An Eventful Flight

I was flipping through my travel diary a few days back and I saw this story that I had penned down 5 years ago regarding one of my flights to Tokyo that had left a huge impact on me.

I can still remember this flight even till today.

"Attention Please! Passenger taking Singapore Airlines SQ634 from Singapore to Tokyo-Haneda, please kindly proceed to gate A7 for boarding.Thankyou!"

All the Tokyo bound passengers took their belongings with them,lined up at the counter while anxiously waiting for their board pass to be scanned before boarding the plane.

While I was waiting for my turn to get my boarding pass scanned, I saw this man who was probably in his early 40s with his parents. His father was shaking and couldn't walk without any assistance at all. So the ground crews stepped forward and offered to help him.

"It's alright!I can handle it" the son said with a smile as he held his father's arm and led him forward.

The man's mother was still rather 'strong' for an old lady. She was wearing a sarong kebaya. On the other hand, his father who wore a blue jacket and had a beanie over his head with a pair of sunglasses.Clearly,his father had Alzheimer's disease or commonly known as dementia. 

The three of them were seated at the bulkhead seat while I sat behind them.

What I saw during the flight really moved me.

After the flight attendant served his parents their meal tray, the man knelt in front of them and cut their food into bit-sized pieces. He sat on the floor in front of his parents and watched them as they ate. The son had to feed his father as the poor old man struggled to pierce the food with his fork.

The man only had his meal after his parents had finished their food

Throughout the flight,he was so patient with his parents. He did everything for them- getting drinks, bringing his parents to the toilet and making sure they have sufficient snacks in-between the flight.

All these went on for at least 3 times during the flight. Sometimes, his father would wake him up from his sleep for toilet trips and the man didn't grouch or get angry.

The man would talk to his mother when she took a break from her reading and joke with his father throughout the flight. I really enjoyed watching their interaction. It really brings a smile to my face.

It wasn't before long that we had arrived at Haneda Airport. Most of the passenger left the plane while this family of three were left behind to wait for the ground staff to get a wheelchair ready at the door for the elderly.

While waiting for their turn for disembarkation, his father started looking around
"Where are my sun glasses?", the old man exclaimed!

"Oh Dad!They're on your head!" The son smiled as he pulled down the sunglasses from his father's beanie and rested it upon his nose.

"Wow, You look so cool now Dad!"

He smiled at his father and stared with him with so much love.

When the cabin crews offered to bring the feeble old man out of the plane, the son told them,"Girls, better don't touch him! He is a cheeky old man! Let me do it!"

The cabin crews ushered them through the aisle, helping with their baggages and bid them goodbye.

I was really moved by the man's love for his parents. I have never seen someone who is so patient and loving to their parents.

He did everything a parent would do for their children- feeding them, taking them to the toilet and even entertaining them. There wasn't a tinge of annoyance on his face.He did everything out of love.

My eyes welled up with tears as I thought of my parents. There may come a time where the roles will be reversed. When we were young, our parents did everything they could for us. They fed us, changed our diapers,bathed us,answered our repeated question with a lot of patience, rushed us to the doctor at the first sign of an ailment.Are we capable of showing the same amount of unconditional love for our parents as the man did for his parents? 

Reflection: Presentation

It was such a nerve wrecking experience to be presenting in front of the class yesterday.

Prior to the presentation, my teammates and I spent a couple of hours practising for the presentation. I thought to myself that the presentation wouldn't be that bad. However, I was wrong. When I went up to present, I saw 21 pairs of eyes fixated upon me. This made me extremely nervous. I felt the adrenaline rush through my veins. 

Some of the feedbacks given by my classmates were:

1) inadequate eye contact with the audience.

2) too much movements while presenting 

3) organization of slides can be further improved because the 'pie chart' was sticking out like an eye sore 

4) good voice projection. 

In my opinion, the greatest weakness that surfaced during my presentation was that there were too much movements during the presentation.This could potentially cause some distractions to the audience. The use of a pointer will suffice in mitigating this issue. I thought that insufficient eye contact with audiences can be resolved with more practices prior to the presentation.To solve the problem on organization of slides,I guess I will check on the slides and make sure that there is a 'flow' in the contents that I'm presenting.  

  

Reader Response Draft 3

On the website, “Citizen Campaign for the Environment, Iburch (2015) reports on the adverse impact that improper pharmaceutical waste disposal has on the environment. The author states that “low levels of drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives and steroids are found in 80% of the rivers and streams”. Due to this situation, these water sources are unsafe for consumption and usage. At the same time, it harms the marine and human life by leaving them vulnerable to such pharmaceutical waste residue, albeit at low concentrations. Some side effects on living organisms include irregular hormonal cycle and antibiotic resistance to drugs. Notably, male fishes were found laying eggs due to prolonged exposure to such residue (Iburch,2015). Legislation and raising public awareness on the proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste have been put in place to mitigate the problem. The same author explains the cause and impact of pharmaceutical waste disposal with myriad examples. However, the statements put forth in the article are incomplete and unsupported.

The first reason why Iburch’s argument is incomplete is because he overgeneralizes the idea of “unused or expired pharmaceuticals being flushed down the toilet”. According to a pharmaceutical waste disposal guideline that was released by the World Health Organization (1999),small amounts of uncontrolled liquid pharmaceuticals, which do not exhibit anti-infective or anti-neoplastic properties, can be flushed down into the sewers. This shows that under certain circumstances, it is fine for small quantity of pharmaceuticals to be flushed down the sewers. Iburch also fails to elaborate on how human excretion can potentially contribute to pharmaceutical waste. Studies by the Harvard Medical School (2011) have concluded that human waste flushed into the sewage contains unmetabolized pharmaceuticals and this could potentially contaminate potable water sources. In addition, the same author did not mention anything on the root of the issue: pharmaceuticals that are purchased in bulk were often left unconsumed. This results in these pharmaceuticals being flushed into the sewage.

Furthermore, the examples used to illustrate the detrimental effects of pharmaceutical waste have on living organisms are not convincing due to the lack of statistical data. For instance, the concentration of pharmaceutical waste present in the potable water sources is not mentioned. Iburch states the effects of the pharmaceutical effluents have on the genetic mutation of marine life, without factoring in some other environmental factors. Eisenstaedt (2005) argues that different chemical compositions of water, temperature and other variables can potentially explain the genetic mutation seen in marine life. The lack of concrete data and research makes it hard for readers to come to a more informed conclusion that the hormones present in the pharmaceutical effluents are responsible for the genetic mutation seen.  

In conclusion, the author carefully links the cause and effects of improper pharmaceutical waste disposal with myriad of examples. It would be better though if the author addresses the issue in a broader perspective before moving into smaller details. This would give the reader a general overview of the issue. Lastly, the lack of concrete statistical data and overgeneralization of "flushing down unused or expired pharmaceuticals into the sewage" make the arguments, which Iburch put forth on the website are inconclusive and unsupported.

References :

Citizens Campaign for the Environment. (2015, March 4). Pharmaceutical Disposal.

Retrieved from http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/pharmaceutical-disposal.asp

Eisenstadt, L. (2005). Drugs in the water. Triple Point.

Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/sjmag/scimag2005/features/drugsinwater.htm

Harvard Medical School. (2011,June 1). Drugs in the water.

Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/drugs-in-the-water

World Health Organization. (1999). Guidelines for Safe Disposal of Unwanted Pharmaceuticals in and after Emergencies.

Retrieved from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/medicalwaste/unwantpharm.

Readers Response Draft 2

On the website, “Citizen Campaign for the Environment, Iburch (2015) reports on the adverse impact that improper pharmaceutical waste disposal has on the environment. Improper pharmaceutical waste disposal contaminates potable water sources as mentioned in the article that “low levels of drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives and steroids are found in 80% of the rivers and streams”. Due to this, these water sources are unsafe for consumption and usage. At the same time, it harms the marine and human life by leaving them vulnerable to such pharmaceutical waste residue, albeit at low concentration. Some side effects on living organisms include irregular hormonal cycle and antibiotic resistance to drugs. Notably, male fishes were found laying eggs due to prolonged exposure to such residue. Legislation and raising public awareness on the proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste have been put in place to mitigate the problem. The same author explains the cause and impact of pharmaceutical waste disposal with a myriad of examples. However, the statements he put forth in the article are incomplete and unsupported. For example, there was a lack of data to the quantity of pharmaceutical effluent present in the water sources and the same author did not consider other possible environmental factors that contribute to genetic mutation seen in marine life. Furthermore, Iburch did not introduce the safe methods for pharmaceutical waste disposal that is approved by regulatory bodies for the different classes of drugs too.

The first reason why Iburch’s argument is incomplete is because he over generalises the idea of “unused or expired pharmaceuticals being flushed down the toilet”. According to a pharmaceutical waste disposal guideline that was released by the World Health Organization (1999), it states that small amounts of uncontrolled liquid pharmaceuticals, which do not exhibit anti-infective or anti-neoplastic properties, can be flushed down into the sewers. Iburch also fails to elaborate on how human excretion can potentially contribute to pharmaceutical waste. Studies by the Harvard Medical School (2011) have concluded that human waste flushed into the sewage contains unmetabolized pharmaceuticals and this could potentially contaminate potable water sources. In addition, Iburch did not mention anything on the root of the issue; pharmaceuticals that are purchased in bulk were left unconsumed. This results in large amounts of unconsumed pharmaceuticals being flushed down into the sewage.

Furthermore, the examples used to illustrate the detrimental effects of pharmaceutical waste have on living organisms are not convincing due to the lack of statistical data .For instance, the concentration of pharmaceutical waste present in the potable water sources is not mentioned. Iburch states the effects of the pharmaceutical effluents have on the genetic mutation of marine life, without factoring in some other environmental factors. Eisenstaedt (2005) argues that different chemical compositions of water, temperature and other variables can potentially explain the genetic mutation seen in marine life. The lack of concrete data and research makes it hard for readers to come to a more informed conclusion that the hormones present in the pharmaceutical effluents are responsible for the genetic mutation seen.

In conclusion, the author carefully links the cause and effects of improper pharmaceutical waste disposal with a myriad of examples.It would be better if the author addresses the issue in a broader perspective, before moving into smaller details. This would give the reader a general overview of the issue. Lastly, the lack of concrete statistical data and over generalisation of "flushing down unused or expired pharmaceuticals into the sewage" make the arguments which Iburch put forth in the article inconclusive and unsupported. 

References

Iburch. (2015, March 4). Pharmaceutical Disposal.

Retrieved from http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/pharmaceutical-disposal.asp

Harvard Medical School. (2011,June 1). Drugs in the water

Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/drugs-in-the-water

World Health Organization. (1999). Guidelines for Safe Disposal of Unwanted Pharmaceuticals in and after Emergencies

Retrieved from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/medicalwaste/unwantpharm.pdf

Eisenstadt, L. (2005). Drugs in the water

Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/sjmag/scimag2005/features/drugsinwater.htm

Edited on 4 October 2015.

Reader's Response Draft 1

On the website, “Citizen Campaign for the Environment”, Iburch (2015) reports on the adverse impact that improper pharmaceutical waste disposal has on the environment. Improper pharmaceutical waste disposal contaminates potable water sources, and it is mentioned by the same author that “low levels of drugs such as antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives and steroids are found in 80% of the rivers and streams”. Thus, these water sources are unsafe for consumption and usage. At the same time, it harms the marine life and humans by leaving them vulnerable to such pharmaceutical waste residue, albeit at low concentration. Some side effects on living organisms include irregular hormonal cycle and antibiotic resistance to drugs. Notably, male fish were found laying eggs due to prolong exposure to such residue. Legislation and raising public awareness on the proper disposal of pharmaceutical waste have been put in place to mitigate these prevailing issue.

In Iburch’s article, there is a lack of data to the quantity of pharmaceutical effluent present in the water sources that causes the detrimental side effects observed in living organisms. In addition, Iburch did not consider other possible environmental factors that contributes to genetic mutation seen in marine life.The same author did not introduce the safe methods for pharmaceutical waste disposal that is approved by regulatory bodies for the different classes of drugs too. Thus, this makes his statements put forth incomplete and unsupported.

The first reason why Iburch’s argument is incomplete is because he over generalises the idea of “unused or expired pharmaceuticals being flushed down the toilet”. According to a pharmaceutical waste disposal guideline that was released by the World Health Organization (1999), it states that small amounts of uncontrolled liquid pharmaceuticals that doesn’t exhibit anti-infective or anti-neoplastic properties can be flush down into the sewers. Iburch also fails to elobrate on how human excretion can potentially contribute to pharmaceutical waste.Harvard University (2015), concludes that human waste flushed into the sewage contains unmetabolized drugs, and could potentially contaminate potable water sources.In addition, Iburch didn’t mention anything on  the root of the issue- unconsumed pharmaceutics purchased in bulk. This is the main reason to huge amounts of unused pharmaceutics being flushed down, along with others into the sewage.

Furthermore, the examples used to illustrate the detrimental effects of pharmaceutical waste have on living organisms are not convincing due to the lack of statistical data .For instance,the concentration of hormones in the effluents is not mentioned. Besides, Iburch talks about the effects of the pharmaceutical effluent have on genetic mutation of marine life, without factoring in some of the environmental factors.Eisenstadt(2005)studies the different chemical compositions of water,temperature and other variables that could potentially explain the genetic mutation seen in marine life.The lack of concrete data and research makes it hard for readers to come to a conclusion, that the hormones present in the pharmaceutical effluents are responsible for genetic mutation seen.

In conclusion, the author carefully links the cause and effects of improper pharmaceutical waste  disposal with a myriad of examples. However, it would be better if the author addresses the issue in a broader perspective, before moving into smaller details. This would give the reader a general overview of the issue. Lastly, it is inevitable that pharmaceutical waste is contaminating our potable water sources. It is a problem where attention needs to be directed to.

References

Iburch (2015, March 4). Pharmaceutical Disposal  
Retrieved from http://www.citizenscampaign.org/campaigns/pharmaceutical-disposal.asp

Harvard University (2015). Drugs in the water
Retrieved from http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletter_article/drugs-in-the-water

Eisenstadt(2005) Drugs in the water
Retrieved from http://www .bu.edu/sjmag/scimag2005/features/drugsinwater.htm

World Health Organisation (1999), Guidelines for Safe Disposal of Unwanted Pharmaceuticals in and after Emergencies
Retrieved from http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/medicalwaste/unwantpharm.pdf

SUMMARY PRACTICE

On the website, “Citizen Campaign for the Environment”,Iburch(2015) reports on the adverse impact that improper pharmaceutical waste disposal has on the environment. Improper pharmaceutical waste disposal contaminates potable water sources. It is mentioned by the same author that “low levels of drugs such as antibiotics ,hormones ,contraceptives and steroids are found in 80% of the rivers and streams”.Thus,these water sources are unsafe for consumption and usage.At the same time, it harms the marine life and humans by leaving them vunerable to these pharmaceutical waste residues even at low concentration. Some side effects for living organisms include irregular hormonal cycle, antibiotic resistance to drugs and male fish laying eggs due to prolong exposure to hormones. Legalisation and raising public awareness on proper pharmaceutical waste disposal have been put in place to mitigate these prevailing issue.