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Tuesday, April 26, 2011

The ghost city of Chernobyl

The ghost city of Chernobyl: Eerie pictures that show abandoned disaster zone as world marks 25 years since worst nuclear meltdown in history


By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 10:16 PM on 25th April 2011

Twenty five years since the world's worst nuclear accident at the Chernobyl power station, the surrounding settlements are still ghost towns, with  thousands of houses abandoned and left to fall into ruin.

Ukraine is today preparing to mark a quarter of a century since the disaster, which endangered hundreds of thousands of lives and contaminated pristine forests and farmland with deadly radiation.

The blast on April 26, 1986, spewed a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes in the most heavily hit areas in Ukraine, Belarus and western Russia.


City of the apocalypse: An abandoned building in the deserted city of Pripyat, the closest to the Chernobyl power plant which exploded 25 years ago
City of the apocalypse: An abandoned building in the deserted city of Pripyat, the closest to the Chernobyl power plant which exploded 25 years ago


A view from the top of a hotel in Pripyat, the town which was built primarily to house workers from the Chernobyl nuclear power station
A view from the top of a hotel in Pripyat, the town which was built primarily to house workers from the Chernobyl nuclear power station


Scientists are deeply divided on how many have died as a result of the explosion, which released about 400 times more radiation than the U.S. atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima.

An international donors conference in Kiev last week raised £485 million of the £653 million needed to build a new shelter and a storage facility for spent fuel.

Soviet officials did not report the disaster for several days. Even in the plant workers' town of Pripyat, few knew what had happened when the plant's No. 4 reactor blew up around 1.30am in the morning. The official acknowledgement came three days later.

Bumper cars riddled with rust sit in a fairground in Pripyat. A 19-mile area around the plant has been largely uninhabited since the nuclear leak
Bumper cars riddled with rust sit in a fairground in Pripyat. A 19-mile area around the plant has been largely uninhabited since the nuclear leak

A decrepit ferris wheel in the once bustling town of Pripyat 
A decrepit Ferris wheel left to the brave the elements
A rust-addled phone booth on Lenin Avenue, Pripyat
 A rust-addled phone booth on Lenin Avenue, Pripyat


Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich and Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill will commemorate the victims of the nuclear accident with prayers and candle-lighting in Kiev tonight before they travel to the Chernobyl station on Tuesday.

A 19-mile area around the plant has been uninhabited except for occasional plant workers, and several hundred local people who returned to their homes despite official warnings.

Vasily Voznyak, the head of the Soviet government's Chernobyl department in 1986-1990, told a news conference today that officials were totally unprepared for the accident: 'Neither the civil defence, nor the station's management, nor the Soviet party organs in the region were ready for an accident of such a global scale,' he said in Moscow.

Weeds are the only visible living organism on this street corner in Pripyat. Several hundred local people returned to their homes despite official warnings
Weeds are the only visible living organism on this street corner in Pripyat. Several hundred local people returned to their homes despite official warnings


A gas mask lies on a doll in an abandoned building in the deserted town of Pripyat 
  A gas mask lies on a doll in an abandoned building.
A child's shoes sit amongst a pile of rubble in the deserted town of Pripyat
 A child's shoes sit amongst a pile of rubble


An abandoned furniture shop on Lenin Avenue continues to decay. The Chernobyl blast spewed a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes
An abandoned furniture shop on Lenin Avenue continues to decay. The Chernobyl blast spewed a cloud of radioactive fallout over much of Europe and forced hundreds of thousands from their homes


The U.N.'s World Health Organization said at a Kiev conference last week that among the 600,000 people most heavily exposed to radiation, 4,000 more cancer deaths than average are expected to be eventually found.

Soviet authorities initially offered a generous package of benefits to Chernobyl clean-up workers. But over time the benefits have been cut back.

About 2,000 veterans of the Chernobyl clean up rallied in Kiev earlier this month to protest cuts in their benefits and pensions after Ukraine's Yanukovich said fulfilling the past promises to Chernobyl workers was 'beyond the government's strength' amid the financial downturn. Chernobyl veterans in Belarus are facing similar cuts.

Back in time: The canteen in a school in Pripyat still boasts a cash register amid the terrible decay
Back in time: The canteen in a school in Pripyat still boasts a cash register amid the terrible decay 



The swimming pool in the leisure complex in Pripyat 
The leisure centre where time stopped:(Top & bottom) The pool was left full of water which has evaporated over the last 25 years
The pool was left full of water which over the last 25 years has evaporated



This weather-beaten 16-storey block of flats with the USSR coat of arms on the top looks like it hasn't been inhabited in decades
This weather-beaten 16-storey block of flats with the USSR coat of arms on the top looks like it hasn't been inhabited in decades

Japan is struggling to bring the radiation-spewing Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant under control after last month's earthquake and tsunami triggered another nuclear disaster.

Earlier this month the Japanese Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency upgraded its rating of the Fukushima crisis to the highest level on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, placing it on par with Chernobyl, the only other event to reach the maximum rating of 7 on the INES scale.

However, Evgeny Akimov, a nuclear engineer and the former head of the Chernobyl containment facility, said he is convinced that the scale of the disaster at the Fukushima plant is far smaller since 'no fuel has been discharged outside the reactor vessels'.


A memorial to the victims of the Chernobyl disaster in front of wrecked power station
A memorial to the victims of the Chernobyl disaster in front of wrecked power station

Up to 80,000 residents near the stricken Fukushima plant have been warned by authorities that they might not be able to return home as 25,000 tons of nuclear waste is pumped out - the first step in a 'cold shutdown' process that could take nine months.

Those living in 10 towns within 12 miles of the plant, which has been leaking since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami affected its power and cooling systems, were originally told to evacuate for the time being.

Virtually all left after being advised to do so and on occasion some have returned to check on their homes, but now the Japanese government have said that no one should return as the fallout from the situation is carefully managed.

Today, vets entered the 12-mile evacuation zone around the radiation-leaking Japanese nuclear plant to survey the condition of livestock there.
Farmers left around 3,000 cows, 130,000 pigs and 680,000 chickens behind when they fled the area last month.

An aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, shortly after the disaster in April 1986, which released about 400 times more radiation than the U.S. atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima
An aerial view of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, shortly after the disaster in April 1986, which released about 400 times more radiation than the U.S. atomic bomb dropped over Hiroshima



The inside of the tomb which encases Chernobyl's unit 4 reactor which exploded, leaking vast amounts of radiation
The inside of the tomb which encases Chernobyl's unit 4 reactor which exploded, leaking vast amounts of radiation

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Spring Clean Your Mind...

Time to spring clean... your mind? Scientists say memory lapses can be blamed on too much irrelevant information

By Fiona Macrae
Last updated at 2:06 PM on 21st April 2011
  If you struggle to remember names and numbers or frequently fail to follow the plot of a film, help could be at hand.
Scientists say the problem is that you know too much – and you need to declutter, or spring-clean your mind.
Experiments show that the memory lapses that come with age are not simply due to brain slowing down.

Time to declutter: Scientists say if you're struggling with memory function it might be because you know too much 
Time to declutter: Scientists say if you're struggling with memory function it might be because you know too much

Instead, they can be blamed on the well-used brain finding it more and more difficult to stop irrelevant information interfering with the task in hand.

The first step in the study was to compare the working memory of the young and old. Working memory involves holding information in mind while manipulating it mentally.
 
Examples in everyday life include retain plots of films and books to understand or predict what will happen next and following the thread of a conversation while working out how you can contribute to the topic.
In the context of the study, it involved giving the volunteers groups of sentences and asking them to work out whether each line made sense – and to remember the last word of each sentence.

Stay sharp by playing music 
 
Overall, the younger people, who had an average age of 23, did better, the Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology reports.

Welcome to Bournemouth
Welcome to Bournemouth

The Canadian researchers then did a second experiment to see what was hindering  the older volunteers, who had an average age of 67.

This involved being shown a pictures of eight animals and being asked to memorise the order in which the creatures appeared.

The volunteers were then shown dozens of the pictures and asked to click on their computer mouse when the first animal in their memorised sequence occurred, then the second and so on.

The older adults found it more difficult to progress, suggesting the previous picture was stuck in their mind.

Age-old problem? Memory lapses can affect the young as well as old

Age-old problem? Memory lapses can affect the young as well as old
Mervin Blair, of Montreal’s Concordia University, said: ‘We found that  the older adults had more difficulty in getting rid of previous information.

‘We found that that accounted for a lot of the working memory problems seen in  the study.’
A third study confirmed that the memory problems were not simply due to a  simple slowing down of the mind.

Mr Blair, a PhD candidate, says that the older mind appears to have trouble  suppressing irrelevant information. This makes it more difficult to concentrate on the here and now.

For those who have trouble remembering, he suggests relaxation exercises to  declutter the mind.
‘Reduce clutter, if you don't, you may not get anything done.’
Keeping the mind young, through learning a language or musical instrument can also help.

He added that younger people can also fall foul of memory lapses caused by a failure to suppress extraneous information, with sleepless nights making it  harder for the brain to function properly.

Previous research has found that the part of the brain that keeps embarrassing  thoughts in check also weakens with age, leading to people losing some of their  inhibitions.
In other words, outspoken old people aren't being rude - they just can't hold  their tongues.

HOW TO DECLUTTER YOUR MIND

  • Get a good night’s sleep
  • Take up meditation or yoga to calm the mind
  • Learn a language or musical instrument to keep the mind young
  • Do crossword puzzles to keep the brain active
  • Exercise for a healthy mind as well as a healthy body
  • Socialise to keep the mind sharp


 

Crying babies...

Crying babies ‘more likely to grow into problem children’

By Jenny Hope
Last updated at 8:00 AM on 21st April 2011

Babies who persistently cry are more likely to become problem children with behavioural disorders, researchers say.

According to their study, around one in five infants is ‘difficult’, with excessive crying and problems sleeping and feeding – and many will go on to be difficult children.

It found babies with these issues were 40 per cent more likely to grow up to display unruly behaviour, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder – ADHD.

Researchers found infants with persistent crying, feeding or sleeping difficulties were 40 per cent more likely to have behavioural issues later 
 Researchers found infants with persistent crying, feeding or sleeping difficulties were 40 per cent more likely to have behavioural issues later

ADHD covers a range of behavioural problems linked to poor attention span – including impulsiveness, restlessness and hyperactivity – for which children may require prescription drugs and special needs teaching.

Up to 400,000 British children are believed to have ADHD, with many continuing to experience problems as adults.

 
Researchers from Warwick University, the University of Basel in Switzerland, and the University of Bochum in Germany investigated whether behavioural problems in early infancy were linked to those in later childhood.

They carried out an analysis of 22 studies from 1987 to 2006 which involving a total of 16,848 children, of whom 1,935 showed problems in infancy.

The study reported that around 2 0 per cent of parents had concerns about babies' crying, sleeping, or feeding patterns
Worries: The study reported that around 20 per cent of parents surveyed had concerns about babies' crying, sleeping, or feeding pattern
 
The subjects were followed up to see if they displayed behavioural issues in childhood, including ADHD, anxiety, depression, withdrawal, aggression, destructive behaviour, temper tantrums and general conduct problems.
 
Researchers found infants with persistent crying, feeding or sleeping difficulties were 40 per cent more likely than well-behaved babies to have later behavioural issues – with the most likely result a diagnosis of ADHD and bad behaviour.

The report in the Archives of Disease in Childhood medical journal concluded that the more problems a baby had, the more likely he or she was to become a child with behaviour problems.

The study reported that parents of around 20 per cent of babies had concerns about their crying, sleeping, or feeding patterns.

Researcher Dieter Wolke of Warwick University said the problems in babies that led to later issues were abnormally severe.

For example, the study focused on babies who cried for more than three hours a day after the age of three months and babies who had persistent sleeping problems after eight months.

Professor Wolke said the solution for such babies was to give them more routine in their lives, adding: ‘We have evidence that  it works.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1379080/Crying-babies-likely-grow-problem-children.html#ixzz1KAw1NRJ6

Monday, April 18, 2011

Baby Laughing Histerically Explained



source: http://news.discovery.com/videos/human

Mother told she had frozen shoulder for three-years dies in hospital toilet hours after doctors diagnose cancer

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:45 PM on 15th April 2011
A mother who was wrongly diagnosed with a frozen shoulder for three years was finally told she was actually suffering from cancer - the day before she died in a hospital toilet.

Care home worker Jean Cross, 60, repeatedly complained about the pain in her arm and was eventually left in total agony and unable to move it.
But GPs at her local surgery prescribed painkillers and told her to get physiotherapy and alternative therapies.
Tragedy: Jean Cross was only given an X-ray after three years of failed treatment for excruciating pain in her shoulder


Tragedy: Jean Cross was only given an X-ray after three years of failed treatment for excruciating pain in her shoulder.
After three years of failed treatment she was given an MRI scan which revealed the cause of pain was a lung tumour so big it was crushing the nerves in her arm.
But the cancer was so advanced that doctors could do nothing to save her - and she died within hours of being diagnosed.
To make matters worse, Jean was found dead in a toilet at Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin, Moray.
Her devastated husband Colin, also 60, is now considering legal action.

He said: 'I got a call to say she was found dead in the toilet.

'Staff at the hospital said they had been so busy they hadn't had time to check on her and she could have been there for two hours.
'Going by the look on her face I think she was in real pain. It's devastating to think she died on a toilet floor, scared alone and in agony.

'Jean was a hard-working woman who put her trust in these doctors. But when she needed them they let her down badly. I want to know how they could have missed lung cancer for three years.

'It makes me so angry to think of her lying there in pain because of someone else's mistake.'

Jean, from Buckie in Banffshire, was always fit and active and devoted to her job at a local care home.
In 2008 she went to see her GP at her medical practice, the Ardach Health Centre, because her shoulder was stiff and sore.

She was examined and told that she needed physiotherapy, but wasn't offered a scan or an x-ray.

Jean's husband Colin Bush with their daughter Amanda. Jean was found dead on the floor of a hospital toilet just a day after doctors said she had suspected lung cancer
Mother-of-two Jean made repeated trips to the surgery, as the pain in her arm increased, but felt she wasn't being taken seriously.

Digger driver Colin revealed: 'Once she came out of the surgery in tears because they wouldn't listen to her.
'She knew there was something seriously wrong, but the doctors kept telling her it was nothing to worry about.

'Jean did what they said and got physiotherapy, accupuncture and all that, but it made no difference.'

Six months ago grandmother-of-two Jean's condition took a rapid turn for the worse and she was unable to move her arm.

Eventually she was referred to a specialist who sent her for an x-ray. He spotted a shadow behind her shoulder and sent her for a CT scan.
The scan results came back and revealed she had lung cancer with two massive tumours, one in her lung and another under her arm.
As she waited for the results Jean was rushed to Dr Gray's Hospital in Elgin last week after falling seriously ill.
Only then did doctors tell her they suspected she was suffering from lung cancer.

But the discovery came too late for Jean and the results of the scan were only revealed to her family on the day she died last Tuesday.

Colin revealed: 'She was almost climbing the walls in agony.
'As she was lying there the doctor told her he had seen her scans and thought she had lung cancer.'
Around 300 sympathy cards have arrived for popular Jean and the baptist church in Buckie was packed out for her funeral on Tuesday.

Colin, daughter Amanda and son, also Colin, are now considering taking legal action against NHS Grampian.
Colin senior added: 'We're not interested in compensation or anything like that.

'It's too late for Jean now, but we're hoping we can stop anyone else having to go through the same ordeal.'

Amanda, 42, added: 'I'm just gutted. Mum was never one for going to the doctor, and when she did they should have listened to her.

'I still can't believe that she had cancer all that time and it was missed.'

A spokesman for NHs Grampian expressed sympathy for the family and said they would play a 'key part' in the investigation into her death.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1376830/Mother-Jean-Cross-told-doctors-frozen-shoulder-dies-cancer.html#ixzz1JhGnKXoh

Patients should start exercise a week after HEART Attack

Take it easy? Patients should start exercise just a week after heart attack, claim doctors

By Claire Bates
Last updated at 11:42 AM on 15th April 2011



You might expect doctors to advise people who have just had a heart attack to lie back and take it easy for the next few months. But a new study has found it is far better to start exercising a week after the life-changing event.

Researchers at the University of Alberta found early and prolonged exercise is the key to the best health outcomes for stable patients.

The team led by Mark Haykowsky and Alex Clark, reviewed more than 20 years of trials.
A U.S study suggests gentle exercise should start earlier following a heart attack

They found that stable patients who have suffered a cardiac arrest improve their heart performance when starting a light exercise programme just one week after the heart attack, rather than waiting a month or longer to begin rehabilitation.

'While it’s been shown that exercise has a favourable effect on heart function, it’s also important to dispel the idea that what the heart needs is rest,' said Dr Haykowsky.

In the UK, patients are invited to attend a cardiac rehabilitation programme at their local hospital four to eight weeks after leaving hospital.

The study shows that, in fact, the heart will become better with exercise sooner and with continued exercise over a longer period of time.
 
Patients who begin an exercise program one week after their heart attack were found to have the best heart performance, in the study published in the online journal Trials.

For those who waited to begin their exercise rehabilitation program, the results showed that 'for every week that a patient delayed his or her exercise treatment, he or she would have to train for the equivalent of one month longer to get similar benefits,' said Dr Clark.

Adding: 'Our findings suggest that at least six months of exercise is the most beneficial.'
The authors said that though the concerns were understandable, there was no evidence in the study to suggest that beginning an exercise program earlier that the typical waiting period was harmful.

'In the 70’s, health-care professionals were telling patients not to move for three months after a heart attack. Our findings suggest that stable patients need not wait a month to start exercising in a cardiac-rehabilitation setting,' said Clark.

'Exercise is a wonder drug that hasn’t been bottled,' Dr Haykowsky added.
Ellen Mason, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, told Mail Online: 'Newer treatments mean heart patients often suffer less damage during heart attacks than they used to and so they may benefit from starting formal exercise programmes known as cardiac rehabilitation sooner. But we’d need experts in cardiac rehab in the UK to ensure this is implemented safely.

'It’s very important that anyone who’s just had a heart attack doesn’t take this research as a green light to start exercise unsupervised, definitely speak to your doctor or cardiac rehab nurse first.

'Our real priority should be ensuring all patients get access to cardiac rehabilitation at all. We know it saves lives and is cost effective, yet provision and uptake is still patchy across the UK.'

Professor Bob Lewin, heads the British Heart Foundation Care and Education Research Group at the University of York.
He said: 'This is a very interesting review and confirms what has been advocated for many years, that rehabilitation should begin as soon as possible after a heart attack.
'Unfortunately cardiac rehabilitaiton has never been properly funded and in other areas there may be a waiting list to be able to join a programme.'
 

Saturday, April 16, 2011

An Amazing Water Picture!!!

Eau, water picture! Artist makes a splash with his amazing portfolio of liquid droplets

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:30 AM on 15th April 2011

They could almost be mistaken for images taken in the far-reaches of outer space, or an ultra-magnified snapshot of microscopic organisms.
However look again, for these incredible pictures are the work of artist Markus Reugels who has turned to one of the most abundant resources on the planet to create these strange and beautiful portraits - water.
The 33-year-old German artist combined water droplets with food colouring and creative lighting to make these vibrant images, which were only able to be captured with high-speed camera equipment.


Atomic: At a glance, this extraordinary image could be mistaken for a nuclear mushroom cloud... but it's a harmless splash of water amplified with a fiery-coloured light
Atomic: At a glance, this extraordinary image could be mistaken for a nuclear mushroom cloud... but it's a harmless splash of water amplified with a fiery-coloured light


An artist has caused a splash with these incredible photographs of water droplets.
An artist has caused a splash with these incredible photographs of water droplets.
Certainly not wet behind the ears: Artist Markus turned these splashes into exotic-looking flowers
The end result shows how the artist is making quite a splash with his unique works.
 
Markus drops the water on to trays, egg cups or teaspoons and snaps away as it splashes upwards and outwards, creating otherworldly shapes.
He added food colouring to the water and different coloured gels to his flashes, to create an intense glowing effect.
Endurance: Markus had to have a lot of patience to achieve some of the results pictured here
Endurance: Markus had to have a lot of patience to achieve some of the results pictured here
Endurance: Markus had to employ a bucket load of patience to achieve some of the results pictured here


By thickening the water with guar gum he was also able to alter the shape of the splashes, making some of them take on the bizarre look of something from a science-fiction film or a nuclear mushroom cloud.

The shapes, which varied from 3cm to 15cm, were altered even further by adding sugar and, by putting rinse aid in the dish, he was able to increase the height of the droplet splashes.
However, were it not for the advancements of high-speed photography, these images would not exist as they are impossible to see with the naked eye.

Ethereal: Water can create beautiful shapes but without high-speed photography it is impossible to see with the naked eye
Ethereal: Water can create beautiful shapes but without high-speed photography it is impossible to see with the naked eye


Drop in the ocean: This stunning image is just one many created by artist Markus Reugels
Drop in the ocean: This stunning image is just one many created by artist Markus Reugels
Drop in the ocean: These stunning images are just one of many created by artist Markus Reugels
 
Markus, who proudly reveals his images are free from colour and computerised manipulation, used a sensor to trigger the camera because the water falls too fast for his finger to operate the shutter.

An extremely fast shutter speed of of up to 1/16,000 per second allowed him to capture detail the human eye could never see.

Markus, from Schweinfurt, Bavaria, said: 'Water can create beautiful shapes but without high-speed photography we could never see them.

On reflection: This work - titled Double Milk Splash - resembles two toadstools
On reflection: This work - titled Double Milk Splash - resembles two toadstools



Water feature: Some of Markus Reugels' splashes look like umbrellas
Water feature: Some of Markus Reugels' splashes look like umbrellas
Water feature: Some of Markus Reugels' splashes look like umbrellas

'The shapes of the splashes are very difficult to manipulate.
'The basic shapes, such as the umbrellas and flying discs, are easy but to create the double splashes you must work very hard, have good endurance and patience.

'You must also analyse the results and test new things. The important thing is to have fun - the rest will come by itself.'


Ripple effect: Water was dropped on to trays, egg cups or tea spoons to get effects like these
Ripple effect: Water was dropped on to trays, egg cups or tea spoons to get effects like these


Eau my! Food colouring and coloured-gels are added to the water to create a glowing effect
Eau my! Food colouring and coloured-gels are added to the water to create a glowing effect
Eau my! Food colouring and coloured-gels are added to the water to create a glowing effect


Water works: The shape and height of the splashes can be altered by adding sugar and rinse aid to the dish
Water works: The shape and height of the splashes can be altered by adding sugar and rinse aid to the dish

Otherworldly: The image of a globe is captured in this picture while there's something distinctly science fiction about the creation on the right
Otherworldly: The image of a globe is captured in this picture while there's something distinctly science fiction about the creation on the right
Otherworldly: The image of a globe is captured in this picture while there's something distinctly science fiction about the creation on the right

Monday, April 11, 2011

My baby saved my life

My baby saved my life: Mother's deadly bone marrow disease is cured by pregnancy

By Lucy Laing
Last updated at 12:26 AM on 10th April 2011

  • Mother-of-three was told people with her condition only had a life expectancy of two to five years
Enlarge   My hero: Ms Marton with her son Jason, who provided a miraculous boost to her immune system during her pregnancy
My hero: Ms Marton with her son Jason, who provided a miraculous boost to her immune system during her pregnancy

When Anna Marton was given just two years to live she was devastated.

She had been diagnosed with a deadly bone marrow defect, which doctors said couldn’t be cured.


Then she unexpectedly fell pregnant and doctors warned that giving birth could kill her - but she was determined to carry on with the pregnancy.

It was a decision that has miraculously ended up saving her life - as her baby son Jason has CURED her of the condition.


It has baffled doctors - but in Februrary,  Anna was finally given the all clear from the disease and can now live a normal life.


‘Jason really has been my miracle cure,’ said Anna, who lives with partner Tony Harman, 41, a kitchen fitter.


‘Even the doctors couldn’t explain it - it really is a miracle - and that's what I call him. 

There was no medicine to treat me - but my own baby cured me.’

Anna, 39, who lives in Rhu, near Glasgow, was diagnosed in February 2009 with myelofibrosis, a bone marrow defect that affects the body’s ability to produce red blood cells.

She had been suffering from unexplained bruising for several months before, which she at first put down to helping out on her local farm.
‘I just kept finding these bruises all over my body,’ she said. 


‘The slightest knock would turn me black and blue. I couldn’t really understand why it was happening, as I never remembered knocking myself.


‘At first I thought it was my outdoors lifestyle - I ride horses and help out on the local farm, so there is plenty of opportunity for knocks and bangs doing all that outdoors work. But then my gums started bleeding and I notcied cuts and bruises weren’t healing properly, so I thought that something might be wrong, and I was feeling exhausted all the time too.


‘I had the tests done at the haematology department of the local hospital so they could take a bone marrow sample.
'Tony came with me to get my results. It was the day before my 37th birthday and as soon as I saw the consultant’s face I knew immediately that it wasn’t good news.'

The test results revealed the devastating news that she had myelofibrosis, which meant that her body was no longer able to produce enough red blood cells. 

The rare condition was difficult to treat and the consultant told Anna that most patients don’t live more than two to five years after diagnosis.

‘I was absolutely devastated,’ admitted Anna, who has two other children Arran, 18, and Annabel, 13. 

‘It just seemed so surreal and I couldn’t really take anything in. It was only when I left the hospital that the reality of what the consultant had said hit me and I just burst into tears. I just kept thinking that I wouldn’t see my children grow up. I just couldn’t stop crying.’

Miracle: Jason's mother feared she would not get to see her son grow up, but was given the all-clear in February
Miracle: Jason's mother feared she would not get to see her son grow up, but was given the all-clear in February

There was nothing the doctors could do except monitor her condition and prescribe steroids to boost her blood count.  A bone marrow transplant was possible, but it only had a very slim chance of working.

She said: ‘The whole family had to have flu jabs and keep away from me if they had a cold or infection as my immune system was so low.  

'Without a cure for this disease, even the slightest knock or cut could lead to me having to go to hospital. I was terrified. I couldn’t go riding any more in case I fell. And every time my gums started bleeding I worried that I would bleed to death.
‘I had to spend most of my time indoors so that I didn’t come into contact with anyone.’

She didn’t want to tell her children about the fact that she could die, as she didn’t want to upset them.
‘I explained to them that doctors couldn’t cure my condition but that the worse case scenario was that I might need a bone marrow transplant,’ she said.
‘I didn’t want them worrying that they were going to lose me.’

Then in April 2009 she may the most remarkable discovery that she was pregnant.

‘I had missed a period and I put it down to my illness. I went to see the doctor and he agreed that it was probably due to depression and stress about my diagnosis,’ she said.

‘But something just kept nagging me in the back of my mind and a week later I went to buy a pregnancy test. I didn’t tell Tony about it because I was so sure that it was going to be negative.

'But then I did the test and up came two blue lines on the stick. I just kept staring at it, I couldn’t believe that it was actually positive. I had to do another test before I was actually convinced I was pregnant. I told Tony and the children and they were all thrilled.’

Ultrasound scans revealed that Anna's baby was thriving despite doctors fears it would worsen her condition
Ultrasound scans revealed that Anna's baby was thriving despite doctors fears it would worsen her condition
But the midwife at her GP practice was concerned and initially warned her that she could suffer fatal bleeding during the birth. But she was determined to go ahead with the pregnancy.

‘At first I thought there was no hope and that I was doomed, said Anna.
‘But then one of the doctors at the hospital said they would do everything they could to support me and they could give me drugs during the labour to try and stop any bleeding.
‘I just had to put my trust in the doctors and hope for the best.’

Anna’s pregnancy progressed smoothly and at each scan she could see her baby was thriving.
‘He kicked a lot and moved around, which was so reassurring,’ she said.
‘And at each scan I could see him growing well which was a relief.’
Baby Jason was born in November 2009, weighing a healthy 6Ib2, after just three hours labour.

‘It was such a relief when I finally held him in my arms. The doctors had told me they couldn’t carry out a caesarian operation as it was too risky to me as I could have bleed to death if anything had gone wrong, but luckily the labour went smoothly and Jason was born naturally. 

The doctors had been on standby ready to give me blood transfusions, but it turned out they weren’t needed as it was such an easy birth.

‘As soon as I’d given birth and he was in my arms I looked down at him and it was hard to think that I probably wouldn’t live to see him grow up. it was just devastating to think that he wouldn’t remember me.’

But then in February last year, 12 months after her initial diagnosis, something amazing happened.
Anna went back to hospital for a check up and it was then that doctors made a remarkable discovery. There was no sign of the disease.

Doctors then sent the bone marrow samples to 25 different doctors just to check the results, but they had all agreed it was clear.
‘I couldn’t believe it, and neither could anyone else,’ said Anna.  

‘Just a year ago I’d been given just two years to live. And now I was being told that the disease had completely gone from my body. It was unbelievable.’

‘The doctors had never seen a case like it before, and they told me that somehow, the pregnancy hormones had helped my body heal itself.’

Pregnant women produce an increased amount of the male hormone androgen and some studies suggest this can make symptoms less severe.  

But unbelievably, in her case, it had provided a complete cure.

In February she went for a final check up, and the results were still clear. There is no sign of the disease returning, and she can now live a normal life.

‘Everyone was baffled, but now thankfully I can just get on with being a mum,’ said Anna.  

‘My baby healed me - and to me, that's a miracle - and when he’s old enough I will tell him how he saved my life.’

Amazing picture

Up to his old ant-ics: Photographer snaps amazing picture of insect carrying petal back to its nest

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:51 PM on 11th April 2011

This hard-working ant balances a huge yellow petal above its head as it marches along on its hind legs.


The 1cm-long insect carries food and flowers left for him by photographer Andiyan Lutfi under a mango tree near his house.


The red ant used the material to build a nest before queuing with other workers to quench his thirst on water droplets caught on an over-hanging branch.

The hard-working ant balances a huge yellow petal above its head as it marches on its hind legs back to its nest
 
The hard-working ant balances a huge yellow petal above its head as it marches on its hind legs back to its nest 

Andiyan, 36, snaps away as the ants go about their day-to-day lives in Cibinong Village, Indonesia.
He said: 'I observe the amazing behaviour of the ants under the mango tree almost every day.
'I like to take photographs of the ants to show how extraordinary they are. They can work well as a team or as individuals.


'The ants take leaves or whatever else there is under the tree and make a nest out of them.'These photos show a male ant biting into a yellow petal I gave him and taking it to their nest. They will bite into anything I give them.


'The female, or queen ant, usually stays in the nest.'  The red ants, known locally as Rang-rang, live in colonies where each has their own role as either worker, drone or queen.


The colony is so important to the creatures that they would sacrifice themselves to protect their home.

 

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