UK father dies of cancer after begging for MRI amid COVID-19 crisis
A 27-year-old father of two from the UK died of cancer — months after he had to beg for an MRI scan amid a slowdown during the coronavirus crisis.
Sherwin Hall, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, died on Dec. 3, following an illness that began more than a year earlier.
Hall first began experiencing groin pain in September 2019 that subsided and re-emerged in January — and was given antibiotics both times, he wrote on a GoFundMe page back in May.
He thought he was feeling better, but then the pain returned “with a vengeance” in March, when he experienced pain in his right leg and buttock, and a hard lump by his rectum, he wrote.
He returned to the hospital, where doctors were convinced he had a sexually transmitted infection.
“It didn’t matter that I told them I couldn’t have an STI,” he wrote. “They were so convinced that I might have one that I began to believe it myself and started thinking maybe I had picked it up from sitting on a public toilet.
“I had so many blood tests and swabs. They were all clear. Meanwhile, the pain was so bad that I kept going back to the hospital, begging for a scan to see what was wrong.”
Then another doctor assumed he had prostatitis, or inflammation of the prostate gland, and prescribed antibiotics once again.
“I told them I thought they were wrong, but no one would listen,” Hall wrote. “I did my own research and knew it was something else. I kept begging them in April and May to give me an MRI scan, but no one would listen.
“Both my GP and my consultant told me that I couldn’t get a scan because scanning services were slowed down because of the coronavirus. By this time, my pain was so excruciating and I felt so unwell and so exhausted that I was almost suicidal.”
On May 26 — several months after first experiencing symptoms — Hall was finally given the scan, which revealed a 5.5-inch mass in his pelvis, he said.
He also had 30 lung tumors, the Sun reported.
When Hall died, his son, Sancho, whom he shares with wife La’Troya Hall, was only 9 months old, the Daily Mail reported.
“I am devastated. I have lost the love of my life,” Hall said in a statement. “If Sherwin’s cancer had been found earlier, it is likely he would still be here today. He would want me to do everything I can to prevent other families suffering as we have.”
“It worries me that the Government and NHS leaders continue to say cancer services are back to normal,” she said.
“Our family’s experience has been that, even now, this is simply not the case.”
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/14/father-dies-of-cancer-after-begging-for-mri-amid-covid-crisis/
Photo Credit: facebook
British teen stabbed mom 118 times, asked police to ‘bring a body bag’
A deranged teenage killer stabbed his mom 118 times after first strangling her in their UK home — and then calmly told police to “bring a body bag,” according to a UK court hearing.
Rowan Thompson, 17, was on a break from his $21,000-a-year private school when he strangled mom Joanna Thompson, 50, after they returned from a morning jog in their quaint Hampshire village, The Times of London said, citing a hearing into the death Monday.
After taking a 15-minute break from the attack, he went back — stabbing her 38 times in the forehead, 64 times in the neck and 16 times in an arm, Winchester coroner’s court was told.
“I’ve just killed my mum . . . I strangled her and I’ve been stabbing her with various knives and whatnot,” he told a dispatcher for the UK’s equivalent of 911, relaying it in a “calm, unemotional and quite ordinary manner” after the killing in July last year, the hearing was told.
“I need someone to arrest me, as that’s what you do, and an ambulance would be nice,” Thompson told the operator in the call played in court, the UK Times said.
“Bring a body bag or whatever you do,” Thompson had said.
Along with details about the bloodbath, Thompson also filled in the operator about details from his weekend, saying he’d “had a meal and went to the cinema with my best friends, which was really nice.”
Thompson was due to stand trial in October for the murder — but was found dead four days before the start of the trial while in custody at a secure mental health facility, the report said.
The teen — who struggled with “gender identity issues,” according to his father — had a history of mental health problems as well as an earlier suicide attempt, the paper said.
However, psychiatrist John Sandford told the court that apart from minor autism “there was nothing to suggest [Thompson] was suffering from abnormal mental functioning” when he killed his mother.
Coroner Jason Pegg recorded a verdict of unlawful killing for the mom’s death, saying that “no one will ever know why” Thompson killed her.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/14/british-teen-stabbed-mom-118-times-asked-bring-a-body-bag/
Photo Credit: Family/Solent News
West Virginia child charged with killing four family members
A juvenile in West Virginia has been charged in the slayings of two boys and their parents inside their home, authorities said.
The unidentified man, woman and their two sons, ages 3 and 12, were found dead with gunshot wounds around 10:40 a.m. Sunday in a house in Elkview, WV Metro News reported.
Authorities said a relative went to the home that morning to check on the family after not hearing from them for days.
When he arrived, he found the front door unlocked and three people dead, news station WSAZ reported.
Responding authorities found the fourth victim, the outlet reported.
“We determined immediately on the deputies’ arrival they were all deceased,” Kanawha County Sheriff Mike Rutherford told WV Metro News.
Rutherford said a fifth member of the family — a teenage boy — had been found safe away from the crime scene. He has spoken to authorities.
A juvenile has been charged with murder in connection with the grisly slayings, though it’s unclear whether the child has any relationship to the victims.
Rutherford declined to release more information because the suspect is a minor.
No further details were provided about the victims or the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
“We’re in the process now of going through the residence collecting evidence. Right now it’s very, very early,” Rutherford told reporters.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/14/west-virginia-child-charged-with-killing-four-family-members/
Photo Credit: WOWK13
Over 900 cars paid for each other’s meals at a Dairy Queen drive-thru in Minnesota
(CNN) — What started as a random act of kindness from one man paying for the car behind him in a Dairy Queen drive-thru resulted in over 900 cars also taking part in the pay it forward chain.
There’s no question about it: This year has been tough for so many. Some, fighting battles we may know nothing about. But at a drive-thru in Brainerd, Minnesota, over 100 miles north of Minneapolis, people stepped up in a small way to show one another that they care.
Tina Jensen, the store manager at one of the two Dairy Queens in town, told CNN a man came by the drive-thru window on Thursday and asked if he could pay for his meal and for the car behind him.
Jensen told her cashier this tends to happen once in a while but at most it lasts for 15 or 20 cars and fizzles out.
This time, the chain continued for two and a half days with over 900 cars participating, raking in $10,000 in sales, according to Jensen.
When the next customer came to the fast food chain’s window, Jensen explained what the man in front of them had done — and the acts of kindness continued to multiply.
“There’s all different types of ways to help people,” Jensen said. “I think this touched a lot of people that we didn’t even know it touched, deeper than we know. And you don’t know what’s going on in a person’s life.”
When the chain closed for the night Thursday, one car left $10 to begin the chain back up Friday morning and again on Saturday morning. Jensen provided updates on the number of cars at each day’s end on the store’s Facebook page.Benefit From a New Digital Journey to Financial Well-BeingVanguard Understands that Your Journey to Financial Well-Being Is The Result of Smart People Partnering with Smart TechnologyAd By Vanguard See More
Heidi Bruse experienced that act of kindness on Friday evening during a dinner run, she told CNN.
“During times like these it kinda restores your faith in humanity a little,” Bruse said. “The way the world is now you see a lot of anger, tension, and selfish behavior. What we witnessed was pure kindness and it was a breath of fresh air really.”
But that wasn’t even the best part. For Bruse, it was going home to tell her family that they played a role in the chain and kept it going.
“Not that we got free ice cream,” she said. “The gesture was way more valuable.”
Like so many others in the restaurant industry, the restaurant has faced some challenges adapting to new business practices during the coronavirus pandemic.
“With the lobby shutting down, being only open for take out, being able to open for half your capacity, different things like that,” have played a role in trying to keep morale high, Jensen said. Her top priority is the safety of her customers and crew with increased disinfecting and cleaning measures, she said.
Seeing how positive her staff became with every passing car paying it forward, married to the reactions of her customers when the cashier told them their meal had been taken care of, was touching, Jensen said.
“No matter what’s going on, take care of each other, be positive, be happy and don’t focus on the negative, we’ll get through it,” she said.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/over-900-cars-paid-for-each-others-meals-at-a-dairy-queen-drive-thru-in/article_1d81dc88-0140-5f61-a775-8ad9b38ea97e.html
Photo Credit: Courtesy Tina Jensen via CNN Wire
7-year-old’s bracelet making raises $20,000 for hospital pandemic gear
(CNN) — Hayley Orlinsky wanted to fundraise $200 for Chicago’s Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s hospital by making colorful rubber band bracelets.
A few months and over 8,000 bracelets later, Orlinsky, 7, has raised over $20,000, helping the hospital purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) and support research efforts.
The Chicago second-grader began the project with an apparent knack for entrepreneurship — she sold the most cookies in her girl scout troop last year — and a desire to spread kindness in response to bullies who made fun of her height.
“When I was three years old, I got bullied for being the shortest kid in the class, and my mom wrote a book about it, and it was my moment I knew I wanted to spread kindness everywhere,” Orlinsky said.
When asked if she understands what a significant financial contribution she’s made to her hometown hospital, she smiled.
“It’s definitely more than the tooth fairy gives!” she said.
Orlinsky’s mom, author Lori Orlinsky, says what started as an after school hobby quickly became a sensation.
Orlinsky has now sold bracelets to customers as far as Italy, as well as to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, the Chicago White Sox and Miguel Cervantes, the lead role in Chicago’s production of “Hamilton.”
Quickly after Mayor Lightfoot posted about the bracelets, the Chicago flag colors became Orlinsky’s most in-demand bracelet design.
Orlinsky’s bracelet making has become a community effort. She says she’s gotten her friends involved, teaching bracelet making at her summer camp, and later to friends over Facetime and Zoom.
“Every day the campers had the choice to help Haley make bracelets, and she would come home with hundreds. It was really helpful to us,” said Lori Orlinsky.
Added Haley: “Yeah, because that’s when we were really in a tight squeeze.”
Orlinsky chose to donate to the Lurie Children’s hospital, having spent time in their intensive care unit at birth. She wanted to give back after hearing that healthcare workers were running low on PPE.
“$20,000 is a pretty incredible amount to raise, especially for a 7-year-old,” said Tracey McCusker, an associate director for the hospital’s foundation. “This kind of fundraising effort allows the hospital to use the money for a variety of different things. It was definitely needed at a time, when we really needed to respond rapidly to Covid-19.”
McCusker says the money has been used for PPE, but it has also helped fund the hospital’s telehealth services, development of a diagnostic test and Covid-19 research. Additionally, McCusker says the hospital has used some of the money to provide low-income communities with PPE and safety information they need to help combat the virus.
“Her support is helping, of course, inside of our hospital, but I would certainly in our greater community as well,” McCusker said.
Orlinsky says she wants to keep making bracelets until the pandemic is over, and she is already planning special designs for the holidays. As her donations near the $21,000 mark, her mom says she’s most proud of her daughter for being a uniting force during divided times.
“It was just a time when the world was at odds with each other and we had people from all walks of life donate,” Lori said. “This is proof that in really trying times we can all come together under a little girl with a beautiful mission.”
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/7-year-olds-bracelet-making-raises-20-000-for-hospital-pandemic-gear/article_819befc9-e388-53e5-9ee7-95214bfaff61.html
Photo Credit: Office of Mayor Lightfoot
New comic book celebrates nurses as health care superheroes
Marvel Comics and Allegheny Health Network (AHN) say they have collaborated to celebrate real-life health care heroes with a new comic book. It’s been developed with advertising agency Doner.
In a year where the coronavirus pandemic has overshadowed everything else, health care workers have emerged as real-life superheroes, risking their own health every day to save the lives of others.
The True Nurse Stories comic book focuses on nurses and their heroism. Each character and story stems from the experiences of real people who provide health care throughout AHN’s 13 hospitals in Western Pennsylvania, serving as amalgams of the dozens of nurses who shared their stories, Marvel comics said in a news release.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been in awe of the courage and resourcefulness of our nurses, who put their own health at risk to care for these vulnerable patients,” said Claire Zangerle, chief nurse executive at AHN.
Jessi Showalter, who works at West Penn Hospital, is one of eight nurses featured in the comic books, according to CNN affiliate KDKA. “I think that, ‘why me? I’m not anything special.’ I kind of just come here and do what I love every day and try to help my patients. If that makes me a hero, I guess that makes me a hero,” Showalter told KDKA.
The project was a complete surprise to all the nurses across the network and was unveiled to them on Thursday morning, according to KDKA. The comic books are a tribute of thanks to the sacrifices nurses have been making throughout this pandemic.
“We are so proud of them, and we want to make sure they know how much we appreciate their exceptional work. We hope that in seeing themselves as real Marvel Comics Super Heroes, they can take a moment to look back in pride on their exceptional work and compassion during an exceptionally difficult time for our communities,” Zangerle added.
AHN’s website showcased a video of the nurses featured in the comic books. In the video clip, their children talk about how they have not seen their parents much this year because they are busy in the hospital and how they worry they might get Covid-19. Some of the nurses teared up while reading the comic book to their kids.
“At Marvel, we tell stories about heroes every day. But this story is special. It tells a story about our everyday heroes — the nurses and health care professionals working tirelessly and courageously to save lives,” said Dan Buckley, president of Marvel Entertainment in a news release. “Along with AHN, we are honored to help tell these stories, which we dedicate to the real heroes who are saving the world.”
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/new-comic-book-celebrates-nurses-as-health-care-superheroes/article_dbabd980-a39b-5bb7-aae4-78a0dfc8fd15.html
Photo Credit: Courtesy of AHN and Marvel
Georgia mom facing murder charges after stabbing her children, ages 5 and 6
(CNN) — A Gainesville, Georgia, mother is facing murder charges after, investigators say, she fatally stabbed her 5- and 6-year-old children before turning the knife on herself.
Berenice Jaramillo-Hernandez, 26, faces two counts each of felony murder, malice murder and aggravated assault in the Friday killings, the Hall County Sheriff’s Office said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.”
Authorities announced Saturday evening that it had notified the siblings’ next of kin, and that Jaramillo-Hernandez would be charged.
Police received a Friday afternoon 911 call about a woman who had cut herself. When they arrived at her home east of Gainesville, about an hour’s drive north of Atlanta, deputies found the injured mother, along with the bodies of Mateo Miranda Jaramillo, 5, and Katherine Miranda Jaramillo, 6.
The investigation, which is in its preliminary stages, indicates “Jaramillo-Hernandez killed the children with a knife and then turned the knife on herself, resulting in serious injuries,” the sheriff’s office said.
The mother was transported to a medical center. She will be formally charged after doctors finish treating her injuries, the sheriff’s office said Saturday night. It was not immediately clear if Jaramillo-Hernandez has an attorney. CNN has reached out to the sheriff’s office for further comment.
On Friday, before the mother was named as a suspect, the sheriff’s office said that the incident was isolated and it was not seeking any other suspects.
“There is no danger to the community as a result of the incident,” the sheriff’s office said.
Police disclosed no motive. The investigation remains ongoing.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/georgia-mom-facing-murder-charges-after-stabbing-her-children-ages-5-and-6-police-say/article_1cfa567d-bb5a-5988-ba13-b027b33be28e.html?block_id=985911
Photo Credit: Hall County Sheriff’s Office
Florida woman stuffed roommates’ body in trash to collect his benefits
A Florida woman was arrested Wednesday for hiding her roommate’s body in a trash can so she could collect his Social Security benefits, authorities said.
Michelle Haney, 48, told deputies she found her roommate, Jon Leonard, dead in their Bradenton mobile home in July, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
But instead of calling the sheriff’s office, Haney stuffed Leonard’s body in a closet for three weeks.
When that short-sighted plan became unbearable, she put the rotting corpse in a trash bin and left it with a neighbor, authorities said.
Haney allegedly told the neighbor she’d come back for the bin later.
But after two months, Haney still hadn’t shown up.
The neighbor decided to open the trash bin on Tuesday, and discovered Leonard’s still-decomposing body, authorities said.
Haney later admitted to deputies she had hidden Leonard’s body so she could collect his Social Security checks.
Authorities are investigating how Leonard died.
Haney has been charged with abuse of a human body, and additional charges are pending.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/13/florida-woman-stuffed-roommates-body-in-trash-to-collect-his-benefits/
Photo Credit: Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
Proud Boys tear down BLM sign outside black church in DC
A group of Proud Boys ripped a Black Lives Matter sign off the front of a black Washington, DC, church and stomped on it during pro-Trump demonstrations in the nation’s capital Saturday night, video shows.
The footage, posted on Twitter by freelance reporter Brandan Gutenschwager, shows at least a half-dozen members of the right-wing radical group tearing down the sign outside the Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Church.
The men can be seen punching and stomping on the sign right outside the front door of the church, while other demonstrators celebrate by chanting, “Our streets!”
One Twitter commenter called the incident “stupid and pointless.”
Another wrote, “They can’t possibly think this is a good look, right?”
But other people voiced support for the vandalism, with one Twitter user writing, “Tear it down boys! F–k yea!”
The church did not immediately respond to a request for comment Sunday.
Thousands of supporters of President Trump converged on DC on Saturday to back the president’s claims of widespread voter fraud in last month’s election, which he lost.
The demonstrators, including a large number of members of the Proud Boys, marched through the capital, clashing with counter-protesters including members of the left-wing group Antifa in incidents that turned increasingly violent as night fell
Police said four people were stabbed in the melees.
One disturbing video shows a knife fight between the two sides.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/12/13/video-shows-proud-boys-tearing-down-blm-sign-outside-black-church-in-dc/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
Off-duty Chicago police officer shoots, kills son during domestic-related incident
Chicago (WBBM) — An off-duty Chicago police officer shot and killed his son during a domestic dispute early Wednesday in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood, sources said.
Sources said the off-duty officer was involved in a physical altercation with his son around 1:45 a.m. at a home in the 5600 block of South Nottingham Avenue when he fired his weapon, killing his 23-year-old son.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office identified the officer’s son as Rafael Flores. He died at the scene.
Police said Area One detectives are investigating and the incident is domestic-related.
As CBS 2’s Suzanne Le Mignot reported, an ambulance was seen parked outside the house as officers entered. Crime scene tape was also seen in front of the house. Officers were at the scene for more than five hours Wednesday morning.
“We were woken up by the emergency vehicles approaching,” said Jeff Jestadt, who lives two houses down from where the shooting happened.
Jestadt said, while he didn’t hear any gunshots overnight, the large police presence kept him awake.
He has known Flores and his family for about 13 years.
“I consider them to be great neighbors. They’re the kind of people that you know, has your back,” he said. “They were very, very, very nice people. We have the same kind of a dog and that’s kind of our connection between the two of us, two families. Just very nice people overall.”
Jefstadt’s son played baseball with Flores in elementary school.
Of Flores, Jestadt said: “He was just a quiet kid. We’d see him, just over this past summer. He’d go out for walks, by himself. Sometimes he’d take his dog with him. We’d see him out in the alley, sometimes playing basketball or whatever, kind of hanging out. We’d wave. He’d wave back.”
A source said Flores was recently hired as an assistant football coach at St. Rita of Cascia High School. He also graduated from the school in 2015.
The St. Rita Mustangs mourned Flores’ death in a tweet on Wednesday.
Jefstadt said the officer lives at the Nottingham Avenue home with his wife and wasn’t sure if their son still lived with them.
Sources said the off-duty officer was taken to a hospital to be treated for a head injury after the incident.
“I feel horrible for the family,” Jefstadt said.
He added that his heart “absolutely, 100 percent” goes out to the family.
“And I don’t know if they’d ever see this, but we’re willing to do anything we can to help them,” Jefstadt said.
The officer has been on the force for 19 years. The Civilian Office of Police Accountability and the Chicago Police Internal Affairs Division are investigating the shooting.
via: https://www.kmov.com/news/off-duty-chicago-police-officer-shoots-kills-son-during-domestic-related-incident/article_ee4c5cfb-9ebf-54e9-badd-f9a100e5fd09.html
Photo Credit: kmov.com