Erin's Journals

I’m still feeling a glow from that weekend in Seattle and the most surprising element of it all: the empowerment that came from joining in a sea of pink hats and clever signs and taking to the streets of a city that wasn’t my own, but that welcomed Rob and me to take part in the Women’s March on Saturday. 
 
Maybe those are the most memorable events in our lives: the ones that pop up and surprise you. The comedy show we went to see on Sunday night was all we’d hoped for; Lewis Black was profound, profane and very, very funny. We did have more than a few minutes of “oh, no…” when there were not one, but two opening acts. We’d figured with Mr. Black taking the stage at 7, we’d be out by 9 at the latest and have plenty of time to get to the airport for our 10:45 pm boarding.
 
There was a huge long intermission after the second warmup and then the TV comic, playwright and actor (you may have seen him in Big Bang Theory, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, among numerous other appearances) finally took the stage. As soon as he took his bows at around 9:30, we dashed up the dark aisle to get out and jog the four blocks to our hotel where we retrieved our bags and hopped into a cab.
 
But that was only the beginning of yet another adventure, as a trollish older man drove us in his well-worn-out yellow cab the twenty minutes to SeaTac. As the car’s hot smell began to rise and I wondered if we’d be stranded at the roadside, its driver began telling us about all of the drugs at the top of the tech industry (he says he’d driven a Google exec who was obviously on “illicit drugs,” how hemp oil hooked people and then got them on cocaine and meth, how Supreme Court Judge Scalia’s death should have been looked into more closely by the Republicans, how Germany wants to take over the world while the US wants to be like Denmark….
 
I engaged in the conversation, trying to point out other sides to some of the ideas he was espousing, but I knew there was no point. This guy was getting his “facts” from Fox News or Alex Jones and Info Wars (or worse) and there wasn’t going to be any real discussion here.
 
Sometimes just reading the comments on political articles, I get the feeling there are a lot of people out there like this man – and not just in the US, either – and the internet just feeds their strange ideas and theories. I mean, when a commentator comes on Fox saying that the massacre in Las Vegas might have Isis ties – and you know people (including the American president) treat what’s on that station as gospel – how do you even fight that? 
 
Instead, you raise your voice and march. Did the hundreds of similar demonstrations around the world on Saturday and Sunday make any difference? I know change won’t come today or tomorrow, but we’re building yet another generation of strong young women and men who know that things need to change and that the status quo isn’t good enough. I overheard a little girl holding her daddy’s hand as her mother held a toddler in her arms. As they walked behind me, the girl asked her dad, “Why is everyone wearing pink?” 
 
I struggled to hear his answer and was ultimately unable. But here’s the short version of what I would have told Lauren: it’s because there are things that are happening to girls and women that are unfair here and around the world. And because pink is a colour that’s long been associated with girls, they’re wearing it to show that they’re all sisters and that they’re stronger together, helping each other.
 
That’s sure how it felt. Tomorrow: helping to heal what we miss about Toronto by taking in some theatre.
 

Last year, I felt as if I had truly missed out on something when I chose not to take part alongside 2,000 people in Victoria and millions around the world in a groundbreaking Women’s March. Tomorrow, there’s a good chance I’ll at least see one, as we take a trip south of the border in search of laughter.
 
Rob and I were watching Late Night with Seth Meyers last week and one of our favourite comedians was on. If you’ve not heard of Lewis Black, he’s kind of a tough act to describe: fist shaking, finger pointing and voice raised, he’s the personification of “mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.” We first became fans when he’d appear on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in a segment called Back in Black. If you have kids and saw the wonderful movie Inside Out, Lewis Black was the voice of the emotion anger.
 
Luckily, because we caught him on Meyers’ show, we learned that Black is bringing his “The Rant is Due” act to Seattle this weekend. We decided “why not?” and managed to buy tickets for Sunday. So we’ll fly out today after the show, stay two nights and fly home after the performance. Just as we did in Chicago a few years back, we’ll take our carry-on to the theatre, leave it with coat check and then hop a cab or even get on the train to the airport Sunday night. Fingers crossed!
 
I love that downtown train thing, especially the price: $2.50. When my pal Lisa and I went to Seattle last spring, we flew to SeaTac, caught the train and then walked to our hotel. So civilized! I’ve been back to Seattle since to enjoy that Blue Jays series, but we were driving then. This will be better by far. And Rob and I will spend the weekend exploring Seattle on foot and maybe even taking part in that march. It would be a first in my lifetime, but if not now, when? 
 
There’s a very good chance that although there will be a journal here Monday, there won’t be an audio version. It won’t be because I’ll have blown out my voice yelling or chanting or even cheering for Mr. Black, but simply because we’ll be getting home in the wee hours of Monday and I won’t have a chance to record one. I know Caru, the audio journal sponsor, will understand and hope you will, too.
 
In the meantime, have a great weekend – I know we will – and I’ll have lots of stories (good ones, I hope) and photos to share with you next week. Thank you for coming by.
 

Once again I’m astounded at the depth and heart of the comments you posted on my Facebook page about the drug domperidone. Thank you for the shares and for helping to spread the word. If one breast feeding mother is saved, it’ll be worth it.
 
My friend Nancy posted it on a local moms’ buy, sell and swap site and hopefully it will spread from there as well. Of course, where breast feeding is concerned, there are some very loud and militant voices and I’m not entering that conversation. Suffice it to say that I’m glad there’s a movement called “Fed is Best.” As always, it’s good to step back and take a look at both sides.
 
I’m lightening things up for you today (and for me) to thoughts of light and beauty. I noticed coming home from a lovely evening out with Nancy and her husband how much I miss Christmas lights. I mean, in the depths of winter, January and February, when are we more in need of some sparkle and shine? Of course, there are those dreaded hydro bills to consider and that’s a good reason to shut them down and take them down. And, of course, you don’t want to be shamed by your neighbours, heaven forfend!
 
While the lights are gone from our neighbourhood high up in the Saanich Peninsula, some days when Rob and I walk Molly, we spot Christmas trees through people’s windows. And you kow what? I think that’s just lovely. If you have gone to all of the trouble to put up a tree, why not enjoy it as long as you want? Who can tell you otherwise?
 
You will laugh at this, but in 2013, our tree didn’t come down until February! It was a combination of a lot of things: we had the most glorious 14-foot tree cut fresh and delivered to our lake home, Rob had rigged an amazing and effective watering system and we were away for part of January on a listener trip. 
 

 
By the time we took it down and pitched it off the deck to the patio below, there was a shower of needles everywhere – inside the house and out – but we didn’t regret for one minute leaving up that glorious Christmas tree. Here’s to making the good times last. They’re too long in coming and too soon in passing, so the trick is always to know when it’s good and savour it, right? 
 

I’m going to start today with sincere thanks for the kind words on Facebook, Twitter and in my inbox in response to yesterday’s journal. I was touched by every note and I’m grateful that my message seemed to resonate with so many readers and listeners to this journal.
 
Now here’s a message I need you to spread for me. 
 
When I was writing my book (now in the hands of the publisher and editor, as we spend a year preparing it for release) I spoke with some amazing women, all bereaved mothers like myself. One of them had turned the senselessness of her son’s death into action, to raise awareness about the side effects of prescription drugs – especially those that are handed out carelessly as samples, without proper warnings – and her actions made me ask myself what we are doing to spare more families the despair that losing our child has caused us. Was there anything we could do?
 
Here’s the thing: the coroner was unable to link Lauren’s death definitively to a drug she was taking (as prescribed) to help increase her breast milk production. But he, and another noted medical expert and former coroner, concurred: the drug was strongly suspected and impossible to rule out.
 
That drug is taken by 1 in 5 nursing mothers here in BC and I decided to try to speak out a little more loudly – albeit carefully (big drug companies have deep pockets, after all) – after I read a seemingly well-meaning article in Today’s Parent. The subject was how to boost your breast milk production if you’re having difficulty (as so many moms – myself included – do and did). One of the helpful hints was taking a drug called domperidone. 
 
My blood ran cold as I read those words.
 
Because I am part of the Rogers family and had received the article in a link to stories I might want to talk about, I reached out to the editor-in-chief, asking her please to take a closer look at this drug. This past week, Today’s Parent did just that in an article I am begging you to pass on to anyone in your life who might have a little one at her breast and who is experiencing frustration. It sheds some light on the drug and why it’s not prescribed in all countries and also why it is so highly recommended by a man often described as Canada’s breast feeding guru, Dr. Jack Newman, chief pediatrician of the International Breast Feeding Centre.
 
In writing our book, we reached out to Dr. Newman with our concerns and questions. He kindly offered his condolences, but is firm in his belief that there is no way to link definitively Lauren’s death with the drug that he recommends (when other options like proper latching and natural supplements have failed).
 
He and Rob had a cordial email exchange in which we made a little headway: we were able at least to have the information on an outdated web page changed to include latest warnings from Health Canada and eliminate an endorsement which was no longer valid. However, Dr. Newman says that he cannot understand the FDA warning and ban in the United States and suggests that it may have more to do with gastro-intestinal issues, for which it is also prescribed.
 
The woman who spoke to Today’s Parent about her chest pain, who then discovered she had a heart arrhythmia, rang true with us. We suspect Lauren had her daddy’s extremely slow heart beat (resting rate around 45 bpm) but she was never tested (to out knowledge) before being prescribed domperidone. It’s all we’re asking: that mothers and their doctors take that step to make sure the drug they’re being prescribed is safe for them. I don’t think that’s a lot to ask.
 
Please read this article. It’s so important and could save a life…and a family. And thank you.