I am in a slump. I feel tired and slow and unmotivated. And ever since October 14 -- when I ran in the 5K Making Strides Against Breast Cancer event -- I can't seem to find the inspiration to exercise. I am making myself do it -- here and there -- but my usual drive and push and spunk are missing. Typically, I crave exercise and feel lethargic if I don't accomplish some sort of daily physical challenge. But for the past week or so, I have no craving, no desire to walk or run or lift weights, no appetite for my usual fitness routine. I am just plain tired.

Fatigue is a common side effect of cancer treatment -- even years after treatment ends, according to some experts. So perhaps my drop in energy and enthusiasm is due to the cumulative effect of my own treatment for breast cancer that just ended in June. My treatment spanned almost two years. Maybe it's no surprise my body is lagging behind my expectations for physical health.

Experts also say exercise helps combat fatigue. I believe this -- it's why I usually like exercise. It boosts my adrenaline, perks me up, makes me feel alive. If only I could get back into the swing of things, these feelings might come flooding back. But right now, I am not even thinking about how to find my old groove. I am just too tired.

The aftermath of devastation and unimaginable horror when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans is still making headline news. The images and reporting coming out of New Orleans in the first days after the hurricane disaster by mainstream and citizen media were disturbing. The government, state and local authorities failing to provide safety for the people of New Orleans are more than one. But the purpose of this post is not about political failings but medical ethics and the possibility that a doctor and two nurses committed the most unthinkable act of choosing to euthanize patients as they waited to be rescued from the flooding after the storm hit.

Memorial Medical Center had been cut off by flooding after the hurricane. Power was out in the 317-bed hospital and the temperatures inside rose over 100 degrees. As it is told, the medical staff did the best they could under extreme circumstances to care for patients as they waited day after day -- four days total -- to be evacuated from the flooded conditions. As they waited, patients died.

Stories started to surface that some of the deaths were decided on by a small group of medical staff. An investigation that followed as to whether there was any truth to the rumors that patients in pain had been euthanized. One doctor and two nurses have now been arrested on charges of second-degree murder. The arrest warrants state the three intentionally killed four patients at Memorial Medical Center.

"We're not calling this euthanasia. We're not calling this mercy killings. This is second-degree murder," said Kris Wartelle, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Charles C. Foti.

Arrests are not convictions, and it is my belief that we should hold judgment. I cannot help but be saddened that human beings were put into such dire straits as the people of New Orleans were during the flooding after the hurricane, or that stories like this could even be true. It appears the Attorney General's office feels they have enough evidence to prove the truth to what were once rumors -- and if proven true in a court of law -- there is no justifiable reason to do what these three are accused of doing. Doctors and nurses have to be trusted to do everything humanly possible to save lives. What are your thoughts about this story?