Your favorite Muppet

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Nor I! Any idea what the first appearance of a Muppet was? I always thought Kermit was the first, and that he debuted on Sesame Street in the late 60s.

WHen did Jim Henson die BTW. I seem to remember it as a pretty freak thing that happened.

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by DavidMn

WHen did Jim Henson die BTW. I seem to remember it as a pretty freak thing that happened.

He was real sick from what I remember and I think it was about 15 yrs ago.

[DavidMn]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

He was real sick from what I remember and I think it was about 15 yrs ago.

Yeah, I think it was some lung thing that took a turn for the worse too fast and there was nothing the doctors could do for him.

[mylittledemon]

Just did a quick search and it was bacterial pneumonia, and he died in 1990.

[Lala]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

Just did a quick search and it was bacterial pneumonia, and he died in 1990.

It was on the same day as Sammy Davis Jr too.

My favorite Muppet is of course the one, the only, Kermit. I love Ernie too!

Here's the link to my FM-Muppet Look Alike Contest!: http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=17249

[Lala]

Originally Posted by Lala

Here's the link to my FM-Muppet Look Alike Contest!: http://ledge.fleetwoodmac.net/showthread.php?t=17249

Crap! I think some of the pictures don't work anymore. It was like a year ago. Oh well I have to go to work. The Muppets rock!

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

Just did a quick search and it was bacterial pneumonia, and he died in 1990.

The saddest part of the this is in the fact that Jim Henson thought he simply had a "cold" and didn't bother getting checked by a doctor. His lungs aspirated after going to bed for the night at home.

[mylittledemon]

Originally Posted by Richard B

The saddest part of the this is in the fact that Jim Henson thought he simply had a "cold" and didn't bother getting checked by a doctor. His lungs aspirated after going to bed for the night at home.

Yikes....I'm wiggin now Richard cause I've been sick for nearly 3 weeks with this cold I can't kick! =o

[BTFLCHLD]

Originally Posted by mylittledemon

Yikes....I'm wiggin now Richard cause I've been sick for nearly 3 weeks with this cold I can't kick! =o

and you know how i feel about that
can i be your nurse?

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by BTFLCHLD

and you know how i feel about that
can i be your nurse?

Yes....please take care of our little demon. We need another guitar solo.

And be careful, Demon. 3 weeks is a long time to have a cold without having it get properly looked at by a doctor and then nursed by Btflchild.

[catinthedark]

Originally Posted by Richard B

The saddest part of the this is in the fact that Jim Henson thought he simply had a "cold" and didn't bother getting checked by a doctor. His lungs aspirated after going to bed for the night at home.

I always thought it was flesh-eating disease. Necrotizing fasciitis, which is a rare bacterial disease. I remember this because the premier of my province at the time had also almost died of this. It is an infection that comes on incredibly fast - and is often fatal. (I also work in news, so I remember little details like this).

Okay - yeah - just did a quick search. Here's what I found:

http://www.jyi.org/features/ft.php?id=463

Flesh-eating disease… it sounds like the stuff of science fiction. It can spread through human tissue at a rate of 3 cm per hour. Twenty-five percent of its victims die, and in severe cases, the patient is dead within 18 hours. In 1990, it caused the death of Muppets creator, Jim Henson. It is small wonder that the media has given the disease such a dramatic, horrible-sounding name.

Unfortunately, this is not an excerpt from a science fiction novel, but rather a chapter from a bacteriology textbook. The medical name for this disease is necrotizing fasciitis (NF) and it is caused by a bacterium called Streptococcus pyogenes, or Group A streptococcus (GAS).

There's more on the site above.

[Richard B]

Originally Posted by catinthedark

I always thought it was flesh-eating disease. Necrotizing fasciitis, which is a rare bacterial disease. I remember this because the premier of my province at the time had also almost died of this. It is an infection that comes on incredibly fast - and is often fatal. (I also work in news, so I remember little details like this).

This is an excerpt from People Magazine (1990):

How can a healthy man in his 50s succumb so abruptly to a garden-variety illness like pneumonia? To Dr. Edward Kaplan, an authority on streptococcal infections, Jim Henson's death was tragic but not unfamiliar. The organism that killed Henson, Group A streptococcus bacteria, is not rare, but it can occasionally cause an overwhelming infection that is unusually virulent. Studies suggest a recent unexpected uncrease in serious infections caused by the bacteria, which is highly deceptive: Early on, Group A strep can be mistaken for mere flu, but before a victim has even sought treatment, it may overwhelm the body with pneumonia, kidney failure or liver failure. A professor of pediatrics at the University of Minnesota and director there of the World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Reference and Research on Streptococci, Kaplan, spoke about Group A infections with correspondent Margaret Nelson.

Just what is Group A streptococcus?
It is one of an enormous variety of streptococcal bacteria. Group A streptococci can cause a number of diseases, from mild ones like impetigo to serious illnesses like scarlet fever. It is almost always associated with strep throat, and it is the only kind of streptococcus that causes rheumatic fever.

How is Group A bacteria contracted?
It us usually inhaled, but it can get into the body through a cut or abrasion.Once there, it likes to live in the respiratory tract, especially in the throat.

How often is it deadly?
We don't know. We don't have exact figures because doctors are not required to report strep diseases. We know only that Group A strep is a very rare cause of pneumonia. Lately, however, there has been evidence of a more virulent type, a meaner bacteria. One of the first reports appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine in July 1989. On the 20 cases discussed, there was a 30 percent mortality rate, which is very high compared to most common forms of pneumonia. But I don't want to be an alarmist. This is a very rare disease.

What are the common symptoms?
They may be flu-like or they may be like a typical strep throat, with quick onset of fever, sore throat, perhaps nausea and vomiting. In those rare instances when the infection becomes more serious, it may involve other parts of the body within a day or so. Patients may go into shock and develop problems with the lungs, kidneys and liver and infections of the muscles. Once the bacteria gets a toehold, therapy may become more difficult even with large doese of antibiotics.


Since the first symptoms may be relatively mild, when should one seek medical care?
It's true, at first there may not be much that distinguishes a Group A infection from a bad case of the flu. But people should use common sense. If you suddenly become very ill-high fever, sore throat-seek medical care.

What is the treatment?
First, to identify the infections agent, usually through a throat culture. If it is Group A, an antibiotic, probably penicillin, is prescribed. A patient who is only mildly ill can expect to feel better in a few days. The penicillin also reduces the risk of rheumatic fever or other complications. With the more serious Group A infection, antibiotics are also used, often intravenously, but other medical and surgical therapies may be required.

Are children especially vulnerable to strep?
Strep throat has been called an occupational disease of schoolchildren. If you went into any schoolroom in the winter and did throat cultures, 5 to 20 percent of the children would have it, with or without any symptoms. In the past few decades parents may have become a little more complacent about strep throat because there have been so few complications. But these things tend to go in cycles, and they're beginning to increase again despite antibiotics. We don't know all the reasons why.

[catinthedark]

^^ Right - it's that Group A Strep. That's what the article I posted is about, too. It wasn't your run-of-the-mill pneumonia. Tragic. He was such a huge talent.

[estranged4life]

gang of Muppets:

[StevieNicksEO17]

Pepe!