PT-LawMom

This week’s roundup is up at A Little Fish in Law School.

The Weekly MILS (Moms In Law School) Roundup is the brainchild of Saramel (retired). It is hosted on a rotating basis at the PT-LawMom and A Little Fish in Law School blogs and is usually posted no later than Monday morning. Next week’s MILS Roundup will be back here.

That’s surely what the thousands of immigrants being held at detention centers nationwide are feeling these days, especially those who have lived in this country for years as legal residents and are suddenly being locked up for petty offenses committed years ago during their youth. How many of us regret things we did as a child? But should we have to die as a result? The New York Times has a heart-wrenching story about a man whose only crime was to overstay his tourist visa. He spent many years weaving elegant $2,000 gowns in New York City. When he tried to re-enter the U.S. after a recent vacation to his homeland, he was told that he application to adjust his status had been denied and he was jailed pending a hearing.

He should have been safe there. He should have received the same basic rights we are entitled to. But immigrants, as non-citizens, are not entitled to those same protections.

As the country debates stricter enforcement of immigration laws, thousands of people who are not American citizens are being locked up for days, months or years while the government decides whether to deport them. Some have no valid visa; some are legal residents, but have past criminal convictions; others are seeking asylum from persecution.

Death is a reality in any jail, and the medical neglect of inmates is a perennial issue. But far more than in the criminal justice system, immigration detainees and their families lack basic ways to get answers when things go wrong.

No government body is required to keep track of deaths and publicly report them. No independent inquiry is mandated. And often relatives who try to investigate the treatment of those who died say they are stymied by fear of immigration authorities, lack of access to lawyers, or sheer distance.

When Mr. Bah fell and fractured his skull, it took the detention center more than 24 hours to get him to a hospital. By the time they did, after hours of watching him vomit, he was in a coma and remained that way for four months before he died. His relatives had to track him down because no one informed them. When they tried to call the detention center, they were told the center could not give out any information.

Why is our country wasting its resources on people who are trying to better their lives and not on true “criminals.” And why is the government allowing the guards in these centers to get away with degrading and shaming people this way? The government got all high and mighty after Abu Ghraib and yet look what it is doing in its own country. How can we preach basic human rights to other countries and not practice what we preach?

Called the neurologist today to discuss the fact that I can barely lift my arms to drive my car this week, much less lift my heavy textbook (that’s what I get for all the handwriting I’ve been doing in preparation for finals). He suggested raising the Topamax back to 100mg twice/day (i.e., crazy psychotic girl level). I said, “No thanks” and asked if he could recommend something topical to get me through exams because no way am I changing meds right now! Tried that last semester at exam time and look what happened. He said I could try Capsaicin cream (burns like you wouldn’t believe!), but that I should come in to see him ASAP to talk about alternative medications.

Right now I’m on Topamax for the pain (not working) and Celexa and Buspar for the depression and anxiety that the Topamax cause. Meds for the meds - yippee. Sound crazy, but I was literally weeping in my car and in front of Pumpkinhead so I had to get on something. So my current choices are the following:

1) Increase Topamax dosage and potentially lose my mind (I really went psycho/nuts at 100mg - ask anyone who knows me). Not to mention that I’m already sounding stupid/confused enough from this stuff (orally, not in writing, because it affects the speech part of my brain). I’m not sure how much more my ego can take! On the plus side, Topamax does cause weight loss which is a nice side effect. Also causes kidney stones…

2) Come off the Topamax and the Celexa/Buspar and switch to a Tri-Cyclic Antidepressant (all of which are apparently great for neuropathic pain but cause SEVERE WEIGHT GAIN — wouldn’t that be an ironic twist?!?!)

3) Go back to the Neurontin I was on in the fall, which requires me to take several horse pills three times each day. It also causes confusion and weight gain.

Yep, brought this on myself. Now what do I do? Bleech. Send some cooling arm vibes my way, will you? At least for this week so I can get through my exam? (P.S. I did try the cream, but it requires application four times a day for a week before it deadens the nerves sufficiently to get full relief. I’ll keep going but in the meantime it just feels like someone sliced my arm and rubbed the cut with Habanero slices.)

Is it a sign that I’m losing my mind if I’m cracking up to my exam review CDs? The reviewer is singing cheesy 90’s songs. I can’t help myself!

Even the Insured Feel the Strain of Health Costs
By REED ABELSON and MILT FREUDENHEIM
Published: May 4, 2008
For millions of people with employer health insurance, premiums and co-payments have increased quickly while coverage has become less extensive.

I’ve talked about this before and discussed, debated, screamed and shouted about the need for universal healthcare (or at least some other way to share the burden). People shouldn’t have to choose between working for a small company/nonprofit or going to a larger company that has better benefits. These days the larger corporate giants are the only ones who can afford to spread the risk among their employees so if you have any kinds of medical risks, you MUST go there or suffer the consequences. Even then, you are paying more than ever before. And God forbid you actually get sick and have to take time off…

And the line in this story about not taking the kid to the doctor because his fever is only 102? I think a lot of parents with busy jobs are really feeling that pressure. Especially with doctors’ hours only between 8:30 - 5. I’m just thankful for those new clinics inside the CVS! And we even changed pediatricians so that we had the option of a Saturday morning clinic until noon for urgent appointments. That’s not to say that Pumpkinhead’s health isn’t my #1 concern. If he’s sick, I take him. But if it’s just yet another ear infection, why can’t the doctor have one late night that they stay open until 8? How hard would that be? Maybe they then open at 11 the next day or something to make up the time? Not everyone stays home and employers are making it harder and harder to get away for these things.

The Weekly MILS (Moms In Law School) Roundup** is the brainchild of Saramel (retired). It is hosted on a rotating basis at the PT-LawMom and A Little Fish in Law School blogs and is usually posted no later than Monday morning. Next week’s MILS Roundup will be hosted by Butterflyfish.

This one’s a quickie, people. I am DROWNING in finals prep.

So is 2L Wannabe

Butterflyfish is not only drowning, but being pulled the wrong way out to sea in a riptide of practice exam confusion

Dakota has a post about her classmates drowning… in booze

ProtoAttorney is recovering from two types of wet events - the alcohol from her post-graduation (masters) celebrations and little Cora’s baptism (and let’s not forget the flood waters!)

LagLiv recounts three years of law school proms, starting with a vomit-soaking and ending with the anticipation of this year’s prom and a girl’s night complete with with a little less wine and some formula for Landon

New Duck has a thoughtful idea for after exams when we’re in a clean-and-pitch mode

Law School Hot Mama made me crack up with this post about realizing at finals time that her textbook was brown, not blue. LOL!! Soooo something I have done.

Magic Cookie discusses the brilliance (or stupidity) of joining study groups

GoogieBaba is so ready to rock exams that her family is living out fact patterns for her.

It’s not law school-related, but I want to share Andrea’s post on these latest horrific tales from the various immigrant detention centers around the U.S.

Andrea is also rocking her last 3L papers in preparation for graduation and still managing to come up with some fun ways to study world capitals in preparation for her turn as the second half of the Jeopardy Couple.

I want Cee’s professor!!!!

If you’d like to have your blog added to the MILS blogroll for weekly review or would like us to consider a specific post, drop the hostess(es) an email or leave a comment at their respective sites.

**Hat tip to the “original” Roundup — Evan Schaeffer’s Legal Underground and Divine Angst

A cautionary tale of why it’s important to pay attention to the small details!

Sitting in my home office, trying to study for exams.
Using school VPN to pull up library material.
Realize my office is suspiciously quiet.
Look up at printer and see no paper in the tray.
Refill paper tray.
Waiting…
Pushing printer buttons.
Waiting…
Checking printer connections.
Waiting.
Yep, all my print jobs (quickly dashed off in a large batch, back-to-back) have gone to a school-networked printer and the law school is a good hour’s drive round-trip.
CRAP.
Re-tracing my electronic steps.
Printing to my local printer (which will probably take a good chunk of the time it would take to just drive to school and get the damn printouts!).

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know that I had a roux-en-y gastric bypass in 2001 and am now suffering the often unadvertised consequences (severe malnutrition [iron, B12, D, calcium, serum protein], peripheral neuropathy, etc.), along with nasty neurological side effects from the medication they are using to try to treat the neuropathy (which makes law school so much easier, I tell you!)

Fortunately this week everyone is writing my blog posts for me. MeltingMama, another young mother who had the same surgery four years ago and who is suffering similar malnutrition issues (except she also has hypoglycemia) has posted a really well-done post on why she would NOT have a roux-en-y gastric bypass again. I encourage those of you who read my blog to hear about the WLS stuff to view her whole post here. For those of you who just want to hear her story, view this:

My story is the same, complete with iron infusions, B12 shots, etc., except that I was 21 when I had the surgery and I had it because I grew up with a morbidly obese mother who couldn’t play with us much. I wanted to have healthy pregnancies and be able to run around with my kid. 100+ lbs down, I can do that somewhat. But when the neuropathic pain brings me to my knees, I typically just want to lay in bed with my law books and not do anything with my arms or legs. When I had the surgery, the doctor talked for maybe 2 minutes about vitamins and then moved on. He basically said, “Take a multivitamin and calcium and you’ll be fine.” I did. I wasn’t.

I agree with MeltingMama completely. I would not recommend Roux-en-Y to any healthy, vital, person. If the LapBand had been widely available in 2001, I would have done that. (Caveat: I do believe there is something age-related here. My mother, aunt, and I have all had Roux-en-Y and my mother and aunt aren’t having these problems. My mother had it a year before and my aunt had it two years later. I don’t know why they aren’t facing these issues, but I think there could be an age and/or hormone link since MeltingMama and I are both young women.)

Hopefully this info is helpful to someone out there.

Do you need textbooks for summer or fall courses? Perhaps you are an even worse procrastinator than me and you need that Crunchtime book or Law in a Flash cards to get you through finals? Don’t forget that PT-LawMom has an Amazon affiliate link you can click on that will help me pay for law books (and myriad neurological drugs/vitamins). I have had great success finding good prices on both new and used textbooks, cds, study aids, etc., through Amazon and Amazon Marketplace. I also sell all of my books back at the end of each semester and they tend to sell quickly and for a good price. Please consider visiting my blog and clicking through prior to making a textbook (or any other) purchase from Amazon.

While the Pope was spreading messages of peace, family unity and a calmer, more tolerant approach to immigration, ICE was continuing their family-destroying company raids. I thought it was a particularly interesting touch for them to time their biggest raids to coincide with the Pope’s major immigration speech alongside President Bush. I’m not Catholic, but I thought that was a pretty disrespectful move.