MySpace a place for friends

http://doreen.mkbmemorial.com/NF/
http://patientsafetyasap.ning.com/profile/doreen

You'll probably never meet anyone else quite like me: I am alone on this planet, not by choice, but by fate and circumstance. In the "real world," I am a member of two families, but "belong" to neither my adoptive family nor my birth family. It's more than just the old "nature vs. nurture" debate, things have been said that make me feel different and alienated and somewhat inferior. I have no close family, my parents are dead, I have no kids, and very few friends. I'm a social misfit and very used to hearing people whisper to each other: "I can't put my finger on it, but there's just something about her I don't like." Maybe because they fear the life I lead and don't know how they would cope if they were in my shoes. I pretty much have no life, except online. The Internet is the only place that I feel I belong, at least a little. I feel very honored that some kind and gracious souls allow me to maintain their official websites. They are talented people, who lead wonderful lives, and through whom I vicariously find some normalcy and happiness. I'd like to thank them for keeping me sane. With that said, let's move on to other things.

Old friends. Former classmates. Folks with kind hearts. Creative people: actors, artists, writers, musicians. Locals who like to go play at theme parks. Fellow survivors of NF. Fellow sufferers of LE. Fellow Kiddle Kollectors & Kreators, toy collectors and eBayers. Maybe even YOU.

Help me earn $ via performance payments when my articles are viewed:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/14196/doreen_mulman.html

View Stormy's Slideshow

Rest in Peace, Sunny Bunny

Pet me. Give me Whiskas Temptations cat treats. Resistance is futile.

View Gracie's Slideshow

Gracie is Sunny's sister. She's about 10 months younger. They loved each other dearly and were a joy to watch play. Gracie doesn't understand where Sunny's gone and still looks for her. So, I got Gracie a new friend or two ...

After Sunny passed away, I really wasn't sure if we'd bring another kitten into the house. Well, I didn't get one. I got two! I adopted Trixie (above), who looks like Gracie's clone and Nora adopted Harley (below). Both of them had a lot of health problems when we first got them in June 2008. I'm happy to say they're doing great now. Their rescue was sponsored by Randy Jackson, Morris the cat and Li'l Mo, the first of one million kittens adopted. You can read about 9 Lives Million Cat Rescue here. If you live in So Cal, please rescue a pet from Los Angeles Animal Services today.

Doreen and Nora Kick Back: If you've ever been to Solvang, you know you do a lot of walking there! Luckily, we found a few places to sit and just enjoy the sights, which is the theme of my composite postcard. If you ever go there, look for the ostrich farms along the way, they're trippy! Photos taken: 01/04/2006.

I'm pretty sure the photo of me is from Halloween 1965: Costumes were different back in the day, not many TV or movie tie-ins yet. My mom loved leopard print and drew whiskers on my face, she didn't want it covered by a mask. With me is Terry, the greatest dog in the world. She was 15 and I was almost 4½. I inherited Terry from my brothers, Larry (05/15/1954-11/09/1961), who died before I was adopted in '62 and Alan, who was busy with college by '66.

Click Here to See My January 2006 Road Trip Slideshow

Nora and I Spliting Peas in Buellton: This pic is actually a composite of two photos! Nora took two photos of me and I took two of her. One in each position. Then I spliced the best two together (the sign actually does have that line down the center, btw). We were amazed at how well our idea worked, but not surprised that Nora wound up being the one swinging the mallot! Photos taken: 01/04/2006.

Did you know? I rent a room to a werewolf! Click the image for a larger version of this collage I created for my spooky sidekick, Nora, aka the Big Bad Wolf scaring guests in the log ride (Red Moon Massacre) at Knott's Scary Farm. If you want to see her in action, drop by my spoooky house next Halloween for a fright!

Farewell to Movieland Wax Museum: Here I am at MWM doing what I do best: acting like a goof! Nora, Joe and I had a blast in the Chamber of Horrors! This awesome forty-three year old Buena Park attraction closed its doors forever on October 31, 2005. MWM will definitely be missed! Photos taken: 10/26/2005.

When I was ill with NF in Feb. 2004, I was given a four percent chance of survival. Dino Andrade held my hand for hours while I was in the ICU. You can call me crazy if you want to, but I think Dino's "Red Haired Angel" (aka Mary Kay Bergman) wouldn't let me leave here just yet. There's little other explanation, given how far gone I was (end stage organ failure). It's a miracle that I didn't lose my entire arm, too. Thank you, Dino! Love you! Many thanks also go to Nora for spending every day of the entire six weeks I was hospitalized with me. Not very many people would do that!

Some guy once wrote to me to tell me my favorite avatar (formerly seen as my default pic) is "silly." To me, it's "symbolic," or "inspiring." I was looking for graphics and found a cgi ballerina that made me cringe. Its right arm had an uncanny resemblance to mine. The dark line where my incision scars begin and the deep, dark armpit, similar to my amputated one. Even the glove resembles my former wound bandages and current compression bandages. I put my head on the cg body to help feel better about my arm and to inspire other Necrotizing Fasciitis survivors to feel better about their scars. I'd like to emphasize that I see us as "survivors" and not as "victims!" The aftermath of Necrotizing Fasciitis is very stressful emotionally. You're happy to be alive, but may also have to spend the rest of your life with scars, deformity, loss of mobility or range of motion, extensive nerve damage, an impaired immune system, Lymphedema, chronic pain and all sorts of other conditions. I got it all and then some. The hardest part is explaining what happened to me. I'd like to be looked at as "normal," but I can't hide my scars. When I made the image seen above, I was depressed. It's my head again and I'm wearing an old paper doll tutu. My good arm is supporting my bad arm and the wings denote the seriousness of my illness: "This could've been me, if the NF had won." I've shared my story online because deadly bacteria can infect anyone at any time: during a routine medical procedure, at your gym or anywhere in your community. I wouldn't wish NF on my worst enemy (if I had one). I hope my efforts will spare someone else from suffering. -Doreen Mulman

WHAT IS NECROTIZING FASCIITIS?

Necrotizing Fasciitis is a soft tissue infection that causes necrosis (death) of subcutaneous tissue and fascia. Management consists of early diagnosis, broad-spectrum antibiotic coverage, aggressive surgical debridement, wound closure (including painful skin grafts), and intensive supportive care. Mortality estimates reported in medical literature have ranged from 20 to 75%.

MRSA & NECROTIZING FASCIITIS SURVIVORS UNITE!
NF Survivors, People Coping with MRSA and Other Resources:

Updated 04/07/09: NF/MRSA survivors on MySpace include: Veronica (MRSA/NF Survivor), Bayou Lena (MRSA Warrior) who is currently in isolation with MRSA in her bloodstream and left lung. She is 29 years old. Samantha[2] (NF and MRSA Survivor), whose illness started as just a pimple on her thigh, Pam[2], whose grandmother has been coping with MRSA and Donnie (NF/MRSA Survivor) who lost both of his big toes and part of his right foot to NF/MRSA in 2004. Donnie has had several bouts with MRSA since then. In 2007, his daughter also had a staph infection, which was originally diagnosed as eczema. Other miraculous survival stories include cajun queen (NF survivor), who like my good friend, Nicole (NF survivor), contracted flesh eating bacteria after having a C-section and Kim (NF survivor), whose compelling story I have published on my NF site's "Letters Page." A truely amazing double-survival story, RIST (NF survivor), contracted NF while pregnant! Her baby boy was delivered while she was in a medically-induced coma. I'm happy to report that both mother and miracle baby survived! Of course, every survival story is unique and there's more experiences to be told by: Alicia The Warrior (NF and MRSA survivor), Chris (NF survivor), Terri (whose son survived NF), Camille (whose husband survived NF), sarah (NF survivor), c (whose husband survived NF), Marla[1] (NF survivor who founded the Yahoo NF Group), Craig (NF survivor), Pam[1] (NF survivor), Richard (NF survivor), SeaStormm (NF survivor), Team Adamantine (NF survivor), P-Lew 3:16 (NF survivor) and T.S. Bolton (NF survivor and cofounder of the Yahoo NF Group). R.I.P. Karlene (Necrotizing Fasciitis Survivor) is maintained by her daughter since Karlene's sudden passing on 8/22/2007, Samantha[1] (NF survivor) who contracted the disease in Dec. 2003, at the tender age of 11 and ANGEL who has been coping with MRSA for the past year. Then there's Joe, whose sister has been coping with MRSA since Summer 2007. He recently started a Germophobe blog here at MySpace. There's also another lady named Marla[2] who has a very informative blog and profile page you should check out. Please feel free to email me or my business partner Big Bad Wolf (Nora) as she is also very knowledgeable on the topics of NF and MRSA (she was my caretaker during my NF bout and is an MRSA survivor herself). She would be more than happy to talk to you. Lastly, Dirty Hospitals, MRSA Awareness, MRSA Superbug, BE AWARE *MRSA* and Amend The Cap are very important pages for everyone to check out, not just for those of us whose lives have been forever affected by community- or hospital- acquired infections. -Doreen

Feel free to check out my friend catagories: MRSA Survivors, NF Survivors (or Family Members) and LE Buddies (Fellow Sufferers of Lymphedema). If you should have been added, but I missed you, please let me know. Thanks.

YOU CAN HELP RAISE AWARENESS:

My friend and fellow NF survivor, Alicia Cole, has created a social network to go hand-in-hand with her charitable organization, Patient Safety ASAP. I personally feel that it is every person's responsibility to be armed with the previously unspoken knowledge necessary to protect themselves during a hospital stay. We have the knowledge and we want to share it with you, before you find yourself or a loved one in the hospital.

Visit My Page at Patient Safety

Please visit Alicia's informative sites at: patientsafetyasap.org and patientsafetyasap.ning.com. We can put an end to hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), such as MRSA, VRE and C. Diff. (hospital superbugs) and clean up our dirty hospitals! Hospitals need reliable staff, not staph!!!