The Girl Who Lives In The Dark

Happened to switch over the weekend morning screening of the TV channel programmed entitled 'The girl who lives in the dark”. It is a sad touching story of a nine year old girl by the name Wan Lao Yang who lives in the remote southern part of China (she seems to belong to a minority group) who contracted a rare form of skin cancer that left her severely disfigured.

She yearn to go schooling like other children but unable to do so due to her medical condition. The teachers had to turn her away from attending classes due to her deteriorating health. The tumors on her face grew quickly, blood, puss and tissue decay affected her vision badly.

There is no cure for this genetic skin disease. The disease is caused by the inability of the body system to repair DNA damaged caused by the Sun's ray (UV rays). The unfortunate girl has to spend most of her time in the debilitated cold dark shelter of her home to avoid exposure to sunlight.

The parents are peasants who could not afford expensive medical treatment. Doctors in her remote area told her parents the disease is hard to treat and turn them away. A local tourist guide came to know about her plight, took pictures and photographs of her disfigured face and posted them on the Internet in attempt to seek help from the public.

By chance a UK child skin specialist by the name of Dr Atherton got to know about it through the Internet and got in touch with Shanghai skin cancer specialists who then help to arrange a medical visit. Together with the Shanghai medical team, Dr Atherton applied one week leave to travel all the way to China. It was a long flight from UK to Shanghai .The journey from Shanghai to the remote village took another 2 days. Apparently the villagers got to know about the incoming visit and extended a warm welcome visit to the medical team.

When Dr Atherton first saw the seriousness condition of the girl, he wept. Due to the advance staged of the skin cancer, urgent arrangement was made to send the little girl to Shanghai for medical treatment. As the first course of treatment, Dr Atherton created a special UV face protection mask for the child. A week after the visit, both the girl and her father traveled to Shanghai for the first time together with Dr Atherton. The entire village people are glad that finally the unfortunate girl has fighting chance to recover from the dreaded disease and see the light of the day.

It was the first time both child and father took to the air and Lao Yang was very excited throughout the journey. Phone call was arrange so that Lao Yang's other siblings and mother could talk to her when she reach Shanghai. Being the good girl, Lao Yang reminded her other siblings to be good to their mother. She also told her siblings how she felt she was like walking on cottons during the flight.

Doctors in Shanghai were shocked at the condition of the girl. The operation to remove the tumor went successfully despite the complex surgery. In fact it is the most complicated operation ever been undertaken by the Shanghai medical team. 8 weeks after the surgery Lao Yang went home, much to the delight of the villagers and her siblings and parent. Special UV protection filter were put up in Lao Yang's class. Students and teachers were delighted that the little girl finally able to go back to attend school lessons.


Prosthetic surgery arrangement were made to address the scar and disfigurement caused by the tumor. The expensive medical costs were borne by various contributors and the Shanghai hospital. Unfortunately bad news soon follow suit.

Doctors in Shanghai hospital that operated on her discovered that the cancer has spread to her lungs. During an interview Dr Atherton mentioned he was putting his finger crossed and hoping that the cancer would not spread. Lao Yang did not make it pass her next birthday.

Lao Yang's struggle against this form of rare genetic disorder by the name 'Xeroderma Pigmentosum' is well documented and aired wordwide. It is important to note that the documentary is not just about advanced cutting edge medical science & technology.

Beneath all the treatment lies the human touch. The tour guide, doctors, in particular Dr Atherton and the Shanghai medical teams who offered their time , waiver of the medical expenses and attempt to give her a better life is what makes life meaningful and memorable.

Lao Yang is gone but she did not suffer and die in vain. Tissues samples from the Lao Yang's tumor are preserved in various medical research centers. Perhaps someday with the availability of the tumor samples, advancement and genetic engineering medical breakthrough could provide a cure for it once and for all.

Reference: Rare Genetic Skin Disorder - Cancer

Woman Age Look Like Their Mother

A friend of mine once shared a joke on how it's possible for a man to easily figure out accurately or picture what his girlfriend might look like in years to come when she has aged and becomes old. Well, the answer it seems lies simply by just looking at her mum. If her mum is fat then there is a high probability that the girlfriend might be likewise in years to come. If her mum has wrinkles then it is quite probable daughter would suffer same skin condition eventually.

Apparently science has caught up with such jokes. Report release by medical researchers in California indicates most aging woman would increasingly resemble their mother in terms of physical outlook as they aged. Although the medical findings do not explain the root cause of such observations nevertheless this is not really surprising given the fact that woman inherit genetic traits from their parents.

Check out the following on woman age like their mother

Chi Machine - Cure For Insomnia

It’s not surprising that everyone suffers from occasional bouts of insomnia. Millions of people in the world suffer from some form of sleep disorder. Insomnia could be caused by various factors. Most people turn to quick fix involving the use of sleeping aid drugs such as melatonin, Valium, Tylenol and other potent sedatives to address sleep problem.

Sleep remedies involving potent drugs should only be used on shot term basis and under doctor's advice. Medication involving drugs may have serious side effects such as the case with Michael Jackson who is believed to have died due to improper administration of the potent anesthetic ‘propofol’ intravenous drug with the intention to help him sleep. Sleep aid drugs merely sought to treat the symptoms rather than the root cause.

Of course by no means I am trying to imply we should stay away from sleep aid drugs completely You just need to avoid taking sleep aid drugs for prolong period of time and consult a doctor on the best medication appropriate for your sleep problem. If you are not careful you might become addicted to these drugs. Use these drugs with discretion. Most of the time, drugs do not deal with the underlying root cause of the sleep problem.

Surrounding environment such as the temperature, humidity, noise and the condition of bedding items such the pillow and mattress spring could disrupt an otherwise good sleep. Poor sleeping position and posture could harm and affect the spine, which in turn impact your sleep.

Poor nutrition and lack of exercise also contribute to sleep problem. Stimulants such as coffee and tea may also keep you from falling asleep so it’s recommended that you avoid caffeine and any other stimulants at least 3 hours before bedtime.

One of the major leading causes of insomnia is stress. Stress has tremendous negative impact on your health and life. Everyone experienced stress in one way or another. We live in a fast pace hectic world whereby our stress hormone is constantly being drive up due to demanding work and family life.

No amount of sleeping drugs would help if we were unable to deal with the stress that's causing us to loose precious quality sleep daily. Thus learning to cope with stress and challenges in life (stress management) is critical to helping you to deal with insomnia.

You might have heard the common catch phrase that coping with stress is easier said than done. Some people are more predisposed to mental stress. Biological and psychological factors influence individual ability to cope with stress.

Even children aren't spare from stress, notably examination stress. Recently I received an email attachment on some of the PSLE mathematic questions and I must admit the exam questions seems quite tough to me. Therefore it is not surprising that more and more children and students are having trouble and difficulty in coping with sleep.


How can you cope and deal with sleep problems given the multitude of contributing factors? First thing first you should make sure the surrounding environment don’t exacerbate sleep problem. Some times all it takes is just simple life style change such as removing distractions from your bedroom such as TV and computer.

If you are unable to sleep properly due to work stress or other personal concerns then it is imperative that you seek advice and help from those you can trust and rely upon in times of distress. Family members, close friends, self improvement coach or even religious leaders such as a pastor might be able to help you cope with stress.

Stress may cause you to loose sleep and the lack of quality sleep in turn creates more stress and the cycle repeats and escalate into severe depression and chronic insomnia. Prolong stress and chronic insomnia can cause serious internal organ inflammation, destroy health and put your life at risk.

So the big question is which of the two should you address first, sleep disorder or stress? It may be a difficult choice to make for some who are suffering from both chronic stress and insomnia. Prolong chronic stress maybe more difficult to analyze and deal with due to the diverse possible triggering factors. You will need to seek professional help to deal with chronic stress.

Sleep is one of the major factor that contributes to our overall wellness. Sleep enables the body to repair tissues, muscles and vital organs. Sleep also helps to reduce inflammation, improves and boost body immune system to fight agains diseases Lack of sleep accelerates aging and increase the risks of stroke and heart attack.

Our body is a marvelous piece of machine that is capable of repairing itself efficiently given the right condition such as good nutrient, exercise and adequate rest. Chemicals and compounds such as drugs don't actually heal our body directly.

Rather it is our body mind system with the help of the energy known as the 'chi' that drives to balance and regulates the body self-healing system. Have you ever wondered why you feel good after massage? The fact of the matter is that massage helps to release mental stress, promotes relaxation and balances the body 'chi' energy.

The 'chi' also known as the human life force is not simply a supertitious belief but is something very real that is constantly being acknowledge and recognized by modern western research in the fields of physics and medicine. Chi is a form of energy that flows through the meridians the way electrical impulses flow through the nerves.


The chi machine benefits elderly people and those who are prone to injury in need of exercise. As the name implies, the movement to the body in a 'snake' like motion helps to align the spine, relaxes muscles, improve blood circulation and flow of oxygen to body system. It also helps to improve lymph fluids flow so as to improve detoxification and eliminate toxins from the body.



Many people who has used the chi machine for just 15 minutes daily experienced great results in terms of improve sleep and relieve emotional stress. The swinging of the feet creates a harmonic response up through the body, which balances energy levels and releases tension. The therapeutic massage effects through the use of this machine is very rewarding. Daily use of it for 15 minutes prior to bedtime improves insomnia condition.


Fifteen minutes of passive exercise with the chi machine is estimated to be equivalent to 90 minutes of walking. The best part of it is that after the machine has stop swinging you feel sudden surge of relaxation and rejuvenation of energy across your entire body from head to toe.

The Chi Machine- Spinal Alignment

Majority of the diseases that we suffers are linked to the spine. This may come as a surprise to many who tend to link spine to just physical back pain only. Who might have expected other sickness such as headache, loss of energy, sleep disorder and diabetes are also possibly link to the condition of the spine. The spine has tremendous effect and influence on health.

The central nervous system extends throughout the spinal column, beginning from the brain and branch out from the nerve networks to every part of the body. The extended network of nerves is termed the autonomic nervous system. Blood and immune system such as the globulin are produced by the spinal column bone marrow.

The central nervous system controls important functions such as breathing, heart rate, digestion and many other activities many of which is out of conscious control. Misalignment and abnormal pressure and stress applied to the spine may impact the normal body functions and trigger diseases on an otherwise healthy body.

The spine can be subdivided into 4 major sections namely the cervical, thoracic, lumbar and sacrum. Problems to any of these spinal sections may cause impact to different organs and cause different illnesses.

For instance, insomnia, dizziness, migraines, ear inflammation, cataracts and sore throat may be associated with problems on the cervical vertebrae. Stiff neck, liver disease, rheumatism, lack of strength and swelling thyroid may be trigger due to thoracic vertebrae condition.

Thus it is not surprising that spinal misalignment may affect one’s overall quality of health. Varying magnitude of spinal misalignment may result in broad spectrum of different symptoms and intensity. Some people may not even realize or aware that they have spinal misalignment problem.

The degree of spinal misalignment may worsen and the symptoms or illness associated with it may change gradually or abruptly making it extremely difficult for physician to pinpoint the underlying cause of the health problems.

We can move our spine in sideways much like the way snake moves in ‘S’ shape. Applying the appropriate pressure and movements such as the snake like profile can help in the realignment of the spine.

Most form of exercises does not adequately help to flex the spinal column in a twisting snake like movement. Physical and mental stress may caused the spines to be rigid and as such it is important for you choose the appropriate form of exercise to prevent causing more harm to the spine.

Correct spinal movement exercise helps to re-align the spine, release the chi energy and balance the energy movement throughout the body. Optimal spine movement helps to relieve vertebrae joint, stimulates the autonomic nervous system and provides pleasure sensation.

One of the best ways to exercise and keep the spine in good shape and in proper alignment is by using the Chi Machine regularly. The knowledge on spine and the link to health provide the more reasons why you should own a Chi Machine at home.

The Chi Machine is passive aerobic exercise equipment that has been proven to help tone, heal back problems, strengthen the mental and physical body, stimulates the lymphatic, increase energy and promotes better sleep.