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Kiesha Abrahams

August 14th 2010 00:51
What a sad story this has been and as each day goes by I think it seems clear she won't be found alive. My heart goes out to her family...except for the mother and stepfather, I don't believe the fake tears or statements of innocence. If they are the only ones who have seen Kiesha for weeks then it follows that they know more than they are saying.

Allegations have been made against them and vehemently denied, but the question remains, and the police are right to question the parents and search their house, something has happened to that poor little girl, only that can explain this now almost 2 week disappearance. Whether there is a family involvement or not, it is under investigation and while the public may try to not pass judgment or entertain thoughts that her mother and step-father are involved, it's hard not to, when so many questions remain about her disappearance.



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Dizziness diagnosed

June 12th 2010 05:42
After many visits to the GP with symptoms that only baffled them, trips to the ER, followed by ENT and neurological appointments, I have finally been given a diagnosis for the dizziness which has plagued me and changed my life during the last two years.

The diagnosis two years later was actually a relief. Being diagnosed with something is a strange thing to celebrate but the uncertainty and confusion of the last two years was much worse.

My main symptoms, and this is not an exhaustive list, are feeling like I am on a boat every day, most noticeable when I am sitting or standing still, looking in the mirror and 'seeing' myself moving from side to side when I know I am actually standing still, having to get my eyes tested several times due to blurred vision but no issue being found with my prescription, symptoms easing when I get in the car - something I attribute to the car having its own motion and kind of helping to balance out the motion I feel, feeling fatigued and my limbs feeling heavy, feeling and sometimes seeing the ground move beneath my feet as I walk, loud sounds and large crowds bothering my ears which feel full and extra sensitive to sounds but also having muffled hearing at times. These symptoms were explained many times to several GP's but I got blank looks and certainly empathy from one or two but no answers until I finally requested seeing a specialist myself.




I recently underwent another audiology test, level 1 and 2 balance tests and a brain MRI. I had previously had 2 CT scans, one with contrast and one without and an audiology test.

The MRI was probably the most terrifying experience of my life but I made it and the clear result afterwards meant I could stop that niggling worry in the back of my mind that no matter how many times I was told it was "most likely" not a tumour or some other brain issue, that some day I would find out it was. Now, that worry has been put to rest. Not that I would rush to have another MRI, it's not something I want to repeat any time soon. After the first scan, the technician had to get me out because I got upset, tears and all but I sucked it up and went back in to finish off the remainder of the scans.

I have been diagnosed with Mal de Debarquement (MdDS), a balance disorder. A rare syndrome which research has not even scratched the surface of. Knowing there is no real known cure and so little is known about this condition is a little bewildering but now that the dizziness and symptoms I deal with on a daily basis have a name, it's still a relief.

Medication has been prescribed for me to try called Stugeron. It's unavailable in Australia, the specialist explained that this is because there just isn't the market for it, rather than something being wrong with the drug, and from what I have read it is actually available as an over the counter medication in the UK.

The specialist is arranging for it to be imported, there is a pharmacy he knows of that regularly does so and then it will be sent onto me to try. I am not holding my breath that it will work but am hoping for the best that it does. I no longer take Serc, labelled as 'useless' by both neurologists I have seen, though I felt as though it was helping at times. Several days of no usage though now has not made any discernible difference so perhaps it was a bit of a placebo effect or it did genuinely help at times when I was at my dizziest.

I am having a dizzy day today and although I have Serc, I probably won't take it. I'm just going to relax and try not to think about it, willing it to go away and let me enjoy my Saturday. If not, I am quite used to lazing weekends away when I'm feeling bad so a day watching movies may not be such a bad thing. Grinning and bearing it is also another option, I do that 5 days a week when at work, so two days without the energy to keep doing it is rather a given.
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Arranged marriage foiled

June 3rd 2010 01:01
An arranged marriage has been foiled by the 17 year old girl herself, who called in the Australian Federal Police (AFP) in a bid to save herself from being sent to Lebanon to partake in the marriage.

Her mother had booked her a flight from Australia to Lebanon and her father and stepfather supported the marriage. The frightened girl, in a move that took a lot of courage, considering the pressure her family must have been putting on her and the repercussions of reporting it, called the AFP. Having heard about the airport watch list, she wanted to put herself on it and in this way not be allowed to leave the country.

The matter went to the Federal Court who has banned her family from removing her from the country or from threatening her for failing to obey them.

A difficult situation - family pressure, a cultural norm and the ability of a young girl to take her own future in her hands and put her foot down against being forced to do something she did not want.

Youth in Australia are empowered to have their own free will, something young people in other countries of different cultures do not always have. While this would have been a part of the girl's culture, I fail to see how a girl being brought up in Australia and knowing that her future does not need to be decided for her, could have partaken in an arranged marriage.

I'm not sure about the enforceability of the court order regarding no threats, particularly if the girl is living in the family home. May her family understand and respect the decision made!
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Facebook

May 15th 2010 22:59
There are so many people who use Facebook these days, it's a global phenomenon. Yet changes to Facebook's privacy policy means that users are no longer able to hide their profile picture from the search. I tested this by logging out of my own account and searching, I was horrified by the amount of information which showed up, such as current location, interests and networks. Prior to the change my information and photo was private. Some tweaking of the previously sufficient settings removed all but the profile picture. It's quite alarming to know that users profile pictures are now viewable to all who do a facebook search and I am seriously considering how useful it is as a communication tool with friends against the invasion of privacy that the viewable profile picture poses.

The news of the 18 year old Sydney girl who met two men she linked with on Facebook and was murdered is mind-boggling. Girls continue to meet people they meet only online and continue to get killed yet none of them seem to think that it will happen to them. It's common sense not to do such things yet so many of them do. If they must meet, then do it in the CBD and don't go anywhere else. It's a sad occurrence when the internet makes it easier for evil people to carry out such crimes. You think, who would meet strangers they have never met at an out of the way railway station and agree to go camping with them overnight? Yet the poor girl did make those plans and lost her life. It's a poor choice with consequences that will impact on her friends and family for years to come. May she rest in peace and may the man arrested over her murder be given a lifetime in jail.
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Resolution broken and changes

March 14th 2010 04:24
Well, I didn't keep that resolution very well. I would offer excuses but really, the only thing that got in the way was real life. Things changed rapidly for me in January. I ended up in the hospital with vertigo twice in the space of 10 days, the unexplained dizziness obviously has continued since the last time I posted about it. More tests, more confused looks by what are probably Sydney's best neurologists and ENT's and I still have no answers. Knock on wood, since the last incident, I have been feeling a bit better but the unbalanced feeling remains, often even when I am sitting still.

I have been prescribed Serc, half a tablet three times daily, now reduced to twice daily and I have been taking this without fail each day since it was prescribed to me in January. The neurologist doesn't actually seem to believe it works but told me I can continue taking it if it makes me feel better. Placebo effect or just his own opinion on the drug's effectiveness, I will continue taking it until my GP says otherwise


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2010

December 29th 2009 06:49
All the best to everyone for the New Year, I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and may the resolutions you may make for the new year be achieved!

Mine should probably be posting more on Orble! Posting less sporadically would mean more of a benefit after all!
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A case of dizziness - update

October 31st 2009 23:13
How am I going in this realm of dizziness which has become such a part of my daily life?


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No life sentence for poisoning children

September 12th 2009 01:51
The French couple who decided to get themselves out of debt by poisoning their children, believing it would be easier without them, have been given sentences of 20 years and 10 years respectively. Meaning the 29 year old monster of a mother will be out at age 49 (probably less if the sentence is later reduced) and her husband, age 39, not the biological father of the children, will also be out at age 49. What about life sentences? These two pathetic excuses for human beings still have time to commit more crimes when they get out of prison. What will that useless mother do when she runs out of money next time?

Instead of becoming a sex worker (maybe she was too unfortunate looking), or making her husband do the same, or coming up with some other way (get 5 jobs if you have to), they killed two innocent children to clean up their debts. Sterilise them both, please. I'd also like to know the reasoning behind why the judge did not give them the 30 years the prosecutor was going for. 30 years to life would have been more suitable sentences for these people. I use the term people very loosely here because they are certainly not decent members of society


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World's oldest school pupil dies

August 18th 2009 01:58
At age 84, he enrolled in primary school with dreams of learning reading and maths and was even made a school prefect. Just shy of completing his primary school education, Joseph Stephen Kimani Nganga Maruge, has died, aged 90.

Not having had the chance to complete school when he was younger, he began school when the government began offering free schooling and was passing his classes with flying colours, a model student. He has four children, nineteen grandchildren and one great-grandchild


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Funny cats

August 8th 2009 03:51
This break from our scheduled programming is a small demonstration of one of the things found on the internet that always makes me laugh...lolcats.com

I'm actually allergic to cats but it doesn't mean I don't enjoy these. Some are very silly of course but there are some gems in there. A few of my favourites


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