Non-sick Sick Day

We're home on a non-sick sick day. We had dr appointments today. We arrived at the hospital this morning at about 7:15. They lost the prescription/referral for the ultrasounds. It was particularly annoying b/c they refused to even give me an appointment, without the script. The doc faxed it directly to them, and they booked the appointment for today at 8:00 and 9:00. Well, because they couldn't find it in the file, we had to wait til 8:00 for the pediatrician office to open, to call them and have them fax it again.

So, everything ran late. We didn't get home til around noon, which is just too late to take T to school, since she hasn't eaten anything. The school is done with lunch and going down for a nap around noon. Therefore, we're home.

T behaved beautifully for the exam. They rubbed gel all over her tummy and back, and tickled her with the wand. T basically giggled throughout the whole thing. Results later today or tomorrow.

Meanwhile, we have gymnasitcs today and its FREEZING here in the old swamp. It didn't even get into the 70's yesterday and today, and was down in the 40's and 50's last night. I actually have my a/c running on the heat cycle. Brrrr.

UPDATE: Coincidentally, this was reported today... one of the reasons for our dr appt today:

SHIJIAZHUANG, China — A Chinese court condemned two men to death on Thursday and
gave a dairy boss life in prison in the first sentences handed down in the
tainted milk scandal, which ignited public anger and accusations of cover-ups.

The sentences and a recent announcement of a compensation plan for the victims
appear to be part of a government bid to put an end to the crisis.

In a reflection of the trial's sensitivity, dozens of police guarded the
courthouse and cordoned off the surrounding area with plastic barriers. Officers
told the victims' families to keep about 100 yards away.

Investigations showed that middlemen who sold milk to dairy companies were
watering down raw milk, then mixing in the banned industrial chemical melamine
in dairy products to make them appear to have higher protein content.

Infant formula tainted with melamine was blamed in the deaths of at least six
babies and the illnesses of nearly 300,000.

A court in the northern city of Shijiazhuang gave a life sentence to Tian
Wenhua, 66, the former general manager and chairwoman of Sanlu Group Co., the
dairy at the center of the crisis. She was the highest-ranking official charged
in the food safety scandal, which was exposed in September.

During her Dec. 31 trial, Tian admitted she had known of problems with her
company's products for months before informing authorities. Tian pleaded guilty
to charges of producing and selling fake or substandard dairy products.

Some of the relatives of the victims, who gathered outside the court in cold
weather in northern China, said Tian got off lightly.

"My granddaughter died. She (Tian) should die too, she should be shot," said
Zheng Shuzhen, of Henan province, who said her 1-year-old granddaughter died in
June after drinking Sanlu milk. "She has brought such harm to the public, to
children."

The court sentenced Zhang Yujun, 40, to death for running a workshop that
produced a melamine-tainted powder branded as protein enriching — which was
added to milk apparently to fool quality tests, said spokesman Wang Wei.
Melamine is rich in nitrogen and the protein content is measured by nitrogen.

Geng Jinping was also given the death penalty for producing and selling toxic
food. A third man, Gao Junjie, was given a suspended death sentence, which is
usually commuted to a life sentence.

Among the 21 sentences announced, two other life terms were handed down, while
the remaining were given jail terms of two to 15 years, the official Xinhua News
Agency said.

A lawyer advising victims' families said the death sentences and life terms were
"cruel and heavy."

"It was a problem of the system, but they were brought to court as scapegoats,"
said Li Fangping. "No government officials were charged for failing to fulfill
their inspection responsibility."

Tian was also fined $2.92 million while Sanlu, which has been declared bankrupt,
was fined $7.3 million.

Zhao Lianhai, who has set up a Web site to help organize parents whose children
were sickened, said he and other parents plan to travel to Beijing on Friday to
petition the Ministry of Health. Zhao and the others say an official
compensation plan was put together without their input and does not offer enough
long-term help.

Sanlu, along with the other 21 dairy companies involved in the scandal, have
proposed a $160 million compensation plan. More than 200 families have filed
suit demanding higher compensation and long-term treatment for their babies.

Normally used to make plastics and fertilizer, melamine can cause kidney stones
and kidney failure when ingested in large amounts. The discovery of melamine in
dairy exports such as chocolate and yogurt triggered a slew of product recalls
overseas.

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