Amazing … !

I have not taken any drugs, pills or potions , nor have I used the inversion table, since before Christmas, and recently I have been getting definite pangs, one verging on sciatica.

As I stated in my previous posts, I have been trying to find out if the relief I got over and after Christmas was due to the table or a supplement I have been taking.

So, on Thursday, I dosed myself with the supplement – five small doses, spaced two hours apart.

And ? My back pain has gone again.

I am not drawing any conclusions yet, but watch this space.

Back Problems

As you may have read in earlier blogs, I suffer from chronic back pain, caused, apparently by two damaged disks in my lower back.

Inversion table

I tried an inversion table which gave some short-term relief, then went on to a health supplement that was developed to cure malaria, and which I was taking purely to make sure it didn’t kill anyone.

Anyway, my back pain disappeared and I got full movement back. My legs stopped aching and the leg tremors that kept me awake at night stopped.

That was before Christmas. I stopped taking the supplement after a week, and now, the twinges are coming back – mind you, I did act rather like a kid in the snow yesterday !

So, now it is time to try out the supplement again. If the back pain disappears again, then it is the supplement. If not, it was coincidence or the inversion table.

We shall see!

Clean Water – design finished – Part II

I woke up in the middle of the night with a design feature bouncing around between my ears.

Although the water purification plant was finished on paper, there was something niggling at me.

Last night, it came to me and I had the presence of mind to have a pad and pencil next to my bed – for once.

The system is now easier to build, the filters are easier to clean, and the cleaned water easier to extract.

Now, that was worth waking up for.

Clean Water – Design Finished

In my capacity as the Tool-using Thing-maker for Kenyan Community Initiative Support, I have been working on a design for a cheap, easy to build, easy to use water purification plant for use at household or small community level.

Well, the design stage is finally finished, and it will work.

The design allows for modification so that easily available materials can be used to keep the cost down.

So I’m ready to roll – just need the funding (as ever!)

Why drugs are so expensive

From Daily Nation 12/1/09

The majority of Kenyans cannot afford essential medicines mainly because of unreasonably high profit margins being enjoyed by manufacturers, according to a World Health Organisation (WHO) report published last month in The Lancet.

In a study involving 36 developing and middle-income countries, including Kenya, WHO says manufacturers are making mark-ups of more than 380 per cent. Retailers are said to be making mark-ups of more than 550 per cent.

Drug manufacturers also try to suppress any cheaper or alternative drugs, as these will obviously cut into their profits.

Many drugs are produced by copying natural products (e.g. aspirin) which have been in use for centuries. But the developed world has forgotten how to use natural herbs and plants to cure their ills.

I have been introduced to a product that supposedly cures malaria. A sufferer can usually be on their feet and feeling fine within 24 hours.

But apparently, this product is being suppressed by the FDA. Why? Probably because the drug companies making the recognised cures would lose a lot of money if it were allowed to be introduced into the world market.

And yet, the economies of many African, South American and Asian countries are blighted by workers taking time off because they have contracted malaria.

In Kenya, the treatment costs 2000/-, about £17 UK. As many workers earn only £1 a day (115/-) or less, how do they get  treatment?

I am not saying that this product works. I don’t know. I have seen the written results of trials carried out in various countries, but these were not, on the whole, scientifically controlled, because they had to be carried out “under the radar”.

I would very much like the WHO or the Health Ministry of Kenya to invite me to carry out trials of this product. If it does not work, we have lost very little, but if it does?

A dose of this product would cost about 60/-, which is affordable, even to the poorest of people.

Anyone in the Health Service or WHO Malaria Control in Kenya want to help me to find out if this product works?

If not, I guess the drug cartels have won!

River Cottage, Kenya

With a potential food shortage looming in Kenya due to the recent drought, KCIS really needs to get River Cottage Kenya started so that we can grow food for the orphanage.

The orphanage at Kisii is quite well-placed, inasmuch as it is in one of the most fertile areas of kenya, but food prices are rising, following market forces – yes, even rural farmers know about supply and demand!

Furthermore, people in Kenya who have control over food distribution are stock-piling, waiting for food prices to rise higher, so as to make a quick buck.

Reading this, you would almost think I was writing about the developed world, wouldn’t you?

If we grow our own food, we can feed our children. If we have a surplus, we can actually make some money and replenish our medical fund, which we had to raid last year, during the post-election troubles.

So, if anyone reading this can help to raise funds – we don’t need a lot – please contact us on the KCIS website.

Back Problems – Latest!

If you have read earlier entries, you will know that I obtained an inclination table and suspended myself like a bat for 20 minutes every two or three days. The relief was brilliant while it lasted, but it did not last for long.

In the meantime, I was sent a trial of a chemical that, it has been claimed can cure malaria. To make sure that it didn’t kill people, I started taking a low dose and found that I did not need to go on the inclination table. OK, I thought – coincidence.

I stopped using the inclination talbe and taking the, well, let’s call it a supplement.

After about 3 weeks, my back started to twinge again. I left it for a while until it bacme quite painful, then took the supplement. I could not believe it, but the back pain disappeared overnight and has not returned, so far.

I know that this is not a controlled test, but I am very happy to believe that it is the supplement getting rid of my back pain.

Weird!

Update on being a human bat …

I have been subjecting myself to hanging upside-down on an inclination table for a couple of weeks now, every couple of days or so, I hang like a bat for 20 minutes or so.

And I have to report that when I get off, I am in sheer agony and I have to lie down for a few minutes (any excuse!).

But, after that, I can walk, run, bend down, without pain. It is wonderful. It is the first time I am without any real pain (although still have some discomfort) for over 10 years.

Baby “P”

Another child has died at the hands of the person who should have been protecting him.

The child, 17 months old, suffered head injuries, a broken back, nine fractured ribs, fingernails and a toenail missing, a severe mouth injury, a ripped ear and extensive bruising on his body. He and his “family” had been visited no less than 60 times – and none of this came to light.

Who are the carers in question? Well, the same people who allowed Victoria Climbié to be murdered, naturally.

Remember that one? With the phrase “Lessons will be learned” rolled out by all?

Yes, you’ve got it. It is Haringay Council.

What is shocking, apart from the thug that inflicted these injuries getting anything less than a life sentence, is that no one at the council will be held responsible. Heads will not roll.

Not unless enough people show their total and utter disgust.

Sharon Shoesmith is the head of Haringey Social Services who allowed Baby P to die from multiple wounds.

There is a group on Facebook should you feel that Victoria Climbié DID die in vain. No one has learned any lessons.

Tell Sharon Shoesmith to go!

To be like a bat

Having suffered for several years with a painful back and regular bouts of sciatica, and not having had any success with doctors, hospitals, physiotherapists, etc. (oops! sorry, shouldn’t have used that, it is a foreign word), I obtained an inversion table.

With this I can hang upside-down from my ankles, exerting negative pressure on the painful bit of my back – in other words, I can stretch it.

It hurts, but I hope it will be worth it, in the longer term.

Tonight, the old back is feeling better than it has for a couple of weeks.

So, here’s hoping …