Illness

The woman is 74 years old and has had a difficult life. She watched her mother die of a painful illness, she lost two siblings violently, and she suffered through a long marriage to an alcoholic husband who beat her. She has had to work hard since she was a child. Her only rest has come when she has been ill, and she has been ill frequently.

Watching a friend or family member struggle with a serious illness is painful for everyone, but it's especially difficult if you're a child. "It's hard for a kid to know what's OK to feel," says Dr. Margaret Stuber, a psychiatry professor at UCLA. Children can have many reactions, the most common ones being grief and anger. Though it's natural to be sad and worried about the patient, especially in the case of an ill parent, some kids also become mad that regular routines have been disrupted.

I am responding to your editorial as a psychologist bending my efforts for more than 30 years in treating those human beings diagnosed as having schizophrenia. I am delighted that these very needful people are begining to be recognized as human beings that can be dealt with not only with more humane methods but also in a manner that will restore their dignity and help many return to a productive life. These homeless are a tragic representation of the apathy that has been fostered by a professional world that has turned its back on these people and by a lay public that has suffered from massive misinformation about what in fact mental illness is. As you point out, the rationale for deinstitutionalization is a sound one, but in my opinion it is because our state hospitals have represented no more that omnipotent shrines that have never done much more than warehouse the people they were supposed to treat.

Doctors trying to determine whether Pope John Paul II will need surgery found some "modest swelling" of his abdomen during examinations Monday but said it was too early to make a firm diagnosis. John Paul, 72, entered the hospital Sunday after experiencing intestinal problems. Dr. Corrado Manni, chief anesthesiologist at Gemelli Clinic, stressed that until all tests are done, no decision on treatment, including possible surgery, will be made.

For some people, it's hard enough to eat properly when healthy. With illness, they may lose the desire or ability to eat anything at all. But getting adequate nutrition during any prolonged illness, such as AIDS or cancer, will obviously improve your chances of recovery and help you fight off infection. The following tips will help you maintain good nutrition while sick, even if you're suffering from a relatively simple ailment, such as the flu, a sore throat or reaction to a medication.

It's often the little health-care problems that generate the biggest headaches for employees and management. Here are some common issues that crop up and how our office etiquette expert suggests handling them: * Dear Ms. Work Wise: My supervisor recently saw me take a bottle of prescription pills out of my purse and swallow two tablets with a cup of water. Since then, she's done everything but come out and ask me what kind of medication I'm on and whether I'm ill.

More than half of the employees at a Hollywood health clinic have filed workers' compensation claims in the last month, citing illnesses caused by ongoing renovation that included asbestos removal. Twenty-seven of 50 employees at the county-run Hollywood-Wilshire Health Center have filed industrial accident reports. They claim the construction work has caused heavy dust, unidentified fumes, excessive noise and possible asbestos exposure.

The otherwise efficient operations at Southwest Airlines were thrown into chaos Christmas Eve by the tiniest of gremlins--a virus. Airline officials said an outbreak of the flu grounded flight attendants in four states this week, forcing the cancellation of 50 flights Wednesday and 100 flights Tuesday, leaving thousands of travelers temporarily stranded in airports from Los Angeles to Baltimore.

A juror suffering dental pain caused deliberations to be cut short Wednesday in the case against four followers of Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, charged with plotting to bomb U.S. embassies in Africa. The Manhattan federal jury received the case late May 10. The panel, which is not sequestered and has not met on weekends, is scheduled to resume deliberations today.

About 60 members of Army Reserve units from Indiana have complained of mysterious illnesses since returning from Persian Gulf duty and Army officials confirmed Wednesday they are studying the ailments. Reported symptoms include hair loss, muscle aches and chronic fatigue, officials said. Other symptoms include aching teeth and gums, and thick saliva. "It was so bad that when I showered, both my hands would be covered with hair," reservist Sgt. Lori Rosalius said in a telephone interview.