Sunday, May 29, 2011

A Swimming PSA

I try and post this yearly.It is something I never thought about
A friend posted this PSA about children's swimwear, and I never even thought about it before I read it. This makes perfect sense. Please share if you'd like.

These are her words, so I am copy/pasting it exactly how she wrote it:

I do this every year, and it's getting to be that time again... if you've heard it before, pass it on to someone who hasn't.

I used to swim with a Master's team and one night they were doing deep water rescue drills with the lifeguards at the same time as our workout. I was doing laps in the deep end and the trainer tossed a baby doll, clad only in a diaper, into the deep end of the pool.

I peered through the water as the doll sank, and I kid you not, you could *not* see that baby in twelve feet of water. This was in a basically empty pool without a lot of other kids splashing and reflections from light and I was *in* the water and STILL couldn't see it. It was a vague pale blur in the water, and it made me shudder to think that could be a real child down there.

Now on to the PSA - I talked with the trainer afterward and he said he wished there were no such things as kid's swimsuits in white, sea green or turquoise blue, because those colors blend right in to the pool bottom in most pools. He said to dress your kids in the brightest freaking colors you can find - neon pinks, oranges, reds, just for that increased visibility factor in the water.

Tuesday, May 3, 2011

May is Lupus Awareness Month

So May is Lupus awareness month.
Do you know someone that suffers from it ?
Here is a link to learn about Lupus
It is one of those "But you don't look sick " Disease.
I love this as a way to describe how life works for a Spoonie.Spoon Theory..
There are some things I wish people would understand about this disease it that while we might not "look " sick we can be very very sick.
It is hard to make people understand that when we cancel things at the last minute it is not to be mean or rude it is because I may not be able to walk or use my hands or even sit in a chair.
Today is one of those days.If you saw me you might say I am lazy and just hanging out in pj's but in reality I have not move.I cannot hold a cup or glass.I cannot even get my pants on because 1.my knees are so swollen and 2.I cannot button them since my hands are so bad.
I know people that have lost multiple organs and are having a really hard time now because of this stupid disease.My thing is if you know someone that suffers please please please read about it and talk to them about what you can do as a friend to help ease what they are going through.