"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
"Friends are born, not made."
"Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joys, and dividing our grief."
"You can have anything you want--if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose."
"There is no such thing as can't, only won't. If you're qualified, all it takes is a burning desire to accomplish, to make a change. Go forward, go backward. Whatever it takes! But you can't blame other people or society in general. It all comes from your mind. When we do the impossible we realize we are special people."
"Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress."
Wednesday 14 May 2008
Tuesday 13 May 2008
Teen hopes treatment will help disease (RSD)
The shelves on the wall of 17-year-old Melissa McCormick's bedroom boast dozens of trophies, ribbons, and medals a testament to her athletic ability.
But Melissa, who was once on her way to an athletic scholarship, is now confined to a wheelchair. The Deptford Township resident was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) late last year.
RSD is a progressive disease of the autonomic nervous system that causes severe pain, described as a "burning pain," swelling, discoloration of the skin, and other symptoms.
For Melissa, it started last November with a pain in her arm, and then spread to her leg.
After Melissa was finally diagnosed doctors were initially stumped as to what was wrong she was put on pain medication and started a physical therapy regime. But things only got worse.
"It got to the point where I couldn't walk at all," Melissa said.
Meanwhile, the Gloucester Catholic High School student was still going to school, determined to finish out her senior year.
"I just wanted to have fun with everyone else," she said.
Then in April, the pain became so intense that she had to stop going to school.
"The pain was unbearable," she said. "I couldn't do it."
Now Melissa is preparing for a treatment conducted by Dr. Philip Getson, a family physician based in Medford who specializes in the treatment of RSD.
Getson, who said he sees about eight to 10 RSD patients a day, uses Ketamine, an anesthetic, to treat the portion of the brain that appears to be malfunctioning.
Typically, patients are treated with the Ketamine 10 consecutive days for five hours each day. Then the treatment is reduced over a period of time.
The McCormick family believes this is the treatment that will work for Melissa.
"I'm worried, but I'm to the point where I don't care I just want to walk," Melissa said.
And, according to Getson, there's a good chance it will.
"Eighty-five percent of the people that I have treated since 2004 with Ketamine have improved," he said. "There are varying degrees of improvement, but improved."
Melissa's father, Mike McCormick, expects "to go to battle" to get his health insurance to cover the treatment, which he said can cost about $1,400 per day.
To help the McCormicks pay for the treatment and Melissa's numerous medical bills, Melissa's friend of six years, Dan Glassman, has started a fund-raising campaign called "Putting out the Flame." For more information, visit www.freewebs.com/melmccormick/.
But Melissa, who was once on her way to an athletic scholarship, is now confined to a wheelchair. The Deptford Township resident was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) late last year.
RSD is a progressive disease of the autonomic nervous system that causes severe pain, described as a "burning pain," swelling, discoloration of the skin, and other symptoms.
For Melissa, it started last November with a pain in her arm, and then spread to her leg.
After Melissa was finally diagnosed doctors were initially stumped as to what was wrong she was put on pain medication and started a physical therapy regime. But things only got worse.
"It got to the point where I couldn't walk at all," Melissa said.
Meanwhile, the Gloucester Catholic High School student was still going to school, determined to finish out her senior year.
"I just wanted to have fun with everyone else," she said.
Then in April, the pain became so intense that she had to stop going to school.
"The pain was unbearable," she said. "I couldn't do it."
Now Melissa is preparing for a treatment conducted by Dr. Philip Getson, a family physician based in Medford who specializes in the treatment of RSD.
Getson, who said he sees about eight to 10 RSD patients a day, uses Ketamine, an anesthetic, to treat the portion of the brain that appears to be malfunctioning.
Typically, patients are treated with the Ketamine 10 consecutive days for five hours each day. Then the treatment is reduced over a period of time.
The McCormick family believes this is the treatment that will work for Melissa.
"I'm worried, but I'm to the point where I don't care I just want to walk," Melissa said.
And, according to Getson, there's a good chance it will.
"Eighty-five percent of the people that I have treated since 2004 with Ketamine have improved," he said. "There are varying degrees of improvement, but improved."
Melissa's father, Mike McCormick, expects "to go to battle" to get his health insurance to cover the treatment, which he said can cost about $1,400 per day.
To help the McCormicks pay for the treatment and Melissa's numerous medical bills, Melissa's friend of six years, Dan Glassman, has started a fund-raising campaign called "Putting out the Flame." For more information, visit www.freewebs.com/melmccormick/.
Thursday 1 May 2008
Things I try to remember...
A true friend is someone who reaches for your hand and touches your heart
Most of today's worries are like puddles: tomorrow they will have evaporated
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life and your relationships.
Be grateful for all the people who show up in your life
Shoot for the moon; even if you miss you'll land among the stars
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless
Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Stick to it
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile but you have to sigh. When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
I hope you all enjoy it - the first one really got me thinking.
Alison
Most of today's worries are like puddles: tomorrow they will have evaporated
Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life and your relationships.
Be grateful for all the people who show up in your life
Shoot for the moon; even if you miss you'll land among the stars
You cannot prevent the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair
Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless
Many people die with their music still in them. Why is this so? Too often it is because they are always getting ready to live. Before they know it, time runs out Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. Stick to it
When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high, And you want to smile but you have to sigh. When care is pressing you down a bit, Rest if you must, but don't you quit.
Life is queer with its twists and turns, As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about, When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow, You may succeed with another blow.
Often the goal is nearer than It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up, When he might have captured the victor's cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down, How close he was to the golden crown.
Success is failure turned inside out, The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are, It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit, It's when things seem worst that you mustn't quit.
I hope you all enjoy it - the first one really got me thinking.
Alison
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