Track and Field OFSAA



Men's Olympic High Jump



These past two days, I have been at the University of York for the Central Region Track and Field finals.  The top 4 athletes from every event qualified to go to Sudbury next Thursday, Friday and Saturday.  Before being able to attend this meet, you had to qualify at LOSSA Track and Field Championships by getting a 4^th place finish or better.  I was able to qualify for both of my events, the 400 meters and the high jump for my age group.  It is such a great feeling to know you are one of the best athletes in your region for a certain event.  On Thursday, I ran the 400 meters at the University but I wasn’t able to qualify for Sudbury.  Today, Friday, I did the high jump.  I knew that this was the event that I would most likely succeed in.  A good hour before I started warming up, I already had many nerves.  Then, when I heard the announcer say “First call for midget girls, high jump”, I knew that it was my time to succeed!  I walked over to where all the jumpers were and I let the adult responsible know that I was there, before I began to warm up.  It was cloudy and it was raining a little bit…  Not the best conditions you could ask for!  Although the cold weather wasn’t too great, most athletes weren’t ready to let that stop them.  We started jumping at a low height of 1, 25 meters.  Until 1, 40 meters, I succeeded every jump.  At that height, I made the bar fall on my first attempt.  Since we have three tries per height, I made it on the second try.  At 1, 45 meters, I made it on the first try.  Sadly, I wasn’t able to make 1, 50 after my three tries.  I ended up finishing in 4^th place, just good enough to go to Sudbury next week.  My goal is to be able to jump 1, 50 meters by the time I go to Sudbury.  I hope to be in top shape!

30 interesting facts.

I've been looking for some interesting facts for this blog and I found these.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

1.      If you yelled for 8 years, 7 months and 6 days, you would have produced enough sound energy to heat one cup of coffee.

2.      Banging your head against a wall uses 150 calories an hour.

3.      The strongest muscle in the body is the tongue.

4.      Right-handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left-handed people do.

5.      The ant can lift 50 times its own weight, can pull 30 times its own weight and always falls over on its right side when intoxicated.

6.      Polar bears are left handed.

7.      A cockroach will live nine days without its head, before it starves to death.

8.      Butterflies taste with their feet.

9.      Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes.

10.  You burn more calories sleeping than you do watching television.

11.  Venus is the only planet that rotates clockwise.

12.  Apples, not caffeine, are more efficient at waking you up in the morning.

13.  Most dust particles in your house are made from dead skin.

14.  Pearls melt in vinegar.

15.  A duck's quack doesn't echo and no one knows why.

16.  In 10 minutes, a hurricane releases more energy than all of the world's nuclear weapons combined.

17.  On average people fear spiders more than they do death.

18.  Elephants are the only animals that can't jump.

19.  Only one person in two billion will live to be 116 or older.

20.  Women blink nearly twice as much as men.

21.  No word in the English language rhymes with 'MONTH.'

22.  TYPEWRITER is the longest word that can be made using the letters only on one row of the keyboard.

23.  Chewing gum while peeling onions will keep you from crying.

24.  The roar that we hear when we place a seashell next to our ear is not the ocean, but rather the sound of blood surging through the veins in the ear.

25.  When you blush, the lining of your stomach also turns red.

26.  The attachment of the human skin to muscles is what causes dimples.

27.  Human hair and fingernails continue to grow after death.

28.  The human heart creates enough pressure while pumping to squirt blood 30 feet!

29.  We, as humans, forget 90% of our dreams.

30.  Blueberry juice boosts energy.

Down syndrome

I’m pretty sure everyone has seen or personally knows someone affected by Down’s syndrome.  It is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21^st chromosome.  The syndrome was discovered by John Langdon Down in 1866, a British physician.  The incidence of Down syndrome happens approximately once in every 733 births.  Although it does happen with younger parents, it is more frequent with older ones.  You can identify a person with Down’s by their cognitive ability, physical growths and different facial characteristics.  The normal IQ of a child is 100 while it is 50 for children with Down syndrome. 



Children affected by Down syndrome



To improve the development of Down syndrome children, it is important to have early childhood intervention, medical treatment, a conductive family environment and vocational training.  Before the birth of these children, it is impossible to predict the symptoms that an individual with Down’s will develop.  The physical characteristics of people with Down syndrome are different from ours...  They have a abnormally small chin, oblique eyes, poor muscle tone, flat nose, a single fold in their palm, a short neck, white spots on the iris, large space between their large and second toe, broad head and a round face. 

Their intellectual skills are a whole lot less developed than ours but most are still able to get a good job in the real world.  With the help of physical therapy, children with Down syndrome will develop walking at an earlier age than later.  Some kids may start walking at the age of 2 while others start around the age of 4. 

Adults affected by Down’s syndrome are smaller and tend to be more obese than an average person.  Women with Down’s are usually around 4 feet 9 inches and men tend to be about 5 feet 1 inch. 

Having a child with Down syndrome can be very difficult to handle by a family since they have higher risks for many conditions like congenital heart disease, thyroid disorders, gastrointestinal, infertility, neurology and eye disorders, hearing loss and immune deficiencies.  All of this can affect a family deeply.

I have always enjoyed working with deficient children and I’m glad I did my research on this particular syndrome. 

What do you know about caffeine?

Since I finished my book a few weeks ago, I decided to do a blog on something that interests me a whole lot. Since so many people have a regular intake of caffeine, I was very interested by it. What is it? Why do we drink it so much? Where does it come from? What does it do to our bodies?



caffeine powder extract



The global consumption of caffeine is 120 000 tonnes per year. It is the world’s most popular psychoactive substance. This amount makes that every person drinks about one serving of a caffeinated beverage every single day. It is crazy how 90% of adults will consume caffeine every day. Caffeine acts as a central nervous system stimulant temporarily warding off drowsiness and restoring alertness. People might see this drug as a good or a bad thing for humans. On the positive side of caffeine, it is used on newborns to treat apnea (breathing problem) and correct irregular heartbeats. It is also shown that it gives better general body coordination, that it decreases fatigue and increases attentiveness. Various manufacturers sell caffeine tablets for students studying for exams and people who work or drive for long hours. These tablets are supposed to improve mental alertness. There are also many negatives for caffeine... The main side effects are blurred vision, dizziness, and dryness of the mouth, fast heartbeats, drowsiness, decreased or increased hunger, thirst, anxiety, confusion, irritability and insomnia.  Caffeine can also reduce hair growth. The overuse of caffeine can lead to a condition called caffeinism. It leads to nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremulousness, muscle twitching, insomnia, headaches and heart palpitations. It also increases the production of stomach acid and over time, it can give you erosive esophagitis, where your oesophagus gets inflamed. Overdoses of caffeine can cause you to see flashes, to have seizures, to have ringing ears, to have nausea and to vomit, without considering the many more symptoms.

Caffeine is present in seeds, in leaves and in fruit of various plants. Sometimes, it serves as a natural pesticide to kill insects. One of the world’s primary sources of caffeine is the coffee bean, from which coffee is brewed. Caffeine is also produced artificially and added to certain foods.

Caffeine was first isolated from coffee in 1819. In its pure form, caffeine is a white, bitter-tasting powder. With all the processing, the bitterness is taken away from caffeine and great tasting drinks are made.

This research has taught me many things about caffeine. I think it is important to remember to never take too much of anything because it can become harmful. It is always better to take something in small portions then in bigger portions. I hope you learned something as well by reading this blog!

The end.

RETELL:

I have finished my book!  From chapter 22 to the very last page, I have certainly been touched by this profound story...

It was time for another one of her annual exams.  Just like every year, Scott and Amy had a ritual to always finish a crossword puzzle before the exam and to always have a muffin after it.  This year, things hadn’t worked out that great and the nurse came to get Amy before the couple had finished the crossword puzzle.  Amy believes that it was the cause of her heart spasm on the exam table.  Since this was also the first time this had ever happened, she was frightened.  After everything was over, the doctors reassured her that her heart and her arteries were still in good condition. 

Amy finally got the joy of her life in September of 1996.  Since she was unable to carry a baby herself, they adopted a boy named Casey. 

Amy got shocking news sixteen years after her heart transplant.  She is finally told by one of her doctors that her heart had a birth defect and not a virus like they had told her.  Not too long after getting these revolting news, Amy and Scott move to the Suburbs with five couples that are extremely close to them.  About once a year, they would all go on a trip together without any kids.  Amy found this very hard as they did a whole lot of physical activities.  She held through it just like she always had learned to do around her healthy friends.  A year later, there it was again; her annual exam.  Just like every year, she was shaking and was terrified.  This year, the doctors had some shocking news to tell her.  The mark that could cause her to have artery disease at any time had disappeared.  This was extremely rare and Amy was unable to ask any questions because she knew there would be no answers do to this rareness.  Ms. Silverstein often had nausea and high fever but not one doctor was able to tell her why because most heart transplant patients would die a few years after their transplant due to artery disease.  Amy always had sinus infections and got told to have surgery for it.  Even after her surgery, she would still get them.  Not too long after this surgery, she discovered a lump under her armpit and immediately went to see a specialist.  He thought it might be post-transplant lymphoma cancer and recommended to have it taken off.  Amy is now at the end of the road.  She doesn’t want to live any more.  She wants to give up.  She wants to quit taking her medicine because it is killing her immune system.  She is at the lowest point in her life. 

Amy ends up not having cancer.  A week after her surgery, they had to drain blood out of her armpit.  After such good news, she feels more courageous to keep going on with her life but still feels like she is dragging down everybody around her.  Scott organized a meeting with Amy’s doctor, Dr. Davis.  At the meeting, Amy tells her doctor how she wants to give up on life because she’s not healthy and will never be.  Since she threatens her doctor to completely stop taking her medicine, he agrees to lower the quantity.  He also suggests that she takes writing classes since that is what she loves doing.  Scott inspires Amy to push for life like she has been doing all these years.  “I’ll try” was her answer.

RELATE:

Once again, it is very hard to be able to relate to such a powerful story.  I do relate to her in a way that I complain when I am sick but my sickness is not nearly as intense as hers.  In any other way, I do not relate to her since she is a rare case.  She got a heart transplant and my heart is fine.  She wants to die while I enjoy living.  She is a mother and I am a simple child.  Although we have nothing in common, I look up to her for being so strong and for not giving up.    

REFLECT:

This was hands down the best book I have ever read!  It made me realize that my life is so easy compared to other’s lives.  Most of the time, I take things for granted and I don’t appreciate the fact that I am healthy and I am able to go for a simple run without feeling like my heart is falling out of my chest.  Amy is still living with her husband, Scott and her son, Casey in New York.  I find her so strong to have kept going even with all the odds against her.  She should have died many years back but she kept fighting, something that would have been extremely hard for me!  I recommend this book to everyone.  It gives you such a good perspective on your own life.  Every heart beat now counts to me thanks to Amy Silverstein, the author of Sick Girl.  Amy wrote a message at the end of the book and I would like to share it with you since it hit me and I hope it can affect every single one of you.

“There is nothing simple about my heart transplant life.  Despair most certainly can coexist with joy.  Anger with hope.  Sadness with gratitude.  Tears with cheers.”

    

Halfway through Sick Girl...

RETELL:  In the last 2 weeks, I’ve had the chance to read from chapter 13 to chapter 21 in the book titled Sick Girl by Amy Silverstein.  After my last blog, Amy’s boyfriend Scott had just proposed to her before her heart transplant.  After her surgery, she found out she had received a heart from a 13 year old girl from Ohio who had died in a car accident.  Since it was very rare for a woman that young to receive a new heart, a few doctors gathered to witness her surgery.  When she got out of the surgery room, she felt peace in herself for the first time since they had diagnosed her with low blood pressure.  A few days after her surgery, a nurse named Vera made Amy stand up for the first time.  She made her brush her teeth.  Even the simple movement of her arm was painful and difficult.  Not much later, Amy took her first shower after a long time.  With the help of her step-mom Beverly, she was able to get in the shower and to bathe herself quickly before she felt weak.  In the shower, Amy realized the medicine she was taking had caused her to lose her belly button and had caused her to have a pot belly.  In the next few days, Amy was lucky to meet with a girl about her age that had also lived the experience of a heart transplant.  The only difference was that she had lived it 3 times.  When Amy was finally sent home from the hospital, she slowly took her life back in hand and started doing exercise.  She started by walking on flat ground, graduated to hills then started running.  Amy indicates that her inspiration was Scott.  He never gave up on her, even when she wanted to give up on herself.  Ms. Silverstein was also told to wear a mask when walking around in New York City to reject every germ possible because a simple cold could kill her at the time. 

Exactly one year after her surgery, Amy found herself in a Cinderella-gown walking down the aisle holding her father’s arm.  She did it!  She went against all her chances and survived to see this special day.  Yet, she wasn’t even close to being done her recovery.  She’ll never be done.  During the cocktail hour after her wedding, she had to leave her own party to meet with a nurse who would give her medication.  These drugs would sadly cause side effects like nausea, intense shaking, headaches and she would feel seasick.  Amy was given 10 years to live with her new heart.  As time went by, she knew her few years to live would be fading away.  Amy was the kind of woman who would hide her sickness from everyone and act as if she wasn’t sick at all while she was secretly dying.  This strong lady really wanted to have a baby, so she paid a visit to her doctor.  He recommended her to finish her studies as a law student, to pass the bar exam and to start working before he could consider it.  When she did, he still wouldn’t let her.  She was 28, and wasn’t allowed to have a baby and they predicted 8 years for her to live.  During the last chapter I read, Amy started hearing her heart beat loudly every day.  Since it was driving her crazy, she decided to see a therapist who finally, didn’t help at all.  She decided to help herself and to have a positive attitude.

RELATE:  I can barely relate to Amy Silverstein and to her condition.  The only way I can relate to her is that she started running when she came back home after her surgery.  I also run and I’ve been running for a good part of my life.  Almost everyone in my family runs so it was easy for me to take part with this activity.  It is very hard for me to relate to her in any other way because her life is extraordinary while mine is quite normal.  Amy is very courageous and I have never been able to show that much courage.  Actually, I am able to relate to her in a certain way since I also suffered through an operation even if it was quite minor compared to hers.  I got a hernia.  My intestine passed through a whole found in stomach muscle.  Somehow, that incident could help me relate to Amy Silverstein.

REFLECT:  This book still impresses me with every word I read.  I can’t imagine a woman with such a young body going through that much pain.  I am now at page 200 of this 289 page book and I wish it could be much longer!  I have never heard of such an inspiring biography.  I can’t wait to see how it will finish.  I do know she has a son but I wonder if it was a natural birth or an adoption because her doctor indicated that she shouldn’t have children.  This still is the best book I’ve read in my whole life!  By far, it is the most interesting one.  I officially put Amy as one of my heroes.  I can’t get over how difficult her life must’ve been.    

The beginning of Sick Girl...

RETELL:  Sick Girl has been the most interesting book I have ever read in my whole life!  Amy’s life is out of the ordinary...  In the last 12 chapters, she’s gone through many things like her first diagnosis as low blood pressure.  They later discovered Amy’s diagnosis was much more than simple low blood pressure.  Amy got sent to many different cardiologists to later get sent to a few hospitals.  Amy was a really difficult patient at first and didn’t want to cooperate, not even for a simple IV.  Ms. Silverstein also went through many heart biopsies.  These are operations that take off a part of the heart to see its health.  Amy was given several medications to take daily that could help her condition.  Sooner than later, she realized they didn’t do anything other than give her symptoms like blindness and lost of breath.  Amy was desperate to know what was wrong with her heart...  They diagnosed her with cardiomyopathy, heart muscle damage.  The doctor told her she didn’t yet need a heart transplant and might be able to live with the help of her medication.  A few months later, the night before her boyfriend’s University graduation, Amy felt terribly sick...  Her boyfriend Scott brought her to the nearest hospital where he had to witness his girlfriend get electric shocks to get her closest to normal heart rate back.  Amy always had these kinds of attacks.  Day after day, she suffered a great amount of pain.  It was explained to her that she also died once when she was given medication through a tube that was connected to her groin.  After that, she was terrified to stay alone.  Day after day, Amy got tired of living and wanted to die.  She got the news that she’d need a heart transplant.  Scott, her boyfriend also proposed to Amy right before her surgery.  I am now at that part in the book, when she comes out of the surgery room... I can’t wait to read the rest!

RELATE:  This story is extremely difficult to relate to since I never had a problem with my heart and I certainly did not have a heart transplant.  Perhaps, I can relate to the family members that visited her at the hospital often, since my grandfather had leukemia.  I would visit him at the hospital in Toronto about once a week and I saw him suffer through a lot.  I felt extremely bad for him and I wished I could do anything to help him.  He would have seizures and he was never conscious.  I felt powerless towards seeing him die slowly and painfully.  When they took away his life after a few days on life support, I was happy he wouldn’t have to suffer.  I’m sure the visitors of Amy feel the same and can’t handle seeing her suffer.  There isn’t any other way how I could relate to this woman.

REFLECT:  Honestly, this book has been so interesting.  I’ve already read 123 pages and I got my book exactly one week ago.  My book is just a bit short of 300 pages.  I estimate that I might be finished this amazing biography by maximum two weeks!  Wow, I can’t believe I could even read that fast.  This woman was so courageous and I look up to her for that.  She could’ve gave up on life so many times but decided that the people surrounding her were worth the fight.  I also find amazing that her boyfriend proposed to her as if she wasn’t dying.  He believed in her the whole way through her long years of recovery and they are still happily married with one child.