Good Person of the Week: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Infectious Disease Expert

     This week's Good Person/Hero is Dr. Anthony Fauci. His name is very familiar to everyone in the U.S. and as it turns out around the world. Recently, Israel awarded a 1 million dollar prize for his commitment to science! There's certainly no one I trust more. 

   - And he's super-patient. We all saw his patience over the last year when the anti-science orange buffoon recommended the ridiculous idea of injecting bleach to fight COVID and kept disagreeing with Fauci and other experts. Fortunately, sanity and science has returned to the world, and Dr. Fauci is being recognized for his amazing contributions in fighting this pandemic. Dr. Fauci is truly a hero to the world for his work. His bio follows the award story below. Here's the story>

(Photo: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Credt: NIAID)

Anthony Fauci wins Israel's Dan David $1m prize for 'defending science'

BBC News  2/16/21- Source – BBC News

The US top infectious diseases expert, Anthony Fauci, has been awarded a prestigious $1m (£717,000) Israeli prize for his commitment to science. 

 Dr Fauci, who was often at odds with former President Trump over how to handle the pandemic, was given the Dan David Prize for "defending science". He was also praised for advocating for Covid vaccines, and for his leadership on HIV research and Aids relief. 

 Dr Fauci, 80, has advised seven US presidents. The face of America's fight against Covid-19 Has US finally turned the corner on Covid? He was recognized for "courageously defending science in the face of uninformed opposition during the challenging Covid crisis", the awards committee said in a statement. He "is the consummate model of leadership and impact in public health," it added.  

Dr Fauci has been the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases since 1984. He helped to found George W Bush's US government Aids initiative in Africa and now serves as explainer-in-chief to the public amid the Covid-19 outbreak of the Trump and now Biden eras. The Dan David Prize was established in 2000 by the late international businessman Dan David. It gives $1m awards in three categories each year for contributions addressing the past, present and future.

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 WHO IS DR FAUCI? - The National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases published his bio: Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director
Dr. Fauci was appointed director of NIAID in 1984. He oversees an extensive portfolio of basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat established infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, respiratory infections, diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis and malaria as well as emerging diseases such as Ebola and Zika.
 NIAID also supports research on transplantation and immune-related illnesses, including autoimmune disorders, asthma and allergies. The NIAID budget for fiscal year 2021 is an estimated $6.1 billion. Dr. Fauci has advised seven presidents on HIV/AIDS and many other domestic and global health issues. He was one of the principal architects of the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), a program that has saved millions of lives throughout the developing world. 
 Dr. Fauci also is the longtime chief of the Laboratory of Immunoregulation. He has made many contributions to basic and clinical research on the pathogenesis and treatment of immune-mediated and infectious diseases. He helped pioneer the field of human immunoregulation by making important basic scientific observations that underpin the current understanding of the regulation of the human immune response. 
In addition, Dr. Fauci is widely recognized for delineating the precise ways that immunosuppressive agents modulate the human immune response. He developed effective therapies for formerly fatal inflammatory and immune-mediated diseases such as polyarteritis nodosa, granulomatosis with polyangiitis (formerly Wegener's granulomatosis), and lymphomatoid granulomatosis. 
A 1985 Stanford University Arthritis Center Survey of the American Rheumatism Association membership ranked Dr. Fauci’s work on the treatment of polyarteritis nodosa and granulomatosis with polyangiitis among the most important advances in patient management in rheumatology over the previous 20 years. 
 Dr. Fauci has made seminal contributions to the understanding of how HIV destroys the body's defenses leading to its susceptibility to deadly infections. Further, he has been instrumental in developing treatments that enable people with HIV to live long and active lives. He continues to devote much of his research to the immunopathogenic mechanisms of HIV infection and the scope of the body's immune responses to HIV. 
 In a 2020 analysis of Google Scholar citations, Dr. Fauci ranked as the 32nd most-cited living researcher. According to the Web of Science, Dr. Fauci ranked 9th out of 2.5 million authors in the field of immunology by total citation count between 1980 and January 2021.  During the same period, he ranked 20th out of 2.4 million authors in the field of research & experimental medicine, and 132th out of 992,000 authors in the field of general & internal medicine. 
 Dr. Fauci has delivered major lectures all over the world and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (the highest honor given to a civilian by the President of the United States), the National Medal of Science, the George M. Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians, the Mary Woodard Lasker Award for Public Service, the Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research, the Robert Koch Gold Medal, the Prince Mahidol Award, and the Canada Gairdner Global Health Award. He also has received 45 honorary doctoral degrees from universities in the United States and abroad. 
 Dr. Fauci is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society, as well as other professional societies including the American College of Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American Association of Immunologists, and the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. He serves on the editorial boards of many scientific journals; as an editor of Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine; and as author, coauthor, or editor of more than 1,300 scientific publications, including several textbooks.

Tyler's IVDD Neck Surgery - How I Noticed it, What it is and How Treated, and Update

In today's blog, dog parents will learn about a serious spinal issue that can affect dogs (either in old age, and especially those who jump off furniture) and cripple them if not attended to immediately.  Invertebrate Disc Disease or IVDD issues are very common for dachshunds and breeds with long backs. 

  In 2014, our (late) Dachshund, Franklin had surgery for it in his lower back for a slipped disc that rendered him unable to walk. His surgery was done within several hours and he regained mobility.  Tyler's IVDD disc issue was in his neck (which I'm finding is easier to deal with for the dog). You'll read how we figured out clues to IVDD in our 10 year old Black and Tan Dachshund Tyler, and his recovery. 

(Image: Skeleton of a dog: Credit TBjornstad via Wikimedia Commons)

HOW THE IVDD WAS NOTICED - I noticed that he was having issues walking around the block starting about 3 weeks ago. He slowed down and wanted to be carried at the end. The day before surgery he couldn't lift his head and was in pain. A drooping head, and the inability to lift it is a sign of neck disc issues. 

- so he got accupuncture immediately- which helped a little. But his muscles froze up (because of the pain) and he cried out several times. The acupuncturist identified it as IVDD in the neck. He went to the ER after sleeping at home. It's common with Dachshunds (we have ramps and little stairs to furniture, so he wasn't jumping off anything). Thanks. He's on pain meds and napping (wish I were, too!)

(Illustration of the ventral aspect of the cervical spine in the dog. Credit: veteriankey.com) 

WHAT THE MRI SHOWED   There is heterointense, somewhat enhancing right ventral canal content at C2-3 with cord compression noted. All of the other disc spaces have some variable disc protrusion and cord flattening noted as well. There is diminished T2 signal in the center of many disc as well, that may indicate mineral in situ. 

(Image; Tyler's MRI showing the vertebrae C2 through C7 in his neck; and smaller image of the C 2-3 issue. Credit: Dogs and Cats Emergency Veterinary)

BOTTOM LINE:  Interpretation: Compressive herniated disc at C2-3, somewhat right sided. Evidence of diffuse IVDD

SHORT SUMMARY OF THE SURGERY:  Surgeon fenestrated (made small perforations in) the C2-3 disc. The Hall air drill was used to create a small sized ventral slot at C2-3, keeping the disc at the center of the slot at the level of the canal. A moderate amount of disc material was removed in small firm pieces. Decompression was complete and the cord returned to normal position.

CARE AFTER SURGERY: 

 1. Activity restriction Strict confinement: This involves spending all day in a crate, pen, or confined area. Tyler can go outside to urinate and defecate. Tyler should be carried on stairs and controlled on a short leash when outside (especially as he starts feeling better!). 

Food, water, and toys can be provided in the confined area. The reason for this strict activity restriction is to minimize the risk of additional disc herniation. 

2. Give medications as instructed-  Prednisone will increase hunger and thirst as well as urine production. It may also make Tyler feel like he can do more activity than he should be doing, so cage rest is extremely important. Tramadol tastes bad and may cause constipation and sedation. It can be discontinued early if you do not think he is painful anymore. Gabapentin should not be needed but can be continued if Tyler seems painful at home. 

3. Monitor the incision for redness, swelling, and discharge and notify us if any is seen.

MY NOTE ABOUT NECK vs. BACK IVDD SURGERY - 

Neck disc issues fortunately don't affect the bladder. Therefore, Tyler has had no problem peeing on his own or doing #2.  Further, there are NO walking issues (at least with Tyler) after IVDD NECK surgery. 

(Photo: Franklin in2017, 3 years after his IVDD surgery) 

Lower back IVDD surgery is Different and More Traumatic -  it did affect the bladder in Franklin. I had to take Franklin outside and put light pressure on his bladder to get him to urinate. Franklin also couldn't move his legs the day after surgery. I had to hold his back legs and move them back and forth to get him used to walking again. Over the course of a week (I believe) he regained his ability to walk, although weakly for the first couple of weeks. 

For Franklin's story and recovery, visit: https://rob-tom-dolly-franklin.blogspot.com/2014/09/our-dog-franklins-surgery-for-herniated.html

New Animated "Dr. Seuss-like" video on "Wear a Mask" (narrated by actor Mark Hamill)

Actor Mark Hamill from Star Wars fame (as Luke Skywalker) recently recorded a vocal track for “Will You Wear A Mask? I Ask,” a Dr. Seuss-style book about the need to wear face masks in public. Maybe this will help the simple-minded and selfish people who still refuse to wear masks to understand how wrong they are, not only for their sake, but for the sake of others, too. Below is the story and link to the 4 minute animation: 

The Huffington post reported that Hamill recorded the vocal track for an animation based on a book by Tom Ruegger. In the book, two characters debate about the need to wear facial coverings in public during a pandemic. 

 The anti-masker ― who wears a red baseball cap ― has lots of “reasons” he won’t cover his face at a local business, most of them based on falsehoods: “The COVID virus is a hoax/ Except for sickly old folks/ I’m immune!/ I read on Reddit!/ I’m healthy so I just can’t get it.” 

 The anti-masker claims the Constitution allows him not to wear a mask, and he even claims to have a doctor’s note. However, the mask-wearing creature won’t accept it: “Your doctor’s note has little use/ Since it was signed by Dr. Seuss.” Watch a narrated video of the story below. Proceeds from the book will be donated to World Central Kitchen, a charity that helps provide food for communities in need.

LINK https://youtu.be/60lF1bLAWYA

A Great Mystery: "Madison Avenue Shoot" of the Murder She Wrote Series

 The Murder She Wrote series of books (there are 53 now) is my absolute favorite mystery
series. I have all of them in paperback and re-read them. This week, I re-read "Madison Avenue Shoot," by authors Jessica Fletcher and Donald Bain. (Of course Jessica Fletcher is the main character who writes mysteries herself in the stories, but they always co-credit her).  This book, like all of the others in the series does not disappoint. 

Donald Bain is such an amazing writer. His writing style makes the characters so easy to visualize, and remember. There are a lot of characters in this book, but you never forget who they are (unlike in other mysteries I've read where authors introduce a neighborhood of characters and I couldn't tell one from another). Bain may have passed away in October 2017, but his books are timeless and his writing style was the best. - I didn't know that he also co-wrote and took over "Margaret Truman's Capital Crimes series." 

In this book, you'll follow mystery writer Jessica Fletcher as she gets talked into filming a commercial with 3 other talents. The cast of characters have a wide range and all are memorable. I couldn't wait to get to the end to find out who committed the murder, and there's also a good plot twist in there about her grand-nephew. 5 of 5 stars.  

 BTW, This was published in 2010.

ABOUT THE BOOK: When Jessica Fletcher's nephew, Grady, asks her to visit him in New York City, she's happy to reunite. The production firm Grady works for is creating commercials featuring big-name celebrities, and he has proposed that Jessica star in one. She reluctantly agrees.

But when one of the most creative-and despised-bigwigs is found murdered on the set, there's a long list of suspects. And Jessica soon finds herself not just a witness in a murder case-but the only one who can uncover the killer...

Science News: Plague may have caused die-offs of ancient Siberians

 The world has endured pandemics before like the one we're currently experiencing and archeologists and scientists uncovered evidence that an ancient plague may have caused die-offs of Siberians 4,000 years ago. Here's the interesting article from Science News:

(Map: Credit: Irkutsk.org) 

Plague may have caused die-offs of ancient Siberians

Bacterium DNA was found in two skeletons dating to roughly 4,000 years ago

By Bruce Bower Science News Jan 7, 2021 

 
Ancient people brought the plague to Siberia by about 4,400 years ago, which may have led to collapses in the population there, a new genetic analysis suggests. 

That preliminary finding raises the possibility that plague-induced die offs influenced the genetic structure of northeast Asians who trekked to North America starting perhaps 5,500 years ago. If the result holds up, it, along with other newly uncovered insights into human population dynamics in the region, would unveil a more complex ancestry among those ancient travelers than has usually been assumed. 

A team led by evolutionary geneticists Gülşah Merve Kilinç and Anders Götherström, both of Stockholm University, extracted DNA from the remains of 40 human skeletons previously excavated in parts of eastern Siberia. Among those samples, DNA from Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that causes plague, was found in two ancient Siberians, the researchers report January 6 in Science Advances. One person lived around 4,400 years ago. The other dated to roughly 3,800 years ago. 

It’s unclear how the plague bacterium first reached Siberia or whether it caused widespread infections and death, Götherström says. But he and his colleagues found that genetic diversity in their ancient samples of human DNA declined sharply from around 4,700 to 4,400 years ago, possibly the result of population collapse. 

The new data coincide with evidence reported in June 2020 in Cell of Y. pestis DNA in two ancient individuals from eastern Siberia’s Lake Baikal region, dating to around 4,500 years ago. 

The plague may well have reached Siberia by roughly 4,500 years ago, at a time when Y. pestis infected people inhabiting other parts of Eurasia, says evolutionary geneticist Hendrik Poinar of McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada who did not participate in the new study. 

But it’s possible that the ancient Siberians were infected with a version of Y. pestis that wasn’t virulent. If so, the bacterium wouldn’t have killed enough people to alter the genetic structure of Siberians. Genetic data from only two individuals provides too little evidence to confirm that they possessed a virulent strain of Y. pestis, Poinar says. 

DNA PROVIDES GLIMPSE INTO ANCIENT POPULATION EVENTS
The genetic findings do provide a glimpse of a series of previously unknown ancient population shifts in that region. Ancient individuals included in the new research dated from around 16,900 years ago, shortly after the last Ice Age peaked, to 550 years ago. The researchers compared those ancient Siberians’ DNA to DNA from present-day humans in different parts of the world and to previous samples of ancient human DNA — mainly from Europe, Asia and North America. The analyses showed that despite Siberia’s harsh climate, groups near Lake Baikal and regions further east mixed with various populations in and outside of Siberia from the Late Stone Age up to medieval times.

The two plague-carrying Siberians, in particular, came from regions that had experienced major population transformations during much of the sampled time period, the researchers say. Those events could have included migrations of plague-carrying people from outside Siberia. For instance, the 4,400-year-old skeleton was found just west of Lake Baikal, a region that witnessed the emergence of several distinct genetic groups — with roots mainly further to the west and southwest of Lake Baikal — between around 8,980 and 560 years ago.

Little Known History: 3 Dutch girls who seduced Nazis — and lured them to their deaths

I happened to be on BBC News and a 4 minute documentary video popped up about 3 girls from the Netherlands who became a killing force in the resistance to a takeover of their country by Nazis. It's an interesting story, and the NY Post covered the story in 2019. Part of their article appears below, with the BBC Video. The article noted there is also a book about the girls and their exploits. Sounds fascinating.

Meet the Dutch girls who seduced Nazis — and lured them to their deaths

By Isabel VincentDecember 14, 2019 | 11:44am |

Truus Oversteegen, a freckle-faced teenager who was just three months shy of her 17th birthday when Germany invaded the Netherlands in May 1940, was a newly minted member of the Dutch resistance. She had been mostly assigned to hide Jewish children, political dissidents and homosexuals in various safe houses throughout Haarlem, her hometown, which was about 12 miles west of Amsterdam.

When she came across a Nazi killing an infant by repeatedly swinging its tiny body against a brick wall, Truus didn’t flinch. But what she saw now forced her to act with a sudden, brutal energy. “He grabbed the baby and hit it against the wall,” Truus recalled years later of the horrifying scene. “The father and sister had to watch. They were obviously hysterical. The child was dead.”

Truus, her younger sister, Freddie, and law student Hannie Schaft were among a handful of young women who took on clandestine roles to destabilize Nazis during the Second World War. While women’s resistance work was largely confined to spying, code-breaking and typing, few actively dared to take on the work of the Dutch trio — as underground assassins.

That’s the theme of the recently published “Seducing and Killing Nazis: Hannie, Truus and Freddie: Dutch Resistance Heroines of World War II” (SWW Press), which documents the exploits of the three young Dutch resistance fighters whose dangerous work set them apart.

Although their roles in the underground were at first confined to stealing Dutch identity documents to help persecuted Jews, the girls quickly graduated to more ruthless duties.

Freddie, who was just 14 when she began to work for the resistance, was often mistaken for a schoolgirl and was dispatched as a courier delivering important messages during the occupation. But later, all three young women worked to seduce Nazis: applying makeup and bright red lipstick to pick up soldiers at bars and lure them to their deaths.

Truus Oversteegen (pictured with rifle) worked along side Hannie and Freddie. North Holland Archives Truus quietly pointed her gun in the direction of the Nazi and shot him dead.

BBC VIDEO (4 minutes) Three girls in resistance 14 JANUARY 2020|WORLD WAR TWO During WW2, the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands turned three teenage girls into fierce resistance fighters.

 VIDEO: https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p0808hpm/the-teenage-dutch-girls-who-seduced-and-killed-nazis

A Beautiful Valentine's Message

What a beautiful, thoughtful thing to do. What a total difference from the last 4 years. This picture shows messages on Valentine's day hearts decorating the White House lawn this weekend. 

A Valentine from First Lady Jill Biden popped up overnight at the White House on Feb. 12. Per her office, “The First Lady is known for her sense of humor, love of surprises and celebrating traditions... This is her Valentine to the country.”

Idiot of the Week: NH Guy Bragged to TV Station He Drank at the Capitol Insurrection- then got Arrested

 When you're an Idiot, there's not much hope for you. Such is the case of this week's idiot, who obviously had to hear that the FBI was actively looking for people involved in the Insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, and arresting them. This Idiot decided to let people know how proud he was to be drinking a beer in the Capitol during that horrendous day... and well, of course he got arrested. Here's the story.

                                 (Image: Jason Riddle. –Screenshot via YouTube) 

A New Hampshire man told a local TV station about how he ‘chugged’ wine during the Capitol riot. Then he got arrested.

“I had to see it."

By

 

Nik DeCosta-Klipa, Boston.com Staff

February 9, 2021

Like many of the people involved in the Jan. 6 breach of the Capitol building, Jason Daniel Riddle wasn’t particularly shy about his role. 

 The 32-year-old Keene, New Hampshire, resident said he followed rioters into the Capitol, found an open bottle of wine inside an office, poured himself a glass, and “chugged it” as he watched the violent mayhem. In an interview several days after the riot, Riddle told NBC10 Boston that he had no regrets. 

 On Monday afternoon, he was arrested by FBI agents. The agency’s Boston division announced that they had taken Riddle into custody with the assistance of local Keene police without incident and charged him with illegal entry, theft of government property, and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds. No attorney was listed for Riddle in online court documents Tuesday afternoon.

Good Person of the Week: Meet Wales' COVID19 virus variant hunters

 There are so many good people in the world, especially those involved in trying to help the world get past the pandemic of COVID19. This week BBC News Wales did a feature story about some of the good people who hunt down variants of the deadly Coronavirus 19 so they can learn the genetic code of the virus, and Wales leads the way in that research. This week's Good people are from the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff:  Jess Hey, a research scientist and  Prof Tom Connor, PenGU's bio-informatic lead. Here's an excerpt of  their story

Meet Wales' virus variant hunters

By Owain Clarke
BBC Wales health correspondent

Meet Jess Hey, a Public Health Wales scientist who is working on hunting down new variants of Covid-19.

She is part of a team of 16, based in Cardiff, that has been able to sequence between 15 to 20% of all positive cases in Wales since Covid arrived, one of the highest rates anywhere in the world.

Ms Hey, who only started three months ago, prepares samples selected at random from positive Covid tests across and helps to look for tiny differences between the samples in the virus's genetic code.

She said her work is "very different" from when she was a zoology student but "exciting".

A Covid variant, first spotted in Kent in the autumn, spread quickly and is now the dominant form across Wales and much of the UK.

As viruses copy themselves within cells, and go on to infect others, tiny errors can occur. Prof Tom Connor, PenGU's bio-informatics lead, said: "Viruses change all the time - like making photocopies of an ordinary original document. Since the start of the pandemic, the team has been able to read and decipher the entire genetic code of almost 30,000 Covid samples.

More: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-56029034 

Discovery! Ancient mummies with golden tongues unearthed in Egypt

 There's been a new discovery in Egypt, and archaeologists found that some mummies were given golden tongues to speak with the God of the underworld. Here's the story from BBC News on Feb 2, 2021:

(photo: image caption   It is thought the dead were given the golden tongues so they could speak in the afterlife EGYPTIAN MINISTRY OF ANTIQUITIES)

Ancient mummies with golden tongues unearthed in Egypt

Source:  BBC NEWS: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-55902631 

Archaeologists have unearthed 2,000-year-old mummies with golden tongues placed inside their mouths in northern Egypt, the antiquities ministry says.

 An Egyptian-Dominican team working at Alexandria's Taposiris Magna temple discovered 16 burials in rock-cut tombs popular in the Greek and Roman eras.

 Inside were poorly-preserved mummies.

 It is thought the dead were given gold foil amulets shaped like tongues so that they could speak before the court of the god Osiris in the afterlife.

 Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris was lord of the underworld and judge of the dead.

(ROB NOTE: Osiris is the Egyptian Lord of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead, brother-husband to Isis, and one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The name `Osiris' is the Latinized form of the Egyptian Usir which is interpreted as 'powerful' or 'mighty'.)

(Image: Osiris by LarsRune on DeviantArt/Pinterest)

 The god was also pictured in gilded decorations on the cartonnage - a material made of layers of plaster, linen and glue - that was partially encasing one of the mummies, lead archaeologist Kathleen Martinez of the University of Santo Domingo was cited by the antiquities ministry as saying.

 The gilded decorations on the cartonnage around a second mummy's head depicted a crown, horns and a cobra snake, she added. On the chest, the decorations depicted a necklace from which hung the head of a falcon - the symbol of the god Horus.

 The remains of a cartonnage that encased a female mummy found in the tombs at Alexandria's Taposiris Magna temple

  Khaled Abo El Hamd, director general of the antiquities authority in Alexandria, said the archaeological mission at Taposiris Magna had also discovered the funeral mask of a woman, eight golden flakes of a golden wreath, and eight marble masks dating back to the Greek and Roman eras.

 The antiquities ministry said a number of coins bearing the name and portrait of Queen Cleopatra VII had previously been found inside the temple.

 Cleopatra VII was the last queen of the Greek-speaking Ptolemaic dynasty, ruling Egypt from 51-30 BC. After her death, Egypt fell under Roman domination.

Tyler has Bone Spurs in his Neck !- What it is, How we are Treating it

 In the past week, our 10 year old Dachshund Tyler has had 2 sets of X-rays to try and figure out why he can't go up and down stairs anymore without pain. We learned that he has bone spurs in his neck!  I never heard of bone spurs affecting a dog, so this is all new to me. In today's blog, you'll read what I learned, how they form, and how to treat it... 

HOW DO BONE SPURS FORM?  Bone spurs are usually caused by local inflammation, such as from degenerative arthritis (osteoarthritis) or tendinitis. This inflammation stimulates the cells that form bone to deposit bone in this area, eventually leading to a bony prominence or spur.

HOW TO MANAGE IT? Most patients with mild or moderate nerve compression and irritation from bone spurs can manage their symptoms effectively without surgery. The goal of nonsurgical treatment is to stop the cycle of inflammation and pain.

(Image: human neck showing a bone spur- looks the same in canines) 

METHODS TO TREAT IT - 

• 1) NSAIDS to reduce swelling, relieve pain and relax muscles for four to six weeks.
• 2) Physical therapy and manipulation of joints to restore flexibility and strength, improve posture and reducing the pressure on the nerves.
• 3) Rest.

(Image right: Tyler's neck x-ray revealed the bone spurs)

WHAT WE ARE DOING -

1)  Tyler is taking Gabapentin to reduce the swelling. This is a short term thing.

2)  We are carrying Tyler up and down stairs now, because ascending and descending stairs only irritate the bone spur against the neck muscles.

3)  Acupuncture - Tyler received his first acupuncture treatment this week to alleviate the pressure it was causing. 

      - Since surgery isn't often recommended, we're not considering it yet (after all, Tyler is 10 years old), but if it gets worse, it may be an option. 

Mistaking Vegetables for Body Parts

 It sounds like a joke, but something that was mistaken to be a human foot buried in the mud in England, turned out to be a potato. Of course if you shop for produce, you can also mistake some odd looking carrots and other vegetables for body parts. :)  At the end of the article I've added a LINK to a story of vegetables that resemble various parts of human anatomy.    

Here's the story from the BBC News:

Human foot' in Gateshead field turns out to be potato

BBC NEWS Jan. 8, 2021

A suspected human foot buried in a muddy field turned out to be a potato after a "large-scale" police search.

A dog walker in Gateshead sent officers a photograph of what appeared to be a toe poking out of the soil.

But after carrying out the search in the dark with specialist dogs, officers discovered it was a potato with a mushroom growing next to it. Police praised the woman for her "vigilance" and said the call had been made in "good faith". 

(Photo: This carrot resembles a wacky-shaped human foot)

Northumbria Police said the photograph, sent on Tuesday when the woman had returned home from her walk in the Winlaton area, "did show what appeared to be a human foot".

Insp Phil Hamlani said: "The person who called this in was very concerned and in the picture she sent to us the object did look like it could be human remains."It was already dark by the time we got a call and so we had to deploy search teams to track down the scene to rule out any foul play.

"The search team did have a chuckle when they realised it was a potato, but the call was made in good faith and we can only praise the vigilance of the woman who made the call." He urged anyone who finds themselves in a similar situation to call police, adding: "If it does turn out to be a vegetable, our police dogs will thank you for the treat." 

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ARTICLE: Vegetables that resemble Human Anatomy: https://healthykingsport.org/foods-that-look-like-like-body-organs/ 

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