To give you an idea of what happened...
I collapsed on Wednesday afternoon on the way to the car to get to A&E. I was having serious breathing difficulties, and I couldn't walk very far. In A&E, I was told that they weren't sure what was causing the problem. I was isolated though, as they suspected Swine Flu for a while. They took a total of 5 blood tests from me on Wednesday. They later regretted this though, as the result of the first blood test showed that I had 1/3 of the amount of blood I should have. My body had stopped producing blood, but they couldn't figure out why.
So yesterday (starting at 2am on Thursday morning), I was given 4 bags of blood. Each bag took about 4 hours, but I was given a break between bags. My blood transfusions took 4 hours each. I was moved from one ward to another last night, meaning that the final bag of blood finished at 5am.
I'm going to have a daily injection of vitamin B12 for the forseeable future to try and get me producing more blood again.
I'm still in a fair bit of pain from my bone marrow exam, but that should calm down soon.
Other than that, normal service is nearly resumed.
Friday, 3 July 2009
Wednesday, 17 June 2009
The Gun Debate
The seeds of my first onion have been planted, and they're now gonna grow. Lovely topic to start this blug off with - I'm going to be talking about guns. Those things which police officers in the USA carry around to defend themselves.
The other day, Lanna asked me whether police officers should carry guns. Whilst I think police officers should carry some form of defensive weapon, I don't think a gun which could kill the criminal / suspect is the answer. If a criminal knows that they could be killed by the police officer, they're more likely to panic and shoot the officer. The officer will instinctively shoot the criminal, possibly kill the criminal and ruin their life forever.
Whilst police officers are trained to "Shoot to incapacitate." rather than "Shoot to kill.", they're only human. They're not cyborgs who are able to stick to their training at all times. They have emotions, they have instincts, and they have a sense of fear. Sometimes, these feelings will overwhelm them, and they will shoot to kill.
A better solution would be for police officers to carry tranquiliser guns. They're just as effective if not more effective than "proper" guns, and there's virtually no chance of killing the suspect. There are going to be rare circumstances where the tranq dart hits somewhere where a life threatening injury could be inflicted, or the suspect could have an allergic reaction, but the chances of death are much lower with tranq guns than they are with gun guns.
Some people will probably say that the playing field needs to be level, and that police officers should carry guns, but there's no need when there are safer alternatives out there. In the USA, it's legal for citizens to have guns, and I can understand why people would want their police officers to have guns. However, if police officers had tranq guns, they'd be able to incapacitate the suspects a lot quicker than they would with normal guns. You just need to puncture the skin and the suspect is out cold. They won't fight back, they won't get pissed off because you've given them a hole in their body with blood pouring out of it, and they won't be able to pull the trigger on you.
In the UK, it's illegal for people to be in possession of a gun. It doesn't stop people using them, but gun crime is a lot less prominent in the UK than in the USA. Obviously, the fact that guns are outlawed has some part to play, but I also believe that criminals don't feel the need to carry guns when our regular police officers don't carry them. There are Armed Response Units which are required on occasion when a criminal has a gun, and once again, I think tranq guns would be more effective.
I don't think I'd feel safe walking down a street in the USA knowing that anyone could carry a gun, and knowing that a shootout could happen at any moment if I happen to see a police officer and a criminal. Yes, gun crime exists - there was a shooting just down the road from me a few weeks ago. Yes, police officers need to defend themselves. BUT there are better ways than carrying proper guns.
Fin. xxx
PS: Lanny is awesome. Batman's just as awesome, and I love her nose! Mari's onions are fab! Roo smells! Everyone else is great too.
The other day, Lanna asked me whether police officers should carry guns. Whilst I think police officers should carry some form of defensive weapon, I don't think a gun which could kill the criminal / suspect is the answer. If a criminal knows that they could be killed by the police officer, they're more likely to panic and shoot the officer. The officer will instinctively shoot the criminal, possibly kill the criminal and ruin their life forever.
Whilst police officers are trained to "Shoot to incapacitate." rather than "Shoot to kill.", they're only human. They're not cyborgs who are able to stick to their training at all times. They have emotions, they have instincts, and they have a sense of fear. Sometimes, these feelings will overwhelm them, and they will shoot to kill.
A better solution would be for police officers to carry tranquiliser guns. They're just as effective if not more effective than "proper" guns, and there's virtually no chance of killing the suspect. There are going to be rare circumstances where the tranq dart hits somewhere where a life threatening injury could be inflicted, or the suspect could have an allergic reaction, but the chances of death are much lower with tranq guns than they are with gun guns.
Some people will probably say that the playing field needs to be level, and that police officers should carry guns, but there's no need when there are safer alternatives out there. In the USA, it's legal for citizens to have guns, and I can understand why people would want their police officers to have guns. However, if police officers had tranq guns, they'd be able to incapacitate the suspects a lot quicker than they would with normal guns. You just need to puncture the skin and the suspect is out cold. They won't fight back, they won't get pissed off because you've given them a hole in their body with blood pouring out of it, and they won't be able to pull the trigger on you.
In the UK, it's illegal for people to be in possession of a gun. It doesn't stop people using them, but gun crime is a lot less prominent in the UK than in the USA. Obviously, the fact that guns are outlawed has some part to play, but I also believe that criminals don't feel the need to carry guns when our regular police officers don't carry them. There are Armed Response Units which are required on occasion when a criminal has a gun, and once again, I think tranq guns would be more effective.
I don't think I'd feel safe walking down a street in the USA knowing that anyone could carry a gun, and knowing that a shootout could happen at any moment if I happen to see a police officer and a criminal. Yes, gun crime exists - there was a shooting just down the road from me a few weeks ago. Yes, police officers need to defend themselves. BUT there are better ways than carrying proper guns.
Fin. xxx
PS: Lanny is awesome. Batman's just as awesome, and I love her nose! Mari's onions are fab! Roo smells! Everyone else is great too.
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