It’s a small world

Just when I thought human designers were getting pretty good….

Check out this “20 BioScapes Contest-Life Viewed through the Microscope.”

Cold versus flu

“Are you a good witch or a bad witch? Which?”

“Is it live or is it Memorex?”

Those are a couple of the most enduring questions of our time. Another enduring question is “Do I have influenza, or is it just a cold?”

 Recently the Canadian Medical Association published a little guide to help us tell the difference:

Symptom	Cold	Influenza
Fever	Rare	A sudden onset of fever between 39º to 40º C
Headache	Rare	Can be severe
General Aches and Pains	Sometimes, mild	Usual, often severe
Fatigue and weakness	Sometimes, mild	Usual, severe, may last 2 to 3 week, maybe more
Extreme fatigue	Not usually	Usual in the early stages, can be severe
Runny, stuffy nose	Usually	Usually
Sneezing	Usually	Sometimes
Sore throat	Often	Often
Chest discomfort, coughing	Can be mild to moderate	Can become severe
Complications	Can lead to sinus congestion or an earache	Can lead to pneumonia and can eventually become life-threatening
Prevention	Frequent hand washing	Frequent hand washing, annual flu vaccine

For more information on the different types of influenza check out this link to the Public Health Agency of Canada.

Haunted Hospital

Listening to ghost stories on the radio this morning made me wish I had a ghost story to tell. Then I realized have do have one – maybe even two.

But the one I’m really thinking about today has to do with some strange happenings on the VGH Burn Unit in the early 1980s. I started working there in 1987, and while I was never witness to any of the occurrences, several people I worked with told me about their experiences.

In the early 80s the burn unit was still in the old Fairview building on 12th and Heather. It had beautiful old double-hung windows with clear views of the North Shore Mountains. The floors were paved with black and white hexagonal tile, and the counter-tops were covered with sterile-looking stainless steel. The elevator had a shiny brass accordion door that shimmied open and shut at each floor. The burn unit was stuck on the top floor of the building, many said to keep the screams of the burn patients farthest away from the rest of the patients – though from their dorm next door, the student nurses heard the cries clearly. (These days, thanks to a better understanding of pain control and because of better pain medication, the screaming has almost ceased.)

So, some time in the early 80s a young man was severely burned and admitted to the burn unit. He was much loved by the staff and they were dismayed at their inability to save him. One nurse I worked with said that she was in the room with him when he died. She said she witnessed a white light leave him and pass out the window – no kidding, she did tell me that. (This was a very normal competent nurse, not at all a flake – as far as I could tell.) Soon after the young man died, odd things started to happen. The elevator started going up and down on it’s own. Strange unexplained noises occurred in the middle of the night. But most unsettling of all was that patients started reporting unusual dreams. They said in their dreams a young man came to comfort them, telling them not to worry, everything was going to be all right.

The old Fairview building no longer exists. In its place is a stand of gleaming condos. I wonder what kind of dreams the people living there are having.

Group Dynamite

There’s a lot of talk about group dynamics and how to get along in groups. We’re supposed to be good team players. But what happens when someone doesn’t play by the rules? Judging from all the websites that offer courses on how to deal with difficult people, there are one or two individuals out there who are playing by their own rules.

I’ve been reviewing these sites because I recently attended a meeting during which one group member was aggressively derailing the proceedings. As the meeting progressed I noted several people looked very flushed and blotchy, one woman was visibly shaking, and my heart rate was probably over 100. Very unhealthy. I opted for flight over fight and quit the meeting. 

Here are a couple of links that I found useful:

 Munn Conflict Resolution Services

Dealing with Difficult People -“Have you been Omarosa’d?”

Vitamin I

For years I was a strong believer in Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid). While I still think it’s a wonder drug, more recently I’ve discovered Ibuprofen. It helped me through a worrisome knee injury, and since I was taking it so regularly, I started calling it Vitamin I.

This week there were reports of a study  on anti-inflammatories such as Aspirin and ibuprofen. Taken regularly, it seems these drugs reduce the chance of developing breast cancer. The researchers concluded that inflammation is closely related to the development of cancer which, they believe, explains why women who regularly took these medications experienced a lower rate of breast cancer. This study involved over 2 million women – a huge sample size, which makes the results quite reliable.

Aspirin and ibuprofen belong to the group of drugs called NSAIDs, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. The problem with NSAIDs is they are hard on the stomach. So much so, they’ve been known to cause bleeding ulcers. They can also hinder blood clotting, which can cause all kinds of bleeding problems.

So, the question is, what do we do now? Go back to an aspirin a day – or an ibuprofen a day?

I say tomato, you say tomato

It’s the season to celebrate the tomato. The plant I’ve been babying along all summer is weighted down with fragrant, sweet and tangy tomatoes. There’s nothing finer than pulling a warm red tomato off the vine, rinsing it off, slicing it in half, sprinkling it lightly with salt, and eating it in two juicy gulps.

Over the last few years, I’ve learned a little about growing tomatoes in containers. Actually, I haven’t learned my lesson. When I put that little plant in its pot, I postpone putting a tomato frame around it. It seems so small – then before I know it, the plant is too big to put the frame around and I have to use all kinds of tricks to support its heavy branches. Next year the frame goes on as soon that little seedling gets stuck in the dirt. Also, I will plant more than one plant. Since it takes quite a bit of energy to coax along that single plant, I might as well have a few since I’m out there anyway.

According to the American Dietetic Association, tomatoes are high in Vitamin C and contain little cancer-fighting nutrients such as lycopene. Unlike many vegetables, tomatoes are even more nutritious when they’re cooked because the lycopene is easier to absorb. There is also evidence that adding a little healthy fat, such as olive oil, improves absorption even further.

And so, recipes. This one is from a recent edition of the Globe and Mail.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad

Dressing

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, seeded

12 tsp ground coriander seed

1/4 cup olive oil

some chopped fresh basil (to taste)

1 tsp sherry vinegar

salt and freshly round pepper

Salad

4 medium heirloom or other tomatoes

8 ounces aged goat cheese

salt and freshly ground pepper

Combine ingredients for the dressing and puree in a food processor till smooth. Set aside.

Slice tomatoes thinly. Cut goat cheese into 8 slices and place one slice on each of the four plates.

Drizzle some dressing over the goat cheese. Top each slice of cheese with a few slices of tomato and drizzle with a little dressing. Place another slice of cheese on top and then a few more slices of tomato. Drizzle on some more dressing. Decorate with a few basil leaves and left over dressing.

 

And for some additonal food fun go to this link by one of my favourite food writers, Cinda Chavich

Stigma

The Canadian Medical Association has this to say about the stigma of mental illness.

Shaking hands with PJY

On Sunday I attended the most posh fundraiser I’ve ever been to. It was called Passions. Collected under one roof were chefs from many of Vancouver’s best restaurants offering scrumptious little samples of thier cuisine. It’s the closest I’ll ever get to being an Iron Chef judge – and my vote for best dish went to Diva at the Met who gave out flavourful little chunks of beef on a lovely bed of unidentifiable vegetables. The place was so packed and noisy I couldn’t hear what the dish was called.

The silent auction items started at about $200 and at the end of the night, they auctioned off a bright red Vespa. Vroom vroom. No, I didn’t buy it. I think it went to Nathan Fong, food stylist and organizer of the event

The whole thing was in support of the Dr. Peter Centre which cares for people suffering with AIDS and HIV. It was inspired by, and named after, a friend of my husband’s – we used to call him PJY. Dr Peter was diagnosed with AIDS in the mid- or late-eighties. He was a funny, brave and well-spoken young physician who went public with his diagnosis each week on the CBC News. At a time when homophobia and HIV-phobia was raging, he showed everyone what living with AIDS was like.

Some of the things that I regret in my life seem minor, but I can’t forget them. One of those things has to with PJY. Ken and I were shopping on The Drive. I had Bruce in the back pack, so that must have been about 17 years ago. I went into a store, and there was PJY, already blind, accompanied by two friends. We talked a little and Peter’s friends kept saying how cute our baby was. Of course Peter couldn’t see him, and I wanted to take Bruce’s hand and give it to Peter so he could feel the chubby little hand, but I didn’t. I regret that.

How to live to be 100

On Friday I attended a seminar on Alzheimer’s, Dementia and Parkinson’s. I was hoping for some cutting-edge information, but there really wasn’t anything earth shattering – no cures, no new therapies.

The speaker, Michael E. Howard, PhD is an “internationally recognized expert in the fields of clinical neurophychology and brain-injury rehabilitation.” While I didn’t come away with any startling news, I did enjoy the full-day session, mainly thanks to his engaging presentation.

It turns out that many of the things that help you live a long and healthy life are things that will also reduce, or at least delay, the onset of Alzheimer’s. Here is a list of 15 magical things you can do to increase your chances of making it to 100 with all your faculties:

1. Don’t smoke.

2. Drink very little alcohol (for men no more than 2 drinks a day, for women no more than 1).

3. Maintain a healthy weight.

4. Eat fewer calories.

5. Eat fruit and vegetables.

6. Take a multivitamin.

7. Exercise regularly.

8. Sleep well.

9. Challange your mind.

10. Maintain a positive attitude.

11. Have strategies for coping with stress.

12. Maintain social ties.

13. Avoid high blood sugar.

14. Avoid high blood cholesterol.

15. Maintian a low blood pressure – which is a recommended 115/75 or below.

The breakup

]