Susie Collins | The Canary Report

Archive for 'Susie Collins'

Video: MCS Can Be Lonely

Posted on Sep 01, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

A bit of whimsy exploring the very sad fact that so many people with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity live an isolated life away from family and friends.

Exposures to perfumes, colognes and other chemical fragrances can cause people living with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities debilitating migraines, pain, vertigo, memory loss, permanent brain damage and worsening of condition with each reaction. Synthetic fragrances often create a barrier between those with MCS and their loved ones, causing them to feel isolated alone.

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Tags: MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Video

A toxic emissions spill at a BP refinery in Texas makes area residents ill; a $10 billion class-action lawsuit is filed

Posted on Aug 30, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Susie Collins

The New York Times reports while the world was focused on the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, a BP refinery in Texas released huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the air that went unnoticed by residents until many saw their children come down with respiratory problems.

While we were busy paying attention to the health affects of the BP oil well blow out in the Gulf, a community in Texas was dealing with the aftermath of a BP refinery spewing out huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the air during an accident.

The New York Times reports With Neighbors Unaware, Toxic Spill at a BP Plant.

For 40 days in April-May, 538,000 pounds of toxic chemicals poured out of the refinery following an equipment failure. Environmentalists say the release of toxic gases ranked as one of the largest in the state’s history. Most households in one area close to the spill had at least one family member fall ill during the month of the accident, including many children. Residents are so angry, they’ve filed a $10 billion class-action lawsuit against BP.

[The] final report said the release of chemicals had gone on for 959 hours, until May 16. Among other pollutants, the plant had released 17,000 pounds of benzene; 37,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, which can cause respiratory problems; and 186,000 pounds of carbon monoxide. Another 262,000 pounds of various volatile organic compounds also escaped.

“The state’s investigation shows that BP’s failure to properly maintain its equipment caused the malfunction and could have been prevented,” the attorney general’s office said in a statement.

Of interest to Canary Report readers is that current research shows both carbon monoxide and volatile organic compounds or VOCs can initiate Multiple Chemical Sensitivity in susceptible individuals. (The seven main classes of chemicals that can initiate cases of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity include three classes of pesticides: organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides, the organochlorine pesticides and the pyrethroid pesticides. Other types of chemicals reported to initiate cases of MCS include organic compounds, mercury, hydrogen sulfide and carbon monoxide. See the peer-reviewed MCS research of biochemist Martin Pall for further information.)

How many new cases of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity have been initiated through the negligence of BP in these recent accidents in the Gulf and in Texas is anyone’s guess at this point.

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Tags: Air, Canary's Cry, Chemicals, Children's Health, Environment, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Pollution, Research, Toxic

Yellow Bird

Posted on Aug 27, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

“Yellow bird in the mine, I gave you my word you’d be fine.”

A sad but hopeful music video that speaks volumes to us canaries. It’s a very lucky canary who has someone in their life to pick them up out of the mine, wash them off, and fill their heart with love. xoxo

Music video animation by Kristine Thune, to the song “Yellow Bird” by Bess Rogers from her album, Travel Back EP.

Thanks, Julia!

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Tags: Art, Video

TEDTalk: Marine toxicologist Susan Shaw on the oil spill’s toxic trade-off

Posted on Aug 26, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Environment, Media/Videos, Susie Collins

Marine toxicologist Susan Shaw does a TEDTalk about the consequences of using oil dispersants during the BP oil well blow out.

Of special interest to Canary Report readers is Shaw’s point about the overarching problem of lax chemical regulation in the US.

Click here to learn more about TedTalks, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes.

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Tags: Chemicals, Pollution, Toxic, Video

Open tabs: August 25th

Posted on Aug 25, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Featured News, MCS, Susie Collins

Here are some websites and pages about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and related topics I’ve been reviewing this week.

Surgery at Christiana Care Center for Advanced Joint Replacement, Delaware. Would this room be safe for someone with Multiple Chemical Sensitivity?

At the Artists with MCS website, now inactive but full of good MCS info, I took another look at the hospital protocol guidelines for MCS patients.

Here is Dr. Grace Ziem’s Environmental Control Plan for Chemically Sensitive Patients. Excellent. Here’s Dr. Ziem’s website, I recommend you familiarize yourself with everything she has to say about chemical sensitivity. She’s worked closely with Martin Pall, PhD, on MCS research and therapy protocol.

I re-read a seminal document defining Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: A 1999 Consensus. Eleven years later it still holds up but I think it could use some revising given the leaps in MCS research over the last decade; for example, the physiological mechanisms of MCS are better understood now in the areas of how it impacts multiple organ systems and so forth. Certainly the document’s call for clinical research is still valid, specifically in the area of diagnostic testing.

Leader-Post reports that education is key to dealing with MCS.

I read on the US Centers for Disease Control website about the effectiveness of washing your hands in soap and water to control the spread of germs and disease. The CDC recommends that products other than plain soap and water, like sanitation wipes, should only be used when there is no soap and water available– this would not be the case in most workplaces, for example. Further, when there is no soap and water, a plain alcohol gel is recommended, not the heavily fragranced “antibacterial” products you see advertised all over as the panacea to spreading illness.

Canadians for A Safe Learning Environment offers a good document about Air Filters: Choosing Portable Equipment… Plus.

The Children’s National Health Center announces the 8th Annual Conference on Children’s Health & the Environment to be held Friday, September 24, 2010 at Hamilton Crowne Plaza, Washington DC.

Photo credit.

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Tags: MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Open tabs

The Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory is an excellent diagnostic tool for chemical sensitivity

Posted on Aug 20, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Susie Collins

The QEESI can help you with self-diagnosis or in working with your physician on a diagnosis of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

The Symptom Star graphic found in the Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory or QEESI, created by Dr. Claudia Miller.

Dr. Claudia Miller

If you are new to chemical sensitivity and wondering if you have Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, be sure to familiarize yourself with Dr. Claudia Miller’s Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory (QEESI), which is “the most widely used screening instrument for multiple chemical intolerance.”

Note that Miller often calls Multiple Chemical Sensitivity “Toxic Induced Loss of Tolerance” or TILT.

“Researchers and clinicians use the QEESI to document symptoms and intolerances in exposed indivudals [sic] and groups in whom TILT is suspected. Individuals find the QEESI helpful for self-assessment and screening,” Miller states on her website.

This document can help you with self-diagnosis or in working with your physician on a diagnosis of MCS.

Claudia Miller is a foremost physician, researcher and author on MCS, also known as TILT. She is co-author, along with Nicholas Ashford, of the book Chemical Exposures: Low Levels and High Stakes (1991, second edition 1998). You may have seen her name in the press recently, commenting on the emerging illnesses in the Gulf following the BP oil well blow out.

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Tags: MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

EPA to take action on chemicals used in dyes, flame retardants, and industrial detergents

Posted on Aug 19, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Government Regulation, Law, Susie Collins

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released action plans to address the potential health risks of benzidine dyes, hexabromocyclododecane and nonylphenol/nonylphenol ethoxylates. The efforts are to limit exposure and reduce harm to people.

8/18/10 WASHINGTON – As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released action plans today to address the potential health risks of benzidine dyes, hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) and nonylphenol (NP)/nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs). The chemicals are widely used in both consumer and industrial applications, including dyes, flame retardants, and industrial laundry detergents. The plans identify a range of actions the agency is considering under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

“The action plans announced today are examples of EPA’s renewed dedication to improve chemical safety to protect the health of the American people and the environment.” said Steve Owens, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “These action plans lay out concrete steps EPA intends to take to address the risks associated with chemicals commonly used in this country.”

Benzidine dyes are used in the production of consumer textiles, paints, printing inks, paper, and pharmaceuticals and may pose health problems, including cancer. HBCD is used as a flame retardant in expanded polystyrene foam in the building and construction industry, as well as in some consumer products. HBCD has been shown to be persistent and bioaccumulative in the environment and may pose potential reproductive, developmental, and neurological effects in people. NP/NPEs are used in many industrial applications and consumer products such as detergents, cleaners, agricultural and indoor pesticides, as well as food packaging. These chemicals have been detected in people.

The range of actions on these chemicals include adding HBCD and NP/NPE to EPA’s new Chemicals of Concern list, issuing significant new use rules for all three chemicals, and, for HBCD and benzidine dyes, imposing new reporting requirements on EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory and potentially banning or limiting the manufacture or use of the chemicals.

In addition to EPA’s efforts, the Textile Rental Services Association, which represents 98 percent of the industrial laundry facilities in the U.S., has committed to voluntarily phase out the use of NPEs in industrial liquid detergents by Dec. 31, 2013 and industrial powder detergents by the end of 2014.

“While EPA intends to address the potential risks associated with these chemicals,” Owens stated, “we are pleased that the industrial laundry industry has decided to not wait for regulatory action to be completed by the agency and is voluntarily taking steps now to phase out the use of NPEs.”

EPA first announced that it planned to develop the Chemicals of Concern list last December, which indicates that the chemicals may present an unreasonable risk of injury to health and the environment. This previously unused TSCA authority signals the agency’s commitment to fully use the tools currently available, while supporting legislative reform of TSCA.

Additional information: http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals.

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Tags: Chemicals, EPA, Law, Policy, Toxic

This is why justice is rare in court cases involving Multiple Chemical Sensitivity

Posted on Aug 13, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, Law, MCS, Susie Collins

In the 2008 case of O’Brien v Citizens Insurance Company of America, the court managed to silence Ms. Delora O’Brien’s argument about her Multiple Chemical Sensitivity before she even started, by prohibiting her from providing expert testimony at trial in support of her claims.

Justice is all too rare in court cases involving Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

In Oct. 2008, the Supreme Court in Suffolk County, NY., rendered a decision in a case where a woman sued her homeowner’s insurance company because of toxic remediation treatments to her home following a clothes dryer fire. The plaintiff claimed that the treatments, which included degreasers, furniture polish and window cleaners followed by an ozone treatment*, initiated her Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

In O’Brien v Citizens Insurance Company of America, the court managed to silence Ms. Delora O’Brien’s argument before she even started, by prohibiting her from providing expert testimony at trial in support of her claims of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. After listening to the Defendant’s argument discrediting MCS as an illness initiated by toxic chemical exposure, the court said, “There is nothing in the record that identifies a diagnostic test for MCS (IEI), nor are there any studies submitted which identify a mechanism or cause for MCS.” This conclusion was reached after the defendant, who refers to MCS as Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance or IEI, argued that there was no proof that MCS is a recognized illness due to the absence of “proof in the form of controlled studies, clinical data, medical literature, or peer review indicating the expert’s conclusions are generally accepted in the relevant scientific community.”

(By the way, always red flag any statement you see with Idiopathic Environmental Intolerance or IEI given as the name of MCS because it is designed to discredit MCS as a physiological illness.)

The court took a look at the Defendant’s argument and decided, “There is no evidence submitted to establish a causal relationship between any of the chemicals that are known to have been utilized during the remediation process at the O’Brien home and MCS (IEI). The Court concludes therefore that there is insufficient evidence to show general causation.” The final decision: Any opinions/conclusions on Multiple Chemical Sensitivity as an illness initiated by toxic chemicals must be omitted from the case.

Ms. O’Brien’s credibility was further compromised by the fact that the first doctor she visited after becoming ill with “headaches, fatigue and nausea,” diagnosed her as depressed and prescribed xanax and zoloft. Can you see where this is going?

Those of us with MCS know differently than the argument presented by the Defendant and the decision reached by the court. We know that current research, peer reviewed and published, clearly shows a causal relationship between exposure to a minimum of seven classes of toxic chemicals and the initiation of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity.

MCS researcher Martin Pall is at the forefront of this current research. His peer reviewed research is now published as chapter 92, “Multiple Chemical Sensitivity: Toxicological Questions and Mechanisms,” in the international reference manual General and Applied Toxicology, 3rd Edition (2009, John Wiley and Sons). “While the majority of this paper comes from my earlier publications on MCS,” says Pall, “it also contains several very important sections that are largely novel.” Here are three of his main points germane to our discussion about this court case:

1. There are seven classes of chemicals implicated in MCS and all seven of these can indirectly produce a common response in the body, increased NMDA activity. Furthermore, animal studies have shown that members of all seven of these classes of chemicals can have their toxic responses lowered by using an NMDA antagonist. This clearly demonstrates not only that they produce such increased NMDA activity but those increases play an important role in producing the toxic responses to these chemicals. Given that we previously had six types of evidence implicating excessive NMDA activity in MCS, we now have compelling evidence that this common response plays a key role in MCS.

2. The role of these chemicals acting as toxicants in MCS has been confirmed by four genetic studies, showing that genes that determine the rate of metabolism of these chemicals, influence susceptibility to MCS (only three were available when the review was written). These studies implicate six genes as determining such susceptibility, all of which have roles in the metabolism of chemicals otherwise implicated in initiating cases of MCS. It follows that the roles of chemicals in initiating cases of MCS is undeniable.

3. There have been a series of published studies reporting objectively measurable responses to low level chemical exposure among MCS cases that are distinct from any responses in normals. At least three of these should be practical specific biomarker tests that can be applied in clinical settings. All of these studies are consistent with the NO/ONOO- cycle mechanism as it is thought to play out in MCS and all provide, therefore, evidence supporting this mechanism. We have been in great need for such specific biomarker tests for MCS and these and other approaches to developing such tests must be further studied and may provide recognized specific biomarker tests in the near future, in my judgment.

I have heard argued on other MCS forums that the problem is the name of our illness, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Use that name in the courts, people argue, and you are immediately discredited. I disagree. I think no matter the name, we would still run up against this problem in the courts. Although I think a Plaintiff may have more success if he or she has other more easily measurable co-morbid illnesses along with the MCS; a physician and attorney may be able to build stronger medical evidence through those measurable illnesses than the MCS. But what about the people who only suffer the currently difficult to measure symptoms like “brain fog”? I say keep the name as it is found in most of the scientific literature, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, and back up the arguments with the peer reviewed research. When asthma was once though of as a psychological illness, did you hear people clamoring to change the name? No, you saw the research and the body of literature grow to the point that the illness could no longer be seen as psychosomatic.

Read the court’s decision and weep for Ms. O’Brien. But know that one day– I hope soon– Multiple Chemical Sensitivity will be added to the long list of illnesses that were once thought to be “idiopathic” such as asthma, autism, Parkinson’s disease, ulcers, multiple sclerosis, lupus, interstitial cystitis, migraine and ulcerative colitis, all of which have been claimed at one time to be generated by a psychological mechanism. How long it will take for the courts to catch up with the current body of literature clearly showing a causal relationship between toxic chemical exposure and Multiple Chemical Sensitivity is anyone’s guess. But I think we may see more of this debate in the news as the recent BP oil well blow out in the Gulf and the subsequent health issues play out in the courts.

*Read more more about the dangers of ozone treatments here.

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Tags: Home, Law, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Toxic

Hawaii governor declares July as Toxic Injury Awareness and Education Month

Posted on Jul 27, 2010 by Susie Collins in Blog, MCS, Susie Collins

Hawaii proclaims July as Toxic Injury and Education Month; Multiple Chemical Sensitivity activists plan sign-waving event at state capitol for July 28.

Hawaii state flag.

MCS America reports Hawaii Proclaimed July 2010 Toxic Injury Awareness and Education Month. The proclamation was signed by Governor Linda Lingle and Lieutenant Governor James R. “Duke” Aiona, Jr, on July 22.

Thanks to the hard work of Sue Quimby and help of several others, Hawaii proclaimed July Toxic Injury Awareness and Education Month!

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) is mentioned in the first line as being synonymous with Toxic Injury. This is the first time in 4 years anyone has been able to have a proclamation signed in Hawaii! Thank you Governor Lingle and Lieutenant Governor Aiona for addressing toxic injuries, such as MCS, in Hawaii!

A Hawaii Citizens Conference on toxics and MCS is planned for July 28th on the island of Oahu. There will be sign waving at the capitol building, plus speakers at Ala Moana park. Please join the festivities!

Students, Parents, Teachers – Please join us!

Let’s SIGN WAVE at the Hawaii State Capitol, Beretania Sidewalk

EVENT: Hawaii Citizens Conference

SUBJECT: Toxic Awareness And Education. Let’s Keep Hawaii Clean For All Generations!

DATE: Wednesday, July 28th, 10 am to 11 am

ACTIVITY: Picnic At Ala Moana Beach Park, Magic Island Starting At 11:30 Am, “Bring Your Own Bento/Plate Lunch.” Guest Speakers Are Scheduled – Q & A, Informational Flyers, And Community Service Certificates Will Be Handed Out.

SUPPORTED BY: Sierra Club, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, MCS Hawaii.

Contact: Sue at (808) 927-1019 for more information.

Thank you for your support!

Click here for full text of proclamation.

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Tags: MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Policy, Support

The aftermath of the fire in Ookala

Posted on Jul 20, 2010 by Susie Collins in Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

In the days following my neighbor’s house fire, I have discovered gems of protection and compassion from unexpected places.

The charred bamboo that protected my home from the heat and flames of my neighbor's house fire. That's my red roof in the background.

On Saturday, I blogged about my neighbor Dr. Tawn Keeny’s house burning down on Thursday. Since then, I’ve spent a lot of time processing what happened.

As I described in my post, while the tragic event unfolded before my eyes, several helpers and I were manning hoses on my fence line. We had a two-fold mission: keep the fire from encroaching my property on the ground where it was creeping along in the grass, and hose down my house itself as well as the foliage in my gardens that run along the fence line. I wrote about the tall bamboo that took most of the heat during the worst of the fire, even going up in flames at one point, which in turn incinerated the top of the 40-foot palm at right in the photo above.

That half hour of fighting the fire was definitely one of the more intense half hours of my life! Time got very contorted, although I believe only about 15-20 minutes went by before firefighters arrived and beat the flames back for good. I am extremely grateful for my helpers for all their hard work in protecting my home, and I’m also extremely grateful for the firefighters who brought the fire under control– they arrived just in time; I just don’t know how much more we could have done with our little hoses as the fire grew and grew.

Over the days following the fire, we watched as more of the bamboo leaves on the fence line turned brown and died. Our avocado tree is located a bit further up the fence line, above a wood pile that stubbornly burned long after the house fire was extinguished. That avo tree also showed more brown leaves each day. Here’s how it looks today looking up the hill toward the avocado tree:

Looking up the fence line with bamboo at right and my avocado tree at the far end.

The burned site in its totality is sobering, and it feels a bit like sacred ground. I took many photos this morning of the burned home itself, but I don’t feel comfortable publishing them since it’s not my property. The home is owned by my friend and family physician Dr. Tawn Keeney, and I know this tragedy has affected him deeply. I don’t want to add to that sorrow.

I am feeling very grateful for these beautiful bamboos. The fire inspector told us that he rarely sees adjacent homes catch fire when there is foliage between the houses. I can’t even describe to you how hot the fire was. The wood pile you see above spontaneously erupted in flames simply from the heat coming from the flames originating in the house. That entire space you see there above was a wall of fire at least 25 feet high and reaching all the way from the burning house at left to the hedge at right. Trees located much farther away from the fire up in the back were fried. So I know that were it not for this thick bamboo hedge, the gardens closest to my home would have been overwhelmed with heat, and who knows what would have happened to my house. There were two propane tanks against the house less than 30 feet from this hedge.

But look at the inside gardens on my side of the bamboos:

My secret garden would have been fried, and possibly my house, were it not for this magnificent bamboo and my helpers who kept everything wet during the fire.

We called the nursery where we bought the bamboo, Quindembo, to find out if they thought the fire damage was fatal. Quindembo owners Susan Ruskin and Peter Berg thought not and told us to look at the base to find the new shoots. Sure enough, there at the base are the new shoots already emerging– how’s that for timing? And we learned something else very interesting. Because bamboo stems are full of water, Susan and Peter said they don’t catch fire. So while the leaves of the tall blow pipe bamboo ignited in a roaring flame, the stems did not catch like a tree probably would have under that intense heat. Those bamboos shielded my gardens and my home from that wall of fire. They were the guardians of Susie’s Secret Garden.

In the days following the fire, I also have discovered gems of compassion from unexpected places. Because of my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, I started to get sick from the fumes of the charred rubble from the burned house. It rained Saturday night and Sunday morning, but when the sun hit the rubble on Sunday afternoon, the evaporation released something from the ash that hit me like diesel fumes. It was as if a diesel truck was idling outside the window. I started feeling nauseous, dizzy, fatigued, and my eyes became irritated. When the good doctor found out, he contacted the demolition company that’s scheduled to raze and haul away the rubble, telling them that I have a medical condition and asking if they could move up the date of the job because I was getting ill from the fumes of the ash. The owner of the company said yes, he could rearrange their schedule and come sooner, starting tomorrow morning. How incredible is that?

I think this extraordinary act shows so much about who Dr. Keeney is. He’s my family physician as well as a friend and neighbor, and in his time of loss, he cared enough to pick up the phone to see if the date of demolition could be moved up because I was becoming ill. It also says a lot about the company owner, Louis Nobriga of D & D Trucking, who was flexible and responsive to a client’s request. It also shows the kind of magic that can happen when you live in a small, tight-knit community.

I’ll be vacating my home during the demolition and removal of debris. We know that dust control will be implemented, and we’ll take measures to seal up the house just in case some particulate matter becomes airborne.

Meanwhile, Dr. Keeney is already making plans for building a new home, a bit further up the hill where he will have a spectacular view of the ocean.

Susie's Secret Garden, my sanctuary.

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Tags: Air, Chemicals, Environment, Garden, Home, MCS, Multiple Chemical Sensitivity, Toxic

Fire in Ookala!

Posted on Jul 17, 2010 by Susie Collins in Susie Collins, Susie's Secret Garden

My neighbor’s house caught fire Thursday evening, shooting flames about 20-30 feet high, reaching out in the breeze in the direction of my home less than 40 feet away. Talk about an adrenaline rush.

Before firefighters arrived, flames engulfed this whole area, shooting up about 20-30 feet, sending some of the foliage in my gardens up in flames.

Just beyond my fence, the neighbor's house is engulfed in flames.

Our neighbor’s house burned down Thursday evening. While struggling in real time to comprehend the tragedy of my dear neighbor’s loss, I spent about a half-hour in thick smoke, spraying down my own house and surrounding foliage so it wouldn’t catch fire. My husband was in Hilo some 45 minutes away. But four people came by to help, two of them I didn’t even know– they were driving by and stopped to see if they could help. Good Samaritans!

Smoke going up into the back gardens. Later, when things were under control, I worried about my chickens, rushed up into the back and found them huddled together in a fairly safe place and just fine!

At one point, there was a wall of 30-foot flames about 20 feet from my house, and four of us worked the hoses until the fire department arrived. The smoke was really thick. My friend Cathy, who came to help, knows about my Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and kept encouraging me to leave the area. I had to make a decision in real time: worry about breathing toxic smoke or protect my house. I opted for protecting my house until firefighters arrived.

I feel okay today, by the way. I was very tired with a sore throat and burning eyes on Friday, and am doing better this morning. I hate to think about what’s in my lungs but I’m doing a lot better than I thought I would be.

I feel so bad for my friend and neighbor, Dr. Tawn Keeney, who lost his house. Tawn owns the historical Honokaa People’s Theatre and is a long-serving physician at the Hamakua Health Center. He’s my family physician, a real life country doctor and such a dear. He was not home when the fire started. The fire was out of control fairly quickly and there was nothing we could do to help.

My house. One of my helpers positioned a ladder in case embers reached the roof, we could douse it with the hose.

Tawn is a pillar of our community here in Ookala. Our hearts are so saddened by this loss. He loves that house so much, and is always talking about how much he loves it and truly appreciates its history. The houses here were built circa 1920s as part of the sugar plantation that existed here in our village of Ookala. Tawn had recently replaced the roof and the floors.

The fire started at around 4:30 pm. It’s really hard for me to say when the fire department got here because I lost all track of time; maybe 15 minutes from the time I called 911. It seemed like an eternity. The flames grew so fast! Within minutes flames were so high and so hot, less than 30 feet from my house.

At one point, the worst two or three minutes of the ordeal before the fire department arrived, we were literally staring at a 20- to 30-foot wall of flames less than 15 feet away from us. The sound was so loud that we had to shout to hear each other. I must have yelled, “Watch for embers!” 100 times. We all stopped what we were doing and watched to see what the flames were going to do. They roared up and caught our tallest bamboo on fire. The flame swooshed up in a nanno second and caught the top of a 40-foot palm. One of my helpers exclaimed, “Here we go!” I literally dropped down on my knees and prayed. But then the miracle happened: because the bamboo stems are not readily burnable, coupled with the fact that we had doused as much of the plant as we could as high as we could, the fire on the bamboo (and the palm) burned out quickly– and then the breeze let up and the high flames pulled back a bit.

It was a big smokey mess and I do worry a bit about what we were breathing. For one thing, these old houses all have layers of lead paint encapsulated under renovations.

One of the good Samaritans was a young man whose arm was burned because he was reaching out over my fence so bravely to keep the flames down on the grass and away from that bamboo. He barely left his post when that wall of fire encroached. The other good Samaritan kept spraying a wood pile that had caught fire bit further up the fence line– that fire was threatening to draw flames into my huge avocado tree. Two of my helpers were my friends Ross and Cathy Perrins. Cathy had a hose at the fence line and Ross set up a ladder on my house in case we had to access the roof. My job was to keep the house itself hosed down. I credit these four people for protecting my house until the fire department arrived. I could not have done any of it alone. If that bamboo had caught fire and fallen, our house may have caught fire. My appreciation can’t be put into words.

The photos are taken after the fire department arrived. The first thing they did was send fire fighters with hoses to the main fire, but they also stationed one on my fence line by that bamboo and the wood pile. It wasn’t until then that I thought to get the camera. Meanwhile Dr. Keeney’s house was engulfed.

The fire department stayed until 7:30 p.m.. The fire inspector said the cause of the fire is undetermined.

This is shot from the front of the property that burned. You can see how the flames traveled on the grass from the burning house on the left toward my property on the right. My helpers were stationed with hoses on my fence line inside that bamboo hedge at right and kept the grass wet in that green section you see.

Fireman dousing wood pile that threatened to lead flames into my property. One of my helpers had kept flames from this pile away from my property by spraying it with the hose. I don't know how he withstood the heat.

Firemen could not get the wood pile to stop burning even though they'd flooded it with water. So this fireman doused it with chemicals. I was not mad about this use of chems at all, I just wanted the fire out! Those are my wilted plants in the foreground.

Now we can see the rubble as the smoke calms down. This is a tragic story: my friend and neighbor Dr. Tawn Keeney, lost his house.

P.S. I’ve had some comments on Facebook that the prayer is what saved my house. I don’t want to get all religious here, but I had no intention of inferring that. One of my favorite sayings is “Trust in God but tether your camel.” The bamboo didn’t catch fire for several practical reasons: bamboo stems don’t readily burn like wood, we’d sprayed most of the plant down with water, and the wind shifted slightly away from my house just as the flames licked in and up. But you better believe I’ll throw a good prayer up there just for good measure when standing between a 30-foot wall of fire and my house.