Archive for March, 2014

When her friends found out she had cancer, they did something wonderful

Friday, March 28th, 2014

New Delhi: It is said, true friendship multiplies the good in life and divides its evils. Gerdi McKenna’s friends stand testimony to this. In February 2014, one of her friends wrote an e-mail to all her friends requesting a photoshoot for Gerdi who was diagnosed with breast cancer a few months before. You are already going ‘aww’, right? But wait, this was no ordinary photoshoot.

The soul-stirring video ‘Anything for love …’ captures every beautiful moment of this photoshoot, which looks nothing short of a convivial champagne brunch. Laughs, hugs, pink t-shirts and ribbons – hardly what you’d expect at a photoshoot for a friend diagnosed with cancer.

“Okay girls, show time,” announces a man. You expect the photoshoot to start but there’s something else lined up before that, and this is what makes these friends the world’s best set of best friends.

“I am very nervous but I know this is the right thing to do. I am giving up my pride for a friend who is going through much more,” says a friend.

This heart-warming video is sure to make you weep.

Watch:

Article from: NDTV

Bringing Smiles through Colors

Friday, March 14th, 2014

Do you believe in miracles?

A heartwarming insight into how hundreds of strangers come together to celebrate the life of a ‘miracle patient’—a story of how an ordinary fever turned out to be a case of terminal liver failure; a team of doctors and a state-of-the-art transplant centre at Kokilaben Hospital battling against all the odds, giving yet another chance to a girl just in her teens to paint her life in the colours of her dreams…on the day when the entire country celebrates Holi, the festival of colours.

One organ donor can save up to 8 lives.
To know more about Organ Donation, Visit: https://www.kokilabenhospital.com/departments/centresofexcellence/centrefor_transplant/organdonation.html

A Vigilant Outlook

Monday, March 3rd, 2014

Regular physical examination of your child by a paediatrician is crucial as it can help in the prevention or early diagnosis of many health problems. Here’s an overview on some of the warning signs in children, which if not taken care on time could be a matter of great concern.

Seeing Eye To Eye

Vision problems are common among school-age kids. Your child’s vision is essential for his/her success at school. If the vision suffers, so will the schoolwork and overall performance in academics. Therefore, parents and teachers should be aware of the common signs of the possible vision concerns.

Warning Signs

  • Complains of blurred or double vision
  • Bumps into objects
  • Red eyes or watery eyes
  • Encrusted eyelids
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Rubs eye frequently
  • Headaches or tired eyes
  • Squints or tilts the head to see better
  • Consistently sits too close to the TV or holds a book too close to the eyes
  • Gets lower grades than usual
What Should You Do?

Schedule an appointment with your optometrist or ophthalmologist if your child exhibits any of these signs. A consultation with your doctor may reveal that your child has refractive errors that can be easily corrected with eyeglasses or contact lenses.

Report

According to the American Optometric Association, children should have an eye exam no later than 6 months of age. Unless problems are detected, the next exam should be at age three, then again before entering school, and every two years thereafter. However, if your child requires eyeglasses or contact lenses, it is advisable to schedule visits every 12 months or as advised by the treating doctor.

Fine Tuning The Frequency

Hearing loss is again common in school age children, and this can affect their ability to comprehend and use language. Many children have hearing loss that fluctuates due to recurring ear infections. Other predisposing factors include congenital abnormalities, head trauma and infections like meningitis.

Warning Signs

  • Poor response or no response to any voice at normal speaking level
  • Absence of startle response to loud sounds
  • Difficulty following instructions or requests despite listening attentively
  • Reduced or absent responses to environmental noises like car horns, approaching footsteps, telephone rings, opening or closing of the doors
  • Consistently setting the volume at an unusually high level while watching
  • television or listening to the radio/music
  • Slow language and speech development
What Should You Do?

If you suspect your child has a hearing loss, you should consult your paediatrician, who may refer you to a specialist. Some types of conductive hearing loss can be corrected with surgery or by the removal of impacted ear wax, while the others may require a different treatment approach based on the pathology.

Caution

Listening to very loud music, especially with earphones, can permanently damage your child’s hearing ability.

Understanding Learning Disability

Learning Disability (LD) is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems. Learning disabilities tend to be diagnosed when children reach school age, and can affect children both academically and socially.

Warning Signs

  • Trouble learning the alphabet, spellings, rhyming words or connecting letters to their sounds
  • Unable to understand what he or she reads
  • Very messy handwriting
  • Struggles to express ideas in writing
  • Learns language late with limited vocabulary
  • Difficulty in following directions
  • Gets confused over math symbols and misreads numbers
  • Behaves inappropriately in social situations
What Should You Do?

If a child shows any one of these signs, teachers and parents may want to investigate more. The child might have to be examined and evaluated by a doctor to see if he or she has learning disability.

Be Positive

Parents support to their children can make a huge difference. And the good news is that parents involvement in the educational process, both at school and home, can ensure optimal progress in the academic performance of their children.