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Opinion
I'm Savanah Vargo. I'm 22 years old and I have lived in Lake County all of my life.
Just recently I was flown out on CalStar for premature labor at 34 weeks and four days with high risks. It started at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake Tuesday night and the nurses and doctors tried to stop the contractions but it didn't work.
On Wednesday morning UCSF was contacted and they asked me to be flown out immediately which is where CalStar came in.
I was terrified but the CalStar staff did everything they could to reassure me that everything was all right. On top of that, while I was in the helicopter I was able to take a few snapshots with my phone and one of the staff members actually took a photo of me and one of out the window.
It took 43 minutes to arrive in San Francisco. I was transported by ambulance to UCSF and upon arrival I was told I was having my baby and they weren't going to try and stop it.
Part of the reason I was going into premature labor was because I was born with the RH factor. Basically, I have a negative blood type and my baby has a positive one, so my body developed antibodies that would attack the baby's blood cells because to my antibodies the baby was a foreign object.
I also was being monitored for a disease called preeclampsia, which has several different types of symptoms like high blood pressure or protein in the urine or abdominal pain and so forth, but the only way to cure preeclampsia is delivery of the baby.
Luckily i didn't develop preeclampsia fully but it is a disease that not many people are aware of and it affects more than you think it would.
I ended up giving birth on Thursday to a beautiful baby girl and we have been in the hospital ever since because she has a high bilirubin count and requires photo therapy and has to be monitored for feedings and weight gain.
The staff at the hospital allowed us to stay in an isolation room until the great people at Ronald MacDonald house had an opening for us, which is where we are currently staying.
I just really want to thank the CalStar staff and the staff at St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake who tried their best and the amazing staff at UCSF and the Ronald MacDonald house.
I also want to thank the people who were able to gather donations and supplies for premature babies to help my husband, Nick, and I stay here in San Francisco with our baby, Peyton.
Some of these great people are the staff and owner Gary Muench of North Coast Supportability, who gathered donations and all kinds of supplies. You guys are amazing!
Thank you also to the staff at Lake County Special Districts and the Riley family who went above and beyond the call of duty to help support and keep us in San Francisco and take care of our house and animals while we are away.
Also, thanks to the Benitez, Kraft, Kerns, Cose, Mullings and many other families that helped out with everything, and Chris Bowman of Blue Horse Shoe Tattoo in Virginia.
Without you guys I don't know how we would have done it! I cannot begin to thank you guys enough!
Savanah Vargo lives in Clearlake, Calif.
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- Written by: Savanah Vargo
I recently joined Hospice Services of Lake County as the new volunteer coordinator.
I am excited to be able to offer my talents and enthusiasm to the community in this role and to further my experiences of the good works of our local hospice.
Volunteers for the patient-family support and bereavement programs are eagerly needed.
Anyone who has thought of offering her or his time and talents to people in need can attend a short series of trainings that Hospice is teaching later this month.
This will be my first orientation and training and I like to get new ideas from new volunteers as to how we can better serve our community.
Anyone may contact me to discuss or share ideas at 707-263-6270, Extension 136.
Hedy Montoya is volunteer coordinator with Hospice Services of Lake County, based in Lakeport, Calif.
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- Written by: Hedy Montoya
During my short term as the chair of the Lake County Democratic Club, I thought that bringing people together, giving them informed information on candidates and issues was what we stood for.
I had to go over my vice chair’s head (this position assigns speakers) to bring in speakers who would speak on yes on Measure N and the rest of the candidates for the May meeting.
I thought that this was the Democratic thing to do, give the members and the public the opportunity to hear the pro and cons. I guess I was wrong.
Becky Curry, the Lake County Democratic Central Committee chair, held a meeting on April 3. The members and the public were given notice that a vote for candidates and issues would be held. A no endorsement on No for Measure N passed.
The agenda for the Lake County Democratic Club April 12 meeting was sent out. No notice of a vote was included in this agenda nor did the newspaper insert of the meeting mention a vote taking place. The reason for not scheduling a vote at this meeting was that not all the candidates or all sides of the issues had yet been heard.
At the April 12 meeting of the Lake County Democratic Club, Becky Curry came prepared with the by-laws, membership forms, voter registration forms and an up-to-date roster (since recently several new members joined). New members also joined that day.
During the meeting, a motion was made for an emergency amendment to the agenda to allow for a vote on candidates and issues to be held; of course, it passed.
Subsequently, a vote was held for No on Measure N. The vote passed.
This is what happens when the deck is stacked. As a result, 90 members who were not notified in advance that a vote was to be held were not given the opportunity to vote or give their input.
I feel that this action was a push to support no on Measure N, since it failed at the Lake County Democratic Central Committee meeting. I feel these actions do not represent democracy.
I have resigned from the Lake County Democratic Club and the Lake County Democratic Central Committee effective April 12, 2014.
I want to thank all the good people of Lake County for their past support. I wish the few long-term members who are left in the club the best of luck.
Johnnie Flato lives in Lake County, Calif.
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- Written by: Johnnie Flato
An open letter to all,
I wish to thank each and every one of you for the support you have demonstrated and offered to me.
The outpouring of compassion and caring that I have received is almost overwhelming and has done much to reinstate my core belief in the basic goodness of humanity.
I have received messages, emails and letters from people around the world expressing their condolences at the loss of my husband and best friend, David.
They also expressed their outrage at my home having been burglarized while I followed the ambulance to the hospital when David died.
I believe that this public expression of outrage was a key element in giving the courage necessary for those who knew anything to speak with the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, which then enabled the detectives and officers to make the arrests of two lost souls suspected of being the burglars.
For this, I am eternally grateful. Hopefully, it will also lead to the return of the things removed from my home.
It saddens me that there are people who for whatever reason have reached a point in their lives where they feel it necessary to rob and hurt someone else. How horrible it must feel to be that desperate.
As hatred hurts only the person doing the hating, I have chosen to forgive those involved. This doesn’t mean that I think they should go unpunished, it just means that forgiving them is easier than the burden of my having to carry the poison that is hatred.
It also saddens me that the same people who have shown such compassion for me cannot find it in their hearts to show some compassion to the people who must have been so desperate that they were capable of the despicable act of robbing from the dead.
Having not lived their life, I am unable to comprehend what could have brought the suspects to such a low point in their lives, that committing such an act seemed a reasonable option for them.
It is also my wish that some compassion could be spared for the families of these two suspects. Their hearts must be breaking. I can’t imagine the pain and embarrassment they are going through. I hope they know that I wish them no ill will and do not hold them responsible.
I believe in the words of Ezekiel 18:20 “ … The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself.”
I am still trying to cope with facing the everyday challenges of finding my way in life without my love and best friend, David, at my side.
However, I do wish to again thank each and every one of you for all you have done in helping me to heal and in helping to bring these two suspects to justice.
It is my hope to be able to share the many blessings I have by paying it forward and helping others. I would love it if you all would join me in spreading the goodness of humanity and maybe together we can make it a better world.
Naomi Richmond lives in Lower Lake, Calif.
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- Written by: Naomi Richmond