I’m sitting here typing away, feeling fine, no aches-pains-dizziness-weakness, just feeling fine.  But recently I was very ill for a month, pneumonia. I was weak, confused, and barely able to draw a breath for a while. Thoughts blew through my mind like autumn leaves, I really thought I was a goner for a while, what would happen to my kids, my mother that I care for? My 13 room house and outbuildings just full of stuff, who would deal with all that? My life was so unfinished. Contrast is what makes things visible, and  this experience illuminated something I usually take for granted, my health. Well, thanks to modern antibiotics, I’m still here. All better now. And every day I wake up feeling that I’ve been granted an extension on things. I’ve started chipping away at the detrius of my life to try and reduce and bring order to it.  I can’t really love my kids anymore than I already do, but every day with them is a blessing and every day they are closer to self-sufficiency. I run up and down the stairs as I always have, but I don’t take it for granted anymore.

So this is what I’m thankful for at the moment, I’m thankful for many things, but this is what’s in focus for me.  I realize how privileged I am compared to so many in the world, and of all the things I take for granted. That’s why global awareness is so important, it offers the contrast we need to really see things.  

This post was created as part of a global groundswell of gratitude called TweetsGiving. The celebration, created by US nonprofit Epic Change, is an experiment in social innovation that seeks to change the world through the power of gratitude. I hope you’ll visit the TweetsGiving site to learn more, and to bring your grateful heart to the party by sharing your gratitude, and giving in honor of that for which you’re most thankful.

A young mother has become the first in the world to get a new part of her body made from her own stem cells.  The woman in Spain received a new windpipe — grown in a lab.  British doctors who were involved in the revolutionary transplant say it heralds a new era in medicine…Health Correspondent Thomas Moore explains.

Funding Source: Dept. of the Army
Funding Type: Discretionary, Grant/Cooperative Agreement
Total Available: $60 Million
Award Ceiling: N/A
Deadline: 02.17.10
Eligibility: Unrestricted

Description:
This Program Announcement/Funding Opportunity is focused on basic research, defined as research directed towards attaining greater knowledge and understanding of fundamental principles of science and medicine. The DMRDP Basic Research Award is designed to promote new ideas that are still in the early stages of development and have the potential to yield highly impactful data and new avenues of investigation. This mechanism supports conceptually innovative, high-risk/high-reward research that could ultimately lead to critical discoveries or major advancements that will accelerate the delivery of new medical countermeasures and information to protect military personnel from a variety of health threats inherent in the military operational environment, and to effectively diagnose and treat these personnel when they are ill or injured. These awards will also support basic research to enhance the training and education of military personnel and health care providers. Presentation of preliminary data is not required. However, investigators must demonstrate logical reasoning and a sound scientific rationale established through a critical review and analysis of the literature for the proposal to be competitive. Research projects should include a well-formulated, testable hypothesis based on strong scientific rationale. Awards under this announcement will consist solely of assistance agreements. This announcement is intended only for extramural investigators. Other announcements will be released for intramural investigators. An intramural investigator is defined as a Department of Defense (DOD) employee working within a DOD laboratory or medical treatment facility (MTF), or a DOD activity embedded within a civilian medical center. An extramural investigator is defined as all those not included in the definition of intramural investigator.

I’ll be having my public health written exam next monday 30/11/09. God bless.

President Obama has appointed more Czars Than the Romanov Empire ever had.

Bigot Czar, Mad Scientist Czar, Animal Rights Czar, Communist Czar, along with a host of others.

One appointment that flew under the radar was the picking of an “Or Else” Czar, as in you will do what you are told, or otherwise be prepared to suffer the consequences.

The first name that probably comes to mind is Rahm Emanuel, but you may be surprised to learn that it’s not him.

In addition to his other duties, President Obama has decided that Vice-President Joe Biden should be the administration’s chief legbreaker.

With a line that could have come straight out of an episode of the Sopranos, Biden made it clear that members of Congress pledging loyalty to the President have nothing to fear, while for those opposing him there will be hell to pay.

After last weeks Senate vote on health care reform, here is what Biden had to say:

“Those who voted for reform will be rewarded and those who voted against it will be held accountable.”

To me, that sounds more like the ravings of a ticked-off Mafia godfather than a rational statement from a Vice-President of the United States.

Read the rest of this entry

“Lucy Harmer’s shamanic astrology book is truly amazing. I use it in my work every day as a therapist to help people understand their personality and find their pathway through life.”
–Jean-Francois Beltrami, counselor and kinesiologist

Welcome to Lucy Harmer’s Shamanic Astrology monthly forecast for the Northern Hemisphere! Each month Lucy shares inspiration and ideas for the coming weeks from her book Shamanic Astrology: Understanding Your Spirit Animal Sign.

Shamanic Astrology is based on the study of the movement of the sun and the moon during the different seasons of the year. There are twelve astrological ‘”signs” which are represented by twelve different spirit animals. To find out your own personal spirit animal sign (the sign you were born under), please check the table of spirit animals at the end of this article. Shamanic Astrology teaches us that inner power derives from knowing the properties, characteristics, and qualities of each spirit animal (known as their “medicine”), and applying this in our own lives.

Each month I will focus on the spirit animal for that month, and describe the “energy” of the month itself and also the influence of the moon. I will also indicate which other spirit animal signs will find this month to be particularly beneficial, and why.

November 22-December 21: OWL

Month of Hibernation and Long Nights

Spirit Animal Sign of the Month:
Owl is the spirit animal which corresponds to November 22 – December 21 (in the northern hemisphere). If you were born at this time, your spirit animal sign is Owl and you share Owl’s strengths of being fair, honest, wise, philosophical, idealistic, optimistic, and independent. You are someone who enjoys the good life! You may also share some of Owl’s weaknesses and can have a tendency to be restless, negligent, intolerant, proud, irresponsible, tactless, superficial and excessively optimistic.

Medicine: Owl’s medicine is the ability to seek out truth and justice in all
circumstances. This can be used in any ambiguous or unclear situation, to find the path to follow and to restore order.
Element: Fire
Stone: Obsidian
Color: Gold
Plant: Mistletoe

Energy of the season:
Owl’s month, which ends with the winter solstice, is that of hibernation and long nights. The sun is at its lowest in the sky and the nights are at their longest. This is a period for introspection, spiritual seeking, visions, plans and preparation for the future. Everything undertaken during this month will need a greater dose of enthusiasm, spontaneity, and optimism than at other times and will have to be on a sound ethical basis. Projects conceived now are often highly ambitious.

Energy of the moon:
Owl’s new moon started on Nov 16th and the full moon is on December 2nd 2009. The period from November 22nd until December 2nd is the ideal time for conceiving or launching projects. These will have a high rate of success, as long as they have a sound ethical foundation. After the full moon, from December 3rd until 15th December, time is best used for introspection and deep spiritual growth. This is a time for learning from the past and for setting new goals for the future. December 16th brings the new moon in Snow Goose; this is a time for putting new structures in place for the year to come, with much determination.

This month is particularly favorable for the following signs:

Owl:
If your sign is Owl the energy of this month is very favorable because it corresponds to the month and the moon of your birth. A new cycle is about to start in your life and this is the best time to start planting seeds. Use the sun’s energy to take stock and head off in a new direction.

Falcon/Salmon:
If your sign is Falcon or Salmon, this is a very lucky month for you, with lots of harmony because you are in your own fire element. A multitude of opportunities will open up for you in this period and this is the best time to give destiny a helping hand!

Raven/Otter:
For Raven and Otter people, this is a very dynamic month, full of energy which favors the conception and birth of new projects. You will feel new motivation and a renewal of your energy at this time.

Table of Spirit Animal Signs:

To find your spirit animal sign, just locate your birthday from the dates below, according to your place of birth. If you were born north of the equator (eg; USA, Canada, Europe), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Northern Hemisphere.” If you were born south of the equator (eg; Australia, New Zealand, South Africa), then look for your date of birth in the column headed “Southern Hemisphere.”

© Copyright 2009 Lucy Harmer

Shamanic Astrology is available for purchase directly through NorthAtlanticBooks.com, as well as major book stores and online retailers.

CLICK HERE to learn more about courses, seminars and workshops offered by Lucy Harmer.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Shamanic Astrology.

CLICK HERE to learn more about Discovering Your Spirit Animal.

Fast Facts on Health Care Information Technology Funds (As reported by “OR Manager”, June 2009)

What is the purpose of the health IT funding ?

• The purpose is to promote the adoption of health IT, particularly the electronic health record (EHR) so patient information can be shared by hospitals, physician offices, and other parts of the health care system.  The eventual goal is to boost quality and efficiency and reduce costs.  The promise is that every American will have the benefit of an EHR by 2014.

Which hospitals are eligible ?

• Acute care hospitals covered by the Medicare prospective payment system (PPS)

• Critical access hospitals

• State funding is provided for hospitals with 10% or more Medicaid volume

• Hospitals must be “meaningful users of certified EHR technology” as defined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS)

What are the incentives ?

• Incentives would begin in fiscal year 2011

• Eligible hospitals would receive payments for up to 4 years according to a formula.  Payments would phase down over the 4 years

• Unless they show significant hardship, hospitals that are not “meaningful users” by FY 2015 will have Medicare payments reduced

Who will administer the program ?

• The program will be administered by the HHS Offices of the National Coordinator of Health Information Technology (ONCHIT)

Southeast Anesthesiology Consultants provides you with the ability to staff your anesthesiology program, and can assist you in improving overall perioperative service efficiencies. By contracting with SAC, you can capitalize on our medical expertise to provide you program development, management, staffing and consulting in the following areas:
• Anesthesiology
• Pain Management
• Quality Initiatives
• Perioperative Services

Learn more about our services at www.seanesthesiology.com

And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Genesis 22:18

Israeli invention allows for early detection of cancerous skin tumors
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1128988.html

Bone repair ‘breakthrough’ at Hadassah
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1258624597066&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull

Tel Aviv University develops new wound dressing packed with infection-fighting antibiotics
http://www.news-medical.net/news/20091118/Tel-Aviv-University-develops-new-wound-dressing-packed-with-infection-fighting-antibiotics.aspx

My inner worrier

As I yesterday wrote a bit about here, tomorrow my wife Catherine is going into the hospital for a little Major Surgery. I can already tell that while she’s under the knife, the top 10 things I’ll be in the waiting room worrying about will be:

1. The surgeon sneezing at a critical moment in the operation.

2. One of the nurses saying, “Hey. Where’s my other glove?” after the surgery is over.

3. Cat’s anesthesia wearing off about half-way through the operation.

4. Cat’s anesthesia never wearing off.

5. In an administrative snafu, Cat getting confused with another patient who is suffering from advanced gangrene.

6. The surgeon and nurses secretly being part of a Russian gang of black market organ harvesters.

7. The night-shift worker who was supposed to sharpen all the surgery tools calling in sick the night before, and no one being assigned their tasks.

8. The surgeon not being able to make the surgery, and sending in her stead one of the top two or three students in her advanced physiology grad class.

9. During the operation Cat, a great napper, imagining that she’s sleeping, and trying to roll over.

10. That before we left the house I forgot to turn off the stove.

(What I’ll be worried about today is that anyone shows the poor girl this blog post.)

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Great article from the Chicago Tribune on all of the shady health care providers out there who are preying on the parents of autistic children. It’s a really sad situation. Steven Novella blogged about it here.

Laboratory tests used to justify therapies are often misleading and misinterpreted. And though some parents fervently believe their children have benefited, the Tribune found a trail of disappointing results from the few clinical trials to evaluate the treatments objectively.

Studies have shown that up to three-quarters of families with children with autism try alternative treatments, which insurance does not usually cover. Doctors, many linked to the influential group Defeat Autism Now!, promote the therapies online, in books and at conferences

From: Autism treatments: risky alternative therapies have little basis in science

Alternative therapies amount to uncontrolled experimentation on children, investigation finds

When you’re done, a commentary on this article can be read over at Neurologica.

Also, (T)he myth that vaccines cause autism has led to ideas. Dangerous ideas, and not because they “challenge” medical orthodoxy. These ideas are dangerous because they have direct consequences for children with autism. These consequences take the form of subjecting children to unscientific treatments that are ineffective at best and harmful at worst, sometimes even life-threatening. Read the rest of this commentary over at Science-Based Medicine.

Sometimes it’s best to keep your mouth shut. I already knew that, but knowing something and actually show behavior which is in accordance with that knowledge is something else. My latest mistake, in a steadily extending line, was when I somehow got involved in a discussion about vaccination. Like in many other countries, many people around here can get vaccinated against H1N1 (or: Mexican flu).
Our best medical experts, health scientists and epidemiologists have been debating this for weeks and decided: yes, for certain groups it is wise to get vaccinated and should they so desire, they should be given the opportunity to do so. As a parent of a five month old son I belong to one of those groups. I hav been informed that my son does not have an increased risk of actually dying of H1N1, however, there is a higher chance that he might need medical care in hospital. I think every parent would do anything to avoid that as well.

The wiser choice
What I also did was read up on the subject as I had also done when it came to all the other vaccinations that babies and infants receive in the Netherlands (like tuberculosis, polio et cetera). I was always a bit sceptical about the idea of injecting perfectly healthy people with all sorts of drugs, so I wanted to know more about it. As it turns out, all scientific evidence points clearly towards: getting vaccinated is the wiser choice.  The diseases that are prevented by it are serious and horrific and the odds of side-effect are very small indeed.

Gullible people
I thought (stupid, stupid, stupid) I could have an intelligent and respectful debate about this with someone who was clearly an anti-vaccine crusader. No way. Within seconds I was treated to an extremely unpleasant mixture of conspiracy theories (our government wants to make us all ill because of the powerful and wealthy vaccination lobby), misinformation (I was informed that there is scientific evidence that vaccination causes autism. I know for a fact: there is no such evidence whatsoever), bad source-material (websites by -mostly- moms who makes claims they do not provide any relevant evidence for) and plain old gossip (our national top medical advisor has shares in pharmaceutical companies (true) which is why he is not to be trusted because vaccines make him rich (not true)). In short: I should have ignored all this. But I didn’t. I explained, calmly or so I thought, why all their theories are dubious,  non-scientific and in fact: dangerous. Gullible people believe them. They do no get -their kids-  vaccinated and people might end up in hospital (let’s not even talk about ‘dead’) because of it. And I am pretty sure that no one of those vaccination critics will take any responsibility for it. It will undoubtedly be the government’s fault yet again.

Stay critical
The anti vaccination lobby’s mantra seems to be: stay critical. Which, as mantras come and go, seems to be a clever one. Unfortunately these ‘critical lobbyists’ have something in common with conspiracy theorist’s; being critical only refers to ‘them’ and never to ‘us’. The anti-vaccination crusaders use unscientific source material, myths and nonsense as arguments, while at the same time spreading lies and gossip about scientists, researchers, policy makers and politicians who have to work by ethical and scientific rules and laws. Perhaps there are good arguments why there is a better alternative to vaccination, but they will come, in time, from the latter group, not the misinformed cynical mob. And in the mean time, all these bad arguments and poorly informed ‘worried parents’ are taking up a lot of research time that could also be used for advancing medical knowledge. Not to mention all the victims of unnecessary diseases.

It looks like we are going to get a health care bill, whether we want it or not.

It not that I don’t think that something should be done, it’s just that I don’t think that this bill (either the house or the senate version) is the way to go.

Here are my concerns.

COST

1.  Government:  it is going to cost the government way too much.  We need to be looking for ways to reduce our spending, not increase it.

2.  Companies 

    A.  Companies that are unable, or unwilling to provide health insurance will be forced to either provide insurance, or pay a penalty.  Either way companies will see a significant increase to their operating costs.  How many companies will be unable to continue doing business?

    B.  The extra tax on medical supplies will be passed on to the consumer, raising the cost that is paid for health care, not lowering it. 

    C.  Forcing insurance companies to accept all applicants will cause an increase in expenditures by those companies.  Premiums are established from year to year based on the rate of claims paid out.  If everyone is included, the costs will go up.

3.  Individuals:  individuals who do not have health insurance will be forced to buy insurance or pay a fine.   Many of these individuals are having a difficult time making ends meet now.  The extra cost will only make things worse.  For those people who have health insurance, there will be extra taxes, and higher premiums. 

4.  Economic impact: the health industry is an enormous business that is interwoven into our economy.  By forcing these changes, there will be an economic upheaval that is unpredictable, and possibly catastrophic.

AUTONOMY

I don’t like the government taking away the freedom of companies and individuals to make these decisions for themselves.  If the government wants to provide a public option at a sliding fee cost, that is optional, that would be great, but to force individuals and companies into compliance is a reduction of our basic freedoms.

QUALITY OF CARE

As the government moves more and more towards a socialized health care system, the rate of return will probably go down.  There will not be as much profit in the industry.  The lure of economic gain is a powerful stimulus for innovation.  I would like to say that everyone who has contributed to health care advance has done so for humanitarian concerns, but I am reasonably certain that profitability has played an important role.  How many of the advances in medicine in the past fifty years have come about as a result of government facilities anywhere in the world compared to companies that are pursuing profit?

BUREAUCRACY

The mess involved with filing claims for Medicare and Medicaid is legendary.  Sometimes it works well, but there are frequent problems that are very difficult to resolve. 

Here are a few of my concerns.  I have not heard, or read where these concerns are being addressed to my satisfaction. 

Original Link

A near-death experience, or NDE, is a profound psychological event that may occur to a person close to death or who is not near death but in a situation of physical or emotional crisis. Being in a life-threatening situation does not, by itself, constitute a near-death experience. It is the pattern of perceptions, creating a recognizable overall event, that has been called “near-death experience.”

Across thousands of years and in cultures around the world, people have described powerful experiences that follow this general pattern with its common features. At its broadest, the experiences involve perceptions of movement through space, of light and darkness, a landscape, presences, intense emotion, and a conviction of having a new understanding of the nature of the universe.

An NDE may begin with an out-of-body experience—a very clear perception of being somehow separate from one’s physical body, possibly even hovering nearby and watching events going on around the body. An NDE typically includes a sense of moving, often at great speed and usually through a dark space, into a fantastic landscape and encountering beings that may be perceived as sacred figures, deceased family members or friends, or unknown entities. A pinpoint of indescribable light may grow to surround the person in brilliant but not painful radiance; unlike physical light, it is not merely visual but is sensed as being an all-loving presence that many people define as the Supreme Being of their religious faith.

A near-death experience may include few or several of the common features. Many accounts of experiences include only one or two of the common features, but those were so powerful they created permanent changes in people’s lives.

The emotions of an NDE are intense and most commonly include peace, love and bliss, although a substantial minority are marked by terror, anxiety, or despair. Most people come away from the experience with an unshakable belief that they have learned something of immeasurable importance about the purpose of life. Overall, the entire experience is ineffable—that is, it is beyond describing; even art and metaphor cannot capture it. The effects of an NDE are often life-changing, and its details will typically be remembered clearly for decades.

What causes a near-death experience

In a scientific age, it is only natural that people want to understand the biological or psychological origins of experience, and a variety of neurological and chemical explanations have been proposed as the cause of NDEs: lack of oxygen, excess of carbon dioxide, seizure activity in the temporal lobe, the effect of drugs such as DMT or ketamine, hallucination, psychological avoidance of death, normal shutting down of brain activity, and a dozen or more other possibilities.

No scientific explanation so far has satisfactorily accounted for all aspects of NDEs or their effects. For example, numerous patients who were being clinically monitored and were known to be well oxygenated have later reported having an NDE during that time; drugs are not a factor in all NDEs; the characteristics of sleep disorders and NDEs are not identical. Hallucinations are highly individual and produce confusion and hazy memories, exactly the opposite characteristics of near-death experiences, which tend to share characteristics and be remembered vividly for decades as being “realer than real.” For every medical cause that has been put forward, there are reasons the NDE researchers say, “Not quite right.”

Further, despite reports that scientists have been able to induce NDEs through the use of drugs or electrical stimulation to the brain, none of the reports has been altogether convincing. The reports have been based on a partial similarity to a limited aspect of NDE, or they have involved very few people—sometimes only a single individual—in an experiment that does not really replicate a full NDE, or the aftereffects do not coincide with those of a true NDE. After decades of investigation, researcher and psychiatrist Bruce Greyson, MD, has reported, “No one physiological or psychological model by itself explains all the common features of NDE.”*

Thousands of documented NDEs challenge mainstream Western thinking and belief systems. Expectations about an afterlife may be challenged, and some people abruptly develop radically new interests and abilities after an NDE. One subject of debate is whether consciousness (mind) resides exclusively in the physical brain. For example, many people who have had an NDE accurately report events that occurred around their bodies when they were unconscious or even clinically dead—in at least one case, when clinical monitoring clearly showed no brain activity. Some NDEs have revealed family secrets, such as the existence of a never-mentioned sibling.  According to the prevailing belief system of industrialized societies, these things are scientifically impossible.

Although no relationship has been found between religious orientation and the likelihood of having an NDE, numerous studies have reported a significant correlation between the depth of an NDE and the importance a person subsequently places on religion or spiritual activity. For some, this is because they believe they have had a glimpse of Heaven and now believe absolutely in the existence of God and life after death. For others, it is because the NDE convinced them beyond question of the purpose of life as expressed in religious or spiritual teachings about love, service, and the reality of “something more” beyond physical existence.

Curiously, there has been no major study of the relationships between near-death experiences and the origins and teachings of the major religions.

- – - – - -

*Greyson, B. (2001). Posttraumatic stress symptoms following near-death experiences. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 71, 368-373.

There may come a time when you have to seriously think about improving your looks and may be advised for cosmetic surgery for your doctor. Before undertaking any cosmetic surgery, you should take some time and try to get all the information you can get. The following article includes pertinent information that may cause you to reconsider what you thought you understood. The most important thing is to study with an open mind and be willing to revise your understanding if necessary.

Every one wants to be perfectly beautiful and to attain it people discover to change all those flaws. Cosmetic surgery is one sure way to have a perfect beauty but one must be open to the outcomes and dangers of the surgery. One has to find a good surgeon that would perform the operations to avoid complications. Hematoma is one, it occurs when blood collects under the skin, looking at first like a huge black and blue mark. Nerve injuries are rare but they can occur in the forehead or cheek, making the face flaccid and without expression on one side. The patient can vomit and risk congesting the lungs, or fluctuating blood pressure can result in sustained bleeding. Many people suffer from depression after surgery, partly because of the long-term after-effects of the anesthetics and painkillers they take.

Implanting a highly purified form of soluble collagen just beneath the skin promises to change all that known as collagen implants, the new system came originally from search done at Stanford University, where scientist developed a new way of processing bovine collagen into an odorless, whitish substance with the consistency of soft paste. Silicone is another substance, which can be injected into fine lines to smooth them out.

The modern high-technology version of skin peels involves the use of chemicals such as salicylic acid, resorcin and –best-known- phenol and tricholoroacetic acid (TCA). They are designed to eliminate fine lines on the face and they work best on fair complexioned, thin- skinned people with fine wrinkles. TCA can be use to give only a light peel, taking off the outermost part of the epidermis. This is particularly helpful for removing uneven pigmentation when it is use in very light concentration, but it does little to alter the look of long-term wrinkles.

Similar to a peel, dermabrasion can go beyond it in that it affects not only fine wrinkles but also deeper acne scars and sunspots. It can be use to treat frown lines, smile lines, vertical wrinkles, naso-labial lines and fine lines around the mouth. Dermabrasion is often use after a chemical peel on areas of the face that need further treatment.

Port wine stains, strawberry birth marks and other disfiguring blemishes caused by abnormal concentrations of capillaries beneath the skin surface used to be a matter for concealment alone. The argon laser- a finely focused hot beam of light able to burn tissue at incredible speed and with exceptional precision can treat many of these disfiguration easily, painlessly and in the doctor’s office.

The helium-neon laser is use cosmetically to improve the look of aging skin. It is not as dangerous as hot laser and tends to be use on specific points on the face many of which correspond to acupuncture points. This non-surgical lift consists of beaming these points with the laser light then directing it along facial lines on the forehead, around the eyes, facial lines and mouth.
Now that we’ve covered those aspects of cosmetic surgery, let’s turn to some of the other factors that need to be considered. Of course, it’s impossible to put everything about cosmetic surgery into just one article. But you can’t deny that you’ve just added to your understanding about cosmetic surgery, and that’s time well spent.

Read more