Life Support

My son has cadaver valves. Not like a collection of them in an egg carton or in his dresser drawer. He has them in his heart. Those, along with some bovine or "cow" tissues, and a synthetic conduit. Tyler's got it all going on. A man of many tissues, I call him. He was born with a condition called transposition of the great vessels, as well as some other significant cardiac anomalies. He's had major reconstructive surgery and a number of procedures and he is a strong, fit 18-year-old guy. He is a certified lifeguard and can swing an ax to chop wood, kayak choppy waters and carry a heavy load 'til the cows come home (pardon the bovine reference)

"To the person who called in and said that Bush got 55 million and Kerry got 52 million and that the most votes wins. If you remember back, Al Gore got more votes than Bush and the courts put Bush in office. So the numbers don't count. So chew on that for a while. " "I think it's interesting how Mail Call continues to print anti-liberal comments from your callers, but you won't print an apology for allowing someone to call in and say that another name for 'liberal' is 'promiscuous.

The death of a Maryland man who participated in Tough Mudder in Berkeley County joins a growing number of fatalities linked to similar obstacle course challenge events held across the nation. Avishek Sengupta, 28, was pronounced dead at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., on Sunday after participating in Tough Mudder's Mid-Atlantic Spring event on Saturday at Peacemaker National Training Center. Police have said Sengupta, of Ellicott City, Md., was submerged in a pool at one of the event's obstacles for too long.

An Ellicott City, Md., man died Sunday at a Virginia hospital after participating in the Tough Mudder endurance series in Berkeley County on Saturday, police said. Avishek Sengupta, 28, was pronounced dead at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., Berkeley County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Ted Snyder said Monday. Sengupta's death was ruled accidental by the Virginia medical examiner's office in Manassas, Va., which said Monday afternoon that drowning was the cause of death. Sengupta had to be removed from a fairly deep pool at the “Walk the Plank” aquatic obstacle where it appears he was submerged for too long, according to Snyder.

Hagerstown Community College will offer a basic life support class for healthcare providers from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday, Jan. 11, and another session from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, in the Career Programs Building at HCC. Each class is limited to 16 students. Offered through the American Heart Association, healthcare providers will earn 4.75 contact hours. Cost is $55, plus a $5 registration fee. To register or for more information, call 301-790-2800, ext. 236.

chambersburg@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - The Chambersburg Borough Council weighed whether it was feasible to establish its own advanced life support service for critical patient care Tuesday, uncertain whether neighboring townships would get behind the venture. Discussions on the subject first began three years ago, and while the borough considers signing a new contract with the current ALS provider - West Shore - at least one council member is pushing for the borough to begin its own service.

bonnieb@herald-mail.com CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. - A recent $100,000 grant to Chambersburg Advanced Life Support (ALS) enabled the service to enhance its fleet and to build a garage to house it. U.S. Rep. Bill Shuster presented the money to officials from ALS, a division of West Shore EMS, on Friday morning at the construction site. "We will use the funding to purchase an ambulance, a paramedic unit and other equipment that Chambersburg needs to better serve the community," said Larry Roberts, vice president and COO of West Shore EMS. The money frees up capital previously allotted for those purchases, and will be used to build a garage to house the 10-vehicle fleet, Roberts said.

BOONSBORO - A Funkstown woman, who was four months pregnant, was being kept alive as medical staff worked to remove her organs for donation Monday evening, more than two days after she was injured in an accident in Boonsboro, the woman's mother said. Kelsy Lynn Thomas, 20, of 102 W. Green St., was critically injured Saturday when the 1995 Honda in which she was riding struck an unoccupied parked car at a high rate of speed on Main Street near Mousetown Road and came to rest in the westbound lane at 1:57 a.m., according a Washington County Sheriff's Department press release.

Hagerstown Community College will offer a basic life support class for health care providers Monday, Jan. 11, from 4 to 9 p.m., and another session on Monday, Feb. 8, from 4 to 9 p.m., in the Career Programs Building at HCC. Each class is limited to 16 students. Offered through the American Heart Association, health care providers will earn 4.75 contact hours. The class costs $55, plus a $5 registration fee. To register or learn more, call 301-790-2800, ext. 236.

A 48-year-old Hagerstown man was in critical condition at Winchester (Va.) Medical Center on Wednesday after a fight Tuesday night in Rocky Glen mobile home community near Spring Mills, W.Va., the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office said. Keith Douglas was being kept alive with life-support equipment at the hospital, where he has been declared brain dead, according to Berkeley County Sheriff's Deputy Lt. Gary Harmison and the criminal complaint he filed. Troy Michael Butts, 30, of Appomattox Drive in Rocky Glen, was arraigned Wednesday morning on two felony counts of malicious wounding, according to court records.