Phantom pain–pain experienced after limb amputation– used to be understood as something “in your head” but now it is recognized as real; fMRIs have shown that peripheral and central nervous system changes occur which cause this pain. The brain image on the left shows how the person with phantom pain has a greater amount of their brain lit up...
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Before becoming a heart recipient, Stephanie Zimmerman, RN, MSN was a nurse practitioner caring for pediatric cancer patients. Susceptibility to infections and rejection of the donated organ are two of the many side effects of undergoing a transplant. Stephanie shares her experiences on her blog: Living the Cure. Guest post By Stephanie Zimmerman, RN,...
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Before becoming a heart recipient, Stephanie Zimmerman, RN, MSN was a nurse practitioner caring for pediatric cancer patients. This year, Stephanie** underwent biopsies of her donated heart to find out if it has been damaged by her immune system. Then during this terrible flu season, she spent over a month with a severe case of pneumonia. Susceptibility...
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Radiation and chemotherapy saved Stephanie Zimmerman’s life when she had Ewing’s Sarcoma in 1978. But years later, she almost lost her life again to long-term side effects of her treatment. Her heart died but she lives today because of the gift of organ donation. Here is the next part of her story. Losing Heart-Gaining Life How did the long term...
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