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Approved-By:  Bill McGarry <wtm@SHELDEV.SHEL.ISC-BR.COM>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.l-hcap
Date:         Thu, 19 Nov 1992 09:30:05 EST
Reply-To:     Bill McGarry <wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com>
From:         Bill McGarry <wtm@sheldev.shel.isc-br.com>
Subject:      Handicap Digest # 3027

                             THE HANDICAP DIGEST

                                 Issue # 3027

                         Thursday, November 19, 1992

Today's Topics:


                                ******


                                 Re: Hello?
                           From My 16 Year Old...
                              RE: Deafie World
                          PEN PALS FOR MY STUDENTS
                                    Hello
                                    Hello
                           Voice activated phone ?
                                    Sugar
                                  Re: Hello
                                  Re: Hello


                                ******


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Subject: Re: Hello?
From: Trained.Bear@f203.n161.z1.fidonet.org (Trained Bear)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:161/203 - DVMCC, Concord CA


[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

2 CENTS - BUTTING IN MODE

HB> If you were fat, would you identify yourself as being "Fat"?
HB> I just don't think people should stick such a label to
HB> themselves.
HB> If they do, they just don't feel like all other *normal*
HB> human beings....

  Yes and No.  As soon as I state a "label" I'm referring to that
label, or that aspect of the person I'm talking to/about.
  It's like picking a person out of a line-up "The fat, bald oriental."
Now if that's all I direct my attention to, then I'm ignoring the
person's aspects of being a child, parent, 3rd generation citizen,
deaf, millionaire.
  As soon as we put a label, (or put a SUBJECT on our message)
we prepare, pre-judge, pre-plan and "filter" what we're
discussing. When I used the term and subject "New-Born Deafie", we all
knew I wanted discussion on help and opinions regarding an infant who
is hearing impaired. (I didn't realize I'd also start a spark about the
label "Deafie" but it went well, thank you). I don't think it's so much
identifying the person as identifying the subject of discussion.  And I
do identify myself as FAT when I'm dealing with the pleasures and
problems of being Rubenesque (OK, fat).
  Do I have a Deaf identity? Yes. And a Christian, and bearish, and
BBSing, and theatrical, and Californian "identity".  And more, but
then, there's more of me to love. :{)
 * SLMR 2.0 * The more you run over a cat, the flatter it gets.

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!161!203!Trained.Bear
Internet: Trained.Bear@f203.n161.z1.fidonet.org



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Subject: From My 16 Year Old...
From: Trained.Bear@f203.n161.z1.fidonet.org (Trained Bear)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:161/203 - DVMCC, Concord CA


[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

IMHO, I add my 2 cents:

JB>How does a signer mumble?

Ever tried to read signs from somebody who never moves their arms,
keeping the hands right at the chest and looking more like crocheting
than signing?  ....or hands in the lap?

JB>Can a signer stutter?

I believe stuttering is on single syllables, not whole multi-syllable
words.  So, if I jerk/jam/repeat one part of a sign-movement, I guess
I'm stuttering.  I really stutter when it comes to letter/spelling.
I don't _THINK_ in letters.  For me, finger spelling is like dialing
the phone using the letters. My fear is when arthritis and bad vision
creap in.

JB>How does a signer talk to him/her self?

Ever seen an oriental using an abacus without the abacus visible?
Ever seen people conducting an unseen orchestra or traffic flow?
Not hallucinating, just re-enforcing thought processes with additional
brain/muscle activity.
 * SLMR 2.0 * He's dead, Jim. You grab his phaser,I'll take his wallet.

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!161!203!Trained.Bear
Internet: Trained.Bear@f203.n161.z1.fidonet.org



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Subject: RE: Deafie World
From: Susan.Raphael@f256.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Susan Raphael)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:260/256 - Mac's Last Stand, Rochester NY


[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

I as a hearing person was wondering why you don not sign and simply rely on
lip reading? Were you given the choice to learn sign at a school such as
Rochester School for the Deaf or were you mainstreamed into public schools? I
was just wondering how it feels to either be mainstreamed and exisit in a
hearing world or to be placed in an environment created for the hearing
impaired?  I am just trying to learn more about deaf culture after completing
beginners 1 and Beginners 2 sign language. Thank you.

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!256!Susan.Raphael
Internet: Susan.Raphael@f256.n260.z1.fidonet.org



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Subject: PEN PALS FOR MY STUDENTS
From: Thomas.Dibenedetto@f338.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Thomas Dibenedetto)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:260/338 - The Reef, Syracuse NY


[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

Hello, I am a teacher of the deaf in Syracuse New York. I am
looking for a few pen pals for my english class. I have three boys
ages 14, 15 and 16. I teach in a public high school. I would like
to start up a pen pal relationship with other deaf students in the
United States.

If anyone is interested in this idea please leave me a message.

Thanks

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!338!Thomas.Dibenedetto
Internet: Thomas.Dibenedetto@f338.n260.z1.fidonet.org



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Subject: Hello
From: Ruthie.Hoffman@f223.n260.z1.fidonet.org (Ruthie Hoffman)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:260/223 - Interstellar System, Vine Valley NY


[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]

Hiya Richard...

I ruptured L4-L5 3 yrs ago, and on Nov. 1, 3 yrs ago, I had a
partial laminectomy to remove the calcified stuff that had come out
of the disk and was rammed up against the nerve.  I had the surgery
only because I began to lose sensation and movement in my left leg
and toes. It got to the point that  I couldn't move my first two
toes and I was dragging the leg around.  Along with this was
INCREDIBLE pain.

I was great after the surgery.  For 11 months.  Then L4-L5 started
bulging again, (I also have signs of an old herniation on L5-S1
that cause some pain down my right leg, but I've had that since
1979...when they didn't do anything, even an xray, and called it
siatica).  When they found that the pain was from the
bulging/possible herniation of L4-L5 (they did a mri and myelogram
(did that cuz the mri was inconclusive due to scar tissue from the
surgery) ) my neurosurgeon and I decided that, since I was not
experiencing any loss of movement in my toes or leg, we didn't want
to do more surgery and cause more scar tissue.

I've since, in the past 2 yrs., tried anti- inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs), and I'm allergic to each and every one we tried, PT,
which helped me learn to stretch EVERY day and to exercise in a way
that helps me, I also use a TENS unit for the pain (very helpful
when pain level isn't REAL high), I take a small dosage of valium
daily for the spasms (can't take Flexeril...had a bad reaction to
that too, but for some, it works great for spasms) and I have
Darvocet for painkilling, which doesn't work as well as it used to,
but I don't take as much as I used to either.  Right now I'm trying
a low dosage of an anti depressant to help with the chronic pain.
This is a treatment that has been done successfully with chronic
pain sufferers.  I've been on it one month now.....I THINK it's
helping a bit.   But mostly.... I'm learning to live with it.  That
seems to be the bottom line...learn to live with it.  Not pleasant
at times, but reality.

I hoped this helped you some.  I don't want to tell you to have or
NOT have surgery, as I'm far from being a doctor, but I did want to
relate to you my experiences. If you can, pick up the CHRONIC_PAIN
echo (it's on the backbone).  There are a bunch of us in there who
deal with chronic pain.

Take care and good luck with whatever you decide.

CULater, Ruthie

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!260!223!Ruthie.Hoffman
Internet: Ruthie.Hoffman@f223.n260.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Hello
From: Allison.Cozzi@f3216.n161.z1.fidonet.org (Allison Cozzi)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:161/3216 - Computer Communicat, Concord Ca


[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]

->     Anyone have any insight and/or recommendations from their experie
-> with disk bulges and disk degeneration ?

     Now you're talking in MY field. Your injury is roughly similar
to mine...similar enough that the same measures would be employed.
Mine is complicated by some other factors and I also now have
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. There are also a few others here who
have the same problem as you and I do. I know what your pain is like,
Richard and some days it takes more than distraction to deal with it!
Having come out of the Health Care Field, I jumped right in and didn't
give up until I got all the answers to my questions.  What you have been
told is correct about how surgery may and may not help...could hurt in
the long run. There is a syndrome that neurosurgeons refer to...it's
called FBSS "Failed Back Surgery Syndrome". That should tell you that
it is prevalent enough to make it into the everyday vocabulary of the
doctors. Narcotics can provide additional insult to your body in the
long run. However, Linda Cummings and I happen to know of another
secret that your Neurosurgeon has neglected to tell you. He probably
didn't omit it from the conversation intentionally. He probably isn't
trained in the procedure. It's called Spinal Cord Stimulation.
     SCS consists of electrodes being implanted in the area of a couple
of levels above your injury site. In your case, probably at about l1-2,
a thin cable being tunneled under your skin around to the front of your
body to be connected to a small (about half the size of a package of
cigarettes or a little smaller) which is also implanted beneath the
skin. This little guy is very similar to a heart pace-maker in function
and electronics. Once the everything is all in place, there is a current
sent (very small) from the electronic unit through the cable to the
electrodes. The current then passes through the electrodes to the
central spinal nerves and gives 'em a buzz (honestly...it feels like you
turned on your electric razor and pressed it to your skin). The theory
behind this is called the Gate control theory of pain management. If you
are familiar with how sonar scrambles messages, then you have just
grasped how this contraption works. Your brain can only interpret one
signal from a nerve at a time. By superceding the pain message and
replacing it with a "non-pain" message, your brain cannot interpret the
pain signal. You *will* feel the vibration of the SCS but, having been
in chronic pain for five plus years, I can assure you that you will
prefer the vibration over the pain any day! There are a couple of
different types of electrodes currently being used. Linda (on this echo)
has the small, 3 or 4 contact electrodes (I forget which it has). I
started out with that type, too. In my case, I had too much scar tissue
in my eidural space to accomodate the electrode where it needed to be.
So everything but the electronic unit was removed (they aren't
autoclaveable and are terribly expensive... about $6,000.00 for the unit
alone... so it didn't make sense to remove it now and have to purchase a
brand new on again when we got the authorization for the next surgery).
I just got authorization to go have a different set of electrodes (each
has 8 contacts) implanted (probably attached to bone this time) and
retrofitted to the unit I have. We have every reason to believe that it
will work well for me since the first one worked well until scar tissue
pushed it out of the vicinity of the spinal nerve that was the
perpetrator. The unit is run by a tiny battery which needs to be
replaced every couple of years approximately. It is a simple procedure
probably done in a SurgiCenter by opening up the incision that was used
to implant the unit (incision is about 3" long) right under the skin,
open up the battery hatch cover and replace the battery, and close you
back up. It may sound a bit gruesome but if you have been through nerve
blocks, and lived through them, you'll take this battery change in
stride! It is unreasonable to expect 100% pain relief from the
Stimulator. I have talked to a fair number of people who have them and
they feel that if they get 40%-50% improvement, then that is a success.
Before you brush this idea aside, just think of what it would feel like
to have half of your misery dispensed with. ..or be able to take half
the amount of medication...or have your function doubled (this, of
course, is a subjective evaluation). I know what your pain is like...I
am in the same boat, Richard. And I'd jump at the chance to have half my
pain taken away with the possibility of it being more. (Indeed, I *have*
jumped at the chance.)
     Now...who to have do it?  It is a highly specialized procedure and
I can recommend one of several surgeons who do this Spinal Cord
Stimulator implantation who is tops in his field. their only three men
in the country who do the even trickier one with the two longer
electrodes like I am about to have. Frankly, I wish the other had
worked for me...would have meant that I would be feeling pretty good
right now. One of those three surgeons isn't very far from you...in
Baltimore. The others are in Colorado and Texas. The doctor doing my
surgery will be Dr. Jay Law in Denver (his address is 125 East
Hampden Ave., PO Box 2901-Dept 1099, Englewood, Colo. 80150-0101.
Phone # (303) 788-6356) I have a copy of an article that he has written
about this procedure...outlining his clinical trials and I would be
happy to make a copy for you and send it if you would like to send me a
self addressed stamped 5 by 8 or 8 by 10 envelope with three stamps on
it. (I'm sorry...I wish I could continue to just send these out to all
the people I have sent it to but I'm going broke doing the footwork for
this doctor! <grin> I hope you understand.) You can send it to me at
the following address: Allison Cozzi 5100-1B Clayton Road, #165
Concord, California 94521
Furthermore, there are other methods of pain mgmt. involving epidural
narcotics administration via an implanted pump (requires *much* less
narcotics than if it wasn't used at a local level and had to saturate
all your body tissues) or even an interthecal catheter with pump (again,
much less narcotics are needed). The doctor who did your nerve blocks
would be the one to ask about the viability of either of these two
options.
     If I can be of any further help, don't hesitate to call either my
BBS at (510) 672-9325 (I have a dismal memory for names so please remind
me where I know you from) or my voice number at (510) 672-1209. My
netmail addresses are: Fidonet 1:161/3216, FamilyNet 8:7704/17, PowerNet
86:250/140. You're bound to find me *somewhere*! :) Keep the chin up,
Richard!!!
                                              Allison

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!161!3216!Allison.Cozzi
Internet: Allison.Cozzi@f3216.n161.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Voice activated phone ?
From: Greg.Wick@f45.n343.z1.fidonet.org (Greg Wick)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:343/45 - The French Connecti, Edmonds Wa


[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]

JR>imagine...being able to answer the phone while in bed? Heck!
JR>Just making a call w/o making a major effort would be nice.
JR>C'mon Technology.....  :-)

I've seen celluler phones that are totaly voice activated... But
they were about $1500...

===
 * SLMR 2.1 * I modem down, but dey grew back!

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!343!45!Greg.Wick
Internet: Greg.Wick@f45.n343.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Sugar
From: Greg.Wick@f45.n343.z1.fidonet.org (Greg Wick)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:343/45 - The French Connecti, Edmonds Wa


[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]

DJ>Does anyone here have any insight on using sugar on pressure sores?  I
DJ>am facing surgery which I REALLY don't want to have.  It would
DJ>make my life much less stressful if I could heal without an
DJ>operation.  Thanx.

I never heard of that. It doesn't sound good to me. Any time you
put something on a open sore you may have a problom. Ask your Doc.
I only had 1 and they had me stay off it and keep it very dry. We
even put a sun lamp on it... Well aimed a sun lamp at it. Not to
close, you don't want it to get hot, just dry.

===
 * SLMR 2.1 * "OUCH" I just my floppy caught in my unzipper!

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!343!45!Greg.Wick
Internet: Greg.Wick@f45.n343.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Re: Hello
From: Cindy.Barnes@f22.n375.z1.fidonet.org (Cindy Barnes)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:375/22 - Ken's BBS, Montgomery AL


[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]

Where Ruthie has had some bad luck with scar tissue after her surgery, so
far I have not. I had the disc removed at L4/L5 in June. I was in the
hospital for four days, during which time they did the mylogram and the
surgery. The doctor told me I have degenerative disc disease, which means my
problems aren't over, but the immediate problem has been worked on.

It has also come to light that I have spondylosis in my neck, which is
giving the herniated disc at C5/C6 a lot of pressure. The doctor has started
me on PT, which may or may not help. I had my first session of PT on Tuesday
and paid for it on Weds. I am sure that part of my pain was caused by the
weather, but a great deal of it was from the manipulation of my neck by the
therapist. I am hoing to put off surgery on my neck until it becomes
absolutely necessary, but who knows when that will be.

I work on my lower back with swimming sessions in an indoor pool. I have
lower back exercises I do while in the pool and then I swimm laps. This is
the only form of exercise I get outside of walking and bowling. I can see
your face, "Bowling?" Yep. I bowl in a league on Friday nights. I have been
bowling steadily since 1986, which is when my lower back started giving me
serious problems. I started the bowling to strengthen my back muscles. It
worked up until last Dec. I now bowl with a lighter ball (doctor's orders),
but I still bowl. So far, it hasn't had any adverse effects on my back.

Welcome to the echo and I hope to see ya here often....

Cindy

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!375!22!Cindy.Barnes
Internet: Cindy.Barnes@f22.n375.z1.fidonet.org




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Subject: Re: Hello
From: Cindy.Barnes@f22.n375.z1.fidonet.org (Cindy Barnes)
Organization: FidoNet node 1:375/22 - Ken's BBS, Montgomery AL


[This is from the Spinal Injury Conference]

 >Ahhh..I just read your exchange with Linda re: your FULL removal of the
 >disk.  DId they do a fusion???  I've not heard of them removing the WHOLE
 >disk and just leaving the vertabre sitting there without a fusion!!

Linda and I are still debating this issue. My records show the surgery as a
discotomy, but Dr. Bradley says he only removed about 65%. The records and
the doc both say they put fatty deposits into the space left by the disc
removal and that because of the smallness of the space between the two
vertebra it should fuse together naturally in about a year. This is one of
the reasons he wants me to take my time with everything I do. I still won't
lift anything over 20lbs and I won't do anything that requires a lot of back
action. I really do want to avoid more surgery in that area.

Now, my neck is another story. I went to PT on Tuesday and I have been in
pain ever since. I am going to call the doc tomorrow and tell him about my
weekend, then see what he has to say. If they want to do more of the same
therapy I think I'll decline the offer. (g)  I will keep up with the
swimming since this seems to help, but they can take their neck exercises
and shove them where the sun don't shine.

Talk at ya later...

Cindy

--
Uucp: ..!uunet!bunker!hcap!hnews!375!22!Cindy.Barnes
Internet: Cindy.Barnes@f22.n375.z1.fidonet.org



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                  End of Issue # 3027 of the Handicap Digest

                                ******
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