Hero of the Week #1

Welcome to my brand new meme, Hero of the Week. First things first, here are the rules:

1. Grab the image above, and save it to your own blog or web space.
2. Create a blog post nominating your hero of the week.
3. The Hero of the Week can be anyone, from someone you know, to someone you've heard/read about, who you think is worthy of hero status. As I'm all for loose interpretation, your hero can be a group of people, not just an individual. It can be a company, organization, etc. It can even be an animal who you feel has done something heroic.
4. Please include the above image, and a link to this blog, in your entry.
5. Come back here and leave me a comment to let me know you're participating.
6. Visit others!

Okay, with the rules out of the way, I'd like to nominate Dr. Malcolm Coulthard and Nurse Jean Crosier as my heroes of the week. Based at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary, Dr. Coulthard and Nurse Crosier didn't just go the extra mile to save the life of a young patient - you could say they went the extra light year.

Their newborn patient, Millie Kelly, was born with a condition called gastroschisis. Her bowels had developed outside her body. She needed an emergency operation to correct the problem. Sadly, Millie went into kidney failure during surgery. Weighing just a smidgen over 6lb, there wasn't a dialysis machine available anywhere that was small enough for her. She was too tiny even for machines designed for children. Millie's mum, Rebecca, was told her baby would probably die.

However, Dr. Coulthard and Nurse Crosier weren't prepared to let this happen. What did they do? Well, they designed a tiny kidney dialysis machine, then put it together in their own time, outside the hospital. Little Millie was hooked up to the dialysis machine for a week, which gave her kidneys enough time to recover from the trauma of surgery. Millie is now a normal, happy, healthy two-year-old. Isn't that amazing? You can read more about the whole story here.

That's my Hero of the Week award nomination for this week? What's yours? I really hope you'll play along. I shall sulk if you don't :).

Thermodrenix

I've got a bit of a bee in my bonnet at the moment about diet products. I believe if I'm going to go on a low fat diet and increase my exercise levels, I may as well give myself a fighting chance by using as many helpful products as possible, to boost my weight loss. Ideally, I'd like to skip the exercise bit! Fat chance, though, if you'll pardon the poor pun.

Another one of the products I've been hearing about is thermodrenix. It contains six clinically tested weight loss ingredients, and can help reduce your appetite, enhance your healthy blood lipid levels, and also boosts your serotonin levels. Serotonin is a natural mood enhancer. Any deficiency of serotonin can cause mood imbalances such as depression, and also can affect sleep. As anyone who has made serious efforts to lose weight will know, depression and tiredness are the enemy of healthy eating. So, if you're looking for some help in shifting excess pounds, check out this excellent thermodrenix review.

Fat burner

Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could eat anything we like and not get fat? It's a fantasy I've had since whenever! Imagine all the chocolate, cheese and pizza I could consume? Sadly, that's just a dream.

Dreams aside, I've recently been hearing about a new fat burner called Phenterfein. Not knowing what on earth Phenterfein was, I decided to look it up online. The product claims to be able to shrink the amount of bad fat in your body. In that case, I will need a LOT of Phenterfein! It also helps your brain to understand when your stomach is full, thus making it very hard to overeat. It also contains Salvia Sclarea Extract, which is said to help disintegrate body fat. One thing made perfectly clear to me, though, is that your heart needs to be in good health before taking it, as it contains several natural stimulants. If you want to know more, check out this Phenterfein review.

C'elle - Women Power

I've recently been reading up on stem cell therapy, and I've made some amazing discoveries. Current clinical applications mainly involve umbilical and placental stem cells. Treatments have been beneficial to patients suffering a wide range of diseases, for example Alzheimer's, autism, MS, diabetes, arthritis, systemic lupus and heart disease. I've highlighted these particular diseases for a reason. I suffer from arthritis myself, and members of my family, and some of my friends, have suffered/are suffering from the other conditions.

I believe stem cell therapy may have greatly benefited my late father. He died of coronary heart disease at the age of just 41. That's way too young for anyone to die. Although his diet, weight and tobacco-smoking probably played a part in his death, his own father died at just 40 from the same condition. My grandfather was a non-smoker of normal weight. Several successive generations on my father's side of the family have been affected by hereditary heart disease, mainly the men. It's a great shame my father passed away two or three decades before stem cell therapy was discovered. I truly believe this innovative therapy could have helped save his life.

I know some people consider stem cell therapy controversial. But what if I told you that recent clinical research has discovered menstrual blood to be a potential source of the type of stem cells currently used in clinical therapies? C'elle menstrual stem cells are not yet used for clinical purposes. But researchers have been excited to discover that menstrual stem cells have very similar properties to stem cells currently used successfully to treat a wide range of diseases, including the ones listed above. Potentially, menstrual stem cell therapy could bring hope to millions of people around the world, who are affected by a whole host of diseases. Menstrual stem cells could be harvested and stored for many years, and could potentially be used to treat diseases in the donor and maybe even close family members. To find out more about the ailments currently eased by stem cell therapies, read up About the Science.

You may also like to check out a C'elle Client Testimonial. C'elle is also running a special "Caring is Sharing" promotion at the moment, where you can get two C'elle enrollments for the price of one. Would you like to save lives? Or perhaps you'd like to give yourself the best potential chance of surviving future illness? If so, I'd strongly urge you to click one of the links above, to find out more. Here's what a C'elle kit looks like.

Weather and weight loss - SP

One of the worst things about the current rainy spell, is the fact that I'm not getting out and about much, and not getting enough walking done. As a result, my weight loss bid has ground to a halt. So I'm once more debating the pros and cons of various weight loss products, in order to determine the best diet pills. There are so many things to consider. For me, safety is paramount. Not getting ripped off is another. Imagine paying lots of money for something that doesn't work, and worse yet, makes you ill?

Luckily, there are sites like PricesExposed.net, which can help guide anyone looking for diet pills, through all the confusing information available online. Their site offers reviews of over 200 diet pills, based upon numerous criteria, including value for money, safety, effectiveness, ingredient quality and company reputation. Obviously, the final decision is down to the consumer, but PricesExposed.net can certainly help anyone wishing to make an informed decision.

Carpal Tunnel Relief

Most regular readers of this blog are aware that I suffer from arthritis. One of the knock-on effects of this arthritis, is carpal tunnel syndrome. Some of my symptoms include aching, tingling, pins and needles, swelling, numbness, a burning sensation, or pain in my hand and fingers. Only fingers served by the median nerve are affected by the condition, namely the thumb, the index and middle fingers, and to a lesser extent, the ring finger. Pain can also radiate upwards along my forearm. It's just my left hand that's affected, with pain mainly spreading from my thumb, into my wrist, and a little way up my forearm.

Most of the time, the pain killers I take for my arthritis controls the pain. But there are days when powerful medication either upsets my stomach, makes me drowsy and/or nauseous, or gives me a painfully dry mouth. On days like this, I have to lay off the medication and find an alternative means of carpal tunnel relief. I've tried wearing wrist splints, rubbing in anti-inflammatory gels and applying ice packs, but the splints and ice lead to greater discomfort, and the gels seem to stop working after a while. Heat-generating ointments help the pain, but they're greasy, and have a persistent odor, which is hard to wash off. Have you ever tasted a heat ointment-flavored sandwich? I have, and it's not nice.

I'm thinking of trying out the Imak Smart Glove. It relieves the pain of both carpal tunnel syndrome and arthritis, so it would be ideal for me. It can also be used by non-sufferers, to prevent development of carpal tunnel syndrome. It would be ideal for anyone whose work involves a lot of repetitive hand movement and/or hand stress. One thing that appeals to me about this product is the fact that it is ergonomically designed to ensure a wearer maintains the correct wrist position whilst working or resting. It is fully reversible, to fit the right or left hand, and also boosts circulation. If you suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, arthritis or other similar conditions affecting your hands, check out the Imak Smart Glove, for drug-free pain relief.

Constipated kitty

My poor old cat, Liberty, has constipation. Apparently, it's something that affects old cats quite a lot. Plus she has kidney disease, so she sometimes gets a little dehydrated. Luckily, there's a simple fix - I'm having to mix a little bit of oil in with her food.

Unfortunately, Leo, aka Pitbull Cat, has become quite jealous of the extra attention she's getting, so he's taken to throwing things off shelves again.


Oh well, it's better than having him biting and clawing me, I guess. Anyone else have problem pets?

Orovo and health - SP

I really must lay off the chocolate, and think about spending my money on something healthy for a change. Although I love chocolate, I hate what it does to my waistline and complexion. Worse still, the excessive fat and sugar leaves me feeling really sluggish and lacklustre. I think I need to do a detox to try to get rid of all the nasties floating around inside me.

After doing a bit of research into diet pills, I decided to learn more about orovo. The company not only makes weight loss products, but also its own special detox products, super vitamins, and acne treatments. Orovo even makes a natural sleeping pill, from 100% natural ingredients, such as valerian, hops, lavender and chamomile. I could do with a few of those pills! I refuse to take pharmaceutical sleeping pills, but would have no objection to trying a natural product.

Orovo also offers home business opportunities, giving all Orovo associates the chance to earn money by selling Orovo products. So, if you're looking to get healthy, or want to improve you bank account's health, why not visit the Orovo site, via the link above?

Diet pills revisited

I'm still mulling over the possibility of trying some Diet Pills. The main thing that concerns me is safety. I don't want to take something that does more harm than good. Or waste money on something that's as useful as a chocolate teapot. It really is a bit of a minefield, because there are so many diet pills on the market. But how many of them actually do what the manufacturers claim they do? And how many of them are safe?

The best way for anyone to reach a decision about diet pills is by visiting websites such as www.consumerpricewatch.net to see which products rate highest for effectiveness and safety. I would also seek medical advice before taking anything. My doctor has offered me Xenical, but I've tried them before, and the side-effects were very unpleasant. Apparently, Orovo is the world's most popular diet product at the moment. Oh well, I'm going to keep on researching for now. At least when I'm doing that, I'm not fantasizing about chocolate!

Weight loss pills?

Have any of you lovely readers tried weight loss pills? If so, did they work, and which ones did you use? I've tried a few in the past, and had success with one type, but it was later withdrawn, as it was found to have some nasty side effects. I also tried another type but they made me feel ill. I hasten to add that both types were prescribed for me by my GP.

I've tried the good old fashioned way of losing weight - calorie counting and exercise - and it was very effective. Trouble is, I'm good at the calorie-counting side of things, but can't take much exercise, because of my health problems. And thanks to the recent atrocious weather, I've put on a few pounds, as I can't take my regular walks. Oh well, I may have to try some more weight loss pills. Trouble is, it's really hard to work out which ones are both effective and safe, as there are so many weight loss products on the market these days. I'm currently checking out the advice on www.weightlosspills.net in the hope of finding something that suits me. Of course, I wouldn't try anything without my doctor's approval.

Reflections on ageing

I went into town on Thursday afternoon, and had one of my people-watching sessions. I noticed something that saddened me greatly. So many young people nowadays seem to have an appalling attitude towards the elderly. I just don't get it. We're all going to get old one day, if we're lucky enough to live that long. It seems such a shame that youngsters have this attitude. By being contemptuous of the elderly, and dismissing them as insignificant, they're missing out on a lot.

One of the most interesting conversations I've had lately, was with a 90 year old lady I met on the bus. I assumed she was in her early sixties, and almost fell off my seat when she told me her age. She had the zest for life of a sixteen year old. She knew all about the Internet, rock music and enjoyed a regular game on the X-Box with her great grandson. Heck, I've never had a go on an X-Box. Although she has difficulty getting around, and her eyesight is failing, this lady is determined she will not be a burden to her family. She's been searching for a good retirement home, and is frustrated by the lack of decent online palliative care reviews, here in the UK. I hope she finds somewhere that respects her fantastic spirit, and allows her to maintain her dignity and independence. Sadly, I didn't catch her name, but I enjoyed our chat.

Diet woes!

I know how she feels!

More cat pictures

Allergies and toiletries

No, this isn't a sponsored post! Just me wittering on in my usual vein. Just out of curiosity, do any of you suffer bad reactions to everyday toiletries and cleaning products? I'm thinking especially of washing-up liquid for dishes, bubble bath and shower gels. I've started having the most hideous reactions to some of these products recently. I've had everything from itching to full-blown rashes, some in very sensitive and unmentionable places. The hardest part of this problem, for me, is finding hypo-allergenic toiletries that don't cost the earth.

As far as toiletries go, I've made a wonderful discovery - something that the mums amongst you probably know all about. Baby toiletries are almost always hypo-allergenic. I've now kitted myself out with some gorgeous, lavender-scented baby bath - Boots' own brand, which is currently on a buy-one-get-one-free offer. I've also bought some Johnson's baby body wash. And guess what? Not an itch or rash in sight. Yay!

Another problem I have, is that my hands don't like soap, especially the kind found in cleaning products. Well, to my delight, I found a washing up liquid for sensitive skin yesterday - in Tesco of all places. It's called Surcare, and is actually cheaper than some of the big brand regular washing up liquids.

How many of you share similar problems? What products do you use to avoid having bad skin reactions? I'd be grateful for any recommendations, as I'm worried my problems could get worse, not better.