Gun Control Post Las Vegas

It's been a while since I've been here. There have been so many things I have wanted to say, but didn't say them. But, after the shootings in Las Vegas, a friend posted something on Facebook that really struck home with me. I don't have it where I can post it verbatim, or give proper attribution, but the gist of it is:

If 59 people died and 500+ were injured in a fire at Mandalay Bay, we would be having a discussion about how to increase fire safety so that this would never happen again. If 59 people died and 500+ were sickened by food poisoning at a concert venue, we would be having a discussion on how to increase food safety. If a tanker truck crashed on I-15 in Las Vegas and 59 people died and 500+ were injured we would be having a discussion on how to increase highway safety so that it would never happen again. It isn't "political" to ask how we can increase gun safety so that this doesn't happen again. Why can we not have that discussion?

Is the NRA and gun lobby groups so much more powerful than our congressmen and women? Are our representatives so corrupt across the board now that money and power and re-election all they care about? Our second amendment rights will not be taken away if we just use some common sense, and I don't understand why legal gun owners wouldn't jump at the chance to make things easier to keep guns from certain persons. We don't allow anyone to own and drive a vehicle, yet no-one complains about having to have a license to operate one, pass a competency test, insure it against accidents, and operate it in a responsible manner. So why are legal gun owners so afraid of some common sense gun control measures? Why does anyone need an assault weapon for home protection? A shotgun works just as well, and makes a lot more noise.

My father was a gunsmith, gun dealer and a lifetime member of the NRA. I'm glad he's not alive to see what that organization has turned into. To my knowledge, Dad did not own a handgun. He said there was only one reason for that and that was to kill another person. Long guns were used for hunting and sport shooting. He was a master trap shooter, as was, and is, is youngest brother. I asked Mom once what they told us as kids to keep us from bothering with Dads guns. She said they told us nothing, we knew they were his and we were not to touch them without his permission or presence. They were not locked up, they were not stored loaded. We knew where the ammo was kept and if there wasn't enough, we knew how to load shells. Yet we never touched it without Dad's permission.

When my son was small, his dad's guns were hung on an open rack above his bed, yet he never touched them. We also did not tell him not to do it, they were not his to touch. That's one thing that bothers me so much when I hear of a child killing a sibling or themselves with a loaded handgun that was kept for protection. Why was the gun where it could be reached by a child?

Isn't it about time we have some kind of discussion about the types of guns citizens need? Only law enforcement and military need assault rifles. The adapters for the stocks that this man legally purchased effectively made his weapons automatic continuous fire. Why does any normal citizen need these? He passed all of the background checks when he legally purchased the weapons, yet the gun dealer, a legitimate dealer who followed all the rules, was not able to tell that somewhere in this man, was a monster planning a massacre. 

There will not be any easy answers, but the conversation must start somewhere before we are mourning the deaths of many more innocent people, who just wanted to enjoy a concert. 

Those are my thoughts and I don't have any answers, but maybe someone somewhere will read this and think that there is something that can be done.

Why Do They Make It So Hard?

It's been a very long time since I posted anything here. But, I want to vent about something that I think is important, and since I have this forum, I may as well use it. You may not think it's important, and that's OK, but it might make you start thinking.

My husband has been on oxygen 24/7 for almost a year now. He has emphysema and COPD. Not surprising after 40 years of smoking 1-2 packs of cigarettes a day. Now, this isn't going to be an anti-smoking post, just giving you some background.

When we leave the house, he uses portable tanks. Small ones that can be carried last about an hour at the flow rate he's on. He also has some larger back-up tanks to use it the power goes out or for longer distances that last about 5 hours. There are portable concentrators (the machine that extracts the oxygen from "air" and pushes it through the tubing) that run on batteries so there is a constant flow and, as long as your battery doesn't die, you don't have to worry about running out. All the powers that be say they want oxygen patients to live as full and normal life as possible, and there's the rub because after saying that, they make it as difficult as possible. Let me explain...

Bill is a patient at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. We live in Arkansas. Twice a year we travel to the clinic for check-ups. These visits include several appointments with different departments which mean several hours on the clinic side of the facility with lots of walking. We just completed one of those visits, and this is his "annual" visit, which includes more appointments than the semi-annual one.

Two weeks prior to leaving I contacted our oxygen supplier to see if we could get one of the portable concentrators. These also come with AC/DC adapters so that he could just be plugged in while riding in the car. I could also plug it in in waiting areas if need be. Two days before leaving I found out that we could not get one of them so I arranged for us to get extra large tanks to use in the car for the 2 day drive. We would also need one for the first day of appointments. Then, a local supplier would replenish the tanks to get us home.

The first travel day used 2 of the large tanks, which I expected. The second day used one of the tanks. I should also explain that we have a small concentrator that is used in the hotel rooms. We had 4 of the large tanks, so we now had 1 tank left for the 7 hour day of appointments. Since I had arranged for new tanks to be delivered to the hotel Monday afternoon or Tuesday, I was comfortable with the supply we had left. We also had 4 of the 7 small tanks left. I did not receive a call from the local supplier and when I called our supplier, we had 3 1/2 hours of portable oxygen left. I was assured that the local supplier had been notified, but she called them again. Tuesday was an easy day as far as appointments went, but when they were done, we were down to 1 small tank. I called again and this time got a call back telling me that the supplier didn't deliver, but I could take the empty tanks and exchange them. Now, these tanks are about 2 1/2 feet tall and there were 4 of them, plus a 6 pack of small tanks. All of these, even empty are heavy. But, we loaded all of them into the car, programmed the navigation system for the address and set off, during the first part of rush hour in a city I'm not really familiar with. But, we managed to get it done and I could relax a little. His next day of testing was an outpatient procedure that would take several hours, but I knew he would be attached to hospital air. I had a full small tank in my backpack for him to use when he was discharged. Things went smoothly and he didn't need to stay as long as expected. While he was getting dressed, I attached the regulator and tubing to the new tank but when I used the key to open the valve, all it did was spin. So, this tank was useless. Luckily I had not taken all of the big tanks up to our hotel room so, when I went to the car to meet him at the door, I got one of them ready. We also got another small tank that let all of the air out as soon as I opened the seal. We left the next day and when we got home 2 days later, we had 1 full big tank and 1/2 of a small tank.

Some of you may be thinking that we made it there and back, and even though it was difficult at times, what's the problem. So, I'm going to let you know more what it's like to travel with all of those tanks, and only on their usage, not on how to pack them into a vehicle. Also keep in mind that my husband is 74 and I'm 62.

Starting out using big tank #1. Stopping for a potty break/lunch, disconnect from that tank, change to small tank. After the break, back in the car, disconnect from the small tanks, reconnect to the large tank. Stop to change to big tank #2 at the gas station, changing also to small tank #2 to use the facilities before the big tank. Arrive at hotel for the night.

Day #2 big tank #3, but since it was a shorter day, didn't need to use #4, but used another small tank. Our supply has now dwindled to 1 large tank and 4 small tanks.

First day of appointments, connect last big tank, but carry 2 small tanks for back-up. Was able to be seen a little early for some of the appointments so back-up tanks weren't needed. Down to 3 1/2 small tanks for 2 more days of appointments. Remember, these small tanks only last about an hour and we needed to go out for meals. First call made to supplier.

Day 2 of appointments was a short one, but still used 2 1/2 tanks. Now down to 1 hour of portable oxygen. Second call made to supplier and then the trip to pick up new tanks.

Day 3 used small tank and then had first bad tank episode.

Day 4 used big tank that was used in the emergency situation with the bad small tank. After stopping for gas, swapped to small tank to use the facilities and then changed out big tanks.

Day 5 used 3rd big tank and last small tank before arriving home with 1 full big tank and maybe a small tank.

All of this could have been much easier with one of the portable rechargeable concentrators. I told Bill that I would not do this again. There are places that rent the portable concentrators for travelling for about $500/week. To me, that would be well worth the money not to have the stress and aggravation of changing the tanks. We see our pulmonologist in August, and I'm going to see if she will write the order for one of those.

Now, some of you may be wondering why we just don't fly and get there sooner. It would still take more than 1 of the small tanks since it would most likely mean a layover somewhere. And I don't think the tanks are FAA compliant. The only other alternative would be to move to Florida, but we would still be in the same boat.

So, my question is: Why do those in the position of making these decisions make it so difficult? As I said, they tell you that they want you to live a full and active life, and then they make it so hard to do. It's no wonder that so many oxygen patients become shut-ins. I would like for one of them to have been in the car with us to see just what it entails with all of the tanks, but there wouldn't have been enough room!

OK, thanks for letting me vent. I'm thinking about a letter writing campaign to senators and representative, Medicare, Tricare and anyone else in the position of making decisions for someone they've never met. But, I doubt that it will do any good. If anyone has any suggestions, please comment and let me know what you think.