Gimpy Mumpy

I eats me spinach?

"I'm strong to the finish 'cause I eats me spinach...."
O.k., how many others heard about the E. coli outbreak just after eating raw spinach?  In fact Miss Mumpy had just served up dinner on a bed of baby spinach to guests the night before.  While wondering if that stomach grumble was a precursor to signs of poisoning I waited for my phone to ring with angry friends wondering why I oh why did I feel the need to make them ill.  Fortunately no one became ill but it got me wondering; how do we know we are ill if we are always sick?  I mean the side effects from my meds alone cause half the symptoms to look for in E. coli poisoning!

Where Does It Come From?

Ever wonder where that transplant skin comes from?  Here's an eye opening article about a woman who lost over 140 pounds and donated 50 pounds of her excess skin.  According to the article this is a growing trend with over 200,00 people receiving skin grafts from weight loss patients last year.
*I think I just threw up a little.* Perhaps some questions are best left unanswered...

No Profit, No Cure

...and here I was thinking I was just being cynical.
This NYT article about the fight for a life saving vaccine illustrates the problem with Big Pharma being motivated soley by profits.  Black fever, a life threatening disease that kills half a million mostly poor people each year, has had a known cure since the 60's but has never been available to save lives because it was not considered profitable by the pharmaceutical companies.  Grrrrr..... 
The silver lining here of course is that a small charity is now fighting to make this vaccine available so there may be hope for these people in the future. 

Breakthrough in Chronic Pain Research

"Wax on, wax off..."
Scientists claim that they have found a nerve cell protein that acts as the "on/off switch" for chronic pain.  If their research is accurate this could be an incredibly significant breakthrough for chronic pain sufferers.  The cynic in me cannot help but wonder who will buy out the rights to this information; Big Pharma who will sit on this threat to their billion dollar earning pain medications or the government who may wish to use the "on" feature for terrorist interrogations.  Hmmmm.....I wonder what odds Vegas would put on this? 
In all seriousness though I hope that this will lead to effective pain relief in the future.

The Geek is Strong in This One

I was just browsing the recent posts over at Chronic Pain Lifestyle and while reading "The Pain Scale...Before and After Science" I was struck with a brilliant epiphany.   
If we could break down our descriptions of pain into D&D style dice rolls wouldn't this be more accurate than the standard, highly lacking '1-10' style pain scale?  I mean with chronic pain especially there are so many fluxuations in pain.  For example if I could say to my doc, "my back pain is 2 die-20 (a roll of two twenty-sided dice added together)" this is much more like my real life pain experience than selecting one number on a 1-10 scale.  O.k, O.k, call out the Geek Police but just think about it.
Wouldn't it be great if pain medications came with their own THACO?
I mean come on, we all know that taking a pill is like rolling the dice.  Will my pain decrease?  How much?  Will it make me nauseas, dizzy, fall over? 
Wow, I think I need to lay off the caffeine.  My brain is is overdrive today, but does this make sense to others?  Or is it just me?

Mother really does know best...

I've just finished reading "Being Caring" the newest post on Kathryn's column Mother Knows Best over at Crip College (yes, Kathryn is Christian Bagg's mom). 
Kathryn's post felt somewhat serendipitous since I have spent many long hours the past few days discussing the effect both my disability and the way I deal with it have on those around me, particularly those who have taken on the "carer" role.  The most illuminating thing I can say is that it is difficult for those who care about us and who care for us.  In my case that would be a difficult with a capital "D" since I fall into the category of fiercely independent, sometimes to the point of ridiculousness (yes I admit it and yes everyone can just suck it up).  In Kathryn's piece she illustrates some of the different family scenarios and how easily these can become tragic.  The example of those who quit their jobs to become carers only to have their loved one outgrow their care was one that made me a bit teary eyed, and yes feel a bit guilty.  The focus is often on the strength of the disabled person to gain their independence, control over their care and to move on.  But what of those we leave in our independence driven dust cloud?  I am not sure.  I don't have the answers, but it does seem worth thinking a bit about.

Mumpy's "Freakish" Arm Strength

I have spent the past week alternating arm exercises in my brother's basement/home gym.  You may ask, "Mumpy why do you need to work out in a home gym when you already visit a physical therapist twice a week?" 
The problem stems from the fact that my physical therapist focusses solely on my areas of weakness (my legs and torso) and frequently expounds upon my "freakish arm strength". 
O.k., I'll admit my arms are pretty strong but that is because my entire body was very strong and physically fit before my injury/disability.  My legs have atrophied but my reliance on my arms for movement and balance have kept them strong.  My point however is that I wish to maintain and increase my arm strength.  Being a very small man, who I daresay may have "tricep envy," I don't believe he wishes me to reach my goal. 

Eating Chocolate May Boost Brain Function

A new study shows the effects of eating chocolate on "cognitive performance including memory, attention span, reaction time, and problem solving." 

Mmmmmmmmmmm c-h-o-c-o-l-a-t-e!

LASIK@Home Do-It-Yourself Eye Surgery

Guy wants to sell you do-it-yourself eye laser surgery kits, what could possibly go wrong?  Hehehe, not sure if he's serious or not but according to his website Dr. Amir Khadim wants to sell you his LASIK@Home kit.  *shudder* Scary.

Via OhGizmo!, via Digg

Addicted to Nasal Spray?

You are not alone.  "(But) relief provided by nasal spray decongestants like Afrin and Neo-Synephrine comes at a price: the risk of rebound congestion caused by overuse and, for some people, a vicious cycle of overuse and dependence that feels like an addiction."
Here, here!  This is a topic grossly under represented in the press.  My father had this addiction when I was younger.  It began with seasonal allergies and ended years later with an operation to enlarge his sinus passages.  If you were to hear him describe the sensation of having the gauze removed after the surgery, you would never ever abuse nasal sprays.