(NewsUSA) - It is estimated that every year more than 1 million patients undergo an embolization procedure — an interventional procedure to stop or intentionally reduce blood flow. When Scott Lynn started treatment for bowel cancer in 2017, the possibility of an embolization treatment was never on his radar. However, an unexpected turn of events happened after Scott began chemotherapy, leading him to require an embolization to stop internal bleeding and ultimately save his life.

“I had a cardiac reaction to chemotherapy; I had a heart attack,” he explains.

To prevent further cardiac stress, Scott stopped chemotherapy and underwent a total colectomy surgery earlier than initially planned. Just a week after that surgery, Scott suffered a major complication—a massive internal bleed, which required embolization treatment.

A Life-Saving Coincidence

Little did Scott know that his story would become closely tied to someone he’d long known, David Cole, a medical device sales representative.

Scott worked for many years with David’s father and became a mentor to David. In fact, shortly following Scott’s surgery, the two had the chance to catch up at David’s father’s retirement party. David says that on his way home that evening, he felt an obligation to make a quick stop at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center, a local level one trauma center, to drop off a supply of the Concerto™ Detachable Coil System, used for peripheral embolization procedures.

The next day, Scott was rushed to the same Carolinas Medical Center, where he underwent a life-saving embolization procedure performed by Dr. Eric Wang, a vascular and interventional radiologist with Charlotte Radiology. Dr. Wang quickly removed nearly half a gallon of blood from Scott’s abdomen and performed the procedure using the same coils David had dropped off less than 24 hours prior, saving Scott’s life.

The Right Device at the Right Time

Dr. Wang explains that when treating a complex bleed, time is of the utmost importance to minimize the loss of blood. Scott later learned that had he waited just ten more minutes to call 911, his life could have been even more at risk.

Medtronic Concerto coils block the area of an active bleed and its thrombogenic fibers accelerate clot formation. While embolization is a critical— and often life-saving procedure— it requires the right device and the proper training for success. Fortunately, Dr. Wang was familiar with Concerto coils, as he often uses them in his medical practice.

An Extraordinary Outcome

This full-circle story is largely due to a trifecta of fortunate events. Scott received the lifesaving care he needed because of his instinct to call 911 immediately. Just the day before, David had ensured that Carolinas Medical Center had Concerto coils on hand. And Dr. Wang trusted that those coils were the right choice to quickly stop Scott’s bleed.

“I am eternally grateful that I was able get the embolization care I needed. I’m absolutely convinced that the shared knowledge of David and my physician on trauma procedures and how to stop active bleeds using these coils was instrumental in saving my life,” said Scott.

Embolization can be used for a variety of procedures that aim to stop blood flow— both elective procedures and emergent instances of bleeding, such as internal bleeds associated with surgery.

Patients should talk to their doctor about risks associated with the Concerto Detachable Coil System. The Concerto™ detachable coil system is indicated for arterial and venous embolizations in the peripheral vasculature. Potential complications include, but are not limited to puncture site hematoma, thromboembolic episodes, vessel perforation, neurological deficits including stroke and death, vasospasms, vascular thrombosis, hemorrhage, and ischemia.

Learn about Peripheral Vascular Health at Medtronic at Medtronic.com/PVH

(NewsUSA) - Most good thriller novels keep readers guessing until the end. Then there are some that cause jaws to drop.

TKO Rogue has launched debut author Janet Porter’s intriguing, intricate and gory psychological thriller FREE RIDER, a dark coming-of-age story set in 1970s New York City that follows twin sisters as corruption, decadence, and greed engulf any vestiges of innocence, trust, and security they may have left. 

Khalika and Violet, twin girls growing up in a privileged hell, are on the cusp of adulthood after barely surviving a childhood that threatened to shred their psyches before devouring them both in a seismic swirl of pure evil.

Violet and Khalika have grown up in a posh Westchester, NY, estate previously owned by the girls’ parents but later the domain of their stepparents Dick and Bianca. That is, until the stepparents are found brutally murdered. The stepparents’ murders are not the only ones that remain unsolved, and there are signs that point to one killer.

It takes several months, but Detective Mark Vincente follows the investigation and eventually locates Violet, whom he wants to question. Vincente is a subtle but dogged investigator, describing his work as “trying to put a puzzle together where the pieces have been scattered like gory confetti.” Eventually, he and Violet develop a romantic interest. Is it real or is it his way to get closer to his ultimate quest?

For fans of gore, horror and “the dark side,” FREE RIDER has it all. But Porter’s work is much more than that. It is a complex psychological study of two sisters, their slightly different paths, their inner thoughts and their resultant actions. The author does a marvelous job of getting into their heads and souls.

And what an ending – it will leave readers stunned!

Praise is already pouring in for FREE RIDER:

"Thought-provoking and atmospheric!” says one Amazon reviewer.

"Captures the darkness and grittiness of New York City in the Seventies and Eighties,” says another.

“Astute observations on the evil that human beings perpetrate,” says another reviewer.

The author, Janet Porter, was born in Pittsburgh and immediately began trying to injure herself by roller skating over broken pavement. Subsequently, the family moved to New York City, where the family lived in a series of ramshackle apartments in the borough of Queens. Janet has no writing credentials except those of anybody who has processed the daily grind and decided to fictionalize it. She lives by the words, “Write the book you want to read.”

In writing Free Rider, Porter said she keeps in mind the words of the dead guy in the movie “Ghost,” doomed to ride the subway for eternity after jumping in front of a train: “You take all your emotions, all your pain, all your love, all your passion, all your rage. Just push it all the way down into the pit of your stomach. And then let it explode, like a reactor! Pow!”

“Pow” is right. Pick up Free Rider and you’ll know what we mean.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3uxbKil.

(NewsUSA) - Inverter generators and portable battery stations are trending solutions for take-anywhere power. Small footprints, manageable weights, and simple charging or fueling options make both inverters and batteries an ideal solution for off-grid excursions, working where power is not available, or providing needed electricity during a power outage.

Inverter generators and battery-powered portable power stations have unique characteristics that can make the choice a little more challenging. The power experts at Generac Power Systems have outlined how both categories of ultra-portable power solutions stack up for use around the home.

The Mutual Benefits of Portable Inverter Generators and Battery Power Stations

Sized for Easy Transport and Storage. Lightweight design, built-in handles, and a compact footprint are all hallmarks of both portable inverters and battery power stations.

From Quiet to Silent. Don't worry about being a noisy neighbor while using an inverter generator, thanks to their fully enclosed design helping with quieter operation. Battery-powered portable power stations go the extra mile, operating silently.

Suitable for Sensitive Electronics. Generator energy has a THD – total harmonic distortion – percentage. Electronic devices like laptops and mobile devices require a lower THD. Portable inverters produce energy with a THD below 5%, making them generally suitable for sensitive electronics, tools, and appliances. Similarly, battery-powered power stations are also an ideal solution as they provide clean, emission-free energy.

Key Differences Between Portable Inverters and Battery Power Stations

Emissions. Inverter generators cannot be used indoors or in enclosed spaces due to the production of carbon monoxide. All gas-, diesel-, or LP-powered generators must be operated outdoors and away from windows and doors. Battery-powered solutions are ideal for use inside or outside of the home, as they release no carbon monoxide or other emissions.

Fuel and Charging. The Generac Portable Power Station can be charged via a wall outlet, 12V car outlet, or by compatible solar panels for truly on-the-go power. Charging sources can even be combined for an even faster recharge. Small inverter generators are powered by gasoline via a splash-lubricated engine that requires routine oil changes.

Price. As an emerging technology with indoor-outdoor capabilities, battery-powered solutions are typically priced higher when compared to inverter generators with a similar output. Over time, a battery powered solution doesn’t require any additional fuel or oil, making it a higher initial investment without downline costs.

Maintenance and Care. The difference between a gasoline engine and a battery creates a very different maintenance regimen for each unit. The splash-lubricated engine of an inverter needs adequate oil in order to run, and it’s best to check on the oil status before any planned use. Additionally, you should do an annual maintenance check on inverter generators. Meanwhile, for portable battery stations, follow the usual best practices for charging most battery-powered electronic devices: don’t let it fall all the way to 0% charge, try to reach above 80% when charging, and ensure its stored in a temperate environment.

Open-Frame Generators for Powering Even More

With tubular frames, large tires, and visible components, an open-frame generator is likely what comes to mind when one thinks of portable power. The product marketplace for open-frame generators is vast, and no one model is one-size-fits-all. While open-frame generators are available in significantly higher outputs, you can hear them run, and they offer less portability than fully enclosed generators.

If short term emergency backup power is a main concern, open-frame generators provide the best dollar-per-watt value on the market. For more information, portable generator sizing tools can be found at: www.generac.com/portable-sizer.

(by Shelby Doyle) - Parents across the country are seriously rethinking what they and their children need when it comes to K-12 education. From considering switching to new schools to using tutoring, or out-of-school co-ops and learning pods, parents are getting creative. While some might have expected the pace of change and exploration to slow down after two long years of learning disruptions, parents remain motivated and curious about ways to make sure their child is learning and progressing.

In a survey conducted this month by the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, 53.7 percent of parents said they had considered in the last year, or were currently considering, choosing a new or different school for their child. And 86.1 percent of them are concerned about their child's academic progress.

For parents wanting to find a new school, this is the best time of the year to start the process. It's National School Choice Week January 22 through 28, and the news media, school leaders, teachers, and parents across the country are talking about education options. Parents can research their options at schoolchoiceweek.com and attend community events designed to help them choose.

January's not an arbitrary time for the Week to fall. It's a time when these decisions for the fall come to a head. Many enrollment deadlines fall in the winter months, no matter how far away they feel from the coming August. With the first half of the school year completed, families start to have a clearer idea of whether they need to make a change.

Dozens of states around the country in the last few years have expanded educational opportunities for parents to choose traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools, private schools, online learning, or homeschooling. Families can benefit from checking in to see if the landscape of options in their community have changed.

If you want to help spread the word about educational opportunity this week, here are some ideas. First, start a conversation with your child about what they like about school and what they wish were different. Second, learn more about educational options, or share that information with a friend. Third, show appreciation for the school(s) you've chosen by volunteering or saying thank you to a teacher this week.

Every parent, student, teacher, and community leader who is celebrating National School Choice Week proudly supports and empowers families to choose the right educational fit for their child. Will you join them?

Shelby Doyle is the vice president of public awareness at the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that hosts National School Choice Week each January and maintains the nation’s largest online portfolio of English- and Spanish-language school navigation resources.

(NewsUSA) - Financial planning can help you reach your goals in life. It is also a profession that offers rewarding, flexible careers. These careers provide many benefits, including work-life balance, growth potential and the opportunity to make a difference in other people’s lives.

Financial planners who go on to earn professional certifications may enjoy even greater benefits. Becoming a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER^TMprofessional, for example, shows potential clients and employers that you have met extensive training and experience requirements and are committed to high ethical and professional standards. CFP^® professionals consistently say their certification gives them a competitive edge over other advisors, increases their credibility with clients and boosts their income and career satisfaction.

If you decide to become a CFP^® professional, you must complete the following four requirements:

• Education: You must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university and complete a financial planning program that has been approved by CFP Board. If you have an advanced degree or hold other professional designations, you may be able to skip some of these coursework requirements.

• Exam: Once you’ve completed the education requirement, you are ready to take the CFP^® exam. This comprehensive exam tests your ability to apply financial planning knowledge to real-life situations, emphasizing critical thinking and problem-solving skills over factual recall or recognition. It covers the financial planning process, risk management and insurance, and other important topics.

• Experience: You must also complete at least two to three years of financial planning experience to qualify for CFP^® certification. This experience may be gained through a professional position or an apprenticeship, and it may be completed either before or after you pass the CFP^® exam. You can earn qualifying experience in several ways, from engaging with clients directly to supporting the financial planning process to teaching financial planning-related courses.

• Ethics: All CFP^® professionals commit to CFP Board’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct, meaning they agree to adhere to high ethical and professional standards for the practice of financial planning. Importantly, the Code and Standards include a commitment to CFP Board to act as a fiduciary — that is, to put their clients’ best interests first — when providing financial advice. You will also need to disclose information about your background, as CFP Board will conduct a detailed background check.

Visit CFP.net to learn more about these requirements and how to get started.

The path to CFP^® certification is a rigorous process, but it provides you with the knowledge and skills you need for a fulfilling financial planning career.

(NewsUSA) -  

The House at the End of the World
by Dean Koontz

Soon no one on Earth will have a place to hide in this novel about fears known and unknown by #1 NYTimes bestselling master of suspense Dean Koontz. In retreat from a devastating loss and crushing injustice, Katie lives alone in a fortress-like stone house on Jacob’s Ladder island. Once a rising star in the art world, she finds refuge in her painting.

A neighboring island houses a secret government research facility. And now two agents have arrived on Jacob’s Ladder in search of someone―or something―they refuse to identify. Although an air of menace hangs over them, an infinitely greater threat has arrived.

Katie soon finds herself in a terrifying battle against an omnipresent terror that could bring about the end of the world.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3tWnqL8.

A Week’s Worth
by Thyme Lewis

To those who cross Mac, punishment comes on a daily basis. With a skill set rivaling special operatives in the world’s most elite gangs, Mac navigates the country working for FEMA, helping those less fortunate resurrect their lives after the USA’s most horrific natural disasters.

In A Week’s Worth, Mac receives a call that sends him home to California, where he will face a more personal disaster: His mother’s health is failing. His good intentions to help are met with resistance. And people keep dying around them. With a burning desire to right the wrongs of the past, Mac hopes this last road trip to Los Angeles will make their time together unforgettable. “Lewis paints a wry and unapologetically honest depiction of his characters,” says one reviewer.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3QWT9Xa.

I Trust My Inner Voice
by Ana Parra Vivas

The author, a well-balanced Lifestyle Manifestation Expert, gives you a blueprint on how to TRUST your Inner Voice. She is a perfect example of how working to change your self-perception can have incredible and tangible benefits. Ana faced many difficulties in her life, and these difficulties challenged her beliefs in herself. She decided to study herself and, ultimately, she discovered the tools that brought her balance as she recovered her personal power.

This book is not only the story of how Ana found balance in her life, but also a guide for anyone struggling to take the next steps toward the life of independence and freedom they desire. The Inner Voice is a powerful tool, and this book can help readers harness that power.

Purchase at www.itrustmyinnervoice.com.

Failed States
by Justin O’Donnell

A grim, fast-paced speculative thriller in the vein of Cormac McCarthy's The Road. It is a tale that deals with political, religious, and violent themes ranging from cannibalism to abortion, while calling into question the fundamental clash between security and liberty.

In an America on the edge of extinction, Thomas La Stella serves as a Deportation Force officer. Tom is old enough to remember America before Dayton Day, the attack that finally brought the country to its knees and the earth towards its death.

Still fighting for hope, Tom clings to his pregnant wife and begrudgingly serves a government on the brink of revolution. When the president goes missing, a new radical force rises from within and threatens every hope Tom has for a better future.

Purchase at bit.ly/3g24qHS.

BookTrib’s Bites is presented by BookTrib.com.

(NewsUSA) -  

The Violin Thief
by Genie Higbee

A startling coming-of-age tale that twines magical realism with musical history and legend.

It’s 1941. A wondrous violin is charming six-year-old Douglas Tryzyna. In her wordless language she tells him they are destined to spark kindness and joy together. Overawed, Douglas names the violin Magic Muriel.

Professor Stoya, recent Berlin émigré, accepts Douglas into his music conservatory. This teacher, who craves fame for himself and his obstinate son, Willi, knows exactly how to trap Douglas, who falls prey to the Professor’s dictate. Meanwhile, poetic piano student, Violette, captures his heart.

1953. Just when Douglas’ benevolent destiny with Magic Muriel seems possible, a clash of desires sets off a chain reaction of ruinous events. For Douglas, navigating a fractured future will require courage, forgiveness, and the balm of kindness.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3gG55ix.

The Island Mother
by Jon Cohn

Leigh Ramos is a woman on the run from her own life. After escaping from a toxic relationship with a drug dealer, emotionally codependent Leigh starts life over far from the hills of Kentucky. She chooses Hawaii, where she lands a job in an exclusive resort. It seems too good to be true.

Then supernatural horrors start manifesting all around Leigh, and she starts having disturbing nightmares of impossible creatures calling out to her. To make matters worse, Leigh’s violent ex-boyfriend is close on her tail, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake. Now trapped, Leigh falls back on old habits. In order to survive paradise, Leigh will need to learn from her past mistakes or she will be doomed to repeat them.

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3U4BflN.

Principles of Education
by Donald Sung

“The human brain and the human body are very complicated, and so is human education.” In Principles of Education, author Donald Sung defines and details 81 principles that parents, educators and learners need to consider to maximize a child’s learning. Together, the principles make up a childhood educational theory that tackles a learner's conditions, environment, and educational processes. 

The book will help readers understand how people learn, guide our children, assess the effectiveness of education, explore the proper and necessary tools for education, and watch children grow. The book is presented as a blueprint for success and systematically outlines each principle with brief and succinct comments. The principles are divided into three interdependent groups: learner's state (functions and conditions), learner's interactions with environment, and introducing a learner to the world.

Purchase at http://bit.ly/3fF5G3u.

Meanwhile Back Home
by Gabrielle Meeker

Most American children during World War II were aware of the threat that faced the country, and they responded to the call. They walked to school listening for air raid sirens, carried scrap metal to school for collection, offered their dimes to buy War Bonds, and sent caring packages to children in Europe. 

This work is a compilation of 50 interviews with people who experienced WWII as children, who were expected to contribute to the war effort. It can thus be described as 50 memoirs, and historical depictions of the era, with revelations of the hardships of post-war attempts to return to normal life. Fifty elders of various backgrounds and locations were interviewed. Some recollections were common, others quite unique. But in all cases, the children faced life-changing events.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3vNUnu6.

BookBites is presented by BookTrib.com.
 

(NewsUSA) -  

Reef Road
by Deborah Goodrich Royce

When a severed hand washes ashore in the wealthy enclave of Palm Beach, FL, the lives of two women—a lonely writer obsessed with the unsolved murder of her mother’s best friend and a panicked wife whose husband has disappeared with their children—collide as the world shutters in the pandemic lockdown of 2020.

In a nod to the true crime that inspired it, “Reef Road” probes unhealed generational scars in a wrenching and original work of fiction. It is both stunning and sexy and, like a bystander surprised by a curtain left open, you won’t be able to look away. “Though pure fiction, it reads as compellingly as a mixture of memoir and exposé. It has left me shaken to the core,” says NYTimes bestselling author Luanne Rice.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3iJung5.

Hell of Hosanna
by Kip Langton

"Kip Langton is a writer to watch", says NYT bestselling author Fiona Davis.

Imagine the Empire State Building removed from New York City. Imagine that building reconstructed brick-by-brick on your father's private island--the trappings of the past stolen from the public to indulge unfettered hypocrisy. This is James's defeated and ravaged landscape when his father successfully monopolizes all forms of industry into one perfect company called U atop the collapse of the old world.
Ownership no longer exists. Now, anyone can have anything--temporarily. But to James, the "rent and move on" lifestyle is a total hell. Then one strange day, the whole thing comes tumbling down and James can break away. In a U space shuttle, he travels to the ultimate unknown. Freedom? The real hosanna?

Purchase at https://amzn.to/3LtKV64.

I Killed Sam
by Robert A. Steadman

Inspired by the true story of a groundbreaking defense of a Flint, MI, woman who killed her abusive husband in the mid-1950s—a time when a husband could rape his wife in Michigan without facing criminal charges. 

This fictionalized account of the trial is more than a legal trial, replete with unexpected plot turns and the drama of a young, small-town lawyer trying to juggle his obligations to his client and to his fledgling law practice. There’s also romance— attorney Bob Nichols is in love with Betty, the defendant and his high school sweetheart whom he should never have let go. Nichols is tortured by the thought of losing his long-shot, legal gamble, which would mean forever losing Betty to a life sentence in prison.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3iSoRYQ.

Make Your Factory Great & Keep It That Way
by Liam Cassidy 

Liam Cassidy is known as “The Serial Factory Fixer.” He's the man that multinationals in the USA, Canada, China, the UK and Ireland have on speed dial. The man with the plan and the one to call to fix a broken factory.  In his 40-year career, Liam has used lean principals and tools, with his unique brand of leadership, to turn around factories and supply chains all over the world including some considered “too far gone” to salvage. 

Now he shares the secret of his success and some very interesting case studies and outlines how lean principles and tools were vital in the processes he adopted to save plants. If you are determined to make your factory great, this is the only book you’ll ever need.

Purchase at https://bit.ly/3IqCKrX.

BookTrib’s Bites is presented by BookTrib.com.