Disappearing ASL, Part 3

My Offer

Idea for Middle & High Schools and Colleges

A few have come up to me and told me how they enjoyed reading my blogs, particularly one on my health and liver awareness. One asked me how I was doing. I've been meaning to tell you this, but I wanted to wait a little longer for more conclusive news from my doctor. I saw him two weeks ago and he reported to me that my liver panel tests came back as normal. This does NOT, however, indicate whether my cirrhosis has healed. Some patients with cirrhosis can even have normal liver panels and not feel whether their livers are improving or not. My doctor told me more tests are needed to determine the condition of my liver - X-ray and ultrasound. So I was rescheduled for an appointment in December. Ugh... more waiting and waiting! But at least this is part GOOD news, that my liver's functioning normally. What a relief! My fingers are still crossed that cirrhosis will eventually disappear from my liver!

I have been thinking since my last appointment with my doctor. I would like to make an offer to middle and high schools and colleges with programs for deaf and hard of hearing students. I have an idea that these institutions may be interested in, that could help youth get off alcohol and . I would suggest Liver Awareness Week be created and tied to the school's alcohol and awareness program. I would be happy to travel and give a "shock and awe" presentation that would be sure to make your students think twice about taking or drinking alcohol in the future. I could also tie my presentation to my art workshops. I have worked with students of various ages and grades and I have given presentations and workshops on many occassions for different schools around the nation. If your school is interested, contact me at deafcartoon@gmail.com and I will give you more information such as my fee and course content.

I realized last night that some deaf readers might not be able to understand my English, so I am considering doing a vlog to repeat my message in ASL for the deaf community's benefit. Look forward to my...ahem...FIRST vlog coming soon in due time!

Ron Roberts' Rudeness

commentary

by D. McClintock

Greetings, folks! Before I continue with my next comic strip, I'd like to take a break here and share some news with y'all. Just last night I went to Deaf Community Services' emergency town hall meeting. The meeting took place at DCS from 6pm to 8pm. Boy, was I glad I went there! It was a very spirited meeting. Since last night I feel proud to be part of the San Diego deaf community.

During the meeting we discussed problems, concerns and ways to improve communications between the deaf community, the firefighters, the police and emergency services. Notes were compared on the deaf community's responses to the fires in 2003 and 2007. Back in 2003 there existed in no place a mass notification system that would alert the deaf community of any impeding disaster such as a fire or an earthquake or hurricane. There was no interpreter on TV emergency broadcasts, either. Many deaf residents during that year were not aware the fires had broken out.

Now this year is a little different. This time an interpreter appeared on TV emergency broadcasts. It was largely with thanks to DCS' arduous efforts in getting an interpreter on TV. The interpreter's name was Joanne Cosentino. You can see her photo here. She was the sole interpreter who stood by the mayor and other speakers all during the week.

One of the most pivotal moments in the meeting was when DCS Director Bonnie Sherwood revealed to us how she saw Ron Roberts, Fourth District Supervisor on the S.D. County Board of Supervisors, pushed Joanne out of the way to make room for a representative from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This infuriated Bonnie Sherwood and she immediately paged Joanne to describe what she saw on TV. Even Mayor Jerry Sanders, who was in the audience, was dismayed and he took Roberts asides and told him bluntly that it "was not good." (In other words, not cool!)

Since that incident Joanne was permitted to stand closer to the speaker. Yet sometimes during the week she would be out of the camera's focus. DCS kept in touch with OES (Office of Emergency Services) and made sure Joanne stayed in the camera's focus.

Bonnie Sherwood remarked that she thought Ron Roberts should issue a public apology to the deaf community for his rudeness to Joanne Cosentino. What do you think?

Ron Roberts has a website. If you wish to express your concern or file a complaint or write a polite request for a public apology, you can do so by emailing him at ron-roberts@sdcounty.ca.gov.

In another development during the meeting, we learned more information about AlertSanDiego. DCS has a vlog on this new mass notification system. The County of San Diego, in partnership with Twenty First Century Communications, Inc., established this system that would notify residents through cell phone, VoIP phone, and email address. Deaf residents in San Diego who are interested in this system can register online at AlertSanDiego's website.

Bonnie Sherwood said that all the country is looking at San Diego, to see what we are doing. NAD is looking at us, too. AlertSanDiego is believed to be the first mass notification system that utilizes use of technology to send direct alerts to deaf residents and other people with disabilities. It could become an example for other mass notification systems across the U.S. to follow.

Someone in the audience at the meeting suggested trying EmergencyEmails.com. It can send alerts to your Sidekick. The alerts it sends out, however, goes through a third party.

It is not confirmed, but I think DCS will post a vlog of last night's meeting soon on its website. Look forward to it! Word should be spreaded out to deaf communities about those two systems!

Disappearing ASL, Part 2

Disappearing ASL

A Comic Strip Series

Part 1

More to come soon!

My Advice to the Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohans and Paris Hiltons of the world

Are you addicted to alcohol? Cocaine? Meth? Vicodin? Other drugs? Need to stop? Or don't want to stop?

Do you have a son or daughter or friend who is addicted to alcohol or drugs? Do you have a child you'd like to see stop drinking or doing drugs? Is he or she stubborn like Britney Spears and won't listen to your or others' heeding?

I have two simple words that are guaranteed to stop your son or daughter fast in his or her tracks.

No fancy, expensive rehabilitation center that caters only to the client's whims.

No long, preachy lectures or group therapy where the same stories are told over and over again.

No 12 steps.

No lame mottos such as "Just say no."

Just two simple words:

Your liver.

Have your child check his or her liver. Warn your son or daughter that the liver is the most precious organ in the body and that everything we eat, drink or even smoke is filtered through the liver. In Chinese medicine the liver is called as "the general" because of its vital functions. We each have two kidneys and only one liver. If one of your kidneys fails, you have a spare kidney to take over its place. If your liver fails, where is a spare liver to take its place? You'd have to get on a long list and wait for a period of time to get a liver transplant. This is why the liver is VERY precious, more than you ever realize.

The liver is known for its amazing regenerative powers and its ability to handle stress for a length of time. But if it is repeatedly fed with such toxins as alcohol, drugs and junk food over a long period, it may become weaker and lose its ability to handle stress as well as filter toxins. When it cannot filter toxins, disaster happens. Your system would go awry and your health would decline rapidly. Serious consequences can result, such as severe illness, brain damage, coma or even death.

I know. It happened to me.

Friends, gentlemen and ladies, parents, let me share my experience with you that you may share with your friends or children or loved ones who have alcohol or drug problems:

Exactly one year ago I nearly lost my mind, heart and life. It happened right after the Gallaudet protestors' victory over JKF and IKJ. The mood I was in that day was very euphoric. I was not aware that I had a liver failure in progress. Ironically I'd just previously made a resolution to quit drinking for once and all. Not that I was ever a full-blown alcoholic...on the contrary, normally I'd drink occassionally and in moderation. But sometimes when I was depressed or distressed, I would have drinking bouts. And I was a heavy drinker back in my youth, in my old college days. Now that I look back, I regret those drinking bouts and wished I'd be more careful and wise not to drink too much.

But I made the right decision to quit drinking, just in nick of time. Any further would have been an end of me.

The liver failure I had led to a renal (kidney) failure, which produced an encephalopathic reaction. Encephalopathy (literally means in Greek "in the head") is temporary mental instability. In an encephalopathy one enters an altered state, undergoes personality changes, and experiences psychotic symptoms. Depending on the frame of his or her mind and his or her point of reference, one can see hallucinations of almost anything, from an UFO to a phantom to the devil. I saw things that weren't there. Because I came from a Christian background, I thought the world was coming to an end. I became very paranoid. I know it may seem crazy, but that was what I imagined and it was a very frightening experience for me!

I was literally nuts for a few days. Like Vincent Van Gogh before he cut off his ear. I actually had a meltdown, like those celebrities. It was a nightmare for me.

I wasn't aware I was undergoing a psychotic break until I landed in the hospital and my sanity started to come back. I now understood what schizophrenics experience. I experienced only three days of what mentally-challenged people probably experience daily in their lives. What a hellish time it must be, to live as a schizophrenic.

At the hospital I learned that I had cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver. I am not fully sure if cirrhois was caused by years of my drinking or another serious disease that I have. I am not going into details on this serious disease...even after one year I'm still grappling to come in terms with it. (But I can assure you it definitely isn't AIDS.) Someday when I feel more comfortable, I will tell you more about this. But for now, regardless of whatever the cause, cirrhosis is a very serious disease and it can be deadly. It is said that in its advanced stage, cirrhosis cannot be reversed. When this disease progresses worse, it can lead to a coma or death unless a new liver is transplanted. Liver transplants can be very expensive.

Ever since my last diagnosis I've been treating myself with herbal supplements and vitamins. I've been taking milk thistle (which is said to help reverse cirrhois and heal the liver) for a long time now. I avoided alcohol entirely...it is now 1 year since I last touched a drop of alcohol. I don't feel tempted at all whenever I am at a party or alcohol is around. I miss the sweet taste of cold beer or warm sake, yeah...but I've had enough anyway, for 20 years. No more. I won't ever again wet my lips with beer or wine or sake. I just saw my doctor last week and had blood tests. I will let you know how my health is after lab results come back.

I hope this scares our young beloved into coming to their senses. I think it's easier for a person in 40s to quit alcohol or drugs than a person in 20s. The person in 20s tends to be stubborn because he or she wants more and MORE of this or that. How can you convince this person to stop? Simply, tell this person about the liver!

You can save more lives this way by spreading the message. I care that our deaf children, the '00s generation, doesn't end up as screwed as many of us in the deaf '60s, '70s and '80s generations. Let's pass this message to future deaf generations. Let's show we care!

Thank you for listening AND caring, y'all...

IKJ's Nightmare

Ok that wasn't the finale...here is another Halloween cartoon, this time with IKJ. Happy Halloween! :D

IKJ finds himself locked in Room 1408 and can't get out until 60 hours is expired, when he finally renounces his teaching position.

And Now the Finale....

A New JKF Cartoon

JKF dreams she is lost in the boys' locker room at Gallaudet and bumps into Vice President Cheney coming out of shower

The ASL Militant's Nightmare

A Halloween Special

Hello, everybody! Gather around the fire, folks...I'm gonna tell you a horror story! Here it is...

ADA in Struggle

Political Cartoon of the Week

This is an old political cartoon that I did for SIGNews back in '04. After seeing discussion on the issue of the ADA Restoration Act in the blogosphere, I thought I'd share this cartoon with you. The struggle is still ongoing. Whaddya think, fellas?

DCS Chair's Vlog Broadcast

DCS Board Chair Leslie Elion just put out a vlog this morning, explaining how DCS came up with the estimate of 1,000 deaf evacuees and further updating the situation on wildfires and evacuation.
She raised a good point why an estimate was necessary in order to help FEMA project their services for meeting the evacuees' needs. This seemingly minor thing may help deaf agencies a great deal in the future in emergency preparations.

Regarding some people's expressed puzzlement over the estimate, I brought this up with an interpreter I was talking with at the DCS booth at Qualcomm Stadium yesterday. She thought the figure of 1,000 was about right because there is a bulk of deaf people living in Chula Vista, southeast of San Diego. There are also more deaf people who live in Poway, Escondido, Julian and the surrounding mountains. Some of those deaf people have families, usually tend to stay at home and don't hang out as some of us San Diego regulars do at Deaf Coffee on Fridays or other places. Some of the deaf evacuees don't go to Qualcomm or other evacuation centers but spend the nights over at their friends or relatives' houses instead.

Despite that the winds calmed down, the fires are still raging in some parts of San Diego County. For a more updated information on the five major fires in San Diego County, see this link.

The deaf evacuees that I met and interviewed with yesterday were fine and in an upbeat mood. One of them told me DCS was very outstanding in its services that it provided. The emergency services people were great to them, this evacuee told me. Jon Savage already posted photos of evacuees at Qualcomm that you can see here.

I pray that the evacuees' houses are intact!

Update at Qualcomm Stadium

I just went to visit the evacuation center at Qualcomm Stadium today. With my press credentials (I'm a staff writer for SIGNews), I was admitted in. When I entered through the gate, DCS' booth was right there in front. I was greeted by an interpreter there and I interviewed two deaf evacuees there. I saw that there were only 6 deaf/HOH evacuees altogether at the stadium. I took some pictures as I walked around the stadium. The number of evacuees at the stadium has dwindled, as many of them are being relocated to Del Mar Fairgrounds and some are allowed to return to their homes. What touched my heart was seeing the drawings of children on the walls. These drawings were expressions of thanks to the firefighters for their hard work. I will share with you two pictures tonight. Look forward to my coming detailed report in the next issue of SIGNews. I'll comment a little more on my experience in my next blog tomorrow.