Fayette County had a few dozen new cases of COVID-19 the past two weeks, but state restrictions pause elective surgeries and reduce restaurant capacity at 50%.

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Ayurveda doctors can now perform general surgery like their allopathic counterparts. 

In a recent notification issued by the government of India, Ayurvedic doctors will now be trained to perform surgery alongside ENT, ophthalmology, ortho, and dental procedures.

The notification amended the Indian Medicine Central Council (Post Graduate Ayurveda Education) Regulations, 2016.

As such, now post-graduate Ayurveda students will be taught Shalya tantra (general surgery) and Shalakya tantra that is the surgeries of the ear, nose, throat, head and eye practically. 

They will now be taught procedures including amputation of gangrene, skin grafting, laparotomy (opening of the abdomen) and other gastro-intestinal surgeries, and advanced ophthalmic surgeries such as iris prolapse surgery, squint surgery, cataract surgeries.

However, the president of the Central Council of Indian Medicine said that such surgeries have been going on in Ayurveda for over 25 years and the notification is merely to clarify that it is legal.

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Regulators have suspended a Medicine Hat family physician following a pair of botched cosmetic procedures.

Dr. Adriaan Kriel has been barred from practising medicine as of Aug. 10 after unprofessionally performing an eyelid revision and a liposuction that resulted in poor outcomes for two women.

A tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta also found Kriel, a family doctor “with an interest in cosmetic procedures,” conducted 610 of the operations in his office, which was an unaccredited and unapproved setting, from 2005 to 2019.

“Dr. Kriel was accused of displaying a lack of skill and judgment in his medical practice after performing a cosmetic blepharoplasty (eyelid revision surgery) and liposuction on two patients. Both patients experienced complications, which Dr. Kriel failed to treat appropriately,” the college said in a news release.

“He performed these procedures over a number of years in unaccredited, non-hospital surgical facilities.”

A month after a blepharoplasty performed in June 2018, a specialist examined Kriel’s patient and found she “presented with a generalized deformed appearance, an inability to completely close her eyes, generalized discomfort, facial swelling and mildly blurred vision.”

Another specialist noted that six months after an October 2018 liposuction, the patient “presented with a significant number blotchy scars, several areas of redness and a buried suture beneath her skin,” stated the tribunal decision.

“Protruding from several of the scars was some brown material. (The patient) subsequently underwent four operations with the specialist to have at least 12 scars revised by excising the scars.”

The tribunal also concluded Kriel failed to adequately address the surgeries’ complications and had inaccurately reported to the CPSA that he had stopped performing blepharoplasties.

But they also noted the physician has generally served his communities well for many years, that he hadn’t been previously disciplined and he fully accepted responsibility for his actions.

Kriel has been ordered to pay the $19,252 cost of the investigation into his case and its hearing, and that he provide the CPSA written assurance he will not perform any procedure that must be provided in an accredited facility.

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While the latest on impeachment continues to dominate headlines, two news items should have our interest before they go the way of the 24-hour cycle.

First, there’s the new episode of “Marvel’s Hero Project”—available on Disney Plus—that celebrates a 12-year-old boy who identifies as a girl and testified before New Jersey’s legislature in favor of a bill mandating an “LBGTQ history” curriculum to be taught throughout the state’s public schools.

And second, the announcement from Merriam-Webster that it has chosen “they” as its word of the year, celebrating the plural pronoun’s newfound utility as a referent to those declining the more traditional (read “biologically correspondent”) indicators like he, him, she, and her.

As merely the latest examples of a steady cultural drumbeat—the American Dialect Society named “they” its top word back in 2015—the news hooks from Disney and Merriam-Webster function more to nudge up the volume than introduce anything new, much less noteworthy. Yet, even as corporations and celebrities dial up their efforts to mainstream gender identity ideology, the gap continues to widen between the currency of woke virtue-signaling and the reality on the ground.

One way to gauge the width of that gap is to look at the way victims of gender identity ideology are treated by a culture increasingly sold-out to the idea that a man who feels he is a woman can simply become one with the help of irreversible surges of cross-sex hormones and sometimes-endless cycles of surgeries.

And by victims, I’m not talking about female athletes converted into spectators, professors and teachers who find their speech censored—and their jobs threatened if they dissent from the new orthodoxy, or even the specter of female survivors of rape, sex trafficking, and domestic violence forced to sleep alongside biological males because of gender ideology.

No, I have in mind those who have personally bought into the central promise of gender identity theory only to find that living as the opposite sex wasn’t bringing them closer to happiness—but in many cases, much further away. Though many of these individuals were once hailed as heroes, they can expect to find themselves facing staunch opposition, hatred, and—perhaps most painful of all—silence and indifference if they decide to “de-transition” and pursue a life that aligns with their biological sex.

Perhaps the best-known “de-transitioner” is a man named Walt Heyer. As he writes at USA Today, Heyer’s discomfort with his sex dated back to the time when he was a 4-year-old boy whose grandmother dressed him in girls’ clothes and lavished praise on him as such. If Heyer’s account sounds familiar, it’s likely because it bears a striking resemblance to that of James Younger, a 7-year-old boy whose mother insists that he is a girl.

At 42, Walt began living as “Laura”—an eight-year experience that cost him his marriage, his job, and left him permanently disfigured. Today, Heyer and his wife (he remarried in the 1990s) spend their life helping men and women grapple with the lasting damage of irreversible hormones, surgeries, and relational upheaval brought on by living as the opposite sex.

While Heyer and others—including James Shupe and Sydney Wright—are courageously telling their stories in the public square, there’s no question they’re fighting an uphill battle in a culture increasingly deluged with messages promoting gender identity ideology—much of which, like the Disney Plus project, is aimed at young children.

That these messages are aimed at children is especially troubling. According to the American Psychological Association’s “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders” (DSM-5), up to 97 percent of boys and 88 percent of girls experiencing gender dysphoria will grow out of gender-related discomfort by the time they reach adulthood. Meanwhile, available research indicates an alarming increase in mental health problems and suicide attempts among those who follow through with so-called gender reassignment.

Yet, as Carey Callahan—a woman who previously lived as a man and who worked at gender clinic—recently wrote at The Economist a patient’s mental health is often an afterthought for gender clinics. To illustrate, Callahan opens her piece telling the story of “Betty,” a patient whose violent mental health issues stayed largely unaddressed while under the clinic’s care.

“In the case of Betty, I felt that the clinic where I worked wasn’t sufficiently concerned whether her mental disorder created delusions that often controlled her life.” Callahan writes. “The medical staff’s attitude towards Betty and many of the other patients who were receiving hormones while managing (or failing to manage) severe mental illness was a profound lack of interest about whether one affected the other.”

Heyer, who eventually found life-changing help through counseling and his local church, sounds a similar note: “Underlying issues often drive the desire to escape one’s life into another, and they need to be addressed before taking the radical step of transition.”

As parents, grandparents, friends, and neighbors, we do well to hold our grip on the fact that—in spite of the spin from cultural influencers like Disney Plus and Merriam-Webster—ideas and ideologies have real-life consequences. Or in this case, victims.

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Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) chief Swati Maliwal on Monday wrote to the Centre and the Delhi government seeking the provision of sex reassignment surgeries in government hospitals.

In the letter to the Union and Delhi health secretaries, Ms. Maliwal said that the facility was available only in a few hospitals in the Capital which led to delays in the surgeries.

“The DCW had recently established a transgender cell to look into the complaints of violence, abuse, harassment and discrimination faced by the transgender community. After several rounds of community meetings of the cell, one of the most common issue that was brought to the notice of the Commission was a lack of proper government-sponsored sex reassignment surgeries in Delhi,” read a statement issued by the women’s commission.

Stating that free medical services should be provided, Ms. Maliwal said, “There are many transgenders in the Capital who suffer innumerable problems due to the lack of sex reassignment surgeries. Access to free and proper medical services is their right and must be guaranteed by the State. I appeal to the Centre and State governments to sex reassignment surgeries in all their hospitals to cater to the needs of the transgenders.”

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NEW DELHI:  The lack of sufficient number of sponsored Sex Reassignment Surgeries (SRS) in state-run hospitals and the delay in getting dates for treatment are the most common issues faced by the transgender community, said the Delhi Commission of Women (DCW).

The cost of sex reassignment surgery for male-to-female in private hospitals vary from around Rs 2 to 5 lakh, while the bill may come anywhere between Rs 4 lakh and Rs 8 lakh for female-to-male sex change surgery. The same surgeries are provided free of cost in government hospitals. The DCW, which had recently set up a Transgender Cell to look into complaints of violence, abuse, harassment and discrimination faced by the community, held a meeting where DCW chief Swati Maliwal learnt about the problems faced by the community.

Maliwal has written to the Delhi government seeking information about hospitals that provide free surgeries and those which charge. The Commission has also sought information on surgeries performed, successful surgeries conducted and pending cases. “Considering the immense stigma and trauma suffered by the community, it is imperative that the choice of sex reassignment is readily available. It is the duty of the state to provide for such basic necessity of a large but marginalised community,” she stated.

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Being overweight can cause many underlying and serious health issues. Those that are overweight may suffer from multiple types of illnesses, knowingly and unknowingly. We associate many life-threatening diseases with those who are overweight as it contributes to the overall health of their body. Obesity has become a popular health condition in the world, especially in the United States. There are many fatalities that are tied back to the person being overweight. From diabetes to heart disease, there are conditions that could be avoided by losing weight.

Those who are overweight experience much trouble when living their daily lives, from limited movement to self-esteem issues. Having excess weight can lead to fertility issues in men and women.  There are ways to solve issues like these and they begin with dietary changes along with other lifestyle adjustments. 

• Diet Changes

Diet plays an important part in your overall health. What you put in your body affects you, whether it is positively or negatively. Changing your diet for the better can have major positive effects on your body, internally and externally. Weight gain is caused by consuming more calories than you should. Those who are overweight most likely to indulge in processed and refined foods. These food types are proven to be the cause of additional weight gain. 

Limiting the number of calories taken in within a day is known to help with weight loss. Choosing healthy food options also is a fellow contributor to weight loss. Adopting a high fiber diet also is ideal for those who are overweight.

Fiber makes the stomach feel more full than it actually is which makes it less appealing to eat more. Whole grains are important to include in your diet as well. They are known to have slow energy releases that in the end help you feel full longer. 

• Exercise

Exercise is ideal for any human wanting to live a healthier lifestyle. Getting active more frequently can help increase the number of calories you burn throughout the day. It is true that the body burns calories while we are sleeping and resting, but most of the time this isn’t enough for some people who have high-calorie intake. 

Getting physical activity into your day is important to change your lifestyle for the better and eliminate any effects that come with being overweight. There are easy ways to get active, from chores to workout machines. It is suggested to do at least 30 minutes of exercise to help burn calories throughout the day.

When you aren’t moving often it can lead to mobility issues. Those who aren’t used to exercise should start with light workouts to limit health risks. Some easy exercises you can do to ease into a new routine: 

• Walking
• Swimming
• Taking the stairs
• Wall push-ups
• Leg Lifts
• Weight lifting
• Weight Loss Medications/Procedures

When it comes to the moment where you aren’t able to lose the weight on your own with exercise and diets, there are medications and procedures that will help you shed the pounds. Doctors may prescribe patients medicine to help with their weight loss if it poses a significant threat to their health. Many professionals believe that if you are extremely overweight you should use medication alongside your diet changes and exercise.

There are side effects to this medication as there are to most medications. They usually include fatty stool, headaches, and unwanted effects on the respiratory system, joints, and muscles. Medication should be used in extreme cases as they can pose threats to the body. 

There are also procedures that are beneficial to those who want to get rid of any unnecessary fats. Non-surgical cosmetic procedures like Vanquish and CoolSculpting treatments are known to help those who are overweight adjust their appearance. Vanquish is a fat reduction method that uses heat to remove fat cells on larger parts of the body. For those who have very stubborn areas like the hips, chin, or stomach find that coolsculpting help removes those unwanted fat cells.    

• Surgery

The most extreme cases of obesity and overweight patients lead to surgeries as a last resort. Surgeries can be performed to help those who have problems losing weight shed the pounds they need. These surgeries are known to have lasting effects and make the lives of their patients easier. The formal name is bariatric surgery which simply means weight loss. 

Weight loss surgery consists of removing or altering a patients stomach, small intestine, or other parts of the gastrointestinal system to help them limit calorie consumption. This is extremely helpful in weight loss and also reduces other related health conditions like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other metabolic conditions. 

There are different types of weight loss surgery that patients can choose from. We all know about liposuction as surgery for fat reduction but there are more serious procedures taking place to eliminate the fat in one’s body. Gastric sleeve or bands are used to make the stomach smaller and reduce the amount of space for extra food. 

Gastric bypass is a surgery that enables the food to bypass certain parts of the body. There are criteria for the ones that want to go through this procedure. You must have at least a 40 body mass index or lower. This treatment is greatly effective yet leads to risks of deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals due to the body not being able to absorb the right amount of nutrients. 

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Sushil Kumar Modi, the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, has announced that the state government will grant Rs. 1.5 lakh to people who wish to undergo sex correction operations. The state government has also constituted a Kinnar Kalyan Board for the development of the Transgender community.

The announcement comes at a time when the state government has been facing great criticism for its utter inability to deal effectively with the Acute Encephalitis crisis. The medical infrastructure in the state has come under intense scrutiny. Over a hundred children had succumbed to the disease in recent weeks.

The state also suffers from malnutrition to a great extent which contributed to the devastating extent of the tragedy in a significant manner.

There also doesn’t appear to be any scientific evidence to suggest that sex change operations, or sex reassignment surgeries (SRS) as they are often called, benefits the person in any manner. In fact, the only long-term study that was conducted on the matter showed that transgenders who underwent SRS reported a higher rate of depression and suicidal tendencies when compared to those who had not. Numerous other healthcare professionals have voiced similar concerns.

Under such circumstances, that the Bihar government is funding potentially life-threatening medical procedures without any solid scientific basis for its supposed benefits using the taxpayers’ money at a time when the state’s healthcare infrastructure requires urgent upgrades is a matter of great concern. Before Bihar, Kerala and Tamil Nadu too had started providing free sex correction operations to people.

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Nelson’s Emma Weiland has suffered the severe pain of endometriosis since she was 12. But it took until she was 18 to get a diagnosis, despite many visits to many doctors and emergency rooms.

Lack of diagnosis, misdiagnosis, not being taken seriously, multiple surgeries — these are common experiences of women with the disease.

All through high school this athletic and academically gifted young woman suffered monthly debilitating pain.

“At every dance competition, every soccer competition, finals, it was always there, all that pain,” she says. “I continued to accept it.

“I went to dozens of hospital visits before I was taken seriously, because ultrasounds and other tests came back with nothing abnormal. They finally did a CT scan. In June of last year I went in for emergency surgery because they thought I had ovarian torsion.”

This turned out not to be the case, but during the surgery they found she had endometriosis. “We had never heard the word before,” she says. “We had never had any information about it.”

That surgery supplied a diagnosis but not a cure. There is no cure.

One in 10

Endometriosis affects one in 10 women, according to the U.S. Department of Health. That’s a shocking number for a disease most people have never heard of.

Tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows in other parts of the body, most commonly in the pelvic area, causing pain, infertility and organ dysfunction. Its cause is unknown and research has been limited.

Endometriosis was found on Emma’s bowels, Fallopian tubes, appendix, bladder, uterus, and cul-de-sac.

During recovery over the summer she enrolled in business courses at the University of Victoria, but things did not go well there.

“I came back for Thanksgiving and Mom took one look at me and said something is wrong. I had lost about 15 pounds and I was falling apart physically. I was lucky if I could make it from my room in the basement up to the kitchen. Some days I would go the whole day without eating because I could not get up.”

She was spending much of her time in a wheelchair.

Weiland withdrew from school and put herself on a waiting list for excision surgery at B.C. Women’s Hospital. Excision surgery (more advanced than the surgery she received in the summer) is considered the gold standard treatment (but necessarily not a cure) for endometriosis. Weiland says there are fewer than five doctors in Canada who perform it.

“I was told I would have to wait up to a year. At this point I still have not received an initial call about an appointment.”

‘Doctors who don’t believe you’

Frustrated by the wait time, her family took her to a specialist, Dr. Ken Sinervo in Atlanta, who performed the surgery in January with a month’s notice.

Without excision surgery, sufferers are traditionally given drugs, hormones, ablation therapy, or a hysterectomy. Those are considered palliative management.

“If we had followed what was recommended as a treatment plan she would still be very sick,” says Emma’s mother, Deborah Weiland.

Emma says it would be worse than that.

“I would not be here today,” she says. “I would have committed suicide. This disease not only affects you physically but when you are in the hospital and talking to these doctors who don’t believe you and don’t recognize your illness or know how to treat it, it becomes so exhausting that you cannot imagine living it any more, it is not worth it. So without my parents and especially my mother advocating for me and travelling and finding someone to do proper surgery, I would not be here.”

Mental health effects

Deborah, who has done thorough research on endometriosis while her daughter has been coping with it, says the disease doesn’t just affect the body.

“It affects your hormones, which affects your mental state. So many women are battling mental illness created by this disease.”

Emma says she’s feeling well now, six months after the excision surgery. The surgeon told her the recurrence rate is 10 per cent.

“As far as I am concerned, I have a brand new life. I can’t do a work shift of eight hours but can work up to four hours. I still definitely still have surgical pains and cycle pains, but it is not even comparable

Every day is better.

“I have to pace myself right now. My new body is trying to catch up with my personality because I do need to take breaks. I am at about 50 per cent of what I would usually be able to to do. But I was at two per cent before my surgery.”

Not taken seriously

Emma plans to devote herself full time, in collaboration with her mother, to form and run the Endometriosis Organization of Canada.

Their first project is Demystifying Endometriosis at the Capitol Theatre on Saturday, an event that will include a screening of the documentary Endo What? and a discussion with Emma about her experience.

Emma says the message of the video aligns with her own opinion: that misogyny plays a big part in the lack of research, scarce resources and scant medical knowledge related to endometriosis. It’s a women’s disease, so it has not been taken seriously, she says.

There are already a few support organizations in Canada, Emma says, but their new group will take support further by focusing on education and advocacy.

“We want to bring advocacy and education into schools and colleges so people can become their own advocates.”

‘A very lucky person’

Emma wants to do this because she’s privileged to have been able to travel for her surgery.

“Most women spend all their money on painkillers and appointments. So I am very lucky to be only 19 and to have had excision surgery and to be able to advocate for myself and others. That is only a dream for so many women I have met.

“So many women reach out, but in a week’s time they are in a flare or in the hospital or getting another surgery. It is heartbreaking to watch. It is too debilitating to be human. You lose your humanity. You lose who you are.”

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