Few mercury-free flu shots in Pennsylvania

And, here at home, not a thought given to the mercury lurking in our flu vaccines. I think I'll suffer through the flu this year. I get it anyway, even with the shot.

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Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Mercury-free flu shots in short supply
By Mike Cronin
TRIBUNE-REVIEW Wednesday, October 10, 2007

People who want a flu shot without mercury this year in Pennsylvania will have to ask.

Most flu vaccine doses available in the state have thimerosal, a preservative containing mercury, according to local health care providers. About 54,000 of the 250,000 doses bought by the state Department of Health are thimerosal-free. But 90 percent of shots administered in the state will be done by private providers, said department spokesman Dan Miller.

The Allegheny County Health Department has bought 3,000 doses of flu vaccine, 200 of which do not have mercury.

"Children and pregnant women should not receive flu shots with thimerosal," said county Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole.

Eight states have passed laws to ban or limit mercury in vaccines, according to the Washington-based Advocates for Children's Health Affected by Mercury Poisoning. Pennsylvania allows the preservative, which some people believe is linked to autism disorders.

Read the rest at the Trib's Web site.

Autism, Africa and an 8-year-old boy

This is just a very sad story, but one I couldn't stop reading.

Grieving mother plans autism school

By MICHELLE MOLZ
For the Courier-Post

MOUNT LAUREL

She traveled thousands of miles from one of Africa's poorest countries to seek help for her autistic son.

Now, after her 8-year-old boy died unexpectedly, Sabelle Jelani is preparing for a new journey. The 39-year-old township resident plans to open a school for autistic children in Dakar, capital of Senegal, as a memorial to her son, Hakeem.

It would be the first of its kind in Senegal, Jelani's native country. She left her homeland and spent the past five years here caring for her son and educating herself about autism. She hoped to return to Senegal to share her knowledge with families who have no resources to help them cope.

Plans for the school were under way when Hakeem suddenly died in his sleep in Dakar on Sept. 8. They had been visiting family for the summer.

"We laid down, and I rubbed his head, his chest, his hands, and he was stroking my cheeks, my nose, my eyes. He fell asleep and never woke up," Jelani said in a telephone interview from Dakar.

"I was his shadow, he was my shadow," said Jelani, who with her husband, Ahmed, 59 have two other healthy boys, Osman, 11, and Habib, 7. "He was a sweetheart. He was a wonderful soul."

Read the rest at the Courier Post.

Strawberry ice cream - gfcf, soy and rice free

This gfcf ice cream is based on the original recipe for ice cream, using coconut milk, which you'll find in the recipes section of this blog. Again, very easy. And, this time I bought lite coconut milk, which has less fat.

Ingredients:

2 x 14 oz cans lite coconut milk (I bought organic)
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup pureed strawberry

I bought a pound of strawberries and pureed them in the blender until smooth. I mixed all of the other ingredients in a bowl, whisked together for a minute, and then poured it into an ice cream machine. I use a Rival machine. I know you can make this without the machine and use a blender. I added 1 cup of the strawberry to the recipe.