Swelling

Orioles third baseman Cal Ripken left last night's game in the third inning after being hit on the right wrist by a pitch from Montreal's Mike Thurman. A club official said X-rays taken at the ballpark were inconclusive -- perhaps because of the swelling -- and that Ripken will be re-evaluated today by a hand specialist.For now, the ailment is being described only as a bruise.Ripken was struck on the wrist while batting in the second inning. He spun out of the box and grabbed his hand before heading to first base.

Quote: "We need to pitch better. That would help more."-- Manager Davey Johnson, whose Dodgers dropped 10 games below .500 after losing, 9-1, to the GiantsIt's a fact: With 18 homers, Mike Lieberthal and Scott Rolen tied for the most by a Phillies player before the All-Star break since Mike Schmidt in 1987.Who's hot: Attracted by the matchup of NL Central leaders, 6,000 people lined up in 92-degree heat in Cincinnati to buy tickets in the two hours before the first pitch, swelling the gate to 34,168.

IN THIS country, major medical news usually consists of high-technology advances in treating big killers like cancer or heart disease. In many parts of the world, it takes far less sophistication to have lifesaving results."

Not only will right-hander Mike Mussina miss just one start because of a bone spur in his right elbow, but he also apparently will be moving up a day in the rotation. The Orioles said yesterday that Mussina will pitch Sunday in Texas, with left-hander Jimmy Key being pushed back to Monday.The changes were caused by Mussina's improved condition and Tuesday's postponement. Key would have been working on three days' rest.There was concern in the organization that Mussina might not be ready by the weekend, but manager Davey Johnson said, "Mike had a great comeback.

Days until opening ceremonies: 25.Starting gate: The first 26 horses from European nations competing in the Olympics arrived at an Atlanta airport and will be quarantined for at least three days. It could not be determined immediately whether any of the horses were infected with piroplasmosis, a parasitic blood disorder spread by ticks that causes fever, swelling and possibly death.Pub Date: 6/24/96

Angels: Reliever Lee Smith was placed on the 15-day disabled list with swelling of the right knee. Fluid was drained from Smith's knee during an exam yesterday. Smith, 38, underwent surgery Nov. 12 to repair a ruptured tendon suffered when he slipped during a hunting trip.Pub Date: 4/05/96

Anatomy of a Scratch, Scene I (5:30 a.m. yesterday): The night sky is just beginning to brighten when Brian Battistella, the groom for Citadeed, arrives at Pimlico and ducks into stall 17 of the stakes barn. A big day is planned. Citadeed is scheduled to work five-eighths of a mile, his last serious exercise before Saturday's Preakness.Battistella drops to his knees in the straw and unwraps the bandages on his horse's legs: the first order of business in any thoroughbred barn. Three of Citadeed's legs are fine, but on the left front there is minor swelling just above the sesamoid bone.

SEATTLE -- Orioles right fielder Jeffrey Hammonds arrived at the Kingdome yesterday with a puffed-up lower lip and a swollen left cheekbone."Hey, look," Orioles right-hander Mike Mussina said. "It's Apollo Creed."Hammonds did have the look of a boxer on the wrong end of a fight with Rocky Balboa, but it didn't put a damper on his first April in the major leagues.Hammonds, out of the lineup yesterday after a home-plate run-in with Seattle catcher Bill Haselman forced him out of Saturday night's game in the first inning, finished the month with a .305 average, seven doubles, four home runs, 14 RBIs and a .561 slugging percentage.

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Fleet Orioles outfielder Jeffrey Hammonds' pursuit of the American League Rookie of the Year award has run into another speed bump. Actually it's the same speed bump, otherwise known as a knee.He is experiencing swelling in his right knee again.His knee began swelling in the middle of Saturday's 4-3 loss to the California Angels, but he stayed in the game. He did not play in yesterday's 10-5 victory over the Angels."I'm hoping this one day off will help immensely," Hammonds said.

NEW YORK -- In the second full day after suffering a paralyzing stroke, former President Richard M. Nixon remained in critical condition last night, with swelling in his brain continuing to threaten his life, officials of New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center said.The swelling, a potentially fatal complication of a stroke, results when damaged arteries begin to break down and fluid leaks into the brain. This leakage further damages cells already harmed by lack of oxygen when the stroke occurred.

Question: : When directions for medicine say take with food, do I take it before I eat anything, or at midmeal or following the meal? Answer: : Unless there are instructions to the contrary (such as "take 30 minutes before eating"), a medicine to be taken with food can be taken at any point in the meal. The idea is to reduce stomach irritation and, for some drugs, improve absorption. Question: : I am 55 and suffering with vaginal dryness that makes intercourse very painful. I rarely have any more hot flashes, just once in a while.

Congestive heart failure refers to a large number of conditions that affect the structure or function of the heart, making it more difficult for the heart to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. Dr. Michael E. Silverman of Cardiovascular Specialists of Central Maryland and chief of medicine at Howard County General Hospital writes about the causes of and treatments for the problem. * Congestive heart failure occurs when one or more of the heart's chambers loses the ability to maintain proper blood flow.

I've never been one to eat peas. As a child, my mother insisted I finish my vegetables, so I swallowed peas like pills with my iced tea. How do I explain that I now find myself befriending not just one serving, but an entire bag? Frozen peas are just the ticket for reducing swelling after an eye job. I don't really like admitting to vanity, but I'm convinced that denial does no good. It's like lying about your age. What's the point? After you lie, you're no younger. So, I might as well own up and be done with it. Now I officially become one of "those" women.

COLLEGE PARK -- Hoisted above a swelling mix of fans, players and coaches celebrating on the 50-yard line of Byrd Stadium yesterday was a simple, homemade sign with the word "Believe" written on it. Maryland coach Ralph Friedgen always did. Maryland@Temple Saturday, 1 p.m., 1300 AM, 105.7 FM

LOS ANGELES -- Boxer Leavander Johnson died yesterday at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, five days after suffering a brain injury while defending his International Boxing Federation lightweight title against Jesus Chavez at the MGM Grand Garden Arena. Johnson, 35, a native of Atlantic City, N.J., and a father of four, had left the ring under his own power, but collapsed just outside his dressing room. Rushed to the hospital, Johnson immediately underwent a 90-minute surgery to dissolve a large clot pressing on his brain.

James Odom Jr. is living proof that miracles happen. It was Labor Day in 2000, and 32-year-old Odom was sailing toward the Havre de Grace Marina with a canoe in tow. Rough, choppy waters and the weight of the canoe were more than the towline could handle. The line snapped, sending the metal hook like a slingshot into the lower right side of Odom's skull. The Harford County businessman and widowed father of a 3-year-old girl slumped over, motionless. Several of Odom's relatives, including his daughter, Tori, were on board.

A faith-based medical relief organization with headquarters in Carroll County has secured a $2.3 million grant as part of a global campaign to eliminate elephantiasis, a debilitating parasitic disease that affects 120 million people in 73 countries, an organization spokeswoman said yesterday. Interchurch Medical Assistance in New Windsor is managing the grant, which is from a $20 million trust fund established by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to fight disease in undeveloped countries.

Only one day after undergoing an apparently successful heart-lung transplant to rectify an earlier botched effort, 17-year-old Jesica Santillan was clinging to life yesterday after physicians detected swelling and bleeding in her brain. Doctors said she might have suffered irreversible brain damage. The second transplant Thursday was required because physicians at the Duke University Medical Center made a severe error in her first one, implanting organs that were of a different blood type than her own. "Yesterday, after the transplant, we were all very hopeful," Dr. Karen Frush told reporters gathered outside the hospital yesterday.

Cheer up. The Wizards who made Enron a great company are running the country. The favorite for governor doesn't poll as invincible the closer you get to election. It was ever thus. Essex and Middle River could become truly elegant upscale yachting communities swelling the property tax coffers in Towson. All they need do is evict the current inhabitants. Whatever comes in next is not Yves Saint Laurent's fault.

It was a typical mother-daughter disagreement -- until things went dreadfully wrong. Medrith Filley and her 15-year-old daughter, Heather, were having a heated discussion as they pulled up to their home in Mission Viejo, Calif., one Saturday morning in November 1997. Heather suddenly decided to jump out of the car, and the heel of her shoe caught on the doorjamb, flipping her backward, her head hitting the pavement hard. Filley, a nurse, knew immediately that her daughter's injuries were grave -- her teeth were clenched, a symptom of profound brain injury, and she wasn't breathing.