Saw the Konnie Huq piece on Polio NID on BBC news but she did not mention Rotary once!! Apparently she was on later and we got a lot of mentions. A good article on the BBC website though at  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/8371245.stm. Rest of the day quiet with Keri arriving late morning for lunch.

Finally finished reading all the COL papers with notes for DY.

This is my week 12 and I am doing good so far. I still throw up at times but the frequency has reduced. Remember the acid refulx problem I had? Well the solution of keeping me upright after feed for 20-25 mins works good for me.In the last post I promised to share some information about the vaccines so here I am with some information.

First of all why do we need vaccines? Vaccines are one of the best ways to to keep a child healthy. Before vaccines were available, diseases such as polio, measles, rubella, smallpox, and diptheria routinely harmed children, and sadly, sometimes killed them. Thanks to the vaccinations that we will receive, the chances that they will contract any of these serious yet preventable illnesses are highly unlikely.

How do vaccines work?
When you receive a vaccine, it helps your body to create antibodies. Antibodies are the body’s defenses that fight off any foreign substances (germs). Although your body can create antibodies on its own, most of the vaccine-preventable diseases cause severe illness and even death before enough antibodies are produced. 

Timing of the Shots:
They say timing is everything, and that’s definitely the case when it comes to vaccines. They’re most effective when they’re given at the right time – and lots of careful consideration goes into deciding when that time is. In coming up with an optimal immunization schedule, experts take into consideration age-specific risks for disease, age-specific risks for complications, and age-specific immune response to the vaccine. Once they have this information in hand, the experts then determine a schedule for each vaccine that will safely and effectively protect at the youngest possible age. By following the recommended schedule, you’ll be able to ensure that your child will get the best protection possible against vaccine-preventable diseases.

Another reason to keep up with those immunization schedules: Studies show that children who fall behind with their vaccines are less likely to be fully vaccinated later on (and therefore less protected). Still, if you’ve fallen behind, that doesn’t mean that you have to give up. There are effective ways to catch up, and get your child back on vaccine track.

What childhood vaccines are recommended, and at what age they shoud be given?

Hepatitis vaccine:

1. First dose at birth to 2 months
2. Second dose at 1 to 4 months
3. Third dose at 6 to 18 months

 Hib vaccine:

1. First dose at 2 months
2. Second dose at 4 months
3. Third dose at 6 months
4. Fourth dose at 12 to 15 months

Polio Vaccine:

1. First dose at 2 months
2. Second dose at 4 months
3. Third dose at 6 to 18 months
4. Fourth dose at 4 to 6 years

DTaP vaccine:

1. First dose at 2 months
2. Second dose at 4 months
3. Third dose at 6 months
4. Fourth dose at 15 to 18 months
5. Fifth dose at 4 to 6 years
6. DTaP is recommended at 11 years

Pneumococcal vaccine:

1. First dose at 2 months
2. Second dose at 4 months
3. Third dose at 6 months
4. Fourth dose at 12 to 18 months 

 Rotavirus vaccine:

1. First dose at 2 months
2. Second dose at 4 months
3. Third dose at 6 months

Hepatitis A vaccine:

1. First dose at 12 months
2. Second dose at 18 months

Influenza vaccine:

1. First dose at 6 months (requires a booster one month after initial vaccine)
2. Annually until 5 years (then yearly if indicated or desired, according to risks)

MMR vaccine:

1. First dose at 12 to 15 months
2. Second dose at 4 to 6 years

Varicella vaccine:

1. First dose at 12 to 15 months
2. Second dose at 4 to 6 years

Meinigococcal vaccine:

1. Single dose at 11 years

Human papillomavirus vaccine (adolescent girls only):

1. First dose at 11 years
2. Second dose two months after first dose
3. Third dose six months after first dose  

TV presenter Konnie Huq travelled to India to take part in a two-day drive to eradicate polio from two Indian states where the disease is still endemic…. From BBC News. Full story

This site may contain information about: vegas trips. The blog is also related to: manchester flight.

Spent the morning at home with grandson Ian who is recovering from Croup and a bit lethargic. Off then around mid-day to Midsomer Norton and Radstock club to hear Keith Barnard-Jones speak on Polio. A very good turnout with wives and several visitors. Thanks too to Roger M for the birthday drink.

KBJ was on top form as usual and his talk was inspiring. Good to see Judy there too as well as Richard and Bob from Chelwood Bridge

Straight from there to Swallow AGM where as company secretary. Swallow is a charity which provides services for people with learning disabilities

La diversidad funcional

Esta es la tercera y última conferencia de la jornada celebrada en Segovia, el pasado día 12 de noviembre, con ocasión de la Exposición “Polio, Síndrome Postpolio. Pasado y presente de una enfermedad silenciosa”, organizada por la Asociación de Afectados de Polio y Síndrome Postpolio de Castilla y León.

Javier Romañach nació en Manresa en 1962. Es Licenciado en Informática por la Facultad de Informática de Madrid (U. P. M.), 1987. Reorienta su carrera hacia el estudio de la Tecnología y la Discapacidad, después de sufrir un accidente de tráfico en el año 1991. Desde entonces, padece tetraplejia y se ha convertido en un activista del Foro de Vida Independiente. Ha escrito libros y numerosos artículos, da conferencias y participa en congresos y en diversos proyectos relacionados con la tecnología y la discapacidad.

En esta interesante conferencia nos propone un cambio de mentalidad y un nuevo enfoque filosófico sobre el concepto de la discapacidad.

• Vídeo 1ª parte.

• Vídeo 2ª parte.
• Vídeo 3ª parte.
• Vídeo 4ª parte.
• Vídeo 5ª parte.

Artículos de J. Romañach:

• El modelo de la diversidad: una nueva visión de la bioética desde la perspectiva de las personas con diversidad funcional (discapacidad). Agustina Palacios y Javier Romañach. Intersticios Revista Sociológica de Pensamiento Crítico, 2008.

• Bioética y Diversidad Funcional. Javier Romañach y Soledad Arnau Ripollés. 2006

Más información sobre Javier Romañach:

• Entrevista de Julia Otero, Programa TVE Las Cerezas (marzo, 2005): vídeo1, vídeo 2, vídeo 3.

Fuentes:

• SIDAR.

• Norte de Castilla. Blog: “Tenemos algo en común… Somos todos diversos”: Activista, Javier Romanach del foro vida independiente.

Síndrome Post-Polio

Este es el título con que el Dr. Enric Portell dio la conferencia el pasado día 12 de noviembre, dentro de la Exposición “Polio, Síndrome Postpolio. Pasado y presente de una enfermedad silenciosa”, organizada por la Asociación de Afectados de Polio y Síndrome Postpolio de CastilIa y León, que ha tenido lugar en Segovia. Esta es la segunda conferencia de la jornada.

El Dr. Enric Portell es Médico Rehabilitador. Responsable del Programa de Atención a Personas con Síndrome Postpolio del Instituto Guttmann, Hospital de Neurorehabilitación, Badalona.

• Vídeo 1ª parte.

• Vídeo 2ª parte.
• Vídeo 3ª parte.
• Vídeo 4ª parte.
• Vídeo 5ª parte.
• Vídeo 6ª parte.
• Vídeo 7ª parte.

Para ver la primera conferencia, a cargo del Dr. Juan Antonio Rodríguez, aquí.

As some of you know my passion for photography started at a very young age.  I discovered it before learning how to read and write English fluently.  Photographs helped me to see and learn to understand the world and the people around me.  Thanks to one nurse who was kind enough to provide me with visual clues during my stays and let my parents know that what I wanted most when I got out of the hospital was a camera to capture my own images to share.  I do not remember her name anymore but am forever grateful for the gifts that she gave me which helped to spark my passion.

When I was younger polio had struck my body and paralyzed almost all of my limbs.  After coming to Canada as a refugee we were moved to Victoria after a brief stay in Edmonton.   I went into surgeries almost immediately after arrival and didn’t understand what was going on at the time with no knowledge of the English language.   I didn’t get to see my parents very much and when I did the visits were brief.  For a time I believed that they had sold me because I was too hard and expensive to take care of.  I remember feeling scared and like an alien of sorts because there was no one in the hospital that spoke my language.  I watched how people moved around me, how they used their hands and body when communicating and learned to ape the words surrounding me.  When that one nurse saw how much I was struggling to understand my environment she started to put up visual photo clues in my room to help me gain more insight.  It was my first few steps in learning the powers of observation.

Over the years I’ve nurtured and utilized my powers of observation in various forms.  In photography it has really helped me to tap into a model’s personality and bring that out in images.  I truly feel that to be a good portrait photographer you must be able to appreciate people watching to some degree.  You can learn a lot about capturing a person’s emotions if you take pause to simply observe.

Inmovilismo y parálisis: la poliomielitis en la España franquista (1954-1967)

Esta es la conferencia que ha tenido lugar el pasado día 12 de noviembre, en Segovia, dentro de la Exposición “Polio, Síndrome Postpolio. Pasado y presente de una enfermedad silenciosa”, organizada por la Asociación de Afectados de Polio y Síndrome Postpolio de CastilIa y León.

El Dr. Juan Antonio Rodríguez Sánchez es profesor titular de Historia de la Medicina, de la Universidad de Salamanca. Su docencia se reparte fundamentalmente entre las licenciaturas de Medicina, Odontología y Humanidades.

Desde 1997 comenzó a trabajar en la historia de la poliomielitis y el síndrome postpolio y desde 2005 es investigador principal del proyecto “Estudio comparativo de los cambios sociales y profesionales relacionados con la polio en el área transfronteriza hispanoportuguesa desde 1956″, financiado por el Ministerio de Educación. Es autor del libro Responsabilidades no asumidas: la poliomielitis en España (1954-1967), que será publicado el próximo mes de diciembre.

• Video 1ª parte.

• Vídeo 2ª parte.
• Vídeo 3ª parte.
• Vídeo 4 ª parte.
• Vídeo 5ª parte.
• Vídeo 6ª parte.
• Vídeo 7ª parte.

Más Información en:

• Asociación de Afectados de Polio y Síndrome Postpolio de CastilIa y León.
• La memoria paralizada.
• Entradas anteriores de este blog:

La Iniciativa Mundial de Erradicación de la Poliomielitis está encabezada por la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS), el Movimiento Rotario Internacional, los Centers for Disease Control and Prevention de los Estados Unidos y UNICEF. Esos aliados elaboran y ejecutan estrategias para la eliminación mundial de la poliomielitis.

La Iniciativa Mundial de Erradicación de la Poliomielitis es una alianza de los sectores público y privado de características únicas. El Movimiento Internacional Rotario propuso inicialmente la meta de la eliminación mundial de esa enfermedad a la Asamblea Mundial de la Salud en 1988. Desde entonces, unos 1,2 millones de rotarios han desempeñado un papel particularmente importante con respecto a la conquista de ese objetivo. En ese sentido, los integrantes de ese movimiento han donado más de 600 millones de dólares a la campaña por medio del programa del Movimiento Rotario contra la Poliomielitis, han aportado innumerables horas de trabajo voluntario y han dado apoyo al programa promoviéndolo ante los gobiernos y las organizaciones internacionales.

En la coalición que lucha por la eliminación de la poliomielitis participan también los gobiernos de los países afectados por esa enfermedad; diversas fundaciones privadas (como la Fundación de las Naciones Unidas y la Fundación Bill & Melinda Gates); bancos de desarrollo como el Banco Mundial; gobiernos donantes, como los de Alemania, Australia, Austria, Bélgica, el Canadá, Dinamarca, Finlandia, la Federación Rusa, Francia, Irlanda, Italia, Japón, Luxemburgo, Nueva Zelandia, Noruega, los Países Bajos, el Reino Unido y los Estados Unidos; la Comisión Europea; diversas organizaciones humanitarias y no gubernamentales, como las sociedades de la Cruz Roja y la Media Luna Roja, y empresas comerciales aliadas, como Aventis Pasteur y De Beers. También desempeñan un papel importante en la Iniciativa los voluntarios de los países en desarrollo, ya que 20 millones de ellos han tomado parte en diversas campañas de inmunización.

LA POLIO

La enfermedad:

La poliomielitis, o polio, es una enfermedad viral altamente contagiosa que afecta al sistema nervioso. Los niños se pueden infectar con la polio al comer o beber alimentos y bebidas contaminas con el virus o cuando entran en contacto directo con la saliva o las heces de una persona infectada. El virus penetra en el cuerpo por vía oral y viaja hasta los intestinos donde se multiplica. Después, el virus pasa al flujo sanguíneo y ataca al sistema nervioso -la espina dorsal y el cerebro. El virus daña las células y puede causar parálisis, a veces de la noche a la mañana. Generalmente, la polio afecta a los menores de tres años, pero los adultos también pueden contraerla.

Síntomas:

Muchos de los afectados con el virus no presentan síntomas pero pueden pasar a otros el virus. Otros pueden mostrar algún síntoma de tres a cinco días después de haber estado expuestos al virus. Hay tres clases de virus y todos ellos pueden causar parálisis. Los niños y niñas que sufren esta enfermedad padecen fiebre, dolores de cabeza, fuertes dolores musculares, espasmos y sensación de debilidad. También pueden tener temblores y problemas para tragar. La parálisis crónica a veces se desarrolla con rapidez – normalmente en la primera semana – y los niños pierden el control de sus piernas y brazos. Algunos de los que sufren parálisis mueren cuando el virus ataca los músculos utilizados para respirar.

La inmunización:

La polio es incurable pero puede prevenirse con la vacunación. Se usan dos tipos de vacunas. La primera utiliza un poliovirus vivo atenuado y se administra vía oral con gotas. En países donde el poliovirus salvaje todavía está activo, se usa esta vacuna oral de la polio (VPO) porque su administración no requiere más que un mínimo de preparación y equipamiento. La segunda, es una vacuna inactivada (muerta) que se administra mediante inyección. La vacuna de polio inactivada se usa principalmente en los países donde el poliovirus salvaje ya ha sido erradicado.

La vacuna antipoliomielítica oral

La vacuna antipoliomielítica oral es la vacuna que recomienda la OMS para la eliminación de la poliomielitis. Una dosis de la vacuna OPV consiste en dos gotas que se administran por vía oral. Para que los niños y niñas queden completamente inmunizados contra esa enfermedad deben recibir por lo menos tres dosis de la vacuna antipoliomielítica oral. La Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) recomienda que los niños reciban la primera dosis al nacer y las demás espaciadas cada cuatro semanas, por lo menos.

Sin embargo, el mal estado de salud y la desnutrición pueden retardar la “conversión” de la vacuna antipoliomielítica por parte del sistema inmunológico del niño vacunado. A eso se debe que para inmunizar completamente a algunos niños y niñas que pertenecen a comunidades pobres se necesiten más de tres dosis de la vacuna, que no tienen efectos nocivos para la salud. Es imprescindible que todos los niños reciban todas las dosis de la vacuna, y de hecho, cuantas más dosis reciben más protegidos están contra la poliomielitis.

UNICEF se hace cargo de la adquisición de todas las vacunas antipoliomielíticas orales que se emplean en los días nacionales de inmunización, que desde el inicio de la campaña superan los 10.000 millones de dosis. Todas las vacunas que adquiere UNICEF provienen de fabricantes que cuentan con la aprobación oficial de la OMS para producir vacunas que cumplen con las normas más exigentes de calidad.

En el marco de su compromiso con la supervivencia de los niños y niñas, UNICEF también suministra un 40% de las vacunas del mundo. Esas vacunas sirven para combatir enfermedades como la poliomielitis, el sarampión y el tétanos materno y neonatal, y para salvar cientos de miles de vidas jóvenes en más de 100 países del mundo.

La vacuna antipoliomielítica monovalente oral

Las vacunas antipoliomielíticas monovalentes orales -conocidas por sus iniciales en inglés, mOPV- contra las tres cepas de virus de esa enfermedad se emplearon de manera generalizada en los albores de la vacunación antipoliomielítica, en el decenio de 1950 y principios del siguiente. A partir de 1963, comenzaron a ser reemplazadas por las vacunas antipoliomielíticas trivalentes orales (tOPV), debido a su simplicidad en materia operacional y logística. Las vacunas tOPV posibilitan la protección simultánea contra las tres cepas silvestres del virus de la poliomielitis, lo que reviste gran importancia cuando en una región determinada hay más de un virus silvestre de la poliomielitis.

En septiembre de 2004, el Comité Consultivo Especial sobre la Erradicación de la Poliomielitis -un organismo mundial de asesoramiento técnico- examinó varias maneras de incrementar los efectos de las actuales actividades de eliminación de la enfermedad, especialmente las que se realizan en los países donde ésta tiene carácter endémico. Basándose en datos convincentes que demostraron las ventajas de emplear la vacuna mOPV1, ese Comité recomendó que se aumentara el número de niños y niñas inmunizados. También recomendó el uso de la vacuna mOPV1 en las campañas de inmunización complementarias en las regiones donde sólo circulaban cepas silvestres del virus de la poliomielitis tipo 1. Desde entonces, la vacuna mOPV1 se ha empleado en 24 países. Esa vacuna resultó fundamental durante la etapa final de la eliminación del virus silvestre de la poliomielitis en Egipto. En la India y Nigeria, esa vacuna ha tenido un notable éxito en la lucha por la reducción de la propagación del virus silvestre de tipo 1. El otro tipo de vacuna monovalente contra la poliomielitis es la vacuna tipo 3, conocida como mOPV3. En la India ya se ha usado la vacuna mOPV3 en zonas especialmente establecidas, y en Nigeria y el Pakistán se han completado los trámites de obtención de licencias para el empleo de la vacuna mOPV3, que comenzarán a usar en breve.

La Certificación Mundial

La certificación mundial es la confirmación científica por parte de la Organización Mundial de la Salud y de expertos en salud pública del éxito de un determinado programa de eliminación de una enfermedad. Antes de que se pueda certificar oficialmente que el mundo está libre de la poliomielitis es necesario que reciban esa certificación cada una de las seis regiones de la OMS (Europa, las Américas, África, el Pacífico Occidental, Asia Sudoriental y el Mediterráneo Oriental). Esto implica someter a la región a un proceso de intensa vigilancia durante tres años, en los que no se debe registrar ningún caso de poliomielitis causada por el virus salvaje. En el caso de la certificación mundial, el proceso es similar. Cuando hayan transcurridos tres años sin que se haya registrado un solo caso en todo el planeta, el mundo será declarado oficialmente libre de poliomielitis.

Aunque los países no pueden ser declarados libres de poliomielitis de manera individual, si transcurre un año sin que en un país determinado se registre un caso de poliomielitis indígena (causado por una variedad local del virus, y no por un virus importado de otro país) se le elimina de la lista de la OMS de países con poliomielitis endémica.
La Iniciativa Mundial de Erradicación de la Poliomielitis tiene como objetivo colaborar con los gobiernos en la inmunización de todos los niños y niñas contra la poliomielitis hasta detener el contagio de esa enfermedad. A partir de entonces, se iniciará el proceso trienal de “certificación” del mundo. Esa será una etapa crucial del programa de eliminación de la enfermedad, en el que las naciones y las comunidades vigilarán la situación del mundo con respecto a la poliomielitis.

En ese período, UNICEF y sus aliados continuarán vacunando a los niños y niñas para mantener en alto una “barrera de contención” y evitar que un virus oculto provoque un brote de poliomielitis. La alianza seguirá desempeñando un papel fundamental en lo que respecta a ayudar a las comunidades y los gobiernos locales a instalar sistemas de vigilancia y a mantenerse alertas a fin de que ningún caso de polio pueda superar esa barrera de contención.

Una vez transcurridos tres años sin que se haya registrado un solo caso de poliomielitis en el mundo y se pueda certificar que está libre de la enfermedad, podremos decir que hemos logrado la erradicación mundial de la misma.

Fuentes: la OMS y el UNICEF

Enlaces

La eliminación de la poliomielitis (UNICEF)
La Organización Mundial de la Salud (hojas de datos, documentos principales, recuentos de casos)
La Iniciativa Mundial de Erradicación de la Poliomielitis (recuento más reciente de casos de poliomielitis, documentos fundamentales, calendario de inmunización, etc.)

Polio is a horrible virus which can turn a healthy human being into a disable patient. Unlike other third world countries, government of Pakistan has controlled this virus with the help of UNICEF and WHO to some extent. But unfortunately Pakistani hospitals are reporting polio cases again.

What made this turn? Pakistan was a polio free country some years ago, every thing was fine, government was feeding vaccine regularly and still health workers are very active than what made them affected again?

Well this is again a drawback of our illiteracy and poverty. Myths are part of societies but you would find a huge amount of myths and misconceptions here.  Like every time, government of Pakistan is giving polio vaccine at our doorsteps. This country wide campaign from 16 to 18 November 2009 is regulated by ministry of health and UNICEF.

Like every time both my neighbors refused vaccine from health worker, usually they say that kids are outside but today they told health workers that their (unfortunate) son and daughter are older than five.

Some people think that vaccine is actually a birth control type of thing which can cause infertility in their children in near future, they think that Government has intentionally feeding such medicine to control population. Hah! I think Government has more things to do except feeding infertility vaccine and there are lot many ways to make people infertile. In fact these sick people are causing risk for their children and promoting polio virus.

While some people think that this medicine is made up of impure contents like animal fat or alcohol. Whatever they say, they just want to risk others and their own children just to prove they know more than doctors. Please dont take it easy, people who have abortive polio or non paralytic polio usually make a full recovery. However, paralytic polio, as its name implies, causes muscle paralysis – and can even result in death. In paralytic polio, the virus leaves the intestinal tract and enters the bloodstream, attacking the nerves (in abortive or asymptomatic polio, the virus usually doesn’t get past the intestinal tract). The virus may affect the nerves governing the muscles in the limbs and the muscles necessary for breathing, causing respiratory difficulty and paralysis of the arms and legs.

Polio is disability. Protect your generations.

Recently there has been news about parents refusing to vaccinate their children out of the fear that the children will develop autism or other debilitating disorders. The rejected vaccinations range from just the normal flu vaccine to the measles or tetanus vaccines, or in some cases, every single vaccine ever. It’s outrageous that parents would place the lives of their own children and the many other children at risk and it’s possibly even more outrageous that doctors would agree to exempt children from vaccinations that are scientifically proven to work.

Most of the reasons for skipping vaccinations seem to involve a fear that the shots would harm the recipients. Maybe there is a slight risk of a complication, but surely the benefits to vaccination outweigh any possible costs. For many vaccines, there is something like a one in 1,000,000 (that’s a million!) chance of any serious complication. This means that there is a 99.9999% chance of the vaccine working just as it should and possibly saving your child’s life – there’s a higher chance of hitting the jackpot in the lottery than getting a serious disorder from a vaccine. How can parents ignore such elementary statistics and even consider risking the lives of their children and other children just because of a .00001% chance of a negative outcome?

Not only are parents risking the lives of their own children by refusing vaccination, they place at risk the lives of enumerable others. Many of the refused vaccines are for diseases that have almost disappeared in modern society such as measles or whooping cough that many adults no longer have immunity to. Some of the diseases, like whooping cough, can be deadly or life-threatening. Adults aren’t the only people at risk – un-vaccinated toddlers, infants, or maybe even vaccinated children are placed at high risk whenever they are in close contact with a child who is not vaccinated. Sure, chances are that they won’t be sick, but it only takes one tragic incident to spark a small crisis. When the decision to not vaccinate can place so many lives at risk, why do we even leave the decision up to parents? Why not let the doctors decide instead?

Hundreds of years of scientific progress in medicine are being wiped out by a handful of negative stories. Diseases like measles, polio, and whooping-cough are returning in regions where people have been refusing to take the respective vaccines. Take, for example, Britain in the 1970’s. A researcher claimed that there was a strong link between permanent brain damage and the whooping-cough vaccine, and soon nobody was getting the aforementioned vaccine. Within a few years, 300,000 children had been hospitalized for whooping-cough and 70 killed.

And consider the case of Biahr, India: many Muslim families refused to vaccinate their children against polio, leading to more than 50 cases of the disease in the region – so far, over 100 cases of polio have been confirmed. Somehow, “I told you so” just isn’t that satisfying anymore.

Let’s not set ourselves back to the dark ages when people died left and right from diseases that are now easily preventable. Refusing to vaccinate is like saying, “biking is dangerous because I can crash or get hit by a car and then I won’t be able to bike anymore. Therefore, I’m going to bike as recklessly as possible so that I get in accident as soon as possible.” It’s not worth the risk to the world just to prevent the almost imaginary risk of a long-term complication. Scientists have spent hundreds of years developing vaccines- let’s not forsake their work for the fear of the equivalent of a scary fairy tale.

TRADUCCIÓN del áudio al castellano:

María Jesús se levanta cada día a las seis de la mañana para poder avanzar el trabajo de casa. Y es que para ella, actividades tan cotidianas como recoger la ropa, son toda una odisea. Sufre poliomielitis. La enfermedad le afecta sobre todo la cadera y la pierna izquierda, pero también le provoca mucho dolor y calambres.

Explica que ha estado tomando morfina, pero que se la han retirado porque le causaba problemas en la piel. Ahora ocurre con los analgésicos que le recetan. Los dolores y las rampas hacen que pase muchas noches en blanco. María Jesús asegura, sin embargo, que tiene muchas ganas de vivir, sobre todo, por su hija.

Los médicos le han dicho que no pueden ponerle una prótesis de cadera. Lo único que le han ofrecido es ponerle una pierna ortopédica. Ella no quiere porque le limitaría aún más el día a día.

Para llevar a su hija en la escuela primero debe cargar los diez kilos de peso de las baterías de su bici eléctrica. Después se ha de enfrentar a la rampa del aparcamiento. Su situación económica la obligó a vender el microcoche que tenía. Y es que ha ido perdiendo todos los trabajos que ha tenido. Explica que incluso la ONCE la rechazó diciéndole que no cumplía el perfil.

Ha hecho de camarera, recepcionista, cajera de supermercado, auxiliar administrativa en el centro de atención primaria, de operaria en una fábrica … Pero todos los trabajos le han durado poco. Es difícil conseguir uno y también mantenerlo. Dice que no la quieren porque creen que no podrá desarrollar bien su tarea o para ahorrarse las bajas médicas que a menudo debe tomar.

Ahora se dedica a vender cupones de una asociación de minusválidos. Gana unos seis euros diarios. Con el sueldo de su marido y este poco dinero, no consiguen llegar a final de mes. Van saliendo con deudas y con ayudas, como la bolsa de alimentos que les proporciona el Ayuntamiento.

María Jesús ha pedido reiteradamente a la Generalitat una pensión de invalidez, pero no le conceden aunque tiene un grado de minusvalía reconocido del 67%. La Generalitat le ha argumentado esta negativa diciéndole que creen que está capacitada para trabajar. María Jesús cree que después de catorce años trabajando tiene derecho a percibir esta pensión, ya que su minusvalía es más que evidente. Además va a peor. Pide a la administración que le de una salida, como ayudarla a encontrar un trabajo adecuada para ella.

Ahora recoge firmas de apoyo que entregará a las administraciones con la intención de que piensen en su caso.

Gracias a la traducción de Xavi D.

Podéis leer la transcripción del vídeo, en catalán, aquí.

The Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the Government will very soon introduce bi-valent oral polio vaccine to attack the type 1 and type 3 virus to deal with the fresh outbreak of type 3 virus. ‘Government is committed to wipe out polio from the country and in this national and international organizations, state governments and general public will have to work in a concerted manner ‘ Shri Azad said. He was speaking after formally launching the special polio vaccine drive here today. Shri Azad also inaugurated free health camp organized by the Rotary Club.

The Health Minister mooted the idea of special drive in the face of persistent prevalence of the disease. He has also envisaged a registry of immunized children which can be verified centrally. The Special Drive is being conducted in 10 states viz., Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab, Haryana, Uttrakhand , Rajasthan and West Bangal. While in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Delhi this drive is being done in a very large area, in other states, the drive will take place largely for the migrating population. About five lakh children will be vaccinated today on Children’s Day. This will include particularly the children belonging to urban slums and street children.

This year, so far 568 cases have been reported as compared to 559 last year. Western Uttar Pradesh is witnessing a sharp rise in type 3 cases (427 cases out of total 454 cases in the state). Bihar is another focus area where we have 68 cases out of total 103 cases from type-3. Introduction of bi-valent vaccine is likely to improve the situation a great deal. In 2009, UP and Delhi will have 7 sub national immunization days in addition to the usual national days whereas Bihar will have 8 additional immunization days.

In Uttar Pradesh and Bihar the special drive will cover children in urban slums and street children. B teams of polio vaccine campaign will ensure vaccination of all children left out in the recent polio campaigns with special emphasis on migratory populations, brick kilns, construction sites and nomadic population sites. Special focus will be on transit points like bus stands, railway stations, fairs and other congregation sites. In other states special focus is on migratory population in specific areas. Large number of supervisors and Field Volunteers will be deployed along with intense awareness drive.

I think my 2nd All Freakin Night truly solidified my love for Olympia.  Drinking tepid rum and cokes out of Dasini bottles while leaning forward to throw trash off a 2nd floor balcony, all the time attempting to slur out a quip at a theater screen (as loud as fucking possible), which is playing a movie about space slugs that turn people into zombies; I even turned down taking mushrooms that night.  The funny thing is that there were at least four more movies afterwards.  What I’m trying to expertly transition into is my love for Night of The Creeps.

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This is one of those movies I always saw sitting up on the rack at the local video/liquor store when I was a kid.  I’d go into the stagnant shop once a week with my Dad to rent a NES game and if I’d been good that week I could maybe get a movie too.  When my Dad would browse the “walk-in closet” sized section of ever so fine spirits (always coming out with rum) I could be found gawking at whatever creepy or crazy VHS caught my eyes.  Some of my favorites that I can still remember today are:  Dead Alive, Evil Dead 2, and Nightmare On Elm Street 3. Of course I was never allowed to rent any of these movies and probably didn’t see most of them until I was 18.  My Mom told me about seeing The Exorcist in theaters when my oldest brother Andrew was a toddler (he just turned 40).  The movie fucked with my Mom so bad that she sped home right when the end credits started to roll, convinced my brother was most likely speaking in tongues and telling the babysitter that his/her mother sucks cocks in Hell (he does love Motorhead).  Anyways, it makes sense that I wasn’t priviliged these gems as a child.

Sci-fi horror is the basis of many of my nightmares growing up.  Once Andrew blossomed into the old brother that wished to enlighten/terrify his uncultured sponge of a sibling, I found – very bluntly – the ingredients to being frightened via film.  Let’s all give a hand for John Carpenter at his cinematic raping of the senses: The Thing. Even to this day I can’t think of a movie that hucks bundles of dynamite at the caveman side of human nature as his remake did.  I know at some point in my youth Andrew threw on what would become a film that rests comfortably in my top ten favorites and I couldn’t shit right for a week.  No joke; my Dad had to sit in on all my bathroom endeavors for a bit because I was afraid of Charles Hannahan’s detached spider fuck-me-I-never-ever-wanna-see-that-thing-whether-in-real-or-fucking-Oz head.

Aliens is right there with The Thing when it comes to a movie that caused me to always run and jump on my bed when it was lights out.  How was I to know there wasn’t a facehugger under the box spring;  didn’t fuck about.  It also spawned my HATE for Paul Reiser even though I know Burke was just a character, but I don’t care.  Every time I watched Mad About You (don’t even ask me why, I don’t even know) I would stare at Reiser and think, “You lied to Ripley and so many good people were killed because of it.  I wish I could have punched you to death before that alien got you… prick.”  Guilty by association:  I hate Helen Hunt too.  Whatever, she sucks.

So when my parents would leave me home alone I’d dig through the pile of copied VHS tapes (my favorite had The Great Mouse Detective, Wayne’s World, and Addams Family on it) and usually end up with Aliens because The Thing disappeared once Andrew left for college.  Between the releases of these two sci-fi horror titans I was missing out on the teen/college equivalent:  Night of The Creeps.

Doofy college freshmen – whose best friend has polio – attempts to take out his dream girl for the formal, but of course zombie jocks/bros who are afflicted with space brain slugs derail the evening.  Solution?  A shotgun, flamethrower, revolver, lawnmower, and Tom Atkins.  I know for a fact I would have grown up to be a better person if I had this movie in my possession as a youngster.  I probably would have been nicer to people with disabilities too, but my parents insisted I play t-ball.  Thus it’s not my fault that I love Christopher Reeves jokes, but Mom and Dad’s.

Horror is the genre that I can’t get tired of and am always willing to watch.  If I wanna have trouble sleeping I’ll put on The Changeling (I’m actually a little uneasy right now just thinking about it) and keep thinking I see something just out of my peripherals.  How about bad people getting exactly what they deserve?  Then it’s Sleepaway Camp, just make sure no one spoils the ending for ya.  What keeps horror fresh is the blending of genres.  I’m trying to stay on the subject of sci-fi horror, but what makes a film watchable over and over again for me is the humor.  Re-Animator is a rare title that I could easily watch every day because it’s funny as shit.  A roommate justifies hiding a dead cat in his mini-fridge because he didn’t wish to leave a sticky note that read “cat dead, details later”.  Dr. West is a gentleman and don’t you forget it.

I’ve heard “splatter comedy” tossed around when talking about movies like Creeps, but The Return of The Living Dead was the first movie to be labeled by this sub-genre to my knowledge.  Without going off the deep end about it, they’re films that use gore and violence – not just funny dialogue – to heighten the comedic qualities as the story pans out.  To someone who isn’t big on horror it can sound perverse that laughter can come from someone being blown up, but with the right line delivered, piece of music used, or sometimes even the lack of both, humor can come spilling out in bloody abundance.

The real appeal in Creeps is writer/director Fred Dekker’s stew of a tale that involves so many aspects in cinema.  You got two buddies who are bumbling around a college campus and all they really want is some lady-loving, which leads to partying.  Apparently getting into a frat gets you laid, so just like any “sex comedy” whacky antics need to ensue; a prank.  The prank brings us to a previous flashback of the cliche 50’s that is familiar as Hell because of old throwback black and whites.  An object jettisoned from an alien craft streaks over make-out point and of course it lands nearby; it MUST be investigated.  It’s a perfect catalyst to the ridiculousness that object – a singular space slug – will cause years later.

Once bursting heads start spurting out legions of wiggly-jiggles that dart across tile floors looking for an open orifice (my God that was fun to type) we need a hero and we get one:  Tom “Thrill Me” Atkins.  His character Detective Ray Cameron easily sits alongside dudes like Reggie, Peter, and Ash at the big boy table for bad asses in horror.  He’s full of one-liners, a fucked up past, and finishes every sentence with a shotgun blast (I’m on a God damn roll).  That’s the issue I have with many hero characters these days, is that they can’t be fun and kooky.  The ones that are a little odd-ball are typically very young characters, but rarely are they the old-timers with age in their face and stories to tell.

And don’t let me forget J.C. played by Steve Marshall (he was also on 21 Jump Street, so you know this guy is big time).  Now I always say he had polio in the movie – even though there’s no mention of it – so maybe I’ll just switch to “handicapped”… even though I wanna say “cripple”.  Having a character with a disability for no good God damn reason does add some realism to a film that is so far passed the limits of normality.  I hate when every actor in a film looks like they just got done tanning in the OC and are on their way to getting frap-a-fucking-chinos at some coffee shop before they zoom off to blow each other while watching Friends. The characters in this movie look like normal to partially awkward people, just like every other random you pass on the street.  Dekker threw in a guy who should easily be a shut-in, but J.C. turns out to be one of the better characters in the movie.  He pushes his buddy Chris (the actor Jason Lively was also on 21 Jump Street; P.I.M.P.) to actually talk to a woman and not be such a pussy that bitches about everything wrong in his life, but actually assists him in fixing all the bullshit.

I don’t think I ever wanna have kids.  I’m already too damn selfish as it is and if I have to fork out cash to some free-loader that can’t even walk or talk; don’t think so.  But if I ever become “responsible” and “stop peeing in the sink” which – God forbid – leads me into parenthood, my kid would get a VHS tape (yup, just because I’m an adult doesn’t mean I’m NOT poor) with three titles on it:  The Thing, Aliens, and Night of the Creeps.  Because isn’t the whole point of having kids so as not to be your parents or do I have that backwards?  I really don’t know.  Well I’m off to get a vasectomy; wish me luck.