Posts by Hilary Stace
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Doctors are generally very interested in bioethics and many hospitals have informal clinical ethics committees where clinicians seek input from their colleagues about difficult ethical issues. I imagine there are some serious discussions going on about this topic. They could also be powerful advocates for change.
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Hard News: Footpaths, not manifest destiny, in reply to Rotmistrov,
Re public libraries. Constant public vigilance is required to ensure the council's role in supporting them as a public good in their own right and as safe civic spaces free to everyone and with no pressure to spend money. Retaining this principle of access to books and knowledge is a constant battle in local government. In Wellington a group of us have been active since the 'business process reengineering' fashion of the mid 1990s, regularly fighting to save various library services and branches. We lost the mobile library after a long struggle, and have endured various cuts and extra charges, but have so far saved all the branches.Councillors know we are watching and alert to any crazy new ideas they have that risk attacking the free public library philosophy.
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Not sure why David Farrar is so nasty about disability and encourages disability hate speech on his blog. He has talked publicly about his own speech impairment as a child, which was perhaps dyspraxia. No self-reflection perhaps?
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Our Human Rights Act doesn't include disability as a grounds for hate speech. Needs reviewing.
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What horrible people. How do people grow up to be adults with so little empathy and understanding?
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Best Christmas present (even though it came from the Secret Santa bag) was a telescopic back scratcher.
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Access: Treatment for itching and shyness, in reply to BenWilson,
Yes I wonder if I am allergic to Wellington. I think it might be that motels etc have less dust and minimal gardens than here.
Phenergan is not good when you need an active brain. Takes lots of coffee in the morning to function.I have heard a bit about the successes of the Auckland GP Dr Joe Williams who has written a book about his treatment which is a mixture of lots of emollient cream, standard steroids and avoidance of junk food. But I think he manages to get his patients from fiery, scabby, infected outbreaks to something more controllable, rather than any long term cure.
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Access: Treatment for itching and shyness, in reply to BenWilson,
Thanks all. It is really a hidden and unrecognised impairment. Ironically I have gone back to Phenergan (tablets) in an attempt to deal with allergies and itch, but even that only takes the edge of the intensity. And you are not supposed to drive with Phenergan. I am so envious of people who don't have to be alert at all times to possible aggravating irritants. Dog hair on clothing, a chair on which a cat recently sat, grass on a windy day or dust anywhere, are all problematic for me. Then there is nothing sharp enough to relieve the burning itch. Or enough pressure from fists rubbing eyes.
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Thanks Abbie. Must be so tough for mothers of severely affected children. I wish my mother and her good ideas were still around. I have had both asthma and eczema all my life and have probably tried every conventional and alternative therapy around and most things work a little for a short time. Both conditions calmed down and flared up at certain times and decades. Unfortunately, steroids for both seem to be the most immediately effective, but who knows what they are doing long term. Long holidays at the beach with a lot of pleasant swims in the sea have always worked too. Unfortunately, they are elusive.
Also for those who don't consider this a real 'disability' post, apologies. It does definitely feel disabling at times.
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Anyone visiting New Plymouth this summer should go to the fabulous new Len Lye Centre. And it is free, which is probably why there are the large crowds of tourists and a very busy cafe. But one reason is to see the Wellington Media Collective's poster exhibition We Will Work With You (as in this book).This exhibition shows that that alternative media has been around a long time, and some of these posters formed a backdrop to the generation before the internet. They were in flats and offices around New Zealand. The famous 1984 full page Washington Post ad against nuclear weapons was signed by thousands of NZers (including me - I found my name with a lot of looking).
It is also very depressing as the issues are the same: hard to get welfare, post office closures, privatisation of ports, racism, sexism etc. And now we have another imminent nuclear ship visit.