GooMaiRoo's Blog

A WOMAN caring for her sick partner, who suffers from a superbug, has pleaded for more resources to fight his condition.

Val Bowen, 61, of Kings Park, Canvey, is caring for her partner, Tony Reilly, 73, who was diagnosed earlier this month with clostridium difficile. He also suffers from Parkinson's disease.

Ms Bowen phoned her NHS helpline to ask for more incontinence pads to enable her to keep Mr Reilly clean and hygienic, which is crucial to his health.

But she was shocked to be told her allocation would be increased from four to five pads per day - the amount he often needs in an hour.

"Her next delivery is due early next month, but she fears her free resources may run out within days. Ms Bowen said: "I think it's disgusting. A condition like this thrives on dirt. It's terrible that he's going through this and is only allowed one more per day."

The pair are assisted at home by two carers, four times a day, and visited by two nurses at night to help put in Mr O'Reilly's drip to feed him.

However, she said some of their carers had stopped coming because they were reportedly worried about contracting the illness.

Ms Bowen is now having to do numerous rounds of washing and bed changing, despite suffering from her own health issues.

She has arthritis and curvature of the spine and is reliant on crutches. She said: "If I have to buy these pads, I will, but it's the principle.

"You'd think given his state they'd supply them earlier. It's awful.

"You feel like you have the plague."

Paul Ilett, South East Essex Primary Care Trust spokesman, said despite the couple approaching the Echo, he could not comment on individual cases to protect patient confidentiality.

He added: "If any patient is unhappy with the health service in south-east Essex, we would urge them to contact our patient advice and liaison service.

"The Pals team offers confidential help and advice and can be contacted on 01702 226668 for Castle Point or Rochford residents or 01702 224642 for Southend residents."

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Poor Bree Tierney. She is the other woman who was reportedly engaged to Riley Giles, the current boyfriend of Lindsay Lohan. She was reportedly dumped when the couple met at the Cirque Lodge rehab center.

For their part, Lindsay and Riley say they started dating until after rehab, and Riley claims that Bree and he were not to be, and who needs three?

Bree’s mother is reported to have said in US Magazine: “Riley just stopped calling Bree and never told her about Lindsay. She found out by seeing photos. It destroyed her.”

But Riley told In Touch Magazine: ““I broke up with Bree a week before I started dating Lindsay. We had dated for almost two years, but it’s not like we were engaged or anything.”

All that we have as a biography for Bree Tierney is that she is a resident of Murray, Utah and her mother’s name is Tess. We can find no photos, myspace page, or anything else that would be helpful to know this mystery woman so please enlighten us.

Pictures will be below when we have them.

And we do not have them yet! Help us in the comments.

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Every time Jessica McClure passes some sort of milestone, OTB gets search engine referrals to long-forgotten (by me, anyway) posts about her. Today, “‘Baby Jessica’ McClure Marries at 19” is getting slammed, prompting me to check Google News to see what’s happened. It turns out that it’s been 20 years since she fell into that well and become internationally famous.

In October 1987, the nation focused in on Midland, Texas, and became captivated by the story of an 18-month-old toddler who became stuck in a well.

Jessica McClure, or baby Jessica as she came to be known to the world, gained international attention as rescuers worked to free her.

Now, 20 years after she gained world’s attention, Jessica McClure is a wife and mother.

McClure is unable to remember how she fell into an eight-inch abandoned well covered by a flower pot in her backyard. The fact Jessica has no memory of the event may be ironic — because many of her rescuers and residents said they would never be able to forget it.

Perhaps more interestingly, she’s set to collect $1 million on her 25th birthday.

Chip McClure says his daughter is a wonderful mother, whose dream has always been to be a stay-at-home mom. She has a 1-year-old son, Simon.

But Jessica’s quiet existence in Midland could change in 3.5 years. That’s when all the monetary tributes sent to “Baby Jessica” while the world waited for her safe rescue — mature into a payment of $1 million or more. The trust fund is waiting for Jessica to turn 25.

Inquiring minds and all that.

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Talk about va-va-va-voom. Joanie, Mad Men's (Thursdays, 10 pm/ET on AMC) frisky, flame-haired office manager, is not your average secretary: She's so hot, in fact, that the company president and her roommate are after her. But could there be some flaws behind that flawless lip liner? TVGuide.com chatted up her portrayer, Christina Hendricks, to find out about Joanie's secret life goal, her vast "rotation" of men, and how to tell when your dress is tight enough.

TVGuide.com: So Joan is my favorite Mad woman — is she yours, too?
Christina Hendricks: [Laughs] I'm sure every girl in Mad Men says the same thing because all the roles are so great, but when I read [the script] I was like, "Ooh, this is the best girl part." And it's really different from any other character I've gotten to play. I usually play the sort of socially awkward, goofy best friend… the mousy, stumbling, mumbling character. So it's fun to play a woman who's so sure of herself, who walks around with incredible posture and her chin up.

TVGuide.com: So the men around the office sure do like Joan. What do you think her appeal is?
Hendricks: I think one of the reasons is that she carries herself with so much confidence. I don't think they feel nervous around her or like they have to wonder what her intentions are. She's kind of saying it as it is, she doesn't hem and haw around them.

TVGuide.com: And even her roommate hit on her! Do you think she was at all tempted by her roommate's offer?
Hendricks: [Laughs] I don't think so. I think it was a moment for Joan when she… you know, she does care about that friend. They've known each other for a long time, so I think that threw her for a loop. She had to stop and think, "How am I going to handle this?"

TVGuide.com: She did treat it with respect, though.
Hendricks: With respect, yes, but she didn't give her [friend] the moment to be too tender. She didn't allow it to go any further; she sort of nipped it in the bud, without being mean.

TVGuide.com: Were you at all surprised to learn about the level of sexism there was in the workplace at that time [in 1960]?
Hendricks: I'm kind of embarrassed to say that I didn't think about it much before I started working on Mad Men. That pool of women… they're surrounded by men's offices, and they're just jumping to and doing whatever they're told. I know we've come so far, but we sort of joke on Mad Men like, "How far have we really come, wink wink." But when you look at something like that, you realize there has been significant change for the better.

TVGuide.com: For me it's the ogling and the open remarks in the office. You're so obviously on display, and what you look like matters more than anything else.
Hendricks: Yes, although being in the entertainment industry, where people are constantly being sort of crass [Laughs]… but even still the difference now is that if it were to happen, a lot of women would have the confidence to shoot it down, like, "Are you kidding me?" But you know, in 1960… like in the first episode, Peggy is in the elevator and these guys are saying these things all around her and she's almost cowering. It's like, you better have your safety kit in the bottom drawer of your desk because you might need it by the end of the day!

TVGuide.com: But Joan doesn't cower. How do you think she feels about it? She seems to play the system to her best advantage.
Hendricks: Joan works it. You know, for research for the show I read Helen Gurley Brown. This was a woman who put out a very controversial book telling women how to work it in the workplace, how to be what she called "The It Girl" and how to get gifts from men. How to be treated a certain way… maybe a weekend away. And you could be several men's It Girl in the office. That's what Joan's doing, she's like, "How am I going to make my workplace the most pleasant? I would love a pearl necklace, I would love a beautiful bracelet, I would love to go away to the Hamptons this weekend." But I think Joan's end result is to fall in love and have a husband and be a housewife. I think she works the situation, but I think Joan's quite lonely.

TVGuide.com: How do you think Joan really feels about Peggy's [Elisabeth Moss] approach, with her copywriting success?
Hendricks: I think she's utterly baffled. I don't think she even considers it success. She's confused, she's like, "Listen, listen, listen — you are not gonna get a husband that way!"

TVGuide.com: Let's talk about her wardrobe — I think Joan is the best-dressed woman on television this season. What's it like walking around in those gorgeous clothes?
Hendricks: [Laughs] Wow! Well, Janie Bryant's our wardrobe designer and she's just unbelievable and so talented. I've never walked into a wardrobe fitting the first day and had everything fit me like a glove, and she'd never even met me before! We had the exact same ideas about what the character would wear.

TVGuide.com: I love that Joan's body typifies the style of the time: She's very curvy and voluptuous.
Hendricks: You know, the clothes that she wears are actually quite conservative, but Janie just makes everything skin-tight! [Laughs] I'll try things on and be like, "This is a little tight," and she'll be like, "No, it's not!" Like if I can breathe, it's not tight enough. Some of those clothes I think could look quite dowdy — they're not the nicest length, some of them are a little boxy — but she just nips and tucks and sucks it all in. I don't think [the 1960s were the] most flattering time for women, but if you know how to work it, then it can be. Which Joanie knows how to do. [Laughs]

TVGuide.com: So what's it like working with Matthew Weiner?
Hendricks: He's so enthusiastic, I've never been so proud and felt so lucky to be on a show. He's so encouraging to all of us; after each show he'll call me at home and be like, "You have to be happy with that, you're amazing." He makes you feel fantastic. And you can't wait to read the next script — I've never been on a show before where I'm like, "When's the next script? When's the next script?" because they're so great to read

TVGuide.com: What other un-Mad projects do you have coming down the pipeline?
Hendricks: Right now I'm working on NBC's new show Life. I'm doing a recurring role on that, just finished up my second episode two days ago. Damien Lewis' father is marrying a significantly younger woman [and I'm playing her]. That adds some bumps and curves, so I'm trying to sort of fix their relationship.

TVGuide.com: Will she be a sexpot like Joan, or is she more of the goofy best friend?
Hendricks: [Laughs] She's somewhere in between, actually. She's kind of like a grown-up cheerleader. She really just wants to fix everything and make everyone feel great. She's a pep-talker!

Find Mad Men clips in our Online Video Guide.

Go behind the scenes with our exclusive look at Dancing with the Stars in the Oct. 15 issue of TV Guide. Plus: Dr. Phil offers Britney some tough-love advice. Try four risk-free issues now!

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