I just finished reading John Steinbeck's The Winter of Our Discontent. This may be my favorite line from a book ever: "On Monday perfidious spring dodged back toward winter with cold rain and raw gusty wind that shredded the tender leaves of too trusting trees." Can't you just feel it?
100. Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll
99. The Cat Who Covered the World by Christopher S. Wren
98. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
97. Emily the Strange by Anonymous
96. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
95. The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron, illustrated by Matt Phelan
94. A Thief in the House of Memory by Tim Wynne-Jones
93. Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv
92. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green
91. Beauty by Robin McKinley
90. The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
89. The Unicorn Sonata by Peter S. Beagle
88. Revenge by Stephen Fry
87. Summerland by Michael Chabon
86. Becoming Myself: Reflections on Growing up Female by Willa Shalit
85. The Stars My Destination by Alfred Bester
84. The Crimes of Charlotte Bronte by James Tully
83. Alphabet Juice by Roy Blount Jr.
82. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
81. A Death in White Bear Lake: The True Chronicle of an All-American Town by Barry Siegel
80. The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades Before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler
79. Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez Reverte
78. Purity of Blood by Arturo Perez Reverte
77. The Sun Over Breda by Arturo Perez Reverte
76. The King’s Gold by Arturo Perez Reverte
75. Mosaic by Amy Grant
74. Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
73. Aquarium Care of Bettas by David E. Boruchowitz
72. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
71. The Miserable Mill (Book 4 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
70. A Drowned Maiden’s Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz
69. Pilgrims by Elizabeth Gilbert
68. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: Volume 2: No Future for You
67. Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8: Volume 3: Wolves at the Gate
66. McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories edited by Michael Chabon
65. Spike: After the Fall by Joss Whedon
64. Hateship, Friendship, Courtship, Loveship, Marriage by Alice Munro
63. Smoke and Mirrors by Neil Gaiman
62. Moral Disorder and other stories by Margaret Atwood
61. Stern Men by Elizabeth Gilbert
60. The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb
59. Hood by Stephen Lawhead
58. Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead
57. The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman
56. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale by Holly Black
55. Hercule Poirot’s Chistmas by Agatha Christie
54. The Austere Academy (Book 5 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
53. The Ersatz Elevator (Book 6 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
52. The Vile Village (Book 7 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
51. Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman
50. The Tiger in the Well by Philip Pullman
49. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
48. Ironside by Holly Black
47. Mirror Mirror by Gregory Maguire
46. Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak
45. Looking for Alaska by John Green
44. The Last Child by John Hart
43. Brave Story by Miyuki Miyabe
42. The Tipping Point by Malcom Gladwell
41. It’s Not About the Bike by Lance Armstrong
40. The Hostile Hospital (Book 8 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
39. The Carnivorous Carnival (Book 9 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
38. The Slippery Slope (Book 10 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
37. The Painter of Battles by Arturo Perez-Reverte
36. The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
35. The Grim Grotto (Book 11 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
34. The Penultimate Peril (Book 12 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
33. The End (Book 13 in a Series of Unfortunate Events) by Lemony Snicket
32. Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie
31. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
30. Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Time of Your Life by Joss Whedon
29. Every Second Counts by Lance Armstrong
28. The Yiddish Policemen’s Union by Michael Chabon
27. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
26. Paper Towns by John Green
25. The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
24. The Winter of Our Discontent by John Steinbeck
Monday, September 21, 2009
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Talk about timing!
My post on prescription errors seems prescient. In today's Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Spotlight column, which focuses on consumer protection issues, was titled "The harm in pharmacy misfills." Unbeknownst to me, there is a process for reporting these errors to the Georgia Board of Pharmacy so the errors can be tracked and pharmacies can be disciplined, when appropriate. If you have experienced a pharmacy error, I encourage you to report it. If you are in another state, check to see if your state has a similar Board. Here's the information for Georgia:
tinyurl.com/soscomplaint
or
Georgia Board of Pharmacy
237 Coliseum Drive
Macon, GA 31217
As noted in the Spotlight column, "Make sure to include your name and contact information."
tinyurl.com/soscomplaint
or
Georgia Board of Pharmacy
237 Coliseum Drive
Macon, GA 31217
As noted in the Spotlight column, "Make sure to include your name and contact information."
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Doublecheck Your Rx
Late last week, DD had an unfortunate run-in with a previously nonthreatening cat up in grandma’s neighborhood. The few puncture wounds on her face didn’t look so bad initially, and most had healed by yesterday. But this one spot, had gotten redder and more inflamed looking in spite of regular cleanings and treatments with ointment.
I asked a pediatrician friend to take a quick look at the place – better safe than sorry and good to know if we need to go to the doctor's office, I thought. Turns out, DD needs a heavy-duty antibiotic to knock-out the infection, so I was glad I asked.
But getting our prescription filled was an experience, and I learned a few lessons from it that I wanted to share.
1. Understand what the doctor is prescribing. I don’t mean just getting that the doctor wants you or your child to take an antibiotic. What antibiotic? Why that one? How many doses? For how long? Does the generic version have other names? In our case, the pediatrician was clear that DD needed Augmentin, a tough, knock-em-all-out antibiotic. She explained how often DD needed the medication daily and that she needed to take the entire 10-days’ worth of the medication.
2. Make sure you communicate that information to whomever is picking up the prescription. I had the conversation with the pediatrician; my husband picked up the Rx. I should’ve better communicated to him what he should be getting from the pharmacist. I didn’t.
3. Doublecheck your Rx. Look at the bottle, preferably when you get the prescription filled. Does it have the same name of the medication on it that the doctor prescribed? When I got home from work, I took a look at the medication my husband had picked up earlier in the day. The bottle read Amoxicillin, not Augmentin.
4. If the names don’t match, ask! Ask the pharmacist, “The doctor said she was calling in Augmentin. This says Amoxicillin, not Augmentin. Is this the same thing?” If you are already at home, call the pharmacist or the doctor and confirm if you have ANY doubt at all. Don’t trust the pharmacist to get it correct. Not that pharmacists are untrustworthy, but they fill hundreds of prescriptions each day. Mistakes happen. Clearly. Our pediatrician spoke personally to the pharmacist, she didn’t leave a message on their system, and she clearly prescribed Augmentin. When I called the pharmacy after talking with the pediatrician, the pharmacist double-checked the call-in, and confirmed that Augmentin had, indeed, been prescribed and that they’d made a mistake.
5. Don’t trust yourself to know. In our case, I just happened to have special knowledge about Amoxicillin because I take it every time I go to the dentist thanks to a diagnosis with a heart murmur as a small child. I just happened to know that Amoxicillin is NOT a tough, knock-em-all-out antibiotic and NOT the same as Augmentin. But even had I not known, I should have made that call to the pediatrician and then to the pharmacy.
In our situation, the consequences of a prescription error would have been negative, but thankfully probably not dire. DD, given an ineffective antibiotic, probably would have ended up in the hospital for an intravenous antibiotic to knock out the infection. She could have ended up with scarring on her face from the cellulitis caused by the infection.
The consequences may not always be so relatively minimal. Doublecheck your Rx. I know we will.
I asked a pediatrician friend to take a quick look at the place – better safe than sorry and good to know if we need to go to the doctor's office, I thought. Turns out, DD needs a heavy-duty antibiotic to knock-out the infection, so I was glad I asked.
But getting our prescription filled was an experience, and I learned a few lessons from it that I wanted to share.
1. Understand what the doctor is prescribing. I don’t mean just getting that the doctor wants you or your child to take an antibiotic. What antibiotic? Why that one? How many doses? For how long? Does the generic version have other names? In our case, the pediatrician was clear that DD needed Augmentin, a tough, knock-em-all-out antibiotic. She explained how often DD needed the medication daily and that she needed to take the entire 10-days’ worth of the medication.
2. Make sure you communicate that information to whomever is picking up the prescription. I had the conversation with the pediatrician; my husband picked up the Rx. I should’ve better communicated to him what he should be getting from the pharmacist. I didn’t.
3. Doublecheck your Rx. Look at the bottle, preferably when you get the prescription filled. Does it have the same name of the medication on it that the doctor prescribed? When I got home from work, I took a look at the medication my husband had picked up earlier in the day. The bottle read Amoxicillin, not Augmentin.
4. If the names don’t match, ask! Ask the pharmacist, “The doctor said she was calling in Augmentin. This says Amoxicillin, not Augmentin. Is this the same thing?” If you are already at home, call the pharmacist or the doctor and confirm if you have ANY doubt at all. Don’t trust the pharmacist to get it correct. Not that pharmacists are untrustworthy, but they fill hundreds of prescriptions each day. Mistakes happen. Clearly. Our pediatrician spoke personally to the pharmacist, she didn’t leave a message on their system, and she clearly prescribed Augmentin. When I called the pharmacy after talking with the pediatrician, the pharmacist double-checked the call-in, and confirmed that Augmentin had, indeed, been prescribed and that they’d made a mistake.
5. Don’t trust yourself to know. In our case, I just happened to have special knowledge about Amoxicillin because I take it every time I go to the dentist thanks to a diagnosis with a heart murmur as a small child. I just happened to know that Amoxicillin is NOT a tough, knock-em-all-out antibiotic and NOT the same as Augmentin. But even had I not known, I should have made that call to the pediatrician and then to the pharmacy.
In our situation, the consequences of a prescription error would have been negative, but thankfully probably not dire. DD, given an ineffective antibiotic, probably would have ended up in the hospital for an intravenous antibiotic to knock out the infection. She could have ended up with scarring on her face from the cellulitis caused by the infection.
The consequences may not always be so relatively minimal. Doublecheck your Rx. I know we will.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Personality
It really is interesting how early distinct personality traits come out in children. It seems some kids are just born gregarious or shy, athletic or bookish, talkative or reticent. As a parent, I find myself walking a line between embracing my child’s natural tendencies and encouraging her not to be limited by them.
DD has never been one for large group activities. Don’t get me wrong. She loves to play with friends. One-on-one play-dates work well. Having three little girls over for a special birthday play-date was the perfect fit.
But, while some other children jump right into the fray at large birthday parties, for example, DD hangs back and watches from a “safe” distance. Though we’ve encouraged her to participate (she is still, after all, at the age where parents hang around for parties), we’ve never pushed her to get involved. Oh, she’ll eat the cake and maybe play with a toy, but if the party gets really going, she’s ready to go too – home!
We saw another example of this tendency this week. A group of parents and children in our neighborhood gets together weekly for toddler soccer. We skipped the activity last season, but this time, when the announcement came out, I asked my husband if it were something he’d like to do with DD. He asked her whether she’d like to play soccer with the other kids and got an excited, receptive “yes.” For several days, we heard a lot about “playing soccer with the other boys and girls in the park.”
But when we arrived at the park, it was clear that our child’s loner tendencies are still quite strong. DD took one skeptical look at the ten or so other children and their various parents and other caregivers and hung back. After a few minutes of holding onto her soccer ball and watching the others enthusiastically run around kicking pint-sized balls, she told my husband, “I’m ready to go home and play with my toys now.” No amount of encouragement would convince her to put the ball down and give it a good kick with the other children. She ended up contentedly swinging and playing on the jungle gym – by herself – for about thirty minutes before we headed home.
So how do we walk the line between her reticence and our desire for her to function in a group? For now, there’s no soccer in DD’s immediate future. Maybe we’ll look for other ways to encourage athleticism and fitness that fit more closely with her personality – tennis or golf, perhaps. We’ll keep her in the art class she loves, which has her in a group setting of about eight children but with individual-focused activities like painting, drawing, and sculpture and with two teachers to oversee the interactions. And we’ll arrange lots of play-dates!
DD has never been one for large group activities. Don’t get me wrong. She loves to play with friends. One-on-one play-dates work well. Having three little girls over for a special birthday play-date was the perfect fit.
But, while some other children jump right into the fray at large birthday parties, for example, DD hangs back and watches from a “safe” distance. Though we’ve encouraged her to participate (she is still, after all, at the age where parents hang around for parties), we’ve never pushed her to get involved. Oh, she’ll eat the cake and maybe play with a toy, but if the party gets really going, she’s ready to go too – home!
We saw another example of this tendency this week. A group of parents and children in our neighborhood gets together weekly for toddler soccer. We skipped the activity last season, but this time, when the announcement came out, I asked my husband if it were something he’d like to do with DD. He asked her whether she’d like to play soccer with the other kids and got an excited, receptive “yes.” For several days, we heard a lot about “playing soccer with the other boys and girls in the park.”
But when we arrived at the park, it was clear that our child’s loner tendencies are still quite strong. DD took one skeptical look at the ten or so other children and their various parents and other caregivers and hung back. After a few minutes of holding onto her soccer ball and watching the others enthusiastically run around kicking pint-sized balls, she told my husband, “I’m ready to go home and play with my toys now.” No amount of encouragement would convince her to put the ball down and give it a good kick with the other children. She ended up contentedly swinging and playing on the jungle gym – by herself – for about thirty minutes before we headed home.
So how do we walk the line between her reticence and our desire for her to function in a group? For now, there’s no soccer in DD’s immediate future. Maybe we’ll look for other ways to encourage athleticism and fitness that fit more closely with her personality – tennis or golf, perhaps. We’ll keep her in the art class she loves, which has her in a group setting of about eight children but with individual-focused activities like painting, drawing, and sculpture and with two teachers to oversee the interactions. And we’ll arrange lots of play-dates!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)