Emedinews:Inspiration:Unique human flaws

An elderly Asian woman had two large pots, each hung on the end of a pole, which she carried across her neck.

One of the pots had a crack in it while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full portion of water. At the end of the long walk from the stream to the house, the cracked pot arrived only half full.
For two years, this went on daily with the woman bringing home only one and a half pots of water. The perfect pot was proud of its accomplishments. The poor cracked pot was ashamed of its own imperfection and miserable that it could only do half of what it had been made to do.
After 2 years of what it perceived to be bitter failure, it spoke to the woman: “I am ashamed of myself because this crack in my side causes water to leak out all the way to your house.”
The old woman smiled, “Did you notice that there are flowers on your side of the path, but not on the other pot’s side?”
“That’s because I have always known about your flaw so I planted flower seeds on your side of the path, and every day while we walk back, you water them. For two years I have been able to pick these beautiful flowers to decorate the table. Without you being just the way you are, there would not be this beauty to grace the house.”
Moral: Like the pots, we all have our own unique flaws. But it’s the cracks and flaws we each have that make our lives together so very interesting and rewarding.

Emedinews:Inspiration: A Place to Stand

A Place to Stand

If you have ever gone through a toll booth, you know that your relationship to the person in the booth is not the most intimate you'll ever have. It is one of life's frequent non-encounters: You hand over some money; you might get change; you drive off. I have been through every one of the 17 toll booths on the Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge on thousands of occasions, and never had an exchange worth remembering with anybody.

Late one morning in 1984, headed for lunch in San Francisco, I drove toward one of the booths. I heard loud music. It sounded like a party, or a Michael Jackson concert. I looked around. No other cars with their windows open. No sound trucks. I looked at the toll booth. Inside it, the man was dancing.

"What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm having a party," he said. "What about the rest of these people?" I looked over at other booths; nothing moving there. "They're not invited."

I had a dozen other questions for him, but somebody in a big hurry to get somewhere started punching his horn behind me and I drove off. But I made a note to myself: Find this guy again. There's something in his eye that says there's magic in his toll booth. Months later I did find him again, still with the loud music, still having a party.

Again I asked, "What are you doing?" He said, "I remember you from the last time. I'm still dancing. I'm having the same party." I said, "Look. What about the rest of the people." He said. "Stop. What do those look like to you?" He pointed down the row of toll booths. "They look like toll booths." "Noooo imagination!"

I said, "Okay, I give up. What do they look like to you?" He said, "Vertical coffins." "What are you talking about?"

"I can prove it. At 8:30 every morning, live people get in. Then they die for eight hours. At 4:30, like Lazarus from the dead, they reemerge and go home. For eight hours, brain is on hold, dead on the job. Going through the motions."

I was amazed. This guy had developed a philosophy, a mythology about his job. I could not help asking the next question: "Why is it different for you? You're having a good time."

He looked at me. "I knew you were going to ask that," he said. "I'm going to be a dancer someday." He pointed to the administration building. "My bosses are in there, and they're paying for my training."

Sixteen people dead on the job, and the seventeenth, in precisely the same situation, figures out a way to live. That man was having a party where you and I would probably not last three days. The boredom! He and I did have lunch later, and he said, "I don't understand why anybody would think my job is boring. I have a corner office, glass on all sides. I can see the Golden Gate, San Francisco, the Berkeley hills; half the Western world vacations here and I just stroll in every day and practice dancing.

Abraham Lincoln said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." I would tend to agree.

Emedinews:Inspiration: This One Is Absolutely Worth Your Reading

A nurse took the tired, anxious serviceman to the bedside."Your son is here," she said to the old man. She had to repeat the words several times before the patient’s eyes opened. Heavily sedated because of the pain of his heart attack, he dimly saw the young uniformed Marine standing outside the oxygen tent. He reached out his hand. The Marine wrapped his toughened fingers around the old man's limp ones, squeezing a message of love and encouragement.

The nurse brought a chair so that the Marine could sit beside the bed. All through the night, the young Marine sat there in the poorly lighted ward, holding the old man’s hand and offering him words of love and strength. Occasionally, the nurse suggested that the Marine move away and rest awhile. He refused. Whenever the nurse came into the ward, the Marine was oblivious of her and of the night noises of the hospital – the clanking of the oxygen tank, the laughter of the night staff members exchanging greetings, the cries and moans of the other patients. Now and then she heard him say a few gentle words. The dying man said nothing, only held tightly to his son all through the night.

Along towards dawn, the old man died. The Marine released the now lifeless hand he had been holding and went to tell the nurse. While she did what she had to do, he waited. Finally, she returned. She started to offer words of sympathy, but the Marine interrupted her.
"Who was that man?" he asked.

The nurse was startled, "He was your father," she answered."No, he wasn't," the Marine replied. "I never saw him before in my life."

"Then why didn’t you say something when I took you to him?"

"I knew right away there had been a mistake, but I also knew he needed his son, and his son just wasn’t here. When I realized that he was too sick to tell whether or not I was his son, knowing how much he needed me, I stayed. I came here tonight to find a Mr. William Grey. His Son was Killed in Iraq today, and I was sent to inform him. What was this Gentleman’s Name?"

The Nurse with Tears in Her Eyes Answered, Mr. William Grey…………

The next time someone needs you … just be there… Stay 

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues: Simulated suicide by hanging

(Dr Sudhir Gupta, Additional Prof, Forensic Medicine & Toxicology, AIIMS)

Simulated suicide by hanging

·        The most common method of suicide all over the world is hanging because the factors deciding method of suicide are like accessibility, feasibility, credibility of method causing death and rapidity of the method.

·        As the death by hanging is being easily achieved using cheap and easily available materials resulting in fast and painless death.

·        After homicidal strangulation means homicides by hanging and the simulation of suicide by hanging a victim previously killed or made unable to resist by other means are regarded as extremely rare events, although especially in German forensic literature cases of this kind were repeatedly reported.

·         Example to the number of observations published so far: A 23-year-old student strangled his 58-year-old father with an electric cable until he ceased to show any signs of life. Then he hanged the victim at the handrail of the staircase with a running noose.

·        From the forensic point of view the following clues pointed to homicide: presence of massive signs of facial congestion in spite of the "typical" situation of hanging, horizontal ligature mark in addition to the noose mark, skin injuries at the head and the upper extremities, traces of blood near the place where the body was found.

·        The case history presented emphasizes again that for differential diagnosis the possibility of a dissimulated homicide has to be considered in all cases where a body is found suspended.

Reference InstitutfürGerichtlicheMedizin, UniversitätTübingen.

Emedinews:Makesure:A patient with diabetes shows deteriorating kidney function.

Situation: A patient with diabetes shows deteriorating kidney function.

Reaction: Oh my God! His HbA1c is very high?

Lesson: Make sure that strict glycemic control is maintained in patients with type 2 diabetes in order to delay vascular complications.

Emedinews:Inspiration: A story to live by

There was a blind girl who hated herself because she was blind. She hated everyone, except her loving friend. He was always there for her. She told her friend, 'If I could only see the world, I will marry you.'  One day, someone donated a pair of eyes to her. When the bandages came off, she was able to see everything, including her friend. 

He asked her, "Now that you can see the world, will you marry me?” The girl looked at her friend and saw that he was blind. The sight of his closed eyelids shocked her. She hadn't expected that. The thought of looking at them the rest of her life led her to refuse to marry him. 

Her friend left in tears and days later wrote a note to her saying: 'Take good care of your eyes, my dear, for before they were yours, they were mine.' 

This is how the human brain often works when our status changes. Only a very few remember what life was like before, and who was always by their side in the most painful situations. 

Life is a divine gift 

Emedinews:Inspiration:Fireworks

A few weeks before Independence Day, I noticed a fireworks stand in a parking lot in our city. It reminded me of the many wonderful fireworks shows I've attended with my family. There's something magical about those brilliant colors exploding against the dark sky.

But there's a problem with fireworks. They don't last. The same is true of many of the "fireworks" experiences in our lives. We fight and struggle for things that seem beautiful and alluring, but after we get them, their appeal disappears, just like fireworks. Maybe it's a shiny new car or speedboat. Maybe it's a big, impressive house. It might even be a promotion at work or a prestigious career. So many of the things of this world are like fireworks. They promise happiness and fulfillment but can't deliver. TV commercials play on our emotions, making us believe that if we drive a certain kind of SUV or clean our floors with their super-efficient mop, we'll be happy at last. More often than not, all we feel is disillusioned.

If you've had enough of these "fireworks" experiences and the letdowns that follow, I challenge you to pursue the only thing in life that doesn't disappoint: a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The astounding thing about loving God is that it actually gets better every day. Once you give your heart to Jesus, you'll have happiness and fulfillment that lasts into eternity and you'll never want to go back to "fireworks" experiences again.

Emedinews:Inspiration:Words to Live By...

Accept that some days you're the pigeon, and some days you're the statue. Always keep your words soft and sweet, just in case you have to eat them. Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it. Drive carefully. It's not only cars that can be recalled by their maker. Eat a live toad in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you for the rest of the day. If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague. If you lend someone $20, and never see that person again, it was probably worth it. It may be that your sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others. Never buy a car you can't push.

Never put both feet in your mouth at the same time, because then you don't have a leg to stand on. Nobody cares if you can't dance well. Just get up and dance. The early worm gets eaten by the bird, so sleep late. When everything's coming your way, you're in the wrong lane. Birthdays are good for you; the more you have, the longer you live. Ever notice that the people who are late are often much jollier than the people who have to wait for them? If ignorance is bliss, why aren't more people happy? You may be only one person in the world, but you may also be the world to one person. Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once. Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened. We could learn a lot from crayons: Some are sharp, some are pretty, some are dull, some have weird names, and all are different colors but they all have to learn to live in the same box.

A truly happy person is one who can enjoy the scenery on a detour. Happiness comes through doors you didn't even know you left open. Have an awesome day, and know that someone has thought about you today....

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues:What is panic disorder?

• This is a condition of vulnerability to stress with repeated sudden attacks of panic with sustained anxiety and recurrence of panic.

• It is a period of distress and apprehension, with somatic symptoms of feeling of choking, breathing trouble, trembling with a fearful feeling that he may go insane or may even die.

• The attack may last for a few seconds to a few hours; usually the peak of distress is felt by about 10 minutes after starting.

• Recurrence is also sudden, it can be said to be a part of anxiety, phobia and stress disorder  syndrome.

• It is treated by psychotherapy, benzodiazepine group of drugs, encouraging thoughts to be free from anxiety.

Emedinews:Inspiration:Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.

One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?" The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues:Narco-analysis

·         The human being is capable to lie by using his power of fantasy and imagination in brain; however, in practice of medical science there is no way of distinguishing reality from imagination and fantasy. Only mere speculation or leads of facts is possible.

 

·         Narcoanalysis is based on the principle that a person is able to lie using his power of conscious brain imagination and, therefore, under the influence of the sedative and hypnotic drug the capacity of his imagination, fantasy to create a lie is blocked or diminished, by leading the person into an altered conscious state of mind.

 

·         The use of narcotic and psychotropic drugs in narcoanalysis tests on healthy human being may have side effects and health hazards to the person.

 

·         The term narcoanalysis is derived from the Greek word narke which means anesthesia.

 

·         It is used to describe a diagnostic and psychotherapeutic technique that uses psychotropic drugs, particularly barbiturate induce a spoor/sleep in which mental elements with strong associated affects come to the surface, where they can be used by the treating physician/doctor.

 

·         The procedure was mainly intended for neurotic and psychosomatic patients, and it met with a certain success by psychiatrists in treating traumatic pathologies, mental deviation and conditions charged with strong human emotions. It is presumed that in the Narco Analysis Test, the subject's power of fantasy and imagination is neutralized and it becomes difficult for human being to create a lie in brain and his answers would be restricted to facts he is already aware based on truth.

 

·         Narco-analysis has been used in Anglo-Saxon countries from last more than hundreds year.

 

·         In India the application of the technique in forensic began since a decade back. Recently the honorable supreme court of India said that the test without consent is violative of the fundamental right of a citizen not to incriminate himself and his right to privacy under Articles 20(3) and 21 of the Constitution hence “No individual should be forcibly subjected to any of these techniques in question, whether in the context of investigation in any criminal cases or otherwise." 

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues:Medical Testimony of Doctor in the Court of law

A doctor should not be dogmatic about his opinion, and lawyers also should not expect him to be so. He should be reasonable in his opinions and should not overstate the likelihood of a relationship between cause and effect. The doctor should be ready to defend every finding and conclusion on the report on clinical and scientific grounds in the court of law. He should be aware of professional and scientific viewpoints which might differ from his, and should be familiar with the latest scientific literature in relation to the subject involved. For the purpose of illustrating and clarifying his testimony in the court of law, the medical expert may employ photographs, maps, diagrams, charts, X-rays, skeletons, models, slides, films, tapes, etc., when they are properly verified. The doctor should avoid talking too much, talking too soon, and talking to the wrong persons. Prejudicial and sensational statements should not be made prior to trial. Courts of law are open to the public and the junior doctors should attend the Courts, where they can follow the proceedings, hear the evidence given by their senior medical colleague as a witness, to familiarize themselves with the procedures of the court of law.

Emedinews:Inspiration:Truths to Live By

Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift. When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one which has been opened for us.
The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.
Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone.
Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real! Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy. Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness lies for those who cry those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives.
Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past. You can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.

Emedinews:Insights on Medicolegal issues:Doctor is neither a detective nor a curtain between injured/sick alleged criminal and police or judiciary.

• The primary and absolutely transparent duty of a doctor/ hospital is to provide medical services to sick and injured patient may be an alleged criminal to save his health/limb and life without any discrimination.
• when the medical care records is required for judicial/police investigation the records becomes medico-legal in nature and the same may be required to testify under oath in the court of law by treating doctor.
• The doctor should acquire the habit of making a careful note of all the facts observed by him with exact time and date.
• doctor should examine the facts which come to his knowledge in his special medical man capacity, draw his conclusions logically and correctly after a detailed consideration of the pros and cons of the case, and elaborate in the Court that interpretation, along with the medical grounds on which it is based.
• Presumption is not proof, and conjecture is not evidence. The Court has no special medical knowledge. It relies on medical witness for an opinion and expects him to assist it with his special knowledge and experience in perusal of truth.
• Presumption, assumption hypothesis, and mere conclusion on self defined interpretation is not a proof, and conjecture is not evidence

Emedinews:Makesure:An adult undergoing bronchoscopic biopsy developed infective endocarditis.

Situation: An adult undergoing bronchoscopic biopsy developed infective endocarditis.
Reaction: Oh my God! Why was IE prophylaxis not given?
Lesson: Make sure, that all procedures of the respiratory tract that involve incision or biopsy of the respiratory mucosa include IE prophylaxis.

Emedinews:Inspiration:How to conquer the fear of failure?

When we have to start a new venture, we often feel fear of failure. Before exams, we feel fear of low marks or may be failure! At times when we have to decide between two or more choices, we feel afraid. Fear of failure is natural and overcoming this fear is natural too!. People feel the fear of failure at different stages in life but there is good news.

Good news: We all can overcome the fear of failure. The question: How can we overcome this fear of failure?

We can learn from those people who successfully overcame the fear of failure and have shared their experiences with us. One of the persons who has shared the technique of overcoming failure is an Olympic athlete Guy Drut. I would like to narrate a story from Mark Mc Cormack international best seller: What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School which guides us on one of the most important tools to overcome the fear of failure.

This is true story of a French Olympic player Guy Drut. In summer of 1976, he was the only hope of France for win in Olympic track-and-field medal. Naturally, he was afraid. He had the burden of carrying nation's pride on his shoulders. One of his friends Jean Claude Killy advised him how to overcome the fear of failure.

Killy's advice was very simple.

Killy advised Drut to repeat a few words in his mind over and over again. Killy told Drut that he was the only one who can use his body and mind for peak performance. He should keep on saying to himself: "I have done every thing to get ready for this race and if I win, every thing will be great. But even if I don't win, my friends will still be my friends, my enemies will still be my enemies and the world will still be the same"

Drut says that he took Killy's advice to his heart. He repeated this sentence in all his practice exercises, during breaks and in between the semi-finals and finals. He kept saying the sentences to himself over and over and it blocked out every thing else. Drut says: I kept on repeating it to such an extent that I was still repeating it when I went up to receive the gold medal!

We all can get benefit of this advice. Our self-talk reflects our expectancy from our lives. Positive self talk is more than a positive mental attitude. It is an evidence of determination in our future.

Emedinews:What is exhumation?

• Exhumation is the removal of a corpse from the earth. The grave must be identified by relatives and the official in charge of the graveyard.

• The word exhumation literally means ‘out of ground.’ The word ‘exhumation’ comes from Latin words ‘ex’ meaning ‘out of’, and ‘humus‘, meaning ‘ground’ The dead body can only be exhumed when there is a written order from executive magistrate or Higher Court of Law of the land.

• Exhumation is necessary, when the first post–mortem was inadequate, and it is thought that a second postmortem may bring some more facts to light means exhumation combined with doing a second meticulous postmortem. After exhumation, the postmortem examination must be done in a well-equipped morgue only and preferably in presence of first team of doctors who have already examined the body.

• In case of exhumation the concerned police official should approach the appropriate government hospital in writing along with the order of exhumation to constitute a medical board of at least three qualified and experienced doctors with written clarity of objectives of postmortem examination. Material found in exhumation/spot and further examination should be done as per law.

• Resting places and the norm of many cultures is that the dead should not be disturbed. However, for a variety of reasons, they are disturbed through the process of exhumation.

(Reference Anil Aggrawal's Internet Journal of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology Volume 2, Number 2, July-December 2001)

Emedinews:Inspiration:Trapped

I’m trapped, trapped inside myself, I want to get out, get out and be free. I don’t want to live in my shell, but I’m scared, scared to take away my mask.
Friends are forever letting me down, No matter how close they are. They are there if I have a problem, but when I don’t, I may as well not exist.
I want someone to trust and care about me, someone to cry on and someone to listen. I want someone to love me for who I am, not the masked me whom everyone knows.
Unfortunately none of this can ever come true, not from someone on this earth anyway. No one I know is perfect; No one I know can fulfill this.
Except…
Someone I know who is watching down on everyone of us. He has a special plan and a purpose for anyone who turns to Him. There will still be hardship and sorrow, but these will make you strong.
He can be trusted, he is ever so faithful. He cares deeply about each person on this earth. He can be cried upon, and will cry with you. He even puts each tear we cry in a bottle. He is the best listener anyone could be, And most of all He loves us for who we are, No matter what we have done.
“Who could do all this?” I hear you ask. It’s a very dear and special friend of mine called Jesus, with whom I can take away my mask and be free.

Emedinews:Makesure:A patient with pyogenic meningitis developed complications

Situation: A patient with pyogenic meningitis developed complications.
Reaction: Oh my God! Why were antibiotics not given when the meningitis was suspected?
Lesson: Make sure that first dose of antibiotics is given at the time meningitis is suspected.

Emedinews:Inspiration:This is Good!

The story is told of a king in Africa who had a close friend with whom he grew up. The friend had a habit of looking at every situation that ever occurred in his life (positive or negative) and remarking, "This is good!"
One day the king and his friend were out on a hunting expedition. The friend would load and prepare the guns for the king. The friend had apparently done something wrong in preparing one of the guns, for after taking the gun from his friend, the king fired it and his thumb was blown off.
Examining the situation the friend remarked as usual, "This is good!" To which the king replied, "No, this is NOT good!" and proceeded to send his friend to jail.
About a year later, the king was hunting in an area that he should have known to stay clear of. Cannibals captured him and took them to their village. They tied his hands, stacked some wood, set up a stake and bound him to the stake. As they came near to setting fire to the wood, they noticed that the king was missing a thumb. Being superstitious, they never ate anyone that was less than whole. So untying the king, they sent him on his way.
As he returned home, he was reminded of the event that had taken his thumb and felt remorse for his treatment of his friend. He went immediately to the jail to speak with his friend. "You were right," he said, "it was good that my thumb was blown off."
And he proceeded to tell the friend all that had just happened. "And so I am very sorry for sending you to jail for so long. It was bad for me to do this." "No," his friend replied, "This is good!"
"What do you mean, 'This is good'? How could it be good that I sent my friend to jail for a year?" "If I had NOT been in jail, I would have been with you."
Situations may not always seem pleasant while we are in them, but the promise of God is clear. If we love Him and live our lives according to His precepts, even that which seems to be bleak and hopeless will be turned by God for His glory and our benefit. Hold on, God is faithful! May God bless you this week as you seek His will in every situation.