Woman Eats Her Child's Brain? Mental Health and Criminal Justice Systems Failed Her

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

This week, a woman in Texas cut off the head of her three week old baby and ate part of his brain. What’s even more shocking about this terrible story is that she won’t get any jail time for it.

Otty Sanchez, a 34-year old, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the death of her child, Scott Wesley Buchholz-Sanchez. Prosecutors accepted the plea deal after learning that the woman thought that the devil made her kill her child.

The baby was found in a bedroom with three of his toes chewed off, his head severed and his brain ripped out. Police are saying that the child’s mother ate the boy’s toes and a piece of the brain before stabbing herself in the chest and throat. In the 911 call made by her sister, Sanchez can be heard in the background screaming, “I didn't wanna do it! He told me to!"

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Dr. Boyce: Nushawn Williams: Infected Women with HIV - Set to be Released from Prison

by Dr. Boyce Watkins

You may not know the name Nushawn Williams, but it's probably a name you need to know. You would especially want your daughter to know his name, as well as anyone else in the community who has reason to fear a more disturbing style of sexual predator for the new millenium.

Williams is in prison right now for knowingly infecting women with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. His victims were as young as 13 years old, and authorities believe he may have infected as many as 50 women prior to going to state prison in 1998. Police are working to keep Williams behind bars because they fear what might happen if he is released to the American public.
"He is prone to further sexual contact with underage individuals because of deficits in his emotional capacity to understand why this is wrong and attitudes that support these types of exploitive encounters. His emotional callousness, lack of remorse and impulsivity undermine important internal mechanisms for managing his sexual behavior," said examiner Jacob E. Hadden from the New York State Office of Mental Health. Authorities have determined that Williams suffers from a mental health abnormality that makes him incapable of understanding why his actions are wrong or harmful.

The possible release of Williams reminds us of the urgency of managing the public health alarm called HIV infection. African Americans are taking the lead in HIV infection rates, and what is also true is that the experience in our community is nothing less than a precursor to what is eventually going to happen all throughout America. What is most frightening about the case of Nushawn Williams is that he is probably not the only person deliberately spreading the disease: there are likely women and other men doing the same thing. To make matters worse, there are many in our community (and others) who are being incredibly irresponsible with their sexual behavior and infecting scores of people in the process.

As I felt empathy for celebrities like Magic Johnson and Eazy-E for their battles with HIV/AIDS, I wondered how many of us thought about the long list of partners they infected before finally getting their own positive test results. Did you ever think about the fact that many of those people are out in the community right now, quite a few of whom may have taken years to become aware of their HIV positive status? This is scary indeed, so the truth is that to protect yourself from the silent community killer, a general strategy of protection must be put into play.

 

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List of Democrats Who Voted Against the Health Care Reform Bill

Democrats who voted against the health care bill included the following Congressmen and Congresswomen:

Rep. John Adler (N.J.)
Rep. Jason Altmire (Pa.)
Rep. Michael Arcuri (N.Y.)
Rep. John Barrow (Ga.)
Rep. Marion Berry (Ark.)
Rep. Dan Boren (Okla.)
Rep. Rick Boucher (Va.)
Rep. Bobby Bright (Ala.)
Rep. Ben Chandler (Ky.)
Rep. Travis Childers (Miss.)
Rep. Artur Davis (Ala.)
Rep. Lincoln Davis (Tenn.)
Rep. Chet Edwards (Texas)
Rep. Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (S.D.)
Rep. Tim Holden (Pa.)
Rep. Larry Kissell (N.C.)
Rep. Frank Kratovil (Md.)
Rep. Dan Lipinski (Ill.)
Rep. Stephen Lynch (Mass.)
Rep. Jim Marshall (Ga.)
Rep. Jim Matheson (Utah)
Rep. Mike McIntyre (N.C.)
Rep. Mike McMahon (N.Y.)
Rep. Charlie Melancon (La.)
Rep. Walt Minnick (Idaho)
Rep. Glenn Nye (Va.)
Rep. Collin Peterson (Minn.)
Rep. Mike Ross (Ark.)
Rep. Heath Shuler (N.C.)
Rep. Ike Skelton (Mo.)
Rep. Zack Space (Ohio)
Rep. John Tanner (Tenn.)
Rep. Gene Taylor (Miss.)
Rep. Harry Teague (N.M.)

The latest in Black Health - 3/15/10

Obama delays Asia trip to deal with health care

By theGrio

10:06 AM on 03/12/2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Obama has delayed his first international trip of the year to focus attention on the final push to salvage his health care legislation...

> READ MORE

Too many Tigers, not enough Trojans

By Dr. Janet Taylor

7:05 AM on 03/12/2010

OPINION - What's notable is reportedly not only did Woods not wear a condom, but his partner's didn't insist upon it...

> READ MORE

How black women can combat genital herpes crisis

By Dr. Janet Taylor

10:42 AM on 03/11/2010

OPINION - According the Center for Disease Control nearly half of all African-American women are infected with the HSV-2 virus...

> READ MORE

New studies reveal the urgency of first lady's obesity fight

By Janice K. Bryant

8:44 AM on 03/10/2010

Risk factors leading to higher rates of obesity begin as early as pregnancy, especially among African-American and Hispanic children...

> READ MORE

Alzheimer's cases rising among blacks, Hispanics

By theGrio

5:07 PM on 03/09/2010

VIDEO - It's an increase in Alzheimer's cases at a time when heart disease, breast cancer and prostate cancer deaths are all going down...

> READ MORE

10-year-old becomes health care reform lobbyist

By theGrio

3:44 PM on 03/09/2010

VIDEO - Marcelas Owens has been campaigning for changes in the health care system since his mother died after she fell ill and lost her job and her insurance...

> READ MORE

Why Are We Running Out of Doctors?

I did an appearance last night on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 to discuss the issue of Health care reform. This has been heavy on the mind of our president for his entire first year in office and has led to quite a few political battles on Capitol Hill. Health care is in serious jeopardy, as the cost of entitlement programs such as Medicaid/Medicare and Social Security threaten our nation's economic security. Our national debt has risen to unprecedented and frightening levels, and our politicians have little incentive to do anything about it.
One additional problem that we are running into on the issue of health care is the fact that our nation doesn't have enough Primary Care physicians. These doctors are incredibly important, since they are the first line of defense against illness in America.
Over the next 10 years, our nation is expected to have a shortfall of 40,000 Primary Care doctors. By 2025, that number is expected to balloon to over 120,000. To make matters worse, our population is aging, implying that there will be a greater demand for these doctors in the future.

Click to read.

The Latest in Black Health News – 2/22/10

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  Obama to propose limits on health insurance rates

  By theGrio

  8:11 AM on 02/22/2010

  WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Obama is making a fresh attempt to rescue his health care overhaul by proposing a measure that would allow the government to deny or roll back egregious insurance premium increases...

  > READ MORE

• 

  White House: Dems near accord on health care bill

  By theGrio

  4:40 PM on 02/18/2010

  WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House and congressional leaders are preparing a detailed health care proposal designed to win passage without Republican support

  > READ MORE

• 

  African-Americans increasingly going under the knife in quest for perfection

  By Bonnie Davis

  8:53 AM on 02/16/2010

  Although perceptions linger that plastic surgery is something for "only rich Caucasian people," it's no longer true...

  > READ MORE

• 

  First lady launches 'Let's Move' effort against childhood obesity

  By theGrio

  9:35 AM on 02/09/2010

  WASHINGTON (AP) - Michelle Obama says she loves burgers and fries, but she wants her daughters -- and the rest of America's children -- to learn about better nutrition...

  > READ MORE

• 

  Bad malaria pills in Africa raise resistance fears

  By theGrio

  10:06 AM on 02/08/2010

  High rates of the most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are poor quality...

  > READ MORE

The Latest in Black Health – 2/14/10

First lady launches 'Let's Move' effort against childhood obesity

By theGrio

9:35 AM on 02/09/2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - Michelle Obama says she loves burgers and fries, but she wants her daughters -- and the rest of America's children -- to learn about better nutrition...

> MORE

Bad malaria pills in Africa raise resistance fears

By theGrio

10:06 AM on 02/08/2010

High rates of the most effective type of malaria-fighting drugs sold in three African countries are poor quality...

> MORE

Denver boy, 9, died after state-benefits error denied him asthma medication

By theGrio

5:04 PM on 02/04/2010

A Montbello mother says her 9-year-old son's death from severe asthma could have been prevented had Denver Human Services resolved problems with his Medicaid pharmacy benefits...

> MORE

Among black girls, challenges of fighting obesity go beyond diet

By theGrio

9:02 AM on 02/01/2010

CHICAGO (AP) - Like nearly one-third of American teens, Paris Woods is overweight. Her doctor worries her weight will creep up into the obesity range. One out of four black girls her age is obese.

> MORE

Obese African-Americans at higher risk of stroke

By theGrio

11:21 AM on 01/22/2010

Obesity raises the risk of stroke regardless of race or sex, according to a new study that is one of the first to show a link between obesity and stroke risk in blacks...

> MORE

Cancer victim sheds light on bone marrow donor crisis

By Todd Johnson

1:07 PM on 01/13/2010

VIDEO - Seun Adebiyi is proud of his many accomplishments -- graduating from Yale Law School, working for Goldman Sachs and even training for the 2014 Winter Olympics...

> MORE

Hepatitis B and C often ignored as health threat to blacks

By theGrio

12:26 PM on 01/11/2010

WASHINGTON (AP) - They're the overlooked viruses: Hepatitis B and C together infect three to five times more Americans than the AIDS virus does, and most don't know it...

> MORE

KFC pulls Australian ad over US racism complaints

By theGrio

11:51 AM on 01/08/2010

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) -- Fast food giant KFC has pulled an Australian television advertisement after it was branded racist in the United States...

> MORE

7 ways to keep your resolution to work out

By Dr. Jeff Gardere

8:18 AM on 01/05/2010

OPINION - There are many strategies and techniques to following through on your resolution of joining and actually working out in the gym on a long-term and regular basis.

> MORE

Tiny newborn girl may break world record

By theGrio

9:29 AM on 12/22/2009

VIDEO - A little girl born in Mobile, Alabama may be the world's tiniest baby...

> MORE

NBA star's wife uses baby to exercise

By theGrio

11:19 AM on 12/11/2009

VIDEO - Jamison knows a little something about shedding baby weight. The wife of the Washington Wizards superstar gave birth to her third child, Rucker King...

> MORE

Dr. Fleming lives with sickle cell disease and no boundaries

By theGrio

1:14 PM on 12/10/2009

VIDEO - Dr. Lester Fleming is learning to be a pilot --something he once thought would never be possible. Fleming was born with sickle cell disease, a red blood cell deficiency...

> MORE

Dr. Conrad Murray Still has Patients Who Love Him

One involuntary manslaughter charge later ... and Dr. Conrad Murray's patients in Las Vegas still can't wait to put their lives in his hands.
One of his patients -- Marietta Lewis -- claims Dr. Murray is responsible for saving her life, and she told us, "I made sure to call and have my name added to his patient wait list, so that when he comes back, I will still be under his care."
Well he's back ... Dr. Murray was photographed going into his Las Vegas office yesterday, just two days after he was freed on $75,000 bail.

Click to read.

Black News: Michael Jackson’s Doctor Pleads Not Guilty

Hours after Dr. Conrad Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with Michael Jackson's 2009 death, the embattled physician pleaded not guilty Monday afternoon (February 8) during an arraignment hearing at a Los Angeles courthouse, according to The Associated Press.

Murray's bail was set at $75,000, three times greater than the bail usually set for such crimes. Without being handcuffed, Murray was then taken into custody for booking. He must surrender his passport, allowing him to travel within the United States but not out of the country. Prosecutors had been seeking bail of $300,000, but Superior Court Judge Keith L. Schwartz rejected that amount. The involuntary-manslaughter charge carries a maximum jail sentence of four years.

 

Click to read.

Black Olympian Yale Law Grad Needs Bone Marrow Transplant

From Seun Adbiyi At The Huffington Post

As a 26 year-old African-American, I don’t know which is more difficult: trying to make history as the first Nigerian delegate in the Winter Olympics, or finding a donor for a bone marrow transplant.

In June 2009, just days after graduating from Yale Law School, I was diagnosed with two rare and aggressive forms of cancer: lymphoblastic lymphoma and stem-cell leukemia. Instead of a grueling Olympic training regimen for the skeleton — an 80 mph headfirst plunge down a mile-long ice chute — I underwent an equally grueling cycle of high dose chemotherapy during a seven-week hospital stay at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

Click to read.

Sex is Good for You

To paraphrase a great old slogan for Guinness beer: Sex isn’t just good, it’s good for you!

Okay, so maybe there’s some wishful thinking going on — the science isn’t exactly iron-clad — but evidence is accumulating that the more sex you have, the better off you are.

There is one caveat, though. “We do not have good data to show a direct connection [to all-around good health]," says Jennifer Bass, the head of information services at the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction in Bloomington, Ind. "We know that healthier people have more sexual activity. But we do not know which comes first. Does the good health make you more willing to have sex, or does the sex have a positive impact?”

And you dirty girrrls and Don Juans should know that the assumed health benefits of sex are generally thought to accrue to people in loving, monogamous relationships or those flying solo. Risky sex with lots of partners will probably do more harm than good.

 

Click to read.

EMTs Stand By as Pregnant Woman Dies

A pregnant Brooklyn woman suffering a fatal seizure in a coffee shop in the shadow of FDNY Headquarters was ignored by two callous city medics who continued to buy their breakfast, eyewitnesses told The Post.

"The EMTs just said we had to call 911. They got their bagels and left," said a disgusted worker.

Frantic employees at the Au Bon Pain at 1 Metrotech Center approached the FDNY medics at 9 a.m. on Dec. 9, shortly after colleague Eutisha Revee Rennix, 25, began to complain of shortness of breath and intense stomach pains. Workers immediately dialed 911.

HELAYNE SEIDMAN

NO HELP: Witnesses say that as Eutisha Revee Rennix (above) lay dying at a Brooklyn Au Bon Pain 600 feet from FDNY headquarters, two EMTs on break refused to assist her, leaving son Jahleel, 3, motherless.

"People were calling out saying, 'She's turning blue! She's pregnant!' " said the witness.

But the EMTs appeared unfazed.

"I remember them saying they couldn't do anything because they were on their break," another worker said. "We started screaming and cursing at them."

Rennix fell in a heap and began foaming at the nose and mouth in the back room.

That sent a manager rushing to the front to again ask someone in the Metrotech coffee shop to help.

This time, two good Samaritans in blue FDNY sweaters ran to the back office. One called 911 from his cellphone while the other tried to help keep Rennix still.

Read more:http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/emt_duo_on_break_let_preg_mom_die_mrj8Jv8kjmS0Z3FNO4DmiL#ixzz0aKw6WUQm

Woman Imitates Healthcare Worker to Kill Another Woman’s Baby

Keisha Jones, 38, a mother of four, is married to Anthony, who has been involved with another woman for the past three years. Monique Hunter, 25, is the other woman and didn't have a clue that her lover was a married man. Hunter became pregnant with Anthony's baby, and the plot that ensues unravels like a Lifetime movie.

When Jones found out about Hunter's pregnancy, she devised a diabolical plan to get rid of the young woman's baby. She started by calling her husband's mistress, pretending to be a health care worker from Hunter's doctor's office. Jones explained to the young pregnant woman that she needed to take some medication that would prevent her from having a child with Down syndrome. The drug that Jones recommended was Cytotec, which can ripen a woman's cervix and induce labor.

 

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Women and Fibroids: Dr. Elaina George

What you need to know about fibroids – Dr. Elaina George breaks it all down in this episode of Medicine on Call.  Listen by clicking here!

Healthcare Reform Passes Key Senate Hurdle

WASHINGTON – A bruising debate on health care awaits the Senate after Thanksgiving now that the historic legislation has cleared a key hurdle over the opposition of Republicans eager to inflict a punishing defeat on President Barack Obama.

The bill would extend coverage to roughly 31 million who lack it, crack down on insurance company practices that deny or dilute benefits and curtail the growth of spending on medical care nationally.

In the final minutes of a daylong session, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., accused Republicans of trying to stifle a historic debate the nation needed.

The Republican leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the vote was anything but procedural — casting it as a referendum on the bill itself, which he said would raise taxes, cut Medicare and create a “massive and unsustainable debt.”

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Dr. Elaina George on Depression

 

 

Dr George and Delores Jones, a correspondent for AOL speak about dealing with depression and change through inspiration and spirituality. 

Click here to listen!

H1N1 Vaccines Delivered to Goldman Sachs before given to Hospitals?

BusinessWeek has broken the story that large employers like Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are among the first on the list to receive the H1N1 vaccine.Clusterstock, the business blog, has added the nuance that not only has Goldman Sachs received the same number of vaccinations as Lennox Hill hospital in New York City -- the finance giant got its hands on the doses beforemany hospitals.
Goldman Sachs' PR reps want to make it clear to the public that the CDC distributes vaccines to many types of large employers, such as Time Warner and New York University. The idea is to get the vaccine to people at many points of potential infection, giving the H1N1 vaccine to those who come into contact regularly with high risk groups within large companies. Goldman Sachs has received 200 H1N1 vaccines, Citigroup 1,200.
This "guest list" treatment makes sense for some early recipients of the H1N1 vaccine. Hospital workers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and the New York Presbyterian Healthcare System clearly need early protection -- and got some of the first doses along with Goldman.

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Random Hookups and Liquor Can Lead to HIV

It's a warm summer night. A young man sits on the corner of Broadway and 12th Street in downtown Oakland sipping from a bottle of Hennessey. Bored and looking for a sexual fling with no strings attached, the young man dials up The Biosphere, a popular social networking tool that anyone with access to a phone can use to meet people in their area. It's basically a party line for random hookups and one-time sexual encounters.
As soon as he gets through, he hears the disclaimer that The Biosphere is not responsible for any actions or consequences that may result from meeting someone online. An hour later, the young man finds himself in the company of a complete stranger -- names don't matter since they're probably all made up. Besides, the odds are against the two of them making a love connection. Ten minutes in, they're engaged in some extremely risky behavior.
The young man is only 17, a senior in high school, from a good home, and curious about exploring his sexuality.

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Medicine on Call: Congress to vote soon on the Healthcare Bill: Is it a good idea?

This show is an interview between Dr. Elaina George and Dr Emelita Breyer.  Dr. Breyer is from the Breyer Foundation, an independent organization dedicated to finding solutions to health care reform that does not add to the deficit, or raise money on the backs of the people through taxation.

She has a thorough understanding of the sanctity of the doctor patient relationship. And has real solutions that will protect the things that make the US healthcare system the best in the world.

Click here to listen!

What’s in the Swine Flu Vaccine?

 

by Dr. Elaina George 

There has been a lot of confusion about what ingredients are in the H1N1 Vaccine. In order to distill the information to make it easier for you to make an informed choice, here is a brief synopsis of the information provided by the manufacturers in their package inserts.

There are 4 manufactures who have been approved to sell H1N1 vaccine in the US. They are: Novartis, CSL, Sanofi/Pasteur and MedImmune

1. Novartis makes an injectable vaccine for ages 4 and above

Ingredients: Thimerosal (Mercury) both in the single dose and the multi dose vials

Antibiotics - polymyxin and neomycin (can be neurotoxic)

Manufactured with phenol (the chemical used on skin in cosmetic face peals to remove wrinkles)

Note: They recommend that children ages 4-9 get 2 injections one month apart. This would increase the risk from a reaction to the mercury (e.g, neurological damage such as Gullain-Barre or possibly Autism)

 

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