ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
A Florida Gulf Coast University professor studied a method for weaning babies off opioids now recommended by the National Institutes of Health and a local foster mom has detoxed more than one addicted baby using the method. The opioid addiction problem in the U.S. is so widespread that 7% of babies are born with drug exposure, and many are addicted in the womb. Weaning them off opioids is a challenge, but research is being done on the safest ways to break their addictions. Foster mom Karen Scott has managed multiple babies coming into the world hooked on drugs. “They go through withdrawal; they cry a lot,” Scott said. “They’re uncomfortable. They have fevers, they have a lot of diarrhea. They don’t latch on, so it’s hard to feed them. They are just miserable.” The Scott family nurtured one baby boy through his addiction with lots of love and support. “We swaddled him… swaddling is the best technique for an addicted baby that there is and holding him; movement, you know, is something that mimics the womb,” Scott said. “That lets him know that there’s movement, that you’re close by.” Every 24 minutes, a baby is born with opioids in its system because drugs were passed from the mother to the baby while it was in the womb. The challenge is detoxing them quickly with minimal discomfort. Dr. Rosemary Higgins is the associate vice president of research and sponsored programs with FGCU. She is also a neonatologist who works with sick and premature babies. Higgins was part of a national study that may change the course of treating opioid-addicted babies. In the past, it was common to dose them with medications. “Most hospitals had a number at which they would start treatment with an opioid substitute for the baby,” Higgins said. “For instance, morphine sometimes is used. Other drugs are also commonly used. And then the baby was slowly weaned off of that.” But many doctors felt there was a better way: supportive care like the Scotts used. Higgins’ study group looked at a method called ESC—eat, sleep, console. “It’s non-pharmacology, it’s non-drug, whereby you console the baby, allow them to feed, allow them to sleep spontaneously on their own,” Higgins said. The study found babies who went through the standard dosing method stayed in the hospital longer. “They went home in an average of 14.9 days, so about two-plus weeks, a little bit over,” Higgins said. “And the intervention group—or the ESC eat, sleep, console group—went home after seven to eight days, which was a huge improvement.” Karen Scott’s little guy bounced back quickly, staying in the NICU only a few days and going home sooner than expected. Now, at two months old, all signs of addiction are gone. “He is so, so happy and surrounded with, you know, a dozen kids that love him just as much as we do,” Scott said. Living proof that a dose of tlc goes a long way Higgins’ research was just featured in the New England Journal of Medicine. It included thousands of babies in 26 hospitals around the country. She hopes the American Academy of Pediatrics will back ESC as the new standard.