The Random Thoughts of Me

Hi, I'm soooo sorry I havent been on in a really long time. I was super busy all summer, and now school started, I should have time to blog on weekends though, so maybe I'll try to post every Saturday... I don't know. Well anyway, in social studies today, we were doing current events, and my teacher showed us this article. The title may sound gross, but it's not that bad.

Human organs found in Florida storage locker
By Kelli Kennedy and Melissa Nelson-Gabriel
Pensacola, Florida -- A former medical examiner crudely preserved human brains, hearts, and lungs in soda cups and plastic food containers found inside a storage unit in Florida, authorities said Tuesday.
A man bought the contents of a storage unit at an auction last week in Pensacola and made the gruesome discovery after being overpowered by a strange smell while sifting through furniture and boxes. Investigators found formaldehyde, a chemical used to embalm and preserve bodies, leaking from 32-ounce drink cup with a cracked lid that was holding a heart, said the Jeff Martin, director of the District 1 Medical Examiner's Office in Pensacola. The unit had been rented previously to Dr. Michael Berkland. "How horrible it is for the families of these deceased to think someones loved one's organs are basically rotting away somewhere, it's horrible." Martin told the Associated Press. Berkland worked at the medical examiner's office from 1997 until 2003, when he was fired for not completing autopsy reports. Officials said he was also performing private autopsies in the area, but it's unclear if any of the organs were from autopsies he conducted while working at the medical examiner's office. The medical examiner's office is now cross-referencing names in their database during that time period, Martin said. Officials are also trying to locate family members for some of the victims, but many of the organs are not labeled, making it nearly impossible to identify them. No charges have been filed against Berkland. Officials are trying to determine whether Berkland broke any laws regarding biomedical waste and the storing and disposing of human remains. It was not immediatly known why the organs were being stored there. Martin said it's unlikely they could have been sold anywhere because they were not well-preserved. Many of the remains were stuck in household Tupperware and other containers that "aren't made to hold up to outdoor whether conditions. The chemicals inside of those containers is very caustic... a lot of those caustic chemicals were leaking out somewhere,' Martin said. Berkland told employees of the storage area that he planned to keep household goods and office furniture there, the company said. "We never had any indication that anything was out of the ordinary, nor did anyone on our manegement team ever notice anything amiss during daily property checks," said Diane Pigza, vice president of corperate communications.

(All credit goes to Kelli Kennedy, Melissa Nelson-Gabriel, and Assosiated Press. All I did was put it here, in my blog)

I just found that interesting, and when I did more research on it, I found out that more than 100 people's organs were stored in the storage locker, and that it happened this year, August 28th, 2012.

Anyways, I hope that made up for now posting all summer....

~ Callie :)