Saturday, Dec. 13, 2003 12:32 A.M.
Much ado about not much ado.
Well, we won this weeks IC challange. That's nice.
I have a busy day tomorrow, so I have no idea why I'm still up. Yes I do! It's Friday! Yay!
I have a busy day tomorrow. I am from a rather large city originally. I grew up outsiede of Portland Maine. It is TO big. Anyway, tomorrow I am going to the Ashaway Stroll. That is after getting my hair cut and going grocery shopping.
There are three churches and the rest of the community putting this on. Stops along the way are the Library, the post office and the Fire house. I love a small community. The feeling of everyone knowing everyone else. There is something comforting about that.
I do not live in Ashaway. I am down the road in Westerly, but since I did the website for them, I am an invited guest to the festivities. There will be bake sales, craft shows and all sorts of small town hoopla. I love it. I wish that Kathy were here. I bet she would be buying up the towns crafts. She is like that, you know.
Sunday night, there is a dinner at the senior housing complex where I work. Terry an I are going. Where else can you get a stuffed shrimp dinner for $11.00? Most anywhere, I guess. But hey, no tipping. It is Sunday night but the dinner is being served at 5:00pm. Can't keep them up too late you see. Who the hell am I kidding? That's a good time for me and hubby too, these days.
Other than that, my weekend consists of laundry, putting the Christmas lights outside and indulging in some serious Hubby/TV time.
Bad news today. I live within 2 miles of a town in Connecticut that had a story in their paper, The New London Day, today.
Stonington�� Republican Registrar of Voters Robin Miller died Wednesday at Hartford Hospital of necrotizing fasciitis, a virulent bacterial infection sometimes known as the �flesh-eating bacteria.� She was 52.
The sudden nature of Miller's illness and death gave rise to rumors and caused concern among Town Hall employees, prompting First Selectman Peter Dibble to contact state health officials. Miller first became ill late Friday.
�Because the onset of Robin's illness was so rapid it raised some level of concern,� Dibble said. �I felt it was important to do what we could to ease whatever concerns they had.�
On Thursday, two epidemiologists from the state Department of Public Health spoke to town employees and answered their questions. They explained that the illness that killed Miller is rare and extremely difficult to contract. It is caused by the same bacteria that typically results in nothing more serious than a sore throat or skin rash.
�It's still a very rare disease,� said Dr. Matthew Cartter, the epidemiology program coordinator for the state health department. �There have never been any reports of it being spread in a school or work setting.�
Local, state and hospital officials declined to discuss the details of Miller's illness, citing privacy issues.
According to information from the state health department and the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Group A Streptococcus, or GAS, bacteria cause necrotizing fasciitis. The bacteria are commonly found in the throat and on the skin, and the vast majority of infections cause relatively mild problems such as strep throat and impetigo. Many people who carry the bacteria have no symptoms of disease.
Occasionally, however, the bacteria cause serious and sometimes life-threatening diseases such as necrotizing fasciitis and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, which are known as invasive GAS disease.
�Strep bacteria is common but this type of strep bacteria is rare,� Cartter said.
According to the state health department and the CDC, invasive GAS disease occurs when the bacteria reach blood, deep muscle and fat tissue, or lungs, where they are not usually found. Necrotizing fasciitis is a destructive infection of muscle and fat tissue. It is estimated that 10,000 to 15,000 cases of invasive GAS disease occur in the United States each year, resulting in roughly 2,000 to 3,000 deaths. Between 500 and 700 people a year contract necrotizing bacteria and about 20 percent of them die.
Three to 10 cases a year occur in Connecticut, according to Cartter.
The bacteria are most commonly spread by direct contact with the nose and throat of an infected individual or by contact with infected skin lesions. Communicability is thought to be greatest when an individual is ill, such as when people have strep throat or an infected wound.
According to the National Necrotizing Fasciitis Foundation, the bacteria often enter the body through an opening in the skin, even one as small as a paper cut, a staple puncture or a pin prick. They also can enter through weakened skin, such as a bruise, blister or abrasion.
In general, infection results from direct contact with infected secretions. The sharing of such household items as plates and glasses or such workplace items as computers are not thought to play a major role in the transmission of the disease. There have been no reports of casual contacts, such as co-workers or school classmates, developing invasive GAS disease through contact with a person who developed the disease.
�Few people who come in contact with a virulent strain of GAS will develop invasive GAS disease; most will have no symptoms or a mild infection,� the state health department said in material it provided. �This may be because many people have been exposed to the same GAS strain in the past and have developed immunity in the form of protective proteins called �antibodies,� which halt the infection.�
Early signs of necrotizing fasciitis include fever, severe pain and swelling, and redness at a wound site. Early signs and symptoms of STSS include a generalized red rash, fever, dizziness, confusion and abdominal pain. Antibiotics are used to treat the infection.
Miller, who lived on Pequot Trail, leaves a grown son and daughter. In addition to serving as a registrar here since 1997, she was the chairwoman of the state Board of Mediation and Arbitration of the state Department of Labor and chairwoman of the state Department of Administrative Services Employee Review Board.
She was the vice chairwoman of the Republican Town Committee and was its former chairwoman.
Selectman Bill Brown, the current Republican town chairman, said �everyone was in shock� about Miller's death.
�No one expects someone as young as her to suddenly be gone in four days,� he said.
Town employees said Miller, who was working in Town Hall late last week, appeared healthy.
The town's Democratic registrar of voters, Terry Grimes, said Miller was a sensitive person who was committed to her work. She said Miller was busy with many activities.
�She ran around everywhere,� Grimes said. �She did so many different things and she did them all well. She was such a vital person who looked nice all the time. It's sad to see her go this way.�
This scares the hell out of me and at the same time, I am filled with sadness for her family. She was so young. I didn't know her, but that doesn't matter. It was so not her time to go.Later...
