Aruna Shanbaug: No more darkness and pain, free at last!

[image credit:  bbc.com]

It was in November 27, 1973  when then 25 years old Aruna Shanbaug was on duty as a junior nurse at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Parel, Mumbai when she was brutally sodomized by a ward boy that goes by the name of Sohanlal Bhartha Walmiki. Aruna was strangled by her assailant using a dog chain cutting off oxygen supply to her brain and leaving her in a vegetative state and cortically blind since then. Her unconscious body was discovered in the hospital basement by a cleaner the next day splattered all over with blood.

Her assailant was charged not of the case of rape or sodomy but of robbery and attempted murder. The facts of the case were concealed by the complainants maybe to avoid social rejection of the young nurse. Walmiki was sentenced to double seven-year term in prison and was suspected to have changed his identity in order to hide from the public eye.

Aruna since then was lying in a hospital bed in vegetative state. And for over 42 years, hospital staff took turn watching over her and keeping her alive. In December, 2010, Aruna's case caught the attention of Pinki Virani, an activist-journalist who sought the medical condition of Aruna from the hospital to plead euthanasia for her case to India’s Supreme Court.  Under the Court’s directive, Aruna’s medical condition was affirmed being that of a permanent vegetative case. But in February of 2014, a three-judge panel of the Supreme Court have observed some wrong interpretation and inconsistencies in the judgement of Aruna’s case based on the constitution leading to the rejection of the euthanasia plea.

In the early days of May this year, Aruna developed pneumonia and was later moved to the intensive care unit of the hospital and put on a ventilator. She died last May 18 freeing her body from the almost perpetual pain and darkness for over 42 years. A moment she probably have wanted despite what her body have endured for so long. Go forth Aruna! There'll be no more pain and darkness for you to wherever you will go through from hereon.

Enclava: A Kingdom Born From a Patch of Terra Nullius

What’s it like to live in a terra nullius patch of land claimed by a group of Poles as a kingdom? The Kingdom of Enclava, a 1,000 square foot patch of no man’s land near the Slovenian town of Metlika and about 30 miles west of Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city. Enclava, a self-declared Balkan country is in the border between Slovenia and Croatia which might unlikely to be given international recognition yet its founders claim sovereign rights since neither Croatia nor Slovenia have no established claims over the said suburban garden-sized like kingdom.

A kingdom with no citizen.

Micro nations are being born everywhere in the world for decades with only ‘virtual citizens’ as inhabitants recruited over the internet.  And in relation to Enclava, its founding claimants said they wanted to have build the kingdom as an ideal community where its people will enjoy tax free living and will have 5 official languages namely:  English, Polish, Croatian, Slovenian and in the very bizarre inclusion of the Mandarin the language spoken by the Far Eastern Chinese.  More than 5,000 people have signed into its honorary membership while the supposed constitution was being drafted. The concept was to build a nation of ideal minded people who will be able to freely express their minds and speak up regardless of race, skin color, religion and nationality, as pointed by Piotr Wawrzynkiewicz, one of its founders. Both the government of Slovenia and Croatia has not commented about the proclamation of the newly emerged self-proclaimed kingdom nation in their border.

An inspiration.
Enclava’s founders must have got its inspiration from Liberland, a similar micro nation declared last month. Liberland is actually a stretch of woodland along the banks of the Danube. Liberland, also a self-declared independent micro nation by its self-appointed ruler, Vit Jedlicka even carries its own flag featuring an eagle and the sun. Their motto goes something  like that of the lyrics from a popular song – “To live and let live.” Like the kingdom of Enclava, Liberland also couldn’t stop 300,000 people from across the globe in applying for citizenship. Mr. Jedlicka claimed that they were part of a great libertarian movement that is now emerging around the world and that, “Governments are becoming increasingly unpopular,” claiming as the reason why they exists.

China's Amazing Talented 3-Year Old Brings Judges and Audience Laughing their Hearts Out!

Watch how the cuddly and very cute little three-year old Zhang Junhao brings the judges and audience laughing in delight as he shows off his talent in China's reality show, Amazing Chinese.  Now be ready to be tickled with his fancy moves.  Don't tell me I did not warn you he's moves brings contagious laughing to the max!  Video grab from Youtube.

How the Filipino Conquer The World Through Laughter

We often can read or hear, 'Laughter is the best medicine.'  But can laughter really cure?  Aside from its relief to put away sadness, can laughter and being happy cures diseases and illnesses? But does science really have significant facts to prove this?  Well it certainly does! Believe it or not a good hearted laughter can relax the muscles and may last for 45 minutes. Laughter can trigger the release of the body's so-called feel good natural body hormone called endorphins which are the body's immunity cells that fights pain, physical tension, stress and serves as the body's infection-fighting anti bodies improving and strengthening the body against resistance to diseases and illnesses.  It does not only support the body's physical health but likewise promote mental and psychological balance.
Laughter can be achieved in so many forms and instances and its a natural and inherent mood and feeling of every human being has.  Doctors need not prescribe nor can you buy laughter and happiness over the counter.  It is FREE and you can have it without diagnosis nor will there be doses to have it.  

But this free medicine sometimes can be so rare and elusive to have.  And people sometimes pay or offer to pay just to be happy. Thus some people even tagged 'Happiness is priceless.'  But really now, why can some people have the hardest time to laugh or just be happy to be.  Happiness is being tagged along with satisfaction and contentment.  They say people by nature are insatiable.  People always look for something lacking and incomplete.  People always have the way to ridicule and be ridiculous and entertain the feeling and idea of being incomplete, unsatisfactory and imperfections.  

And because of these feelings of unsatisfactory and being insatiable, people refuse to be happy and reject the body's natural healing elements, allow and refuse the body to heal from pain, stress, tension, anxiety and worst of all depression creeps in engulfing and looming the body with  discomfort and illnesses.

In the subject video above.  a Filipino doctor, Dr. Nathaniel Cruz, who acted his own self video showed how social media can influenced people through satire and laughter.  Although the satirical medium dwell on the issue of being poor and the social class on the effect of technology on social classes and media.  The fact and essence of bringing laughter and not ridicule in facing the realities of life highlights a social class typical of being a Filipino being a happy people  and being content even with just being happy in a selfie mood despite his being poor and hunger.  The video may convey the social dogma on  Philippines and Filipinos being a super 'Selfie' addict.  It also conveys that Philippines being the texting capital of the world have integrated technology even to the poorest of the poor and that happiness and contentment can easily be achieved by a mere 'text' or selfie act, an inexpensive way to attain happiness and satisfaction.  Odd it may seem to many but the happiness it brought to the subject person in the video is immeasurable that even money cannot buy. This probably will explain why Philippines and the Filipino people can weather any calamities, and even being poor in the most positive way through being happy and the Filipino being a happy people.  The video won on America Meet World contest, a US-based comedy video contest that featured 138 video from 21 different countries around the world.

Buried in His Harley: A Biker’s Wish Come True

Last Friday, Jan. 31 Billy Standley's idea to be buried riding in his 1967 Harley Davidson was a dream come true.  Standley began conception of his burial plans some 18 years ago.  He made arrangement with Vernon Funeral Home about his wish that his funeral be made outside. His sons made sure he got what he wished for by finishing the Plexiglas see-through casket reinforced with steel and wooden rods five years ago and was waiting in their garage to serve its purpose.  He even purchased 3 additional extra cemetery plots next to his wife Lorna to accommodate his custom built casket. Billy succumbed to lung cancer last Sunday, Jan. 26 at age 82.  A true blooded bike adventurer and an avid Harley fan, during his lifetime, Standley traveled with his Harley in almost all the state of America, except Hawaii. To his family, no matter how weird and quirky their father’s wish, they all need to do what their beloved father had wished for.  It took five embalmer’s creative ideas to secure him in his striding pose atop his beloved 1967 Electra Glide Harley cruiser wearing his well-worn leather jacket, white helmet and his eyeglasses. The elaborate funeral was witnessed by hundreds as the casket drove away from the funeral parlor to the
Mechanicsburg cemetery in Ohio.  A crane was needed to raise the custom built casket from a towing vehicle and lowered down to the cemetery ground for his eternal resting place.

Russian Daredevils: No Thanks. l'll just use the stairs on my way down!

We see a lot of guts and adrenalin rushing when we watch fast car drivers skid on a hairline edge and we wow on seeing dirt bikes mount and jump off a high altitude in a circus show.  But seeing these Russian kids climb and hang themselves on building structures made me vomit too like those who have earlier watched it.  I want to somehow say, “Ohhhh c’mon they were just kid stuff we also did before when we were young.’  But watching on them do their tricks made some pretty lots of Goosebumps I really cannot comprehend. This is not about ‘fearlessness.  This is plain and simple ‘insanity.'  BEWARE: Not for the weak hearted.  And kids these tricks are done by professionals and extremely dangerous for you!

In their website, they posted a disclaimer that tells:

“you better leave the site if you are under 88 years old, because here you can find materials that will lead to the aesthetic dissatisfaction or even injure your psyche.”

Most of the stunts were filmed, produced and directed by Alex Stockley and Von Statzer. See why these are not videos to be watched by individuals below 88 years old:

Mother Dead After Childbirth Lives to Tell How it All Happened

Stephanie Arnold

the risk

It was a given fact that giving birth by a woman puts her more to risk than safety.  Not only because birth pains and maternity labor are sometimes so unbearable where passing out unconscious was almost inevitable.   

amniotic fluid embolism

Those were the fears Stephanie Arnold feels as she was seconds of giving birth to her second child via a C-section delivery.  Her heart has become erratic in beating that she coded and was already on a life threatening situation on the operating table.  Her heart stops for 37 seconds.  She recalled all signal and electrical machines stopped and goes null to zero.  Her ob-gyn Dr Julie Levitt and the anesthesiologist called the condition amniotic fluid embolism (AFE).  AFE was a maternity delivery condition where the amniotic fluid enters the mother’s bloodstream and can trigger respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.  While the incidence was likely to happen, it is however the second leading cause of maternal death in the United States and the United Kingdom.  A recent study revealed that 40% of mothers who have it dies from such condition.

a gut feeling about her death 

“It was so raw.  It was the feeling that I had was I was going to die. There was no question”, Stephanie mentioned. Talking to her anesthesiologist before her surgery she ordered more blood and monitors making sure she did all precautions to keep her self-assured.  And after taking deep breaths and savored every moment with her family she goes on with the operation.

rise from the dead

Stephanie and her son Jacob survived the ordeal without permanent damage after six days in coma and weeks for recovery. It was such an experience she lived to tell after her being dead for a while.  She now enjoys the bliss of living and experience again the motherhood to her son Jacob who was with her when she encountered death for a moment. Child bearing nowadays are a lot safer, however some mothers still face complications.

Stephanie and baby Jacob