The Ballad of Billy The Kidney

Great Figures in Transplant / Non-transplant History > Stan Whippy Ritova

Stan Whippy Ritova, titled Ratu Viliame Ritova (1935-2009) was a noted  journalist in Australia and in his home nation of Fiji.

He stood for the welfare and rights of kidney patients in Fiji.

Paradoxically, the shortage of facilities in his home country was to eventually force him to move to Australia.  From this base he continued his journalistic career up to the time of his death.

His work eventually led to the eventual establishment of the first kidney dialysis centre in Fiji in 2008. (2008!)

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Obituaries in:

• Fiji Times Online
• Sydney Morning Herald

Anshoo Mala Chandra, New Dialysis Centre to Save Lives, Fiji Government Online Portal, 27th May 2008

Image credit: the image of Stan Whippy Ritova with the non-elected and self-appointed Prime Minister of Fiji, Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, is from the Fiji Government Online Portal of 27th May 2008

Location of the Fijian Islands via Google Maps

Postcard from Adelaide

We’re having a short vacation in the city of Adelaide, capital city of the Australian State of South Australia – 1320 km (820 miles) west of Wollongong.

This has given me cause to reflect on the very different (to the rest of Australia) system of organ donation in South Australia.

World Transplant Games 2009 > Day 7

Today I thought we might see how the World Transplant Games are being reported on in the Twitter-sphere.

I'm taking a thematic approach to this topic because I realise that its hard to get a continuous update of results in the way that you would get, say, a continuous update from the Olympic Games in the mainstream media.

Rather, Web 2.0 gives you the chance to pick your own results or follow your own interests.  And it also gives you a result to add your own perspective based on your own preference / interest / bias /whatever.

Twitter is a particularly good medium for this type of reporting because you can in theory blog in from a mobile phone (and not even via the internet on a 3G phone - you can blog in via text messaging).  This means that those using it can be very close to the action, and with immediacy (without having to find a computer).

Now let's see how this translates into action!

World Transplant Games 2009 > Day 5

As the World Transplant Games continue on the Gold Coast in the sunny State of Queensland, a quick surf of the WWW has revealed these highlights:

• John Paul O'Neill of Ireland has won a silver medal in the squash competition on Tuesday.
• In rowing, Bas van den Hoven of The Netherlands won a gold medal in the skiff competition, and Martijn Watervliet & Bas van den Hoven of The Netherlands won silver medals in the "double two".  (No I don't know what that means.) (Original Dutch language web page.)
• Damon Danieli of Team USA (the picture at the head of this post is from his blog) the 3rd highest time in his team for the 5 kilometre cycling time trial, but unfortunately did not qualify for a medal.

I have also uncovered some more Transplant Games blogs, and have added them to the list in yesterday's post.

Let the games begin!

Today sees the launch of the World Transplant Games on the Gold Coast, in the Australian State of Queensland.

The Games, held every 2 years since 1978, promote exercise and fitness as a means of managing organ transplantation.  A fit patient means a probable longer-lasting organ transplant.

Exercise is a key method of managing an organ transplant for the long haul.  Its not the only method, of cousre, but it is extremely important.

World and national Transplant Games represents an opportunity for transplantees to have a specific goal whilst managing their valuable and life-giving resource.

This blog is, alas, about 1,000 km away from the action of the World Transplant Games.  But we will try to keep our readers attuned as to what's happening up there on the sunny Gold Coast (especially with Team Ireland!).

The Games run to August 30.

This YouTube video of the 5 kilometre road race was uploaded by 15hoyukai

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• Image credit: The Alfred Transplant Family

Cead mile fealte!

The Ireland team arrives in Australia today for the World Transplant Games on the Gold Coast of Queensland!

Cead mile fealte, Éire!  (A hundred thousand welcomes to Ireland!)

The team even has its own very impressive website.

More on this event on Sunday (Opening Day of competition).

• Media release announcing team selection [Microsoft Word document]

• Image Credit: From the Transplant Team Ireland website.

Road trip!

I am on vacation for much of July, followed in short order by the headless-chook-ness of Week 1 of the news College term.

So this blog will also be on vacation until early August.

Thanks for reading so far - and I do hope that you'll come back!

• The picture of Mr Bean at Bondi Beach (Sydney) is from the news service Chinaview.cn

Great figures in Transplant / Non-Transplant history: James A Michener

James A Michener (1907-1997) was an American author who, in the words of Wikipedia,

...[wrote] more than 40 titles [ie books], the majority of which are novels of sweeping sagas, covering the lives of many generations in a particular geographic locale and incorporating historical facts into the story as well.

Michener travelled extensively, and his experiences are interwoven into his words.  Visit the Hawaiian Islands (other than Waikiki Beach) and you will get a glimpse of this.

Michener died in his 90th year following his decision to discontinue dislysis treatment. 

In the limited time I had to research this article I was unable to learn how long he had kidney troubles (whether this was an old-age condition or whether it had been present for longer) - if any reader happens to know (and can cite a reference) then the readers and the writer of this blog would be pleased to learn.

There is a huge amount of material on James  A Michener in the World Wide Web.  May I scratch the surface by suggesting the following:

• Academy of Achievement : biography of James A Michener
• University of Northern Colorado > James A Michener Library. : This is one of the campus libraries of the institutional successor to his old school, the Colorado State College of Education.
• The Michener Collection of the University of Northern Colorado : Built and extended upon Michener's first donations of his papers to his old school in 1978
• State Library of New South Wales [Australia] : listing of material by or about James A Michener
• The James A Michener Society
• The James A Michener Art Museum of Doylestown PA USA
• United States Postal Service issue of 59c James A Michener stamp in May 2008
• BrainyQuote : quotations by James A Michener. I particularly like this one:

Character consists of what you do on the third and fourth tries.

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• The picture at the top of this post is from the website of the Presedential Medal of Freedom.
  

Australia!

Now and again I stray of topic.  Not to be encouraged, but I do it infrequently and only when its worth it.  This is one such time.

There is about to appear a very good range of ads promoting Australia [high-speed connection required], directed by Baz Luhrmann.

Baz is, of course, famous for such films as Strictly Ballroom (1992) and Moulin Rouge! (2001).  He is about to release the blockbuster film Australia (December 2008).

So what better time for his ads to be released - especially starring one of the actors from the film, Crusoe Kurddal (I think! To be confirmed).

The advertisements are quite good.  I commend them to you, not least because I am a total sucker for this sort of advertising.  When the Qantas jet is sailing home over Broken Bay after the long flight from the USA, Peter Allen singing I still call Australia home over the tannoy always reduces me to blubbering embarassed man-tears.

• The image of Nicole Kidman in Australia at the top of this post is from the Herald-Sun of Melbourne, Australia.

Vale: Alan Waddell (1914-2008)

Its never too late to exercise, as is illustrated by the example of Mr Alan Waddell.

Mr Waddell, who has recently passed away at the age of 94, took up walking at the age of 88 to ward off potential blood clots in the legs.

From this, he graduated to walking across every street in the greater Sydney area - no mean feat for a city about 80 km north to south and at least 60 km east to west.

Mr Waddell deserves salutation for being a shining example of the value of exercise.

• Obituary in the Sydney Morning Herald.

• The picture of the late Mr Alan Waddell in front of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Opera House at the top of this post comes from Walk Sydney Streets.