Last Tuesday, my mother’s boyfriend got hit by a car…He fell backwards & hit his head…He is in hospital, with feeding tube & breathing tube & other tubes & his brain swelled up…It was a taxi cab driver who hit him…The cab driver was charged with careless driving…

On Thursday of last week our neighbour went to get a hip replacement…5 years ago she had a knee replacement…It turns out that both the need for the knee replacement & the need for the hip replacement were in fact CAUSED by an osteoporosis prevention drug called Actonel…Yes, the drug itself, degrades cartilage by its hidden magnesium content…So this woman has had two surgeries & much torture due to a drug she took for 7 years, to prevent osteoporosis…

Update on Wed. January 23, 2013: well, I went to the hospital to see how my mother’s friend is doing…No visitors allowed yet, so I spent the time with my mum…I noticed a few things about visiting at a hospital…1)Parking cost me $4.00 for each half an hour…I ended up putting 20 dollars worth on my credit card which gave me a little over two hours…I had tried for an all day thing, but instead of hitting a maximum, it kept adding dollars-at 60 dollars for the day I cancelled the transaction…Apparently parking at a hospital is big business…I wondered how many people left their loved ones alone at hospital because the parking costs were too much…2)We went to Jetson’s style cafeteria…A tiny tray of sushi which was really just rice, seaweed & a tiny piece of avocado with a chamomile tea was a little over 10 dollars…It was the noblest snack my mum could find…The Brazilian internist commented that at 2 in the morning it was really tough for a doctor to feed on the food that was offered…It would seem that offering really great food, especially for the doctors, might make everyone’s health a little better…

I got to hear about how the taxi cab driver hit our friend…Our friend was crossing the street…The taxi was behind him, making a left onto the main street to pick up a fare…So they were travelling essentially in the same direction, except the cabbie was making a slight left to the far side to get his fare…When the cabbie turned to the left, he hit our friend who was walking…When asked if he saw our friend crossing the street, the cab driver said:” yes, I honked at him!”… Yes, I honked at him??? So, he saw him…He saw a pedestrian crossing the street, honked his car horn, then proceeded to drive into him? The impact apparently knocked our friend onto the hood of the cab…Then he fell off & hit the back of his head on the cold ground…The back of his head now has a staple in it…They staple your head together if you have a fracture…

3)Apparently breathing tubes & feeding tubes are so uncomfortable that most people need to be put into arm restraints, because if they aren’t, they rip out the tubes…I think maybe a redesign somehow of breathing & feeding tubes is in order…if they are so torturous, must there not be a better way to help people to breathe or eat? Something to think about…Wonder if I could design something…How to help people to breathe or to eat without the discomfort of the tubes?

On the way home from the hospital, my mum called from her cellphone to say she had got a flat tire…Wow! She is really getting hit hard this year…She says she thinks she is JOB…She wonders if she needs to be more grateful for the things she has…That this is a test of some sort…

I guess I will update here as things improve…Our neighbour is already back from her hip replacement surgery, but she is not answering her phone…We have a case of clementines for her & a birthday card…If anyone you know is taking Actonel, Fosomax, Boniva or any other osteoporosis prevention drug, tell them to stop…These things are very dangerous…There are class action lawsuits going on about this as we speak…Google ‘side effects forum’ for the drug you are taking…You won’t believe the side effects forum for Actonel…

Gosh: Our friend who was hit by the taxi died on Tuesday afternoon at Sunnybrook hospital in the ICU…January 29th, 2013…His name was Arthur Brugger…On Sunday at 1:00 pm there is a reception at Mount Pleasant Visitation Centre…This is so sad…I feel like I ate glass…