The Death Of Cameroon : A Heart Defect That Affect The Normal Flow Of Blood Through The Heart

Livingston gives her readers mini anecdotes which provide an insight to improvised cancer treatment in Botswana. As such, many of the images she works to conjure with her language are shocking such as the description of humanizing a woman who had recently died by cleaning her body. Even the extensive description of necrotic wounds, the way they look and smell sought to shock the reader into comprehending the rise of cancer in Africa. In class students expressed discontent with the passivity of this work which pointed out the horrors of late stage untreated cancer without providing policy to improve treatment within the region. This demonstrates that Livingston effectively used a shocking tone to help illuminate the growing problem of cancer development

In the “Surgeon as Priest,” Richard Selzer dives into the religious and scientific aspects of being a surgeon. He explores and divides the certain aspects of “healing” into five parts, each section demonstrating the different perspectives on healing (spiritually & scientifically) that eventually builds the metaphorical bridge between surgeon and priest. With the use of figurative language and other rhetorical devises, he connects each section of his essay to show his transformation from a scientific healer to a spiritual healer.

Nao Kao and Foua had been conflicted with abiding with the Hmong ways to not seek physician help. Certain parts of Hmong culture, such as taboos against procedures, beliefs of disease origins, and power structures within the family and Hmong clan often conflict with western culture of medicine. But when the Lee’s had not taken one of their children to the hospital, his soul was lost, and he died. Considering this incident and their lack of knowledge of Lia’s condition, the Lee’s had to involuntarily comply to western culture and take Lia to the doctors, as their last line of defense. It is important to note here that as a provider, I must be aware of my own assumptions of care. The doctors’ goal of treatment was to use medication and procedures to find out what caused her seizures and treat it with various medications. Lia’s parents considered her disease a blessing as a chance to become a shaman and a curse that caused great stress over the family. This often resulted in misunderstandings between the physicians and the Lee family as the Lee’s perceptions of Lia’s illness were not in line with the doctors.

Congenital heart disease is a cardiovascular condition resulting from an abnormality in the structure of the heart. The exact time this defect forms is unknown but it is during the fetal development in the womb. Researchers think the defect could be case partially by genetics and medical conditions of the fetus and the parents. If the baby’s mother had rubella, while pregnant or other conditions such as diabetes could have caused the defect. Some medications that were taken by a pregnant mother could also have caused birth defects. An error on chromosome 22 could also have caused the heart defect. Some symptoms that a person may have a congenital heart may not show up until later in life but many children also have the symptoms. Symptoms of a congenital heart defect are abnormal heartbeat, bluish tint to skin, shortness of breath, dizziness or fainting, and swelling of body tissues and organs.

Alvord observed the power of belief could have positive or negative influence in her Navajo patients. One of her patient, Carolyn, had a breast cancer that she believed that was caused of her bad deed. Carolyn was hesitant to have a surgery to remove her cancerous tumor. However, having a medicine man performed a Night Chant ceremony made her feel calmer, as if her body’s harmony was restored, and prepared her mentally for her lumpectomy. Many of her patients dealt with cancer in different ways but a sing performed by a hataalii gave a dimension to their cure that helped those patients cope better with their conditions. Dr. Alvord discovered that patients undergoing chemotherapy reacted well to the presence of a traditional healer at bedside. Thus, help with the healing process (Alvord, 1999, pp. 94-102). She also explained that the feelings of both the patient and the surgeon could affect recovery time, postsurgical complications, and even whether the patient lived or died. Evelyn, was one of Dr. Alvard patient to suffered a stroke complication that might be cause by lack of harmony during her surgery. Dr. Alvord thought that the combination of her anger, the nurse’s inattentive and defensive posture, and Evelyn’s fear had influence the complication to happen. Later, she attempted to create harmonious relationships within my personal life and within the staff at the hospital (Alvord, 1999, pp.

TROPONINS – Markers of choice. Elevated between 4 and 6 hours after the onset of an acute MI and remains elevated for 8-12 days.

R E V I E W S H E E T 30 Anatomy of the Heart

The story of Lia Lee in The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, by Anne Fadiman, explores many struggles people experience when faced with a life-threatening medical conditions. But for Lia and her family, they had added barriers of being immigrants who speak no English, who cannot find jobs, and were exiled from their own country. Ones of the biggest factor against the Lees are Western medical practice versus Easten, and any non-dominate culture, medical practices. “…the accounts of the American health care system that had filtered back to Asia were not exactly enthusiastic. The limited contact the Hmong had already had with Western medicine in the camp hospitals and clinics had done little to instill confidence, especially when compared to the experiences with shamanistic healing…”

The reliance on western medicine was insufficient. The doctors were die-hard subscribers to western medicine who urgently wanted the child in care, while the parents were resistant and preferred their own customary traditions for addressing the situation according to their mystic “diagnosis.” The clashes provide insights into Hmong culture representative of a pattern of beliefs that clash when patients from other countries face hospital trips in western hospitals. The fact is that all less developed cultures, as western medicine would call them, are reliant on their mythologies and ancient rituals stretching back hundreds of years to determine their course of treatment for their children. In fact, the rituals that they adhere to become so difficult to understand because saving the parents in the ancient spiritual cultures is not the same as saving a patient according to western medicine. The Hmongs are clearly philosophical, and even accepting of the fate of their child, as they believe that the child has already been departed from the body. They hope that the situation is only temporary, and are trying to revive the girl, but also seem prepared to face the spiritual truth if they believe the spirit will not leave. Of course, the doctors feel this is voodoo and they just want to save the child's physical life, or correct her condition. The Hmongs seem more yielding on what they believe to be the fate of their child, and focus on the spiritual character of treatment according to her soul, while the doctors are trying to directly intervene with the physical

The diagnostic testing that MCMC professional deemed necessary to assess Lia’s progress was continually challenged throughout her care. Foua Yang and Nao Kao believed most of the procedures were unnecessary and did not understand the importance of the testing. A challenge for healthcare professionals when dealing with disapproved medical procedures and methods in Lia’s situation is the repetitive testing needed to review Lia’s progress. The blood sampling that occurred at every medical visit was viewed as unnecessary and threatening to Foua Yang and Nao Kao because, “Most Hmong believe that the body contains a finite amount of blood that it is unable to replenish, so repeated blood sampling, especially from small children, may be fatal” (Fadima, 33). Medical professionals overlooked a very important aspect of the Hmong culture, which is the soul, and the wisdom of shaman Txiv. Prayer is often used in the United States as a healer and according to the Hmong culture,  “Txiv neebs knew that to treat the body without treating the soul was an act of patent folly” (Fadima,

Battling disease and personal connection, the life of a soon to be doctor can come with many opportunities, as well as regretful decisions. The Lassa Ward, a memoir told by Ross I. Donaldson, tells the true story of a medical student who embarks on a journey to Western Africa to face one of the most fatal diseases in the world. Published by St. Martin's Press, in 2009, in the city of New York, this story takes place in the early 2000s across many villages and refugee camps in Sierra Leone. The struggle of disease, differing cultural beliefs, and heartbreak due to a loss from death are the main topics of the book, although Donaldson does not fail to intertwine the issue revolving around the Rebel United Front in Liberia. In this moving book,

For the third month, Haiti’s healthcare workers are on strike and not tending to patients at their hospitals. These days at the hospital, the only people who will see the patients, are the kind who are only capable of healing them spiritually – preachers. Patients like motorcycle accident victim, Leonel Windi, wander around the hospital on crutches looking for a medical professional to help when he should be resting his crushed leg. Windi’s fellow patient, Guinel is in an even grimmer situation. He was involved in a traffic accident and now his toes are turning black, a sign that it will need to be amputated soon if he does not receive treatment. Yet, his case isn’t even the worst that could happen. According to Guinel, people have died in

The bandaged man in the hospital epitomizes the cruel and undignified treatment of soldiers in the military. First of all the character is unrecognizable due to his condition and is not identified with a name, showing the military’s lack empathy towards their soldiers, seeming them as units rather than individuals. Secondly, nurses and other medical officials treat him poorly, dumping his own waste back into his body.

Page 70 includes a medical prescription that was also written in a different hand style. On the last twenty-four pages, eighteen of them discuss medicine and plant lore (pages 215–227, 229-230, and 236-237 specifically). Three pages include fragmentary incantations (pages 231, 233 and 235), and three pages were left blank (pages 228, 232 and 234).

This case in particular is a clash between two cultures; the modern medicine culture of Linda Gorman and the traditional cure lu Mien culture of Mrs. Saeto. Before casting judgment on who is right and who is wrong with regards to Marie, it is important to decode these two particular cultures so we can distinguish the differences between the American culture and the lu Mien culture; considering upon reading about the burns, most if not all Americans would agree that this curing practice is barbaric and abusive. Every culture comes with stories, symbols and world views; and often times they are in disagreement. For instance, at the heart of the lu Mien culture is the theory of animism, “the view that the world is inhabited by spirits that