Oh, perfect. What an amazingly sardonic sense of humor. Wish I could write like that! Don's description of a urinary tract infection is exactly right. David almost dies from the sepsis that he contracted after DBS surgery. Bev ----- Original Message ----- From: "rayilynlee" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Tuesday, May 09, 2006 12:19 PM Subject: What paralysis is like/Reed ># 144 Tuesday, May 9, 2006 - ATTACK OF THE DREADED CANDIRU > > There are legends of a singularly vicious little fish in South America > called the candiru, which is said to swim up the urine flow of nude > bathers, > entering their bodies. The inch-long member of the catfish family erects > its > spines, locking itself into place, after which it drinks the blood from > its > victims... > > Natives are said to fear them more than piranhas, and recommend a salve > made > from two plants, the Xagua plant (genipa Americana, according to > Wikipedia) > and the Buitach apple, to kill the fish, and dissolve its remains. Those > ingredients, by the way, may one day have value in the treatment of kidney > stones. Other remedies are more strenuous. > > Photographs reveal the fish as a toothpick-sized creature, translucent > (essentially invisible in the murky Amazon River), and a powerful swimmer. > It makes a living by swimming into the gills and body openings of fish and > mammals, after which it does indeed drink their blood. Its affect on > humans > is not clear. One scientist who picked up a living candiru claimed it > instantly tried to burrow into a small cut on his finger. References to > the > strange fish are found in many places, including Urology 1(3):265-267, > (1973), and a book by Steven Spotte, (Candiru: Life and Legend of the > Vampire Catfishes, 2002), which I just ordered from Amazon. > > Whatever the truths about the candiru, a similar intrusion up the urinary > tract (minus vampiric aspects) happens every day to paralyzed people. > > If the bladder does not work, catheterization is required: either > permanent > (indwelling) or by multiple-daily insertions. > > The catheter hose is thin, hollow, flexible. After lubrication it is > threaded (either by the patient or an attendant) deep into the body. The > other end of the hose connects to a plastic bag, hung on the side of the > bed, below the level of the person being helped. > > Gravity takes over, and the bag begins to fill. > > The inconvenience can be dealt with: just add a couple hours of wasted > time > to the schedule every day, for something most folks take care of in > seconds. > > The expense and infections, however are something else. Single-use "cath > kits" can cost $8-10 dollars apiece-so how many times can we afford to > urinate today? Imagine a pay toilet in the airport where hurried > passengers > had to come up with a ten dollar bill. > > To stave off bankruptcy, many paralytics re-use the same catheters, > boiling > the tubes, and soaking them in vinegar. > > Under such circumstances, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are almost > inevitable. > > Sometimes a UTI merely slows down or stops a person for several weeks, > making them dizzy, exhausted, with massive headaches, spasticity, or other > individual symptoms. > > But it can be far worse. Here is a letter from a friend, printed with > permission: > > "Last month, my 34-year old paralyzed daughter got a urinary infection > that > spread to her kidneys. She developed what is called Systemic Sepsis. The > infection spread throughout her body and was in her blood stream. > > "The infection caused her lungs to fill with fluid and she fought for > every > breath. > > "She was in ICU for 8 days fighting for her life. She was so tired and I > thought I was going to lose her. Miraculously, she pulled through. > > "I want the people who oppose stem cell research to stop and think about > her > and millions of others like her who would benefit from this kind of > research. Please understand that spinal cord injury is much more than > just > not walking... > > "Sincerely, > > "My daughter's Mom." > > > There are Congressional battles coming up, during which certain > politicians > will take lofty stands on what they call the immorality of stem cell > research. They will say it is wrong to use cells to try and cure > paralysis, > even if that prohibition means paralyzed people will never have a chance > at > normal life. > > I wish there was a way such legislators could understand the impact of > their > vote: what it means to have the hope of cure denied. > > Maybe they could volunteer to be handcuffed and hogtied for a couple > weeks, > so their every need must be taken care of by others. Of course, they would > have the advantage of knowing that someday they would be released. And, > being powerful folks, they would have all the attendant assistance they > need. Paralyzed people have no such assurances. > > A single day being paralyzed would not be long enough for them to > understand. It takes a while for the realization to sink in, this is > permanent. The first few days of paralysis can actually be fairly > comfortable: friends gather around, lots of visiting: often no pain, (yet) > and you haven't tried to resume your previous occupation. But then maybe > you > try to play checkers with fingers that won't close. Or you try to balance > a > key into the lock, and the key drops and you cannot reach from your chair > to > the floor. > > Imagine our hogtied leaders struggling with the activities of daily life. > To > make it realistic, they could get novocaine shots like at the dentist's, > to > numb their fingers. > > What would they feel like, trying to catheterize themselves for the > restroom, using just the insides of their wrists, because they had no > grip? > > They would realize these are not one-time heroic struggles: not like > climbing Mt. Everest, posing for pictures and then going home. > > The mountains of paralysis must be climbed every day-- in addition to > whatever else your life entails. > > There is no way for a non-paralyzed person to ever fully understand. The > closest I can come to it is when I am lying on the couch, and my body > stiffens up, and I want to shift position-what if I could not? What if I > had > to just lie there and wait, until somebody came to turn me over? > > Permanent paralysis, I would not wish on anyone. > > I am not that cold. > > But I have to admit, I might not weep too much, if some of the enemies of > research ignored the no-swimming signs, and took a quick skinny-dip in the > Amazon River. > > And if one of them did, and the legend of the candiru turned out to be > true. > > Now, let's see, Senator, what was that remedy? Some plants, I think-oh, > yes, > the Xagua plant, and the Buitach apple. > > What's that? You want me to get you some? > > But I like vegetables, you see, and those are rare plants. It would be > wrong > to pick them, don't you agree? Vegetables are a form of life, are they > not? > > And as a pro-life person, I am not sure my conscience allows me to > research > your cure. > > By Don Reed, www.stemcellbattles.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn