On The ? Edge of Medicine

I've been away taking care of family but I'm back.  Did you miss me?  Of course you did.

When contemplating what to write about this week I originally thought of marijuana.  It made the news in two spots in the past couple of weeks.  There was a story about the drug smuggler who made a cannon that shot bundles of weed over the Mexican/USA boarder where it was picked up by his associates.  There was also a story about a woman who received a package of marijuana by mistake.  She was suing the delivery service because the intended recipients came looking for it after the delivery driver told them where he had left it.  They showed up on her doorstep demanding their property.  But a better story was dumped on me instead.

I was talking to a friend in the health care field when she mentioned having to attend a meeting on  Fecal Transplants.  That's right, fecal not facial.  She said it wasn't the way she liked starting her day.
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I won't describe what I imagined a fecal transplant entailed.  I'll simply tell you what it is.

Fecal transplants also known as  Fecal Microbiota Transplantationare (FMT) is done on people with serious imbalances in their intestinal tract.  Colitis and IBS are just two of these conditions. Some sufferer's  have found relief using this type of treatment.

There are only a few facilities around the world that offer this treatment.  In Portland, Oregon you and your donor can spend two weeks on a retreat while the treatment is performed and the recipients learns how to better cope with their condition.  The clinic will provide the donor from their donor bank or you can bring your own.  Family members are recommended.

What is a Fecal Transplant and how is it performed?  The donor is tested for any and all diseases and illnesses.  Once a donor has been cleared, the fical matter is collected.  It goes through a process to remove the bacteria from the sample.  The bacteria is then tested to make sure it is free from any contaminants.  Once cleared, the bacteria is mixed with a sterile medium that is introduced to the recipient via colonoscapy or enema.  That's it. 

Until next time watch where you step, it might just be your next treatment sample.

 

An Eye Popper

A mistrial was declared in Philadelphia after an eye popping moment during a trial.  John Huttick was suing Matthew Brunelli for the loss of his eye during a fight. Huttick tried to break-up a brawl between Brunelli and another bar patron when Huttick says Brunelli stabbed him in the eye with a key protruding between his fingers.  In the middle of Huttick's testimony, his glass eye popped out of its socket.  Huttick quickly caught the wayward prosthetic as two jurors rose in horror.  The judge said it was an unfortunate incident, declared a mistrial and re-scheduled the trail for March.

After reading this story I remembered stories I heard about the actor Peter Falk.  He lost one of his eyes due to cancer at age three.  As a young man he would cause a stir by secretly taking his glass eye out and sneaking it into someones drink.  They would lift their glass and find an eye staring at them.  Talk about an eye-stopper.

Back in the early to mid eighties, there was a TV show, Tales of the Gold Monkey.  The series took place in the thirties on a Pacific Island.  The main character, Jake, had a one-eyed Jack Russell named, Jack.  How does this relate to the Huttick story you ask.  There was a running joke, in every episode Jack would lose his false eye or have it taken, then find it before the end of the show.  Jack's prosthetic eye wasn't just an ordinary glass copy, it was an opal with a sapphire center.

There are lots of people and animals that appear to have eyes that pop out of their heads.  The comedian, Marty Feldman, had the biggest eyes I ever saw.  I have a puppet named Marty because his eyes pop out.  Gene Wilder has eyes that can appear to pop.  In the animal world Pugs have eyes that pop out, in some cases, literally pop out of their heads.  Can you imagine, watching your beloved Pug pop his eyes out after being frightened.  I guess Jack could have been played by a Pug instead of a Jack Russell.  Nah, that would be type casting.

There are members of the ape family that have huge eyes that seem to pop out at you.  Their eyes take up most of their face.   I can close my eyes and see one,  I just can't think of the name, it's on the tip of my eye-lash, let me loosen it by blinking a few times.  Sorry, it simply won't come to me.

There are many sayings that include the image of popping eyes.  A man looks at a woman and his wife responds, "Put your eyes back in your head.", while others describe someone as having their  eyes bugged out.  

Until next time, keep your eyes firmly in your head or you may lose your way.