Blog 15

Select an inspirational woman to blog about. For example, Eunice Kennedy Shriver - the founder of Special Olympics. Provide info such as the woman's name, title of business/non-profit, notable bits of biography, any background info given why she created her charitable focus, and reasons (preferably related to health/wellness) why you consider her an inspirational woman. Please be sure to list any source/s at the end.

This week I wanted to share about a professional nurse who changed people lives every day. Her name is Bilqus Bano Edhi. She is a humanitarian and a social worker. She was born in 1947 in Karachi, Pakistan. She is also known as the Mother of Pakistan (Abdulla, F. n.d.). She is married to a very famous philanthropist of Pakistan Abdul Sattar Edhi. Together the couple has four children who are involved with the Edhi Foundation and the management of the Edhi village, the fleet of ambulances, the mental home, the schools and the offices in Pakistan and London. Edhi Foundation which was started by Abdual Sattar Edhi with the mission to provide aid to Pakistan's poor and down-trodden has become Pakistan's major relief organization under the leadership of the husband and wife.  They have received numerous rewards for their services, in 1986 they were awarded a Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service (Abdulla, F. n.d.). Edhi Foundation has adopted the destitute in Pakistan and they are filling the gap left by the government failure on this front. Edhi Foundation operates the world’s largest volunteer ambulance service and the staff is running a missing-persons hot line they are providing more than a dozen homes for orphans, the homeless, battered women, the mentally ill and drug addicts. They also has set up literacy-training courses for all ages, free medical clinics and a soup kitchen that serves 1,000 free meals a day.

Bilquis was a young teenager when she joined Edhi nurses training center. It was a six month training program where disciplines such as midwifery and basic healthcare were taught to women who joined the program. Her enthusiasm, response and interest during her training made her stand out from among her colleagues. Abdul Sttar Edhi took notice of her at an early stage and put her in-charge of the nursing department. Later, Edhi sahib proposed to her for marriage and the two were married in April 1966. Their honeymoon was unusual in that the newlyweds discovered a young girl with head injuries at their dispensary just after their wedding ceremony, they decided to help the girl instead of going on to their honeymoon. Besides lending tremendous support to her husband, Bilquis Edhi has also brought with her added value in terms of her ability of identifying new areas of public welfare thus adding to the number of services offered at the Edhi Foundation.

Before Abdul Edhi meet Bilquis he had a small expanding dispensary in Karachi but afterwards Bilquis Edhi took the charge and expended her helping hands throughout the country.  Now, they have 250 Edhi centers throughout the country (Edhi Foundation. n.d.).

Abdulla, F. (n.d.). Women of Pakistan - Bilquis Edhi. Jazbah Magazine - Profiles and Interviews. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://www.jazbah.org/bilquis.php

Edhi Foundation. (n.d.). Edhi Foundation. Retrieved December 6, 2010, from http://www.edhifoundation.com

Blog # 14

What can a woman do to reduce her risk of assault?

There is no way a person can completely protect themselves from assault but there are many ways that can be done to reduce the risk of being assaulted. There have been more than 200,000 reported victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault in the United States a year in which, nine out of ten victims of rape were females (Alexander, L. 2009).  Many victims of rape are children and adolescence in which, 44% are younger than 18 and about 15% are younger than 12 (Alexander, L. 2009).

There are few steps that can be taken to reduce the risk of becoming rape victim. At home make sure all the doors and windows are locked. Don’t let any stranger in the home when you are alone they can be neighbor or a salesperson. Never give an impression that you are alone at home.  Get to know the neighbors. While you are on the street be alert to your surroundings and people around you. Walk confidently and in well-lit areas. Don’t walk alone at night and be careful when people stop you for direction. While driving park in will-lit areas, and when you return to your car check your car before you getting in. While dating with stranger consider first date in a group setting.  It’s always best to inform your family or friends where you are going. There are little step that can be taken to reduce the risk of assault.  Police believe that in the stranger-rape situation, rapists tend to prey on women who look frightened, easily intimidated, or seem to be daydreaming. As with any violent crime there’s nothing that you can do that will grantee that you will not be a victim of sexual violence. By taking these steps it can help reduce your risk of being sexually assaulted.

References:

Alexander, L. (2009). Other Chornic Diseases and Condition. New Dimensions in Women's Health (5 ed., pp. 310-322). Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Blog 13 - Meth Users 911 Call Video.

Meth users 911 call video came as a shock to me. I knew that meth is a drug and it can cause brain damage but I had no idea that it causes hallucination. In the video there was couple in Omaha, Nebraska Michele and Janelle who were stuck in the snow storm and called 911 they were not able to identify their location because they were so high on meth. They were hallucinating, they saw goats and cattle and they thought they were African American and Mexican people. Police were not able to find them and they end up being frozen to death. Police found their body after five days.

I am sure Michele and Janelle parents and family are devastated. I feel so sorry for their parents because they didn’t even know that Michele and Janelle were taking drugs. Meth or methamphetamine is an addictive stimulant drug that strongly activates certain systems in the brain. Methamphetamine abuse can lead to neurotoxicity and prolonged psychiatric disorders, cognitive impairment, as well as increasing the risk of developing Parkinson's disease. Repeated methamphetamine abuse can lead to high levels of chemical in the brain which significantly changes the brain function. It is a white, odorless, bitter-tasting powder taken orally or by snorting or injecting, or a rock "crystal" that is heated and smoked (Methamphetamine. n.d.). I just hope that everyone can understand harmful effect of drugs and know that their life is too precious to waste it on drugs.

Methamphetamine. (n.d.). National Institute of Health. Retrieved November 23, 2010, from www.nida.nih.gov/drugpages/methamphetamine.html

Blog 12 - Mental Illness

           Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Mental illnesses can affect persons of any age, race, religion, or income. Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Mental illnesses are serious medical illnesses. They cannot be overcome through "will power" and are not related to a person's "character" or intelligence. Mental illness falls along a continuum of severity. Even though mental illness is widespread in the population, the main burden of illness is concentrated in a much smaller proportion-about 6 percent, or 1 in 17 Americans-who live with a serious mental illness. The National Institute of Mental Health reports that One in four adults-approximately 57.7 million Americans-experience a mental health disorder in a given year (About Mental Illness., n.d).

Schizophrenia is thought to affect about 1% of people worldwide. I personally know a woman who is suffering from schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is a mental disorder that makes it difficult to tell the difference between real and unreal experiences, to think logically, to have normal emotional responses, and to behave normally in social situations (About Mental Illness., n.d). Romana a grandmother is very close family friend. She has two sons.  I was very young when I found out Romana is suffering from schizophrenia. She is suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. Cause of her schizophrenia is genetics. Her mother suffered from a same illness and now one of her son is also suffering.  She was diagnosed with schizophrenia in her early 30’s. She doesn’t remember any of us except her son and daughter-in-law (who she hates a lot and express her emotions openly), she doesn’t remember anything current, she likes to talk about her past and she likes to know if you were her neighbor or relative. Her family told us that she hallucinates and gets angry most of the time. She remembers her young life to every detail and likes to share her stories. She is taking medications which sometimes improve her symptoms. She is living with her other son who is taking care of her and his brother. I think due to her family help and support she was able to live a better life. Following image shows some of the symptoms of schizophrenia.  (http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199561988/resources/illustrations/ch09/)

Reference:

About Mental Illness. (n.d.). NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness. Retrieved November 16, 2010, from http://www.nami.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Inform_Yourself/About_Mental_Illness/About_Mental_Illness.htm

Blog 11 - Women and Chronic Disease/Illness

Interview someone who is living with a chronic illness. What are their living experiences? What are they doing to try to maintain their health despite the disease? You may use a pseudo name to protect their identity.

A chronic disease is a disease that is long lasting, it cannot be prevented by vaccine or cured by medication, nor does it disappear. Many chronic diseases affect more women than men. Women living with chronic disease need to understand, prevent and manage her condition to live a satisfactory life. My mother is living with a chronic disease known as Diabetes. Diabetes affects 24 million people in the United States and women make up almost half of this total (Alexander, L. 2009). My mother has Type 2 Diabetes where body develops resistance to insulin. Cause of diabetes is heredity, obesity, or a history of eating an overabundance of carbohydrate-heavy foods. My mom told me that all her life she maintained her weight. She was never overweight even after having two children she never gained any weight. But, after she had my youngest brother who is 16 now she was not able to lose the weight. She had him by C-Section and about year after that surgery they found out she had Uterine Fibroids. She had a surgery to remove the fibroids and it weight almost 4 pounds. It took her long time to recover from that. Since, she knew that her chance of getting this chronic illness is pretty high because both her parents had diabetes, she always maintained herself very well. Now she is doing whatever she can to slow the progression of diabetes. Her doctor told her that if she maintains the low carbohydrate diet and exercise more she can reduce or eliminate the use of medication. After she found out she had diabetes she was devastated because she saw her parents live with this illness. At first, it was hard for her to do regular blood-glucose checkup and take medications everyday but, now she is use to it. She is carefully watching her diet and exercising regularly. She has to test her blood glucose level 3-4times a day. She has to eat a portion size meal or snack every 2-3 hours. If for some reason she skips one meal her blood glucose levels goes down which causes her to be very hungry. She had to make few changes in her diet but those changes were for her healthier life. She is living with diabetes and that’s the fact that cannot be changed but instead to stressing herself about it she is incorporating it with her daily life.

References:

Alexander, L. (2009). Other Chornic Diseases and Condition. New Dimensions in Women's Health (5 ed., pp. 310-322). Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Blog 10- Heart Disease

Women should take special care of their health in every stage of their lives. Maintaining a healthy life style is a key factor, it can decrease the risk of many diseases. Women should include healthy diet and exercise as a daily routine. Having a healthy weight, good nutrition and avoiding sedentary lifestyle reduces risk of diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and many more chronic diseases. A cardiovascular disease (heart attack, stroke) is the leading cause of death for women. Overall, more women compare to men died from cardiovascular diseases. In 2005, 329,250 women died compare to 322,841 men died due to heart disease (Alexander, L. 2009).

In women heart disease or symptoms of heart diseases become present later in life compared to men. Men can start showing symptoms at an earlier age. One of the major reasons most women shows symptoms of heart disease later in life is due to loss of estrogen. Estrogen has been shown to have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system (Alexander, L. 2009). More women die from heart disease than men, heart disease and stroke are the first and third leading cause of death for women.

Both men and women may experience symptoms such as; pain or discomfort in the chest region or, pain or discomfort in the upper torso, or shortness of breath or cold sweat, nausea, or dizziness. Compare to men, women are more prone to symptoms such as shortness of breath, nausea/vomiting, and back or jaw pain. In some cases women are not even aware they are having heart attack. In men plaque distributes in clumps whereas in women it distributes more evenly throughout artery walls. In result, more even distribution of plaque results in women's angiographic studies being misinterpreted as “normal” (Women and Heart Disease facts, n.d.). Women wait longer than men to go to an emergency room when having a heart attack and physicians are slower to recognize the presence of heart attacks in women because characteristic patterns of chest pain and EKG changes are less frequently present.

Heart disease can be prevented if women choose to live a healthy lifestyle. There are several lifestyle changes that can reduce risk of heart disease; exercise 30 to 60 minutes a day on most days of the week, maintaining a healthy weight, quitting or don't start smoking and, eating a diet that is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and salt.

References:

Alexander, L. (2009). Other Chornic Diseases and Condition. New Dimensions in Women's Health (5 ed., pp. 280-281). Boston: Jones & Bartlett Publishers.

Women and Heart Disease facts. (n.d.). Women's Heart Foundation. Retrieved November 2, 2010, from http://www.womensheart.org/content/HeartDisease/heart_disease_facts.asp



Blog # 9

What are the biggest challenges to regular exercise and a healthy diet that you face?  How are these challenges going to change for you over the next five years?

My biggest challenge with regular exercise is time. I have been evaluating myself weekly and the only exercise I have done is walking for half an hour and only three times a week. I need to take some time out from my day and just do exercise. My four month old baby boy keeps me very busy. Little time that I have I do homework or cook and clean. Before I had my son I was just busy with job and school. About a year ago I bought gym membership and I went to work out every day.  The reason I went everyday was because I was paying for it but, after few weeks instead of becoming a routine it was a burden. I found it difficult to take time out to go to gym. I took the health self- assessment for this class and it too suggested that I need to do regular exercise for my better health. Healthy diet is not so much of a challenge for me because I cook at home and I try to make healthy food. Sometimes we crave “outside” food and that day it gets harder to maintain a balance diet. If I continue my habit of not exercising and giving in to my cravings I will never achieve my weight goal. I have a family history of diabetes and if continue to being overweight I might get this chronic disease. I need to motivate myself to lose the weight and eat healthy every day.  I need to set a weight goal and off course a time limit so I can achieve that goal within time.