How To Guide

Melissa Patton

It was 2006 when Melissa Patton joined low cost carrier Jet2.com as a flight attendant. She did A levels in media studies, English literature and religious education, but did not want to study further. And then she saw an advertisement in the Belfast Telegraph for Jet2 for an interview, sent in her application and was recruited.

She worked for almost two years with them and then entered the local beauty pageant. She rose through the ranks of the competition to be crowned Miss Northern Ireland to represent the country in the Miss World pageant which was held in China in December 2007.

Though she did not make it to the semi finalists’ list her achievements spurred her on to try her luck in modeling. She did indeed become a model and is currently agency manager at Converse Models and one of the province’s top models – a long and upward journey from a cabin attendant.

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A cabin attendant may also be called flight attendant cabin crew or gender specific air hostess/stewardess or purser.

Cabin crew forms the supporting staff on a flight, apart from the pilot who may be a captain or commander and his co-pilot. Depending on the kind of airline the cabin crew works for, the demands of the work vary, but basically consist of taking care of the comfort of passengers.

The Work

Cabin attendants’ duties include welcoming the passengers on board, showing them to their seats, helping them in any way required, serving them food and drink, clearing up, and attending to their needs. A cabin attendant may work for a local/domestic airline or an international one, for long haul or short haul flights. In low cost carriers which are now very common for short flights, the cabin attendants may have to sell food, water, drinks and also on flight items either auctions or fixed price items. Most importantly, cabin crew is responsible for the safety of passengers in case of emergencies.

Basically this is a service industry and the work… Read More

Edd Shaw

Edd Shaw a physiotherapist in the UK  left for Papua New Guinea after working as a physiotherapist at a Senior 2 level at University Hospital of Hartlepool, treating musculoskeletal conditions like bad backs and bad necks. He took additional training required for this job.

He joined as Wheelchair Services Supervisor with the government’s National Orthotic and Prosthetic Department. In Papua, New Guinea he found a level of unawareness of the special needs of handicapped people and also had to grapple with the laid-back attitude of the people as well as corruption at all levels.

He succeeded in setting up five centers in various areas of Papua New Guinea. His job responsibilities included identifying and assessing clients and giving prescriptions, providing suitable client-specific wheelchairs and implementing an ongoing service to enable clients to maintain their mobility.

As patients were often located in remote villages with no means of communication, he also had to use radio messages, word of mouth, linking with the physiotherapy and orthotic outreach teams and organizing excursions to various more remote towns to provide services… Read More

A physiotherapist plays an important role in the physical rehabilitation of a patient, working in conjunction with a doctor.

A physiotherapist helps a person regain movement, work within limitations caused by disease, injury or ageing, overcome pain and debility, improve muscle tone and more. That is why almost all sports teams have physiotherapists attached to them. A physiotherapist is more that the physical trainer attached to schools and colleges, but also aims to attain certain physical fitness levels.

The Work

A physiotherapist works along with medical practitioners of all specialities and helps rehabilitate a patient. He or she has to have absolute knowledge of how the human body works, the muscle and skeletal system, neurological problems which can cause disabilities, accidents, traumas and injuries, various physical disabilities and more.

He or she has to learn how to use various machines to help the patient, whether it is ultrasound, interferential, TENS, shortwave, microwave, laser machines, hot wax, taping, splints, various orthopaedic aids, all kinds of exercise, including weight lifting, pre-birth classes among other things.

Personal Qualities

A physiotherapist has… Read More

Micah Monteleone, Dallas auto mechanic starts own business

Micah Monteleone began working for Tire Kingdom in 1999 and rose through the ranks from service technician to mechanic to manager. He then joined Freightliner, the tractor-trailer and large truck manufacturer. But the downturn affected him and he got laid off. Then he thought of opening his own company, and becoming his own boss.

He partnered with Eric Hester to open an auto repair business, Gaston Automotive Services on Dallas-High Shoals Highway. Hester has eight years of expereince in auto repair, working for Pon & Round Muffler in Lincolnton.

The business partners are able to offer complete auto service, including engine and transmission repair and replacement, shock, strut and brake repair, tune-ups, oil changes and state inspections. As far as possible they are offering a one-stop shop for repairs.

They bought their own building, had their own tools and were helped by the Small Business Center at Gaston to formulate a workable business plan. But they used their own money, not going in for any borrowing.

“Everybody I’ve talked to says, ‘We’re… Read More

Auto mechanics are those who fix your cars and repair them when there is any car trouble.

Auto mechanics are like doctors for automobiles – they have to diagnose the trouble a car is having the repair the problem. Working in a garage may not be a glamorous job, but somebody has got to do it. As cars on the roads keep on increasing and innovating, the auto mechanic, too, has to keep up with the times and learn new technology to repair those cars.

The Work

The work of an auto mechanic includes checking, maintaining and repairing automobiles and usually other vehicles like scooters, motorcycles, trucks as well. These vehicles may run on gasoline, alternative fuels, or electricity. When something breaks down, the auto mechanic has to first find where the fault lies, see if the part can be repaired or has to be replaced and do the work.

His work is not restricted to engines alone, but also peripherals like wipers, wheels, doors, controls, air conditioning and heating systems, steering wheels, electronic systems and the new technologically advanced… Read More

Two examples below

Ruth Presswood

Ruth Presswood felt a lump on her neck, went to her doctor and all her tests were fine. But her doctor sent her for further investigations which ultimately showed that she had thyroid cancer – she was only 19 years old. She had an operation which removed the tumor, thyroid and a few lymph nodes and a neck dissection to check if it had spread.

She had to have radioactive iodine treatment and apart from the scar on her neck, is now cancer free. But she did lose some feeling in her neck area as some nerves had to be cut during the course of the surgery. She was diagnosed in 1999, got married in 2005 and now has a two year old son.

Renee

Renee was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when she was 23. She was pregnant at that time and did not want to terminate her pregnancy so she had to wait for 20 weeks to have surgery. She had a total thyroidectomy and bilateral neck dissection.

She is a cancer survivor of… Read More

Two examples below

Viv Thomas

Viv Thomas was diagnosed with throat cancer after discovering a lump on his throat while shaving. He was in Portugal at that time, having moved there from the UK. After a series of tests he was found to have throat cancer and decided to have it treated there after exploring options in the UK and US.

He had radiation treatments which made him lose his appetite, caused burns, made him lose his voice and worse caused him to lose the ability to make saliva. His treatment lasted seven weeks and after that he goes for regular check ups and is cancer free. He has kept up his active lifestyle and is a cancer survivor.

Allen Clark

Allen Clark, MD, a plastic surgeon, discovered a lymph node in his throat and being a doctor was certain it was cancer. He was diagnosed with cancer and was advised chemo and radiotherapy. But the radiation caused his throat to tighten and swallowing became excruciatingly painful – a common complaing with throat cancer patients.

Many patients are forced to… Read More

Two examples below

Cornelia Dobb

Cornelia Dobb, a journalist, had a mole below her belly button for a year but did not suspect anything. It was only when she was talking to her GP about anti malaria tablets that the doctor noticed moles on the soles of her feet. Cornelia said she had them on her palms as well. The doctor did not seem worried and as Cornelia was to move to Cambodia for two years with her husband to be they went back to discussing tropical diseases.

One day before her wedding the doctor had fixed an appointment for her, but she did not go as she was getting married. She finally went after she returned from her honeymoon.

The dermatologist who saw the mole on her tummy wanted to remove it and she had the procedure done. A week later the report came that she had malignant melanoma. She had bigger surgery this time to see how much it had spread. She was fortunate because the reports said it had not and she did not need further treatment.… Read More

Tina P

Tina P. of Oklahoma thought she was in peri-menopause when she was fifty and no symptoms of cancer. When she went for annual physical, all her results were clear and she was just told to take her vitamins and watch out for weight gain. Unfortunately a week later her pap smear showed cancer and she underwent a radical hysterectomy.

Further tests showed adenocarcinoma of the fallopian tubes that had metastasized to the cervix, ovaries, and abdominal wall lining and all the cancer in the abdominal lining could not be removed. She had eight cycles of chemo after which she was told there no evidence of the disease.

A year later the cancer recurred in the pelvic and groin regions and she underwent eight cycles of chemo which showed no reduction in size of the spots. Then she had another eight cycles of chemo.

Cancer has changed her life – she says, all, ‘I am indeed a better, happier person. I have taken the time to renew and re-energize good friendships and end the negative, energy-sucking ones. I have… Read More

Two examples below

Donald Sannes

Donald Sannes and his wife Andrea own and operate Sannes Skogdalen, a nursing home that employs 85 people in a rural Wisconsin town. One day Donald noticed a pinkish tinge in his urine and went to his urologist who performed a cystoscopy. The test revealed a tumor on the bladder which turned out to be cancerous and that, too, stage III cancer.

Surgeons removed his prostate and nearby lymph nodes, fortunately his bladder was saved and he had no cancer anywhere else. Post surgery he had a catheter in place for some time and suffered from night time incontinence. He had no need for chemo and radiotherapy and within a short time he was back to his old energetic and hectic lifestyle.

Sylvia Ramsey

Sylvia Ramsey is a ten year bladder cancer survivor. She is a Georgia Military Community College (GMC) professor, poet, and national bladder cancer patient advocate. She noticed pink urine and went to her doctor and was put on a course of antibiotics which did not help.

Eventually she saw an urologist… Read More

Cases of gonorrhea was on a decline for the last two decades, but today cases are now increasing as reported in a study published by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Gonorrhea is one of the most common sexually transmitted disease. The Center for Disease Control estimated recently that around 700,000 new gonorrhea cases occur every year in the United States. From these cases, it is estimated that about half are reported to the CDC.

Cases of gonorrhea are reported in specific groups at higher rates than other groups. The groups with the highest level of reports of gonorrhea infection include teenagers, young adults, individuals living in the southern states of the US, individuals living in urban areas, African Americans, and drug users.

New strains of gonorrhea are harder to detect and even harder to treat. Once gonorrhea was easily treated with antibiotics, but today, the disease resists treatment and stronger antibiotics are needed. Over five percent of individuals between age 18 and 35 have gonorrhea but are unaware that they are carrying and spreading the disease.… Read More

Bronchitis can, especially in infants, be confused with asthma as the smaller airways are involved, which leads to symptoms that are close to the same as asthma sufferers.

Bronchitis is an acute inflammation inside the air passages found within the lungs. This inflammation occurs with the trachea known as the windpipe and the airways inside the lungs become red and swollen (inflamed) due to various causes normally infection. The mucous lining of the airways are the area that becomes inflamed which can start a domino affect in which the cells fighting the swelling begins to ooze a fluid. As the fluid is leaking into the air passages, the common reflex is coughing. With bronchitis, coughing can be severe which often usually leads to seeking medical advice.

Causes of Bronchitis

The majority of cases of bronchitis in both children and adults is during the cold and flu season, but is often paired with another upper respiratory infection. Various viruses can cause bronchitis such as influenza A and influenza B known as the flu. Along with viruses, bacteria can also cause bronchitis… Read More

What is jaundice?

Many people believe that jaundice is a type of illness or disease; however, jaundice instead of being an illness is a sign or symptom of several diseases.

Jaundice is often called yellow jaundice as it refers to the yellow staining of the skin and the white of the eyes. This is due to high levels of the chemical bilirubin in the blood. The color of the skin and the eyes are determined by the level of bilrubin that is in the blood. While the levels are low, the skin and whites of the eyes will be yellow as the level of bilrubin raises the color of the skin and the whites of the eyes turn brown.

Causes of jaundice

Bilirubin is the orange yellow pigment found in bile as well as the green fluid that is secreted by the liver and helps with digestion. In most cases, bilirubin is created by hemoglobin breakdown when red blood cells die and most leave the body through feces. The liver is in charge of removing bilirubin from the blood.… Read More

Gonorrhea is a sexually transmitted infection that will not go away on its own. The only way to treat gonorrhea is by visiting your physician. Your physician will prescribe an antibiotic in order to clear up the infection. Not long ago the most common antibiotics used in the treatment of gonorrhea were called fluroqinolones, which are ciprofloxacin, ofloxacin, and levofloxacin. Examples of ciprofloxacin are Cipro and Cipro XR. An example of ofloxacin is Floxin and an example of levofloxacin is Levaquin.

Today, gonorrhea has changed with new strains being more resistant to these antibiotics. Due to this problem, the Center for Disease Control in the United States is recommending that cephalosporin’s be used in the treatment of gonorrhea.

Treatment

The physician will in most cases, may prescribe a single-dose injection of an antibiotic or a single dose pill. If an injection is given, it will be Rocephin whereas a pill will be Cipro.

For those under the age of eighteen or pregnant, ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin are not safe antibiotics. Your physician will choose the best and most effective antibiotic in… Read More

Some patients with enlarged prostate better known as benign prostatic hyperplasia may not need any treatment at all if they only have mild symptoms. With mild symptoms, most physicians will keep a watchful eye on the situation instead of recommending any type of treatment.

If the symptoms become severe, there are various treatment options available such as medication, surgery, Saw Palmetto, and minimally invasive treatments like Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy, Interstitial Laser Coagulation, Transurethral Needle Ablation, Transurethral Electrovaporization, and Intraurethral Stents.

Medications used for the treatment of enlarged prostate include Proscar and Avodart. Both of these drugs inhibit the production of the hormone that affects the growth of the prostate gland. These two medications are often best for men that have larger prostates, but other medications have been just as successful for men that do not have the larger prostate. These drugs are alpha-blockers. Alpha Blockers relax the muscle in the prostate, which reduces the tension on the urine tube thus aiding with the symptoms of enlarged prostate. The alpha-blockers most commonly used are Hytrin, Cardura, Uroxatral, and Flomax. Some doctors… Read More

Two examples below

Jennifer Ambrose

In April 2007 Jennifer Ambrose was diagnosed with a rare form of appendiceal cancer called pseudomyxoma peritoneal cancer after a laparoscopic appendectomy revealed a malignant tumor. Pseudomyxoma peritoneal cancer strikes one of every 1 million Americans. Sometimes referred to as “jelly belly,” it is usually caused by a mucus-producing tumor cell, often in the appendix.

She underwent a nine hour surgery at UCSD Medical Center where a tumor was removed from her liver, right diaphragm and spleen. After the surgery, she had heated chemotherapy solution that is circulated throughout the abdomen for nearly two hours. Ambrose is cancer-free and a survivor.

Caroline Langlie-Lesnik

On March 29, 2001 Carolyn Langlie-Lesnik RN was diagnosed with poorly differentiated signet ring adenocarcinoma of the appendix. This was discovered in the course of laparoscopic surgery for the fibroids – her appendix had been ruptured, had a mass and was removed laparoscopically via a plastic bag during the surgery.  A frozen section identified the mass as malignant.

Many doctors and treatment centers gave her a poor prognosis, but being a nurse, she… Read More

Dave Manners

Dave Manners had loss of appetite, lethargy and was sleeping too much when he went to a doctor and, after a number of tests, was diagnosed with kidney cancer (renal cell carcinoma). His right kidney was removed.

More than a year later he experienced pain in his right shoulder and an MROI revealed a tumor in his right scapula. A CT Scan of his abdomen showed numerous tumors on his liver and upper right lobe. A needle biopsy of the right kidney bed area confirmed that the cancer had spread.

Shortly after that he had an attack of appendicitis and when the doctor was removing the organ, it was found that part of the omentum had to be removed as it had a metastic tumor and there were nodules in the liver as well.

Then he started with radiation treatment on his right scapula, five days a week for five weeks and also blood transfusions. Then he was diagnosed with a small tumor in his brain, which was also surgically removed.

He opted for treatment with… Read More

Two examples below

Fay Polson

Fay Polson was looking forward to retirement when she went to her doctor with a feeling of pressure in her abdomen. Finally a CT scan and a biopsy revealed that she was suffering from liver cancer. Her doctor wanted to give her direct chemo to the liver and told her that there was a 50 percent chance that she would survive.

Then she went to the Cancer Treatment Center at Tulsa where surgery was done and a tumor removed. She had both chemo and radiation. But a year later, the tumor reappeared and she had surgery again. She had to have two more surgeries after that to remove the tumors which had again resurfaced. Subsequently follow up visits have shown that she is cancer free.

Danielle Duran Baron

Prior to undergoing liposuction, at the age of 28, Danielle Duran Baron from Brazil had blood tests which revealed tumor markers and subsequent visits to doctors and an ultrasound found that she had liver cancer. She had surgery and two rounds of chemoembolization and then was declared… Read More

Two examples below

Ted Willbright

Ted Willbright was 50 years old when he was diagnosed almost simultaneously with prostate cancer and Parkinson’s. He did not want to undergo a radical prostatectomy, which is known for affecting sexual performance as he was supposed to be getting married. Instead he underwent advanced radiation treatment for 12 weeks.

Along with that he took naturopathy and acupuncture treatments to help him though the treatment. He also concentrated on nutrition and exercise. Now he is a cancer survivor. He says, ‘I continue to work hard as a social worker. I work out at the gym about three or four days a week, take my recommended supplements, eat healthy, and enjoy life as a newly married man.’

John Martin

John Martin was diagnosed with Stage IV prostate cancer and underwent radiation, but a few months later, the cancer was still there so he had a bilateral orchiectomy. At that point in time, he was told he might live for two or three years.

His prostate antigen test varied from low to high, but he learnt to… Read More