Page A16 MAY 2022 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Se c t i on A I directed a funeral yesterday that was unlike any other funeral under my direction previously. The decedent did not have children, so her family members were siblings, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins. The family decided to include moments of sharing where attendees can come up to the microphone and share stories about their loved one’s life. As the first person walked toward the microphone, he stopped at the head of the casket. Rather than speaking, he began to sing. At the end of his song, he bent forward, wrapped his arms around the casket, and hugged and kissed it. The following family member walked up toward the microphone but stopped at the head of the casket. Rather than speaking, she began to sing. At the end of her song, she bent forward and wrapped her arms around the casket like the share were gospel-oriented and expressed praises to God. Their songs testified to her nature. The woman, lying in the casket at the front of the chapel, was a sister, aunt, friend, or cousin to everyone in the church. She had been a loving woman who sacrificed and took care of others. Her service to them touched their souls and molded their lives. They each loved her for it and were mourning their loss. As I closed her services at the cemetery, I asked her loved ones to keep her traditions alive by continuing to serve and save others as she had. Her mission was to find the lost, heal the sick, provide for the weary and afflicted, and share peace through the gospel of Jesus Christ. I hope they follow in her life’s work. Although I did not know this woman in life, in death, I knew who she had been. She had been a woman who believed and followed the teachings and examples of her Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” (Matthew 25:40) I knew her soul and deeds, by the songs of love and praise sung in her honor, by those she had so graciously served before her remains were sealed up within the earth’s protective grave. Tracy Renee Lee is a Certified Grief Counselor (GC-C), Funeral Director (FDIC), published author, syndicated columnist, and co-founder of the “Mikey Joe Children’s Memorial” and Heaven Sent, Corp. She was the American Funeral Director of the Year Runner-Up and recipient of the BBB’s Integrity Award. Listen to her podcast, Deadline at https://open.spotify. com/show/7MHPy4ctu9OLvdp2JzQsAA or at https://anchor. fm/tracy874. Follow her on Instagram at Deadline_TracyLee. When we are faced with a body that was frozen to the core, not autopsied and assuming the body was allowed to slowly thaw, our approach should be to inject with low pressure and low rate of flow. The risk of swelling should be of great concern. I would suggest an initial pre-injection of 16 ounces each of water corrective, humectant and coinjection, with enough warm water to create a gallon of solution. We can expect little to no drainage, depending, of course, how long the body was frozen and the physiological/physical circumstances of the body surrounding the death. I would suggest choosing the right femoral artery as a primary injecting site. This approach gives us a little more control as we inject, to keep swelling to a minimum. With difficult cases such as these with fixed deep post-mortem blood staining of the face, the risk of swelling is significant. I am a proponent of a drainage site closer to the heart, giving us a better opportunity to drain viscous blood and clots. I would suggest using the right jugular vein as the primary drainage location. This gives us access to the right atrium of the heart and drainage from the face/head. Your pre-injection will serve as a benchmark on what to expect in the way of drainage, or lack thereof. My suggestion for arterial injection is to mix and inject just one gallon of arterial solution at a time. A one gallon mix gives you an opportunity to change your solution strength and not be “married” to three gallons of solution if things aren’t going well. If there is any drainage at all, I would use a 30-index arterial chemical creating a 2.00% solution strength, using a co-injection and water corrective. Based onmy experience, I like to begin with a lower solution strength (2.00%), injecting upward from the femoral with moderate pressure, a low rate of flow and open drainage. I find a lower solution strength lets the embalmer find their way by not walling off the tissue and allowing diffusion. Raise the solution strength of the next tank to 2.75% solution strength with co-injection. I would inject a third gallon at a 3.50% solution strength. A low rate of flow By Wally Hooker, CFSP, MBIE wins the race. Use restricted/intermittent drainage to force the arterial solution deep into the tissue. After injecting three gallons, observe the body for diffusion of color, firmness and observe for adequate fixation. If you have areas requiring further attention, raise the appropriate artery and attempt to inject the area thoroughly. In these difficult cases you may find it challenging to clear the hands, nail beds, feet and toes. The old standby was to hypo these areas. At best, we end up treating just a small portion of the un-embalmed tissue and leave multiple injection holes. If your hypo chemical is too strong, you simply treat the immediate area and experience very little diffusion, the same situation can occur with the face. For the past few years, I have been using a preservative pink gel product. This product can be brushed on tissue, covered with plastic and, given 12-24 hours, will treat/embalm tissue to the bone with its penetrating power. Its pink color gives a slight pink cast and will not bleach the skin surface. If edema is present, it will even draw the moisture away. It works well on skin slip and the thin damaged skin of the hand. However, I suggest using this as a last resort, and not to let it become a crutch for lazy embalming practices. For frozen bodies that were autopsied, you can expect a lessened chance of swelling as a result of the vascular system being compromised and open. I would approach these cases as I described above with the arterial solutions. You will have better access and potential drainage. Do your best to restrict drainage in order to force the arterial solution deep into the tissue. Treat the skin flaps and interior walls of the abdominal region with a cauterizing material, to ensure it is well treated before closing. You may still encounter hands, nail beds, feet and toes that didn’t clear. This is common and I have heard of practitioners using a cauterant in their arterial solution to clear the hands for viewing. Phenol is not recommended to be used in some embalming machines. Check with the manufacturer before using, to see if phenol is compatible with your machine. Again, the pink preservative gel can be a huge benefit when used appropriately. After each area of the autopsied body is embalmed, simply observe for deep tissue penetration and diffusion. Discoloration of the nail beds and hands may not indicate a lack of embalming, rather an inability to remove the staining. You may have to rely on cosmetic to overcome this discoloration. If you are dealing with a cold-water submersion body (this doesn’t necessarily indicate drowning), this may not be much different than a lengthy refrigerated body, depending on the length of time in the water. The cold water will serve as refrigeration, slowing decomposition, but will create other problems, such as skin-slip, sloughing, wildlife feeding, and the dreaded tissue gas (clostridium perfringens) which won’t present itself until the body begins to warm up. Then it spreads like a wildfire. Analyze these cases closely and always assume tissue gas will develop in submersion cases, even if the body is autopsied. Pre-inject! Use the solution strengths noted above, with the exception of adding a specific chemical design to stop/prevent tissue gas. It’s very inexpensive insurance, even if you don’t need it. Don’t risk it! You only need to experience post-embalming tissue gas once to understand how dreadful this can be. Stay safe out there and remember to wash your hands. Talk with you next month. Wallace P. (Wally) Hooker CFSP, MBIE, is the owner, funeral director and embalmer of Family & Friends Funeral Home of Wingate, IN. He and his wife, Janet designed, established and built their funeral home in 2004. Wally is a graduate of Worsham College of Mortuary Science, where he serves on the Advisory Board. He is Past President of the Indiana Funeral Directors Association and board member of North American Division of the British Institute of Embalmers. In addition, he has served as chief deputy coroner/investigator of Fountain County, IN for the last 24 years. F U N E R A L H O M E & C E M E T E R Y N E W S w w w . N o m i s P u b l i c a t i o n s . c o m Monthly Columnsonline at The Challenges of Embalming Refrigerated, Frozen Bodies and History of Cold Water Submersions (Part 3) Known for quality materials and craftsmanship, Madelyn Co. Keepsake Pendants are hand-made using jewelry-grade metals. The opportunity to choose a Keepsake Pendant presents itself only once. The comfort a Keepsake Pendant offers, lasts a lifetime. www.madelynpedants.com e-mail orders@madelynco.com 800-788-0807 Fax 608-752-3683 call about monthly specials or visit ourwebsite TM Keepsake Pendants February '21 FHC:Layout 1 12/24/20 5:12 PM Page 1 “Quite Possibly America’s Finest Line of Professional Cosmetics” • Cover Cremes • Lip Color • Liquid Tints • Powder • Brushes • Wax www.derma-pro.net 1-800-531-9744 Fax 903-641-0383 E-Mail: sales@derma-pro.net Songs of Praise By Tracy Renee Lee Tracy Renee Lee g e n t l e m a n before her and hugged and kissed it. Each person after that followed the same pattern until no one else came forward. I thought about what I had witnessed. It was striking because it was an unusual thing to see. Each individual who wanted to share a story or experience about the decedent sang rather than spoke. Music is an expression of the soul; it is spiritual and very moving. The songs her loved ones chose to S e n d u s yo u r n e ws ! ema i l info@Nomi sPubl i cat ions . com FAx 1-800-321-9040 PO Box 5159 , Youngstown, OH 44514 FUNERAL HOME & CEMETERY NEWS Embalming 101
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy Nzg4MQ==