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Showing posts from October, 2009

Disability Living Allowance Under Threat

Senior minister confirms DLA is under threat Published: 15 October 2009 The truth is finally out. A senior government minister this week confirmed to the House of Lords that axing DLA has definitely not been ruled out, directly contradicting care minister Phil Hope’s earlier claim that DLA is safe Last month we reported that care minister Phil Hope had told a Disability Now reporter in an off-the-cuff exchange at the Labour Party conference that: "DLA is not under threat and people can be very happy". (“DLA is not under threat . . . be very happy” says government minister) Since then, however, there has been an alarming lack of official confirmation that DLA is not one of the disability benefits that the government intends to axe in order to fund the proposed new national care service. The reason for that lack of confirmation is now clear: Phil Hope's 'don't worry, be happy' statement does not reflect government policy. Lord McKenzie of Luton, parliamentary

Assessment of Angle velocity in girls with AIS

ScoliosisJournal report about Correction: Assessment of angle velocity in girls with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis Authors: Ferran Escalada, Ester Marco, Roser Belmonte, Esther Duarte, Josep Ma Muniesa, Roser Boza, Marta Tejero and Enric Cáceres Publiushed: 10 October 2009 Background Although it has been demonstrated that the peak height velocity (PHV) is a predictive factor of progression in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS), little is known about the usefulness of angle progression in clinical practice. The purpose of this study was to establish a relationship between height and angle velocities, as well as to determine if peak angle velocity (PAV) occurs at the same time than PHV. Methods A retrospective study of a cohort of girls with idiopathic scoliotic curves greater than 10°. Data of 132 girls who participated in a previous retrospective study about growth in AIS were used to calculate height and angle velocities. Relationship between height and angle velocities was est

Medical Marijuana: The Debate Continues

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Medical marijuana debate has multiple dimensions: medical, political, personal Linda Yelvington rattles off her list of ailments: Severe scoliosis. A prosthetic hip. Cervical degenerative disc disease. DeQuerin’s syndrome in both wrists. Arthritis. Breathing problems from diminished lung capacity because of scoliosis. The 54-year-old woman then rattles off a list of painkillers she has taken for her health problems. Author: Derek Spellman Linda Yelvington rattles off her list of ailments: Severe scoliosis. A prosthetic hip. Cervical degenerative disc disease. DeQuerin’s syndrome in both wrists. Arthritis. Breathing problems from diminished lung capacity because of scoliosis. The 54-year-old woman then rattles off a list of painkillers she has taken for her health problems. “None of them are working right,” Yelvington said of the legal drugs, listing some of their side effects. It has been several months since she has taken her preferred painkiller — marijuana — because it's not le

Well, crap.

Well, my fame as a blogger seems to be short-lived. Unfortunately I've lost my health insurance, and I won't be having surgery after all. I found out about two weeks ago, but it's been hard to organize my thoughts since then. At first I was extremely relieved, which really surprised me. I hadn't realized I was that scared. Now I'm just crushed. I'm really depressed about it. I had a muscle spasm an hour ago, and it lasted over 15 minutes. I can finally move again, but it's still hurting. Oh, well. Dr. Bones wanted me to wait ten years anyway. Hopefully Dr. STL will still be practicing in ten years.