Come home to Haiku Home

Just in March of the year 2012, I was introduced to Haiku, (re-introduced perhaps) by a cousin who had nothing better to do while recuperating from illness, but to write her experiences in 5-7-5 graphic scenes that got me hooked. How soon she recovered is a testimony of how art therapy can work wonders!

As a medical professional in my almost-retirable years, I sought the "comfort" activities of my younger years, like playing the piano. It all went well for 3 years with one recital to my belt -  a general class recital with small children, and I was last number to play in the program. On my 4th year however, as my piano teacher patiently prepared the simpler of  Debussy's, a bad carpal tunnel syndrome struck, first my right dominant hand, then the left, (like the rheumatism knew exactly who to afflict). Having treated many patients with the malady, I could hear myself say, "rest for the hands and fingers from avoidable activities is first line treatment, otherwise, you will either receive an injection to the wrist or get the part opened up".

Haikus came as a welcome respite. Yes, I still have to write or type the poems, but this art form is less finger intensive in terms of force and repetitive motion. Soon, my cousin and I exchanged haikus daily through SMS, writing them down at the same time on notebooks. Friends started to join in, too. 

I told a friend that to write haiku is to breath, a brief moment with almost no thought taken,  just short punctuations of observations about nature, experiences, so short that the only imagination allowed is that of the reader's. The poet pens thoughts down in 5-7-5 cadence,  with no burden to explain, leaving the scene to someone else.

 

We now invite you to +Haiku Home . Come one, come all haiku-ers!

Ethnic preponderance of some important joint diseases

Behcet's Syndrome - Turkish, Mediterranean and Arab, Japanese
               Behcet's syndrome affects both men and women almost equally and manifests with painful mouth and genital ulcers, eye inflammation, arthritis and in severe forms, can involve the heart, brain and lungs.
     



Osteoarthritis - most ethnic groups worldwide
               Osteoarthritis is the most common joint disease of persons above 40 years of age. It affects  the joints of the fingers and knees but is most debilitating when in the knees and  hips, causing pain on walking. Osteoarthritis of the hips is reported more among Scandinavians/Europeans and less among Asians.




Gout - Polynesian, Chinese, Southeast Asian, Caucasians
               Gout is a severe, recurrent inflammation of one or more joints, most often in men. It is associated with high blood uric acid levels. It is reported to be related to lifestyle and obesity especially among Caucasians. Among Asians, gout is known to be due to problems in the elimination of uric acid by the kidneys. Uric acid deposits can cause masses to grow over joints and soft tissues in many parts of the body.




 Rheumatoid Arthritis - worldwide but probably more diagnosed among Caucasians

                Rheumatoid arthritis affects more women than men and affects more joints -  shoulders, elbows, wrists, hands, knees, ankles and feet and severely restricts most daily activity due to pain and stiffness, and later,  joint deformities. More severe forms can affect the lungs, eyes, heart and blood.

Lupus - Latin Americans, American Blacks, Southeast Asian
                Systemic lupus erythematosus or lupus is a form of arthritis that affects more women than men, and is also systemic, affecting the kidneys, skin, blood and joints simultaneously or appearing in a progression. Severe forms can also affect the brain, lung and heart. Severe disease are reported more among colored people.






Spondyloarthropathies including psoriatic arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease - Scandinavians, European ethnicity, Chinese
               This is a group of arthritides that affects the spine in younger individuals, causing back stiffness, hip pain and can also be associated with eye disease that can cause blindness in some cases. It can come with inflammation of the bowels causing repeated diarrhea,  inflammation of the skin and with the scaly rash of psoriasis.
             

This list is short and focuses on diseases that can affect many body organs and also cause severe disability due to pain, joint deformity and organ damage. The need to see a rheumatologist is emphasized, seeing that many of these arthritides affect many organs of the body and requires special forms of treatment.


All photos by Google Images

2012

2012 saw past December 21,  it is an old year now, with the remaining 10 days in a frenzy build-up for the next dated new year, 2013.


2012 saw in this Blogger 19 blogs -  from Thoughts on the new year to short expositions about osteoarthritis, gout, rheumatoid arthritis,  alternative medicine, back pain, sleep and inflammation, meetings in Jordan, and thoughts on aging.







                   




2012 saw Chikungunya fever outbreak in the Philippines and in my home, the "break bone" fever becoming real break bone (fracture) of my daughter with the Chikungunya arthritis severe enough to cause her to fall one day.

2012  saw my mother turn 90, outlasting friends (and perhaps foes alike), continuing to serve as auditor of the local association of senior citizens, getting crankier as her sharp mind blunts away and her quick body ever slower.


2012 meted out a personal warning, with two falls, only 10 days apart, for me to be more careful.




2012 saw a protracted Arab spring in Syria (dragging through summer, autumn and winter of 2011 and 2012) and the possibility that Damascus, the longest living city which has not been sacked or destroyed through all waves of empires it rode, may actually lay flat in ruins, desolate; and elsewhere in the Middle East, wars and rumors of wars.

2012 saw Europe do balancing acts for the teetering economies within, London's success as host of the Olympic games, a royal wedding; America re-electing Obama and hoping to survive the "fiscal cliff" and the burden of a wave of gun-related violence that killed innocents; Latin America preparing for another World Cup; African countries holding fast despite its cauldron of famine and share of wars; the "awakened" giant of Asia asserting its numbers, and the hermit kingdom handing power over  - nuclear at that, to a young progeny.

2012 saw earthquakes everywhere, storms, tornadoes and floods of "strange" dimensions.

Then I smile as 2012 saw hope - Aung San Suu Kyi, ever poised, with flowers in her hair, finally fly and take to wings. This phenomenon has shown how transformation is possible in unexpected places, like the rigid, inflexible mold of a military junta. A generation of leaders pass, the new generation decides to change for the greater good and for their own sakes.



The world will continue till its set time so 2012 is able to fold in its arms the bits of history it has collected. It will then add them to the Library of Man that contains what has been known since the beginning of time.