Taking Flight

It’s been quite a week. I can’t watch news regarding the economy lately without feeling ill, but IT companies focusing on healthcare solutions must have taken a deep breath yesterday after the passing of the stimulus bill—$19 billion is reported as slated for healthcare measures. Here’s hoping that the money is spent wisely. Joe Flower explores the battleground being set up by conservatives over healthcare reform provisions on The Health Care Blog.

Additionally, last Thursday a special court ruled against three families who brought autism cases to trial over childhood vaccinations. I feel badly for these families, as I’m sure they are in pain over their children’s conditions. But the exercise in reaching for straws has been harmful on a number of levels, and I hope that people begin to abandon the idea that it’s actually safer not to vaccinate their children.

However, news that hit home in my child’s eyes was related to the tragic airplane crash in New York last week, which occurred on the heels of the successful landing of a plane in the Hudson River. My family flies. I used to work for an airline, and flying is a way of life for us—I literally can’t remember the last trip we took when we drove. And I think that between the memories of 9/11, the experience of airport security, and graphic stories of crash victims’ last moments on the news is finally getting to her.

I suppose I could tell her what people used to tell me, that more people die in car accidents every year than in airplanes, but that doesn’t cut it. Truthfully, I’m not sure there’s anything I can say about the subject to make it better, let alone right. Perhaps she’ll process the unpredictability of life better if I don’t attempt to lead her through it, but simply remain available to answer questions and talk about her concerns. There’s simply very little good news anywhere right now to cushion children, or adults for that matter, and I worry that resilience continues to be a national issue.