Blog Post #6

Company Denies Drug to Dying Child

Elizabeth Cohen. Company Denies Drug to Dying Child. CNN, 11 March 2014. Web. 24 March 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/10/health/cohen-josh/> 

Elizabeth Cohen. Company Denies Drug. Photograph. CNN, 10 March 2014. Media. 24 March 2014. <http://m.localnews8.com/health/Company-denies-drug-to-dying-child/24906710>

In this article we are introduced to a family that is in dire need of a certain drug that a pharmaceutical company has in their possession. Josh has battled cancer four times now and has beat it every time, however his most recent battle has left him very sick and Chimerix has the power to help him. Chimerix repeatedly refuses to help this young boy by giving him medication.

In a way this article relates to the book Unwind because both this situation and the book deal with medical problems that could be solved if people weren't so selfish. Also, this article relates to everyday life because people in general need to take care of each other and genuinely care about one another.

When I first read this article I was absolutely appalled to hear that even though this company could possibly help this young boy they weren't even willing to try. Todd Hardy, Josh's father, stated that "He holds our son's life in his hands"(Hardy) this family is practically begging Chimerix and the company does not even care. It is so upsetting to think that the world has become such a horrible place that you can't sacrifice money for a human life.

What is the purpose for using quotes?

In this particular article the use of quotes helped display the emotion of all of the involved persons that were discussed throughout it. Some examples of this are: "He holds our son's life in his hands," Todd Hardy said. "This is just beyond belief to me."(Hardy) and "We've had employees who ask for the drug for family members who are close to death, and the answer has been no," said Mommeja-Marin, the Chimerix executive. (Chimerix).

English Blog Post #5

OMG! Your Teen Actually Talks to You?

Kelly Wallace. OMG! Your Teen Actually Talks to You? CNN, 27 Feb. 2014. Web. 10 March 2014. <http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/19/living/talking-to-teens-communication-parents/index.html?hpt=hp_c4>

                                                        

Steph. Family. Photograph. n.p.n.d. Media. 10 March 2014. <http://empoweringldswomen.blogspot.com/2011/10/birth-control-and-family-planning.html>

Teens often have a hard time talking to their parents or connecting to them. A lot of times they feel that they can't talk to them because they already know their response. This article describes how you should go about talking to your teen and the  best way to get them to open up.

This article relates to me because as a teen I also have a hard time connecting with my parents.  According to Vicki Hoeffle "If your teen thinks, 'I already know what my mom will say about this, so I'm not even going to talk to her,' you can forget about your teen opening up to you"(Hoeffle) I think that my parents make a valid effort to make me feel comfortable talking to them, but often I already know how they will relate to the situation and that makes talking to them very unappealing. 

My reaction to this wasn't surprised, I honestly feel that any half way decent parent is always looking for ways to get their child to communicate with them. I think that it is always important to establish a relationship with your parent or child because being able to communicate is something that every family should be able to do. I sometimes think that teens make it hard to communicate with adults because they don't want to open to them.I think this is partially the parents fault because they forget that they were teens once too and are not always understanding. 

What is the impact of using quotations?

I think that the use of quotations in this selection enhanced the overall product because you began to understand the parents point of view and also get many useful tips. Also, by using quotes the author made the article more authentic because by reading everyday parents' thoughts it was easier to believe, and also made me feel that these tips would actually help.