"A shortage of liquid helium, a nonrenewable element that has been dwindling in supply, is worrying physicians because MRI machines require the ultra-cold material for its magnets, NBC News reported Oct. 22.
"Four out of 5 U.S. helium suppliers are rationing their product and prioritizing it for the healthcare industry.
"Liquid helium, the coldest element on Earth, is invaluable for hospitals that use MRI scans to detect cancer, spinal cord injuries and liver diseases. MRIs run on magnetic fields and radio waves, and liquid helium is necessary to keep the magnetic current at an extremely cold temperature.
"There's no alternative. Without helium, MRIs would have to shut down."
*****
My brother was sawing paver stones for a new driveway a couple of weeks ago when his hand brushed up against a piece of stone and scratched open the surface of one of his knuckles. It was no big deal at all and hardly any blood was produced.
He thought nothing of it and yet the wound seeped out a tiny bit of blood each day afterward and got sore. He put Neosporin on it but it didn't heal up. When the sore feeling started creeping up his arm, accompanied by redness, he knew something was really wrong.
To make a long story short, he was hospitalized twice for a 48-hour period to administer an IV of antibiotics. It turns out he had a rare infection that Duke University has only documented 30 cases of in the last 13 years. It comes from simple old-fashioned dirt!
If he had not been treated in a timely manner with the appropriate antibiotics, he would have been in danger of losing his arm and worse yet, dying from it. The real kicker is the antibiotic pill he is currently on for the next 14 days (taken twice a day, meaning 28 pills) cost, get this, $5,000.
I say all this to say, you never know when something big will hit you and everything in your world can change on a dime. My brother never knew what it was like to sit in an emergency room, let alone be hospitalized. His infection was diagnosed only after tests were taken and was so rare that doctors visited his hospital room just to get a look at it.
The only reason I thought to write this up is because I just learned today from a news site that the FDA has announced a shortage of Amoxicillin!
As someone who works in the grocery business, I can tell you firsthand that shortages of all kinds are here and will only get worse.
(new post tomorrow)
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