Lessons on Living !

This week two terrifying incidents drew attention to hidden dangers that most people would not recognise as posing a risk.  In the first, the parents of an eight day old newborn awoke to the child's screams to find the family dog savaging her face while she slept in a bassinet at the foot of their bed.

Paramedics were called and the child was rushed to the Children's Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery, but the parents are mystified as to why a normally very friendly dog that they have had since a small puppy would launch such an unprovoked attack.   The fate of the dog is as yet undecided.

There is a lesson here for all those bringing a newborn to a home which contains family pets.  Just like humans, animals are capable of jealousy.   Most likely that Malamute has been the centre of attention and treated as one of the family, and suddenly that attention is diverted to another living creature that quickly becomes a competitor.  Resentment builds in the dog's mind - leading to the natural canine instinct when threatened - an attack.

Experts warn that it is unwise to leave any child under the age of twelve alone with any animal.  The actions of both children and animals are unpredictable and we usually fail to understand what changed circumstances are having on the thought process of any animal involved.    This feeling of rejection caused when parents are doting on a newborn can have a similar jealousy affect on siblings. Jealousy is a powerful emotion - and leaving a small child alone with a brother or sister is unwise until the bonds of affection are fully formed.

The other incident that illustrates the tug of war between fashion and health saw a thirty-five year old woman lying paralysed on the ground, unable, to move her legs - and completely helpless until she was found and rushed to hospital.   The emergency room people cut off the skinny jeans she was wearing and she spent four days connected to a drip to try and save her kidneys from permanent damage.   This was assessed as a life or death situation.

Fashion is a demanding mistress !  Most women aim for svelte silhouette and a new type of stretch denim jeans promises to iron out the "bumps " and deliver just that.   This is now becoming high fashion and the danger comes from the decisions that women make when buying this new attire.  Many work to the maxim that "the tighter the better "" is best and buy several sizes below that recommended for their body size.   Squeezing into these constricts the blood flow to the legs, particularly when activities involved squatting or working with unusual postures.

The human body does not take kindly to having it's blood flow restricted.  As this woman found, it tends to shut down and left unattended it can deliver an early death.  Skinny jeans can be a useful fashion accessory, but reasonable care is needed to avoid extremes - and probably it would be unwise to wear them for long periods of time - nor where strenuous activities are involved.

Both of these incidents have delivered a warning that the wise will consider. Unfortunately, normal day to day decisions we make often have undertones of risk that are not immediately apparent when we make them.   How strange that hindsight always has 20-20 vision !