Elderly woman who uses an oxygen tank is charged with drug trafficking at her New Mexico apartment
- 84-year-old tried to hide stash of cocaine in raid, police say
- Neighbors say she let son sell drugs so he could care for her
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 19:58 GMT, 23 May 2013 | UPDATED: 13:51 GMT, 24 May 2013
She may not look like a typical drug dealer, but this 84-year-old woman who uses an oxygen tank has just been charged with drug trafficking and possession.
Lillie Smith is also charged with tampering with evidence after she tried to hide cocaine and marijuana that she had on her when police raided her Albuquerque apartment.
'It's definitely not something you see everyday,' Sgt Aaron Williamson, of Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office, said.
The charges relate to a warrant served at Smith's apartment in 2011, when her son, Nathan Jones, was living with her.
Officers believed that her son was dealing drugs from their home.
'There were scales, money, narcotics things of that nature that we generally find with drug trafficking,' Sgt Williamson said.
Smith's neighbors described the elderly woman as kind to a fault, and told KRQE she had allowed her son to deal drugs from her home because she wanted someone to take care of her.
However, police believe she was involved in the illegal operation and say she had cocaine and marijuana on her when they searched her home.
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'When detectives were on scene she did try to take the narcotics that were on her person out and stash them,' Sgt Williamson said.
Jones was arrested on drug charges but because of her medical condition, his mother avoided being charged - until now.
A district attorney's office filed charges against the elderly woman, and a grand jury returned an indictment in February.
After her arrest in April she was bonded out of jail and is due to make her next court appearance in July.
Previous court records show Smith pleaded guilty to drug charges in the 1990s, when she was in her 60s.
Smith is not the first pensioner to be arrested for drug dealing, but she may be the oldest. In April last year 73-year-old Darlene May was arrested in Oklahoma. She faces drug charges after police found 4lb of marijuana and $276,000 in cash at the home she shared with her son.
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Would you pay for oxygen?
It has been made hip by countless celebrities but will we Brits really be rushing to the nearest store to pay for the latest fad to hit the streets - a machine that dispenses oxygen.
It isn't as silly as it sounds. Did we ever think we'd end up paying for bottled water? Who could have imagined that millions of us would ever pay for water rather than drinking it free from the tap!
We need oxygen to breath and it's free in the atmosphere so why pay £2 for a 10 minute shot?
Well oxygen therapy has been researched extensively and the benefits are scientifically proven.
A recent study reported that feeding the brain with extra oxygen can improve mental performance.
Brain power can be increased by up to 20 per cent when people take extra supplies of oxygen, according to researchers at the Human Cognitive Neuroscience Unit of the University of Northumbria.
Volunteers remembered up to 20 per cent more words from a list after they were given a short blast of oxygen through a facemask.
A dose of oxygen also improved performance when playing the computer game Tetris when the game was at its hardest level.
Experts believe that the more oxygen in the body and brain the better your system will function.
Some of the benefits are it: boosts energy, enables recovery more quickly after exertion, gets rid of headaches and hangovers, relieves stress, increases concentration and enables you to feel more relaxed and revitalised.
Oxygen bars have been around for years in Asia and America. Cheers and Natural Born Killers star Woody Harrelson who's also a hemp impresario and Hollywood's man with a social conscience, opened an oxygen bar in LA where hip customers sniff medical grade oxygen to relieve stress and get rid of their hangovers.
Athletes take oxygen before competing, and so do rock stars such as Mick Jagger. Michael Jackson also purportedly favours napping in his personal oxygen chamber.
Now Britain's airheads can inhale extra oxygen from machines installed at night-clubs, bars, gyms and high street stores such as Selfridges and Harvey Nichols which launches an oxygen bar later this month. Oxygen machines will also be available to rent for the office or home.
The specially designed machines supplied by O2Live are simple to use. You put a pre-purchased card into apparatus and oxygen is pumped out via a jetmask, which covers the nose and mouth.
Alternatively you can chat with friends if you opt to use a live wire which is a plastic tubing which pumps oxygen just up the nose.
A minimum of five minutes is needed to start to feel benefits. Three 20 minute sessions per day is the maximum recommended.
Dominic Simler, is Managing Director of O2Live, which patented the oxygen machine, now available at 260 sites across the UK.
He believes that tens of thousands of people are already enjoying the benefits of an extra oxygen boost.
He said: 'Of course with anything that is new or a bit odd or crazy people are going to pass it off as a fad which only celebrities can afford.
'But the same could be said about buying bottled water. If you had asked the same question of people 20 to 30 years ago about would they pay 70p for a bottle of water when it is free out of the tap? They would have said no but now bottled water is brought by millions of people.
'It's essentially a lifestyle choice just as it is with drinking bottled water which you perceive to be purer and healthier.
'There is a hell of a lot of animosity from people to start with but they are eager to try it and once they do they invariably like it and feel the benefits.'
How extra oxygen works?
Oxygen is at saturation level in the red blood cells even when breathing normal air. Extra oxygen is absorbed into the blood by increasing it partial pressure, driving more oxygen into the tissues.
The O2LIVE oxygen system plugs into a normal wall socket and uses minimal electricity.
It works by drawing in air which contains 21 per cent oxygen, 78 per cent nitrogen and one per cent other gases, filtering out the impurities through molecular sieve beds and pumping out up to 95 per cent pure filtered oxygen.
The user breathes an entirely safe mixture of 95 per cent pure oxygen and the surrounding air, which contains 21 per cent oxygen. This means they get between 50 to 100 per cent more oxygen than they would get from the normal sea level air.
A fragrance can be added to enhance the pleasure of breathing a scented, oxygen enriched air mixture.
The aromatherapy scent cartridges include: energy, eucalyptus, passion, relax, lemon and orange.
The system uses an oxygen generator to produce the oxygen because of the advantages it has over cylinders, which have been used in oxygen bars.
Cylinders have to be regularly refilled, have an additional fire risk and have limited oxygen capacity within the cylinder. The length of time you stay on the O2Live depends on you and the benefits you are looking for.
My own verdict on this new phenomenen having had a 10-minute shot of oxygen from the O2Live was that it was refreshing and did make me feel relaxed. I enjoyed the eucalyptus scented cartridge but I couldn't say I felt any long lasting benefits from my 02 blast but I would definitely try it again.
For more information about O2Live contact 020 7431 8585.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-37935/Would-pay-oxygen.html#ixzz2f8Zqjs9x
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Miniature oxygen generator implants to boost effectiveness of cancer treatments
Some cancers, such as pancreatic and cervical cancers, are notoriously hypoxic, which means they contain low oxygen levels. Because radiation therapy needs oxygen to be effective, hypoxic areas of a tumor can be difficult to kill. To combat this, researchers at Purdue University have developed and tested a miniature electronic device that is designed to be implanted into solid tumors to generate oxygen and boost the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
Once implanted into a tumor, the new "implantable micro oxygen generator" uses ultrasonic signals to generate a small voltage to separate oxygen and hydrogen from water in a chemical process called water electrolysis. The devides are just under one centimeter (0.39-in) long and are inserted into tumors with a hypodermic biopsy needle.
"We are putting these devices inside tumors and then exposing the tumors to ultrasound," said Babak Ziaie, a Purdue University professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering. "The ultrasound energy powers the device, generating oxygen.
The devices, which were created at the Birck Nanotechnology Center in Purdue's Discovery Park, have been tested in pancreatic tumors implanted in mice. The tests showed the devices generated oxygen, which resulted in the tumors shrinking faster than tumors without the devices.
The Purdue researchers have filed a patent for the current design and are looking at the possibility of redesigning it to make it more practical for manufacturing and clinical trials.
The results of the team's research appear in a paper published online inTransactions on Biomedical Engineering.
About the Author
Darren's love of technology started in primary school with a Nintendo Game & Watch Donkey Kong (still functioning) and a Commodore VIC 20 computer (not still functioning). In high school he upgraded to a 286 PC, and he's been following Moore's law ever since. This love of technology continued through a number of university courses and crappy jobs until 2008, when his interests found a home at Gizmag. All articles by Darren Quick
Going on holiday to Norway soon?
DON'T LET THE USE OF OXYGEN CONFINE YOU!
Customers travel on land, air and sea using Portable Oxygen Concentrators .
The following International airlines approve the Inogen One, SeQual Eclipse and the Respironics EverGo: Air France, Air Canada, El Al Airlines, Alitalia, SAS Airlines, Lufthansa, Qantas, All Nipon Airways, ATA Airlines, Cathey Pacific, Icelandair, Norwegian, LTU International, Singapore Airlines, Swiss International, and Virgin Atlantic.
Many satisfied customers have used OxygenWorldwide for travelling to destinations such as Norway for their portable oxygen needs.
We have the equipment, we have the experience:
- International or Domestic Travel
- Back up service
- Air Travel
- Train Travel
- 24 hour service
OxygenWorldwide has been a leader in servicing the needs of medical oxygen travelers. We are experienced in serving your medical, home and airline oxygen needs while you are on the go!
What is fit to fly?
Most travellers with existing medical conditions are able to fly without difficulty. However, occasionally certain precautions need to be taken.
A fitness to fly form is required to be completed when:
- Fitness to travel is in doubt as a result of recent illness, hospitalisation, injury or surgery
- If you have an existing unstable medical condition
- You wish to use medical equipment or therapeutic oxygen on-board
Most medical cases are straightforward, but some require individual assessment. In certain cases, we may ask that you and your doctor complete a “Fitness to Fly' Form.
Carriage of a POC:
Passengers carrying a POC should obtain a Medical Equipment Approval & Baggage Waiver letter. This approval & waiver letter must be presented at the Bag Drop desk or at the boarding gate if travelling with no checked baggage.
Use of POC during Flight:
If you wish to use a POC during flight, for the use onboard you will be required to complete a 'Fit to Fly' form which will be sent to the passenger once the requirement has been notified. This completed “Fit to Fly' form must be returned between 14 up to 2 days prior to travel for validation. The validated “Fit to Fly form must be carried by the passenger on all flights and produced to our cabin crew on boarding the aircraft.
If the POC is to be used onboard it is the passenger’s responsibility to ensure that they have a sufficient number of fully charged batteries for the duration of the flight and any possible delays, as POC or batteries cannot be charged on board.
Individual airline carriers have their own regulations please check before booking departure for full details.
For further info and back up service please contact our team at info@oxygenworldwide.com or www.oxygenworldwide.com
For an example:
Please see below list of models approved for carriage on Ryanair flights:
Traveling with oxygen has become much easier with the development of portable oxygen concentrators
Traveling with oxygen has become much easier with the development of portable oxygen concentrators (POCs). These devices run on a battery pack, can be recharged, plugged into the wall or a cigarette lighter in a car, and can be taken on airplanes.
Commercial airlines must provide a cabin pressure altitude of no more than 8,000 feet of altitude. Your pulmonologist can determine if air travel is safe for you. Your pulmonologist may order an altitude simulation test to help determine your ability to fly safely at this cabin pressure.
If you are going to need oxygen in flight, you must make arrangements with the airline well ahead of time. You can use either the on-board oxygen supply.
The airline will require a physician's statement. The airlines generally have their own form for the doctor to complete.
Some tips for air travel with POCs:
- Start making arrangements with the airline well ahead of time to find out which POC is allowed. Many airlines list accepted manufacturers and brands on their websites.
- Allow plenty of extra time for check-in.
- Carry several extra battery packs. FAA regulations require enough battery time to cover 150 percent of the flight time.
- POCs and battery packs can be rented for travel, along with your POC.
- Carry an extra three-way plug for recharging your POC in the airport. People often need to recharge their electronic equipment in the airport during layovers, and this will help assure that you will be able to recharge yours.
- POCs are exempt from the carry-on count.
- Carry a prescription for oxygen, signed by your doctor.
For more information about POCs and air travel, go to www.oxygenworldwide.com
Last minute portable medical oxygen
Last Minute Europe's leading independent portable and medical oxygen company
Welcome to OxygenWorldwide - the world's leading specialist provider of medical and portable oxygen solutions. We fully understand the oxygen world can be a minefield, and can cause confusion. There is always a fully trained advisor available 24/7 if you have any queries or questions; just contact our team on info@oxgenworldwide.com
Recognised globally as a world-leading company in portable concentrators, we offer nothing less than professionalism at the highest standard. Open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, so we are always available to help you with any questions or queries you may have.
Kabba is taking out another loan on Kiva
Kabba is taking out another loan on Kiva - OxygenWorldwide help third world people to grow their own businesses. This is an update on ourr loan to Kabba in Sierra Leone. We wanted to let you know that Kabba has another loan posted on Kiva! Here's the description of their new loan: This is 52-year-old Kabba. He is married, and has four children aged 23, 20, 16 and 14. He has one additional dependent, who lives with him and his wife. In 1997, Kabba established his muslim caps and beads business. He began his business to enable him to solve his domestic problem. His business is located in the city center and his main customers are Muslim men and women. Working 7 days a week and 10 hours a day, he earns about Le 650,000 every month from this business. He would like a loan in the amount of Le 4,000,000. Kabba has already received and successfully repaid three loans, and now requires a new loan in order to buy dozens of Muslims caps (Le 2,500,000) and dozens of Muslims beads (Le 1,500,000). He hopes that this loan shall increase his stock level and hence his additional income level. In the future, Kabba plans to complete his construction of his house, to educate his children and to rent a shop. He thanks you for your support. You can see Kabba's new loan by visiting http://www.kiva.org/lend/593927?_te=rlnol. The Association for Rural Development (ARD) is one of the leading microfinance institutions in Sierra Leone. Established in 1989, ARD has offered individual and group loans to support small-scale businesses across the country for two decades. You can learn more about ARD on its partner profile page, support the organization and its staff by joining the ARD lending team, or lend to another one of its borrowers currently raising funds on Kiva. Additional notes from Kiva: 1. This update was posted from Sierra Leone by Kiva's Field Partner, Association for Rural Development (ARD). If you appreciate this update, please consider supporting another entrepreneur listed by this Field Partner. 2. If this journal entry is in a foreign language, you can use an online translator such as Google Translator 3. Also, you can recommend or comment on this journal. 4. You can browse and search through all of the updates to loans in your portfolio on the Updates Tab. 5. And finally, if you do not wish to receive these emails, you can disable them in your account email preferences. Thanks for lending to the world's working poor on Kiva! Best Wishes, The Kiva Team |
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Top 10 European travel destinations for 2013
Porto & Douro Valley
The Yeatman is Porto’s finest hotel, and its Michelin-starred restaurant is well worth a visit even if you don’t stay the night.
Rooftops of Porto and the Douro River. Photo by Dmitry Shakin / Getty Images.
Budapest, Hungary
Szimpla Kert is the granddaddy of the garden bars and one of the best, now winterized to be open year-round.
The Széchenyi Baths on a summer day in Budapest, Hungary. Photo by Ellen Rooney / Getty Images.
Northern Iceland
Fancy a peek at a puffin? On the island of Grimsey, Iceland’s only true piece of the Artctic Circle, birds outnumber people 1000 to one. Divers can swim with seabirds, watching guillemots hunting for food deep in the crystal waters.
Fire and Ice – Riders on the frozen Myvatn Lake. Photo by Reinhard Pantke / Getty Images.
Cinque Terre, Italy
The best way to get around the Cinque Terre is with the Cinque Terre card available at all of the local train stations, which gives you unlimited use of the walking paths, electric village buses, the elevator in Riomaggiore and cultural exhibitions (one/two days €5/9).
Colourful Riomaggiore, Cinque Terre. Photo by Sergio Del Rosso / Getty Images.
Moravia, Czech Republic
To pedal your way through Moravian wine country, follow the Mikulov Wine Trail. The Mikulov tourist office (www.mikulov.cz/tourism) can help steer you to a one-day ride that takes in the nearby chateaux at Valtice and Lednice, stopping at small local vineyards along the way.
Elderflower wine, Mikulov, Moravia, Czech Republic. Photo by Paul Harris / Getty Images.
Bern, Switzerland
Get a taste of Bern’s locavore leanings at the popular Lötschberg AOC (www.loetschberg-aoc.ch), with an all-Swiss wine and beer list, local cheese specialities and seasonal produce.
Bern’s Old Town and the Aare River. Izzet Keribar / Getty Images.
Marseille, France
For a true bouillabaisse experience, head to Le Rhul for a classic approach or L’Epuisette for a swank Michelin-starred experience; reserve in advance for both.
Marseille’s Vieux Port. Photo by Alexandre Fundone / Getty Images.
Croatia
To experience Zagreb like a local, don’t miss Saturday morning špica, the coffee-drinking and people watching ritual that is the peak of the weekly social calendar.
Plitvice Lakes National Park. Photo by Kelly Cheng / Getty Images.
Northern Ireland
In October, Derry/Londonderry dusts off the skeletons and puts on the spooky makeup for the annual Halloween Carnival, Ireland’s biggest street party.
Dawn on the Giant’s Causeway. Photo by Riccardo Spila / Getty Images.
Copenhagen, Denmark
The strikingly modern Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in nearby Humelbæk is worth the side trip even if you’re not a passionate fan of modern art. Inside find Picasso, Giacometti and an entire wing for kids; outside find Henry Moore, Alexander Calder and artfully framed views across the water to Sweden.
City bikers in Copenhagen. Photo by Dag Sundberg / Getty Images.
Read more: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/europe/travel-tips-and-articles/77757#ixzz2bhGWEMXI
Preparation is the key and will make your travels more enjoyable
For those with diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema or chronic bronchitis, supplemental medical oxygen is a necessity. If you have ever tried to travel with supplemental oxygen, you know how difficult this can be. Being prepared, and knowing how to travel safely with oxygen and where to obtain oxygen at your final destination is vital.
Always check with your doctor and your oxygen company before traveling.
Safety is a very important issue when traveling by car, as an oxygen tank can become a dangerous projectile in an accident. It is crucial to secure the unit. Your oxygen company can provide you with information about safe ways to store and protect your particular oxygen unit in a vehicle.
Portable oxygen concentrators — which form oxygen by extracting and separating it from the surrounding air, and deliver it through a nasal cannula — may be stored in any position, but they should be padded to protect them from impact.
Small cylinder tanks holding compressed oxygen in gas form can also be stowed in any position, but the valve on top and the liter flow knob must be protected from collision through use of a seatbelt, webbing or other such device.
All unit types should be protected from heat, so they should not be stored in a car’s trunk, where extreme heat build-up can occur. In case of a fire, additional oxygen causes a fire to burn more rapidly, so always keep a car window open at least a crack to prevent the accumulation of more than the normal amount of oxygen. When refilling oxygen tanks at an outdoor facility, always remove the tanks from your car and place them in a well-ventilated area.
Travel by airplane also takes a good amount of research and preparation. No airline will allow you to bring aboard your own oxygen cylinder, but many airlines have medical oxygen cylinders available for a fee for use on their planes, such as Alaska Airlines, British Airways, Continental, Delta and Japan Airlines. The oxygen containers used on airplanes vary from airline to airline.
You must make arrangements to provide your own oxygen to and from the airplane. It is helpful to have someone take you to the airport and allow him or her to take your tank home.
Many airlines, such as Alaska Airlines, Delta, Frontier and Southwest, now allow travelers to bring aboard their own portable oxygen concentrators, but the airlines permit only the brands Inogen One or AirSep LifeStyle.
You must have enough fully charged batteries to last the entire flight and to allow for possible delays, as electricity will not be provided on the airplane. The way in which extra batteries must be stored varies from airline to airline. Contact your airline to obtain their regulations for battery storage.
You will also need to contact your airline to learn their requirements for advance notification of your need for medical oxygen. Many airlines will need a letter from your physician in advance of the flight, so they can contact him or her to verify liter flow. The letter should have a date of no more than one year prior to the flight (some airlines require a letter dated no more than 10 days prior to the flight), stating the amount of oxygen needed and the flow rate, adjusted to cabin pressure.
It is important to make advance arrangements for the delivery of oxygen to the airport of your destination. Almost all airlines require a 48-hour advance notice for domestic flights, and airlines can require up to 72 hours advance notice for international travel.
Many cruise lines allow you to bring your own oxygen, and they allow all types. Some will accept deliveries from medical-supply companies, while others only allow certain companies to deliver. You will need to contact the customer service department of the cruise line for the regulations on each ship.
When traveling by train, contact the customer service department to obtain regulations about traveling with medical oxygen.
In Europe, the rules and regulations for oxygen use on Eurail vary from country to country. There is no one place to find the information for a trip that takes you from country to country. Your best bet is to contact the customer service department of the railroad in each country you will be traveling through. You can find this information on the Eurail Website.
Being well prepared will make your travels much more enjoyable.
Happy travels!
