Author: Dr Myfanwy Webb

What tree do I plant?

What tree do I plant? How to add priceless value with your choice and care for our planet.

Choose a tree that grew there naturally before. By growing original plants you create an ecosystem that provides housing and food for native insects, birds, amphibians, mammals and reptiles. It will attract original animal species that evolved to live on that particular piece of ground. This also means your tree will grow easily because it is pre adapted to the microclimate and soil conditions that it grows in.  This translates to less work for you such as less watering. Original plants are known as provenance plants.

For a thriving tree, it is best to grow seedlings germinated from plants currently growing as close to your patch of ground as you can. If you can’t raise the seedlings yourself or convince a nursery or farmer to help you, then try and choose identical species from nurseries with stock sourced within the local region.

Peron's Tree Frog (Litoria peronii)
Peron’s Tree Frog (Litoria peronii) Photo: Jonathan Webb

To resurrect an intricate ecosystem, choose a few of the dominant local tree species and a few understory species that once grew there. This will provide the structure for the ecosystem to grow from.  Birds may spread additional types of local seeds over time.  As your ecosystem expands and grows denser you may notice an increase in diversity of animal species visiting and inhabiting it. The number of animals should increase too.

Photo: Myfanwy Jane Webb

If you are not sure which area to start on and you have more than one vegetation community on your land, begin at the closest interface of them. Begin planting one vegetation community plus the second community next to it simultaneously if you can.  This will provide resources to a higher diversity of native species than what live in just the one habitat type.

You may have only a balcony. Choosing a true native from your local area to grow in a pot will create habitat for local insects and may even entice nearby original bird species to feed or perch from it.

Tiger Moth (Amata marella)
Tiger Moth (Amata marella) showing warning or aposematic colouration. Photo: Jonathan Webb

Street trees, verges of roads, degraded land and development sites are excellent opportunities to provide habitat for animals that originally lived in an area. Birds flying through suburbs use trees to rest, feed and nest. If the original provenance trees and bushes grow throughout a suburb, this helps the original bird species that live close-by rather than other native but non-local types. For instance, growing native grevillieas along streets and in gardens where they never grew naturally can encourage the non-local wattlebird honeyeater to dominate. This bird species can be highly aggressive to other birds.

If you cannot identify the plant species growing nearby, you can use a plant ID App that allows identification from photos, or send photos preferably with fruiting bodies or flowers to a botanist, local land care or gardening group to help you.

If most of the land near you has been cleared, you may need to hunt around your local area to find the nearest natural remnants of original vegetation. Look for changes in geology as this is usually reflected in vegetation differences. You’ll want to match the same remnant vegetation to the geology and soil type on your land. Old photographs can help with identifying what grew before clearing occurred. Your local library may have historical books showing photographs of vegetation for your area.

Forest foliage Photo: Myfanwy Jane Webb

So next time you ask yourself what tree do I plant?  By choosing true original natives and resurrecting your natural ecosystem, you have the power to provide homes and food for a flourishing community of native animals and plants. This goes a long way to caring for our planet.

Have a look at my article; Fencing off farm land to grow ecosystems for biodiversity, if you’d like information about that topic.

If you’d like more information about resurrecting ecosystems, have a look at Methods for Resurrecting Ecosystems.

Or you can read stories about my connection to the land. One is titled Minimal Me.

If you’d like to have my next post sent directly to your email inbox, just pop your email address in the subscription box located either on the last page below or on the right side of your screen. 

If you’d like to make a comment on this article you can leave a reply below.

 

5G and 6G risks to human health – high frequency radio waves

Data from studies for biomedical use are insufficient and incomparable for determining risk to health from 5G and 6G communications is what I have found. Some studies show these radio waves alter the structural components of DNA but there is yet to be determined a threshold level of detrimental dose in the context of communications.

Some of this is now published on the Parliament website as Submission No. 9 Parliamentary Inquiry into 5G in Australia October 2019.

 

Why I looked into 5G and 6G effects

Last year I underwent life saving photon radiation treatment. Scary as it was, once I researched how it works and how it relates to the physics of the Atom bombs I felt more at ease. So a few days ago I discovered that a mobile phone tower located a few hundred meters from my residence, is assigned to transmit 5G radio waves through my house as it falls in direct line of the next transmission tower. We already have high tensile power lines running along our road but I told myself about those when they were erected, “you can’t worry about everything”. To alleviate my concerns and my curiosity, I did some digging and this is what I found so far. So you know, I don’t claim to be an expert on this topic but I do have a background in medical research which I have found helpful.

 

What I have learnt about radiation

Radiation is energy radiated in the form of rays, waves or particles. It is either ionizing radiation or non ionizing or indirect ionizing. Ionizing is strong enough to remove electrons from orbiting an atom leaving the atom charged or ionized. Indirectly ionizing radiation from neutral particles deposits energy into the medium through a two step process. Either, a charged particle is released into the medium by liberating atomic electrons or generating positrons, neutrons release protons or heavier ions; or the released charged particles deposit energy to the medium through direct Coulumb interactions. A Coulumb interaction is the force between two stationary charged particles.

Ionizing, indirect ionizing and non ionizing radiation cause damage to DNA. 5G is a form of high frequency radio wave, 6G is even higher frequency and both are described as non ionizing radiation. An example of indirect ionising radiation is photons. Photons are light energy that is an indirect ionizing radiation that pass through medium and do not linger and have a half life like ionizing radiation. Photons and other indirect ionizing radiation cause damage to DNA with radiation damaging different types of macromolecules. Either way, a classification of indirect ionizing or non ionizing radiation is perhaps only relevant in terms of mode of damage to cells but not to whether or not damage occurs. Non ionizing radiation such as Ultra Violet radiation causes DNA damage by initiating a reaction between thymine molecules that are structural components of DNA. The start of cancer cell proliferation is often caused by DNA damage.

What is known about various ionization radiation types is the response of particular tissue to the damaging effect of radiation. This is called the effective dose and it incorporates a tissue weighting factor which is a measure of absorption. Unfortunately, according to the American Federal Communications Commission there is currently no radio frequency RF exposure standard. However the SAR or specific absorption rate expressed as units of watts per kg whole body absorption of RF energy by a standing human adult has shown to occur at a maximum rate when the frequency if 80 MHz (0.08 GHz) to 100 MHz (0.1 GHz) (OET Bulletin 1999 Cleveland & Ulcek). This report written in 1999, well before current technologies exist describes the SAR and the potential for harm and states;

“Because of this ‘resonance’ phenomenon, RF safety standards have taken account of this frequency dependence of whole-body human absorption, and the most restrictive limits on exposure are found to be in this frequency range (the very high frequency of “VHF” frequency range.”.

 

5G

The bandwidth that 5G is between (30000 MHz) 30 GHz and (300000 MHz) 300GHz (millimeter band)  which is super high to extreme high frequencies, presumably well above the maximum SAR absorption rate for harm to the human body.  To put this in perspective household wireless device and appliance are within the range 3kHz to 6GHz (to 6000 MHz) very low to super high frequencies. See Table 1.

Table 1 Frequency Spectrum

 

Source: University of Notra Dame

In terms of SAR (Specific Absorption Rate), gonads and eyes have the highest tissue rating factor and thus the highest absorption rate and are most vulnerable to radiation damage. The ratings for tissue types with highest to lowest are:

0.2    gonads

0.12  colon, stomach, bone marrow, lung

0.05   chest, liver, bladder, thyroid, oesophagus, adrenals, brain, small intestine, kidney, muscle,       pancreas, spleen, thymus, uterus

0.01   skin and bone surface

(ICRP 100   2007).

 

What I want to know.

What is the detriment from radiation of this super to extreme high radio frequency level that 5G and 6G uses? Detriment is a term used to measure of the total harm that will result after exposure to radiation. What is the threshold dose for biological damage from the 30 to 300GHz bandwidth of radio frequency radiation? The document that the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency referred me to when I made enquiries to them is An Opinion on Potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks on 2015. I looked at the 14 studies in the 30-300GHz range cited in this report and have listed these, added their abstracts and commented on my interpretation further down in this article.

I did a brief literature search and found one study (Baste 2008) of military men (10,497 respondents) in the Norwegian Navy exposed to radio frequency fields that disturbingly found

“In all age groups there were significant linear trends with higher prevalence of involuntary childlessness with higher self-reported exposure to radio frequency fields”

There are studies that suggest significant harm from radio frequency radiation from mobile phone towers, phone and other communications but there is an absence of research into very high radio frequency waves, especially how these affect tissue when emitted across vast space such is how 5G and 6G operates.

 

Level of Detriment

My main concern is there are no existing studies to enable us to know the threshold level or the level of detriment to the human body, especially one that is radio-sensitive from photon therapy as mine is now. (Radiotherapy has made my body more susceptible to all radiation exposure including UV radiation damage). Also, there is no knowledge of the level of detriment to host related factors that alter the susceptibility to radiation injury such as age, smoking and co-morbidities such as infections, malignancy, collagen vascular disease, diabetes and hypertension.

There is no knowledge on the level of detriment to those individuals with rare genetic conditions such as Bloom’s Syndrome, Fanconi’s anaemia and ataxia telangiectasia. These people have advanced cellular radiosensitivity due to mutations in their repair genes. Until rigorous studies investigating the risk to human health of this specific radiation proposed for the 5G and 6G communications, I am concerned for myself, my family’s  and my community’s short and long-term health. Our government has a duty of care to its people and we expect as a democratic society for this to be upheld.

My Comments on studies in the 30-300 GHz range cited in

Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Risks Opinion on Potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) 2015

In summary, nearly all of these studies (14) show detriment to health of exposure in the 30-300GHz range. The ones that do not, either have limitations in methodology or do not seem relatable to the mechanics of 5G and 6G wave length usage. In the latter, this is most likely because the context of these studies is not for investigating the detrimental effects of radio waves but rather aimed at investigating the effects of radio waves for therapeutic biomedical use. This results in incomparable data. The data is relevant for the field of biomedicine but not the field of communications.

The positive side of the biomedical studies is that there is potential for this particular radiation like other radiation types (once the physical parameters are fully understood and described) to have a useful biomedical role. However, until threshold levels of detriment (especially to DNA) in the context of 5G and 6G use are known in the context of communications, I remain concerned with the short and long effect of the terahertz radio waves on human health and also other biological organisms.

 Study 1

Beneduci A (2009). Evaluation of the potential in vitro antiproliferative effects of

millimeter waves at some therapeutic frequencies on RPMI 7932 human skin malignant

melanoma cells. Cell biochemistry and biophysics, 55, 25-32.

 

 

Abstract

The potential antiproliferative effects of low power millimeter waves (MMWs) at 42.20 and 53.57 GHz on RPMI 7932 human skin melanoma cells were evaluated in vitro in order to ascertain if these two frequencies, comprised in the range of frequency used in millimeter wave therapy, would have a similar effect when applied in vivo to malignant melanoma tumours. Cells were exposed for 1 h exposure/day and to repeated exposure up to a total of four treatments. Plane wave incident power densities <1 mW/cm(2) were used in the MMWs-exposure experiments so that the radiations did not cause significant thermal effects. Numerical simulations of Petri dish reflectivity were made using the equations for the reflection coefficient of a multilayered system. Such analysis showed that the power densities transmitted into the aqueous samples were < or = 0.3 mW/cm(2). Two very important and general biological endpoints were evaluated in order to study the response of melanoma cells to these radiations, i.e. cell proliferation and cell cycle. Herein, we show that neither cell doubling time nor the cell cycle of RPMI 7932 cells was affected by the frequency of the GHz radiation and duration of the exposure, in the conditions above reported.

Limitations of Study

This study found that very high frequency radiation doesn’t increase proliferation of cancer cells in vivo which is not surprising as it is the microenvironment of the host that effects growth of cancer cells and the risk from radiation is in causing DNA damage that begins the proliferation process.

 

Study 2

Clothier RH and Bourne N (2003). Effects of THz exposure on human primary

keratinocyte differentiation and viability. Journal of Biological Physics, 29, 179–85.

 

Abstract

Primary human keratinocytes can be driven, in vitro, to differentiate, via activation of transglutaminases, by raising the culture medium calcium concentration above 1 mM. This results intransglutaminase regulated cross linking of specific amino acids with resultant cornified envelope formation. The differentiation was monitored via the incorporation of fluorescein cadaverine into the cornified envelops. This differentiation assay was combined with assessment of reductive capacity ofresazurin, as a measure of cellactivity/viability. One primary aim is to assess the effects of THz radiation on human skin, since medical imaging of the body through the skin is envisaged. Human keratinocytes, at passage 2 from isolation, were grown to confluence, and transported in a buffered salt solution at22 °C. The exposure to the THz source was for 10, 20 or 30 minutes at room temperature. No donor specific inhibition or stimulation of cell activity, compared with non-exposed cells, was noted following exposure in the range 1 to 3 THz, at up to 0.45J/cm2.The differentiation also occurred in a normal way, for exposed and non-exposed cells, with the FC incorporation increasing between day 3 and day 8, as previously noted.

 

Limitations of Study

  1. There are only three donors used when assessing THz radiation on the differentiation of skin cells. Three is perhaps not a large enough sample size to draw conclusions from. What race were these people? There is not enough methodology information to evaluate this further.
  2. This study was funded by Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSR) which states on their website their strategic focus is

 

“This research area is expected to contribute significantly to the full realisation of 5G and to advances in telecommunications further into the future.”

 

Study 3

Hintzsche H, Jastrow C, Kleine-Ostmann T, Stopper H, Schmid E, Schrader T (2011).

Terahertz radiation induces spindle disturbances in human-hamster hybrid cells, Radiat

Res, 175(5), 569-74.

 

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate and quantify the production of spindle disturbances in A(L) cells, a human-hamster hybrid cell line, by 0.106 THz radiation (continuous wave). Monolayer cultures in petri dishes were exposed for 0.5 h to 0.106 THz radiation with power densities ranging from 0.043 mW/cm(2) to 4.3 mW/cm(2) or were kept under sham conditions (negative control) for the same period. As a positive control, 100 µg/ml of the insecticide trichlorfon, which is an aneuploidy-inducing agent, was used for an exposure period of 6 h. During exposure, the sample containers were kept at defined environmental conditions in a modified incubator as required by the cells. Based on a total of 6,365 analyzed mitotic cells, the results of two replicate experiments suggest that 0.106 THz radiation is a spindle-acting agent as predominately indicated by the appearance of spindle disturbances at the anaphase and telophase (especially lagging and non-disjunction of single chromosomes) of cell divisions. The findings in the present study do not necessarily imply disease or injury but may be important for evaluating possible underlying mechanisms.

Detrimental health effects found

This study found significant DNA damage by THz radiation.

 

“Based on a total of 6,365 analyzed mitotic cells, the results of two replicate experiments suggest that 0.106 THz radiation is a spindle-acting agent as predominately indicated by the appearance of spindle disturbances at the anaphase and telophase (especially lagging and non-disjunction of single chromosomes) of cell divisions”.

 

Study 4

Hintzsche H, Jastrow C, Kleine-Ostmann T, Kärst U, Schrader T, Stopper H (2012).

Terahertz electromagnetic fields (0.106 THz) do not induce manifest genomic damage in

vitro, PLoS One, 7(9), e46397.

 

Abstract

Terahertz electromagnetic fields are non-ionizing electromagnetic fields in the frequency range from 0.1 to 10 THz. Potential applications of these electromagnetic fields include the whole body scanners, which currently apply millimeter waves just below the terahertz range, but future scanners will use higher frequencies in the terahertz range. These and other applications will bring along human exposure to these fields. Up to now, only a limited number of investigations on biological effects of terahertz electromagnetic fields have been performed. Therefore, research is strongly needed to enable reliable risk assessment.Cells were exposed for 2 h, 8 h, and 24 h with different power intensities ranging from 0.04 mW/cm2 to 2 mW/cm2, representing levels below, at, and above current safety limits. Genomic damage on the chromosomal level was measured as micronucleus formation. DNA strand breaks and alkali-labile sites were quantified with the comet assay. No DNA strand breaks or alkali-labile sites were observed as a consequence of exposure to terahertz electromagnetic fields in the comet assay. The fields did not cause chromosomal damage in the form of micronucleus induction.

Comments

Although not significant this study did find that after the long exposure, the DNA in the tail region was increased in comparison to the sham-exposed sample. They conclude that “No induction of DNA strand breaks or chromosomal damage was observed. Very small alterations might not have been detectable because the cells showed considerable background level of DNA damage”.

 

[They used an assay known as a Comet Assay. Definition of tail moment: term incorporates a measure of both the smallest detectable size of migrating DNA (reflected in the tail length) and the number of relaxed/broken pieces (represented by the intensity of DNA in the tail. The tail moment indicates the degree of the genotoxic effect on the DNA.]

 

Study 5

Hwang Y, Ahn J Mun J Bae S Uk Jeong Y,Vinokurov NA and Kim P. In vivo analysis of THz

wave irradiation induced acute inflammatory response in skin by laser scanning confocal

microscopy. Optic Express 2014, 22 (10), 11465.

 

Abstract

The recent development of THz sources in a wide range of THz frequencies and power levels has led to greatly increased interest in potential biomedical applications such as cancer and burn wound diagnosis. However, despite its importance in realizing THz wave based applications, our knowledge of how THz wave irradiation can affect a live tissue at the cellular level is very limited. In this study, an acute inflammatory response caused by pulsed THz wave irradiation on the skin of a live mouse was analyzed at the cellular level using intravital laser-scanning confocal microscopy. Pulsed THz wave (2.7 THz, 4 μs pulsewidth, 61.4 μJ per pulse, 3Hz repetition), generated using compact FEL, was used to irradiate an anesthetized mouse’s ear skin with an average power of 260 mW/cm(2) for 30 minutes using a high-precision focused THz wave irradiation setup. In contrast to in vitro analysis using cultured cells at similar power levels of CW THz wave irradiation, no temperature change at the surface of the ear skin was observed when skin was examined with an IR camera. To monitor any potential inflammatory response, resident neutrophils in the same area of ear skin were repeatedly visualized before and after THz wave irradiation using a custom-built laser-scanning confocal microscopy system optimized for in vivo visualization. While non-irradiated control skin area showed no changes in the number of resident neutrophils, a massive recruitment of newly infiltrated neutrophils was observed in the THz wave irradiated skin area after 6 hours, which suggests an induction of acute inflammatory response by the pulsed THz wave irradiation on the skin via a non-thermal process.

Detrimental health effects found

“ a massive recruitment of newly infiltrated neutrophils was observed in the THz wave irradiated skin area after 6 hours, which suggests an induction of acute inflammatory response by the pulsed THz wave irradiation on the skin via a non-thermal process”.

 

Study 6

Kirichuk VF, EfimovaN, Andronov E (2009). Effect of High Power Terahertz Irradiation on

Platelet Aggregation and Behavioral Reactions of Albino Rats. Bull Exp Biol Med, 48(5),

746–9.

 

Abstract

Intensive terahertz irradiation at the nitric oxide emission and absorption spectrum frequencies (150.176-150.664 GHz) applied for 60 min to male albino rats subjected to acute immobilization stress enhanced platelet aggregation and induced signs of depression.

Detrimental health effects found

This study on behavioral reactions and aggregation activity found enhanced platelet aggregation and induced signs of depression.

 

Study 7

Kirichuk VF, Tsymbal AA (2009). Use of Terahertz Electromagnetic Waves for Correcting

Hemostasis Functions. Biomedical Engineering, 44(1), 11–14.

 

Abstract

The influence of terahertz range waves at 129.0 GHz (frequency of the molecular spectrum of radiation and absorption of atmospheric oxygen) on faulty coagulation hemostasis and its fibrinolysis potential was studied under conditions of experimental stress. Considerable hypercoagulation and the suppression of fibrinolysis of blood were observed in experimental animals exposed to experimental stress. The influence of 129.0 GHz radiation was studied in animals under conditions of immobilizing stress. No considerable changes in the faulty indicators of hemostasis and fibrinolysis were observed for 5-min exposure duration. In case of 15-min exposure, partial normalization of indicators characterizing the coagulation cascade and fibrinolysis was observed. The influence of terahertz radiation on the specified frequencies within 30 min caused full normalization of hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis as the studied indicators of a coagulation link of the system of hemostasis and fibrinolysis. Thus, on the basis of the presented data it is possible to draw a conclusion about positive effect of terahertz radiation at the frequency of the molecular spectrum of radiation and absorption of atmospheric oxygen (129.0 GHz) on the coagulation properties and fibrinolysis of blood in animals under conditions of immobilizing stress. A 30-min exposure proved to be especially effective for restoration of the indicators of hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis activity of blood.

Comments

This study found Terahertz range waves alters hemocoagulation and fibrinolysis activity of blood. My intpretation of this finding is that shows detriment to health however the authors conclude that this is a positive effect under conditions of stress.

 

Study 8

Le Quement C, Nicolaz CN, Zhadobov M, Desmots F, Sauleau R, Aubry M, Michel D, Le

Drean Y (2012). Whole-Genome Expression Analysis in Primary Human Keratinocyte Cell

Cultures Exposed to 60 GHz Radiation. Bioelectromagnetics, 33, 147-58.

 

Abstract

Human corneal epithelial (HCE-T) and human lens epithelial (SRA01/04) cells derived from the human eye were exposed to 60 gigahertz (GHz) millimeter-wavelength radiation for 24 h. There was no statistically significant increase in the micronucleus (MN) frequency in cells exposed to 60 GHz millimeter-wavelength radiation at 1 mW/cm2 compared with sham-exposed controls and incubator controls. The MN frequency of cells treated with bleomycin for 1 h provided positive controls. The comet assay, used to detect DNA strand breaks, and heat shock protein (Hsp) expression also showed no statistically significant effects of exposure. These results indicate that exposure to millimeter-wavelength radiation has no effect on genotoxicity in human eye cells.

Comments 

This provides promising results of no detriment to eyes from 60 HGz radiation.

Limitations of study

The authors describe the limitations;

“Overall, it appears that exposure to millimeter-wavelength radiation has no genotoxicity effect, and does not alter Hsp expression in the absence of thermal effects. However, our study was performed on specific conditions. It has been shown that the effects of microwaves including millimeter-wavelength radiation strongly depend on a number of physical parameters such as frequency, modulation, polarization, background extremely low-frequency and static magnetic fields. We have to be more careful in comparing the data which were performed at different conditions. In addition, we have to consider rigid statistical calculations which we might be missing. In this study, we obtained high statistical power in the MN test; however, we could not obtain enough statistical power in the comet assay. We should be carefully aware of these statistical issues.”

 

Study 9

Nicolaz CN, Zhadobov M, Desmots F, Ansart A, Sauleau R, Thouroude D, Michel D, Le

Drean Y (2009). Study of narrow band millimeter-wave potential interactions with

endoplasmic reticulum stress sensor genes. Bioelectromagnetics, 30(5), 365-73.

 

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to study potential biological effects of low-power millimeter waves (MMWs) on endoplasmic reticulum (ER), an organelle sensitive to a wide variety of environmental insults and involved in a number of pathologies. We considered exposure frequencies around 60 GHz in the context of their near-future applications in wireless communication systems. Radiations within this frequency range are strongly absorbed by oxygen molecules, and biological species have never been exposed to such radiations in natural environmental conditions. A set of five discrete frequencies has been selected; three of them coincide with oxygen spectral lines (59.16, 60.43, and 61.15 GHz) and two frequencies correspond to the spectral line overlap regions (59.87 and 60.83 GHz). Moreover, we used a microwave spectroscopy approach to select eight frequencies corresponding to the spectral lines of various molecular groups within 59-61 GHz frequency range. The human glial cell line, U-251 MG, was exposed or sham-exposed for 24 h with a peak incident power density of 0.14 mW/cm(2). The average specific absorption rate (SAR) within the cell monolayer ranges from 2.64 +/- 0.08 to 3.3 +/- 0.1 W/kg depending on the location of the exposed well. We analyzed by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) the level of expression of two endogenous ER-stress biomarkers, namely, the chaperones BiP/GRP78 and ORP150/GRP170. It was found that exposure to low-power MMW does not significantly modify the mRNA levels of these stress-sensitive genes suggesting that ER homeostasis is not altered by low-power MMW at the considered frequencies.

Comments

They state results of the effect of low power waves on homeostasis of cells. I do not know how relevant low power is in mimicking the mechanics of 5G power waves.

 

Study 10

Ostrovskiy NV, et al. (2005) Application of the terahertz waves in therapy of burn

wounds. in Infrared and Millimeter Waves and 13th International Conference on

Terahertz Electronics, IRMMW-THz 2005.

 

Comments

This relates to using terahertz waves as a biomedical imaging tool. Like other radiation types, under controlled conditions development of terahertz waves may have a beneficial role in medicine.

 

Study 11

Swanson ES (2011). Modeling DNA response to THz radiation, Phys Rev E Stat Nonlin

Soft Matter Phys, 83(4 Pt 1), 040901.

 

Abstract

Collective response of DNA to terahertz electric fields is studied in a simple pair bond model. We confirm, with some caveats, a previous observation of destabilizing DNA breather modes and explore the parameter dependence of these modes. It is shown that breather modes are eliminated under reasonable physical conditions and that thermal effects are significant.

Comments

DNA “breathing” is defined as a thermally driven process in which base-paired DNA sequences transiently adopt local conformations that depart from their most stable structures.

From my inexpert understanding of this study, I interpret the results to indicate the modeled response of DNA to terahertz electric fields is to alter DNA pair bonds. This suggests detriment to health but it is limited as it is reliant on a model.

 

Study 13

Titova LV, Ayesheshim AK, Golubov A, Fogen D, Rodriguez-Juarez R, Hegmann FA,

Kovalchuk O. (2013a). Intense THz pulses cause H2AX phosphorylation and activate DNA

damage response in human skin tissue. Biomed Opt Express, 4(4), 559-68.

 

Abstract

Recent emergence and growing use of terahertz (THz) radiation for medical imaging and public security screening raise questions on reasonable levels of exposure and health consequences of this form of electromagnetic radiation. In particular, picosecond-duration THz pulses have shown promise for novel diagnostic imaging techniques. However, the effects of THz pulses on human cells and tissues thus far remain largely unknown. We report on the investigation of the biological effects of pulsed THz radiation on artificial human skin tissues. We observe that exposure to intense THz pulses for ten minutes leads to a significant induction of H2AX phosphorylation, indicating that THz pulse irradiation may cause DNA damage in exposed skin tissue. At the same time, we find a THz-pulse-induced increase in the levels of several proteins responsible for cell-cycle regulation and tumor suppression, suggesting that DNA damage repair mechanisms are quickly activated. Furthermore, we find that the cellular response to pulsed THz radiation is significantly different from that induced by exposure to UVA (400 nm).

Detriment to health found

Authors state; “we have observed that exposure to intense THz pulses induces phosphorylation of H2AX, indicative of the formation of DNA double strand breaks, and at the same time profoundly activates DNA damage response in artificial human skin tissues.

They also found “Simultaneous upregulation of multiple important tumor suppressor proteins in the exposed skin”.

They found DNA damage and then repair.

 

Study 14

Zeni O, Gallerano GP, Perrotta A, Romanò M, Sannino A, Sarti M, D’Arienzo M, Doria A,

Giovenale E, Lai A, Messina G, Scarfì MR (2007). Cytogenetic observations in human

peripheral blood leukocytes following in vitro exposure to THz radiation: a pilot study.

Health Phys, 92(4), 349-57.

 

Abstract

Emerging technologies are considering the possible use of Terahertz radiation in different fields ranging from telecommunications to biology and biomedicine. The study of the potential effects of Terahertz radiation on biological systems is therefore an important issue in order to safely develop a variety of applications. This paper describes a pilot study devoted to determine if Terahertz radiation could induce genotoxic effects in human peripheral blood leukocytes. For this purpose, human whole blood samples from healthy donors were exposed for 20 min to Terahertz radiation. Since, to our knowledge, this is the first study devoted to the evaluation of possible genotoxic effects of such radiation, different electromagnetic conditions were considered. In particular, the frequencies of 120 and 130 GHz were chosen: the first one was tested at a specific absorption rate (SAR) of 0.4 mW g-1, while the second one was tested at SAR levels of 0.24, 1.4, and 2 mW g-1. Chromosomal damage was evaluated by means of the cytokinesis block micronucleus technique, which also gives information on cell cycle kinetics. Moreover, human whole blood samples exposed to 130 GHz at SAR levels of 1.4 and 2 mW g-1 were also tested for primary DNA damage by applying the alkaline comet assay immediately after exposure. The results obtained indicate that THz exposure, in the explored electromagnetic conditions, is not able to induce either genotoxicity or alteration of cell cycle kinetics in human blood cells from healthy subjects.

Comments

The authors note some alteration to DNA; “a slight increase in comet parameters appears in some cases in exposed samples with respect to sham-exposed ones; however, this difference was not statistically significant.”

 

Limitations of Study

The authors describe limitations; “several critical points have to be considered, and among them the amplitude modulation and the irradiation modulation condition deserve particular attention”.

 

References

Baste, V., Riise, T. & Moen, B.E. Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields; male infertility and sex ratio of offspring. Eur J Epidemiol (2008) 23: 369.

Cleveland, R.F. and Ulcek, J.L (1999) Questions and answers about biological effects and potential hazards of radiofrequency electromagnetic fields. OET Bulletin 56 Fourth Edition, Office of Engineering and Technology, Federal Communications Commission Washington, D.C.

International Commission on Radiological Protection (2007) Human alimentary tract model for radiological protection. ICRP Publication 100. (Ed.CH Clement) Elsevier.

Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks SCENIHR (2015) Opinion on Potential health effects of exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF)

 

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Stages of suicide and how to help your mind

As a researcher, I was employed to study suicides in my home town. I became quite passionate about trying to help keep people alive using the data from the deceased people. My aim was to turn the deaths into something useful to prevent further suicides. That way the torment felt by those individuals would not be in vain.  From all I read, I could not really understand what these people actually felt or experienced. I then came across something that offers a description of what people go through and I realized that this is something useful that people can use to empower themselves to stop the dangerous and tragic downwards trajectory.

My new book is now available to buy.

        CLICK HERE    for more information

This guide is a short explanation of the six stages of suicide with practical activities to help you prepare and assist your mind in the event it becomes irrational and unsafe.

Roy Baumeister, a social psychologist described these stages that people experience prior to carrying out suicidal acts.

Included is a mind-monitoring tool to assist you in identifying if your mind is displaying signs of reacting within the various six stages. This tool provides actions you can do to support your mind. A link to a printable PDF of the tool is included.
At the end of this guide, you can find a list of help crisis hotlines for various countries.

My original article is independently described as a:

‘Very good report, written in a humanistic way. The observed stages of suicide are of serious scientific interest, i.e. can help in preventive terms’.

The more you understand how your thoughts and emotions respond in irrational ways the more you can transform your actions beyond the influence of an unhelpful mind to that of a supportive mind and live freely and fully.

CLICK HERE for tips on How To Optimise Your Mind  and  CLICK HERE for Free Printable tools

Reference:  Baumeister R. F. (1990). Suicide as escape from self. Psychological Review, 97(1), 90-113

Review: 

“Stages of Suicide is an excellent insight into the though patterns of those dealing with suicide. Each stage very well describes the kind of thoughts, behaviours and emotions one feels as their condition continues, which I found extremely accurate and relatable. As for someone who has experienced these stages second hand, this is an incredible tool that can help non-suicidal people understand what it is like to be suicidal which I believe is one of the most important things for dealing with suicide on the larger scale.

After each stage there is a ‘prepare your mind’ section which works as a helping hand/’what to do about this’ counterpart of the stage. I found this to be really useful in not only making the content a lot less daunting and overwhelming to take in, but the reader is reminded that regardless of what stage you find yourself or someone close to you in there is always a solution to help you get out of it, which is exactly how this book approaches the terror of suicidal ideation.

Moreover, the mind monitoring tool at the end seems incredibly useful to help the user understand their own thoughts and emotions as they go through stages as well as help to generate some rational thinking patterns.

Overall this is an extremely insightful and practical helping hand for those dealing with suicide. Definitely recommend this to anyone who are either going through it or know someone who is, this book can help!”

 –Rhys Jones

If you or anyone you know needs help you can call:

Australia

Lifeline on 13 11 14

Kids Helpline on 1800 551 800

MensLine Australia on 1300 789 978 or 02 6287 2226

Suicide Call Back Service on 1300 659 467

Beyond Blue on 1300 22 46 36

Headspace on 1800 650 890

ReachOut at au.reachout.com

 

United States America

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TALK) or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

Phone: 202-237-2280

International Suicide Hotlines
(Outside of the United States)

Please click on your country below:

Argentina Suicide Hotlines

Armenia Suicide Hotlines

Australia Suicide Hotlines

Barbados Suicide Hotlines

Belgium Suicide Hotlines

Botswana Suicide Hotlines

Brazil Suicide Hotlines

Canada Suicide Hotlines

China Suicide Hotlines

Croatia Suicide Hotlines

Cyprus Suicide Hotlines

Denmark Suicide Hotlines

Egypt Suicide Hotlines

Estonia Suicide Hotlines

Fiji Suicide Hotlines

Finland Suicide Hotlines

France Suicide Hotlines

Germany Suicide Hotlines

Ghana Suicide Hotlines

Gibraltar Suicide Hotlines

Hong Kong Suicide Hotlines

Hungary Suicide Hotlines

India Suicide Hotlines

Ireland Suicide Hotlines

Israel Suicide Hotlines

Italy Suicide Hotlines

Japan Suicide Hotlines

Liberia Suicide Hotlines

Lithuania Suicide Hotlines

Malaysia Suicide Hotlines

Malta Suicide Hotlines

Mauritius Suicide Hotlines

Namibia Suicide Hotlines

Netherlands Suicide Hotlines

New Zealand Suicide Hotlines

Norway Suicide Hotlines

Paupua New Guinea Suicide Hotlines

Philippines Suicide Hotlines

Poland Suicide Hotlines

Portugal Suicide Hotlines

Russian Federation Suicide Hotlines

Somoa Suicide Hotlines

Serbia Suicide Hotlines

Singapore Suicide Hotlines

South Africa Suicide Hotlines

South Korea Suicide Hotlines

Spain Suicide Hotlines

Sri Lanka Suicide Hotlines

St. Vincent Suicide Hotlines

Sudan Suicide Hotlines

Sweden Suicide Hotlines

Switzerland Suicide Hotlines

Taiwan Suicide Hotlines

Thailand Suicide Hotlines

Tobago Suicide Hotlines

Tonga Suicide Hotlines

Trinidad and Tobago Suicide Hotlines

Turkey Suicide Hotlines

Ukraine Suicide Hotlines

United Kingdom Suicide Hotlines

Zimawe Suicide Hotlines

 

Story 4 Sourcing Strength from Radiation

My initial thought of going through radiotherapy to treat my breast cancer was “yeah I’m so not looking forward to grappling with the conflict of allowing my body to be bombarded with radiation”. The word radiation glowed luminous green in my head, and although I hoped that it would kill any remaining rogue cancer cells, I knew that radiation kills people. I’ve seen the extreme photos of Hiroshima where everything turned to ash. The imagery in my head was of my body slowly turning into tiny grey fragments and disintegrating like those Japanese people. Or would my body remain intact until I fell apart one random month into the future?  These thoughts crowded my head but I suppressed them. 

I didn’t know how I’d cope with a daily schedule of turning up every single day, five days a week for five weeks, whilst being pleasant to everyone… everyday. The effects of the chemotherapy hadn’t worn off and I still felt crappy. What I came to realize during those weeks is that besides the most obvious gain – an increase in the odds of living – there were unexpected bonuses that I could take home from the whole experience.

For my cancer type, radiotherapy increases my overall chance of survival by about 10%. I needed to know this before I commenced the treatment. My radiotherapy doctor spent plenty of time in our consultation showing me the results of studies with and without radiotherapy for my type of breast cancer. Perfect! I told him I needed that to help me feel good about the whole thing. For my cancer, this radiotherapy has better outcomes than the chemotherapy I’d just finished. Type of radiation for me? Photons. Photons are light particles so I tried to think of it as light therapy. Light as in life, and NOT that going up to the heavenly light thing.

So the next thing I had to grapple with was whether my heart would be damaged by the radiation because my tumour sat right above my heart, and the therapy involves focusing the radiation on the tumour. Well two things saved my heart from damage. Firstly, the physicist, who designed my ‘more complex’ treatment plan algorithm with the configuration of directions and angles of all the beams across my upper body, did an excellent job by bypassing my heart. I saw the images of my CT scan and the intricate beam patterns over layering the top. He said that I’m not the usual patient (yes I keep hearing that) as no one has ever asked to talk to the physicist before. It’s not that I don’t trust people’s words, it is just that I understand better when things are more tangible and then I feel like I get it then. I wished to see what they are talking about not just hear it from their mouths. He went through the plan report in detail explaining the acronyms and jargon terms for me.  And I had questions that only he could answer. Serious questions about radiation that had been bugging me the whole time but I was too scared to know the truth till I was near the end of treatment in case I backed out and didn’t complete it. I’ll get to that soon.

The beam configuration over my left chest wall and shoulder.

The second heart saving measure relied on remaining perfectly still. I had to hold my breath to push my chest cavity out and drop my heart away from the deadly beams. Perfecting this technique became my goal. Thanks to the staff who reassured me all the way through the process, I began to look forward to holding my breath twelve times each day for the 80 second period it took to radiate me. These long breaths could have been broken into 40 seconds instead but that meant more time taken up. At first I tried to imagine that I was surfing. I envisioned taking a breath before enduring a massive underwater hold down but this backfired because the reality of a surfing hold down is that if you panic you can drown. That scenario was too confronting. Instead, I imagined I was diving down to a deep coral reef on snorkel, which stretched time into 80 seconds. In my mind I could see the anemone fish close by, and high above, the Barracudas circling backlit against the sun. There was also a cheeky green moray eel but not wanting to involve sharks, I soon ran out of new things with this adventure. I then developed a whole string of different walks that I knew well, adding in as much detail as I could. (One of these is a childhood walk or rather run you can read about in my memoir story Freedom Creek). Using this visual imagery relaxed me, and kept my heart rate down, and allowed me to hold my breath for the duration of the walk, sometimes with air to spare. Later, practiced this in the spa at home, and made sure I used my method of taking up the air slowly and ‘locking the chest’ compartment while I held onto the bottom of the pool. I then practiced this while body surfing and then when my skin became strong again, I could do it whilst surfing. I even taught me daughter my technique so she has more confidence surfing. I wasn’t expecting that!

On the radiation bed

Another bonus I didn’t expect was becoming comfy in my own skin…without boobs…fast. I thought I had come to terms with losing the ‘girls’ but actually I hadn’t. My mind was still catching up with the reality of the surgery that removed a part of my femininity. At the time all I could  think was that the boobs were bombs implanted inside me which needed defusing by removal before they exploded and sent me to oblivion.  Due to my skin feeling too sensitive during the radiotherapy treatment I couldn’t wear any restrictive clothing like bras or synthetic materials. At first I felt resentful that I couldn’t wear my padded bras and feel normal after all I had been through. My boobs had come off nine months earlier and I no longer had any cleavage, I had a flat pre-prepubescent chest. I ended up wearing skimpy tops like halter necks with no padded bra for boobs. It was summer and it was hot. Before long I felt normal and attractive again in my attire thanks to being forced to go without the fake boobs day in and day out during the treatment. I worked out that if I chose the right top such as a gathered style at the front, then I looked sexier than some of my old outfits with the padded bra. Now six months on I remain equally comfortable wearing or not wearing cleavage. Without undergoing the radiotherapy I doubt I could have reached this mindset so fast.

As it turned out, in the end I didn’t have to worry about coping with the daily radiotherapy treatment session. I looked forward to seeing the staff who looked after me, and I enjoyed great conversations with everyone from the manager to the radiologists to the nurses, the other patients, and even their partners. One time my daughter came with me and the ladies were happy to show her everything and let her check out what they did with the machine behind the window. I asked if she could take a photo of the screen on the machine, which was great because only then could I actually see my heart dropped back in the cavity with my breath holding technique in action. These people are a special type to care for us when we are at our most vulnerable and I am so grateful to them for their warmth and the humanness that they gave me.

A photo my daughter took

Towards the end of the five week treatment, I was walking past the wooden book swap cupboard in our neighborhood, and as I peered in I found the book ‘Shockwave Countdown to Hiroshima’ by Stephen Walker. I took it but I couldn’t start reading it for a while. Then I couldn’t put it down. Some of the assumptions I had about Hiroshima were wrong. Hundreds of thousands of people perished, but miraculously, some survived. The author interviewed a handful of Hiroshima survivors who were healthy, even though they were relatively close to the T-shaped target Aioi bridge where the bomb known as ‘Little Boy’ landed two hundred meters away. The bridge itself survived.  Not everyone who survived suffered a long term decline from radiation sickness. Today, radiation is being used to save lives. My body and my life may have been saved thanks to a technological breakthrough that wreaked horror in 1945.

Now to that serious question for the Physicist. Yes the physicist not the physican. How does the photon ray bombardment compare with the rays that victims experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki? What I really wanted to know is if the long term side effects would be the same. Photons used in radiotherapy treatment are non-ionizing radiation and have less energy than ionizing nuclear reaction radiation. The rays passed right through my body rather than linger. On the back of my shoulder there is a dark patch of skin where the rays exited my body away from my organs and bones. This is amazing technology. My bones should be quite intact and my heart has been protected. I wondered about my circulating blood being irradiated but I suppose as it keeps moving, and cells keep turning over then it should be fine too.

Exit point of radiation can be seen as the red circular area on my upper back

So I have no regrets about going through this treatment. My concerns and fear were replaced with good things. I’m glad I asked the questions about the treatment, but I should not have been such a chicken and asked them way earlier.

Ringing the bell at the end of all the treatment

*****   ***   *****

An abridged version of this story is published on the Icon Cancer Centre website.

If you wish to read other stories of sourcing strength, have a look at Story 1 How my ancestors gave me strength  and Story 2 The Summit Run  and Story 3 The Summit Run, closing the loop.

If you’d like to have my next post sent directly to you, just pop your email address in the subscription box.

Feel free to let me know what you think of this post in the comment box below.

 

Story 8 CUJO – The Attack

Until now, I have managed to escape injury and death during my encounters with wild animals, but depending on how you see it, either my luck ran out recently or it kept running because I’m alive and writing this after one animal closed in on me.

For some reason, it seems to be those moments when I am relaxed and having fun that my world is flipped on its back. Minutes before El Toro the scrub bull confronted me I had been walking along a tranquil sandy creek bed anticipating a cool soothing wash downstream. Minutes before Jaw’s fin sliced through the water I had just begun to really relax out in those crowd free waves. This time was no different. Earlier in the day I had driven for forty minutes out to a floodplain paddock I’d leased for two of my horses. The grassy green field is in one of the narrow valleys that are flanked by the steep ridges of the Ourimbah State Forest, west of Gosford, an hour north of Sydney. I had my heavy breaking-in saddle and my light weight all-purpose saddle with me, and I planned to ride my new young gelding Jindy first and then my mare Twiggy. Jindy is pretty green and I had no idea how he’d react to the dirt bikes and four wheel drives we’d encounter so I rode him in the breaking-in stock saddle. When the first car approached us along the main road he freaked out, running backwards and he did the same when a string of very noisy guttural dirt bikes motored down past us as we climbed up the steep 300 meter accent onto the forest ridge line. I urged him past them with my calves gently pushing round his barrel and then he gained some confidence and started to relax and enjoy himself. His paces were smooth and super comfy and he behaved perfectly when we encountered more bikes, cars and wildlife during the ride.

Next it was my Arabian palomino mare, Twiggy’s turn. We had been training over the last few months for an endurance race so on that Saturday afternoon I planned to ride for thirty kilometers. Starting out slow my plan was to maintain a steady pace for the middle third, and then finish with a fast pace ride home. Usually I ride her in the light saddle but thankfully, this time I used the more secure breaking-in saddle. On the ride out she shied along the track a lot more than Jindy but mostly at rocks and stumps which is usual for her. We passed quite a few packs of dirt bike riders; a father with his boys on teeny cute dirt bikes and a few 4WDs coasting along. People were friendly and calm as I rode past.

Twiggy and I on a trail

After about seven kilometers, we chose the left fork at the main intersection and headed further west. I knew this track was pretty remote reaching deeper into the forest far from the hobby farms and well-used roads. I didn’t expect to see anyone this far out this late in the day. One red 4WD did drive past us but that was it. We kept on and the late autumn sun dipped below a large round high hill ahead of us. I felt my body start to cool down although I was wearing a fleece jumper.

I don’t know if it was the hill’s sweeping, dark black shadow or intuition but as we trotted along, the track ahead constricted into the bush and the air become super still. My instincts told me that we should turn around and not go any further. My eternal problem is I always want to know what’s around the corner so I ignored my gut and decided to explore further. We’d push on and just see what it looks like up the top there and then head home. Near the top, the track turned sharply to the left skirting around the steep hill while an embankment flanked the track on the left. The sun shone again, we slowed to a walk and I relaxed. I was just about to turn back when I heard a car engine slowly climbing the hill behind us.

The sound became louder and then it was drowned out by the noise of people yelling and screaming. I thought they were some drunk young hooligans driving along that were about to seriously hassle me. I coolly asked Twiggy to trot and looked ahead for side tracks but there were none. The screaming became more crazy sounding and I glanced back but only made out the blur of a white ute.

Then we saw it….Cujo (like from the horror movie). This grey bull-arab hunting dog, a meter high with a monstrous head had bolted hundreds of meters in front of the ute to intercept us. Cujo crossed the distance between us in seconds. So fast in fact that we didn’t know she was there until she was a few meters from of us. (I refer to her as female because the image of her is etched sharply into my brain and there is no willy in that memory). She didn’t stay within the three meter perimeter zone like wary dogs tend to do. Instead, she quickly circled us and moved in close very quickly, looking for an opportunity to strike. I spun Twiggy to face the dog, and when it refused to back off, I yelled at it “Go away” with my deepest voice. The dog didn’t back off. I looked up to see what the owners were doing, and I could see they were still 20 meters away. I looked back to the dog and it raised its head, staring up at me, rolling the whites of its orange colored eyes, mouth agape. It darted in under Twiggy’s neck and locked its massive jaws into Twiggy’s front hoof and pastern. Twiggy’s worst nightmare. Instantly she jumped away from it and leaped up the steep cliff rocky embankment next to us. Luckily she dislodged the dog’s grip, but she kept going and turning side on she started to fall back down towards the track. In that instant I weighed up the risk of bailing off her backwards verses becoming crushed if she rolled over me if she did continue her fall. Plus I didn’t know if I’d stay on anyway because I could not predict where she was headed or how. In the past I have saved my butt with a deliberate ejection and as a kid I fell off so many horses I kind of learned how to fall and not go thump and instead dissipate the momentum of energy by slowly rolling.

A dog with the same appearance as one that attacked my mare

As Twiggy fell sideways, the last thing I remember was pulling my feet backwards out of my oxbow stirrups, letting go of the reins and trying to leap off her back as Twiggy’s body rose up in front of me. Usually in these situations, this is when time slows right down and I’ll remember the every detail in slow motion, from leaving the saddle to hitting the ground but not this time. No opportunity for that prayer of contrition, Betwixt the stirrup and the ground or having my life flash before me.

I blacked out. I came to, my entire body a bundle of pain. I lay on the rocky dirt track and I think I was face down on my front. I couldn’t move at all nor could I speak. Eventually I started getting annoyed at the bloke who owned the dog whose voice I could hear telling me to get up just over and over. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak and he expected me to get up! At one point there was some commotion I couldn’t see and I irrationally thought maybe I could be run over by a car and would not be able to do anything about it. The all body pain rush started to subside and I realized the worst pain patch was my wrist. My leg and elbow were sore too. Moving my fingers I told myself and the man that it’s probably just a sprain. That type of pain however felt quite severe. I had no bones sticking way out of my arm, only a small bump protruded. I sat up and the bloke proceeded to talk at me. I still could hardly speak. He kept on a few times about how my horse jumped up the cliff like it was her fault. All I could do was listen and store his words for later thinking. He said that the dog was his friend’s and that it didn’t bite the horse. I was in no state to even look at Twiggy’s body or really take in what his words even meant. Something took over in me in that vulnerable state that even if I could manage words, no way would I argue as I needed the help of the man and the woman that was with him. I couldn’t see the dog and they must have caught Twiggy. I did ask two things. Was it a pig dog? ‘No never hunted’ was his answer. I remember the feeling that there was this urgency that they wanted me back on my horse so they could just leave the scene. The second question I asked was ‘can you hold my horse while I get on’? They were happy to help. Both of them looked into my face and apologized to me which brings tears to my eyes as I write this. I think because those words gave me a sense of relief that they wouldn’t hurt me and vulnerability is not my thing. The man clutched hard at the reins and I remember the whites of his knuckles gleaming round lumps. The first attempt to mount failed because Twiggy moved. I knew I had strength for only one more go so I’d better make it as good as I could I told myself. Somehow my body let me swing over her back and settle into the comfort of the saddle and security of being able to get away. I turned towards home and the lady handed me the visor from my helmet which I didn’t know had broken. I vaguely recall another dog and maybe a kid but don’t remember the car number plate but over the few weeks since this happened, I’m starting to get an image of it suggesting I did try and take it in.

Aggressive dog

The first ten kilometers after that were a mix of relief and trepidation. My left hand stopped working; it was broken, so I had to keep a firm right handed grip on the reins. My left leg ached with every movement and my right elbow hurt. I knew if Twiggy shied, I’d have trouble staying aboard and if I fell, I would really injure myself due to lack of muscle control and balance. I would hit hard. My body was a cauldron of pain especially my back which jarred at very step. My phone was strapped around my waist so if I came off, and there was reception and I could move, I’d be able to use it. After those first kilometers my fear was the people and Cujo would drive back behind me so on the slight inclines, I began to force myself to endure a slow trot to cover ground faster. I realized that if I lent forward and we trotted slow enough, I became distracted, and the pain became bearable and I loosened up. Twiggy shied slightly once which hurt but she really looked after me and carried me back the 15 kilometers safe and sound.

Puncture wounds to my mare’s pastern after dog attack

I slid from her back, tied her up but it was hard going undoing all the buckles and I knew the saddle was too heavy to hoist into the Landcruiser with one arm. I called out to my friend Jane who was feeding her horses across the road and she helped me out by doing it all and washing Twiggy down and later disinfected the puncture wounds in Twiggy’s pastern. In contrast to what the man had told me, his dog had inflicted deep wounds to the horse’s leg. Jane helped me take my bangle off my swelling wrist and gave me some panadol from the glove box. She offered to drive me to the hospital and take me to her house to sit with a cuppa but I said that if I could manage to turn my car around using her driveway then I’d be right. The hospital was on the way home. I managed to drive one handed although roundabouts were a bit tricky and I couldn’t park properly. Three hours later I left the hospital and drove home with a plaster cast after an x-ray showed a piece of bone protruding from my wrist and fracture across the main bone. No breaks in my elbow but a later bone scan revealed a compression injury to my tibia. The injuries I have don’t match with how I found myself face down on the ground and it is frustrating having a memory gap like this. My injuries included a grapefruit sized swelling and green thunder bruise from the back of my left knee to the top of my thigh, a serious knee injury, a broken left wrist with bone protruding, a bruise to my right bum cheek and elbow. And I had busted my helmet visor. But it could have been much worse. Twiggy could have lept down the cliff, the horse could have fallen on me, and the dog could have mauled me as I lay unconscious on the ground. So my luck is still running with me I reckon. And faster than Cujo can run!

Twiggy’s wounds healed and a month later, although I wore a cast on my broken arm, we successfully competed in an endurance race.

Twiggy and I during the endurance race.

 

Twiggy and I during the endurance race after the dog attack

***   *****   ***

You can read more stories in my Series about Encounters with Wild Animals such as Great White Shark, horses, snakes, whales, rockpossums and a bull buffalo.

And you can also read stories on how I Source Strength.

If you’d like to have my next post sent directly to you, just pop your email address in the subscription box. 

Feel free to let me know what you think of this post in the comment box below.

 

Story 3 The Summit Run, closing the loop

A trip in January to the high country again and I felt like I kind of hit Ctrl + F5 and refreshed the page in amongst the granite mountains.

“Soon I’ll be back in the strong powerful granite lands with my body intact and pretty much back to normal with another smile like the one in my photo”.

Those were my words I wrote in story 2 of Sourcing Strength entitled The Summit Run, and yes I am happy to say those thoughts turned into reality.

The January before this in 2018, I had been diagnosed with a rare type of breast cancer but for some reason I felt I’d be alright with this. I decided to kick back for the year like I had a broken leg and extreme morning sickness and then after twelve months I’d be back to normal, or at least mostly normal.  So now after that heavy duty year and constant running to keep my stamina levels up, I managed to make it to the top of Australia again to close that loop.

Sure, I didn’t run the 22 km this time but that’s partly because I learnt some difficult lessons during the year. One of them is about the hated words of “listen to your body”. Gees did I hate that line. People spewed it on me all the time, mostly wise health care people. And did I suffer when I ignored them!

Cycling to the Summit

Nor did I reach the summit solo. The main photo shows me and my husband on top of Mt Kosciuszko which is symbolic really as he helped me so so much during the year. Our kids reached the summit too. They gave me strength throughout the year in a myriad of ways so it felt right that we all ascended the mountain this year together as one.

Summit family photo

So many people within my life strengthened me up and if you are one of them, you too are in that photo standing with me up top of Mt Kosciuszko. Quite often, the tiniest action or few words from someone (that probably they were not even conscious of) translated into giving me a kind of power that fueled me along just at the right time. My ancestors gave me strength too and you can read how in my Story 1 How my ancestors gave me strength– Sourcing Strength.

New piece of granite rock

The granite lands imbued their energetic vibe into me once again and I selected another small piece of rock to take home with me in case I feel the need for a booster during this next year. When looking at my new second rock, it feels great because it reminds me that I really have completed that past year, it is over and I managed to do it just how I had planned to. These happy reminders happen at unexpected moments. For instance, the other day while waiting for our kids to arrive home on the school bus, I was chatting to a neighbor.

He asked, “So how is all the cancer stuff going?”

I said, “What cancer stuff? That was last year”.

On the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, on top of Australia. 2018
Summit Again 2019

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

***        *****      ***

Stories in this series of Sourcing Strength are; The Summit Run and The Summit Run, Closing the Loop.

You can read more stories in my series about Encounters with Wild Animals such as a Great White Shark, horses, snakes, whales, rock possums, bull buffalo and spiders

If you’d like to have my next post sent directly to you, just pop your email address into the subscription box.

Feel feel to comment too…

Freedom Creek

Running fast along the creek gave me freedom from everyone and everything; school, boredom, teachers, schoolkids, brothers, parents, the lot. I could smell the sweet privet flowers and hear the quiet stream flowing along beside me. In anticipation, I’d run for the next turn, and leap the rocky creek bed into the old man’s orchard. Checking for shiny ripe fruit, I’d dance past before following the next bend in the creek. As the body moved along, the mind would slough everything behind and I’d slip smoothly into my own inner world. Entering this realm is a comfort like the first warming droplets of a hot shower soaking into a cooled neck and back.

I felt freedom because this is where I am free. I say ‘am free’ as I still often feel this kind of frizzy feeling when I’m moving through the bush with no one but me.

As I ran, the sun back-lit through green leaves of overgrown bush and the pretty weeds soothed me. I felt in control and powerful. No one was there to tell me what to do or what clothes to wear. I hated the rigidity of the tartan school uniform and choking tie, so I’d wear half of it down the creek in rebellion. It felt good. Outside of school, were not permitted to wear jumpers unless they were covered with heavy blazers. Eating in public was also banned.

Eventually I’d amble slowly back home feeling relaxed and soothed, ready for the rhythms of household living and the next days ahead of mundane school lessons and the usual chaos of people pressures.

**   ***   **

Other similar ‘Various’ life writing stories of mine you can read are Pink, Synaesthesia,Minimal Me

You can read other stories in a series of how I Source Strength The Summit Run and The Summit Run, Closing the Loop.

You can read more stories in my series about Encounters with Wild Animals such as a Great White Shark, horses, snakes, whales, rock possums, bull buffalo and spiders

If you’d like to have my next post sent directly to you, just pop your email address into the subscription box.

Feel free to comment too…

 

Story 2 The Summit Run

I’m searching for a hint of falseness. The more I can’t find any, the more energy I’m imbued with. Even though I’m standing atop Mount Kosciuszko, feeling happy might seem odd given the life changer spanner sent my way the day before. Looking at my face in the photo of me standing on top of Australia reassures me. I look at this photo on my phone and zoom in with my fingers to scrutinise my expression some more. Yes, I really do look happy.

Happy!
more happy…

Picking up my speckled granite rock, an ancient stone chip created in explosive volcanic times, I slot it into my cupped hand as if slipping it into an envelope. I feel power and strength transmitted to me as I do this. It strengthens my psyche and empowers my flesh. In my mind I think about the overall deep seated knowledge that I WILL be the same as I was that day on top of the highest mountain in Australia nearly a year ago.

My granite power rock

Two years ago, I picked up that rock chip from the side of the road close to the summit, and kept it near the front door in among’st a stack of other colourful pieces I’ve collected from here and there. I didn’t know then how important it would be to me in the future but I remember carefully selecting a rock that had a shape that felt easy in the hand.  After that summit run last January, it has been my micro generator throughout the year when I’ve often needed a mental kick start. A reminder that my body will be okay and I’ll still be able to run and do everything I did before, even though my body has been ravished by surgery and chemotherapy. I WILL be the same. Maybe even better…somehow.

The granite is part of the main range where Mount Kosciuszko sits high up over the blue land far around. Several years ago, in a shallow valley to the north-east of the summit, I walked alone between the snow drifts. There were shallow peat pools and a ground cover of soft pale grey green snow grass. As I walked close to a jagged black rock tor that towered over me, I heard a roaring sound like that of a jet flying overhead. It reminded me of the earthquake I experienced in the Kimberleys in remote Western Australia which sounded like about eight jumbo jets. The loud rumbling sound penetrated the air and a sort of shimmer wave moved past me and wooshed away across the alpine valley. Looking around, there was no wind moving the white paper daisies or the snow grass. No jets in the electric blue sky, nothing. All I know was what I felt and heard, and I can only describe it as perhaps a spirit or some type of energy I had flushed from the tor. No malevolence, just kind of it.

Summit Track

In January this year, as I ran over that solid and dark, speckled ground to the summit I felt a great sense of power in the land. I thought about the energy spirit thing that ‘resides’ a few hundred metres from where I ran. The day before, I had phoned my doctor for the results of a biopsy test and he told me that I had breast cancer. Four days of preparation in my head helped me prior to hearing this news. I had rationalized stuff. The twenty two kilometre run solidified my rationalizations. I did feel good.

Grounding to earth

I was grounding myself to the earth with every step. I was confident then in returning to my normal self after the year of treatment. I have been confident during the year of surgery and treatment with a little help from my speckled rock and from strong human support that I have been so lucky to have gained. I am still confident. I trust my knowing myself. Soon I’ll be back in the strong powerful granite lands with my body intact and pretty much back to normal with another smile like the one in my photo.

The Granite lands

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If you’d like to find out how it felt when I returned to the high country, read Story 3 Summit Run-Closing the Loop -2 min read.

Other stories in this series of Sourcing Strength are; The Summit Run and The Summit Run, Closing the Loop.

You can read more stories in my series about Encounters with Wild Animals such as a Great White Shark, horses, snakes, whales, rock possums, bull buffalo and spiders

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Feel feel to comment too…

Minimal Me – 2 min read

Bluebell and I at Maitland Bay

I am a young girl, around 15 years old, standing high up on the top of a huge sheer cliff with a scalloped bay in the background named Maitland Bay (after a shipwreck).

This cliff is within a national park and instead of me standing there as a typical visitor in hiking clothes, hat and boots with a bunch of other like walkers, I’m dressed in a sexy high cut swimming costume, two bare feet and my blue heeler, Bluebell.

This is typical of me as a teenager. The minimalist. Tearing off what’s not necessary to leave the bare bones and nothing extra. Bare feet, so I can extract maximum immersion from my exploration of the bush or rocks or sand or whatever the substrate I’m travelling over.

The muddy clay squelching between toes, after walking across a long spread of jagged and sharp rocky ground, I particularly savor and relish. That’s like the ecstasy of finally gorging on two tall glasses of water after riding your pushbike for miles without a drop of water down the throat.

I love that. To really feel the texture of the ground, gives me a more in-depth knowledge and a kind of intimate understanding of the terrain. Then it’s mine, that land.

You know I even get jealous of places. I am quite possessive of that track I’m standing on. Little beach to Putty Beach. That’s my track. Too many strangers I see on it now. It’s not theirs this place.

They don’t know it like I do.

They don’t know the legless lizard that leisurely suns herself on the southern sandy section of steps that rise up after the rocky gulch of caves bay. Nor do they know the dark diminutive swamp wallaby that forages behind the big set of wooden stairs at the northern end of Killcare beach. They also wouldn’t have met the echidna that loves to break up the ants nests for a feed just before Caves Bay.

Those cream flannel flowers that sweep round the bend in the track near the Maitland Bay turnoff seem to be in bloom longer than anywhere else. That’s the bend where the white tsunami sand rests high over the bay below. This particular soft bend connected me and held me tight to the land when I grew older and became a woman in my twenties. I lived away, three thousand kilometres away in fact in Darwin, and I’d see flashbacks anytime anywhere of that particular bend of heathy, low bush.

After flying home and re-visiting my bush, these flashbacks would disappear until I’d been away again too long and they’d reappear to remind me of my land.

Today, I continue to ground myself along this piece of coastline. I ground myself by the physical and psychee connection to this, my favourite stretch of the world, by feeling my feet touching the terrain, the roots, the rocks, the clay and the sands during my one and a half hour circular run I regularly do.

I often see my animal ‘friends’ on the track and I note whose flowering or fruiting. Sometimes, Ill slow enough to touch a slender flannel flower with the tip of a finger. No Bluebell now, but like as a young girl, there is no extraneous clutter on me. No water bottles, camel packs, not even a hat.

Only the bare bones to run.

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“Various‘ life writing stories of mine you can read are Pink, Synaesthesia, Minimal Me, Freedom Creek

You can read other stories in a series of how I Source Strength The Summit Run and The Summit Run, Closing the Loop.

You can read more stories in my series about Encounters with Wild Animals such as a Great White Shark, horses, snakes, whales, rock possums, bull buffalo and spiders

If you’d like to have my next post sent directly to you, just pop your email address into the subscription box.

Feel free to comment too…

Pink – 1 min read

The best piece of advice I was given I would have to say was to not follow the crowd, don’t be a sheep, be your own person, that concept. The other dimension is not to waste energy competing with others.

I learnt this in first grade. I was 5. Linda unknowingly gave it to me. Our task for the lesson was colouring in. My patience never stretched as far as colouring in perfectly up against those thick black lines. Never. No matter how hard I tried. Hopeless I was. But, I couldn’t see the point really. Linda however was perfectly skilled at this. Linda had blonde hair, was my friend, I liked her and was super popular. The teacher asked consecutively around the room what our favourite colours were, starting with Linda. She said pink. Alison my other friend said pink. Glen probably said pink. They all said pink. I loved pink but I said brown. That felt good.

Since that moment I have never worried about going against the grain. It has me in trouble but it’s usually worth it.

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