The Immigration Debate

I read a news article on the BBC's web-site that reported on David Cameron's recent speech on what the government proposes to do about the numbers of immigrants entering the UK today. As ever it was masterful piece of political obfuscation.


The facts are that immigration always becomes an issue amongst the chattering masses whenever there's a recession and regardless of the root causes and actual figures (never let the facts get in the way of  good propaganda material).


The graph on the BBC link clearly showed that the majority of immigration into this country is from non EU countries but did not make any distinction as to the category breakdown : asylum, economic or family application. At the last election, I took a close look at the figures on the National Statistics web-site. Non EU economic migrants make up a relatively small percentage of overall nett immigration. However they are the only category of immigration where our government can alter the numbers without having to pass legislation at National, EU or even International level.


It would be a far more profitable use of government debate time for them to get the current immigration systems working effectively and in finding the funding to be able to remove those found to be here illegally. It is ridiculous that we catch illegal entrants and then let the go under their own supervision whilst awaiting deportation. Of course they are going to run!!!! We also need to find a way of speeding up the appeals process without compromising human rights.


On a broader front we need to have a National Debate on why certain ethic minorities seem to have greater trouble integrating than others and what we should be doing to prevent ghettoisation. Of course such a debate is almost always rail-roaded by extremist views; shouts of "send them home" and "racist pig" being the least of it. If we really want to work out how we want the UK to be structured demographically, then those of us adults out there need to insist on the debate and ignore the idiots.

Lumbar Epidural

I had my lumbar epidural yesterday despite a last minute "it's off, it's on" shuffle by the Royal Berkshire Hospital's list administration due to a complicated case coming in the day before. As this treatment is fairly common, as all Mums out there will know, I thought I'd share what happens.


The aim of this treatment is to further suppress the symptoms caused by my broken spine (early onset degenerative spondylolisthesis at L4/L5 with associated spinal stenosis, herniated disc and radiculopathy due to bilateral root compression of my sciatic nerves) and to finally determine if the break is the sole cause of the symptoms I've been experiencing.


This procedure involves placing a needle into the insulating material of the spinal cord itself (the dura) and then injecting a local anaesthetic followed by a long acting steroid to take down the inflammation. You are awake, seated and sedated. The sedation means that one has to starve the night before though you can drink water up to an hour before checking in at the hospital. These restrictions also allow the medical staff to put you completely under and do a caudal epidural there and then instead should they be unable to do the lumbar procedure.


Having signed the consent form, you have a needle in the back of your hand to enable drugs to be administered should you 'take a turn' and so that fluids can be given to you afterward. Frankly, the placement of this needle is worse than the larger cannula they put into your spine!


You then sit on the long side of a treatment couch with your feet placed up on a stool so that your knees fall out to the sides. You are asked to cross your arms at the wrist, to curl forward and to tuck your chin into your chest. The anaesthesiologist cleans your back, applies a self-adhesive pad over most of your back and then feels your spine for the correct location to insert the needle. Placement of the needle is not very painful due to the sedation but does involved a bit of pushing and tweaking. The local anaesthetic is injected and feels cold. A couple of minutes pass whilst this takes effect. A cannula is then fed in over the needle so more pushing! You are then instructed to hold very still as the cannula is fed into the spinal dura itself. The methyl prednisolone (Depomedrone) is then injected. This does not create pain but did produce in me a feeling a bit like all my back muscles going into spasm at once from waist to the bottom of my shoulder blades. The needle, cannula and pad are removed and the wound site dressed. You then lie down on the treatment couch and get taken to the recovery room.


In recovery, you are fitted with a saline drip as good hydration helps the sedation and local to be flushed out of your system. You are instructed to drink plenty of water the following day for the same reason. You are placed in a semi-seated position to ensure that the epidural fluids move toward your feet rather than your chest and head where they could cause problems with your breathing, heart-rate or consciousness. The recovery nurse fits you with an automatic blood pressure cuff which activated every five minutes or so, a finger clamp for measuring your pulse, and gets you to take a deep breath. The nurse also checks if you can move your legs and feet as the local can cause temporary paralysis. After a while, the nurse sprays you from toe to chest with a cold alcohol. Areas that cannot feel the coldness (you may still feel yourself being sprayed) are affected by the epidural. In my case, I had to be sat in a more upright position as the affects of the epidural were occurring too far up toward my chest.


Once the recovery nurse is satisfied you are safe, you are returned to the day surgery ward to wait for the affects of the local to wear off sufficiently to be able to take a pee. You have your drip removed once the nursing staff are assured that you are drinking enough water or weak squash. The best bit is being fed toast!


You need someone to collect you and they are asked to sign a document undertaking to escort you home and to take care of you for an absolute minimum of 24 hours following the epidural. You are not permitted to drive, operate any machinery (not even the toaster) or to do any physical work or sign documents due to the risks of you fainting or worse and of having your judgement impaired by the sedation. Ideally, this part of recovery should extend to 48 hours. You are given emergency contact numbers should you experience any ill affects and told in no uncertain terms that if you are suffering from certain of them, you are to contact the hospital AT ONCE.


I am writing this toward the end of recovery day one. I was wobbly on my feet this morning and felt a bit shaky from shock this afternoon. My lower back is achy from the epidural itself and from loosing some blood when the cannula was removed. The nursing staff are right to emphasise rest, drinking water and allowing yourself to be nursed by your responsible adult as I feel rather tired in the too much physical labour sort of way (think 5-6 hours weeding and tidying the garden including mowing and raking the lawn). I intend to try going to a half hour mass tomorrow at 10am as I feel I could use some fresh air after being baked half silly from the over-heated ward yesterday but I'm certainly not doing much else. I would strongly advise making sure all your housework was out of the way before you have this done, especially having a freshly laundered bed to crawl into!


References :
http://www.spineuniverse.com/treatments/pain-management/lumbar-epidural-injection
http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/spondylolisthesis/spondylolisthesis-back-condition-treatment
http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/spondylolisthesis/degenerative-spondylolisthesis-lumbar-spine

Libya

I watch TV with tears in my eyes and horror in my heart as I watch Muammar Gaddafi's security forces rip the bodies of Libya's citizens apart with their weapons.

Nato condemn their actions as genocide. Malta reports a pair of fighter pilots seeking asylum rather than carrying out their orders to bomb their own people. Libya's diplomats resign in disgust. State leaders issue statements declaring that Libya's citizens have the right to peaceful protest and urge their own citizens to flee the country.

Words are a pitiful response to such a massacre. Words are inadequate to describe the courage of those still raising their voices in protest.

Tonight, every one of those of us living in peace should take time to remember the priceless value of that, offer a prayer for Libya and petition our own leaders to act.

From Scribblings

Good News

As some of you may remember, one of the joints in my spine broke shortly after I was made redundant two years ago. Well, the benefits office originally ruled that this condition did not impair my ability to work in any way. Well, my tribunal appealing this ruling was finally heard today.

I won my appeal. It only took the lawyer and doctor hearing it two minutes to make their decision.

I don't suppose for one minute that this will mean any financial support from the state, I just feel vindicated as the original decision made me feel like I'd been called a liar.

Still not sure it's really sunk in yet.

I also have a date for counselling for my depression next week and a date at the end of the month for an epidural injection.

All I need now is a bloody job! LOL

Egypt's Pain

I have been watching the news coverage and blogosphere chatter about the economically driven unrest in the Middle East with a mixture of nostalgia and concern.

I spent quite a lot of time talking to friends of my former fiance whilst in the Sinai about how they view their country.

The Egyptians and Bedouin don't often see eye to eye but they do seem to agree that the current regime's foreign policy is sound, even admiring President Hosni Mubarak's ability to walk a very difficult line between Israel and the Arab states.

It is Mubarak's approach to domestic issues that concern them, in particular

• the high rates of unemployment and the way in which curtailment of freedom of speech impedes economic development
• that the suppression of extremist Islamic views has spilled over into any and all criticism of the current regime even where comment might contain positive suggestions
• heavy handed application of the outlawing of the Muslim Brotherhood has made it more difficult to prevent the spread of the kind of extremist forms of Islam that the majority of Egyptians do not want to live under
• the degree of corruption amongst within the government and civil service
• the lack of application of human rights within their penal system that has resulted in large numbers of people being 'disappeared', held without trial, and tortured
• twenty years of a 'state of emergency' which has enabled the state to excuse its own poor behaviour

In short, what most of them want is a fair chance of a job that earns them enough money to get married and to have a family in average comfort, all in the knowledge that they will be treated fairly economically and legally.

The current situation has been brought to a head by the global economic crisis and by the Egyptians themselves being given the confidence to act by the knowledge that the world was already watching due to similar protests in other countries.

I have been watching a blog in Facebook that is highlighting all the demos in Egypt and the authorities' response to them. What is not clear on mainstream TV coverage is that this civil unrest is not confined to the main cities. Several have already lost their lives due to the heavy handed response by the police, including one lad in a small village in the Sinai.

I hope and pray that this time things change for the better in Egypt and that the change happens without civil disobedience turning into civil war.

Friendship

My question today is "when is ending a friendship the right thing to do?".

I am blessed in that I have always had friends I can talk about anything with. A select sub-set of these I can say anything to, confident that they always know it comes from love and companionship. I know I can laugh, cry, sympathise with and argue against with these friends, confident that any misunderstandings will be quickly addressed and put aside. These friends I love with all my heart.

Then there are the fair weather friends. Those that can always be counted on to be around in good times, but have a habit of disappearing during the bad ones. Or those you always have to be a little wary of saying what's really on your mind with. Maybe those that never deliver on their promises. I find these friends acceptable strangely enough. It's an honest situation; I know where I stand with them.

It's what to do about those friends who change over time into something you no longer recognise that I struggle with. Adversity can bring the worst out in all of us. I'm as guilty as the next of snapping at a loved one when I'm in pain and unable to vocalise my misery. Thanks to a special few, I'd like to think that I've improved in this respect over the years, but I know I still do it from time to time.

I'm not talking about the emotional vampires either. They show their true colours soon enough and I have a ruthless streak in me that terminates such relationships pretty quickly, albeit by simply vanishing into the woodwork. No, it's those that seem to metamorphose into a different person. Sometimes this seems to be the result of them becoming involved in a damaging relationship or developing an addiction. Other times, you wonder if the side you are now seeing was always there and you were simply blind to it.

It's natural I think, to try to help at first, to be patient and understanding even when they cut you to the core. At what point do you say enough is enough however? I guess if I were a better, kinder person, I'd keep trying but when trying becomes self-damaging, what then? When the lying becomes entrenched and the hypocrisy level becomes unsupportable?

I want to tell it like it is but I know my words would go unheard.

So, my now former friend, this is goodbye. Two years is long enough. My only regret is that I couldn't be a better friend and stay until you loved yourself again.

Terry Pratchett - Shaking Hands with Death

I watched my mother's mother take 15 years to die of Alzheimer's disease.

In that time, Nan went from being simply absent minded to a walking corpse, devoid of everything that had defined her as a woman. In some ways, this end phase was a relief... she wasn't there any more. In others, it was like watching a continuous loop of film showing a horrific car crash, especially when you observed the effect on her primary carer, her husband, my step-grandfather. A man who largely saw it as his exclusive duty to do everything for his wife, taking full physical, emotional and fiscal burdens in the process.


For me, the greatest pain was the mid-phase of her last illness. In the blink of an eye, she would go from being an unknowing mute to fully aware of the incomprehensibility and horror of her situation and back again. In that moment, I would see Edvard Munch's The Scream; her agony and terror being writ that large in her eyes.


The 2010 Richard Dimbleby Lecture given by Terry Pratchett as read by Tony Robinson was broadcast by the BBC this evening. His lecture explored how modern society needs to redefine how it deals with death. The dignity and passion I witnessed had me in tears of admiration.

Anyone who has been in my Grandfather's position will have had nightmares concerning their own possible demise and wanted the ability to instruct family, friends and medical professionals to do their utmost to prevent such an end.

Sir Terence defined my views on the right to chose a better death in a way I've struggled to perfect for years. This lecture may just be his definitive work.

My mother may have trumped him for brevity: "If I am ever in the same situation, for God's sake, shove a pillow over my face".