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Brave fight of a girl with half a brain
Just like lots of children her age, little Keeley Green is a bright and mischievous, loves music and playing tricks but she is not like other kids. She has only half a brain.
Keeley, 5, was forced to have surgery to remove the left side of her brain when she was only 16 months old, the victim of a rare neurological condition that was causing uncontrollable seizures.
But her parents, Amanda and Daniel Green, of Bundaberg, have seen their baby emerge from those dark days when her life hung in the balance to become a little girl who is winning small battles in her quest for a normal life.
So remarkable has been her recovery that her parents are starting to dream of what the future might hold.
The Greens are the first to admit that they had no idea someone could even live through having half their brain removed, let alone that they would have to face up to the prospect of it happening to their beautiful baby daughter.
Mrs Green said she had thought Keeley was having seizures in utero, even before she was born on March 20, 2003.
At just two weeks of age, tests revealed Keeley had a rare neurological condition called hemimegalencephaly which was causing the left hemisphere of her brain to grossly malform and overgrow.
She was having hundreds of seizures a day, many of them stopping her breathing. The condition eventually became untreatable, even with massive doses of medication.
The Greens were given no option but to see if Keeley was a candidate to have the whole troublesome left side of her brain completely removed.
At 16 months, she was wheeled into surgery at Sydney's Royal Children's Hospital for the radical procedure, emerging still alive after 17 hours but paralysed down her right-hand side.
While the operation also took away much of her motor and speech skills as well as the vision in her right eye and ability to eat normally, Keeley has amazed doctors and her parents by learning to communicate with her own version of sign language, saying some small words and moving laminated letters and pictures.
"She understands everything that is said to her and loves to play tricks on people," Mrs Green said. Just like lots of children her age, little Keeley Green is a bright and mischievous, loves music and playing tricks but she is not lik... more -
Medically Unfit Tractor-Trailer, Bus Drivers Still on Roads
Hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer and bus drivers in the United States carry commercial driver's licenses despite also qualifying for full federal disability payments, and some of those drivers have suffered seizures, heart attacks or unconscious spells, according to a new U.S. safety study obtained by The Associated Press. Hundreds of thousands of tractor-trailer and bus drivers in the United States carry commercial driver's licenses despite also qua... more
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Group backs medical pot
LaVonne Victor is not a criminal, but sometimes she feels like one.
"Why?" she asked emphatically. "Why should we be made to feel like lawbreakers when we're only taking what our doctors prescribed?"
Victor, a Temecula resident, is talking about medical marijuana. It's a volatile subject, and the ongoing debate over its use is a source of great concern for people like her. A new support group in Riverside is offering help.
Victor suffers from multiple sclerosis, seizures and agoraphobia. She's taken many traditional medications with little results and life-altering side effects including depression, mood swings and exhaustion.
About nine years ago her husband attended Hempfest, an event promoting the positive aspects of cannabis, more commonly known as marijuana.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, marijuana is a dry, shredded green and brown mix of flowers, stems, seeds and leaves derived from the hemp plant cannabis sativa. The main active chemical in marijuana is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, THC for short. THC acts on specific sites in the brain, called cannabinoid receptors, kicking off a series of cellular reactions that ultimately lead to the high users experience. Cannabis can be smoked, cooked into foods and ingested from a vapor.
After talking to several doctors, Victor's husband thought the infamous plant might help her. She obtained a legal prescription and started taking the cannabis. Her health improved, and she showed no side effects.
There are thousands of stories like Victor's, where cannabis has succeeded in relieving excruciating pain when traditional medications have failed. LaVonne Victor is not a criminal, but sometimes she feels like one. ... more -
Busted! Biggest Cannabis Seizures the world has seen
Cannabis, weed, blow, whatever you want to call it!
Here is a selection of cannabis pictures being seized from homes, factories and fields around the world. Cannabis, weed, blow, whatever you want to call it! ... more -
Ted Kennedy hospitalized after suffering seizures
Doctors believe that Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts suffered a seizure at his home in Hyannis Port this morning, then a second seizure as he was being transported by helicopter from Cape Cod Hospital to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, according to an official briefed on the situation.
Kennedy's condition was unclear early this afternoon, as a special police security detail gathered at Mass. General. Kennedy family members were called this morning and told to rush to Boston, according to sources.
More at link. Doctors believe that Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts suffered a seizure at his home in Hyannis Port this morning, then a se... more -
Gnarls Barkley's "Run" banned from US TV
"The video for Gnarls Barkley's new single, "Run," may feature a cameo from Justin Timberlake, but it's still not quite ready to air on MTV.
That's because of its strobe effects, which caused the clip to fail the Harding Test -- guidelines established to prevent TV images from triggering epileptic seizures."
Full story here: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080305/en_nm/gnarls_dc_1 "The video for Gnarls Barkley's new single, "Run," may feature a cameo from Justin Timberlake, but it's still... more -
Seizure Acting Masterclass
"Let's all take turns to say our lines."
"Yes, I am well educated and well spoken"
"I too, am in full posession of all of the facts."
"Thanks heavens for keeping a cool head." "Let's all take turns to say our lines." "Yes, I am well educated and well spoken" ... more
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