Relay for Life 2009

Robert’s daughter, Crystal, is the Captain of a Relay for Life team, “Chasing Hope”. The relay is scheduled for 10 am – 10 am, August 15-16 in Battleground, WA. This event has been combined with North Clark County for the 2009 season.

Relay for Life benefits cancer research and celebrates the lives of those who have battled cancer, and to remember loved ones lost. It is a touching event, many people are there to tell their stories on survival or loss, groups of people walking a track, laughing and crying together, celebrating life and lives. This event touches our family, as Robert’s step-dad is battling cancer.

We’d like to share her team page with you, and hope that you’ll at least visit to see what the organization is about. Should you wish to donate, your efforts will help the American Cancer Society fund groundbreaking cancer research, provide up-to-date cancer information, advocate for all people to have access to screening and treatment, and offer free programs and services to improve the quality of life for people facing cancer.

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY09GW?pg=team&fr_id=14656&team_id=444879

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We now have one place for everyone to stay caught up with our activities:
http://sites.google.com/site/rgebbiephoto


Find out more about us, keep up with our blog, see more of our artwork with our new slideshow feature, get links to our published articles, find our referral links, and find out how to contact us.

We have published articles online! You can find our Author Page at:


EHow –
http://www.ehow.com/members/rgphotography.html

Associated Content –
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/464331/rgebbiephoto.html

Bukisa –
http://www.bukisa.com/people/RGebbiePhoto

Article Income –
http://rgebbiephoto.articleincome.com


Some of our more popular articles:

Photographing the Essence of Woman

Persevering Obstacles

Control your Future

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Its all coming together

We are pleased to announce the launch of our new main web site at http://sites.google.com/site/rgebbiephoto. We have grown and expanded dramatically in our creative endeavourers since beginning our journey in January of 2008.

Today as we look forward into the future it is our plan to develop this site into the main “hub” of our activities. In the near future we will be obtaining a dot com (.com) address and expanding the current layout to include more information about the services and creative projects we are involved in as well as a means to connect and follow our artists.

Our RSS or optional e-mail subscription feed are located on the blog or main site and will carry announcements, articles, links, updates and information to keep friends and readers current.

We hope you find our new site easy to navigate, and encourage visitors to leave feedback with us at RGebbiePhotography@yahoo.com or RGP.Robert@yahoo.com.

We have lots of things in the works for the future so stay tuned and join us for our journey.

Robert 4, MRSA 0

MRSA infection is caused by Staphylococcus aureus bacteria — often called "staph." MRSA stands for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. It's a strain of staph that's resistant to the broad-spectrum antibiotics commonly used to treat it. MRSA can be fatal.

How many times do we see a report on the news about some new superbug, and think, “How sad for the people that got it, but it could never happen to me.” We always took precautions, we’re a bit OCD about washing our hands and cleaning cat scratches or cuts with peroxide. So when Robert got a little pimple, we didn’t think anything of it at all. Not even when it got a little bigger, we just ignored it. Then he got a fever, and he started getting some pain. By the time I took him to the Emergency Room FOUR HOURS LATER, the pimple abscessed and grew from the size of a raisin to the size of an 8” banana. It tunneled into his body, turning flesh and healthy tissue into a liquid acidic pus. Had he gone to bed that night, the doctor said he would have died in his sleep. We were fortunate that he got intense pain and a fever immediately, which made going to the ER an option. The abscess was drained in surgery, and he was given a healthy dose of antibiotics by IV. The hospital stay lasted a week, and he was confined to the house until his wound healed. My entire house smelled like bleach, my towels and linens bleach stained from soaking, rubber gloves and antibacterial hand gel became the norm.

I was concerned for my own health, because of how it tore through his body. It isn’t uncommon for me to have a scratch or cut on my hands, because we have cats. But I never got it, never got sick with it.

Staph bacteria are normally found on the skin or in the nose of about one-third of the population. If you have staph on your skin or in your nose but aren't sick, you are said to be "colonized" but not infected. Healthy people can be colonized and have no ill effects. However, they can pass the germ to others.

There are some things you can do at home. Clean wounds immediately, no matter how small they are. Use seat covers in public bathrooms. Wash your hands after bathroom visits. Wash your hands before and after touching food. And the big one for me, Ladies, STOP PUTTING YOUR PURSE ON THE FLOOR!! Think about where you set your purse down. It’s common to just throw them on the floor or under your desk. And it’s also pretty common to put them on the kitchen counter or kitchen table. Germs transfer surface to surface. Also, for houses with kids, make sure they get into the habit of using a tissue to wipe their noses, instead of their sleeves. Wash hands after playtime, or if they are in contact with sick kids.

If you get antibiotics, take the full course. Do not save a pill or two for another time, this is dangerous, and how germs mutate and grow.

Like other superbugs, MRSA is the result of decades of excessive and unnecessary antibiotic use. For years, antibiotics have been prescribed for colds, flu and other viral infections that don't respond to these drugs, as well as for simple bacterial infections that normally clear on their own.

Now, 18 months later, we are getting over the fourth bout of MRSA that has attacked Robert. This one sent us to the hospital again, it was too deep to drain at home. So, once again, my towels are bleach stained, bleach wipes and rubber gloves abound, and a special container is on the bathroom counter to collect the bandages and used gloves. And I couldn’t be happier. Because, once again, Robert has defeated MRSA. And I still have my husband.

For more information, see http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/mrsa/DS00735