| A hole in the heart
Touching stories of babies and toddlers with congenital heart defects appear in our newspapers on a regular basis. These conditions can usually be treated successfully with surgery, writes TEE SHIAO EEK. THE man leaning against the wall outside the operating theatre had his arms tightly folded across his chest as he stared into space. Berdebar-debar (heart pounding) was how Zainuddin Daud described his emotional state, having waited three hours while his 18-month-old son underwent surgery to repair a hole in his heart. Inside, little Faiz Imran Zainuddin lay unconscious on the operating table, his chest cavity held open by clamps while the surgeons and nurses hovered above him. In the waiting room, Faizs mother prayed for his safety. .
Tay-Sachs: Genetic disease affecting more babies not thought to be ...
FAIRFIELD, Pa. -- When Lisa and Rick Wivell's second child, Lacie, was born, she was a healthy 6 pounds, 13 ounces -- or so they thought. Her first six months of life were similar to most babies, except for an eye that seemed a bit lazy and her head, which she seemed to keep cocked to the side. The Wivells mentioned their concerns at Lacie's 6-month appointment, which started a landslide in their life they could never have imagined. After being referred to a pediatric ophthalmologist, the Wivells got news they never dreamed they would hear. Their daughter had Tay-Sachs disease and would be lucky to live until she was 5. "I didn't believe it for a month," Mrs. Wivell said. "In my mind it was a fluke. I kept putting guards up. I didn't want anybody to know. I could not get to the level that my daughter was going to die." Tay-Sachs, a fatal inherited disease of the central nervous system, occurs most frequently in descendants of Central and Eastern European Jews.
9/11's Grim Toll on Health Continues
MONDAY, Sept. 11 (HealthDay News) -- Five years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, many of those at or near the World Trade Center site carry grim reminders of that day in their minds, hearts and even their lungs. Thousands of workers who toiled for months on the smoldering pile that was Ground Zero continue to complain of respiratory illness, including a chronic, soot-laden hacking known as "World Trade Center Cough." At the same time, researchers are keeping tabs on the development of hundreds of children, born early and underweight, to women living in Lower Manhattan. And psychologists worry that the anniversary day itself could reawaken mental woes for those once traumatized by the devastation. In short, the health problems that have emerged over the last five years will become a lasting legacy of 9/11, and one that will continue to grow, experts say.
|
