Mamma Fairy

As lockdown slowly but surely begins to lift, those simply pleasures we’ve all missed out on feel as though they’re getting closer – things like going out for dinner, having your hair or nails done, and even just visiting family and friends are experiences we’re all excited to share as soon as possible  

And plenty of parents are dreaming about a little time to themselves as well – with schools not yet ready to re-open, many mums and dads are at their wits end trying to keep their little ones entertained! 

Then of course, there’s the big stuff. As lockdown placed our lives on hold, major life plans have had to be shelved until a later date. As it slowly begins to lift, we may still be a long way from some of them. But it’s never too soon to start planning! 

These are just three of the most popular dreams that so many of us are looking forward to living as soon as possible. 

Travel

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No one knows when international travel will be back on the table, but scrolling through dream holiday destinations imagining yourself sipping cocktails by the pool at an all-inclusive beachside resort isn’t the worst way to pass the time. 

Until you can finally go on that dream holiday, why not choose an adventure closer to home? There are plenty of stunning and magical locations that make for perfect day trips, and will allow your family to make some new memories and make up for lost time. 

Studying 

Going back to school is a common pipe dream that, more often than not, remains just that. 

When you’re already juggling work, a family, and your own busy life, the idea of going back to school seems like a huge and unfeasible commitment. 

But in 2020, traditional routes of study are not the only way. Distance learning is rising in popularity, and in light of the current circumstances, it’s something that many educational institutions are having to adapt to quickly. 

But while others are just finding their feet, ARU Distance Learning are experienced in offering flexible part-time and full-time remote study options that will fit around your busy lifestyle, and their courses could be the key to life-changing new opportunities. 

Getting married 

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Thousands of weddings have been cancelled or postponed as a result of the pandemic. 

And with so many disappointed couples, it’s likely we’ll see many post-lockdown unions when the time is right. 

In fact, a wedding may be just the thing many of us need to lift our spirits after months spend apart – not to mention, it’s the perfect opportunity for a family reunion too. 

While this is amongst the most popular post-lockdown life goals, some couples have decided not to wait in the wake of cancellations, meaning Zoom weddings have joined the list of lockdown trends.

While some American states have found ways to make these ceremonies legally binding, the UK is a little behind, but the symbolic value of a virtual ceremony has been a romantic substitute for those who have to wait a little longer to seal the deal. 

What are your life plans post-lockdown? Let us know in the comments below. 

Note: This is a collaborative post

It isn’t an easy topic, but it’s an important one. Especially when you’re a busy parent also trying to deal with their grief of losing a loved one, funeral planning can be a challenge, and you may even be uncertain where to start or which points you may have missed. 

Let this checklist help you. 

• Decide Whether it Should be a Burial or Cremation 

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It may be that your loved one always spoke about their own preference, or perhaps they left instructions in their will or by other means. If not, then you should think about your loved one and what you feel they would have preferred. It can be a hard choice to make if you’re not sure, but you can always seek the advice of others. 

• Choose a Funeral Director 

The right funeral director is going to make everything immeasurably easier. You should meet with a few London Funeral Directors (or funeral directors local to you) before making a decision to see how you feel about the atmosphere and the interaction. You need to feel fully supported and comfortable with the director you are dealing with and be sure they understand your loved one’s needs and wants. Taking the time to ask about their experience, services, and pricing can also help ensure you’re making the best choice during this difficult time. Professional companies like Exit Here offer full packages and 24/7 support

• Pick the Right Burial Site or Crematorium 

This may be somewhere local to you, a location you knew your loved one enjoyed, or it may be that other relatives have been laid to rest in the same place, and you would like to, therefore, use the same site. 

• Decide Whether to Have a Viewing 

You have the option of viewing an open-casket before the official funeral takes place. You might want to do this alone or invite close friends or family to attend, too. 

• Choose the Extras 

You should make choices on flowers and arrangements for the place of service. Then, also choose a casket or coffin or an urn if there is to be a cremation. You will also have a choice for the headstone or plaque for the place of rest. 

• Inform Family and Friends of the Time and Place 

You should send out invitations to those who you would like to attend, whether officially in the post or simply by letting people know when the funeral is to take place. Sometimes, you can put out a notice of the funeral and welcome anyone to turn up. 

• Think About Transportation 

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Traditionally, you should arrange cars to transport key family members or friends to the place of the service, and have other guests make their own way there. You should think about how many vehicles or seats are required.

• Choose What to Include in the Service 

There may be a certain piece of music your loved one enjoyed or a poem you would like to read. Remember, anything can be included in the service. 

Final Thoughts 

This checklist is provided as a guide only, and of course any funeral plans are completely personal to you and your loved one. You never have to feel pressured to be conventional or have a service that requires a significant number of attendees. Whether large or private, basic or extravagant, any service should be with your loved one in mind and within your chosen budget. 

Note: This is a collaborative post

Dr Death is the true story of a doctor who botched surgeries, causing spinal injury, brain damage, and even death. To hear the true story of this psycho killer, read on…

Putting your trust in someone to cut open your body, and leave it in a suitable condition, is pretty terrifying. Heading to surgery, and waking up paralysed, is something we never think will really happen to us. But, for some people, these nightmares became a reality at the hands of Christopher Duntsch, or Dr. Death.

Compensation for a spinal injury wasn’t enough for Duntsch’s victims, who later saw this criminal put on trial. So, what truly happened during these nightmare surgeries, why was this allowed to happen, and what was the outcome? Find out, right here…

Who is Dr Death? Introducing Christopher Duntsch

Christopher Duntsch is an American surgeon, who trained to become a neurosurgeon. During his five-year surgical training, he ran two labs, and raised millions as part of a grant. After completing his surgical residency at the University of Tennessee, it was clear that he would amount to great things.

Little did everyone know that a psychopath was in the making…

It soon became clear that Duntsch was operating under the influence of drugs. Not only that, but he had only completed a few hundred surgeries during his training, when most residents would complete thousands during their time. An email to a friend during the early stages of his career demonstrated his wish to become a cold-blooded killer… he certainly lived up to this statement.

Duntsch’s negligence over the course of just a few years left tens of patients with severe, long-term damage, and two dead. Whether he thought he was actually the best, and was blinded by his arrogance, or was deliberately trying to maim people is uncertain. What we do know is that he ruined many lives, and cut two lives short, in just a couple of years.

What Were Some of Dr Death’s Worst Deeds?

To get a full picture into the dastardly deeds of Dr Duntsch, some real-life examples are probably in order. Here are some of the most documented and notable cases of Duntsch’s life-altering botched surgeries…

Floella Brown’s Brain Damage, Stroke, and Death

During Dr Duntsch’s time as a surgeon, there were two fatal surgeries which left the victims in severe pain, and soon dying of their injuries. The first of these women was Floella Brown.

After going into surgery at his hands, Floella’s vertebral artery was slit. According to doctors involved in the surgery, they were absolutely aghast as they observed what he was going. One surgeon even felt he had to step in to stop him causing more damage. But, it was too late; the damage had been done, and Floella suffered from a fatal stroke due to her injuries. 

Mary Efurd’s Permanent Maiming

As Floella Brown lay on her death bed, Duntsch went almost straight into his next surgery on Mary Efurd. This routine procedure was aimed at fusing two of her vertebrae together.

After awaking from the surgery in excruciating pain, and no longer able to move her legs, Dr Duntsch was nowhere to be found. Instead, a new doctor, Dr. Henderson, had to re-enter Mary’s body to fix what had gone wrong.  On reopening the wound, Henderson could see pretty clearly what had happened; she’d been completely butchered. Instead of drilling into her bone, Duntsch had drilled into her muscle, sliced a nerve at the root, and had left screws sticking out all over the place.

Ever since this horrifying experience, Mary has been confined to a wheelchair. Today, as an 80-year-old woman, she can barely stand up for more than 10 minutes before needing a rest.

Jerry Summers’ Spinal Injury

Jerry was Chris’ childhood friend, who had been a keen sportsman. After attaining a football injury, Jerry ended up with a back problem, and trusted his old friend Chris to surgically correct it. Despite their close friendship, this didn’t stop the deranged Duntsch from completely altering Jerry’s life.

After going into surgery for a routine anterior cervical fusion, Summers woke up unable to move from the neck down. Despite Duntsch assuring him it was all down to the swelling, and he’d heal soon enough, Summers never recovered. Ever since, he’s been a quadriplegic with incomplete paralysis, meaning he can’t move but can still feel pain.

Kerrie Martin’s Sudden Death

Although Duntsch’s surgical rights were temporarily suspended after Jerry’s surgery, that didn’t stop him from getting back into business. His next surgery after returning was on Kerrie Martin; a surgery that would prove fatal.

After falling in the kitchen, Kerrie ended up with chronic pain in her back, and sought surgery to help her live her life as normal again. When her GP X-rayed her to see what was wrong, a herniated disc was discovered. None the wiser to Duntsch’s reputation, the doctor handed them his card, referring them to him for the surgery.

After an initial consultation with Chris, they felt confident that he would be able to alleviate her pain, as it was just a simple, routine surgery. What Duntsch promised would take only 45 minutes stretched across hours. When Duntsch came out of surgery claiming there had been some complications, Kerrie’s husband could never have prepared for what would happen next.

On waking up from surgery, Kerrie’s conditioned seemed to worsen pretty quickly. She died not long after. A medical examiner confirmed that, when Duntsch had gone into surgery, he’d sliced a prominent artery, and Kerrie bled out internally.

Jeff Cheney’s One-Sided Paralysis

During Jeff’s spinal surgery, he awoke to discover that Duntsch had removed part of his spinal cord! This left him completely paralysed on the right-hand side of his body.

Jeff Glidewell’s Foreign Body

Jeff Glidewell was another victim of Duntsch who was a little luckier than some of the others. During surgery, Duntsch supposedly mistook Jeff’s oesophagus for a tumour, and sliced into it, leaving his voice almost permanently damaged.

It didn’t end there though. To quench the bleeding, Duntsch put a sponge in the area, and then sewed him up with this foreign body still inside him. This meant Jeff had to undergo emergency surgery, which he thankfully survived from.

Jackie Tory’s Severed Vocal Cords

Jackie Tory also suffered damage to her vocal cords, which ended up causing permanent issues. On leaving the surgical room, Jackie’s vocal cords were paralysed, meaning she can now only talk in low rasps.

Philip Mayfield’s Back Pain

Philip Mayfield had been a truck driver, and he loved his job, but the constant loading and unloading of heavy objects meant he required back surgery. After consulting a number of doctors, it seemed that anterior cervical discectomy surgery, to remove the damaged spinal disc, would alleviate his problems.

Philip didn’t want to get it wrong, doing thorough research before landing on Duntsch. His glowing record made him the ideal choice, and after an initial consultation, Phil was fully confident in Duntsch’s abilities.

After going in for this routine procedure, Philip came out unable to move from the neck down. He was transferred to another hospital where they did further tests and discovered he had been paralysed. The pain he felt was excruciating, and an MRI showed that Duntsch had completely deformed Philip’s spine, leaving permanent damage.

Lee Passmore’s Crippling Spasms

Finally, and certainly not lest, is Lee Passmore. He also had part of his spine removed during a routine operation for back pain. Now, he has been left with crippling nerve spasms which make him feel as though an ice pick is being jabbed into his back. He struggles to get from A to B without these incessant pains.

Why Was Dr Death Not Dealt with Quickly?

You’re probably wondering how this man got away with such horrific and psychopathic acts, right? Although Duntsch left two maimed patients, and one dead, at the Baylor Plano hospital in Dallas, Texas, nothing was ever done about it. How could all of this have happened right under peoples’ noses?

Many believe that, if Baylor had reported him, the ordeal would have been cut short, and many people could have been saved. Although the hospital has never provided an explanation as to why Duntsch wasn’t reported, there were a number of reasons this may have occurred, including:

• Parring him off onto other hospitals: an attitude of, “he can be someone else’s problem” seems to have been prevalent for many hospitals.
• Money concerns: the money for legal fees, and hassle needed to bring this case forward, would have been pretty catastrophic for a number of institutions.
• Selfishness: negligence claims often don’t just stay with the doctor, but trickle through the hospital too, and this may have been off-putting.
• Glowing reviews: everything anyone could find on Duntsch was positive, either online or in person. In fact, Baylor Health continued to promote his services with a marketing professional, through adverts, and refer patients to him along the way.
• No criminal crossover across state lines: once Duntsch left one state, and moved onto another hospital, people forgot about him. He then become someone else’s problem.
• Mistakes happen: doctors make mistakes all the time, and aren’t charged or don’t lose their jobs for it. Some people may have wondered why Duntsch should have been any different.
• People didn’t know: many of Duntsch’s colleagues had no clue he was such a liability, so his abilities were never questioned.
• No one would do anything: those who did know would complain, and the problems would go no further due to the reasons above.

Where is Dr Death Now?

This is all pretty scary, and you’re probably thinking, “where is Duntsch now?”. Well, despite the delay in Duntsch’s comeuppance, he was finally given his due. After the damage he’d inflicted on Brown and Efurd, Henderson reported Duntsch, and he was fired. But, the Texas Medical Board, and those higher up, were not persuaded to take action. Then, after being bought on by the Dallas Medical Centre, several more months of carnage led to two physicians complaining yet again.

Finally, Duntsch was brought to trial for his misdemeanours, and was charged with five counts of aggravated assault, one count of harming an elderly person (Mary Efurd), and more. He is the first surgeon to go to prison for a botched surgery, and has been facing a life sentence since 2017.   All four of the hospitals where Duntsch committed his crimes have been hit with civil lawsuits. What’s more, after Duntsch’s arrest, multiple more people came forward claiming they had suffered at his hands. With all this coming to light, it’s now become very clear that the medical system needs an overhaul to bring psychopaths to justice.

Want to Know More About Dr Death?

Pretty crazy, right? It’s hard to believe that all of this was allowed to continue for so long, without anything being done to stop it.

If you want to learn about Christopher Duntsch in greater detail, the Dr Death podcast is a great one to listen to. Otherwise, leave your thoughts and fears in the comments down below, and let me know what you think!

Note: This is a collaborative post

Pic Credit: Pixabay

Always feeling tired but aren’t sure why? You are certainty not alone, as countless other people continue to feel tired despite having enough sleep, with as many as one in five people feeling tired at any given time. If this is something of huge concern always do check with your local GP or specialist. It might be something related to your hormone levels, if so, you can have that checked out and then refer yourself to a specialist within the area you need. For example, if it relates to testosterone, looking up key phrases such as “ED Clinic Roseville” will point you in the right direction. Below is not a substitute for medical advice but it might help by identifying the underlying cause.

Let’s take a closer look at 10 reasons you may feel tired all the time, and how you can fix it.

Lack of Sleep

We’ll start with the most obvious reason most people are tired all the time –  a lack of good sleep. Sleeping is vital for restoring energy levels, so it’s important that you get a restful night’s sleep with minimal interruptions, while sticking to a regular sleep schedule also helps. Sleep is essential for maintaining a healthy and happy life. External factors, such as bedroom environment and stressors from your work or personal life, can contribute to poor sleep quality, but most of the time, they can be resolved without the need for medical intervention.

However, sleep disorders are different. Insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome, and narcolepsy (some of the most common sleep disorders) require the help of health-care professionals and medication or medical devices to treat.

In the case of sleep apnea, sleep aid devices, such as automatic continuous positive airway pressure (APAP) machines, are necessary to prevent the throat from collapsing and help the patient breathe regularly during sleep. Behavioral therapy is one of the treatments for insomnia while narcolepsy, a chronic condition, is managed through medication.

If you suspect that you have a sleep disorder, see your health-care provider immediately, and avoid trying any treatments or taking medication without consulting a medical professional.

Not enough Food

Undereating is another common cause of tiredness. Food gives us the energy to go about our days, so you want to ensure you eat enough calories each day to avoid feeling tired. Your caloric intake varies depending on age, gender, weight, and height, so try work this out an ensure you’re eating enough.

Dehydration

Not drinking enough water is a leading cause of tiredness. The better hydrated our bodies are, the more blood flow to the brain, helping to avoid fatigue and tiredness. So, make sure you’re drinking as much water a possible.

Stress

While we all deal with stress from time to time, suffering from frequent chronic stress has a serious impact on your mental and physical health, including feeling tired all the time. If you frequently suffer from stressful situations, consider stress management techniques such as meditation or yoga.

Sugar

Not only is sugar bad for your waistline, it can have a significant impact on mental functioning when consuming too much.   By decreasing activity of orexin cells, sugar can cause feelings of tiredness after that initial sugar buzz wears off. While difficult, you may want to reduce your sugar intake, especially during the morning and afternoon.

Nutrient Deficiencies

Nutrient deficiencies lead to a lack of focus, increased fatigued, and even physical weakness, with anaemia being an overlooked condition when it comes to tiredness. Consider checking to see if you suffer from iron, folate, or vitamin deficiencies and upping your intake of each should it be lacking in your diet.

Not Exercising

The idea of working out to feel less tired may seem counterintuitive, but it does work, and many don’t realise a lack of exercise is likely causing their tiredness. A sedentary lifestyle may contribute to this, so consider walking, running, or swimming a few times a week – you’ll notice the different immediately.

Skipping Breakfast

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Many people struggle to eat during the morning time, but this should always be avoided, as breakfast provides our bodies with a much-needed dose of energy to start the day. If you don’t like eating much after waking up, try starting with something small such as a piece of fruit, toast, or some yoghurt. 

Too Much Caffeine

Drinking caffeine-rich beverages such as coffee and energy drinks may offer a short burst of energy, but this becomes a problem when done too often. High sugar and caffeine consumption results in rebound fatigue after the initial energy wears off. Ditch frequent cups of coffee and energy juice, replacing them with water instead.

Food Allergies

Not everyone realises their food sensitives, whether is being lactose intolerant or gluten sensitive, but the symptoms are a nightmare, with fatigue being chief among them. Dairy, gluten, and eggs are a few types of foods that could be causing sleepiness – try dropping them for a while to see if it makes a difference.