Not about poker, but about something that unfortunately may affect us all at one time or another.
Recently, my mother passed away in the hospital. She was diagnosed as having breast cancer in October of this year. You would have to know her to know how ridiculous it was for her to be taken by this dreadful disease. One in three now will have cancer of some type so they say. One in three is an alltime disasterous epidemic. I could go on here about the amount of money the health industry makes and so on, and I know some readers would know where this was headed but I digress it is not really what this is about, although it is food for thought.
My mother was a "health nut" a term coined back in the late 70's when she discovered Adelle Davis' books and stopped eating sugar and white flour. She ate healthier than anyone I have met. After she was diagnosed, she only ate organic foods of any kind to stop the hormones that they add to our dairy and meat. You see her cancer was hormonal. So how did this healthy woman, who obviously had the right diet to combat any parasitical envasion of her body, succumb to this terrible disease? The answer: she was given estrogen. What is estrogen? It is the female sex hormone. Because she was given a pelvic washout they gave her estrogen in pill form that she was told to take. In December of 2003, the National Institute Environmental Health Sciences added estrogen to its list of known cancer-causing agents. "For years, estrogen has been a suspected carcinogen, since strong epidemiological evidence associates the hormone to breast, endometrial, and uterine cancers." So there you have it. I could on about how I feel that pelvic washouts, hysterectomies, and so on were so overused by the medical system in the past and how this has affected many women negatively, but what is the point. What matters is now or at least that is what matters to the majority of the population. And now they don't take everything from women as often or take half (as they did with me) and leave your ovaries so you naturally produce hormones. Going on about how the medical books were all written by men and that women's situations were often overlooked or extremely amputated is something we don't want to get into either at this point. There is much to be said or researched about this if you are interested.
My mother was a victim of our health system, like so many (too many) before her and after her, unfortunately. She was sent to emergency because her pain was so bad that even the morphine wasn't helping. Three weeks later she passed away much to the surprise of everyone.
At first, they said they were going to make her strong and send her home in a week. Afterward she would take chemo and they expected her to go into remission. You see her cancer had metastized to her skin originally. They decided not to amputate her breast but instead to treat it with hormone blockers. Well the first two times she went back to her onocologist, the lumps were smaller and her markers were improved, so they felt she was way on her road to living well with nothing to fear. Then she started to have back pain. She had a previous injury from a car accident, and bone pain is a side affect of her homone blockers given to treat her cancer. So in all our minds there was no worry. She went to her G.P. and had back xrays, not once but twice. She was sent to physio therapy to help the situation, this all taking place over a month, but it didn't help. She started to feel sick when she ate and had a hard time with eating and she lost a lot of weight. Nobody did anything to explore what was going on, and her pain got worse. She took all kinds of pharmaceuticals, such as 222's, back pills, and so on. It should be noted that my mother didn't even have aspirin for a headache ever so I can imagine that this alone was hard for her to do. Nothing seemed to help and she wasn't sleeping because of the pain, which of course with the weight loss weakened her overall system. Finally, she went back to her onocologist and her markers had changed so he sent her home with morphine tablets. They worked for a day until the pain was so bad that even they didn't help. Her husband phoned and they said to call the ambulance. Poor mom, nobody knew how sick she was getting and nobody helped, not her doctors and not her family as we didn't know.
She was admitted to the hospital that night, and was given a blood transfusion on her second day. That was when I arrived. They had her in the children's section of the emergency ward in an isolation room. Injured and ill people were lined up in hallways on stretchers because of the lack of beds. Mom was lucky to have the room she did. They administered too much morphine which made her hallucinate and I held her hand to talk her through it. Pain medication it seems needs a specialist to monitor so they get it right. This was an ongoing problem and it was a fine line for her to receive enough pain medication to be comfortable without having hallucinations. She didn't want to be alone and we didn't want her to be. Its hard not to trust the medical system but they are so busy that monitoring really needs to take place to ensure a patient gets what they need as well as nothing extra. It is an honest evaluation and a common problem we experienced in each ward we ended up in. In total there were three wards - emergency, onocology and finally palliative care.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Women’s Poker Night Book is Released For the Enjoyment of All Players
Women are the fastest growing demographic of new poker players—more than a third of poker players—and that number keeps growing. In today's poker world, the women come to play and will take players’ stacks just as fast their male counterparts. For those who haven’t been paying attention over the last couple of years, women like Annie Duke and Jennifer Harman have made it known that women players are here to stay and the boys better watch out.
The surge of serious female interest in poker has created a need for a serious women’s poker book that documents the rise and experiences of women and poker. WOMEN’S POKER NIGHT provides women with much needed information on how to successfully navigate the poker world and to empower them to successfully challenge their opponents.
Compiled by Maryann Morrison, founder and president of the Women’s Poker Club and publisher of Woman Poker Player magazine, WOMEN’S POKER NIGHT is a collection of frank, funny, and empowering stories that examines just how far women poker players have come—and what it took to get there. You’ll find eye-opening personal anecdotes from women players at every level of expertise—trailblazing stars, circuit pros, and avid amateurs alike. Barbara Enright—one of the greatest women players of all time—recounts her journey to become the first woman at the final table at the World Series of Poker. Star players and poker writers including Cyndy Violette, Rose Richie, Cat Hulbert, Toby Leah Bochan, Jennifer Leo, Barbara Connors, Michele Lewis, and Amy Calistri give their perspectives on the game they love, and offer insights on topics as diverse as using feminine wiles to outwit your opponents, the pros and cons of women-only tournaments, and much more.
Along the way, these dedicated players share insider tips, stories of rousing victories and bitter defeat, hard-won advice gleaned through decades of combined experience—and, most of all, a wealth of inspiration and encouragement for every woman who’s ever thought about taking a seat at the table and showing the men how it’s done.
According to Maryann Morrison, “Women’s Poker Night takes a different approach to the strategies that it presents in its chapters. Just as learned experience at the table can make someone a better poker player, so can learning through the experiences of others. Initial feedback from some readers has been that reading Women’s Poker Night is like talking to the contributors in a private conversation. It’s an incredibly enjoyable way to learn more about poker, whether you play or not.”
Visit the website: www.womenspokernight.com
Endorsements:
“Girls got game, and this book proves it. A must-read for all poker players, men and women alike.”
—Annie Duke, 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions winner
“You might think me a traitor to my gender because I’m a guy endorsing a book called Women’s Poker Night. But the women who wrote this book all play very well, and if you’re a woman eager to play some poker, this book is a terrific introduction to what is surely the world's favorite card game. If you’re a guy, give it a read too. It will help you understand how skillful the gals have become, and why they've begun beating us at poker—something that used to be our own game.”
—Lou Krieger, author of ten top-selling poker books
“I used to walk through a poker room and only would see a couple of women in the room, now when I walk through, there’s a woman at every table.”
—Jennifer Harman, high stakes player and two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner
“It is exciting to see the field of professional poker players continually grow - especially women players. I am confident that the women players today have more exciting poker career opportunities in front of them than any other time in the history of the game.”
—Liz Lieu, professional poker player
“Women, the fastest growing segment in the poker boom, are already way ahead if they decide to become good poker players. They raise the kids and put up with the men so the "patience" which is so important in the game is already instilled in them!”
—Susie Isaacs, two time Ladies WSOP Champion
“I look forward to the day when all women can be confident playing against men. In my family, the women were always the better poker players.”
—Lacey Jones, professional poker player
“Cards have no gender. Courage has no gender.”
—Clare Miller, winner of the Seniors Event at the 2006 World Series of Poker
The surge of serious female interest in poker has created a need for a serious women’s poker book that documents the rise and experiences of women and poker. WOMEN’S POKER NIGHT provides women with much needed information on how to successfully navigate the poker world and to empower them to successfully challenge their opponents.
Compiled by Maryann Morrison, founder and president of the Women’s Poker Club and publisher of Woman Poker Player magazine, WOMEN’S POKER NIGHT is a collection of frank, funny, and empowering stories that examines just how far women poker players have come—and what it took to get there. You’ll find eye-opening personal anecdotes from women players at every level of expertise—trailblazing stars, circuit pros, and avid amateurs alike. Barbara Enright—one of the greatest women players of all time—recounts her journey to become the first woman at the final table at the World Series of Poker. Star players and poker writers including Cyndy Violette, Rose Richie, Cat Hulbert, Toby Leah Bochan, Jennifer Leo, Barbara Connors, Michele Lewis, and Amy Calistri give their perspectives on the game they love, and offer insights on topics as diverse as using feminine wiles to outwit your opponents, the pros and cons of women-only tournaments, and much more.
Along the way, these dedicated players share insider tips, stories of rousing victories and bitter defeat, hard-won advice gleaned through decades of combined experience—and, most of all, a wealth of inspiration and encouragement for every woman who’s ever thought about taking a seat at the table and showing the men how it’s done.
According to Maryann Morrison, “Women’s Poker Night takes a different approach to the strategies that it presents in its chapters. Just as learned experience at the table can make someone a better poker player, so can learning through the experiences of others. Initial feedback from some readers has been that reading Women’s Poker Night is like talking to the contributors in a private conversation. It’s an incredibly enjoyable way to learn more about poker, whether you play or not.”
Visit the website: www.womenspokernight.com
Endorsements:
“Girls got game, and this book proves it. A must-read for all poker players, men and women alike.”
—Annie Duke, 2004 WSOP Tournament of Champions winner
“You might think me a traitor to my gender because I’m a guy endorsing a book called Women’s Poker Night. But the women who wrote this book all play very well, and if you’re a woman eager to play some poker, this book is a terrific introduction to what is surely the world's favorite card game. If you’re a guy, give it a read too. It will help you understand how skillful the gals have become, and why they've begun beating us at poker—something that used to be our own game.”
—Lou Krieger, author of ten top-selling poker books
“I used to walk through a poker room and only would see a couple of women in the room, now when I walk through, there’s a woman at every table.”
—Jennifer Harman, high stakes player and two-time World Series of Poker bracelet winner
“It is exciting to see the field of professional poker players continually grow - especially women players. I am confident that the women players today have more exciting poker career opportunities in front of them than any other time in the history of the game.”
—Liz Lieu, professional poker player
“Women, the fastest growing segment in the poker boom, are already way ahead if they decide to become good poker players. They raise the kids and put up with the men so the "patience" which is so important in the game is already instilled in them!”
—Susie Isaacs, two time Ladies WSOP Champion
“I look forward to the day when all women can be confident playing against men. In my family, the women were always the better poker players.”
—Lacey Jones, professional poker player
“Cards have no gender. Courage has no gender.”
—Clare Miller, winner of the Seniors Event at the 2006 World Series of Poker
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