While we mostly think hunger, lack of food, and lack of water are restricted to developing countries, runaway children, whether it's due to abuse at home, economic issues, or what not are forced to live on the minimum right here in the states. http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/10/25/us/1247465360380/when-no-ones-looking.html
For example, one girl's father had triple bypass surgery, which led to an accumulation of hospital bills that forced the family to a trailer park. In order to finish high school, the girl squatted in the foreclosed house and had to survive without running water, gas, or electricity (and I thought it was bad in Sierra Leone).
"While the kids are street savvy and petulant, they are still kids." (MX)
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Breakaway Pants
Today is the day to commemorate the time when renal professor tore off his breakaway pants! Hahaha. So random. He was just talking about some renal stuff, how much he watches TV, and how real life is not like the Old Spice guy...then whoosh! Off goes his pants! (Thankfully it wasn't a Full Monty - he had shorts underneath). hahaha
And leading up to that....well...my friend says it best:
What I learned in med school today:
1. Scrubs is true to life.
And leading up to that....well...my friend says it best:
What I learned in med school today:
1. Scrubs is true to life.
2. Grey's Anatomy has way more prettier people than [real hospitals].
3. House is a fraud.
4. Steven's not the Old Spice guy.
Do I get an Honors??
Hahaha...so awesome :D
Monday, October 4, 2010
Nicholas Kristof on Half The Sky
Today I listened to the most awful talk ever. Who am I kidding, he was an awesome speaker! I listened to Nicholas Kristof, New York Times columnist, talk about girls in China, female trafficking in Cambodia, goats changing lives, and fistulas ruining lives. It was awesome!!! It was about his book, Half the Sky. A little bird told me he's a great speaker - and sure is she right! It was a very moving talk with some detailed accounts of people and events he's encountered centered around women inequality issues.
He started off talking about how the 19th century was about slavery, then was totalitarianism, and now, it's women oppression. The first experience he described was his trip to China (forgot where) where he met this brilliant girl who could no longer attend school because she didn't have any money. He told a story of how a many donated $10k, which was used to allow all girls to attend school in this tiny rural province in China. However, he found out there was a wiring issue and the man only donated $100. Unfortunately, he had already told the school principal and the students about the $10k, so he had to obtain that money, which he was fortunate enough to be able to do via another donor. (I was a little out of it during this talk, so I might not have the facts straight).
He then continued to talk about female trafficking in Cambodia. He showed various pictures of brothels with girls around the age of 15 with a few ironically smiling. He discussed about how he unorthodoxically bought two girls. He had heard about one teenage girl who had been sold by her step-father and another one sold by a neighbor. The mother of one of the girls had been desperately searching for her daughter, and instinctively found her in the red-light district. There was a great reunion, but the daughter didn't go home with the mom. When asked why not, the daughter explained that the brothel owner had paid a large sum for her, and her mom didn't have the money to buy her back. As a result, Kristof had bought one girl for about $400 and the other for $250. Compared to the worth of black slaves in the 19th century, they were worth dirt.
There was also a story of a goat. Kristof showed a picture of an African girl holding water above her head and a baby sister on her back. He then told the story of how she couldn't go to school, but another organization via the Heffer Organization bought goats and used the money from the milk to get her through school. She excelled, became first in her class, and the next picture was a picture of her graduating from Cornell. She said "I am the luckiest girl alive, all because of a goat." How cool is that?
I felt great injustice during the fistula story, but it also left me in awe at the strength of some women. Kristof showed a picture of another African women sitting peacefully. Unbeknownst to anyone, she had married young, became pregnant when she was 14, and had labor in the depth of a forest. Due to her underdeveloped pelvis, she was left with a dead fetus, incontinence, and nerve damage that left her unable to walk. Her village thought she was possessed, and left her to the mercy of hyenas at the edge of the village. She fended off the hyenas with a stick, and despite her inability to walk, she attempted to crawl to the nearest help she could find - some missionaries 30 miles away. The first night she had to crawl up some tree to keep away from the hyenas, and the next days he continued on. She did eventually reach the missionaries, which took her to a fistula hospital that fixed her up for free. And now she works as a nurse at the hospital.
He was talking about how many times people don't want to be involved in international work, or of the sorts because it makes them feel depressed/hopeless, but he talks about seeing some of the best people in these situations. He talks of a warlord dessimating people and lives, but out of it all, was a nun who helped all the orphans she could find and kept the warlords at bay.
When asked about whether he had concerns or how he dealt with security, he told another story about him in the Congos. He traveled there in a plane, and soon after he got off the plane, it was destroyed. He decided to travel away from the area via a road that the rebels had built, but soon ran into a warlord who was massacring people. Kristof, in an almost lighthearted manner, talked about how the warlord asked who he was, and he just lied and said he was sent by the warlord's commander. Somehow, he was allowed to leave, but the warlord soon got in contact with the commander, who said there was no such guy as Kristof, which then ensued a long chase of armies after him. All the while, he told the story as if it was just another day in his life. Crazy.
He started off talking about how the 19th century was about slavery, then was totalitarianism, and now, it's women oppression. The first experience he described was his trip to China (forgot where) where he met this brilliant girl who could no longer attend school because she didn't have any money. He told a story of how a many donated $10k, which was used to allow all girls to attend school in this tiny rural province in China. However, he found out there was a wiring issue and the man only donated $100. Unfortunately, he had already told the school principal and the students about the $10k, so he had to obtain that money, which he was fortunate enough to be able to do via another donor. (I was a little out of it during this talk, so I might not have the facts straight).
He then continued to talk about female trafficking in Cambodia. He showed various pictures of brothels with girls around the age of 15 with a few ironically smiling. He discussed about how he unorthodoxically bought two girls. He had heard about one teenage girl who had been sold by her step-father and another one sold by a neighbor. The mother of one of the girls had been desperately searching for her daughter, and instinctively found her in the red-light district. There was a great reunion, but the daughter didn't go home with the mom. When asked why not, the daughter explained that the brothel owner had paid a large sum for her, and her mom didn't have the money to buy her back. As a result, Kristof had bought one girl for about $400 and the other for $250. Compared to the worth of black slaves in the 19th century, they were worth dirt.
There was also a story of a goat. Kristof showed a picture of an African girl holding water above her head and a baby sister on her back. He then told the story of how she couldn't go to school, but another organization via the Heffer Organization bought goats and used the money from the milk to get her through school. She excelled, became first in her class, and the next picture was a picture of her graduating from Cornell. She said "I am the luckiest girl alive, all because of a goat." How cool is that?
I felt great injustice during the fistula story, but it also left me in awe at the strength of some women. Kristof showed a picture of another African women sitting peacefully. Unbeknownst to anyone, she had married young, became pregnant when she was 14, and had labor in the depth of a forest. Due to her underdeveloped pelvis, she was left with a dead fetus, incontinence, and nerve damage that left her unable to walk. Her village thought she was possessed, and left her to the mercy of hyenas at the edge of the village. She fended off the hyenas with a stick, and despite her inability to walk, she attempted to crawl to the nearest help she could find - some missionaries 30 miles away. The first night she had to crawl up some tree to keep away from the hyenas, and the next days he continued on. She did eventually reach the missionaries, which took her to a fistula hospital that fixed her up for free. And now she works as a nurse at the hospital.
He was talking about how many times people don't want to be involved in international work, or of the sorts because it makes them feel depressed/hopeless, but he talks about seeing some of the best people in these situations. He talks of a warlord dessimating people and lives, but out of it all, was a nun who helped all the orphans she could find and kept the warlords at bay.
When asked about whether he had concerns or how he dealt with security, he told another story about him in the Congos. He traveled there in a plane, and soon after he got off the plane, it was destroyed. He decided to travel away from the area via a road that the rebels had built, but soon ran into a warlord who was massacring people. Kristof, in an almost lighthearted manner, talked about how the warlord asked who he was, and he just lied and said he was sent by the warlord's commander. Somehow, he was allowed to leave, but the warlord soon got in contact with the commander, who said there was no such guy as Kristof, which then ensued a long chase of armies after him. All the while, he told the story as if it was just another day in his life. Crazy.
Love Means Nothing To Me
Of all my loves in life, I can't believe I haven't had one blog entry about tennis!!! That has got to change. I couldn't help loving some of these t-shirts! hehe
http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/tennis
Some of my favorites:
One of my fav's: http://www.cafepress.com/+god_loves_tennis_white_tshirt,378410167
http://images4.cpcache.com/product/410562034v-1_240x240_Front_Color-White.jpg
http://t-shirts.cafepress.com/tennis
Some of my favorites:
One of my fav's: http://www.cafepress.com/+god_loves_tennis_white_tshirt,378410167
http://images4.cpcache.com/product/410562034v-1_240x240_Front_Color-White.jpg
Dreams are so Strange
Yesterday I had a dream with two of my renal professors in it. It was so strange. They both really, really liked Shakespeare for some reason, and even held selectives where people can go read Shakespeare. You had to climb up this really rickety staircase to the highest part of the building. It was so unstable, but had a gorgeous view. Anyhow, that's where the readings were. One of the professors (SM), the older professor, really liked to dress up in Shakespeare outfits.
There was another segment where there was a concert being held at the bottom of this one building, that ended up being at least 5 floors down from ground level. It was more of a cave than an actual room. There were these people performing country music, of all things (I don't even particularly like country music). I remember following friends down there, and listening to the concert and thinking about the great acoustics in the cave and how my country-music loving friend (LL) should've been there. It was very strange also because I felt like I had tried to go to this concert in a previous dream, but couldn't find the location because I thought it was just one floor down - not realizing the building continued down several floors.
There was another segment where there was a concert being held at the bottom of this one building, that ended up being at least 5 floors down from ground level. It was more of a cave than an actual room. There were these people performing country music, of all things (I don't even particularly like country music). I remember following friends down there, and listening to the concert and thinking about the great acoustics in the cave and how my country-music loving friend (LL) should've been there. It was very strange also because I felt like I had tried to go to this concert in a previous dream, but couldn't find the location because I thought it was just one floor down - not realizing the building continued down several floors.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Diagnosis Wenckebach
After learning about some heart conditions in Cardiology yesterday, this is what go passed around my class:
Diagnosis Wenckebach
"Hilarious and Educational!"
For my non-med school friends, it's a problem with the electrical conduction of the heart. It's a second degree AV block - block between atria and ventricles.
Diagnosis Wenckebach
"Hilarious and Educational!"
For my non-med school friends, it's a problem with the electrical conduction of the heart. It's a second degree AV block - block between atria and ventricles.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
List of Interesting Articles/Sites from Friends
- 12.08.19 The voice that comes out of this guy is incredible: cover of Sexy and I Know It (MNZ)
- I like: http://i.imgur.com/NXcvK.jpg (thanks kp!)
- 11.03.13 This clearly shows the destructive nature of the earthquake/tsunamic in Japan: Before and After. (LW)
- 11.03.11 UP! in real life. :D (MNZ)
- 11.02.16 Cool Illusion on a Building: http://bbs.wenxuecity.com/joke/381687.html (Dad)
- 11.01.24 OMG! I love this lady gaga parody!!! BUT, before you watch the parody, you need to watch the original lady gaga video. warning - it is....strange, to say the least.hahahaha! i love the outfits, the old chinese researchers dancing, and the chinese characters on the tube!
- 11.01.24 Average Asian Aging Process (AS) - so true!
- 11.01.08 Baby animals are so cute! :D Baby Monkey Riding on a Pig (AL) and Nom Nom Nom (JS)
- 10.12.10 Interesting Sleeping Patterns - Need to sleep less?
- 10.12.07 Cool nerdy talent: PVC Instrument (JW)
- 10.12.05 SNOWTORO! (MNZ)
- 10.12.03 A Father Who Creatively Captures His Kids (KP)
- 10.12.02 Cute video about a boy who has a "condition": Michael Donovan: A True Story (LD)
- 10.11.29 Yay! Watched Harry Potter 7! It was a lot of fun, though the ending was very disappointing - darn - they should've just made an uber long one. Anyhow, this literal trailer is hilarious: Literal Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Trailer Parody (KL)
- 10.11.29 Dear First Lady Michele: students write to the first lady. So cute! Here's an example, "I think that you should shut down cigarette and liquor companies and try to keep drugs off the streets. Robots may be able to help you." 9 & 10 yr olds (MNZ)
- 10.11.21 Funky Hand Dance - We No Speak Americano (MNZ)
- 10.10.24 How To Be Alone - pretty funny and interesting video/poem (LD)
- 10.10.14 Physician Revives a Dying Art: The Physical (KP)
- 10.10.10 Questionaire shows that most religious people are less informed about religion than atheists (MNZ)
- 10.10.05 Hahaha! This is so hilarious! PHD version of Most Beautiful Girl in the Room from Flight of the Conchords. (HZ).
- 10.09.30 Never married young adults now surpass married. It has a quote form a pastor at my church that says 1/3 of people who went to premarital counseling at my church are already living together. Would've thought church-goers were different...
- Afghan girls dressed up as boys because boys are valued more and have more freedom. (MNZ)
- A hunter _(fill in blank)____ a bear Such a clever idea!!! So funny! When you get sick of adding things...try these words: tickle, eat, hug, soccer, dance, erase, study, watch, drink, dream, hunt, meet, chicken, feeds, sings, call, make, picks, high fives, takes a picture of, fishes with, plays with, and -oh dear - win...ya, wasted a lot of time here... (SD)
- Today we just went over some hyperkalemia question, and a classmate sent out this article about hyperkalemia (high potassium). After I read it, I exclaimed to my roommate, "Oh my gosh!! I understand this article!" And my roommate replied, "So nerdy..." (JP)
Monday, September 20, 2010
Reminder When Things Don't Go as Planned
It's not " 'For I know the plans YOU have for you,' declares the Lord." Instead: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future."
Thanks KP!
Thanks KP!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Perspective Pictures and Cute Video of Old Couple
Here's a cute video of an old New York couple (Annie and Danny) that I saw on Cup of Jo blog:
http://vimeo.com/12562270
It's talks about their 27 years of love and ends with Danny's terminal cancer.
Here are some really cool Forced Perspective Photos! (Thanks LW!)
http://vimeo.com/12562270
It's talks about their 27 years of love and ends with Danny's terminal cancer.
Here are some really cool Forced Perspective Photos! (Thanks LW!)
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Branchial Cysts and First 2nd yr exam
Ah! Just got done with first exam of 2nd year...and here's something I should be studying instead of blogging about...branchial cysts! Can you believe people come into the office and say it's been in the family for a long time? That their father, grandfather, or uncle had it?...
Luckily it's just an embryonic malformation and there's really nothing wrong with it except it looks strange. It can be easily resected surgically!
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| Branchial Arch Cyst* |
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| Look how translucent it is and how cleanly it comes out!* |
*Really wanted to site the pics, but can't remember where they came from
Sunday, September 5, 2010
"Fainting" Goats! So funny!
Hahaha! These goats are ridiculous (yes, part of med school experience - YouTube).
"Very important disease that plagues goats. It's called myotonia congenita and targets the Cl channels causing sudden paralysis." -MNZ
So funny :D
"Fainting" Goats
"Very important disease that plagues goats. It's called myotonia congenita and targets the Cl channels causing sudden paralysis." -MNZ
So funny :D
"Fainting" Goats
Friday, September 3, 2010
Plumpy Nut - Patent or No Patent?
This article makes me so angry at those American companies who don't know anything about Plumpy Nut!!! - which was the therapeutic food for malnutrition produced by the organization I worked for this summer (Project Peanut Butter, run by Dr. Manary): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/
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| Child being fed Plumpy Nut in Sierra Leone |
It talks about Nutriset, the company that has a patent on Plumpy Nut. In order to make Plumpy Nut, other charity organizations have to first get a license from them. There was mention that it was unethical because Nutriset was essentially "starving children" by preventing some large corporations from making their own Plumpy Nut and donating it. Initially, I held the same point of view, but after working for PPB, I think differently. There were some points that the article failed to mention:
- Some of the companies suing Nutriset's patent on Plumpy Nut claim that it's essentially like peanut butter and people have been making it for years. However, it's not true. It's actually only 25% peanut butter. The rest of it is a mixture of sugar, soya oil, palm oil, milk powder, emulsifiers, and micronutrients. The suing companies claim that anybody could have made it, but if so, why hadn't they done that before? Patenting doesn't always mean it's a new product (which in this case, it actually is), but it can also be using an old product for something different.
- Plumpy Nut was not a product that just came out of one days work - it's a product that's been under research, evaluation, and remodeling for at least 10 years, which also equates to millions of dollars in research. Although it's not technically a drug, it is half way between a drug and food. While people are unhappy that drugs cost so much money and say that pharmaceutical companies are always out for profit, people are also not aware that it costs about $800 million dollars to create just one drug. Of course, I'm not advocating for pharmaceuticals, and I'm sure they do want to make profit, but I'm just saying that Plumpy Nut did not come free. One of the purposes of patents is to guarantee that those who do put in the huge amount of money can actually regain that investment back. Without these patents, people would not be investing in research for drugs, foods, technologies, anything because anybody else can just take that new idea and make profit off of it without having to invest in research money.
- Something that's wasn't at all mentioned is that although these U.S. companies have good intentions to make and give out Plumpy Nut, I don't think they really have any idea what's the main issue. The problem isn't so much the production of Plumpy Nut, but the DISTRIBUTION of it. It's just so difficult to actually transport Plumpy Nut to the distance corners of districts in Africa where there is no paved road, electricity, running water, or other "essential" services.
- Furthermore, even if distribution were easier, Plumpy Nut is meant for children 1-5 who are malnourished. But if you just distribute it without screening, documentation, and education, people won't understand how to use it, and will in fact sell them rather than treat their kids - it's already a problem in Sierra Leone.
- The last point that the article did touch on is that having U.S. corporations making Plumpy Nut will actually take profit away from local producers. In fact, Nutriset has considered taking the patent off developing countries like those in Africa.
I have to say, I'm easily swayed to think one way or another. But while I put out all these arguments for Nutriset, I'm not completely advocating for them. It's just providing the other point of view.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
1 Billion for drugs; 2 Billion for military...per day
In class, we just learned that it costs about $800 billion for a pharmaceutical company to make a new drug...which led me to look up the U.S. military spending.
So the U.S. spends $2 billion per day on military, which is $711 billion per year.
That consists of 47% of the world's spending on military, which is almost how much the rest of the world spends on military COMBINED. Pie Chart of World Military Spendings
Everyone Should Donate Blood
Just finished watching an episode of BostonMed where a patient took up several pints of blood because he had fallen 15 ft from a ladder and nearly bled to death. The massive usage of blood donations reminded of an outpatient case in Sierra Leone:
A patient came in while I was shadowing an outpatient doctor. It turned out she had been to the hospital before because of vaginal bleeding while pregnant, but she had "ran off" - according to the nurse. The situation was unclear, and depending on who I talked to, I gathered different information. One source said she was just uncompliant and went home even though she was placed in inpatient care to be looked after. Another source said she had no one with her, and because in Sierra Leone, in order to get transfusions, you had to have a relative donate blood, she went home to get someone. In any case, she came back with a relative, but her condition had progressed to a much worse state (perhaps infection?).
In any case, for all you capable blood donors out there - GO DONATE BLOOD!!!! It's a really great service we have in the States. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to have to always take a relative with you when you have to go into surgery, and not even knowing if their blood will match yours? And then to be turned away if you didn't have an eligible donor? So please, if you are more than 110lbs, haven't traveled to a malaria infested country (among other activities that could get you sick), have enough iron - scratch that - even if you don't have enough iron just eat more spinach - GO DONATE BLOOD!
A patient came in while I was shadowing an outpatient doctor. It turned out she had been to the hospital before because of vaginal bleeding while pregnant, but she had "ran off" - according to the nurse. The situation was unclear, and depending on who I talked to, I gathered different information. One source said she was just uncompliant and went home even though she was placed in inpatient care to be looked after. Another source said she had no one with her, and because in Sierra Leone, in order to get transfusions, you had to have a relative donate blood, she went home to get someone. In any case, she came back with a relative, but her condition had progressed to a much worse state (perhaps infection?).
In any case, for all you capable blood donors out there - GO DONATE BLOOD!!!! It's a really great service we have in the States. Can you imagine how difficult it would be to have to always take a relative with you when you have to go into surgery, and not even knowing if their blood will match yours? And then to be turned away if you didn't have an eligible donor? So please, if you are more than 110lbs, haven't traveled to a malaria infested country (among other activities that could get you sick), have enough iron - scratch that - even if you don't have enough iron just eat more spinach - GO DONATE BLOOD!
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| Mothers at the malnutrition clinic in Kwama |
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