*new* 22Feb12 burn pain & recovery
A long story, but well worth it, about a solider who was burned in Afghanistan and his recovery. The focus of the story is the man, but also a treatment for pain. You'll have a better sense of the experience of severe burns, the treatments, including many surgeries, and especially the mental fortitude necessary to survive. http://m.gq.com/news-politics/newsmakers/201202/burning-man-sam-brown-jay-kirk-gq-february-2012
Pay it forward: a chain of altruism in kidney donations
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/health/lives-forever-linked-through-kidney-transplant-chain-124.html?_r=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha2
I think this is an amazing idea and a leap in helping people get the kidney transplants they need. One of the most frustrating things in life is to want to help someone you care about but to be unable to. So often family members are willing to donate a Kidney to a loved one but their kidney is incompatible with the patient. I think it is a genius idea. I think it's sad though that the recipients must be insured. People without insurance deserve the same care and opportunities people with insurance are given.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an amazing story. Articles such as this help me to think that this world still has a lot of good to offer. The random act of kindness by one man helped so many others that he didn't even know. Much praise deserves to go to everyone who participated in this chain. If one person didn't agree or decided to back out, everyone would have been affected in some way. Some people wait years, even their whole lives to be at the top of a donor list. Giving a kidney is a lot to ask from the general public however maybe this story will encourage someone out there to do the same. Perhaps it will also inspire others to give what they can to help others such as donating their blood.
ReplyDeleteAmazing! If everyone was this sensible and motivated, we could solve so many problems.
ReplyDeleteThis is an amazing story. This article showed me that there are still people in the world that are willing to help a stranger. It is shocking about how one person decided to start this whole chain of donating kidneys. I think that this is a way to help families that may not be able donate a kidney from other health problems or from not being a match to the individual that needs one. I think that article may help in encouraging other people to either donate an organ or donate blood. Based on this article, a little help from a stranger can affect many people's lives.
ReplyDeleteHow crazy is it that all these people are connected by paying it forward. If everyone was as unselfish as these people, the world would be a much better place!
ReplyDeleteWow its trul amazing to hear about people who are willing to help complete strangers. This is really a blessing hopefully that will get more attention and maybe start more chains like this to help more people suffering across the world who are in a need of a helping hand.
ReplyDeleteI love the article about the people who are willing to donate organs to a complete stranger! It is amazing to hear about things like this. It seems like all we hear on the news is about who killed who or what store got robbed. It is rare to hear a story like this and I wish that more stories like this were on the news. I feel like more people would be aware of chains like this and more people would get involved.
ReplyDeleteI agree with all the comments of how amazing it is for people to be willing to donate a part of themselves to save a strangers life. As Corey said once you turn on the tv there is someone killed. Pay it forward always reminds me of the movie which is also called Pay it Forward and at the end the kid sacrifices his life to save another.
ReplyDeleteThe story about Sam Brown is so incredible. To think that a video game as simple as Snow World could have that affect on pain is something that seems really promising. This story really shows how pain, both physical and emotional, can influence all other parts of someone's life. I think a treatment like Snow World is good because it doesn't have any addicting properties that Sam was afraid about with pain medication. He clearly felt like he had to choose living in a world of pain or taking medication to make in unresponsive and unable to fully participate in the lives of his friends and family. With a video game treatment, he can have the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteThe story about the man who donated his kidney to a total stranger really shows there is still good in the world and random acts of kindness. It amazing how one person started this movement. Its crazy to read all the little stories of people who donated to someone they didnt know or even people who barely knew each other or didnt have a good relationship. One guy donated a kidney on his ex-girlfriends behalf. How often does that happen? how many of us could say that we would do that? It really puts a new perspective on giving back and paying it forward.
ReplyDeleteThe kidney article is amazing... and I'm not going to lie, all i could think of was the episode of grey's anatomy where they tried to do the same thing, but only with fourteen people. Even with that small number, it looked extremely difficult.
ReplyDeleteI couldnt imagine receiving such an incredible gift from a complete stranger. It takes a truly selfless person to donate a kidney. I probably wouldn't be able to do it, but it's a blessing to have people like that in this world.
The Sam Brown story is amazing because it showed me how a simple video game can affect the amount of pain in an individual. This story showed some of the side effects a person has when returning from war. Using Spider World as a way to control pain in individuals allows for a person to escape the pain, but also avoid getting addicted to any pain medicines. When someone starts on pain medicines sometimes it can lead to an addiction, which is what Sam Brown was afraid of. The Spider World video game is a great way to relieve pain in individuals and to also limit the amount of medicines people are on.
ReplyDeleteThe story of Sam Brown is incredible. It is amazing that such an advancement in the medical field can be made using something that was originally completely unrelated to medicine. I think that such crossovers of technology are the future of medicine and that we will see a lot more of it in our lifetime.
ReplyDelete