Welcome to MrGus.net!

I think it's so important to record what is happening in our lives.  This has been a fairly recent revelation to me, because I've realized I know so little about how my ancestors felt about things such as spirituality, politics, family, etc.  I don't want to go another generation without my kids, grand kids, friends and siblings having an access point to my mind, heart and spirit.  Blogging helps me do that, especially with the advent of the smart phone and 2014 technology.  Anywhere, anytime I have a thought to share or important event to record, I can do it directly from my phone by keying in the letters or using voice-to-text recognition.

Back in the early 1990's I built KoernerFamily.net and EmbersWorld.com, primarily to communicate information to family members afar.  For work and fun, I have Mr. Gus Outdoors, and Voice of Truth Ministry to share inspirational stories with others.  The combined readership of those two blogs is over 20,000.  I think that's pretty cool.

About a month ago I was exposed to and positively tested for Tuberculosis.  An air-handling system at the prison I work at failed, and now I have Latent Tuberculosis Infection, or LTBI.  There's a 90% chance I'll be fine, but I am recording events, treatments and thoughts I have about that at My TB Blog, but for legal purposes I am the only reader for that one.

Recently I have been reading some books on Christian theology and one author, Henri J.M. Nouwen, in Seeds of Hope: A Henri Nouwen Reader, ISBN-13: 978-0385490498, Robert Durback (Editor), expressed how important it is to be and show our authentic selves.  This blog is an attempt to do just that.

I hope you enjoy it, and I will read and appreciate all your comments.

Mr. Gus

OSHA Respiratory Standards

Found this today.

Occupational Safety and Health Standards, Personal Protective Equipment, Respiratory Protection, Part number 1910.

Click here for the entire OSHA Standard

An excerpt...

Permissible practice.

1910.134(a)(1)

In the control of those occupational diseases caused by breathing air contaminated with harmful dusts, fogs, fumes, mists, gases, smokes, sprays, or vapors, the primary objective shall be to prevent atmospheric contamination. This shall be accomplished as far as feasible by accepted engineering control measures (for example, enclosure or confinement of the operation, general and local ventilation, and substitution of less toxic materials). When effective engineering controls are not feasible, or while they are being instituted, appropriate respirators shall be used pursuant to this section.

What good will come of all this?

Today has been a very depressing day for me. I won't say how much, but I was really down this afternoon. I guess force of habit causes me to try to find a silver lining to this cloud of what could be considered gloom.  So I ask myself, what good might come from all of this? Does God have plans for a higher good to come of this?

• I now have a knowledge of the disease I didn't have before.
• Perhaps DOC might actually train their staff and/or write policy dealing with airborne pathogens, treating them with the same precautions as liquid contaminants.
• Perhaps I'll have an opportunity to be a trainer for DOC in this area.
• Perhaps I'll get some sort of pay raise or financial compensation because of it all, as this will affect the rest of my life and career.
• Perhaps this could open up a new ministry for me.
• Perhaps somewhere in the world someone could use this new insight I've gained, and I can be of some good elsewhere.

Am I being overly dramatic?

What's really bugging me...

What is really bothering me about this whole event is:

• At work we have to follow policy and procedure on everything, and there is one on handling blood-borne pathogens.  I've never seen or heard of one on airborne contaminants.  Since prison is one of the most common locations for TB exposure, why not?
• We check and report multiple times per shift on mechanical rooms and tool inventories.  Who is accountable for making sure the negative rooms are functioning properly?
• As soon as I was found to be a positive carrier for TB, they gave me a mask and told me to go get a chest x-ray.  Why didn't they have concern for my family or others who I was in contact with?
• When did the negative pressure rooms actually fail?  How long were workers and staff exposed?
• The night they sent me home, they provided face masks to all the staff for protection.  Why not the inmate workers in the Palliative Care Unit?
• Is the Department of Corrections prepared for this disease I now have, I have for life?  My Maximum Medical Improvement date is now Nov. 1, 2014.  Is that a realistic date, or will these latent granulomas be part of me forever?

Latent TB May Not Be So Latent

See article from Medical News Today, published Dec. 19, 2013...

Lung lesions of TB variable, independent, whether infection is active or latent

For the complete article, click here.

An excerpt...

When the lungs become infected with M. tuberculosis, the body's immune system walls off the bacteria into lesions called granulomas, explained co-senior investigator JoAnne Flynn, Ph.D., professor of microbiology and molecular genetics, Pitt School of Medicine.

"It's long been thought that the patient with a weakened immune system or some other immune vulnerability was more likely to develop active disease," Dr. Flynn said. "But to our surprise, our study showed that every infected individual has a collection of granulomas, some containing live bacteria and some that are sterile because the immune system has killed all the bacteria. So in this sense, there's no such thing as a latent or active granuloma."

This was a study done by Sarah Fortune, M.D. (et. al), of Harvard University, funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Not such good news.

Worldwide Shortage of Isoniazid (INH)

The CDC announced Jan. 28, 2013 that there is a worldwide shortage of INH or Isoniazid.  Wonder if it's still on? Here is the latest I could find.

January 2013 - Recommendations for Drug Allocation, Tuberculosis Prevention, and Patient Care During Isoniazid Shortages, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

January 2014 - American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Drug Shortages (listing Isoniazid)