Imagine coming up with an amazing, life-saving invention. An invention that tens of thousands of people around the world have used to save people’s lives.
And then imagine never using it yourself, not even once, to save a life. Until you were 96 years old.
That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Henry Heimlich.
Tag: medicine
Saskatchewan Couple Faces $1M Medical Bill
A Saskatchewan couple is discovering just how helpful people can be.
Jennifer Huculak-Kimmel and husband Darren Kimmel found themselves facing a massive medical bill, but now Canadians are coming forward to help them cover their costs.
Canada Gives Aid, Vaccine, Supplies To Fight Disease In West Africa
Canada is sending 300,000 medical face masks to West Africa.
The masks are to help healthcare workers there who are caring for people with a virus that was identified in Africa in March.
Blood Donors Needed: Canadian Blood Services
The organization that looks after Canada’s blood supply says the country’s supply is very low and they urgently need blood donors.
Canadian Blood Services is a non-profit organization that collects blood for use during operations or whenever it is needed in Canada.
The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge
Lots of people have been dumping buckets of ice cold water over their heads. It may sound a little strange, but it’s for a good cause.
It’s all part of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge and it has taken the Internet by storm.
Student Doctor Finds Real, Life-Threatening Illness In “Patient-Actor”
A student doctor recently saved the life of an unusual patient, in a very unusual way.
Ryan Jones, a medical student at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, was practicing diagnosing illnesses.
As part of his training, he and other student doctors had to diagnose an actor who was playing the part of an ill patient.
The actor would act out symptoms of an illness he pretended to have, and the medical student had to figure out what the illness was.
Of course, the actors didn’t really have any illness—they were just pretending.
Except, in the case of Jim Malloy, he really did have the illness and didn’t know it.
Canadian Awards Predict Nobel Prize Winners
The Gairdner Foundation recently announced the winners of its 2012 awards.
The Canada Gairdner Awards are given to people who have made a new scientific discovery to combat disease or ease human suffering. It is one of the most important medical awards in the world.
As the Gairdner website puts it, “we’re dedicated to recognizing the world’s most creative and accomplished biomedical scientists.” Biomedical scientists work in medicine and biology (the study of living organisms).
The late James A. Gairdner established the Gairdner Foundation in 1957. Since then, 300 awards have been given. Seventy-three of those award winners have gone on to win a Nobel Prize in either medicine or chemistry.
The awards are selected by Canadians, but they are given to scientists throughout the world.
This year’s seven award winners include three people who broke through mysteries of the human circadian clock, the internal mechanism that controls our sleep and wakefulness, body temperature, and many other functions.
No More Cases Of Polio In India
India made history this month when it announced that there were no more cases of polio in the country.
The victory came after years of work by India’s public-health workers. They travelled to the most remote places and the poorest areas in the country. They gave vaccines—medicine that prevents diseases—to 172 million children.
Polio is a viral infection that can paralyze (stop movement in) the body, especially in people’s arms and legs. It can also make people’s breathing difficult is if they have very bad asthma. It can even be fatal.
Remote Community Gets High-Tech Pharmacy
Curve Lake is a First Nations community half an hour north of Peterborough.
People who live there no longer have to go all the way into the city when they run out of their medicine and need a prescription filled.
They can get their medicine from a machine, similar to a bank machine – except that what comes out isn’t money, it’s pills.
Curve Lake gets a lot of snow in the winter.
In bad weather, it can be difficult for the community’s residents to get to the nearest pharmacy if they run out of their medication.
12-Year-Old Boy Delivers His Baby Brother
Gaelan Edwards is a special kid. He’s 12 years old and lives in Campbell River, BC. He has three siblings, Gage, Rhianna and Rowan.
But it’s his newest brother whose birthday he’ll probably never forget. That’s because on Aug. 21, Gaelan delivered his brother.
Around 2 a.m., his pregnant mother woke up and shouted for Gaelan. She said she was going to have the baby.
Gaelan wondered what to do, and worried that if he didn’t catch the baby as it came out it might get hurt.
So he went into action. He pulled the baby out by the shoulders. Then, without being told, he ran to the kitchen and got a pair of scissors.
