ahimsa_pdx

jensorensen, 1 month ago to coronavirus

Latest comic: What did we learn from Covid?

#covid #COVID19 #coronavirus #cartoon #health #healthcare #pandemic #comic

ahimsa_pdx, 1 year ago to random

This is your periodic reminder that ambulatory wheelchair users exist. Many folks think wheelchairs are only for those who can't walk at all, or folks who can only take a couple steps.

Wheelchairs and electric scooters are used due to pain, weakness, balance issues, orthostatic intolerance, etc.

#Disability #Wheelchairs #DynamicDisability #ChronicIllness #MEcfs

RickiTarr, 5 months ago to random

Show me the most 80's thing you can think of!

ahimsa_pdx, 5 months ago to mecfs

Quote from an interview with Dr. Asad Khan, talking about Long Covid:

"We worship exercise, and exercise is good for most people, but when you have a post viral illness, it is the worst thing you can do ... and this is not really well known.

So there are other illnesses for example like M.E. (myalgic encephalomyelitis), Long Covid, and Lyme disease, for example, where if you make people exercise they only get worse."

1/3

#LongCovid #MEcfs #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #CFS #Exercise #PEM #Lyme

ahimsa_pdx, 7 months ago to ukteachers

I think this line bears repeating:

"There is no amount of me doing my individual best that can overcome a failure of community policy."

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/what-can-a-covid-outbreak-at-a-writing-conference-teach-us-about-community-care/

hat tip to @pixplz

#Education #HigherEd #Covid #Covid19 #CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsAirborne #WearAMask #LongCovid

ahimsa_pdx, 1 year ago to random

The Bee Guy shares some home truths about saving the bees

"If you really want to help native wild bees:

Don’t keep hives, keep flowers. Wildflowers. This will mean you will ultimately keep native wild bees.

... Don’t spray poisons on your patch and forget neat and tidy – it’s so last century."

https://www.thejournal.ie/readme/bees-saving-bees-6071187-May2023

#WorldBeeDay #Bees #Nature #Bumblebees #SolitaryBees

ahimsa_pdx, 10 months ago to random

New Northwestern study reveals alarming impact of long Covid on patients

"Long Covid occurs in about a third of Covid survivors and is now the third leading neurologic disorder in the United States."

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/new-northwestern-study-impact-long-covid-patients

#COVID #PASC #LongCovid

ahimsa_pdx, 8 months ago to disability

Drawing by Liberal Jane
(https://www.liberaljane.com/)

""If your activism isn't accessible and inclusive, who is it even for?"

#Disability #Accessibility #Activism

ahimsa_pdx, 10 days ago to mecfs

How ME/CFS shrinks your world, bit by bit

art by Kornelia Paulsen

@mecfs

#MEcfs #PwME #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #MillionsMissing #WorldMEDay #MEAwarenessDay

ahimsa_pdx, 6 months ago to mecfs

"Physical exertion worsens symptoms in patients with post-COVID condition"

https://www.scienceopen.com/document/read?vid=6ebbad1a-4c23-4323-b20c-e57a346ce9f9

#COVID #LongCovid #PostCovid #MEcfs #POTS #Research

PEM reduces patient ability from partaking in normal societal affairs, including work and social gatherings. PEM is also known to occur in other post-infectious diseases and is a hallmark symptom of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis / Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (ME/CFS)(1,3). The pathophysiology of PEM is currently unknown but seems to be distinct from the pathophysiology of a limited exercise capacity. Patients with other chronic diseases, such as cardiac or lung failure, suffer from a limited exercise capacity, but these patients do not develop PEM. The presence of PEM in many patients with post-COVID condition ultimately leads to many forms of rehabilitation to be counterproductive, where they may enter a so-called 'push-and-crash cycle'. This cycle, in which patients go beyond their individual thresholds, result in more days attempting to recover from the severe worsening of symptoms, ultimately leading to heavy reductions in physical activity to recover or avoid overstimulation. As a result, the term 'Exercise is Medicine' may not be directly applicable post-COVID condition patients exhibiting PEM. (1,3)

ahimsa_pdx, 3 months ago to disability

I'm not calling out anyone specifically, and I know this usage is very common … but can we stop disparaging crutches as bad things?

Why is "it's just a crutch!" a valid criticism?

Crutches are helpful!

Mobility aids are good, actually!

(Bracing for the inevitable ableist responses to this comment in 3 2 1 … )

#Disability #Ableism #JustACrutch

ahimsa_pdx, 1 month ago to longcovid

"Chairman Bernie Sanders Releases Long COVID Moonshot Legislative Proposal"

https://www.sanders.senate.gov/press-releases/news-chairman-bernie-sanders-releases-long-covid-moonshot-legislative-proposal/

"Before formally introducing this legislation in the Senate, the HELP Committee wants to hear from the Long COVID community to get their views on how this proposal can be improved and strengthened…

committee is particularly interested in hearing from Long COVID patients and their families, scientific researchers, and medical professionals"

@longcovid

#COVID #LongCovid #CovidIsNotOver #USpol

ahimsa_pdx, 1 month ago to Birds

"A New Birding Club Wants to Help COVID Long-Haulers Safely Enjoy Nature Together"

https://www.audubon.org/magazine/new-birding-club-wants-help-covid-long-haulers-safely-enjoy-nature-together

"Ed Yong, an award-winning science journalist who widely covered the pandemic, recently launched The Spoonbill Club to provide community—and an accessible hobby—for folks with long COVID."

@longcovid

#Birds #Birding #Nature #LongCovid #MEcfs #ChronicIllness #Spoonies

ahimsa_pdx, 3 months ago to mecfs

"Long COVID can destroy your ability to exercise. Now we know why"

"As a new study shows, the answer lies in some long COVID sufferers’ muscle damage and their bodies’ ability to make energy"

https://archive.is/rd7Pm#selection-4855.0-4855.65

No paywall - archived version of National Geographic article

@mecfs @longcovid

#LongCovid #MEcfs #PwME #Exercise #PEM #Research

ahimsa_pdx, 4 months ago to Birds

From Washington Post:

"This pay phone is free, but you can’t make a call. It only plays birdsongs."

Gift link (no paywall): https://wapo.st/3tRucFD

"Listeners push 1 to hear a yellow-crowned night heron, 7 to hear a pileated woodpecker’s call and 9 for the distinct scream of a red-tailed hawk. Instructions about how to use the phone are in three languages: English, Spanish and Amharic — a reflection of Takoma Park’s Ethiopian community."

#Birds #Birders #Fun #Art #GiftLink #GiftArticle

ahimsa_pdx, 11 months ago to random

From Ars Technica:

"COVID outbreak at CDC gathering infects 181 disease detectives

Nearly all of the attendees were vaccinated, but 70% said they didn't mask."

These folks all knew that COVID is airborne, right? I hope they do a long term follow-up to see how many get Long Covid or ME/CFS.

I'm glad to see they're recommending "high quality masks" for their June conference but I hope they also allow remote attendance.

https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/05/covid-outbreak-at-cdc-gathering-infects-181-disease-detectives

#COVID #LongCovid #MEcfs

ahimsa_pdx, 7 months ago to longcovid

"The Black Long Covid Experience"

"Black Women and Families: From Dismissed to Diagnosed"

Sunday, Oct. 15
12 noon Pacific / 3 pm Eastern

A virtual event. More info here:
https://www.chimereladawn.com/

@longcovid

#Covid #DisabilityJustice #LongCovid #PostCovid #BlackWomen #BIPOC

ahimsa_pdx, 3 months ago to random

I just saw this so I'm sharing with the #BikeNite crowd:

Plans unveiled in Georgia for 'America's longest paved trail'

https://www.gpb.org/news/2024/02/09/plans-unveiled-in-georgia-for-americas-longest-paved-trail

"Advocates for a bike and pedestrian trail linking Athens and Savannah have unveiled detailed plans for the project.

Trail backers say the 211-mile trail would be the longest paved trail in America."

hat tip to @BlackAzizAnansi

ahimsa_pdx, 7 months ago to mecfs

Massachusetts ME/CFS and FM Annual Event

"ME/CFS: Changing the Narrative"

October 28, 1-3 PM Eastern Time (on Zoom)

Guest Speaker: Ed Yong

Fee is $10 for non-members

Full details: https://www.massmecfs.org/news-events/866-me-cfs-changing-the-narrative

@mecfs

#MEcfs #PwME #LongCovid #ChronicIllness #Massachusetts

ahimsa_pdx, 4 months ago to pnw

"Orca baby alert! Newborn spotted in Puget Sound"

https://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/2023/12/orca-baby-alert-newborn-spotted-in-puget-sound.html

#PNW #Whale #Ocean #Wildlife

ahimsa_pdx, 2 months ago to privacy

➡️ "comprehensive data privacy legislation is what we really need" ⬅️

YES!

"If companies, TikTok or anybody else, were not collecting and retaining and sharing so much data in the first place, you wouldn't need to single out TikTok for such exceptional treatment. It's hard to take Congress seriously about data privacy if they don't pass data privacy laws, if they don't look at how TikTok and other social media companies retain user data …"

https://mastodon.social/@eff/112090966965330009

#USPol #Privacy #TikTok

ahimsa_pdx, 2 months ago to ai

From Rachel Thomas:

“AI will cure cancer” misunderstands both AI and medicine

https://rachel.fast.ai/posts/2024-02-20-ai-medicine/

Quote from "How the Medical System Operates"

"An AI algorithm that reads MRIs more accurately would not have helped neurologist Ilene Ruhoy, MD, PhD, when she developed a 7 cm brain tumor. The key obstacle to her treatment was getting fellow neurologists to believe her symptoms and even order an MRI in the first place."

#AI #AIHype #Medical #HealthCare #Diagnosis

Dr. Ruhoy’s experience is sadly common. While Dr. Ruhoy lives in the USA, a study in the UK found that almost 1 in 3 patients with brain tumors had to visit doctors at least 5 times before receiving an accurate diagnosis. Again, MRI-reading AI can not help these patients whose doctors won’t order an MRI in the first place. On average, it takes Lupus patients 7 years to receive a correct diagnosis, and 1 in 3 are initially misdiagnosed with doctors incorrectly claiming mental health issues are the root of their symptoms. Even healthcare workers are often shocked at how quickly they are dismissed and disbelieved once they become patients. For instance, interviews with a dozen healthcare workers revealed that their colleagues shifted to discarding their expertise as soon as they developed Long Covid.

ahimsa_pdx, 1 month ago to mecfs

Email from #MEAction:

"We are less than a month away from launching #MillionsMissing 2024, and we are thrilled at the success we’re already seeing with the campaign!

We know the impact of #TeachMETreatME will be HUGE with thousands more clinicians across the country being educated on how to diagnose and treat the ME. Some of these clinicians will become the specialists we so desperately need."

Full email -

https://mailchi.mp/meaction/teachmetreatme-payoff-will-be-huge

@mecfs

#MEcfs #LongCovid #MedEd #MedMastodon #PatientLed

ahimsa_pdx, 4 months ago to mastodon

From NPR:

"What do you think of social media these days? We want to hear your stories"

I don't have energy to respond myself, but I thought some folks on Mastodon might like to share their experiences.

The form has questions like "What social media platforms do you use?" and "Which ones do you like and dislike?"

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/11/1223974976/social-media-tiktok-instagram-facebook-youtube-twitter-meta-influencers

#Mastodon #Fediverse #Threads #Bluesky #SocialMedia

ahimsa_pdx, 10 days ago to mecfs

Personal story from @ehashman for International ME/CFS Awareness Day:

https://hashman.ca/me-cfs/

Quote:

"One of my acquaintances cried when they last saw me in person. But frankly, I love my wheelchair.

I am not "wheelchair-bound" — I am bed-bound, and the wheelchair gets me out of bed. My chair hasn't taken anything from me."

Also included: a list of ME/CFS advocacy groups and what you can do to help ❤️

#MEcfs #MEAwarenessDay #WorldMEDay #MyalgicEncephalomyelitis #Disability #Wheelchair