First Ever E-Magazine | December 2011 | www ... - Oshwal Centre

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Riks’ StoryContributed by, Anthony Nolansimilar tissue types. Currently only 4% off donors on theregister are of Asian ethnicity.I was first diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia(AML) in2009; prior to the diagnosis I had always considered myselfto be very fit and ac tive, a regular g ym goer and footballplayer. The diagnosis was nothing short of devastating notjust for me but my family. We went from a r elatively busy“normal” life into a world of uncertainty about the future.I wasthrown into five months of intensive chemotherapy followedby months of recovery, prior to this I had never spent even aday in hospital.Following treatment I eventually returned to work and pickedup the threads of my life… as youcan imagine it was a case of lookingover “our shoulder” in case thedisease returned. I was closelymonitored following the treatment,the hospital appointments were asyou can imagine extremely stressful.Statistically the likelihood of the AMLreturning diminished over time with two years being aparticularly significant milestone. We eventually reached thispoint and we had dared to start to believe the nightmare wasbehind us. Unfortunately this was not to be the case.I was recently re-tested following what appeared to be asimple bout of flu; I went for routine blood tests which to cuta long story short culminated in receiving the bombshell thatthe leukemia had r eturned. I am now back in hospitalundergoing chemotherapy however I will as part of thetreatment require a bone marrow transplant. I do not have asibling match so will require a stem cell donor…a search ofthe database to find a suitable match is currently in progresshowever I have been advised there are significantly fewerdonors on t he register from the Asian sub-continent. Iwondered why this was, given the vast numbers of “BritishAsians” (me included) living in the UK. I can only surmisethat it is possibly a fear of the donation process which has inthe past been shrouded in myth and misinformation; I havesince learnt a great deal about the process of becoming adonor and whereas at one t ime it was an onerous processmedical advances have now made it fantastically simple andstraightforward. The facts of stem cell transplants are thatpeople from the same ethnic heritage are more likely to haveTo initially register you simply provide a sample of saliva, ifat some future date you were asked to become a stem celldonor the process itself is little more than an enhanced blooddonation. The impact on the donor is minimal, certainly thereare no adverse health implications, your body will simplyrecuperate… but the outcome for the recipient is nothingshort of life saving.Jenner Large, regional recruitment manager with AnthonyNolan, said, “Anthony Nolan does everything it can to findmatches for the people who need them. However, thechallenge increases for a patient from any ethnicbackground because there are fewer people on the registerfrom these groups. It really is easier than many people thinkand you could save a life.” The main criteria to be a donor isthe individual has to be between the age of 18 - 40, weighover 8 stone and generally be in goodhealth. There is an urgent need foryoung men to join the register aspatients outcomes improve when thedonor is a young male and sadly,currently only 12% of the entire registeris made up of 18 - 30 year old maledonors, regardless of ethnicity.I mentioned earlier that I have a family; I have a wife and twodaughters as well as my extended family and friends, I valuethem greatly and want to be around to help and s upportthem. Take a good l ook around at your own family andfriends and I ’m sure you feel likewise. This is an aw fuldisease, it can hit anyone, healthy, old, and y oung it doesnot discriminate. It could strike anyone… taking a little timeout now to register (honestly it is so simple) will haveminimal impact on y our life but you can rest in theknowledge that if you become a donor you could save a life.Register now and address the shortfall in Asian donors, weshould not need t o conduct worldwide searches for donorswhen there are so many of us here, ultimately we will allbenefit. Registering is an “ investment” in our collectivefutures whether it is family friends or the wider Asiancommunity.More InformationFor more information or to register go towww.anthonynolan.orgOshwal News E-Magazine of the O.A.U.K. 15 December 2011 Edition
Neurological Conditionby, Vaishali Rajesh ShahMy name is VAISHALI RAJESH SHAH and Isuffer from an UNDIAGNOSEDNEUROLOGICAL CONDITION which has had abig effect on m e and m y life. My condition affects myspeech, vision and both fine and gross motor skills aswell as my freedom of movement as I am in a wheelchair.Despite the fact that my needs are complex, I manage toenjoy life and achieve my dreams and goals.Throughout my life, I have been educated in a mainstream environment. I started in the Nursery when I was2 years old and back then I could walk with tripod sticksor a walker. At around 7 years old I started to use awheelchair because of the growth spurt which made melose balance due to gravity.I attended different kinds of treatments which were painfuland took a long time.The people I met in school had a big influence on me andgave me courage to do things as well as able people, byputting in all the effort and har d work into my studies.With the help of computers, (which is one of my lifelines,)and from assistants and my mum, who supported me withscribing and note taking, I managed to do c lass/homework, assignments, projects and exams in school/collegelife. Despite all the hardships, last year I completedBTEC Level 3 in Business Studies with DoubleDistinction.I have currently started doing a distance learning virtualacademy course to achieve English and Mathsqualification and I am really enjoying trying out this newtype of learning and getting in touch with other people.Apart from studying I have hobbies that relax me as wellas help me interact with friends and family. I like playingcard games, board games, socialising, watching moviesand going out and about. Also I enjoy listening to music,both Indian and English, and my favourite singers areLionel Richie and Stevie Wonder. My regularprogrammes on TV are Neighbours as well as Home andAway. I am a computer fanatic who can spend a wholeday playing games on the computer, checking my emailsand keeping in touch with my friends on facebook.backbone who not only is a mother but also my therapist,tutor, friend, icon and m y fashion consultant. My fatherand mother are my inspiration from whom I have learnt somany values of life, family morals, cultural and religiousbeliefs and most of all concepts of humanity.I love and enjoy travelling and my parents have made thispossible by taking me on ho lidays to many differentcountries where I have been able to explore and enjoythe wonders of the world, cultural and religious sights andsceneries of places from America, Kenya, and India.I would like to say a huge thank you to both my parentsfor doing a lot for me in life that has made me what I amtoday. Apart from my parents, I consider myself verylucky to have been born into a very close and supportivefamily, both paternal and maternal sides. With so manyuncles, aunts, cousins, nieces and nephews, life hasnever been dull as everyone’s love, support andencouragement has enabled me to learn and getsomewhere in life. My brother, who is not just a “bro” butso much more to me that I cannot express in words andmy grandparents – Dada, Dadi, Nana and Nani, wellthese are all four to me like my GOD. They have been myparent’s foundation stones and with their support, myparents always believed and said to us “never give upand be s trong and positive and you will get the taste ofthe fruits you wish to achieve”.My message to everyone is “Never under estimateanyone from their outer looks but be brave anddetermined to take all difficult situations as challenges tosucceed.”It is with pride and luck that I was born an Oshwal and aJain. We have done well in every sphere of life and havealways supported each other. T he same strength andvision needs to be shown when it comes to less ablebodies like me and also my parents. They need as muchsupport as I do.My parents have been my supporters throughout my lifeas they have sacrificed a lot of things to bring me where Iam today. Especially my mum, who has never oncelooked back for herself but has given me all the courageand taught me everything from being a little fragile girl toa smart young lady. Throughout my life she has been myOshwal News E-Magazine of the O.A.U.K. 16 December 2011 Edition
Page 4 and 5: EditorialOn behalf of the Oshwal M&
Page 6 and 7: ~ What is Enabling Network? ~which
Page 8 and 9: What is it like in Inclusive Educat
Page 10 and 11: Never Give Up HopeBy, Parul ShahMy
Page 12 and 13: Who looks after Carers?by, Varsha D
Page 14 and 15: Barnet Asian Carers Groupby, Suresh
Page 18 and 19: Neuro-diversityOrlando Bloom, Whoop
Page 20 and 21: ~ Neuro-diversity ~DyslexiaMany peo
Page 22 and 23: ~ Global Developmental Delay ~Her p
Page 24 and 25: ~ Peaks and troughs of a Family Fac
Page 26 and 27: ~ ENABLING NETWORK ~Since the Works
Page 28: General InformationAs an Oshwal Mem

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