Log My Blog BLOG!
Ouch III: Part I, The Ambulance
April 27, 2010 at 8:25 pm by Chris
Part I | Part II | Part III
On March 10 I told you all that I had been in hospital due to some partially failed surgery. While I was in there I had quite an adventure. I was stabbed, jabbed and almost killed by one of the other inmates. This is a long story so I will splitting it into three parts.
I don’t really like talking about my health on this blog. In particular I don’t like talking about my PEG tube. This is a tube goes directly into your stomach kind of like a second plastic belly button.
I don’t like talking about it because it is a bit yucky. I also don’t want pathetic people who are in denial that their lives suck and who try to find others they think are worse off than them so they can make themselves feel better by making sympathetic noises, thinking, “Poor Chris. He gets fed through a tube. Can you believe that? His life must be so hard. He’s so brave…etc.” I have this tube because I have muscular dystrophy and have difficulty swallowing solid food. The good thing is I can still drink alcohol, so I retain my Australian citizenship.
I have had my PEG tube for almost 10 years and for nine of them it has had an intermittent leak. My surgery on February 24 was to re-site my PEG tube. They pulled out the old one and inserted a new one in a new hole 8 cm away from the old one. The old hole was supposed to close over in about a week, but it never did. Almost everything that was poured into the new PEG immediately flowed out of the old hole.
Eventually I got so dehydrated I needed to go back to hospital via ambulance.
The good thing about going to hospital in an ambulance is you skip all the waiting around in casualty (apparently, this isn’t always the case, but it has always worked out this way for me).
I had a really hot nurse and she managed to put the drip in my arm first shot. After a few hours I spoke to the doctor half an hour later I was sent up to the ward. So far so good, but it was all downhill from here. The only spare bed was in the cancer ward, which is in the old building at the Austin. This is the only active ward in the old building giving it an abandoned haunted creepy feeling.
End of Part I
Part I | Part II | Part III
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Is Not A Death Sentence
April 23, 2010 at 4:16 pm by Chris
On catalyst last night there was a segment about Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the trial of a new potential new treatment. It is what’s called an exon skipping drug that is supposed to assist in the production of a missing protein called dystrophin.
Anyway, I did not want to speak about the trial in this post.
All the way through this segment they were talking about how there is no treatment no hope and that anybody with Duchenne muscular dystrophy is pretty much going to die around the age of 20.
I am currently 32 and went into a wheelchair even earlier than some of those in the segment. The reason that I am alive is because of a treatment – nasal ventilation. You see, the reason why a large number of people with muscular dystrophy die young is because of respiratory failure. Nasal ventilation is a proven treatment that can keep somebody with my condition alive.
There are always hopes of new treatments. Stem cell therapy for example. Most of these are on the distant horizon the trick here is to stay alive long enough so you are able to have these treatments.
I thought that last night’s segment was the perfect opportunity to show that there is a proven treatment and there is hope. We need to make sure there is awareness of ventilation as a treatment for muscular dystrophy otherwise people die needlessly. All I would ask is 10 seconds just to mention it.
It is good to finally see a segment about Duchenne muscular dystrophy on national television, but I feel the ABC could have gone just that one step further.
Parents need to hear that having muscular dystrophy is not necessarily a death sentence. There is hope.
The Bully State
April 21, 2010 at 3:59 pm by Chris
Tony Abbott’s suggestion that the dole should be limited to those above the age of 30 is probably the most ridiculous idea to come out of his mouth. It sounds like a cynical vote winning exercise and judging by some of the comments on the article in the Australian he may have succeeded.
For one thing it is discrimination. If you can’t get a job, you don’t have any money and you can’t get the dole what are your options? You could try mooching off friends and family, but that isn’t a very good long-term plan. Of course you could always give crime a go.
Tony Abbott’s idea is the perfect way of increasing the crime rate and probably the homeless rate as well.
It’s not like we have an enormous unemployment rate. Being a dole bludger is it as easy as it used to be there is the work for the dole program and you are constantly being checked up upon by centre link.
I am not sure if it is possible to get the unemployment rate below 5% with the modern workforce the way it is. There is a constant shift of people changing jobs. There is also a large number of people every year ending education. And don’t forget the people changing from part-time work to full-time work. Not to mention all the businesses that are packing up and moving to China. There will always be some people who are between jobs and most of these people will be under 30.
There seems to be a tendency of our national government to pick on the less fortunate in our society. Young people on the dole have always been a target – just watch an episode of A Current Affair. We all have some elderly relative who is always carrying on about the “young people of today” and those “filthy dole bludgers’.
The list of minorities discriminated against by the government appears to be growing homosexuals, refugees and now young people. Being a member of a minority I’m a little worried. Bring on the bully state.
AQUA The True Colour Of Democracy
April 16, 2010 at 4:09 pm by Chris
I went to see Arj Barker last night with my brother and a few friends. He was pretty funny, but not outright hilarious. He tends to take a long time to set up jokes, but the dividend is usually worth it. In the middle of his routine it was a little unfunny, but towards the end he was funny again. So overall I would give it about 3.5/5.
There was one part of his routine that really made me think though. He has this theory Always Question Unjustified Authority or AQUA for short. I think for the sake of this discussion we could ignore our 10 foot tall reptilian overlords or the fact that Arj thinks we should take a dump in public to demonstrate our rejection of unjustified authority.
Arj does have a point though. We are told what to do almost every waking minute of our lives. We are told what to believe, what to eat and what we can and can’t do. But who gives these people the authority to tell us what to do? We live in a democracy, but how often do we practice it? Someone is always a designated leader we never work out what we should do as a group and do that.
I think the major criticism of democracy is that it is only every three years that we get to make a decision about our government. And then we are only selecting among a bunch of people we don’t even know. We don’t even have a say about policy. Yes we do have a stable government, yes they do a reasonably good job and we have the rule of law. But essentially we still live in a dictatorship.
For example the majority of Australians believe euthanasia should be an option for terminally ill patients. But will that ever get through the Australian Parliament or any Parliament? The federal government even prevented the Northern Territory from exercising its euthanasia legislation. The majority of Australians probably believe that homosexuals should be allowed to get married – with a christen as prime minister that will never happen.
With the Internet becoming a large part of our culture it is time to think about using it to make democracy work better. Countries such as Switzerland already have a limited form of direct democracy where the populace can decide on legislation through referendum. E-democracy is the use of electronic tools through the Internet to participate in the democratic process.
I think it would be great to be able to propose legislation and decide on it electronically. Of course there are some potential risks everybody following some demagogue or tyranny of the masses with minorities being seriously screwed over. But with an educated population and, hopefully, with ignorant fools not bothering to vote it could work.
It is about bloody time we exercised some control over our lives.
Over the next few weeks I might start work on writing my own constitution that uses direct e-democracy and who knows maybe I could use it in one of my science fiction stories.
The trouble with RWDB’s
April 12, 2010 at 5:19 pm by Chris
The release of that video by WikiLeaks that shows two Routers journalists being killed by an Apache gunship has seriously stirred up the blogosphere. The Right Wing Death Beast’s (RWDB) are on the defence with the lefties on the attack.
The response of some on the right has been extreme and in some cases laughable. Some on the right seem to believe that they have the right to offend as well. This is a snippet of a comment left on An Onymous Lefty. Splatterbottom was responding to Jeremy Sear’s article that dared to criticise the US Army’s rules of engagement.
“…If it isn’t perfection it doesn’t count, except where you are talking about ‘progressive’ issues. Then he will have his lips vacuum sealed to the great green sphincter, gargling the torrent of shit as it distends his bloated belly. Shit he somehow mistakes for brainfood. This post is a classic example. – Splatterbottom ”
Here is my response. I was angry and I didn’t really think before posting.
That’s the problem with you right wing fucks. You think the most disgusting revolting things and then have the nerve to type them and stick them up on the net for the world to see. You are a sick fuck. What would your mother think?
And then you have the nerve to crap on about morals and decency. I’m not sure you know what you believe. You just want to piss people off – constantly giving a contrary opinion even if what the person is saying makes perfect sense.
I am not attacking your freedom of speech you have every right to say what you do and I would fight for your right to do so. But do you have to lower the discussion to this level?
And if you have such a problem with what Jeremy has to say WHY THE FUCK ARE YOU HERE?
Yes, I was a bit self-righteous. And I have to apologise to Voltaire for borrowing that freedom of speech line. I can be revolting too and have been. But when somebody is trying to have civilised discussion surely it is common decency to keep the discussion on a civilised level. I am sure Splatterbottom thought what he wrote was hilarious and it was creative, but sometimes it is best to keep this sort of thing to yourself.
RWDB’s have a long history of saying rude, inappropriate, revolting things at the totally wrong time. I’ve been called all sorts of things most of them expressed in that eloquently repulsive way displayed in the quote above.
I’ve been banned, threatened, made an item of ridicule and had it suggested that all lefties should be lined up against the wall and shot. In every case the only thing I did wrong was express an opinion that was contrary to the post author’s opinion.
And then they go and talk about morals and freedom of speech. Hypocrisy! Do RWDB sign some sort of Hypocritic oath?
In the US the RWDB’s went berserk in 2008 when the US Supreme Court upheld the right of habeas corpus for Guantánamo Bay detainees. Habeas Corpus is a basic human right designed to stop people spending their entire lives in jail without trial. It is a foundation of the rule of law believed in by the signers of the declaration of Independence and the writers of the US Constitution.
So essentially these RWDB were shitting all over the constitution they profess to love wholeheartedly.
And if you disagree with me try arguing with Benjamin Franklin:
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Vampires Do Exist!
April 8, 2010 at 2:49 pm by Chris
Those two people who tried to sneak the body of their dead 91-year-old grandfather out of England reminded me of something.
You know those vampires who advertise funeral plans on morning TV? They try to play on the heartstrings of sensitive retired people, selling them funeral insurance that they don’t really need. “Imagine if you suddenly died,” they say.
Think of this practically. Why do you need to think of your death? There is absolutely no reason to in everyday life. If you were dead you aren’t going to care what happens to your corpse. Death is a pretty common thing, your family is going to get over it and they will pay for the funeral just like every other family. A funeral is the family’s responsibility not the person who has died. How can you be responsible for something when you are dead?
You would assume that most people with a job and a family would have life insurance. If you have life insurance why the hell would you need funeral insurance? This question is answered in these vampiric adverts, “Oh, I knew Bill’s life insurance wasn’t going to pay out for ages and I had all these bills to pay…” It is obvious to me what is going on here. It is the same companies who do life insurance and funeral insurance. They have contrived things in such a way that life insurance does not pay out for ages meaning that you need funeral insurance as well. This is so obviously a scam and somebody needs to put a stop to it.
Hundreds of years ago there was probably a reason for life insurance taking ages to pay out. But in this day and age information travels instantaneously – there is absolutely no reason in the world, except in circumstances of foul play or criminal misconduct, for life insurance to take so long to pay out.
All this proves one thing: vampires do exist!
Malcolm, the Liberal party needs you
April 7, 2010 at 2:43 pm by Chris
I was surprised by Malcolm Turnbull’s decision to leave Parliament by the next election. I know Malcolm Turnbull did a terrible job as Liberal leader, but he was sabotaged by the right wing of his party. I believe if Malcolm had managed to be the leader that he believed he could be without the rest of the party trying to screw him up he would have been able to threaten Rudd at this election.
Just have a look at how the current leader is doing. He says that his asylum seeker policy is based on the question, what would Jesus do? He is riding around the country in his bike shorts and budgie smugglers when he should be doing something constructive. Being a leader is not about indulging your fetish for sweat. I don’t know what the Liberal party room is think thinking. Malcolm may have been a little to the left of John Howard, but surely being in power is more important to them than opposition to gay marriage and closet racism.
There are so many people out there like me who thought Rudd might be good three years ago, but now think he is a stinking little weasel. Not that I want the Liberal party back in power, but I really think the Labour party needs a good scare. I still haven’t forgiven Rudd for his stunt with the solar panel rebate.
I know a lot of people don’t like the Liberal party and would hate to have them back in power, but for the health of our democracy it is important to have two strong power blocs. I know with both major parties going so far to the right there is now a much greater number of people who are willing to vote Green. But I still think that it will be many years before the Green party has enough votes to be a real choice. I also don’t think the Greens have the policy maturity or experience to be in power, much as it grieves me to say this.
With Malcolm out of the way and the Mad Monk in charge the Liberal party is set to be annihilated in this election. In other words we have 10 years of Kevin Rudd and his smarmy smile to look forward to. Part of me wants to die.
Kill Me
April 1, 2010 at 4:50 pm by Chris
Here is something funny I found on the Nine MSN News site.
Her music is that bad. Did anyone else notice that some wise technician turned off her microphone when she sang the national anthem at the Melbourne Grand Prix on Sunday? Lol.
I’m Back – Again
March 25, 2010 at 2:21 pm by Chris
Sorry that I haven’t been posting for the last two weeks, but I have been in hospital. Remember the minor surgery I had last month? Well, I didn’t heal properly and ended up being taken back to hospital in an ambulance.
It was a bit of an adventure in hospital and I will tell you all about it very soon.
The First Tuesday Book Snobs
March 10, 2010 at 3:33 pm by Chris
I was watching the First Tuesday Book Club adaptation special last night. The First Tuesday Book Club is mostly a great show, but they tend to show a great deal of intellectual snobbery against genre fiction.
This show was supposed to be about adapting books into movies, but they completely ignored the greatest adaptation of all time: the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It absolutely beggars belief – this made me so angry I screamed at the television. Isn’t just me and a bunch of nerds who think Lord of the Rings film adaptation was an amazing achievement. The Lord of the Rings trilogy received 17 Academy Awards including Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Picture.
In the world of these so-called intellectual literary types genre fiction doesn’t exist at all. This is an absolutely hypocritical bias as some of the greatest works of all time were genre fiction. The First Tuesday Book Club’s favourite book is Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. It is based in a post-apocalyptic future in other words it is science fiction. But science fiction could never win the Pulitzer so that must mean that it is literary fiction.
In an age where an adapted fantasy trilogy when 17 Academy Awards and where a science fiction novel wins the Pulitzer Prize for literature there is no room for this kind of intellectual snobbery.
I think us movie and book lovers deserve an apology and maybe a special on Lord of the Rings.
« Newer Posts — Older Posts »
|
