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<channel>
	<title>News Today &#187; Health News</title>
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		<title>&#8216;Brain dead&#8217; Steven Thorpe defies doctors with full recovery</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/6005/2012/04/brain-dead-steven-thorpe-defies-doctors-with-full-recovery/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/6005/2012/04/brain-dead-steven-thorpe-defies-doctors-with-full-recovery/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 29 Apr 2012 09:32:48 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[brain dead]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[recovery]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=6005</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A teenager who was declared brain dead by FOUR doctors made a ‘miracle’ recovery after his parents begged medics for a second opinion – moments before his life support machine was about to be switched OFF. Steven Thorpe was 17 ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/6005/2012/04/brain-dead-steven-thorpe-defies-doctors-with-full-recovery/" data-text="&#8216;Brain dead&#8217; Steven Thorpe defies doctors with full recovery" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/6005/2012/04/brain-dead-steven-thorpe-defies-doctors-with-full-recovery/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A teenager who was declared brain dead by FOUR doctors made a ‘miracle’ recovery after his parents begged medics for a second opinion – moments before his life support machine was about to be switched OFF.</p>
<p>Steven Thorpe was 17 years old when he suffered horrific injuries after a multiple car crash which left another man dead.</p>
<p>He was placed in a chemically-induced coma and doctors said he would never recover and even asked his devastated parents to consider donating his organs.</p>
<p>But Steven’s father begged doctors to reconsider and even enlisted private GP Julia Piper to examine him again after being convinced that their son could recover.</p>
<p>Doctors at University Hospital in Coventry, West Mids., agreed to let a neurologist re-examine him and astonishingly, he detected faint brain waves indicating Steven had a slim chance of making a recovery.</p>
<p>NHS chiefs agreed to bring Steven out of his coma to see if he could survive on his own and he stunned medics by making an almost full recovery.</p>
<p>Incredibly, just five weeks later Steven was discharged from hospital.</p>
<p>Speaking about his amazing recovery for the first time, Steven, now aged 21 and a trainee accountant, said: &#8220;My father believed I was still there.</p>
<p>“He expressed his views to Julia Piper and I think she listened very closely to what my dad had said.</p>
<p>&#8220;My impression is maybe the hospital weren&#8217;t very happy that my father wanted a second opinion.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think the doctors wanted to give me three days on the life support machine and the following day they said they wanted to turn it off.</p>
<p>&#8220;The words they used to my parents were &#8216;you need to start thinking about organ donations&#8217;.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think that&#8217;s what gave my dad energy, he thought &#8216;no way&#8217;.</p>
<p>“I think if my dad would&#8217;ve agreed with them then it would&#8217;ve been off in seconds.</p>
<p>&#8220;If my parents hadn&#8217;t asked for the second opinion, and if Julia hadn&#8217;t been there, I wouldn&#8217;t be here today.&#8221;</p>
<p>Steven, from Kenilworth, Warks., was been travelling home from nearby Leamington Spa in February 2008 when the vehicle he was in was involved in a collision with two other cars and a horse that had run loose.</p>
<p>The horrific crash left one man dead and the horse was also fatally injured.</p>
<p>Steven was rushed to hospital and surgeons performed a craniotomy to help alleviate any swelling on his brain.</p>
<p>But despite the operation being successful, brain scans failed to detect and electrical pulses and he was declared brain dead.</p>
<p>Steven added: &#8220;As far as I am concerned, living is a full recovery. From how I was to how I am now, I think it&#8217;s a miracle.</p>
<p>&#8220;I drive to work every day, I don&#8217;t think anything is holding me back. There&#8217;s no point dwelling on it, I just pull my socks up and get on with it.</p>
<p>&#8220;Hopefully it can help people see that you should never give up. I&#8217;ve had so much positive feedback about it.</p>
<p>&#8220;If you believe it then follow it, that&#8217;s the moral. My father believed I was alive and he was correct.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s hard for me to even ask my parents about what happened.</p>
<p>“They do cooperate with me because they want me to understand it all but they don&#8217;t want to be reminded about it.&#8221;</p>
<p>Dr Piper, who runs a private practice in Leicester, said: &#8220;They had doctors saying he wasn&#8217;t going to live but the parents felt there was flickers of response and it wasn&#8217;t just wishful thinking.</p>
<p>&#8220;I had this strong feeling that this wasn&#8217;t right and then eventually I got someone else to look at him and of course it proved to have been the right thing to have done.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s an inspirational story about never giving up.</p>
<p>“He&#8217;s a remarkable young man and his recovery has been astonishing.&#8221;</p>
<p>Since leaving hospital four years ago, Steven has had four operations to reconstruct his mangled face &#8211; including having his nose rebuilt and an artificial eye socket made.</p>
<p>He also has physiotherapy session to improve the movement in his left arm &#8211; which was badly injured in the road smash.</p>
<p>In a statement, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust said: &#8220;The injury to Steven&#8217;s brain was extremely critical and several CT scans of the head showed almost irreversible damage.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is extremely rare that a patient with having suffered such extensive trauma to the brain should survive.</p>
<p>&#8220;However, critical care and other specialist teams continued to support his systems through his critical period and we were delighted to see Steve recover and make progress against all the odds.</p>
<p>&#8220;He is truly a unique case.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Mother’s anger as sporty girl who weighs just 3st 7lb is branded overweight by NHS</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5969/2012/04/mothers-anger-as-sporty-girl-who-weighs-just-3st-7lb-is-branded-overweight-by-nhs/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5969/2012/04/mothers-anger-as-sporty-girl-who-weighs-just-3st-7lb-is-branded-overweight-by-nhs/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:32:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[child]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[NHS]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[obese]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictures]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5969</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A mother has spoken of her anger after her fighting fit four-year-old daughter was branded obese by NHS bosses &#8211; despite weighing just 3st 7lb. Furious mum-of- four Natasha Gray blasted health officials after she received a letter labelling her ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5969/2012/04/mothers-anger-as-sporty-girl-who-weighs-just-3st-7lb-is-branded-overweight-by-nhs/" data-text="Mother’s anger as sporty girl who weighs just 3st 7lb is branded overweight by NHS" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5969/2012/04/mothers-anger-as-sporty-girl-who-weighs-just-3st-7lb-is-branded-overweight-by-nhs/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A mother has spoken of her anger after her fighting fit four-year-old daughter was branded obese by NHS bosses &#8211; despite weighing just 3st 7lb.</p>
<p>Furious mum-of- four Natasha Gray blasted health officials after she received a letter labelling her active and healthy daughter Lacie May as &#8220;clinically obese.&#8221;</p>
<p>The youngster &#8211; who loves nothing more than playing on her trampoline and swimming &#8211; was warned in the letter of the long term &#8216;serious implications&#8217; of her weight &#8211; including cancer and heart disease.</p>
<p>But fuming Natasha, 34, is adamant there is nothing wrong with her daughter&#8217;s weight and that at 3ft 6ins tall and weighing 3st 7lbs &#8211; she is just a normal child.</p>
<p>And the married full-time mum believes that raising such issues with impressionable children could lead to eating disorders in later life.</p>
<p>She said: “It is absolutely ridiculous. She is one of the smallest in her reception class and there is no way she is overweight, let alone very overweight.</p>
<p>&#8220;Children aren&#8217;t stupid and listen to conversations &#8211; it could give her self-confidence issues and she could grow up to be anorexic.</p>
<p>“The letter is very over-the-top &#8211; it suggested I contact my local GP practice for advice, and when I rang them they basically laughed and said there was nothing the matter with Lacie-May.&#8221;</p>
<p>Natasha, received the letter after an NHS nursing team carried out a routine height and weight measurement check at Marshland St James Primary School, in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire.</p>
<p>She and her classmates had their height and weight measured by NHS staff to calculate their body mass index as part of a scheme  aimed at cracking down on childhood obesity.</p>
<p>She registered a BMI ‘centile’ of 98. Between 91 and 97 is classed as overweight, and 98 and above is clinically obese.</p>
<p>The letter offers the opportunity for Natasha to enrol on the MEND programme (Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It) to learn how to make her family eat more healthily and be more active.</p>
<p>But Natasha, from Wisbech, is happy that Lacie-May and her other three children: Brandon, 16, Charlotte, 11, and Kelsey, 9, are already eat a healthy diet and are very active.</p>
<p>She added: “She is not a big eater, she doesn’t just sit and eat crisps all day. She has three meals and an occasional snack.</p>
<p>&#8220;The school knows its children and their families, surely it would be better for them to say something if they think there is an issue like being overweight than to have strangers making judgements based on a set of guidelines.</p>
<p>“I contacted the NHS Trust to tell her how ridiculous and upsetting the letter was and her response was to offer to send someone out to speak to me about a healthier lifestyle.&#8221;</p>
<p>Anna Morgan, Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust  Director of Operations, said: “The Child Measurement Programme letters, which are based on a nationally developed template, give parents an indication of their child’s height, weight and BMI measurements.</p>
<p>“This is to help ensure parents are aware of whether their child’s BMI is within the ‘healthy’ range or not.</p>
<p>&#8220;By providing parents with this information, which gives an accurate snap-shot in time, we aim to help parents to make informed decisions about their family’s lifestyle.</p>
<p>“We’re not suggesting that children don’t change size and shape as they grow, but these measurements can help parents to understand whether their child is likely to be a healthy weight for their height, age and gender.</p>
<p>“A key part of the letters is the information which signposts parents to local services, which offer opportunities and advice about choosing healthier lifestyles.</p>
<p>“Not all families will feel they need this, but it is important that families are able to access this advice, should they want to.”</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Parents anger as airline charge £660 to keep sick daughter alive on flight</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5915/2012/04/parents-anger-as-airline-charge-660-to-keep-sick-daughter-alive-on-flight/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5915/2012/04/parents-anger-as-airline-charge-660-to-keep-sick-daughter-alive-on-flight/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Apr 2012 08:56:22 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[disabled]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[epilepsy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[flight]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[girl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plane]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[seizures]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5915</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The parents of a severely disabled girl have blasted a “heartless” airline after they charged them £660 – to supply the tot with life-saving OXYGEN during the flight. Tragic three-year-old Jolina Skye Barton suffers from Ohtahara Syndrome – an incredibly ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5915/2012/04/parents-anger-as-airline-charge-660-to-keep-sick-daughter-alive-on-flight/" data-text="Parents anger as airline charge £660 to keep sick daughter alive on flight" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5915/2012/04/parents-anger-as-airline-charge-660-to-keep-sick-daughter-alive-on-flight/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>The parents of a severely disabled girl have blasted a “heartless” airline after they charged them £660 – to supply the tot with life-saving OXYGEN during the flight.</p>
<p>Tragic three-year-old Jolina Skye Barton suffers from Ohtahara Syndrome – an incredibly rare form of epilepsy which can spark dozens of seizures a day.</p>
<p>The condition – which effects just 200 children in the world &#8211; has left the toddler unable to walk, talk or feed herself.</p>
<p>Her desperate parents, Shane Barton, 23, and Jennifer Stermann, 26, raised #15,000 to send her to the Caribbean to undergo radical ‘Dolphin Therapy’ which has been proven to reduce the symptoms of the condition.</p>
<p>They spent six months raising funds for the trip but one week before they were due to fly out Dutch airline KLM slapped them with an extra 800Euros (£660) surcharge to supply Jolina with oxygen she needs to survive the 11-hour flight.</p>
<p>Shockingly, the firm told the couple they had to fork out for the oxygen because it was “company policy” to charge disabled passengers if they required additional services.</p>
<p>Former nurse Jennifer, from Kingstanding, Birmingham, said: &#8220;We booked it in January and we told them that we need oxygen on board for Jolina to survive the flight.</p>
<p>“No one said anything about any extra charges for the oxygen and we assumed that because she was so young and disabled that it would be provided free.</p>
<p>“I rang them last Friday just to confirm the details of the flight and was told we still had 800Euros outstanding for the oxygen.</p>
<p>“I was gobsmacked and couldn’t believe the airline could be so heartless</p>
<p>&#8220;They told us that KLM will charge us 200Euros (£165) to provide the oxygen for each flight for something that&#8217;s necessary for Jolina to live.</p>
<p>“When we told them our little girl was disabled and would die without the oxygen we were told it was ‘company policy’ to charge for extra services.</p>
<p>“I was gobsmacked when they told us, I just couldn&#8217;t say anything.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s unbelievable, we&#8217;ve just paid #3,500 for the flights and I think this is absolutely out of order by them to charge a disabled child so much for something that is necessary.</p>
<p>“We are not going to the Caribbean for a holiday, it’s scientific treatment for Jolina which could change her life.</p>
<p>&#8220;They say we have got to pay it or we are not allowed to fly.</p>
<p>“I wouldn&#8217;t let her go on the flight without oxygen because she would go blue and could die in the pressurised environment.</p>
<p>&#8220;I feel like I don&#8217;t want to pay it because it&#8217;s so harsh &#8211; but we really have no choice.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are trying to save up because we have to pay this out of our own money.</p>
<p>&#8220;All the other money has gone on the flights and hotel and food and the treatment for Jolina.&#8221;</p>
<p>The tragic tot was left permanently brain damaged after she was starved of oxygen when she was born four weeks early in a German hospital in February 2009.</p>
<p>Doctors warned Jennifer and Shane she was unlikely to see her first birthday and would need to take 18 drugs every day to control her seizures.</p>
<p>Brave Jolina defied the medics to make it to three and her parents hope the dolphin therapy could dramatically improve her life.</p>
<p>Jennifer, who is 20 weeks pregnant with the couple’s second child, added: “It&#8217;s not guaranteed that it will help, there&#8217;s just a chance.</p>
<p>“The doctors don&#8217;t know how but they&#8217;ve taken blood samples from other children before and after the therapy and it changed their endorphin levels.</p>
<p>&#8220;It made them develop better and for some of the children, their muscles got stronger.</p>
<p>“They can&#8217;t prove how it works but maybe it&#8217;s because dolphins are very calm and human-like in how they interact with the children.</p>
<p>&#8220;We have been told that Jolina won&#8217;t walk but we are really hoping that there is a chance the dolphin therapy would help.</p>
<p>&#8220;It has helped other children have less seizures. We&#8217;re not getting our hopes up or expecting miracles but we are hoping it might help a little bit.</p>
<p>&#8220;I really wish she could just say &#8216;mummy&#8217;. She&#8217;s constantly like a newborn baby, only she sleeps less.</p>
<p>&#8220;She is on loads of medications, she has 18 different types in fluids a day.”</p>
<p>The couple are due to fly from Birmingham to the Caribbean island of Curacao on Friday but the trip will be scrapped unless they find the extra £660 for Jolina’s oxygen.</p>
<p>Shane, a former male dancer, said: &#8220;I think it&#8217;s ridiculous that KLM won&#8217;t help us out.</p>
<p>“We are desperately hoping the airline reconsiders or someone loans us the extra money because we have no other funds available.</p>
<p>“The chances are at the moment we will have to cancel the trip and lose the money but we are hoping and praying for some kind of miracle.</p>
<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not as if we are going on a holiday for the sake of it, we have worked hard to raise thousands of pounds to try and improve Jolina&#8217;s life.”</p>
<p>Nobody was available from KLM yesterday.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Hamster swallows toy magnet &#8211; and gets stuck to cage</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5849/2012/04/hamster-swallows-toy-magnet-and-gets-stuck-to-cage/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5849/2012/04/hamster-swallows-toy-magnet-and-gets-stuck-to-cage/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 12 Apr 2012 08:42:46 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Quirky & Funny News Stories]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hamster]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[magnet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[spiderman]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5849</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A hapless hamster needed super powers when she got stuck to her metal cage – after chomping on a MAGNET from a SPIDERMAN toy. Four-month-old Smurf was found hanging from the outside of her cage by her MOUTH by stunned ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5849/2012/04/hamster-swallows-toy-magnet-and-gets-stuck-to-cage/" data-text="Hamster swallows toy magnet &#8211; and gets stuck to cage" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5849/2012/04/hamster-swallows-toy-magnet-and-gets-stuck-to-cage/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A hapless hamster needed super powers when she got stuck to her metal cage – after chomping on a MAGNET from a SPIDERMAN toy.</p>
<p>Four-month-old Smurf was found hanging from the outside of her cage by her MOUTH by stunned owner Kate Meech after she went out for the day with her family.</p>
<p>After being stuck there for anything up to eight hours, the mum-of-four managed to yank the shocked rodent free from the bars of her cage before spotting the outline of the circular magnet in Smurf’s cheek pouch.</p>
<p>The bizarre accident happened when Smurf chewed on the magnet which had fallen off the foot of a #6 Spiderman action figure belonging to Kate’s 10-year-old son Thomas.</p>
<p>Smurf munched on the magnet before squeezing out of her cage at the family’s home in Bugbrooke, Northampton, last Thursday.</p>
<p>Kate, 33, said: &#8220;Hamsters are nocturnal so Smurf probably got stuck in the night and was left hanging there all day.</p>
<p>&#8220;She somehow managed to squeeze through the bars in the corner of her cage and I found her on the outside dangling by her cheek.</p>
<p>&#8220;At first I thought she must have pierced her cheek on the bar so I moved her very carefully up and down the bar.</p>
<p>&#8220;When I saw the small circular shape inside her cheek I realised that was how she was attached.</p>
<p>&#8220;It took a bit of a tug to pull her away from it and then we had to keep her in a plastic box.</p>
<p>&#8220;She seemed to be fine so I thought she would just spit it out if she was left alone.&#8221;</p>
<p>Kate and husband Gareth, 37, a computer programmer, discovered Smurf after they returned from a day out with their children, Jack, 13, Thomas, 10, Lucy, eight and three-year-old son George.</p>
<p>Full-time mum Kate added: &#8220;We rang the vets but it was closed for the bank holiday except for emergencies. Smurf didn&#8217;t appear to be in any pain so we just kept an eye on her.</p>
<p>&#8220;But after checking on her for a few days I realised that, instead, her body started to push it out of her cheek through the skin.</p>
<p>&#8220;We found the magnet and she just has a little graze on her cheek. But she&#8217;s back to her normal, loopy self.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve warned the children to keep their toys away from the cage from now on.&#8221;</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Hospital safety blunder lead to OAP death</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5581/2012/03/hospital-safety-blunder-lead-to-oap-death/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5581/2012/03/hospital-safety-blunder-lead-to-oap-death/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Mar 2012 07:32:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Crime News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hospital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[OAP]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[safety]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5581</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A 71-year-old stroke victim plunged 20ft to his death from a hospital window after health chiefs failed to secure a latch, a court has heard. Tragic Harry Riley suffered multiple injuries and died shortly after falling from the first floor ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5581/2012/03/hospital-safety-blunder-lead-to-oap-death/" data-text="Hospital safety blunder lead to OAP death" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5581/2012/03/hospital-safety-blunder-lead-to-oap-death/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A 71-year-old stroke victim plunged 20ft to his death from a hospital window after health chiefs failed to secure a latch, a court has heard.</p>
<p>Tragic Harry Riley suffered multiple injuries and died shortly after falling from the first floor window in January 2009.</p>
<p>NHS bosses at Walsall Manor Hospital, West Mids., admitted breaching health and safety laws after they failed to check the window would not open more than 10cm.</p>
<p>Adam Farrer, prosecuting, said Mr Riley, 71, of Walsall Wood, West Mids., had been admitted to hospital in January 2009 after suffering a stroke.</p>
<p>Mr Farrer said Mr Riley’s wife Ann had described him as a “bit confused”, although nursing staff did not find this to be the case.</p>
<p>He had been spending his second night at the hospital’s assessment unit when he fell out of the window.</p>
<p>Mr Farrer told the court the pensioner got out of bed just before midnight and disconnected himself from a drip before he plunged “20 or so feet” out of a window.</p>
<p>He was admitted to the accident and emergency unit but died of multiple injuries shortly afterwards.</p>
<p>Mr Farrer, who told the court the hospital trust had failed to carry out a risk assessment, said: “The upper window did not have a restrictor fitted to it.”</p>
<p>Walsall Hospitals NHS Trust admitted failing to carry out a risk assessment on the window.</p>
<p>At his inquest in May 2010 Black Country Coroner Robin Balmain recorded an open verdict.</p>
<p>The case was adjourned for sentencing at Wolverhampton Crown Court on May 1.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>JCB Tubby</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5564/2012/03/jcb-tubby/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5564/2012/03/jcb-tubby/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:04:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[driver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[JCB]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictures]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[stone]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[weight-loss]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5564</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A JCB driver who spent more time digging into food than shifting rubble has lost a staggering SEVEN stone – in just 12 MONTHS. Big Barry Gatenby, 64, ballooned to 20 stone after shovelling sandwiches, steak suppers and chocolate bars ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5564/2012/03/jcb-tubby/" data-text="JCB Tubby" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5564/2012/03/jcb-tubby/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A JCB driver who spent more time digging into food than shifting rubble has lost a staggering SEVEN stone – in just 12 MONTHS.</p>
<p><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5566" src="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/nti_Barry_Gatenby01-300x212.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="212" /></p>
<p>Big Barry Gatenby, 64, ballooned to 20 stone after shovelling sandwiches, steak suppers and chocolate bars down his throat, washed down with cans of beer.</p>
<p>But after a health scare and a divorce he lost a whopping seven stone in just 12 months.</p>
<p>He said: &#8220;I was just sitting down all day, doing no exercise at all.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was also married at the time and was content and too comfortable.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was constantly picking at chocolate bars and crisps and would eat huge sandwiches and dinners every day.</p>
<p>&#8220;But, following my health scare and my divorce, I decided to get fit and dedicated 100 per cent to it.&#8221;</p>
<p>The father-of-two from Swindon, South Staffs, was referred to Slimming World by his GP.</p>
<p>He added: &#8220;I was worried that it would be all women and I would stick out like a sore thumb.</p>
<p>&#8220;But they made me feel really welcome and I really enjoy it. Hopefully, this will make more men take the plunge and join in.&#8221;</p>
<p>After losing a total of 7st 3lbs in just 12 months, Barry was awarded Man of the Year for his Wombourne group and got through to the national semi-finals of Slimming World Man of Year 2011.</p>
<p>He has also won Wombourne Slimming World&#8217;s Greatest Loser 2012 award.</p>
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		<title>Four-month-old baby could have been saved</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5465/2012/03/four-month-old-baby-could-have-been-saved/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5465/2012/03/four-month-old-baby-could-have-been-saved/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 10 Mar 2012 08:58:25 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Crime News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[baby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[child protection]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[death]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hospital]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[shaken]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5465</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A four-month-old baby boy who was violently shaken to death by his father could have been saved if hospital staff and police had followed child protection procedures, a damning report revealed on Thursday. Tragic Jayden Warr suffered “catastrophic and unsurvivable“ ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5465/2012/03/four-month-old-baby-could-have-been-saved/" data-text="Four-month-old baby could have been saved" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5465/2012/03/four-month-old-baby-could-have-been-saved/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A four-month-old baby boy who was violently shaken to death by his father could have been saved if hospital staff and police had followed child protection procedures, a damning report revealed on Thursday<a href="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5465/2012/03/four-month-old-baby-could-have-been-saved/shaken-baby-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-5467"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5467" src="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/nti_Shaken_Baby01-273x300.jpg" alt="" width="273" height="300" /></a>.</p>
<p>Tragic Jayden Warr suffered “catastrophic and unsurvivable“ brain injuries after he was attacked by dad Danny Warr in 2009.</p>
<p>Warr, 27, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after he was convicted of manslaughter last year.</p>
<p>A serious case review into Jayden&#8217;s death revealed medics failed to alert the authorities after the tot was admitted to hospital three weeks before his death when he stopped breathing following an apnoea attack.</p>
<p>Six hours before he was rushed to Sandwell General Hospital, police were called to the family home in West Bromwich, West Mids., after his desparate mum Rebecca Lloyd made four 999 calls claiming Warr had attacked her.</p>
<p>Sandwell Safeguarding Child Board slammed hospital staff for failing to contact social services when the boy was admitted and concluded his death was &#8220;predictable and survivable&#8221; .</p>
<p>They also warned other vulnerable children were at risk because child protection agencies had failed to implement vital changes to working practices.</p>
<p>Alan Ferguson, an independent child protection expert, wrote: “It is my primary conclusion that the death of AS [Jayden] was predictable and preventable had robust child protection procedures been implemented by staff at the hospital where he was admitted on the occasion of his apnoea attack.</p>
<p>“Where the cause of such an attack cannot be satisfactory diagnosed or explained, as was the case here, then hospital staff should have considered abuse as a possible issue, and at the very minimum, should have discussed the case with the designated nurse or doctor for safeguarding children.&#8221;</p>
<p>Doctors discharged Jayden at at the end of May 2009 despite failing to identify the cause of the apnoea attack.</p>
<p>On June 18 he was rushed back into hospital with massive brain injuries and was transferred to intensive care at Liverpool&#8217;s Alder Hey Hospital.</p>
<p>Tragically he died six days later on June 24 when doctors switched off his life support machine after he suffered irreversible brain damage.</p>
<p>The report found staff failed to make sufficient checks which would have revealed the lad&#8217;s family was known to social services.</p>
<p>If staff had checked the family background they would have discovered they had been the subject of a core assessment by social workers four months earlier.</p>
<p>Mr Ferguson added: “If the hospital had made a formal referral under child protection procedures, that assessment would have come to light.</p>
<p>“And it would have been revealed that only six hours before AS&#8217;s hospital admission, there had been a serious domestic abuse incident (four calls to 999 at 2.30am), an incident fuelled by excessive alcohol intake.“</p>
<p>Warr denied killing his son but was found guilty of manslaughter after a trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court last February.</p>
<p>Jayden&#8217;s family had first come to the attention of social workers in 2008 after West Midlands Police raised concerns about domestic violence.</p>
<p>The five-month assessment subsequently carried out by social workers which concluded no further action was to be taken was &#8216;superficial&#8217;, the review said.</p>
<p>The report stated: &#8220;A properly conducted and robust assessment at this time would have revealed a significant level of concerning information about both parents and mother&#8217;s extended family which could have prompted a very different outcome to AS&#8217;s [Jayden] first hospital admission in 2009.&#8221;</p>
<p>The review also said there had been failings by West Midlands Police officers and local midwives, which &#8220;seemed likely to be as a result of systematic failure&#8230; whereby safeguarding children is not at the forefront of everyone&#8217;s thinking.&#8221;</p>
<p>It also noted that a child safeguarding nurse at Sandwell General Hospital was &#8220;struggling to meet her responsibilities&#8221; due to &#8220;capacity/workload issues&#8221;.</p>
<p>Jayden&#8217;s devastated grandparents and Warr&#8217;s parents, Debbie and Lee Warr, from Great Barr, Birmingham, on Thursday spoke of their anguish.</p>
<p>Debbie, 45, said: &#8220;A part of all of us died with Jayden that day. We will never be the same again.</p>
<p>“He looked very poorly and there were lots of tubes and machines making bleeping noises.</p>
<p>“The nurse said he might be able to hear us and feel us touching him so we took it in turns to hold his hand and talk to him.</p>
<p>&#8220;Various family members came to visit and things went on like this until the 23rd of June when a doctor asked to speak to us in private.</p>
<p>“She told us that Jayden&#8217;s brain had suffered catastrophic damage and he would not be able to survive without the life support machine.</p>
<p>“She said he was deteriorating and that soon the machine would have to be switched off. I felt I had been punched in the stomach.</p>
<p>“We both believe Danny did something that night.&#8221;</p>
<p>The family is setting up a charity in memory of Jayden to raise awareness of shaken baby syndrome.</p>
<p>Sandwell General Hospital on Thursday refused to comment.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Couple celebrate birth of baby after 14 miscarriages, death at 2 wks and a stillbirth</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5441/2012/03/couple-celebrate-birth-of-baby-after-14-miscarriages-death-at-2-wks-and-a-stillbirth/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5441/2012/03/couple-celebrate-birth-of-baby-after-14-miscarriages-death-at-2-wks-and-a-stillbirth/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:53:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[baby]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[baby girl]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[birth]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[miscarriage]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[s]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5441</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A MOTHER who suffered a staggering 14 miscarriages, a stillbirth and the death of her two-week old son yesterday spoke of her joy &#8211; after giving birth to a bouncing baby girl. , 32, endured the heartbreaking loss of 16 ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5441/2012/03/couple-celebrate-birth-of-baby-after-14-miscarriages-death-at-2-wks-and-a-stillbirth/" data-text="Couple celebrate birth of baby after 14 miscarriages, death at 2 wks and a stillbirth" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5441/2012/03/couple-celebrate-birth-of-baby-after-14-miscarriages-death-at-2-wks-and-a-stillbirth/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A MOTHER who suffered a staggering 14 miscarriages, a stillbirth and the death of her two-week old son yesterday spoke of her joy &#8211; after giving birth to a bouncing baby girl.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5441/2012/03/couple-celebrate-birth-of-baby-after-14-miscarriages-death-at-2-wks-and-a-stillbirth/britain-miracle-baby/" rel="attachment wp-att-5443"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5443" src="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/nti_Miracle_Baby03-201x300.jpg" alt="" width="201" height="300" /></a>, 32, endured the heartbreaking loss of 16 babies over a 13-year period including the stillbirth of daughter Shannon and son Kia, who died at just two weeks old.</p>
<p>But Maria and long-term partner John Foran, 35, were celebrating when their daughter Mia Shannon was born on January 16, weighing 4lb 12oz.</p>
<p>Maria, from Moulton Seas End, Lincs., yesterday described her daughter&#8217;s birth as &#8220;a dream come true&#8221;.</p>
<p>She said: “It really is out of this world. After everything we have gone through this is like a dream come true. I didn’t think it would ever happen.</p>
<p>“After losing the two I lost and all the miscarriages I never thought I would be gifted with one. She is so precious to us.”</p>
<p>Maria suffered her first miscarriage when she was 19 and had endured 13 years of heartache before Mia&#8217;s birth.</p>
<p>She and John, a logistic supervisor at a garden nursery, gave up on their dream of having a family after son Shannon was stillborn and son Kia died aged two weeks in 2009.</p>
<p>Maria, a cancer nurse, added: &#8220;We didn&#8217;t think it would happen. We&#8217;d given up on the idea of having children, we had just decided not to try anymore so she was a bit of a surprise.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was too scared to tell John I was pregnant again for a week because I wasn&#8217;t sure how he&#8217;d react.&#8221;</p>
<p>Maria went to her GP who diagnosed her with both pre-eclampsia and strep B &#8211; a deadly combination which causes blood clots to form in the placenta cutting the food supply from the baby.</p>
<p>She needed twice daily injections into her stomach to thin the blood to prevent blood clots and she had weekly scans to monitor the baby&#8217;s health.</p>
<p>But days before Mia was due to be born, doctors at Pilgrim Hospital in Boston, Lincs., were forced to deliver her by emergency caesarian after Maria suffered complications.</p>
<p>Maria said: &#8220;She started delivering breach so the doctors told me I had to have a caesarian to get her out.&#8221;</p>
<p>&#8220;At 27 weeks I&#8217;d been ill in hospital and thought the worst was coming and we&#8217;d managed to get through that but when I was going in after she breached I just thought it was going to happen for a third time, that we were going to lose her.&#8221;</p>
<p>Delighted father John added: &#8220;During the pregnancy, we went to the Pilgrim Hospital 92 times for scans and check-ups.</p>
<p>“They put her on aspirin and she had the injections and packed in work straight away. We found out she was pregnant at eight weeks and they ordered bed rest from then on.</p>
<p>“We were really anxious. Every time we went for a scan we looked for a heart beat.</p>
<p>“We went every Wednesday and every Tuesday night Maria didn’t sleep. The drive to the hospital was like going to a funeral, really down and anxious, until we knew the baby was all right.</p>
<p>&#8220;I was terrified throughout the pregnancy, every time Maria was ill or hurt I was convinced it was going to happen again. I could not enjoy it at all, I was constantly waiting for something bad to happen.&#8221;</p>
<p>John, who was present at the birth, said the couple were even planning having a SECOND child to complete their family.</p>
<p>He added: &#8220;I really don&#8217;t know how to put into words what I felt at that moment, it was unbelievable.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not someone who shows their emotions much, but when the doctor put a hat on Mia and put her in my arms I just burst out crying in a room with about twelve people around me.</p>
<p>“It doesn’t compensate for what has happened in the past, but it makes it a bit easier.</p>
<p>&#8220;I think now we&#8217;ll wait till Mia&#8217;s a bit older and try to get her a brother or sister.</p>
<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t explain how happy I am.</p>
]]></content:encoded>
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		<title>Nelson Mandela taken to hospital</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5340/2012/02/nelson-mandela-taken-to-hospital/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5340/2012/02/nelson-mandela-taken-to-hospital/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 25 Feb 2012 10:01:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.newstoday.co.uk/?p=5340</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The 93-year-old statesman and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has been taken to hospital with what officials describe as a &#8220;long-standing abdominal complaint&#8221;. Mr Mandela retired from public life eight years ago but has suffered declining health in recent years. South ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5340/2012/02/nelson-mandela-taken-to-hospital/" data-text="Nelson Mandela taken to hospital" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5340/2012/02/nelson-mandela-taken-to-hospital/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>The 93-year-old statesman and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has been taken to hospital with what officials describe as a &#8220;long-standing abdominal complaint&#8221;.</p>
<p>Mr Mandela retired from public life eight years ago but has suffered declining health in recent years.</p>
<p>South African President Jacob Zuma&#8217;s office said the &#8220;love and good wishes of all South Africans and people throughout the world&#8221;</p>
<p>It has not been officially announced which hospital he had been taken to, but it is believed to be in Johannesburg.</p>
<p>Last year, Mandela received treatment in Johannesburg&#8217;s Milpark hospital for respiratory problems.</p>
<p>The Nobel Peace Prize winner is affectionately known in South Africa as Madiba.</p>
<p>He spent 27 years in prison for his actions against the apartheid regime before being released in 1990.</p>
<p>In 1994, he became South Africa&#8217;s first black president, stepping down in 1999 after one term.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5340/2012/02/nelson-mandela-taken-to-hospital/4south-africa-johannesburg-mandela-election/" rel="attachment wp-att-5342"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5342" src="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/mandela02-300x217.jpg" alt="Mandela in hospital scare with failing health" width="300" height="217" /></a></p>
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		<title>Girl with a curved spine can now walk tall</title>
		<link>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5261/2012/02/girl-with-a-curved-spine-can-now-walk-tall/</link>
		<comments>http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5261/2012/02/girl-with-a-curved-spine-can-now-walk-tall/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 Feb 2012 09:30:45 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>News Today</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[General News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Health News]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[operation]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[organs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pictrues]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[S-shaped spine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Spine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[surgery]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[A TEENAGER who had an S-shaped spine which risked crushing her internal organs and killing her is now walking tall following major surgery.   Brave Laura Di Cesare, 14, was diagnosed with scoliosis last May after her family noticed irregularities ...]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="socialize-in-content" style="float:left;"><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><a href="http://twitter.com/share" class="twitter-share-button" data-url="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5261/2012/02/girl-with-a-curved-spine-can-now-walk-tall/" data-text="Girl with a curved spine can now walk tall" data-count="vertical" data-via="socializeWP" ><!--Tweetter--></a></div><div class="socialize-in-button socialize-in-button-left"><iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5261/2012/02/girl-with-a-curved-spine-can-now-walk-tall/&amp;layout=box_count&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=50&amp;action=like&amp;font=arial&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=65" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:50px !important; height:65px;" allowTransparency="true"></iframe></div></div><p>A TEENAGER who had an S-shaped spine which risked crushing her internal organs and killing her is now walking tall following major surgery.  <a href="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/5261/2012/02/girl-with-a-curved-spine-can-now-walk-tall/peterborough-united-fan-laura-di-cesare-was-visited-at-home-in-stanground-peterborough-by-peterborough-united-player-tommy-rowe-to-wish-her-well-after-she-underwent-a-major-operation-to-straighten-h-2/" rel="attachment wp-att-5262"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-5262" src="http://www.newstoday.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/nti_Cesare_Rowe_01-199x300.jpg" alt="" width="199" height="300" /></a></p>
<p>Brave Laura Di Cesare, 14, was diagnosed with scoliosis last May after her family noticed irregularities in the shape of her hips and shoulder blades.</p>
<p>Her spine became increasingly curved and twisted to the point where her internal organs were at risk of being crushed &#8211; putting her life on the line.</p>
<p>Now the schoolgirl has endured a life-changing operation to correct the curving spine which threatened her life.</p>
<p>She is overjoyed that she can now wear the same clothes as her friends, without worrying if her back is covered.</p>
<p>Laura said: “I’m more confident now.”</p>
<p>The teen risked paralysis when she underwent the six-hour operation at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge last month.</p>
<p>But it seems the operation has made an impact already, as she is now three inches taller than the 4ft 9in she was before.</p>
<p>Her worried parents Kirsty, 40, and Pep, 42, feared Laura would be left paralysed if the operation went wrong, but said they felt they had no choice but to go ahead with it.</p>
<p>Kirsty said: “Because they were working so close to the spinal cord she could have been paralysed, but we had to take that risk as it would have killed her otherwise because her spine would have kept on curving and curving.”</p>
<p>During the procedure, Laura, who is also diabetic, had to have two titanium rods bolted to her spine to straighten it and part of her vertebrae made into a paste to spread along the length of the column to strengthen it.</p>
<p>Laura was keen to go ahead with the operation so she could go out and wear clothes that did not cover her back.</p>
<p>“I was getting excited because the longer I waited the more I wanted it,&#8221; Laura added.</p>
<p>“I was excited about being able to wear what I wanted and go out more.</p>
<p>“I didn’t used to go out because of what I had to wear. I couldn’t wear what other people were wearing. I had to wear jumpers and stuff that covered my back.”</p>
<p>Laura spent two days in intensive care following the surgery on January 17 and was back at home on January 23, days ahead of schedule, after setting herself a target of being out of hospital in time for her sister Rosanna’s 13th birthday on January 27.</p>
<p>Her mother continued: “She has changed so much, just in herself.</p>
<p>“She’s so happy. Even her diabetes is not impacting as much as it was before.”</p>
<p>Laura may spend up to 14-weeks off school as she recovers from her procedure, but she has daily visitors from her friends from Stanground College.</p>
<p>The Posh season ticket holder also received a special visit from Peterborough United player Tommy Rowe thanks to a friend of her mother, Posh retail manager Emma Green.</p>
<p>The play-off final goal-scoring hero brought Laura a Posh shirt with her name emblazoned on it and signed by the team.</p>
<p>Her mum said Laura was “overwhelmed” by the visit.</p>
<p>Laura said: “It was a really big surprise.</p>
<p>“It was really weird because I have never spoken to a football player face-to-face before.”</p>
<p>The footballer said: “It is amazing what she has gone through. She showed me the pictures of her back and she has been very brave. I hope her recovery continues to go well.”</p>
<p>The experience at Addenbrooke’s has cemented Laura’s desire to become a nurse when she is older.</p>
<p>She said: “I have always thought I wanted to be a nurse. I wasn’t really sure, but now I really do want it.”</p>
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