I Love You part2

After a month, I got myself together and went to school. But what made the pain resurface was that… I saw him on a street… with another girl… He had a smile on his face, one that he never showed me…as he touched the doll… I ran straight back home and looked at the dolls in my room, and tears fell… Why did he gave these to me… Those dolls are probably picked out by some other girls…In a fit of anger, I threw the dolls around. Then suddenly, the phone rang. It was him. He told me to come out to the bus stop outside my house. I tried to calm myself down and walked to the bus stop. I kept reminding myself that I am going to forget him, that… it’s going to end. Then he came into my sight, holding a big doll.

Jin: Jo, I thought you were pissed, you really came?
I couldn’t help hating him, acting like nothing had happen and joking around. Soon, he held out the doll as usual…
Me: I don’t need it. Jin: What….why…
I grabbed the doll from his hands and threw it on the road.
Me: I don’t need this doll, I don’t need it anymore!! I don’t want to see a person like you again!
I spitted out all the words that were inside me. But unlike other days, his eyes very shaking.
“I’m sorry” He apologized in a tiny voice. He then walked over to the road to pick up the doll…
Me: You stupid! Why are you picking up the doll?! Just throw it away!!!
But he ignored me and just went to pick the doll. Then…
Honk~ Honk~
With a loud honk, a big truck was heading towards him.
“Jin! Move! Move away!” I shouted… But he didn’t hear me, he squatted down and picked up the doll.
“Jin, move!” HONK~!! “Boom!” That sound, so terrifying.
That’s how he went away from me. That’s how he went away without even opening his eyes to say one word to me.
After that day, I had to go through everyday with guiltiness and the sadness of losing him… And after spending two months like a crazy person… I took out the dolls.
Those were the only gifts he left me since the day we started going out. I remembered the days I spent with him and started to count the days… when we were in love…
“One…two… three…” That was how… I started to count the dolls…
“Four hundred and eighty four… four hundred and eighty five…” It all ended with 485 dolls.
I then started to cry again, with a doll in my arms. I hugged it tightly, then suddenly…
“I love you~, I love you~” I dropped the dolls,shocked.
“I….lo..ve…you??” I picked up the dolls and pressed its stomach.
“I love you~ I love you~” It can’t be! I pressed all the dolls’ stomach as it piled on the side.
“I love you~”
“I love you~”
“I love you~”
Those words came out non-stop. I…love you… Why didn’t I realize that….That his heart was always by my side, protecting me. Why didn’t I realize that he love me this much… I took out the doll under the bed and pressed it’s stomach, that was the last doll, the one that fell on the road. It had his blood stain on it. The voice came out, the on that I was missing so much…
“Jo…Do you know what today is? We’ve been loving each other for 486 days. Do you know what 486 is? I couldn’t say I love you…. Um… since I was too shy… If you forgive me and take this doll, I will say that I love you… everyday… till I die… Jo… I love you…”
The tears came flowing out of me. Why? Why? I asked god, why do I only know about all this now? He can’t be by my side, but he loved me until his last minute…
For that… and for that reason… to me… it became courage… to live a beautiful life.

I Love You part1

I have a boyfriend who grew up with me. His name is Jin. I always thought of him as a friend until last year, when we went to a trip from a club. I found that I fell in love with him. Before that trip was over, I took a step and confessed my love for him. And soon, we became a pair of lovers, but we loved each other in different ways. I always concentrated on him only, but by his side, there were so many other girls. To me, he was the only one, but to him, maybe I was just another girl…

“Jin, do you want to go watch a movie?” I asked.
“I can’t”
“Why? You need to study at home?” I felt disappointment grabbing me.
“No… I am going to meet a friend…”

He was always like that. He met girls in front of me, like it was nothing. To him, I was just a girlfriend. The word ‘love’ only came out from my mouth. Since I knew him, I had never heard him say ‘I love you’ before. To us, there weren’t any anniversaries at all. He didn’t say anything from the first day and it continued till 100 days…200days… Everyday, before we say goodbye, he would just hand me a doll, everyday, without fail. I don’t know why…
Then one day…
Me: Um, Jin, I …
Jin: What…don’t drag, just say..
Me: I love you.
Jin: ……you….um, just take this doll and go home.
That was how he ignored my ‘three words’ and handed me the doll. Then he disappeared, like he was running away. The dolls I received from him everyday, filled my room, one by one. There were many…
Then one day came, my 15th year old birthday. When I got up in the morning, I pictured a party with him, and stranded myself in my room, waiting for his call. But… lunch passed, dinner passed… and soon the sky was dark… he still didn’t call. It was already tiring to look at the phone anymore. Then around 2am in the morning, he suddenly called me and woke me from my sleep. He told me to come out of the house. Still, I felt joy and I ran out happily.
Me: Jin…
Jin: Here…take this…
Again, he handed me a little doll.
Me: What’s this?
Jin: I didn’t give it to you yesterday, so I am giving it to you now. I’m going home now, bye.
Me: Wait, wait! Do you know what today is?
Jin: Today? Huh?
I felt so sad, I thought he would remember my birthday. He turned around and walked away like nothing had happen.Then I shouted… “Wait…”
Jin: You have something to say?
Me: Tell me, tell me you love me…
Jin: What?!
Me: Tell me
I put my pathetic self behind and clung on to him. But he just said simple cold words and left.
“I don’t want to say…that I love someone so easily, if you are desperate to hear it, then find someone else.”
That was what he said. Then he ran off. My legs felt numb… and I collapsed to the ground. He didn’t want to say it easily… How could he…. I felt that… Maybe he is not the right guy for me…
After that day, I stranded myself at home crying, just crying. He didn’t call me, although I was waiting. He just continued handing me a little doll every morning outside my house. That’s how those dolls piled up in my room… everyday

Letting Her Go

"I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU! " Jeanne's eyes were wide and filled with tears. She was afraid of what he would say to her.
---------------------------------------------

Jeanne was a nerdy girl with thick glasses. She was a junior in her middle school. She was in love with the hottest guy in the entire school.
And now, she told him that she loved him.
"Haha! Shut up. Nobody would like you! Who do you think I am?"
Jeanne had feared he would say something like that. She was devastated. She started running. She didn't want to face him ever again. All these thoughts and feelings ran throughout her head. Until, she bumped into something.
"Hey, whats up?"
She had bumped into James.
"WHAT?! I'll GO TELL HIM! WHERE DOES HE GET THAT NERVE! SOMETIMES, I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M HIS BEST FRIEND! THAT'S IT! i'M GOING TO GO BEAT HIM UP!"
"NO! James! Don't do it! It's not his fault. I was the foolish one to think we can ever date."
"But Jeanne!"
" No, it's OK! I should go."
" JEANNE... James grabbed her by the wrist as she was getting up. Don't go."
Jeanne stared into his eyes and felt so warm and fuzzy; a feeling she didn't feel for a long time. But, she looked away. She saw in such a long time, it felt awkward to feel it again. And then she gently took her wrist out of James' grasp and slowly walked away from him with tears in her eyes.
"Dammit, James! You really did it this time! Jeanne just left you! And why are you trying to hit on her?"
James walked back home with his hands stuffed in his pocket. Thoughts of Jeanne ran throughout his head. He didn't want Jeanne to be hurt by a jackass. He wanted to show her that he loved her. He wanted to show her he cared. But Jeanne just seemed to ignore him. And then, something ran into him. He crashed on the ground and saw Jeanne was on top of him. She seemed to not know whom she crashed into. James smiled.
"Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm very, very sorry. I should have been more careful.. I'm sorry. Can I repay you somehow?"
"Jeanne", James said, lifting her chin and brushing her bangs. Jeanne looked through his soft eyes and almost melted.
"James..." said Jeanne. Suddenly, she started crying. James was shocked.
" J-Jeanne? What's wrong?"
"I' m s-s-such a f-fool! H-How c-c-can I th-think t-that G-Gyung H-Hoon c-can love me?"
"Jeanne.. I would not call that foolish.. I actually admire you going up to him and confessing. However, crying about him is indeed foolish. Jeanne, Don't cry about that jerk. Here, let's go to my house. We're right in front of it!" Jeanne nodded.
James led her to the bathroom.
"Take off your glasses. We need to wipe those tears off." He said with a smile. Jeanne took them off without a word. James turned on the water and wet a washcloth. Then, he gently wiped her tears off her face.
" James.. Do you love me?" James was startled by this comment.
" Why do you ask me that?"
" Because.. it seems like it. Do you?"
" Haha! Jeanne, you are my friend."
" Oh.. OK. I think I'm not so teary now. Thanks, James."
" No Problem. Do you want something to drink?"
" Um... OK." She followed James out the door.
He handed her a glass of orange juice and they sat down outside on a bench.
" Are you going to be all right?"
" Yeah.. Thanks. But I don't think I'll be able to face him again."
" When he calls you something bad, just yell my name. OK?"
" OK." she said with a small laugh.
" But what are you going to do when I call you?"
" I'm going to beat him up!"
" What if everyone starts hating you?"
" It doesn't matter. As long as the one girl I love is happy."
" Ooh, James! You like someone?"
" Yeah.. Guess. I'll never tell you until you get the right answer."
" Hmm... is it Amy? She's pretty! What about Lauren? She's nice and quiet. Or is it Becca? She's generous. Or maybe it's Courtney! She's not all that nice though..."
After a few tries, she gave up.
"Who is it? I'm dying of curiosity!"
" Let's see.. she has glasses.. she's in love with Eric, she's sitting right next to me! Jeanne let out a small gasp."
" M-Me?" James nodded. Jeanne almost passed out.
" James! I have declared you crazy." James started laughing.
" Why won't you believe me? I like you.. I want you to be my girlfriend."
" But you're the second hottest guy in school! What if everyone criticizes you for bad taste in girls?"
" I don't care¦ I told you. As long as the one girl I love is happy." he said, smiling.
" No, really, James. No games this time. All serious.. all right?"
" Yeah.. I know."
" Oh my god..." Jeanne said, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Jeanne, I just want to be the right guy for you." he said while putting his arm around her shoulder. She leaned against him and for the first time, she felt accepted by someone special.
"But, James! Why did you say I was just a friend before?"
"Umm! I didn't feel like it was time yet." Jeanne nodded. She knew how hard it was to say, "I love you." She knew how nervous you would feel. And she knew how hard it was to feel the reject.
"I understand, James. I'm just glad you told me. I'll think about it."
"Jeanne, do you still like Eric?"
"Yes!"
"What has he got, that I don't?"
"I just don't know! I mean! you two look the same! you guys wear things all similarly! but! I like Eric better."
"All right! I'll make him like you. He knows he's not going to win in a fight." Jeanne wrapped him in her arms.
"James! I'm all right. You don't have to do all that." And then he wrapped her in his arms.
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"Eric, can I see you for a moment?"
"What up, dude?"
"It's about Jeanne!"
"Oh no! don't tell me about that ugly! I just barf when I hear her name!"
"SHUT UP! DUDE, YOU JUST HAVE TO GIVE HER A CHANCE! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?"
"Hey! I have other girls who want me. The least thing I need now is another girl who is ugly and slow liking me."
"She's not ugly and slow! She's kind and beautiful in the inside when you get to know her!"
"Wait! do you!?"
"Yes! I do!"
"Haha! Then why don't you date her?"
"Because! she's in love with a jackass!"
"STILL? Haha! Man, she's hilarious! After I rejected her like that?"
"Hey! please! it would mean a lot to me! just say that you at least like her as a friend and apologize for what happened last time. Man, she came running all the way to my house and started crying! She was just! out of control, man! Just tell her that! please?"
"All right!"
"You're the best!"
"Hey, Jeanne! I'm sorry for what happened last time. I was sort of tired and grouchy. I wasn't in a good mood. I never wanted to say it that way. I like you as a friend. And I want to keep that relationship. All right?" Eric let out a hand for a shake. Jeanne nodded. She let out her hand and they had a friendship shake, which made James smile.
"See? Eric likes you! He just wants to keep the relationship just as friends! All cool with you?"
"Yes.." she said softly. James took her hand and walked away with her.
"You all right, now?"
"Yeah!" she nodded. "But he only wants us to be friends! because I'm a nerd!"
"Jeanne! Why don't you ever think about me? You know he's a jerk! Why do you mope around for that! So what, if he doesn't like you! Everyone is different, Jeanne. To my eyes, you are a beauty. You can't always think about him! There are other guys out there for you! Not just Eric and me! I really don't want to see you like this."
"James! Do you really love me?"
"I don't think I need to answer that!" They stared at each other for a long time.
"James!" She tried to push him away and he staggered a little.
"Jeanne! answer this for me! do you love me?"
"James, I never intended to be your girlfriend. I just want to be your friend."
"Oh, I see! you're treating me like how Eric treated you. You don't want to be my girlfriend because I'm way different than you. You don't want to be my girlfriend because I'm better looking than you and you're afraid that people will jeer you because of that. Well, you know what? I don't care about any of that!" And with that, he grabbed her and locked her lips into his. After a while, he moved away.
"Oh, you really do love me!" She hugged him.
"But, Jeanne! do you still have feelings for him?"
"Yes! I always have, and always will."
"Do you want to be pretty? Like those girls over there?" James pointed to a group of girls. They all had big hoop earrings and what Jeanne noticed was that they did not have any thick glasses like her. Jeanne nodded. She was pretty ashamed about it.
"It's all right, Jeanne. All girls want to be good looking. Even they were ugly once. Everyone is."
"Really?"
"Sure! I used to act like a girl once. I always thought about my appearance, my clothes, and my hair ; just like a girl."
"Haha! That's funny!"
"It's good to see you laugh. Now, Jeanne. I'll help you become pretty'. Then will you be happy?"
"I don't know. I've never been attractive in my life.." she said innocently.
"Well, it's time you are!"
__________________________

"OK! we'll start off with your hair. It's nice and curly. I don't think it's right to put it up in a hairdo or anything. Something needs to go with it. And I have just the perfect thing."
"What is it?"
"Jeanne! we need to pierce your ears."
"WHAT?!"
"AAAAAAAHHH! OUCH!"
"Well, that wasn't so bad! right?"
"Yeah right," Jeanne said, rubbing her ears. "James, it's even painful to touch my ears!"
"Then just leave them alone before you get an infection!"
"All right! Geez!"
"Now, we need to focus on your clothes. You can't always have a blouse with a tight sweater squeezed over it, you know. It looks like our school has a dress code. You should have a tight shirt with a miniskirt. That would look good on you."

"OK! now that we have all the clothes and jewelry, all we need to fix are your glasses. We need contacts for your eyes."
"How are we going to do that?"
"I know someone who can get us contacts. I knew my eye doctor for a long time. He can help us with it."
"So you want to give her contacts for these glasses?"
"Yeah. Can you help us?" "Well! the lens are really thick! You must be studying really hard, student," he
looked at Jeanne. She smiled and nodded.
"So! will you take them?"
"Yeah, I guess. I really like the design. It can be a display. And whoever wants it, can get it. All right, let's get you some contacts."
"That was pretty easy, right, Jeanne?"
"But it's pretty weird not pushing up some glasses every 10 seconds."
"Haha. But your new blue eyes look marvelous."
"Wait a minuet! You got blue contacts? BLUE?!"
"Yeah. And the extra pair is just regular hazel... the same color as your eyes."
"I want the hazel ones. I don't want to be a Caucasian."
"No. Don't you want to be matching with Eric? Eric has blue contacts, too, you know!"
"Fine!" Jeanne pouted. But James knew inside she was happy. He knew he was going to have to let go of her.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
On Monday, James brought Jeanne to school. Everyone gathered around them and agreed that James and the new beautiful girl was a good couple. James put his arm around Jeanne and took her to Eric.
"What up, man? Who's the chick?" Eric asked.
"You'll never know."
"So tell me!"
"You want to tell him, girl?" James asked Jeanne.
"Hi! I'm Jeanne." James and Jeanne smiled when they heard him gasp.
"The! the nerdy! nerdy girl?"
"The same, Eric! the same."
"Can I talk to you, James?" Eric took James away from Jeanne. "Dude, what the hell is happening here? That's not Jeanne, right?"
"It is Jeanne! How can you live like that? How can you live with one spontaneous idea stuck in your head? Can't you ever think about Jeanne being beautiful and attractive?"
"Well! no."
"See? I knew this was a bad idea. But she loves you! Can't you believe that? And I love her! so I'm letting her go to the one jerk she loves. Peace, man," and with that, James walked away. "Good luck, Jeanne." He stuffed his hands into his pants pockets. He tried to stop the tears from streaming down his face. Jeanne! if you love him that much! I'll let you go. I hope that jackass won't hurt you.
"So! You're Jeanne! The one I rejected?"
"Umm! Yeah."
"Well! I've thought about it, but I think I want you to be my girlfriend."
"Your girlfriend?"
"Yeah." Jeanne couldn't believe her ears. Thank you, James. "So! do you accept?"
"Of course I do! It's always been my dream!"
"Gosh! you have pretty weird dreams! Hey, you look cold. Here." Eric took off his sweater and wrapped it over Jeanne. Jeanne was so happy she was crying. Eric wiped her tears and comforted her.
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After school, Jeanne called James to thank him.
"Hello?"
" James! Thank you so much! It went so well between Eric and me!"
"That's! that's great, Jeanne."
" I owe it all to you. Let's go out for lunch or something sometime. I'll pay." Jeanne sounded so happy.
"Jeanne, I don't think that'll be possible."
" Why not?"
"I'm leaving! to Korea."
" What about your parents? Why are you going? How are you going? I just don't believe this!"
"My parents were dead a long time ago, Jeanne. I have enough money to get on a plane to Korea."
" But! what about me? I thought you loved me!"
"Yes, I do. But you're in love with someone else and I don't want to burden you. I want you to be happy with the one you love and not be pressured by me. Tell Eric that I congratulate him and tell him good-bye please. Bye, Jeanne."
Click!
Jeanne couldn't believe it. She was able to date because of James. She was able to get attractive because of James. She was always comforted because of James! And he was leaving her out by herself in the big, hateful, hideous world. She felt suddenly so scared. She dialed James's number again, but he disconnected the phone. She finally knew who was important to her now.
She quickly dressed into the clothes James had bought for her and ran outside. She was running for dear life to James's house. When she got there, he was right there, in front of her.
Jeanne was so happy she cried out, "JAMES!" He turned to face her. "James, how can you leave me like this?" James looked at her with his soft eyes.
"I'm sorry, Jeanne. I have to leave. My cab's here. Bye, Jeanne." James gave her a peck on the cheek and disappeared into the taxi. She watched the taxi disappear into the curve and watched her James gone! forever. She started crying and crying as if her life was over. But it was! she was now alone in the world, with no one to support her.
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-15 years later-
James came back to America as a successful lawyer. He came back to America in search for the girl he had loved 15 years ago. Everyone in Korea had questioned him. And now that he was back, he was able to search as much as he wanted. But, little did he know there was a problem with that.
"Eric?" James had called Eric. They were in touch the whole time James was in Korea.
" Hey! What's up?"
"I came back to America, dude!"
" Oh! Umm! OK!"
"I want to ask about Jeanne. Is she all right?"
" You see, James. There's something about that you should know."
"I'm getting a bad feeling about this!"
" Well, I guess you can say she's happy and well."
"What do you mean?"
" She's with God, man. She's gone."
"Haha. Nice joke. I'm not kidding. Tell me where she is."
"DUDE! I'M TELLING YOU! AFTER YOU TOLD HER YOU WERE LEAVING HER, SHE STARTED GETTING DEPRESSED AND GETTING STRESSED! IT WAS HORRIBLE, MAN! WHY THE F*CK DID YOU LEAVE? SHE WOULD STILL BE ALIVE! BECAUSE OF YOU, SHE HAD TO SUICIDE! WHAT THE F*CK IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU DUMASS JERK! I THOUGHT YOU LOVED HER! I DON'T THINK THAT'S WHAT GUYS WHO FALL IN LOVE DO TO THEIR CRUSH! SH*T! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE. REMEMBER WHEN YOU CALLED ME A JACKASS? You'd better think again.- Click! The phone fell from James's hand. He dropped to his knees in disbelief. He just couldn't believe it. He felt like everything was against him. He felt so angry with himself. He felt like ripping himself up. He wanted to follow Jeanne up to heaven.
For days and days, James didn't eat a morsel of food. He started getting so much stress.
-20 days later-
James was buried right next to Jeanne's grave. His tombstone read:
R.I.P.James Park
1980-2005
THE ONE MAN WHO LET GO OF A WOMAN AND LOST HER

Love Is

I had three friends. Eric, Cathlyn, Carol.
Eric was chased by all the girls in our high school.
Cathlyn was one of those popular girls. Cheerleader, sexy, and stylish.
Carol was just one of those plain and average girls .
Cathlyn and Carol were both totally crazy and wacko over Eric.
Cathlyn didn't have to do anything to attract Eric.
For she was already attractive enough.
Carol on the other hand, showered Eric which love and care.
Carol wasn't ugly at all.
In fact, she looked sweet and pleasant.
But she wasn't a cheerleader, she didn't were spaghetti-straps or tubes.
So like everyone expected, Eric chose Cathlyn.
For Carol was just one ordinary and plain girl.
While Cathlyn was labele d as the cool and attractive type.

Eric always insulted Carol.
Telling her what a 'Plain Jane' she was.
And how dumb she looked.
Which obviously made Carol feel so hurt and useless.
That's life. Carol never gave up though.
She wanted to prove something to Eric.
She wanted to prove that looks aren't everything.
She studied hard, really hard.
She became the top girl, and all the guys who once ignored her, chased her.

But she never forgot Eric.
Everyday, she put a red rose in Eric's locker.
Always with the same words.
'I care for you, and I always will'
Because she knew that Eric was facing a hard time.
Eric began to realise.
How dumb he had been.
His beloved girlfriend, Cathlyn.
Was flirting with other guys.
He regretted for choosing the wrong girl.
Cathlyn broke up with Eric later.
For she had found a wealthier guy.
Eric felt so cheated, stupid and dumb.
He went to look for Carol.
He knelt on his knees, and said.
"Carol, please forgive me. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
Carol rejected him, much to everyone's surprise.
She only uttered these words.
"You've suffered a great loss, so I don't want you to face another one"
Eric felt disappointed.
He didn't understand a word that she said to him.
But they became good friends.
Did everything together.
Eric began to change into someone better.
Because Carol showered him with the love he never experienced before.
His ex-girlfriends had never treated him that way.
They just accepted him for his looks.
But Carol accepted him for himself .
She changed him.
Carol continued putting a red rose into his locker everyday.
With the same words. She never forgot.
One day, Carol didn't turn up in school.
She didn't come for a week.
At first, Eric thought that she was on a vacation with her family.
Because she told him that she would be going Hawaii with them.
But one day. He received a call from the General Hospital.
Saying that Carol was about to die.
She had been suffering from cancer.
But Carol forbade them from telling him.
Because she didn't want Eric to worry about her.
But now that she was about to die.
She wanted to see Eric for the last time.
Eric rushed to the hospital.
When he saw how weak Carol was.
Tears began rushing down his cheeks.
He whispered.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you hide this from me?"
She looked at him . And smiled weakly at him.
"When I said that I didn't want you to suffer from facing another loss, I meant this. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want you to worry. I wanted to spend my last days with you cheerfully." Eric looked at her.
"You can't leave me!" he said.
"What will I be without you?"
"You'll be who you are now. I will always be there by your side. Never forget that. Cherish those times. Live life happily. And one more thing."
"Yes?" "I love you" And she died. Eric screamed.
He still couldn't accept Carol's death.
He had only spent a month with Carol.
A month. But Carol changed his life in a way.
A way that no one could ever explain. He regretted.
But he knew that Carol would always be keeping an eye on him from Heaven.
Sometimes We just don't appreciate those people who really care for us.
Until they leave us. Until we lose them. Then we regret.
Outer beauty doesn't matter; it's the inner one that counts.
It's better to tell someone how much you love them.
Rather than to not tell them and lose them without telling them.
You'll regret Love is. When we fight till the very last minute.
Just to show and tell someone how much we love them.

Swine Flu Vaccine Seems Safe: Experts

FRIDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) — Despite persistent public concern that H1N1 vaccines being tested might have unforeseen side effects, experts reiterated Thursday that so far, at least, the shots seem safe.

“There have been no red flags at all,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told HealthDay.

A trial designed to test the vaccine on healthy adults began on Aug. 7, while another trial involving children started Aug. 18.

“We wanted to wait about a week after the first trial to see if there were any glaring safety issues. There were not, so one-and-a-half weeks later, we started the trial in children,” Fauci said.

And Fauci is optimistic that the vaccine will continue to be safe.

“It’s unlikely there will be safety issues,” he said. “We don’t expect any because this vaccine is strikingly similar to the seasonal vaccine we give every year to millions and millions and millions of people.”

Still, rare side effects will only come to light after millions of people have been vaccinated and after different population subgroups have been exposed to the vaccine.

“No clinical trial in the world is going to be large enough to be able to detect an event that occurs one in every 100,000 people,” Fauci said. “The only way to pick that up is after the fact, when a lot of people get vaccinated and good surveillance picks it up.”

Another expert agreed. “One of the challenges is that sometimes on the safety issue, only large-scale use will uncover rare events,” said Dr. Melinda Moore, senior health researcher with the RAND Corporation in Arlington, Va., and a former epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “That’s not unique to this product. That’s why there’s so much after-market surveillance.”

Such a surveillance system will be in place and operable when the first vaccinations start to roll out. Fauci anticipates that 45 million to 50 million doses will be available by Oct. 15.

Many people are painfully aware of a U.S. government decision in 1976 to vaccinate 43 million people against swine flu — it backfired badly.

Not only did the dreaded outbreak never materialize, but some 500 Americans who did get vaccinated came down with a rare neurodegenerative condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome, which many experts believe was linked to the shot. Twenty-five of those 500 people died.

One thing that’s already different about this year’s H1N1 virus: The 1976 virus never spread beyond 240 soldiers stationed at Fort Dix, N.J., while the current outbreak has already sickened more than 200,000 people worldwide, killing 2,200 or more, according to the World Health Organization.

“That [1976] virus never evolved,” Moore said. “People thought it was going to be a new pandemic. It didn’t turn out to be. The threat wasn’t as big as they thought. This virus has already demonstrated that it has spread.”

Still, segments of the public may be wary of any vaccine they perceive as being rushed out too fast. A report in a recent issue of the BMJ found that more than half of all health-care workers surveyed in Hong Kong have already decided not to get vaccinated because of fears about safety and doubts on efficacy.

U.S. officials do not yet know whether the vaccine will require one or two doses. “We will know in a week or so if one dose is going to be enough,” Fauci said. “We’re hoping it’s going to be one.”

Reports published Thursday by drug maker Novartis suggest its vaccine may be effective after just one jab.

If two doses are needed, researchers will need to figure out how far apart they should be given, Moore said, and whether an adjuvant — something to boost the immune response — is called for.

“They will have to balance it all out,” she said. “Ultimately the product needs to be licensed. This is not a theoretical exercise. The virus is here and so is the U.S. population — and so is the flu season.”

More information

Find out more about the H1N1 swine flu at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

SOURCES: Anthony Fauci, M.D., director, U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Melinda Moore, M.D., senior health researcher, RAND Corporation, Arlington, Va.

Last Updated: Sept. 04, 2009

Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Thin Thighs Might Be Harbinger of Heart Disease

THURSDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) — Thin thighs might look good in jeans, but a new Danish study indicates they might also raise the risk of premature death and heart disease in both men and women.

That’s not to say fat thighs confer any survival benefit, the researchers stressed. Rather, the study of nearly 3,000 men and women who were followed for more than 12 years found the ideal thigh measurement was in the neighborhood of 60 centimeters, about 24 inches.

The report, by researchers at Copenhagen University Hospital, was published in the Sept. 4 issue of BMJ.

A number of studies have linked cardiovascular risk to obesity, measured by either body-mass index (BMI, a ratio of weight to height) or waist circumference. “This is the first time that someone has related thigh size to pathology,” said study author Berit L. Heitmann, a professor of nutritional epidemiology at the university’s Institute for Dietary Studies.

The increased death risk for people with thin thighs “was found independent of abdominal and general obesity, lifestyle, and cardiovascular risk factors such as blood pressure and lipids,” the researchers wrote.

Dr. Vivian Fonseca, chief of endocrinology at Scott & White Memorial Clinic in Temple, Texas, said: “It seems odd as to why a thin thigh may predict heart disease. However, it could represent that fat and muscle is not being deposited in the right place where it is needed, and certainly we know that fat in the wrong places, such as skeletal muscle and liver and pancreas, is associated with diabetes and may increase mortality. So the problem here may not be with the thin thighs, but where else the bulk is going.”

The study authors offered their own theory: Thin thighs might suggest a lack of muscle mass, which can lead to insulin sensitivity and heart disease.

“Is this association plausible?” asked an accompanying editorial by Dr. Ian A. Scott, director of internal medicine and clinical epidemiology at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia. His answer: Maybe.

Given the relatively small number of people in the study and a somewhat weak relationship between thigh size and cardiovascular risk, “it seems unlikely that thigh circumference will be clinically useful,” Scott wrote. “More research is needed to see whether measuring thigh circumference with a tape measure adds anything more to our clinical management than eliciting risk factors from the history, examining the cardiovascular system and measuring serum lipids.”

“What would be useful would be studies showing that changing thigh size improves health,” Heitmann said. She said she does not plan to do such a study, but will continue to analyze data from the original group.

More research is needed before the finding is put to medical use, Heitmann acknowledged. “If it is shown by other studies that this is not just chance but that there is a clinical relationship, this would be a good marker for increased risk over the next 10 to 12 years,” she said.

“After correction for other variables, the relationship is actually very weak,” Fonseca noted. “There are much better ways to predict risk, and I would not recommend that we start measuring thighs in clinic.”

More information

The impact of obesity on cardiovascular risk is described by the American Heart Association.

By Ed Edelson
HealthDay Reporter

SOURCES: Berit L. Heitmann, Ph.D, professor, nutritional eidemiology, Copenhagen University Hospital Institute for Dietary Studies, Denmark; Vivian Fonseca, M.D., professor and chief, endocrinology, Scott & White Memorial Clinic, Temple, Texas; Sept. 4, 2009, BMJ

Last Updated: Sept. 04, 2009

Copyright © 2009 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved.

Giving Swine Flu Drug by IV Could Save Lives

THURSDAY, Sept. 3 (HealthDay News) — A 22-year-old cancer patient battling for her life after contracting H1N1 swine flu recovered fully after doctors took the unorthodox approach of giving her the antiviral drug Relenza intravenously.

The British physicians who treated the woman said this last-resort approach may need to be considered for others as swine flu sweeps the globe. Relenza is licensed in pill form and as an inhaled powder, but not as an intravenous medication.

In this woman’s case, neither Relenza nor a similar H1N1-fighting drug, Tamiflu, could reach her severely affected lungs when taken orally or inhaled, the physicians report in the Sept. 4 online issue of The Lancet.

“There were clinical signs that the patient was not able to absorb the Tamiflu because of a problem with the digestive system; and in the case of Relenza, the lungs were very inflamed with a lot of fluid leakage, and we considered it likely that the powdered form of the drug was not able to penetrate far enough to be effective,” explained study co-author Dr. Michael Kidd of University College London Hospitals.

The woman’s situation was dire. She had been hospitalized in an intensive care unit for 16 days and was breathing through a respirator after her lungs filled with fluid. Also, her immune system had been badly weakened by the chemotherapy she was taking to help fight her cancer.

Since oral or inhaled medicines had failed to reach the woman’s lungs, Kidd and his colleague, Dr. Mervyn Singer, turned to an unlicensed form of intravenous Relenza after consultations with the hospital and next-of-kin. “Giving the antiviral drug into the bloodstream would get round these obstacles, and we anticipated it would reach the lungs rapidly and effectively,” Kidd said.

The treatment worked. After receiving the IV Relenza, the woman began to recover speedily, greatly reducing the amount of H1N1 virus in her system. Five days later, she breathed on her own, and in a little more than a week she left the intensive-care unit.

Singer and Kidd also gave the patient corticosteroids at the same time that she received the intravenous Relenza. “We reasoned that the steroids might help by damping down the inflammation once the viral replication was under control,” Kidd said. “We have no evidence that this was the case in our patient, but we would like to see this possibility addressed in future clinical trials.”

Their success in bringing this very sick patient back from the brink augurs for the wider acceptance of intravenous Relenza for patients seriously affected by the swine flu this fall and winter, Kidd said. “We consider it very important to further investigate this approach as soon as possible, since apart from the obvious individual patient benefit, it could help relieve the pressure on beds that is likely to occur in critical care facilities during the colder seasons,” he said.

One U.S expert agreed. “The patient was deathly ill and [the doctor] got permission to use it on this patient, and then it seemed to have helped, and I think that’s great,” said Dr. Peter Gross, chief medical officer at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey.

“The individual involved was at very high risk of having very serious complications of the novel H1N1 because the person was very immunocompromised,” Gross pointed out.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has placed people with chronic underlying illnesses, such as asthma, diabetes or cancer, and those with compromised immune systems high on the list of those at risk for severe or life-threatening H1N1 infections. Many of the 477 Americans who have died have had some sort of underlying medical condition, CDC officials noted Thursday in their journal, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

According to Kidd, the woman he treated exhibited no side effects from the strategy. “IV Relenza is well-tolerated in adults at quite high doses, previously shown in clinical trials, and it can be used in children from 6 months of age,” he said. There are certain “contraindications” for its use — doses may need to be adjusted if the patient has kidney disease, for example, and its safety during pregnancy “has not been established,” Kidd said.

But even for pregnant women (another H1N1 high-risk group, according to the CDC), “in severe swine flu respiratory disease, the expected benefit to the mother is likely to outweigh any possible risk to the fetus,” Kidd said.

More information

Find out more about H1N1 flu at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

By E.J. Mundell
HealthDay Reporter

SOURCES: Michael Kidd, FRC, clinician, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, England; Peter Gross, M.D., chief medical officer, Hackensack University Medical Center, New Jersey; Sept. 4, 2009, The Lancet, online

Doctors’ Efforts to Fight Childhood Obesity Not Working

FRIDAY, Sept. 4 (HealthDay News) — Researchers are recommending that officials in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia rethink their efforts to combat obesity in children because the current strategies — emphasizing healthy diets and exercise — aren’t working.

In a study released online Sept. 4 in BMJ, Australian researchers followed more than 250 overweight and mildly obese Australian children who visited their general practitioners between 2005 and 2006. A total of 139 were given counseling over three months about changing their eating habits and increasing exercise; the other 119 did not get such counseling.

Parents said the kids who received counseling drank fewer soft drinks, but they didn’t eat more fruit or vegetables or less fat, and they didn’t lose significant amounts of weight.

The researchers reported that brief, physician-led intervention produced no long-term improvement in body mass index, physical activity or nutrition habits.

The counseling isn’t harmful, the study authors noted, but it doesn’t seem to work and is expensive.

“Resources may be better divided between primary prevention at the community and population levels, and enhancement of clinical treatment options for children with established obesity,” the researchers concluded.

More information

For more on childhood obesity, go to U.S. National Library of Medicine.

— Randy Dotinga