04/06/05

LC050406

Val Zavala>> Tonight on Life and Times --

Births at the zoo are almost routine, so why did it take such
amazing effort to bring this little one into the world?

John Lewis>> When we can show successes like this where so many
things had to come together for success for this species and for
this animal and then to let people see something that they'll
probably never in their lifetime see again and it's a baby
Borneon orangutan.

Val>> And then, former owners plundered this home's historic
furnishings and only one master craftsman could restore it to
its former glory.

It's all straight ahead on tonight's Life and Times.

Life and Times is made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

With additional support for Life and Times from The Ralph M.
Parsons Foundation.

Val>> We all know what lengths human couples will go to to get
pregnant, but few stories of conception can rival what's
happened at the Los Angeles Zoo between two orangutans.
Trainers there used everything from sonograms to plastic
surgeons to stuff animals to get this couple ready for
parenthood and the result? Hena Cuevas has the story.

Hena Cuevas>> She's the newest addition to the Los Angeles Zoo.

[Film Clip]

Hena Cuevas>> Baby Berani, which means courage in Indonesian,
was born on February 22, becoming the first baby orangutan in
the Los Angeles Zoo since 1987.

Jennie McNary>> It doesn't matter if it's an ape baby or a cat
baby or something, but babies are just so much fun.

Hena Cuevas>> Jennie McNary is one of the zoo keepers and says
getting to Berani's birth was no easy task. Not only was the
potential father, Minyak, gravely ill, but the mother, Kalim,
needed help becoming a new mom. Still, says McNary, the zoo was
willing to give it a shot. They felt Minyak's background as a
Malaysian orangutan would be an asset to their ape population.

Jennie McNary>> His parents were wild-caught. He's not related
to anybody else in the captive population of Borneon orangutans.
That makes him genetically very valuable.

Hena Cuevas>> His lineage was perfect, but his health wasn't.
Since the age of six, Minyak has been suffering from a severe
respiratory infection. When they heard about Minyak's condition
and that the Atlanta Zoo was looking for a new home, zoo
officials thought Los Angeles would be the perfect place for an
orangutan with a respiratory condition. The warm temperatures
combined with the low humidity could help improve his condition,
but it didn't. Minyak arrived in Los Angeles in December 2001
and his health continued to worsen and, on top of everything, he
was depressed. According to Dr. Leah Greer, Minyak started
taking antidepressants together with antibiotics.

Dr. Leah Greer>> But even with that, just this horrible
infection that lived in the throat sac was when we the
veterinarians were researching that very unusual surgery that
had only been done three times and we said we really kind of
were there. That's the last hope for this guy because he's not
going to live much longer, so that's how the surgery came about.

Hena Cuevas>> Minyak's problem was with an infected air sac
located just over his lung. Because he was in his twenties,
older than any other animal having had a similar surgery,
removing the air sac would be difficult. So zoo veterinarians
enlisted the help of doctors from Cedar Sinai Medical Center.

Dr. Leah Greer>> Before the surgery, we worked very well
together because they didn't understand an air sac because
people don't have air sacs, so I had to get out all the anatomy
books and show them how it related and what type of tissue to
even expect what it would be so they knew tissue handling
skills.

Hena Cuevas>> For eight hours in January of 2003, vets and
doctors worked side by side to remove the infected air sac.

Dr. Leah Greer>> I had four surgeons actually. We had a
thoracic surgeon, a plastic surgeon, a facial surgeon, and a
general surgeon all come together to help us for all the
intricacies of how big this air sac was.

Hena Cuevas>> Once the operation was completed, Minyak was kept
under observation to make sure he was healthy enough to breed.

Dr. Leah Greer>> We wanted to make sure that the disease that
Minyak had couldn't be passed on to a female if he were to be
intimate, so we made sure he was really healthy and his
condition with the residual scarring in his lung really only
affects him and he's not contagious to the females.

Hena Cuevas>> After a year of recovery, Minyak had a clean bill
of health and was ready to be introduced to his new girlfriend,
Kalim. The only problem was Kalim had never been a mother and
had to be trained. So using a stuffed toy orangutan from the
zoo gift shop, trainers showed her the proper way to hold the
baby.

Jennie McNary>> And in case she wasn't really sure exactly how
to nurse, they actually trained her to take this baby and hold
it correctly and place it on her own nipple so that she would
know what the correct position was.

Hena Cuevas>> After six months of mom training, Kalim and
Minyak finally met last June.

Jennie McNary>> She was nervous at first, but after a couple of
months of them being together when she was cycling, she settled
in and they bred and she was very comfortable with him then.

Hena Cuevas>> All the preparations paid off when they found out
Kalim was expecting.

Jennie McNary>> For me, I didn't want to admit it at first.
You don't want to jinx it. You don't want to tell everybody
that she's pregnant and then find out that she's not, but we
were just so excited.

Hena Cuevas>> Trainers had also taught Kalim how to place her
belly against the enclosure's mesh so they could scan her.

Dr. Leah Greer>> She would push up against the mesh and we'd
get this tiny little window to stick the ultrasound probe in.
So after a few months of pregnancy, we could tell she was
pregnant, but it wasn't equivalent to a human ultrasound scan
where you can look at everything, see the heartbeat and all
that. So we would ultrasound her regularly to make sure it was
still a healthy looking uterus and maybe an arm would go by or
an umbilicus would go by, so that's how we just kind of
monitored her pregnancy that way.

Hena Cuevas>> Finally on February 22, Kalim started labor
pains. After two years of intense human intervention, as the
moment of birth arrived, zoo officials decided to do something
they hadn't done before: leave Kalim alone.

Dr. Leah Greer>> We had already decided as a whole group. The
whole zoo decided the best thing is for nature to take its
course. So despite everybody so excited and wanting to help and
wanted to see, we all agreed that we'd just back off.

Hena Cuevas>> It was a very private moment. But on the day
after the birth, Kalim seemed happy to present her new baby to
the world.

John Lewis>> She really seems to enjoy the attention because,
when she's out for the public, you know, she'll actually go over
and like show off the baby. It's like her way of getting
attention again too, you know.

Hena Cuevas>> For director, John Lewis, this recent birth
fulfills one of the missions of a modern zoo.

John Lewis>> Because there's still kind of a feeling about zoos
being, you know, just for showing animals and there's so much
more to modern zoos. So when we can show successes like this
where so many things had to come together for success for this
species and for this animal, we like to talk about that from a
conservation standpoint, from an education standpoint and then
to let people see something that they'll probably never in their
lifetime see again and it's a baby Borneon orangutan.

Hena Cuevas>> There's another female, Rosie. The zoo hopes she
will also become a mother, so she's spending time with Kalim and
Berani to learn some maternal skills.

Jennie McNary>> Every time she's with them, she gets a little
bit more comfortable. She isn't to the point where she's really
comfortable to be bred yet, but she is more comfortable with
him. So we think that will be successful eventually.

Hena Cuevas>> Baby Berani will stay with her mom nursing for
five to six years and Minyak health will continue to be
monitored. For Dr. Greer, it's been a rewarding experience.

Dr. Leah Greer>> I have pictures of the baby and Minyak at my
home, in my office, everywhere because just when you're feeling
blue about anything, just to think of this fabulous little life
history of these little orangutans, it just picks you up right
away. It's a great feeling, yeah.

Hena Cuevas>> There will be no shortage of baby pictures for
this little girl. Berani has proven to be one of the zoo's most
popular attractions. I'm Hena Cuevas for Life and Times.

Val>> There are just under nine hundred orangutans in captivity
in the United States and the babies stay with the mothers for as
long as eight years and that's why breeding can take so long.

Kcet.org is the place to look for the very latest on Life and
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and Times".

Toni Guinyard>> It doesn't matter how old or how young you are
if your family or friends aren't aware of your health care
wishes just in case you become incapacitated. Now's the time to
sit down and have a very frank discussion with them and that
talk doesn't have to be a depressing one. We visited Wise
Senior Services in Santa Monica to learn more about the Advanced
Health Care Directive.

Nancy Hayes>> An Advanced Health Care Directive is the way in
the state of California where you can make your wishes for your
future health care decisions known and you can also name an
agent to act in your behalf if you should ever become
incapacitated.

Toni Guinyard>> Now does this differ from a living will or is
it one and the same thing?

Nancy Hayes>> It's one and the same thing. The legal term, the
term adopted by the state of California, the Advanced Health
Care Directive, and Advanced meaning before, and it covers the
same terms as a living will or a power of attorney for health
care. However, one thing we do tell people, if you have a power
of attorney for your financial matters, that is not the same
thing as an Advanced Health Care Directive.

Toni Guinyard>> So what exactly are you spelling out in this
document?

Nancy Hayes>> You're spelling out, if you should ever become
incapacitated and can't make your own health care decisions,
what are your wishes? For example, if you are ever faced with a
serious illness, you're incapacitated, and the decision is made
to continue to feed you, to provide you pain medication, what
are your choices there? And/or would you also like to name a
loved one, a friend or someone else to act as your agent and
make those decisions for you in concert with your express
wishes?

Toni Guinyard>> And that's what you mean by the term "agent"?

Nancy Hayes>> Absolutely. It can be a relative, it can be a
friend, it can be anyone but your doctor. That person, if
you're incapacitated and a doctor has advised them that you are
incapacitated and cannot make your own decision, that person
then takes over to make the health care decisions for you. But
it's good if you've made some decisions as expressed in your
Advanced Health Care Directive to guide that person in how you
want to be cared for.

Toni Guinyard>> So bottom line, talk to them even though you
designated them as your agent. You want to talk to them and
make it clear this is what I want.

>> "If you need to rest, you should rest, okay?"

Toni Guinyard>> Now we're at a facility that essentially caters
to a lot of older people, so we want to make sure that people
don't think this is only for older people.

Nancy Hayes>> Absolutely not. We encourage everyone to really
think about their future health care wishes.

Toni Guinyard>> Wait a minute. When you say everyone, what
ages are you talking about? What range?

Nancy Hayes>> In the state of California, any adult over age
eighteen can execute an Advanced Health Care Directive and we
encourage people to think about it. You don't have to name an
agent if you don't wish, but you should be thinking about your
health care wishes and writing those down.

Molly Davies>> I'm a long-term care ombudsman. That means that
I'm an advocate for nursing home and board and care residents.
In California, if you live in a nursing home and you want to
create an Advanced Health Care Directive, you must have it
witnessed and explained to you by an ombudsman in order for it
to be valid. So what our role is is to visit with residents who
have requested to have their Advanced Health Care Directive made
and explain to them what it means and make sure that what they
want gets included in that document.

Toni Guinyard>> Teach us what we shouldn't do based on what
you've already experienced.

Nancy Hayes>> You shouldn't leave your wishes to your family
members who may not know what you want. I've had many occasions
where there are multiple family members who are put in the
situation of having to make a decision for a loved one and that
loved one does not have an Advanced Health Care Directive and
the parties may not agree on which type of treatment the person
should have. First, think.

Toni Guinyard>> Think.

Nancy Hayes>> Decide. What are your wishes? Most people
really haven't wrestled with it. They've seen news reports of
other cases, but they haven't wrestled with it personally. If
you need to talk to a physician or other family members, do so.
But think and decide first what really are your wishes?

Toni Guinyard>> And when you talk about your wishes, what are
you talking about?

Nancy Hayes>> If you were in a situation where you could not
make decisions about certain kinds of treatment that is merely
to keep you alive, do you want to have that treatment? Do you
want to have pain medication? Do you want to be fed and have
water? And if there's a new treatment that's radical, what kind
of acceptance would you have of that treatment if you knew the
likelihood of it addressing your illness? It can talk about
whether you want to be artificially fed. It can talk about
whether you want to be kept comfortable. It can talk about
whether you want all efforts to prolong your life. And that's
about the level at which people get for the most part. But if
you choose, you can be very specific.

Toni Guinyard>> Now we're talking about this and you make it
sound very matter of fact, that this is something that should be
part of my routine as growing older. But how do you start this
conversation at home? It can be difficult for a lot of people.

Nancy Hayes>> It can be difficult because it's not something
you want to talk about and most people don't want to envision
any loved one being in such a situation. So I think really, if
you schedule the meeting and say I'm going to do my Advanced
Health Care Directive and I want to talk to you, first, to
explain to you my thoughts. Have the conversation. Some people
may feel differently, but you need to stress to family members
that these are my wishes about my future health care and that's
the important part.

You want to have the discussion now, not over your bedside
someday. And if you make copies and show close family members
what you have decided, one, you'll be sure that someone has the
copy when it's needed. It's not in your safe deposit box
whenever everyone is at a hospital or some other place where
there's been an emergency.

Molly Davies>> I also advise family members or anyone who
becomes an agent to keep a Health Care Directive in their glove
compartment so that it's always readily available. It's not
useful to anybody if it's hidden. Also, a reminder that the
document comes into effect after a person is unable to make
decisions for themselves, so it doesn't start right away. A lot
of people fear that they're giving away control of something now
and they're not.

Toni Guinyard>> This doesn't have to be a depressing
conversation, does it?

Nancy Hayes>> Absolutely not. It can be a great family
discussion about the future. It's better to have it now than
when the family is feeling traumatized and under significant
pressure and stress.

Toni Guinyard>> Can this be challenged in court?

Nancy Hayes>> Anything can be challenged in court. An Advanced
Health Care Directive is legally binding for the medical
providers and your agent. These Advanced Health Care Directives
are unique to California. However, it's good to check if you
travel a lot or are going to move to another state what those
state's requirements are. It may be that your document meets
state requirements, but we recommend checking if you're going to
be spending any length of time in other states or if you are
going to be moving.

Toni Guinyard>> Okay, so review it for me.

Nancy Hayes>> Think and decide what your health care wishes
are, write them down, name an agent if you wish, get it
witnessed by two people and then make copies.

Toni Guinyard>> Nancy Hayes, thank you so much for the
information and thanks for spending a little time with Life and
Times.

Nancy Hayes>> Thank you, Toni. I appreciate it.

To send a comment or a question to our program, you can reach us
by mail at this address:

Life and Times
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Los Angeles, California 90027

You can also call our viewer comment line (323) 953-5555) or
contact us the fast way by e-mail at kcet.org.

Val>> It's an exquisite example of Greene & Greene
architecture, the Blacker House built in 1907, but would you
believe that at one time inside all the beautiful furniture and
light fixtures were stripped and sold at auction and there is
only one person who could recreate them in all their gorgeous
detail.

[Film Clip[

Val>> You're most likely to find Jim Ipekjian bent over the
work table in his shop in Pasadena. Jim is a true master of his
craft, one of only a handful of cabinetmakers who can recreate
to perfection the stunning arts and crafts furniture from Greene
& Greene homes.

Jim Ipekjian>> It's been an odyssey in that it's been a process
of learning.

Val>> For the past decade, he and his sons have been working on
reproductions for the Blacker House, a showcase home designed in
the early 1900's by the famous brothers, architects Charles and
Henry Greene.

Jim Ipekjian>> In 1994, the current owners purchased the house.
Fortunately for me, they included me in the restoration of the
house.

Val>> The odyssey started in 1988 with what preservationists
consider a crime against Greene & Greene architecture. The
owner of the Blacker House at the time was a man from Texas. He
bought the home for about a million dollars, then proceeded to
strip it of about seventy valuable light fixtures, windows and
doors. He sold them mostly at auction for more than he paid for
the house.

Jim Ipekjian>> The light fixtures, for instance, inside the
house, of which there were over fifty of them, beautiful art
glass Greene & Greene designed light fixtures, had more value
than the house itself.

Val>> The Blacker House was built in 1907. Henry and Charles
Greene were at the top of their field, leaders in the arts and
crafts movement which was dedicated to integrating the whole
environment, house, lighting, gardens, windows, rugs and
furniture. They were all part of the design of the house and
that made the loss of the Blacker House furnishings even more
painful. Local preservationists dubbed it a Texas Chainsaw
Massacre. Two owners and eight years later, the meticulous
process of restoring the home began.

Jim Ipekjian>> Many of the pieces were already in museum
collections and the rest of them were in private collections and
the prices that were being gotten for original Greene & Greene
objects the prices were escalating practically monthly, so they
just had to accept the fact that reproductions of these pieces
would be the next best thing to having the originals.

Val>> And the current owners, Harvey and Ellen Knell, knew the
best man for the job was only a few miles away. So this is a
piece you're working on right now?

Jim Ipekjian>> This is a piece, yes.

Val>> For the Blacker House?

Jim Ipekjian>> For the Blacker House.

Val>> The shop drawings by the original cabinetmakers were lost
in a fire, so Jim works off a photograph and a close examination
of existing Greene & Greene pieces which he's studied for
twenty-five years.

Jim Ipekjian>> The panel which is the part that's all carved
and inlaid has actually a tree, as you can see, and the tree
trunk extends out and becomes the handle, so you can pull it
open like that. This is a blown-up photograph of the detail of
the door, so from this I'm able to get the shape and the size
and the location of the clouds and the tree trunk and all the
inlay pieces and eventually I'll be cutting out all the little
inlay pieces for the leaves and placing them in what hopefully
will be exactly the right positions.

Val>> Now how is that done? Do you, for example, try to get
every single leaf exactly like it is here? Not just do a few
leaves?

Jim Ipekjian>> Not a few, no. I'm not taking artistic license
with this work at all. I have to count each leaf. That door I
know has 186 leaves in it.

Val>> Jim is a perfectionist. This chair is made of rich
mahogany and inlaid ebony spines along the arms. Chairs are
especially complex and, after days of work just as Jim was on
the verge of finishing this one --

Jim Ipekjian>> I accidentally cut a notch into the side of the
arm that simply wasn't acceptable.

Val>> The flaw is so small that our cameras couldn't even pick
it up.

Jim Ipekjian>> And when all was said and done, I couldn't stand
seeing this thing sitting around in parts, so I finished it.

Val>> And, no, it's not for sale. In fact, Jim has a special
agreement with the owners of the Blacker House.

Jim Ipekjian>> That I won't reproduce any of the original
Blacker House designs for anybody else.

Val>> Over the years, he has become fluent in what he calls
Greene & Greene vocabulary.

Jim Ipekjian>> The way that you round a corner can be done with
a machine. It can be done by hand. It needs to be done by hand
because it creates a look, so it's that look that relates to in
music a sound or in literature a certain feeling that a writer
might be trying to create.

Val>> Since the Blacker House plunder, the city has passed an
ordinance forbidding anyone from removing fixtures from the
thirty-seven Greene & Greene homes in Pasadena. As for Jim, he
has his work cut out for him and a deadline to meet.

Jim Ipekjian>> Since the hundredth anniversary of the creation
of the Blacker House is approaching in 2007, we're hoping to
finish essentially all of the original designs and I think I
have about half a dozen or so left.

Val>> Do you think you'll make it? How long does it take to
make these pieces?

Jim Ipekjian>> Well, they're time-consuming.

Val>> Very.

Jim Ipekjian>> I'm working towards it and that's my goal.

Val>> What will you do after the Blacker House is all complete?

Jim Ipekjian>> There are other Greene & Greene houses.
Fortunately, concurrently I'm working with other owners. There
are other houses in Pasadena that are undergoing significant
restoration and I'm fortunate in being called upon to build
furniture for them.

Val>> So if I were a client, would I have to be put on a
waiting list?

Jim Ipekjian>> Well, for you, a very short list (laughter).

Val>> (Laughter) I'll remember that. Although Jim is an expert
in the arts and crafts tradition, he doesn't consider himself an
artist and he doesn't consider his furniture art. Instead, he
says, he's a craftsman, one of a long line of artisans who prize
quality and beauty and lucky enough to help rescue an historic
home that this time will remain intact long after his work is
done.

And that's our program. I'm Val Zavala. For everyone at Life
and Times, thanks for watching. We'll see you next time.

Life and Times was made possible through the generous support of
the L.K. Whittier Foundation dedicated to improving the quality
of life by supporting innovative endeavors in the fields of
medicine, health, science and education.

And by a generous grant from Jim and Anne Rothenberg.

With additional support for Life and Times from The Ralph M.
Parsons Foundation.

Val>> Next time on Life and Times --

It's an abandoned school, but does it hold one last lesson on
saving lives?

>> One of the major problems with structure fires is
firefighters falling through the roofs and, of course, when they
fall into the burn, it's not very good on the firefighters.
Sometimes it's a fatality.

Val>> That's next time on Life and Times.