Saturday, April 11, 2015

Rick Mercer Report: Rick and Brett Kissel

Published on Mar 25, 2015

Rick helps out on country star Brett Kissel’s family cattle ranch in Flat Lake, AB.



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Daily Comics



For Better and For Worse
Lynn Johnston

Canada Family Events
Dilbert
Scott Adams

Dilbert Office Events

Edmonton Journal
Malcolm Mayes
Politics Views from Canada

Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau

Politics Views from USA





  
** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very, very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com, Dilbert.com and EdmontonJournal.com.

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Saturday, April 04, 2015

Saturday News


Contents of This Week Saturday News:
Ataxia (from Greek α- [a negative prefix] + -τάξις [order] = "lack of order") is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. Dystaxia is a mild degree of ataxia. Friedrich's ataxia has ataxia of gait as the most common presenting symptom. A definition from Wikipedia and video clips from YouTube / Vimeo.

Definition: Ataxia
         (Lack of Coordination of Muscle Movements)

Ataxia From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Ataxia (from Greek α- [a negative prefix] + -τάξις [order] = "lack of order") is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. Dystaxia is a mild degree of ataxia. Friedrich's ataxia has ataxia of gait as the most common presenting symptom.

Types


Cerebellar


The term cerebellar ataxia is used to indicate ataxia that is due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. The cerebellum is responsible for integrating a significant amount of neural information that is used to coordinate smoothly ongoing movements and to participate in motor planning. Although ataxia is not present with all cerebellar lesions, many conditions affecting the cerebellum do produce ataxia. People with cerebellar ataxia may have trouble regulating the force, range, direction, velocity and rhythm of muscle contractions. This results in a characteristic type of irregular, uncoordinated movement that can manifest itself in many possible ways, such as asthenia, asynergy, delayed reaction time, and dyschronometria. Individuals with cerebellar ataxia could also display instability of gait, difficulty with eye movements, dysarthria, dysphagia, hypotonia, dysmetria and dysdiadochokinesia. These deficits can vary depending on which cerebellar structures have been damaged, and whether the lesion is bilateral or unilateral.

Video: Ataxia
         (Lack of Coordination of Muscle Movements)

SSTattler: There is lots of YouTube for Ataxia. Please look at YouTube parameters, for example, “ataxia stroke”...


A/cme Minute: Stroke - Limb Ataxia

Published on Aug 28, 2013

When a stroke occurs in the brainstem or cerebellum, patients may not display the classic signs we have come to rely on. Check out our free continuing medical education at www.AmericanCME.com.


Standard YouTube License @ AmericanCME



Eclectic Stuff

Definition: Eclectic(noun) a person who derives ideas, style, or taste from a broad and diverse range of sources.

My Ataxia

Grace Carpenter
My Happy Stroke
Monday, February 17, 2014

There's a stunning lack of data about recovery for someone who's in my situation--healthy (pre-stroke); in their forties; and more than a year out from the stroke.  Often I just make up my own theories about the process of recovery.

For instance, I have ataxia (Amy's blog talks about cerebellar ataxia, but from what I understand, my stroke didn't touch my cerebellum). My physiatrist has noted my ataxia seems more noticeable now than a few years ago, but we haven't talked about why that might happen.

This is my theory about it: the ataxia is a good sign of pushing to the limits of my range of movement. Very slowly, I'm gaining more range of movement. But each millimeter (or so) of increased range takes a huge amount of effort and exercise. It takes a while for my muscles and joints get used to the new way of moving. The ataxia gets better with exercise--until I gain a tiny bit more of range of movement, and the cycle will start again.

That's my theory.

I made a video to show how tiny changes of position can set off my ataxia. The video is probably confusing, because I blabber on about "good" and "bad" positions. When I say a position is "bad," I mean that I'm compensating a lot for weak muscles (even though most viewers can't see much a difference); a "good" position challenges my stability--leading to more strength in the long run. I think.


Standard YouTube License @ Grace Carpenter



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Neuropsychology and the Cerebellum: Part I

Bill Yates
Brain Posts
7th November 2011

Cerebellum Highlighted in Purple
When in medical school I remember memorizing the functions of the cerebellum with the acronym ETC standing for equilibrium, tone (motor) and coordination.

I won't mention how long ago that was but I will note that until about the last 20 years or so, this was the common view of the limits of the cerebellum.

Within the last twenty years, the function of the cerebellum is being understood to expand to a much more complex list of domains.

This increased understanding of the role of the cerebellum stems from study of patients with hereditary cerebellar disorders, i.e. spinocerebellar ataxia, localized strokes involving the cerebellum, advances in neuroanatomy and brain imaging studies related to brain function such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET).

Christopher O'Halleran and colleagues from Australia have recently reviewed the neuropsychological functions linked to the cerebellum in an article published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology.  Additionally, they have pointed out this brain region appears linked to several clinical neuropsychiatric conditions including: autism, ADHD and schizophrenia.

Cerebellar Stroke

Peter G. Levine
Stronger After Stroke
Saturday, November 30, 2013



Somebody gave my book a crappy review because there's nothing specifically about  cerebellar strokes. But there is. A stroke can happen in the cerebrum, cerebellum or brain stem. I don't have anything specifically about the cerebrum or brain stem strokes or cerebellar strokes. I just have stuff about stroke.

Is there something inherently different about cerebellar stroke vis-a-vie strokes in the cerebrum or brain stem? No. What about a stroke that hits the posterolateral thalamus? Maybe the folks who have had a stroke that hit the posterolateral thalamus (or was exclusive to white matter or only hit the pituitary gland, or any of the other dozens of structures in the brain) should get their own chapters or books.  Actually, I'd love to see that happen. In the mean time, my book is a review of the neuroplastic process that encompasses all of those. Recovery from all of them fall under the same neuroplastic model of stroke recovery.

I don't like the template for recovery being contingent on where the stroke is. Again and again I stress that the view that the brain is NOT cordoned off into specific compartments that necessarily control specific functions. This notion, that the brain is sectioned off into independent exclusive sections is called the "mechanistic view of the brain". In fact, in my book there is a whole section (NEUROPLASTICITY AND HOW SCIENCE GOT IT WRONG) about this (brain=machine) mistaken perspective.

What Changed…and What Hasn’t

Robin
Rocky Mountain Stroke Survivor
February 18, 2013

It is terrifying to realize that in one brief moment, my life completely changed.  I didn’t realize how much until I was back home with my family and trying to live life again.  I am writing this over a month after my discharge from the hospital, and I think I have discovered all my deficits and struggles, but I am not sure.  In case you’re interested in a list (arranged somewhat chronologically by when I discovered the problem), here it is:

* Pain.  Thankfully, the neck pain and headaches are continuing to get better.  However, since I can’t take ibuprofen with warfarin, can’t turn my neck too far with the dissection, and can’t see a chiropractor, my options for coping with the remaining pain are limited.  And with the financial ramifications of the strokes, I’m only seeing my massage therapist because I had happened to pay for several sessions in advance prior to the strokes.  My husband says he’d make me go anyway, but I’d find it hard to justify to myself.

* Exhaustion.  Fatigue is not a strong enough word.  I am more tired than I’ve ever been in my life.  And I was enormously pregnant on night float working 80 hours a week in up to 30 hour long shifts as a resident.  I’m more tired now.

* Vertigo and ataxia.  This one seems to have two parts.  There was that original horrible vertigo with the stroke I didn’t recognize as a stroke until later.  But that was fairly manageable once I got used to it.  With the final stroke, it became disabling.  If I move my eyes too fast, turn my head, have people moving around me (or cars when driving), have a blank wall in front of me, have to walk too much (which isn’t very much), get tired, try to do anything in the dark or in the snow, look at the water falling when I take a shower, ride in the car for more than about ten minutes (and even worse, ride in the car on curvy mountain roads…or even worse drive those curves), look at multiple objects at once (for example, the clutter on a table after a meal), or experience any number of other random triggers, I get “swimmy.”  It’s not straight-out dizzy.  I can feel it come on and have come to think of it as a sensation of shooting out of my body up and to the left and then spinning there while my body falls to the right.  I’ve learned the motor control to not actually fall unless I’m in an odd position or really tired, but it’s exhausting to manage and makes me really queasy and ill.

Trunk Ataxia

Amy Shissler
My Cerebellar Stroke Recovery
February 16, 2014

I told a couple of people that I would research trunk ataxia and see if I could make any specific suggestions other than just strengthening the trunk.  I never had trunk ataxia.  I had ataxia BAD, still do but it’s not so bad anymore, and it did not affect my trunk.  It affected my right arm and leg.  I have a friend who has significant ataxia in the trunk and told me that for a while, she felt her trunk shaking even when she was just sitting down.

Here’s what I think………………balance exercises would be extremely important because balancing engages the postural muscles.  But balance exercises require standing….and balancing….and that’s too much to ask of some people.  Soooo here’s an exercise that I used to give to people right after back surgery to help engage, be aware of, and strengthen those muscles.  It’s fun and it’s a mental game too.  Ok maybe I’m stretching the truth by calling it fun.  Lie on your back and put a blood pressure cuff under your low back.  Then inflate the cuff to about 80 mmHg.  Then you contract both the muscles in your belly and in your low back.  They work together.  Once these muscles are contracted, you do leg lifts and different things with your limbs while trying to keep the blood pressure cuff at 80.  Ataxia is a problem with control and this exercise is all about controlling those muscles.



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Killing Cancer

2015 Mar 29

Correspondent: Scott Pelley

60 Minutes follows brain cancer patients in a Duke University clinical trial of a therapy that uses a re-engineered polio virus to kill cancer cells.

"The following script is from "Killing Cancer" which aired on March 29, 2015. Scott Pelley is the correspondent. Michael Radutzky and Denise Schrier Cetta, producers. The long war on cancer has left us well short of victory. Radiation flashed on in the 19th century, chemotherapy began to drip in the 20th but, for so many, 100 years of research adds up to just a few more months of life. Well tonight, you're about see a discovery for the 21st century that may be a big leap forward -- awakening the power of the body's immune system...”

Please see the original program: 60 Minutes - Killing Cancer.







50 Shades of Stroke – Aphasia

Sas Freeman
March 15, 2015

Another complication stroke survivor’s are faced with is Aphasia. This is a terribly frustrating complication, we can hear conversations as before, know how we would wish to respond or join in, yet we are unable to participate, the words we would like to say just wont come out. People often then begin to do one of two things they believe will help, yet truly they don’t. They talk to us in baby speak as if we have rewound our intellect back to toddler days; or they speak or answer questions for us by guessing what we are attempting to say. Don’t get me wrong , I’m not blaming them, none of us know how to handle the situation. Its just that although we appear to be displaying difficulty and are slow, we wish to get there unaided and finally get the words out. We can use pictures to illustrate things we are trying to say and help conversation this way.

One way to help improve the situation is music and singing. Somehow when we try to sing we tap into a different part of the brain plus we relax and we are able to participate in song. Yet when attempting simple sentences of normal speech, we concentrate so hard, it’s almost as though the breaks go on and speech becomes impossible.

One thing that helps me when I am having difficulty communicating with someone new is to focus with my eyes on something else other than who I am talking to.  I apologise and explain that I am not being rude but need to use the focus to concentrate on my response,  it works.

Music, song, practice, patience and self belief #50shadesofaphasia



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RT? Don’t Talk About Me Without Me.
         Patient Engagement Tweetchat 14th April 16.00

Kate Allatt
Stroke Recovery Tips
March 24, 2015














So we have a new NHS buzz term ‘patient engagement.Well, The Kings Fund says,

‘The role of the patient is no longer as a passive recipient of care. Nowadays doctors are expected to engage patients in their own health, care and treatment. There are also a number of initiatives to encourage patient involvement in the design, planning and delivery of health services.’

So let’s see what my own experience was in 2010, albeit before the new hype started, around the phrase ‘patient engagement.’

Well, I was very much a passive recipient of life-saving care in ICU, although I was mistakenly conscious. Sporadically, ‘my nice nurses’, would often make me aware of the vast array of medical procedures I had no choice but to endure.

‘Engagement’ was nigh-on none-existent at a time when I was wrongly considered semi-conscious (for two weeks after my stroke), though in reality I was fully conscious the after week from emerging from my medically induced coma!

A New Stroke Neuroprotectant Drug Being Tested

Friday, March 27, 2015

Surprised by Researcher's Remarks in News Article About a new Stroke Neuroprotectant Drug Being Tested


Andy Tasker photo credit - CBC
Here is what Andy actually said... Tasker said this phase three trial is also a proud moment for the team at UPEI.

"To know that the part we played was critical in the development of this drug, to demonstrate that fundamental research really can lead to tangible benefits that benefit people in the real world in real time, and also frankly to show that a small university way out in the edges of the country can actually contribute to something which has the enormous potential to be a major impact worldwide," he said.

Congratulations Andy!

Andy and his team is proving that even if others may think of us as limited in what we can do, it is only an attitude and does not limit us from what we are truly capable of accomplishing.

If there ever were barriers because of location, those barriers either no longer exist or have been vastly reduced given the communication tools we have today.

As, Jeff Jarvis notes in his book "Geeks Bearing Gifts".

Although it is written for the news and media industry, it contains much valuable content for all of us in the stroke community.

Be careful of the attitude you share.

Click here to read the entire article.



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Heady Stuff

Tim Seefeldt
Brain Food Cafe for the Mind
March 22, 2015

The response to Blog # 1 blew my mind.

I knew that there was loads of interest in all things brain. But I didn’t dream that my first effort would get to so many readers or that the feedback would be so heady.

And after connecting with many of you, I realize that I have to do a bit more stage setting before going any further.

In the first helping of Brain Food I gave a sample of what the stroke fried in my mind. I want to be certain that I didn’t gloss over this. When I wrote that I lost the ability to read and write, I meant that I really lost it. That bit of brain was dead to me. It wasn’t a matter of snapping out of it. It meant firing up new brain bits and starting from scratch. Like a kid. But like a kid with a fried melon that may not be up to the task.

I’m not saying this to make you feel sorry for me. I just want to be crystal clear how devastating, damaging and life changing this mind sizzle was.

In the hospital, when I finally accepted that I’d had a stroke – and that took a while — this is how a poster on the wall of my hospital room looked to me: Eslmlsfslsmflsflsflosf CCCDOJIFOSFSJ.

More Links Between Air Pollution and Stroke Risk

Jeff PorterStroke of Faith
Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Chengdu, China, 2006
This isn't the first posting here about the link between air pollution and stroke risk.

Of course, air pollution generates many, many other problems. I remember visiting London several years ago and, when blowing my nose, found a tissue full of dirt. In visiting Chengdu, China, later, the city was covered with smog.

I ran in both cities, but couldn't help but notice the affect on my breathing.

Here's one more piece of evidence that air pollution is linked to increased stroke risk:
"Our study adds to the growing body of evidence that air pollution is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease," said lead author Dr. Jonathan Newman, a cardiologist at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. 
"It shows that a person's cardiovascular risk is not only associated with their genes, health behaviors and lifestyle choices, it also depends to some extent on the world we live in and the air we breathe," he said in an ACC news release. 
The results draw attention to the importance of reducing air pollution, Newman said. 
"If you're in good health, the level of air pollution we see in most parts of the United States probably doesn't pose a significant health risk to you. But for people who are very young, very old or have other medical problems, air pollution could be a significant source of cardiovascular disease risk," he added.



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Peter's Stroke of Luck, part 3, X-rated, Men Only!!!

Peter Corfield
February 6, 2015

I chose the name of the latest instalment of my book series to try and reach out to more people with a clever title.

It's an important stage in my re-education, possibly yours too if you are male or a female unfortunate enough to need to shave and also unfortunate enough to have had a stroke. I was left hemiplegic paralysed down the left side of my body. I feel lucky that it wasn't worse.
Hemiparesis is weakness of the entire left or right side of the body. Hemiplegia is its most severe form, complete paralysis of half of the body. Hemiparesis and hemiplegia can be caused by different medical conditions, including congenital causes, trauma, tumour, or stroke.
Now, where do I start?

I wanted to produce a book for people who haven't got a great deal of money to join a gym or have physiotherapy or whatever other costly process is recommended. People nowadays don't have much money to spare, especially if the breadwinner cannot work anymore.

Those of you expecting this to be a rude book I am sorry to tell you that you are in for a surprise. The title was all part of my cunning marketing plan. From here on in though I am going to be completely honest. Those that have read the first two books will know my background but for those that don't here it is.

Success Secrets for Caregivers: Aphasia Speech Therapy

April 2 / 2015

I know you will enjoy this video.  There is much truth in it.  We all know that success is often fostered early in life by Mom's and Dad's, and success in speech therapy for aphasia and developmental speaking difficulties is similar.

Sometimes it is not the method or the treatment that makes the most significant contribution to speaking improvement for those with aphasia or developmental speech and language delay.

Moshe Mark Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP
Speech Langage Pathologist
Author Teaching of Talking
Creator:  Teaching of Talking Video Training Course

Standard YouTube License @ Mark Ittleman

E-Mail:       markittleman@teachingoftalking.com
Website:     http://www.teachingoftalking.com
Pinterest:   http://pinterest.com/markittleman/boards/
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/moshe.mark.ittleman
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/teachingoftalking
Amazon Author Central:  http://www.amazon.com/Mark-Ittleman/e/B00F6CA73C


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The Chances of Getting a Second Stroke,
         aka Who Me? Worry?

Joyce Hoffman
The Tales of a Stroke Patient
Mar 12, 2015

You probably don't know James Wilson, but the folks at Lighthouse Baptist Church do. In 2000, the Pastor wrote a sermon called "Who Me? Worry?" that has absolutely no connection to the gap-toothed, poster boy of MAD Magazine, Alfred E. Neuman, who said sort of the same thing. Alfred substituted "what" for "who." But I digress.

Anyway, in the sermon, Pastor Wilson took Matthew's words in the New Testament (chapter 6, verse 34) and brought them up to date:

Therefore do not be anxious for tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

His sermon was about how much we worry about real things, like children worrying about death and adults worrying about leaving their children too early when death knocks on their door.

In my world, a second stroke was the real thing. After almost six years since my stroke which happened April 8, 2009, my top worry was about getting a second stroke. Of course, I Googled it, and I found the following article reported by HealthDay in 2005:

"People who have had a minor stroke have a 43 percent risk of another, potentially fatal stroke within 10 years, Dutch researchers report."

Arthritis + Stroke = Modified Joint Protection

Rebecca Dutton
Home After a Stroke
March 26, 2015

Five years ago an x-ray showed early signs of arthritis in my sound thumb.  I did not worry about it until this thumb started to ache.  I have overused my sound hand for 11 years and need it to last for another 20 years.  Below are examples of joint protection principles for the thumbs of stroke survivors.  I had to modify these principles which were written for two-handed people with arthritis.

1. Use Stronger Joints.  Pouring from a full milk container forces me to squeeze the sides of the container tightly so it will not slip out of my hand.  Squeezing tightly makes my thumb ache.  So I pour milk two-handed.  The arrow is pointing at my hemiplegic (paralyzed) hand.  The muscles of my hemiplegic shoulder, elbow, and wrist are doing the heavy lifting while my sound hand makes sure the spout is aimed correctly.  I appreciate not feeling pain every morning when I prepare cereal for breakfast.

2. Minimize Force.  I cannot swallow pills with liquids so every day I open a container of yogurt.  Manufacturers put strong glue on the lid to maintain a tight seal.  Opening the lid makes my thumb ache because I have to grip the tab so tightly.  My hemiplegic hand cannot help my sound thumb on this task.  I reduce the force I exert by wearing a rubber finger cot used for counting money.  Greater traction means my thumb can pinch less forcefully.

Weekly Columnists


Musing: Chantix Shows Promise for Ataxia

Dean Rienke
Deans’ Stroke Musing
Thursday, February 23, 2012

And since stroke can cause ataxia research is needed to see if it would help stroke survivors - Chantix Shows Promise for Ataxia.

A nicotinic drug approved for smoking cessation significantly improved the walking ability of patients suffering from an inherited form of ataxia, reports a new clinical study led by University of South Florida researchers.

The randomized controlled clinical trial investigated the effectiveness of varenicline (Chantix) in treating spinocerebellar ataxia type 3, or SCA3. The findings were published online earlier this month in Neurology, the journal of the American Academy of Neuroscience.

Lead author Dr. Theresa Zesiewicz and colleagues at the USF Ataxia Research Center collaborated with researchers from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, MA, and from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles, CA.

Spinocerebellar ataxia impairs the brain and spinal cord causing progressive difficulty with coordination of movements, including walking. The uncoordinated movements, or ataxia, is a neurological symptom with no treatment or cure and can lead to serious fall-related injuries.

Sunday Stroke Survival: Ataxia. It's That Time Again

Jo Murphey
The Murphey Saga
Sunday, March 29, 2015

"It's that time of year again. Everyone is rushes around getting their taxes done."

"No, Doofus! I said I have ataxia from my stroke."

Geez, some people need to have the wax cleaned outta their ears. But, that's what happens when you use medical terminology on some folks that do not know it. Ataxia is uncoordinated muscle movements caused by a central nervous system disorder like a stroke. You basically you zig when you mean to zag. There are a long list of different types of ataxia depending on what is going on, as well as causes.

Yes, I have ataxia because of my stroke. I have a very ugly gait when walking. My leg on my affected side just won't behave because the nerves in my leg are receiving crossed messages from my brain. The sequence of events involved with taking a step get jumbled between point A (my brain) and point B (All the nerves in my leg). But I do eventually get where I'm going through sheer will and a Quasimodo type step. It's trial and error with most things involving my leg.

A few weeks ago, I told the story about my chiropractor testing the reflex on my affected knee and again about almost kicking my therapist's ear. I have absolutely no control over my leg from the knee down. I didn't want to see my lower leg bouncing in every direction like a chicken with its head cut off nor could I stop it either unless I physically grab it and hold it in place. That is what it's like to have ataxia.

Everyone is a control freak in their own lives. We want to have control over anything and everything, but with this there is no controlling it. I just have crossed wires in my brain. Is there hope that it will get better? Of course there is. There's always hope, but it will take time and patience to retrain the brain to send the proper signals.

Oh God! There's that word again! Patience! I often say that my stroke was God's way of teaching me patience. ARGH! I'm a child. I want it yesterday! I want it now! I guess I still haven't learned that lessons too well yet. It's a work in progress still after almost three years. Meditation, Jo. Breathe. Focus. Breathe. There I'm better. No, I'm not making fun of meditation. It really works. Ah well, if nothing else I can control my focus and breathing. As for now, I'll leave my leg ataxia on the back burner. I have more pressing issues.

Nothing is impossible with determination.



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in

Caregiver: Begone, Old Bed!

Diane
The Pink House On The Corner
Friday, March 27, 2015

One of the first things I did, when we got the settlement, was order two things that Bob desperately wanted: a power wheelchair and a new bed. That was back in August.

Finally, we got the wheelchair in January.

And Wednesday, the new bed arrived.  Can you believe it has taken this long??

You might remember Bob's old bed, which was the rather creepy, "standard Medicare bed". It was semi-electric, meaning that only the head and foot could be lowered or raised electrically. Otherwise, you had to get on your hands and knees to use a hand crank, sort of like the crank of a Model T Ford, to raise and lower the bed. I tell you, that is a pain in the you-know-what for any caregiver... And it's really sad to see the inferior quality of the types of medical equipment that Medicare "allows"...

Also, Bob was truly uncomfortable. I remember when he first got home from the hospital and kept telling me that his bed was "dippings" meaning sinking in the middle. I remember him begging me to "fix it!" and how very helpless I felt when I couldn't "fix it" for him.... (the service tech told me to put plywood over the springs! Which I did, but that still didn't "fix it".)

Bob in the old bed, pillows held up by the slide board...


























With the old bed, I had to jam the slide board between the mattress and springs to hold up his pillows because the plastic headboard wasn't tall enough. And he was always wanting to be "boosted" over the top because the bed did not accommodate his 6'3" frame.

Jackie The Jester: The Italian Lover

Jackie Poff
Stroke Survivors Tattler
The Italian Lover, a virile middle aged Italian gentlemen named Guido, was relaxing at his favorite bar in Rome when he managed to attract a spectacular young blond woman. Things progressed to the point where he led her back to his apartment and, after some small talk, they retired to his bedroom where he rattled her senseless.

After a pleasant interlude, he asked with a smile, "So, you finish?"

She paused for a second, frowned, and replied, "No."

Surprised, Guido reached for her and the rattling resumed. This time she thrashed about wildly and there were screams of passion. The sex finally ended and, again,Guido smiled and asked, "You finish?"

Again, after a short pause, she returned his smile, cuddled closer to him and softly said, "No".

Stunned, but damned if he was going to leave this woman unsatisfied, Guido reached for the woman yet again.

Using the last of his strength, he barely managed it, but they ended together screaming, bucking, clawing and ripping the bed sheets. Exhausted, Guido fell onto his back gasping. Barely able to turn his head, he looked into her eyes, smiled proudly and asked again, "You finish?

Barely able to speak, the beautiful blonde whispered in his ear, "No, I Norwegian."

TED Talks - Dame Stephanie Shirley:
         Why Do Ambitious Women Have Flat Heads?

Published on Mar 27, 2015

Dame Stephanie Shirley is the most successful tech entrepreneur you never heard of. In the 1960s, she founded a pioneering all-woman software company in the UK, which was ultimately valued at $3 billion, making millionaires of 70 of her team members. In this frank and often hilarious talk, she explains why she went by “Steve,” how she upended the expectations of the time, and shares some sure-fire ways to identify ambitious women …


Standard YouTube License @ TED

Rick Mercer Report: Rick and Mayor Nenshi

Published on Mar 25, 2015

Rick visits Calgary, AB to spend the day with Mayor Naheed Nenshi.



Standard YouTube License @ Rick Mercer Report

Daily Comics



For Better and For Worse
Lynn Johnston

Canada Family Events
Dilbert
Scott Adams

Dilbert Office Events

Edmonton Journal
Malcolm Mayes
Politics Views from Canada

Doonesbury
Garry Trudeau

Politics Views from USA





  
** I tried to get low or free price at the people http://www.UniversalUclick.com/ for the images for the cartoons. It was too high for Stroke Survivors Tattler i.e. we are not a regular newspaper and our budget is very, very low. Fortunately, you will have to do only 1-click more to see the cartoon image, it is legit and it is free using GoComics.com, Dilbert.com and EdmontonJournal.com.

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Saturday, March 28, 2015

Saturday News


Contents of This Week Saturday News:
A Medical Tricorder is a handheld portable scanning device to be used by consumers to self-diagnose medical conditions within seconds and take basic vital measurements. While the idea for a Medical Tricorder has been mostly hypothetical until May 2013, there are reports that a firm named Scanadu has built one which they call the Scanadu Scout. While the device is not yet on the mass market, there are numerous reports of other scientists and inventors also working to create such a device as well as improve it. A definition from Wikipedia and video clips from YouTube / Vimeo.

Definition: Medical Tricorder / XPrize

See additional definition of: 1) Tricorder (of course from Star Trek) and 2) the contest Qualcomm Tricorter XPrize  and 3) Pulse Oximetry (invented more than 20 years old in the hospital)...


Medical Tricorder From Wikipedia,
      the free encyclopedia


Smartphones may be used as medical tricorders; smartphone
software and camera detect pulse from a fingertip using a
technique similar to that of a pulse oximeters.
A medical tricorder is a handheld portable scanning device to be used by consumers to self-diagnose medical conditions within seconds and take basic vital measurements. While the idea for a medical tricorder has been mostly hypothetical until May 2013, there are reports that a firm named Scanadu has built one which they call the Scanadu Scout. While the device is not yet on the mass market, there are numerous reports of other scientists and inventors also working to create such a device as well as improve it. A common view is that it will be a general-purpose tool similar in functionality to a Swiss Army Knife to take health measurements such as blood pressure and temperature, and blood flow in a noninvasive way. It would diagnose a person's state of health after analyzing the data, either as a standalone device or as a connection to medical databases via an Internet connection. A Time Magazine reporter described the Scanadu Scout:
A hockey puck-shaped object that can apparently measure your temperature, heart rate, oximetry (blood oxygenation), run an electrocardiogram, gauge heart rate variability, clock pulse wave transit time (related to blood pressure), perform a urine analysis and calculate a metric Scanadu refers to (vaguely) as "stress." All you have to do to get these readings, urine analysis notwithstanding, is hold the Scout against your forehead for a few seconds. 
—Matt Peckham in Time Tech, May 2013

Video: Medical Tricorder / XPrize

Healthcare in the Palm of Your Hand
               Qualcomm Tricorder X PRIZE

Published on Oct 16, 2012

SSTattler: X-Prize announced October / 2010 and judging December / 2015...

http://qualcommtricorderxprize.org

Imagine a portable, wireless device in the palm of your hand that monitors and diagnoses your health conditions. That's the technology envisioned by this competition, and it will allow unprecedented access to personal health metrics. The end result: Radical innovation in healthcare that will give individuals far greater choices in when, where, and how they receive care.

http://xprize.org


Standard YouTube License @ XPRIZE