Salem-News.com Articles written by Lela Taylor

Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis Insidious Disease of Death

The subject comes painfully close to home for one reporter.

(SALEM, Ore.) - This article is about alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. Cirrhosis can be caused by other physiological problems and diseases, but alcoholic liver cirrhosis is a social issue that affects not only the person suffering, but also their family and friends.

Hopefully, my story may help someone you or someone you know to recognize the symptoms of this disease and take the steps to end the process before it is too late. Death by alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver is devastating, but there can be hope if it is recognized in a timely manner and medical help is obtained.

The Day of Our Mothers

In 1915 Mother’s Day became an official holiday. The second Sunday in May became the day we pay homage to the one that gave birth to us.

(SALEM, Ore.) - Recently, while preparing to move to another apartment, I came across a letter I had written to my mother in May 1991 while living in Fairbanks, Alaska. She resided in Mill City, Oregon, with my stepfather. While re-reading this letter, I realized just how tenuous life is and that even mothers are not around forever, as mine succumbed to cancer on January 8th, 1998. There is not a day goes by that I don’t think about her and at times start to reach for the phone to call and talk with her.

I want to share my letter with you as I think that it could apply to almost any mother, especially those who have been faced with many life difficulties and challenges.

Dual Diagnosis Anonymous –Mental Illness and Substance Abuse

Since 1996, the DDA peer support group offers sessions in most of the western states, including Hawaii, and in other countries such as Great Britain and Canada.

(SALEM) - The emphasis on treatment for substance abuse and mental illness has been addressed as separate issues, usually at the cost of one issue being shadowed when existing within one individual.

This month a mental health work group report states that an excellent example of peer-support services is the establishment of Dual Diagnosis Anonymous (DDA) in Oregon.

Oregon Combat Veterans and Their Families Turn To Community Groups For Care

Experts say veterans shy away from the stigma of mental health issues. But strict confidentiality at RVRP enables them to receive help as long as needed, and none of the information is added to their military records.

(SALEM) - Sometimes the needs of the returning vets go beyond the scope of what the Veterans’ Administration and centers can provide; a new organization, Returning Veterans Resource Project NW, assists in filling this gap.

Shortly after September 11th 2001, American forces attacked Taliban positions in Afghanistan in retaliation for the attacks on the United States led by Osama Bin Laden. They have been there ever since and hostilities in the region are again on the uprise.

The Sometimes Invisible Disease – Multiple Sclerosis

MS affects the central nervous system, restricting nerve fibers from conducting electrical impulses to and from the brain.

(SALEM) - Four-hundred thousand Americans suffer from Multiple Sclerosis which has the subtleness of invisibility to others, but is devastating to those afflicted with this debilitating disease.

In researching Multiple Sclerosis, I came to realize how little I knew about it, and was soon to learn that those not specifically educated on MS have very little insight.

Several years ago there was an instructor at the business school I attended who told his students about the disease he had. He informed us if we were to see him stagger or act a little “out of it”, that he was not on drugs but was suffering from MS. What an eye opener...

The Consequences of Love and Rules

What happens when the line of professionalism is crossed with the line of love? The answer is found when a prison official quits her job for the man she loves.

(SALEM) - Recently an acquaintance of mine broke some professional rules - the rules of conduct as a professional in the State of Oregon Corrections facility. She was someone I recently worked with on one of my shows, a person I found to be professional, a nice person, and a gentle person, as her name depicts – Fay Gentle.

Recent news stories revealed the consequences when the line of professionalism versus the line of love is crossed. The results are two lives turned upside down.

Life Directions - Peers and Mentors Making Changes in Marion County

They try to guide others toward taking a positive decision in the paths they choose in life.

(SALEM) - Young children deal with violence and risk factors in Marion County every day, but now, many find a vision of hope through an organization called Life Directions.

We hear a lot about the bad influences our young people face, and frequently refer to it as peer pressure. But there is another kind of peer pressure according to Life Directions, an organization that emphasizes its belief in positive peer pressure and mentorship. They say it can change lives for young, at-risk individuals in our area.

Salem Oregon Community Television – Your Voice, Your Views

Edward R. Murrow said it best, “This instrument (television) can teach, it can illuminate, yes, and even it can inspire; but, it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise, it’s nothing but wires and lights in a box.”

(SALEM) - From Mr. Murrow’s time, the “wires” have become computer boards, high tech digital media, and high definition video - a far cry from the times of the glass tubes of old, but the meaning of what Murrow conveyed still applies.

Salem’s non-profit Capital Community Television (CCTV) exemplifies Mr. Murrow’s creed of teaching, illuminating and inspiring. Since 1989, CCTV has been an active force in presenting creative media by volunteer producers ranging in age from 8 to 80 using their voices and visions to inspire and educate.

Life Directions – Peers and Mentors Making Changes

Risk factors for violence to and by our young children in Marion County, especially the McKay, North, and Woodburn neighborhoods find a vision of hope through this organization.

(SALEM) - We hear about the bad influences our young people have and we refer to it as peer pressure.

There is another kind of peer pressure Life Directions as an organization emphasizes.

Saturday I visited the Winter Event “The Child in Our Neighborhood” at Waldo Middle School, organized by Life Directions.

MENORRHAGIA – A Woman’s Curse

10 million women in the U.S. suffer from menorrhagia. This malady of the monthly “curse” goes beyond just a nuisance and becomes days of excruciating pain and misery causing lost time from work.

(SALEM) - Through the eons of time women have suffered their monthly “curse.” It is the one thing which will bring forth moans from women all over the world; it is this phenomenon of being a female – the monthly cycle of menstruation.

For most women, thier "time of month" causes slight inconveniences for a few days, but for one in five women in the United States alone, this monthly occurrence is agony, with severe abdominal cramps and excessive bleeding.