Here’s what salon.com said about this short piece of street theatre: “It managed to punch right through my cynicism and show me that good things are still out there, and there are good people in the world. In a small way, I have a deeper understanding of what it is to be human because of the actions of 200 fellow humans in a train station in Belgium.”
Well, since February is Heart Month, I was pretty darned chuffed to read that my own westernmost province of British Columbia has placed first overall in the Heart and Stroke Foundation’s annual Canadian report card this year. We were also first in the Smoke Free and Healthy Weight categories. We took second place in Physical Activity just behind those rugged fitness freaks of the Yukon, and we tied for second with Alberta in the Fruit & Veggie Consumption category (the Quebecois ranked first here, despite that poutine et tarte au sucre stereotype!)
And who fared worse? Alas, the 30,000+ citizens of Nunavut, Canada’s largest territory high in the Arctic, were 13th overall out of 13 combined health behaviours, including 13th in Smoke-Free, Physical Activity and Fruits & Veggies. This is a very serious concern for health care professionals, and here’s why:
The Heart and Stroke Foundation warns that this report card is a “perfect storm” of heart disease looming on our horizon, not only for Nunavut but for all Canadians.
“In a very short time, the face of heart disease in Canada has changed to include groups that have historically been immune to the threats of heart disease,” says Dr. Beth Abramson, cardiologist and spokesperson for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. “But the combination of new groups at-risk of heart disease and the explosion of unhealthy habits across Canada have accelerated the impact of these threats which are now converging and erasing the progress we’ve made in treating heart disease over the last 50 years.” Continue reading “How does your province rank among heart-healthy Canadians?”
“We were forced to buy a saw in the market to continue amputations. We don’t have any more morphine to manage pain for our patients. It is like working in a war situation.” Dr. Rosa Crestani, MSF medical coordinator for Choscal Hospital, Port-au-Prince
Médecins Sans Frontières (also known as Doctors Without Borders) is the world’s leading independent international medical relief organization. MSF is now recruiting medical professionals for their stand-by roster of international volunteers for future deployment.
Médecins Sans Frontières was established in 1971 by a small group of French doctors who had worked in Biafra. When they returned home, they were determined to find a way to provide rapid and effective medical help for those caught in armed conflicts, disease epidemics, famine, and natural disasters – all with complete independence from political, economic and religious influences.
Before you apply to work in the field as a paid intern, a volunteer or a full-time employee of MSF, complete this MSF Self-Assessment Checklist to determine if international disaster response work is right for you.
Read this article from the Public Library of Science Medicine about MSF’s work in Haiti.
Finally, please consider making a generous donation today to help this amazing Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization in its vital work.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
NEWS UPDATE: February 9, 2010: MSF Now Plans For Management of Communicable Diseases in Haiti.
NEWS UPDATE: February 27, 2010 – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) medical teams have already arrived in Chile following the catastrophic earthquake that struck the country this past weekend. Find out more.
NEWS UPDATE: August 13, 2010 – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) is bringing in 200,000 litres of clean water every day to Pakistan‘s Swat Valley following massive flooding this month that has disrupted power to water treatment plants, meaning no access to safe, clean drinking water and increased dangers of waterborne disease to flood victims. “We have identified a water spring and in agreement with the local community, we are able to extract, filter, chlorinate and distribute the water,” said Azzura Dinca who is in charge of water and sanitation for MSF in Swat. Find out more.
NEWS UPDATE: May 10, 2011 – Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) continues its work in northern Japan following the devastating earthquake and tsunami two months ago. As the local medical infrastructure stabilizes, MSF is shifting the focus of its intervention towards providing psychological assistance to particularly vulnerable survivors of the disaster, including elderly evacuees, single parents, and those with physical disabilities and chronic diseases. Find out more.
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters
After my heart attack, I appreciated kind-hearted friends and family who said: “Just call me if there’s anything at all that I can do for you!”
But I knew in my heart of hearts that I was not going to call them to ask:
“Can you come over and change the kitty litter?”
That was just never going to happen. Continue reading “Ten helpful things to say to a sick friend”
Heart Sisters 