The better care you take of yourself legally means the greater your chances of swearing off lawyers forever—the same way that taking care of your body may well mean avoiding costly and intensive medical interventions.
Lyme disease was first recognized in 1975 because of a cluster of patients with arthritis in the vicinity of Lyme, Connecticut. Subsequently the arthritis was linked with erythema chronicum migrans (88%), cardiac (8%), and nervous system diseases (11%). By 1983, the etiology of the disease had been confirmed as an infection caused by a spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, transmitted to man by the bite of a tick, Ixodes dammini. Then it became apparent that this was the same disease reported as far back as the 1920's, known in Europe as tick-borne meningeal polyneuritis, lymphocytic meningoradiculitis, or Bannwarth's syndrome. The usual presentation includes exposure to ticks or tick-infested areas of the Northeast, the characteristic rash, and then the neurological abnormalities, then the arthritis. This case is presented to illustrate the possible presence of the disease with no history of tick exposure, no travel to areas usually considered endemic and no characteristic rash.
During pre-production on his wartime tribute “They Were Expendable” (1945), John Ford learned that Maureen O’Hara was starring in the swashbuckler “The Spanish Main” at RKO. O’Hara knew that Ford had returned from military service in Europe to make a feature film, but had no idea why he wanted to see her at the studio. She soon learned that he wanted her to play the female lead in a film based on a Maurice Walsh story called “The Quiet Man,” to be shot on location in Ireland.
With considerable overlapping and no little back tracking, the writer has attempted to discuss the psychotic, the neurotic and the victim of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Tolerance of overlapping is asked of the reader since it exists and defies our wish that these three miseries could be seen as separate entities. Yet they are sufficiently separate as to demand differing therapeutic approaches so it is necessary to give abbreviated attention to therapies. Attention is given to medical therapies while they are labeled secondary to psychotherapy. It is not mentioned but should be, that occasional exceptions seem to exist. The title and conclusion, first read in adolescence, seems to suggest that emotional disorders have been with us for quite a long while.
Shari Motro, in her articles entitled The Price of Pleasure and Preglimony , asks us to reconceptualize conception. She proposes, at least idyllically, substantial reforms to the laws on male responsibilities to females for harms caused by human conception via consensual sex. Her goal is to minimize the “fundamental gender imbalance.” A man who engages in sex leading to conception is currently not legally obligated to compensate his female partner for harms associated with pregnancy, including psychological injuries, lost wages, maternity clothes, or childbirth classes. The status quo resembles an unfair “one-size-fits7-all” approach, Motro says, and requires the woman to shoulder all the burdens of accidental pregnancy in the absence of a marital relationship. The current legal default regime treats “lovers as strangers” and pregnancy as a woman’s problem. Motro argues for a new paradigm that holds men responsible for the burdens of pregnancy of their unmarried lovers. For Motro, marriage is an inadequate cure to the current legal presumption disfavoring pregnant women. She opines that marriage does not effectively “regulate the vulnerabilities that come along with reproduction” and fails “as society’s main mechanism for safeguarding the interests of the accidentally pregnant . . . .” Motro proposes “something that falls in between that of complete strangers and that of spouses, unless they agree otherwise.” Sexually active couples would be free to opt-out, because “casual lovers . . . should be permitted to set their own rules.” Couples desiring “a no-strings-attached encounter,” that is “those who expect to have no responsibilities vis-a-vis each other should pregnancy occur,” would be free from obligations. Motro supports a novel legal status for lovers who do not expressly opt-out, finding that theories like unjust enrichment or an equity-based approach sustain pregnancy-support claims. According to her, sex implies a promise — “an agreement to assume mutual obligations of support [where] communication can be inferred.” Motro supports the enforcement of such an unspoken pact in the event of breach, “when the promise is broken and pregnancy support is not forthcoming . . . .” Motro draws from tort and contract principles used by those involved in “controlled sadomasochism,” focusing on the prevalence of liability waivers. She suggests that contracts regarding sadomasochism can inform a new approach to the law of conception because such contracts similarly recognize “that intimacy involving inherently unequal risks demands explicit discussion regarding the allocation of potential consequences.” Motro uses sadomasochism to illustrate that contract law can (and does) apply to many sexual relationships. She suggests that risks of malfunctioning sadomasochism equipment can “mirror” other risks of sexual behavior, including pregnancy. Motro explains that individuals who engage in sadomasochism often sign agreements indicating that the involved parties will be free from liability in the event that devices fail or that there is a mistake or accident. Motro argues that the use of contract law can similarly apply in certain sexual encounter settings outside of sadomasochism, including where an unmarried man and an unmarried woman conceive a child when the two previously agree that the man will be wholly or partly liable for the costs of the woman’s pregnancy, and where an unmarried man and an unmarried woman conceive a child but the couple has not previously discussed who is liable for the costs of the woman’s pregnancy. Unfortunately, Motro does not explore the implications of her proposal beyond these scenarios. Would conception trigger pregnancy-support obligations when one sexual partner is married and one sexual partner is unmarried? Does it matter if the unmarried partner is male or female? And what if both partners are married to others? If a marriage or dissolution of marriage occurs after conception but prior to birth how should pregnancy-support obligations then operate? Motro’s proposal is limited not only by her identification of the couples involved, but also by her limited focus on the ensuing harms. Motro focuses on pregnancies leading to abortion, miscarriage, or birth. She does not discuss whether lovers should be liable for other harms stemming from sex, including sexually transmitted diseases. Should the law comparably treat “lovers as strangers” in pregnancy and infectious disease settings? Most curious for us is Motro’s utter failure to discuss the children in the birth setting. Her (utopian) proposals attempt to separate horizontal relationships (between sexual partners) from vertical relationships (between children and parents). We suggest a different approach when there are children, accepting Motro’s invitation for conversation.
To estimate the frequency of occurrence of Lyme disease in Alabama, in September 1988 the Department of Public Health requested physicians and laboratories to begin voluntary reporting of cases of Lyme disease. Thirteen cases, 5 confirmed, 1 probable, 4 presumptive and 3 possible, were reported for the years 1986-1988. Counties in which tick exposure likely occurred included Calhoun, Cleburne, Mobile, Monroe, Shelby, Talladega and Tallapoosa. Lyme disease occurs in Alabama but appears to be uncommon.
A prospective comparison of conventional analgesia and patient-controlled analgesia using morphine was conducted. Each patient underwent a major gynecologic oncology procedure and was observed on the post-operative floor. All 192 patients were studied during the first three post-operative days. The findings suggest less total medication and less sedation with equal pain control in the patient-controlled analgesia group.
