Woman with blood disorder meets blood donor for first time

When 37-year-old Radhika Sawh finally met one of the hundreds of anonymous donors who keep her alive, she shed tears for those who had shed blood for her.

“The people who donate blood don’t get anything in return,” said Sawh, who has received over 1,200 units of blood from hundreds of donors. “But I get everything. I get to see my daughter come home from school. I get to live.”

As summer approaches, a time of historically slow blood donations and more incidents that increase the demand for blood, those who rely on donations get anxious.

Sawh met on Wednesday with high school student and formerly anonymous donor Bridget Moore, 18, at the New York Blood Center in Long Island City to raise awareness about the looming need for donors.

Sawh, a wife and mother of an 8-year-old, was born with Thalassemia or Cooley’s Anemia, a genetic blood disorder that can only be treated with regular transfusions.

“I get shudders when I hear about shortages in the news,” said Sawh, of Floral Park, L.I.

Sawh receives two units of blood every two weeks. Around 3,000 people nationwide have the most severe form of the disorder. Without regular transfusions, most would not survive childhood.

O-negative and B-negative blood types are currently in short supply, said Andrea Cefarelli, of the New York Blood Center. The center organized the meeting the permission of Sawh and one of her donors.

Shortages can mean long, physically exhausting waits for people with the disorder, said Gina Cioffi, the director of the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation.

“You get the transfusion and you feel terrific, but blood cells die off and you have lapses of energy,” said Cioffi. “Their whole life is a rollercoaster of up and down.”

It’s not just people with Thalassemia. One in three people will need a blood transfusion in their lifetime, according to the New York Blood Center.

With a hug, tears and a comforting back-rub, the often shrouded relationship between donor and recipient became tangible when Sawh met Moore,

who organizes blood drives at Wantaugh High School on Long Island, where she’s a senior.

“When I saw her, we were both wearing blue. We just clicked,” said Moore. “I had to hug her, it was so surreal.”

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/woman-blood-disorder-meets-blood-donor-time-article-1.1091096#ixzz1xCfT66xm

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The Daily Checkup: Adopting healthy lifestyle is the best way to reduce the risk of a stroke

The specialist:

As the director of the Mount Sinai Stroke Center, Dr. Stanley Tuhrim is a vascular neurologist who specializes in stroke and related conditions.

Founded in 1988, the stroke center provides care to about 500 patients a year.

Who’s at risk:

Every year, about 700,000 Americans suffer a stroke, which works out to one stroke every 40 seconds.

“A stroke is a disturbance in the blood flow to the brain, most often due to a clot or blockage in a blood vessel,” says Tuhrim. “The cells in the brain start to die if not enough oxygen gets to them — damage we can largely prevent if the stroke patient receives the correct drugs quickly enough.”

Anyone experiencing a stroke should call 911 and go directly to the hospital.

Although strokes can affect anyone, 75% occur in patients over age 65. “Age is an important risk factor for stroke because fatty plaque deposits accumulate in the arteries over time,” says Tuhrim. “This hardening of the arteries, called atherosclerosis, makes the arteries narrower and thus more susceptible to blockages.”

For men, the risk of stroke increases around age 50. For most women, stroke risk goes up around age 60, after menopause.

Many other risk factors for stroke are considered modifiable, which means that making lifestyle modifications can reduce your risk.

“High blood pressure, or hypertension, is the most important risk factor in this country — it increases your risk three or four times,” says Tuhrim. “High cholesterol, cigarette smoking, diabetes and some heart arrhythmias are other common risk factors.”

Signs and symptoms:

For the current generation of anti-stroke drugs to work, patients have roughly a three-hour window to receive treatment and must get to the hospital as quickly as possible when stroke symptoms occur.

“Recognizing the signs of stroke is key because getting to the hospital quickly is crucial in terms of being able to treat it,” says Tuhrim.

STROKES: KNOW THE FACTS

“The classic symptoms are numbness or weakness of the face, arm and leg, especially on just one side of the body, difficulty in speaking or understanding what’s being said, trouble seeing or walking, or a sudden severe headache with no known cause.”

If you experience these symptoms or spot them in someone else, it’s essential to call 911 right away. “At the hospital, we say ‘time is brain,’ ” says Tuhrim. “The faster you get to a hospital, the fewer brain cells will have died.” Ambulance crews know to take stroke victims to the nearest stroke center.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/daily-checkup-adopting-healthy-lifestyle-best-reduce-risk-a-stroke-article-1.1089798#ixzz1xCf2H1Oc

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President Obama's possibly risqué comment about wife’s pushups provokes laughter at fund-raiser

President Obama is chasing green, but his humor may be turning blue.

A comment by the commander-in-chief about his wife's exercise routine sent snickers through a crowd of Hollywood's gay and lesbian elite who gathered at an LGBT Leadership Council gala in Beverly Hills on Wednesday for a fund-raiser.

After being introduced by emcee Ellen DeGeneres, Obama called the comedian "a great friend who accepts a little bit of teasing about Michelle beating her in pushups" when the First Lady appeared on her show, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"I think she claims Michelle didn't go all the way down," Obama quipped.

The audience, which included cast members from "Glee," “Modern Family’s” Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Cher, reportedly giggled before breaking out in naughty laughter.

"That's what I heard," the President added, after pausing, according to a report published by Politico. He later noted the First Lady outdoes him in pushups as well.

Though Obama reportedly seemed caught off guard by the crowd's reaction to his comment, at least some interpreted it as bawdy.

"He told a very suggestive joke about his wife," Fox News commentator Todd Starnes wrote on Facebook.

Wednesday's gala and a $25,000-per-person dinner at the home of “Glee” co-creator Ryan Murphy that followed were expected to raise $3 million for the President's reelection, Variety reported.

Obama started his day Thursday with another fund-raiser — his 153rd since launching his reelection bid last year, according to Politico.

"It must be tough being President when there are so many parties to attend," Matt Connelly, a Republican National Committee spokesman told a Southern California wire service.

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/president-obama-possibly-risque-comment-wife-pushups-provokes-laughter-fund-raiser-article-1.1091495#ixzz1xCeKKk18

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George W. Bush is the most unpopular living ex-President: poll

George W. Bush has stepped out of the public eye since leaving office, but absence hasn't made the nation’s heart grow fonder.

The 43rd President of the United States is the most unpopular living former president, a CNN/ORC International poll has found, as only 43% of people surveyed said they had a favorable opinion of him and 54% viewed him unfavorably.

The negative rating puts Bush far behind his fellow living ex-Presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and Dubya’s father, George H.W. Bush.

Clinton nabbed a 66% favorable rating, Carter scored a 54% rating, and 59% of those polled said they had a positive view of Bush Sr.

"Don't be surprised if the Obama campaign mentions the name of George W. Bush at every opportunity, and don't be surprised if that strategy works," CNN polling director Keating Holland said in the network’s report. "And the mention of Bush's name appears to prompt at least a few people to take a more positive view of their current financial situation."

The poll found that when people were asked if they were better or worse off than they were four years ago, they were split 44% to 43%, but that they had a slightly more negative reaction when the question was phrased with Bush's name — as in, are you better off now than you were four years ago "when Bush was President?”

When phrased that way, 47% of people said they were better off now, while 41% preferred life under the former President.

Despite the bad ratings for Bush, the poll does represent an improvement over his popularity in 2009 as he handed over the White House to Obama.

“I don’t give a darn,” Bush told Larry King in 2009, when asked about polls that put his approval rating between 25% and 30%.

“I feel the same as when they had me at 90-plus,” he said. “These opinion polls are nothing but a shot of yesterday’s news.”

Source : http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/george-w-bush-unpopular-living-ex-president-poll-article-1.1091445#ixzz1xCd94Iu5

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