PatientsEngage General Community

Rajeev, 56 has been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease but is unsure of the reaction he will receive if he shares his diagnosis of Parkinson's with his social circle. What do you think he should do?  Living in Dread “Hey, WHAT happened to you? Are you all right?”, screamed my cousin Sony who met me after several years at a wedding. Gosh! The secret is out, I thought. “I am all right, why?”, I said, keeping up the charade. “You are too slow”, he was spot on.  Sony is a doctor and he…

We prepare ourselves for everything, but most of us are in denial about death. Aparna Das shares the one final lesson her father taught her during his last few days as he breathed his last. My father was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in October 2017. Of course, he and all of us did everything in our capacity to save him. But he passed away on the 20th of April 2018. The three days leading to his death were probably the most painful that our family had faced collectively. But I have a…

Mothers are often so busy looking after everyone else in their lives that they neglect their own health. This Mother's Day give a gift of health to your mother. Contributed by Portea Medical Mothers are the best caregivers, hands down. From in-laws, kids and husband to her own family, looking after and catering to all their needs doesn’t leave her much time to sit back and reflect on her own self, at the end of the day. So much so, that even modern day workplaces have working women who have…

Ekta Hattangady, a Clinical Social Worker with a specialization in Chronic Illness Management talks of the importance of making your own self a priority. Also seven steps to self care.    My cousin was in her late 20s when her mom, my aunt, was diagnosed with late stage cancer. It was a year of a lot of frantic activity and high stress. It was a year of loss. My cousin spent every minute caring for her mom. During one hospital stay for my aunt, my dad happened to be there. He took one…

Laughter coach Santhanaram Jayaram talks of the benefits of laughter in the work place and how you can bring laughter into the work place to reduce stress and ease tensions. #WorldLaughterDay The climate of the work environment has certainly changed over time because it used to be that you checked your humor at the door. We use to associate laughter as a bad thing and would not take anyone serious if they laugh too much.Anyone who was caught cracking it up or laughing would most certainly have…

Jacqueline Colaco, a feisty 68, does not permit the senior citizen tag to prevent her from pushing her boundaries, acquiring new skills, participating in a range of community activities. She is active on Facebook and has even shaved her head in empathy with her school classmate who was on chemo for cancer! Be ever young at heart. At sixty I thought I’d retire from life... Wanting to go into oblivion with a bang, I gathered about two hundred of my nearest and dearest and celebrated this diamond…

These yoga poses are good for beginners. They are easy to practice and stretch and get started with yoga at home. Contributed by Healers at Home Yoga exercises help in many ways. People do yoga exercises to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally. In the initial stage, we require some easy poses to relax and lose our muscles. Then gradually we can switch over to harder yoga poses. The yoga poses meant for beginners are calm and gentle, and beginners would like to do them. Here are…

The growing up years of Vinay Nair, 32, who has haemophilia, was largely marked with moderate or severe bleeding episodes. His mother, Indira, compliments her son’s positive attitude and steadfast determination that have helped him face his health challenges exceptionally well.   When Vinay was 6 months old, he started developing strange blue patches on his hands and legs, quite similar to the blue-black patches that appear when you have been bruised or pinched. These patches though…

Premroop Alva, 42 lives with a rare hereditary blood disorder - Haemophilia condition. He has extensively worked towards spreading awareness and talks of the travails of the condition and how it should be tackled to lead as normal a life as possible. Please tell us a bit about your condition I am a person with Severe Hemophilia B (Factor IX deficiency). Haemophilia is a rare hereditary bleeding disorder. A person with Hemophilia(PwH) has longer clotting time than normal person. The absence of…

Don't know how to support a person on the autism spectrum? Melody Rain, an adult living on the autism spectrum shares tips and pointers on how to be supportive to someone with Autism. #AutismAwarenessWeek2018 Get to know what they are interested in. This helps with supporting them in conversations and allows them to talk and converse about their interests.    Find out and respect their comfort zones. Don't be pushy if the person doesn't like to be touched or hugged. Always ask…