Posts

Showing posts with the label Public Health

Trapped in 105° Heat: What Really Happened at Luke Days 2026

Image
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Some links may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Before You Read This — What Actually Happened That Day On Saturday March 21, 2026, Luke Days airshow in Glendale, Arizona recorded temperatures of 105 degrees — tarmac temperatures can run up to 20 degrees hotter, meaning ground-level heat approached 125 degrees. By end of day: over 400 people contacted by medical personnel. At least 25–30 hospitalized for heat exhaustion, dehydration and overheating. Officials confirmed roughly 90% were under 12, over 60, or had pre-existing conditions including heart disease, diabetes or pregnancy. Sunday the show was cut short. Entry stopped at 1 PM. The event ended at 3:30 instead of 5 PM. My husband has Parkinson's disease and is currently undergoing lung cancer treatment. He was in that parking lot for nearly 4 hours on Saturday. He was exactly the demographic officials were worried about. This ...

My Childhood Measles Week: What It Really Felt Like — and Why It Still Matters

Image
Measles Wasn’t a Childhood Rite of Passage — It Was a Week of Misery People love to say measles was “no big deal.” I hear it everywhere now. But I had measles. I remember it vividly. And let me tell you — nobody in our neighborhood was throwing measles parties. We were down for over a week, isolated in our rooms, feverish, coughing, and just plain miserable. My mom took time off work — unpaid — to care for us, bringing trays of water, checking fevers, and keeping us comfortable. That week or two cost her something. It cost all of us something. I still don’t know how she didn’t get sick. Our “comfort breakfast” was eggs on toast with hot milk poured over it — a Depression-era dish known as milk toast or creamed eggs on toast. We called it the “graveyard sandwich,” because kids always rename things. It was soft, warm, and easy on a sore throat. No Flintstones vitamins back then. Just cod liver oil, decent food, and a mother doing her best. The Fever That Defined the W...