http://www.local12.com/content/medical_edge/default.aspx Health and medical reports from Liz Bonis and LOCAL 12 News. en-us Copyright 2012 Newport Television LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 01:00:01 -0500 Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:05:14 -0500 Health Tips & Medical Reports http://www.local12.com/sites/WKRC/images/Local12_DOT_COM150.jpg http://www.local12.com/content/medical_edge/default.aspx 115 150 15 http://www.local12.com:80/content/medical_edge/story/Facebook-Leads-To-Organ-Match-For-Tri-State-Man/oL60f-lS5Uqg4DVu8bl0Lw.cspx?rss=937 http://www.local12.com/s/oL60f-lS5Uqg4DVu8bl0Lw.cspx Facebook brings the world together, whether it's finding new friends or connecting with old ones. And sometimes the connection reaches way beyond the computer-like when one Tri-State man used the social network to find a kidney.

Stuart Addison was living in Florida when he went into kidney failure. It was a Facebook friend who encouraged him to reach out online for what would save his life. "I told him, do you want to live? Post it on Facebook, you might be surprised."

Addison was going through dialysis and thinking he was going to die when Facebook friend Cindy Moore of Akron encouraged him to ask Facebook friends for help. "I said I have kidney failure. I feel awkward looking for a kidney donor."

Stuart was stunned when 37 people from all over the country sent for the blood test kit to find out if they're a match. "I knew 37 did it, 11 matches."

When all was said and done, one of the matches turned out to be Cindy Moore from Akron-the single mother who encouraged Addison to make the Facebook request in the beginning. Cindy says she just knew that's how it was going to turn out. "I've got his kidney..that's why we met."

Now Stuart has Cindy's kidney. Doctors at University Hospital performed the surgery in October. Now they talk to others about the journey and about hope for others waiting for an organ. "Reach out and do it your life is worth that and so many are willing to help others."

Cindy and Stuart plan to speak across the country about their story and the importance of organ and tissue donation. Right now more than 3500 people in Ohio are waiting for a life-saving transplant, 1500 in Indiana and 828 in Kentucky. 
]]> Medical Edge-2007 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:44:03 -0500 Facebook Leads To Organ Match For Tri-State Man http://www.local12.com:80/content/medical_edge/story/Go-Red-For-Women-Day/xDlpIDmJRUStFitjgvDGPg.cspx?rss=937 http://www.local12.com/s/xDlpIDmJRUStFitjgvDGPg.cspx National Heart Month kicks off today along with the American Heart Association's campaign "Go Red For Women." A woman from Trenton says red is her reminder to take care of your heart.

Local 12's Liz Bonis explains that she's the picture of good health now but a few years ago Kim Binkley said she noticed over time she was having serious trouble breathing: "And then one day I had woke up and I had literally put on about 30 pounds I couldn't fit into my clothes and I was swollen and my face was red."

She made an urgent trip to the hospital and eventually discovered at just 39 years old: "Come to find out I had congestive heart failure, cardiomyopathy, my heart function was less than 5 percent when I was finally diagnosed correctly."

Since then she's made it part of her mission to let others know the early warning signs of heart disease and heart failure she wears red now for a very specific reason. First those early warning signs according to Santosh Menon, the director of the heart failure unit are "swelling of the legs, shortness of breath, swelling of the belly and dizziness and a lot of fatigue."

Then the reason she wears red "I really believe that I'm a miracle because doctors had come to the point where like nothing was gonna help you. I really believe that a lot of prayers, I really believe I'm a miracle, I have no other explanation for why I am here and why I am doing what I am doing, I guess God just wasn't finished with me yet."

Binkley is now married, healthy, and taking good care of her heart. She says you can too. And perhaps even save your own life. 
]]> Medical Edge-2007 Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:05:27 -0500 "Go Red For Women" Day http://www.local12.com:80/content/medical_edge/story/Illness-Etiquette/5aE0HL41W0yiFlyN_z3LrQ.cspx?rss=937 http://www.local12.com/s/5aE0HL41W0yiFlyN_z3LrQ.cspx Its' been a mild season so far in the Tri-State, but that doesn't mean plenty of other infections going around can't make you really sick. As Local 12's Liz Bonis tells us the best way to protect yourself might be through illness etiquette. 

From the symptoms showing up due to viral illnesses in Tri-State doctors offices. "Nose may run, tired sometimes you get fever, productive cough, fever, sore muscles." 

To those showing up in area emergency rooms for urgent care there's something for everyone this season of sickness you might say. "We've been busy but it's been not one thing. It's been a little bit of everything, the falls, the GI stuff,around a lot strep throat, upper respiratory, abdominal pain."

So that means it may be up to you to protect yourself and others by using what's called illness etiquette. Its' a short list, but could make a big difference in helping you stay well and of course helping others stay well too.

First up, don't visit loved ones in the hospital if you are sick. And second don't go to work either. Third, if you share office space, infection control specialist Carolyn Fiutem says use illness etiquette at your desk is based on two things: "It's based on hand hygiene and environmental cleaning."

She suggests you use sanitizers on surfaces and hands and soap and water for handwashing whenever possible. The fourth step in illness etiquette is with coughing or sneezing- one of the main way germs are spread. "If you've got a cough or sneeze or something like that, try to cough into your arm, not your hands cause that's where you are touching everything."

And finally, speaking of touching clean common items you do touch with hands often as part of illness etiquette too. Researchers at the London School of Hygiene recently found one in six cell phones is tainted with fecal matter. ]]> Medical Edge-2007 Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:20:00 -0500 Illness Etiquette