is just like all of us, just without any scars (literally).

Nick Bell