Nshima & Curry

The heroic journey of Ramesh Ferris

Twenty years ago, in the summer of 1988, I drove across America with my friend and future brother-in-law Santosh. We traveled from Delaware to California in about four days, making as few stops as possible. I remember feeling like we had accomplished something, like we had passed some kind of endurance test. It takes a lot of effort, after all, to put your foot on the gas pedal.

Our cross-country trip was a breeze compared to the one Ramesh Ferris is taking. Ramesh, a polio survivor, is hand-cycling across Canada to raise money (and awareness) to fight the disease. He began his 7,200-km journey in Victoria, BC, on April 12 -- the 53rd anniversary of the release of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine -- and expects to complete it in six months. Accompanied by a support team of about five people, he is trying to cover 400 km every 10 days on his 27-speed hand cycle. That's 40 km a day, using mainly his arms to power his cycle forward. I don't know about you, but after about 10 km, I'd be sticking my thumb out at passing motorists.

I'm not sure if Ramesh is the first polio survivor to hand-cycle across Canada, but he's definitely the first blogging polio survivor to do so.

Yup, it’s truly spring now – I can smell it in the air. It’s a package deal though, complete with all the mucky dirt on the shoulders of the road.  Because of a short rain today I was covered in dirt from my face, head, back, chest, legs and toes.  Add to that all of the chain grease that accumulates on my jersey every day as I cycle, and you can imagine that I was feeling pretty gross by the end of the day.

This morning we reached Obed Summit, which is the highest point on the Yellowhead Highway, 1163.9 m above sea level. I thought it was all downhill after that, but to my surprise, there was steep hill after steep hill for the next few hours. [Link]

Ramesh is going to love it when he gets to the prairies, the flat provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The only time he'll need to go uphill is when he's climbing out of a pothole.

As I reflect back on today I got extremely dirty cycling down the Yellowhead, but it’s important to remember that the dirt comes off. In our world we have a culture of crawlers: children, teenagers and adults that have had their legs paralyzed for life because they did not receive the polio vaccine that would have protected them for life. In the lives of these crawlers they are almost always dirty, because many of them depend on cut up pieces of tires for their knees, and sandals on their hands to drag them through the streets of where they live. Awareness is important, but it’s donations that will help polio victims around our world walk. It’s donations that will provide those drops of the polio vaccine to children around the world to protect them for life.

This is why I’m cycling to walk.  Please donate or sponsor today. [Link]

He's doing the hard part. With just a few clicks, we can do the easy part.

The second fattest country in the world

If America is the fattest country in the world, you'll never guess which is the second fattest. No, it's not India, though it's got a middle class that's bulging in more ways than one. The second fattest country is a lot like India, a developing country full of brown people who love spicy food.

Fueled by the rising popularity of soft drinks and fast-food restaurants, Mexico has become the second fattest nation in the world. Mexican health officials say it could surpass the U.S. as the most obese country within 10 years if trends continue.

More than 71 percent of Mexican women and 66 percent of Mexican men are overweight, according to the latest national surveys. [Link]

I'm not sure how they define "overweight" or whether they considered the rate of obesity in determining the "second fattest nation." But these findings should, at a minimum, put to rest the myth that most Mexicans spend a lot of time running across the border. Many, like Francisco Princegali, can barely run to the refrigerator.

Francisco Princegali knew he was eating too much junk food when he bent down last week and heard a tear.

"I ripped my pants because of the fat," said Princegali, who's 20, crumbling up a wrapper of sweetened bread he'd purchased from a vendor. "I think I'm addicted to junk food."

Princegali, sucking in his stomach, said that many of his pants were too tight these days. Some people are addicted to alcohol and smoking, he said: "My problem is I love fried chicken— Kentucky Fried Chicken ." [Link]

You ripped your pants while bending over, Francisco? You obviously haven't been fat for long. Otherwise you'd know better than to bend over. If you drop something, you shouldn't bother picking it up, not unless it's a piece of fried chicken or something.

Photo by malias

Losing the weight in 2008

One of my New Year's resolutions is to lose weight and get into shape. It was my New Year's resolution last year too. And the year before. And the year before that. But this year, I'm really determined to do it. If you're trying to lose weight too, here are some tips on dieting that may help you:

---You will not find anything healthful in the vending machine. Even if the machine has something healthful, you will not see it.

---If your snack gets stuck in the vending machine, be thankful. You will burn a few calories shaking the machine. And if the machine falls on you, you will probably be thinner.

---Eating a lot of low-fat pies is a good way to get high-fat thighs.

---It is better to count calories than to count chins.

---Candy is not good for you, so stop flirting with her.

---Limit your intake of dates and nuts, as well as your desire to date nuts.

---You cannot eat just one piece of chocolate, unless it's the last piece in the country.

---Drinking three glasses of water before every meal will help you lose weight, because you'll burn a lot of calories running to the bathroom. [Link]

The important thing is to think longterm. Small changes can produce big results. If you lose a pound every month from January to November, you'll be able to pig out in December, gain 10 pounds, and still finish the year one pound lighter. By 2038, you will have lost 30 pounds, just in time to fit into that narrow rocking chair.

Photo by Gee-Kay

Lose weight before you immigrate

To immigrate to most countries, you have to pass a medical exam. They want you to be in fairly good health, so you're not a burden on the system. New Zealand's expectations are a little higher.

With years of experience as a submarine cable specialist behind him, Richie Trezise was looking forward to emigrating from Britain and using his skills to help New Zealand beat its brain drain. He had been headhunted by one of the country's biggest companies and was all set to begin a new life with his wife, Rowan.

There was a slight hitch, however. After Mr Trezise went to his GP for a medical, immigration officials told him he did not meet New Zealand's health requirements because he was too fat. The 35-year-old Welshman failed its body mass index (BMI) test, which measures the proportion of body fat to a person's height and weight. Mr Trezise's BMI was 42, classifying him as morbidly obese under immigration guidelines.

He was told he would have to slim before he was allowed in on an employer-backed skilled migrant visa.

"My doctor laughed at me. He said he'd never seen anything more ridiculous in his whole life. He said not every overweight person is unhealthy or unfit," said Mr Trezise, who plays rugby and used to be in the Army. [Link]

It's quite understandable, really. New Zealand is a small country. They don't want immigrants taking up too much room.

Resident: "I can't breathe. It's so tight in here."

Friend: "Yeah, it's been like that ever since they let that Treesize guy in."

Friend: "It's Trezise, you idiot, not Treesize."

Rather than give up, he went on a crash diet, losing a substantial amount of weight and shedding 5cm from his waistline. He went back, passed the test and flew out in September to start a new job working to upgrade a submarine cable for Telecom New Zealand. [Link]

Good for him. He must have really wanted to immigrate. I've heard people say that New Zealand is the most beautiful country in the world. It's fairly easy to immigrate, as long as you have a college degree, some work experience, fluency in English, and a svelte figure.

The doctor wants to transplant what?

I've heard of blood transplants, hair transplants, bone marrow transplants and all kinds of organ and tissue transplants. But until this evening I had never heard of fecal transplants. They're being used in Canada and a few other countries to treat people who suffer from C. difficile infection.

Though C. difficile can be kept in check by good bacteria in the bowel, problems can arise when the superbug is treated by antibiotics such as vancomycin. The antibiotics sometimes wipe out the good bacteria but fail to completely kill the C. difficile — leaving enough of it that it later flourishes.

"If you wipe out the normal bacteria by taking an antibiotic, then this bug overgrows and it releases a toxin which causes severe diarrhea," Dr. Mike Silverman, an internal medicine specialist from Ajax, Ont., told CBC News. [Link]

How bad is the diarrhea? One Calgary woman had to visit the bathroom 40 times a day. I can't imagine doing that. I'd run out of magazines.

Calgary physician Dr. Tom Louie, head of infection control at Foothills Hospital, is  one of the few physicians in Canada who treats patients with chronic C. difficile with fecal transplants, or fecal therapy. He has done 38 procedures to date.

The procedure involves getting a close relative of the patient, such as a sibling, to donate several days-worth of stool. Louie tests the stool for diseases such as hepatitis and HIV and then mixes it with saline to create liquid feces. He then administers the stool to the patient through a barium enema.[Link]

I like the word 'stool.' Perhaps it shouldn't be called a fecal transplant -- it should be called furniture restoration.

Louie said the technique allows good bacteria from the transplanted stool to reduce the number of C. difficile bacteria in the intestines and to restore normal intestinal function.

He said the process is fairly quick.

"It takes me about an hour and I leave it in there overnight. I'm hoping that some of these normal bugs will come and find a home, and when they find a home it will kick out the C. difficile." [Link]

Let me get this straight: he's bringing normal bugs into a home and they're all sitting on stools?

Pulling your teeth with a pair of pliers

True or false: People in developed countries sometimes have to pull their own teeth using a pair of pliers or a string tied to a door.

Answer: True. According to Sky News, a drop in the number of National Health Service dentists in the UK has caused a rise in do-it-yourself dentistry.

Almost a fifth (19%) of those questioned said they had missed out on dental work because of the cost.

The research found 6% had even resorted to treating themselves because they could not find a dentist.

The 5,000-plus patients who were interviewed also spoke of taking out their own teeth or fixing broken crowns with glue.

One person in Lancashire said he had carried out 14 separate extractions with a pair of pliers. [Link]

Fourteen extractions! I wonder if they were all intentional.

Lancashire man (in bathroom): "Bloody pliers!"

Wife: "What's going on in there?"

Man: "Bloody pliers!"

Wife: "Stop using such language!"

Man: "All right then. My pliers are bloody!"   

The British government needs to do something about this. They need to offer citizenship to that street dentist in India. At least he has lots of experience using pliers.

Getting your teeth fixed on the street

During my handful of visits to India, I never once spotted a street dentist. So I was fascinated when I came across Matt Logelin's photos of a dentist at work on a Bangalore street, including the pic on the right.

this guy yelled at me from across the street...i thought he just wanted me to take his photo (like everyone else at the market that day) so i snapped his photo and ran across the street to show him the result. when i got over there, i saw a brief case with what appeared to be fake fingernails...turns out they were fake teeth and it turns out that he is a dentist (hours are 8:00 am to 6:00 pm everday, same street, same median). he insisted that i wait 20 minutes, observe, and take photos of him while he gave his patient a new tooth, so of course i did. ... when all was said and done, the patient walked away with a brand new tooth and it cost him only 50 rupees (that's $1.13 US) and i had one of the strangest experiences of my life. [Link]

Wow, you get a new tooth for 50 rupees. In America, you can't even get a new toothbrush. But I'm not sure I'd want to see a street dentist (though they do provide a good service for the poor). As Stacey Stowe of the New York Times wrote a couple of years ago, street dentists aren't too hygienic.

Between patients, Mr. Singh douses his weathered hands with a purple liquid, although he is less than consistent about using the antiseptic.

When approached by a former patient, who immediately popped out his dentures to register a complaint about an irritation, Mr. Singh plunged his fingers into the man's mouth seconds after they were in the mouth of another patient.

The occasional fly alighted on his hands, the instruments and patients. [Link]

Well, for 50 rupees, you can't expect much. At least Mr. Singh disinfects his hands now and then -- and  makes sure there are no flies on his hand when he puts it in your mouth.