Health

Immanuel College aids sick teacher

Sandy Rashty — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:43:44 +0100

Immanuel College pupils, former students and staff have been raising funds for the family of its popular head of geography who has terminal cancer.

Paul de Naeyer, who joined the Bushey school in 2004, has not been at Immanuel this academic year.

“I spoke to my consultant and we discussed how long left,” said Mr de Naeyer, who is in his late 30s. “She said it was months and that 12 would be a good effort. I am now basically just trying to control the pain by increasing my tablets as and when.”

Current and ex-pupils used the popular ratemyteachers.com website to express their admiration for Mr de Naeyer, who also organised school ski trips. Further tributes were paid on a fundraising site page, where former Immanuel student Joe Hyman wrote that he “really enjoyed the first ski trip you arranged for school. I hope you know how much everyone at Immanuel appreciated you.” Genevieve Schwartz said he was “one of the most inspiring teachers I have ever had”.

The school recently held a “Wear Orange for Paul Day” — orange is the favourite colour of Mr de Naeyer, who is married with two young sons. The day raised £4,000 and a film show will be held next month to generate further cash.

“The generosity and kindness of all at Immanuel has been unimaginable,” Mr de Naeyer said. Paul Abrahams, a close friend and the head of modern languages at the school, said: “We are all thinking of Paul and his family at this difficult time and are doing whatever we can to support them.” More than £18,000 has been raised to date.

Praise for ‘brilliant, sensible’ Angelina

Zoe Winograd — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:45:44 +0100

A Jewish breast cancer campaigner has praised Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie for revealing that she has had a double mastectomy, saying it will put awareness of the disease “through the roof”.

Ms Jolie disclosed in an interview this week that she had had preventive surgery because she carried a gene that put her in the high-risk category for the disease.

Emma Parlons had a similar operation after being told by doctors that she carried the aggressive BRCA gene and had an 85 per cent of suffering from breast cancer.

“I felt like I had a time-bomb strapped to me,” she said. “It’s brilliant what Angelina Jolie is doing. It’s so sensible. If she is so beautiful and is willing to have the operation, then it makes it OK for other women to do it.”

According to Jewish Genetics Disorder UK, one in 40 people of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry carries the BRCA gene., compared to one in 500 in the general population. JGD executive director Katrina Jacobs-Sarig said: “I would very much recommend Jewish people be aware of the increased risk.”

Ms Parlons hopes to raise awareness through a celebrity event next month to unveil a specially designed bracelet, which will go on sale in Selfridges and Harrods, with proceeds going to breast cancer research.

“I’m so lucky, my story is a positive one and I want to spread this important message,” the mother of two said.

Abuse charity rings changes in appeal method

Sandy Rashty — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:44:42 +0100

The charity helping women and children in the community affected by domestic violence used a novel and poignant method of appealing to supporters at its annual fundraising lunch, held at Lord’s in St John’s Wood.

As the salad plates were cleared at the cricketing venue, Jewish Women’s Aid’s 320 guests heard a continous telephone ringtone, causing a number of those present to search frantically in their handbags.

It quickly became apparent that ringtone formed part of the fundraising appeal, replicating a real-life call for help from an abuse victim to JWA, acted out by two of the charity’s volunteers. At one point the victim rationalises: “He called me a prostitute — but he’s a good father.” The banqueting room was noticeably quiet afterwards, with a number of diners visibly affected by what they had heard.

“Constructing an appeal is very difficult,” explained lunch host Hilda Worth. “Each year this is the aspect that we struggle hardest with. We can’t bring our service users here to share their story face to face. We also can’t film in the refuge or at a counselling session because we are working with the most privately vulnerable women.”

She added that as the telephone helpline was often the first point of contact with victims, it was an appropriate way to engage donors. It was “not a dramatic tearjerker but the reality of living privately with abuse”. The lunch raised £130,000.

Former barrister and JWA trustee Dawn Freedman said: “People didn’t bother to investigate abuse years ago. It was especially hard for Jewish women to talk about abuse for two reasons — the pressure from her family and the community.

“But JWA believes what the woman is going through and supports her without being judgmental. It’s also about increasing awareness in the community, schools and synagogues.”

The guest speaker was former MI5 boss Dame Stella Rimington, a trustee of the domestic abuse charity, Refuge. Discussing her career as a woman in the predominantly male British secret service, she recalled her work at the height of the Cold War — which she characterised as a “very interesting time” — and MI5’s counter-espionage and counter-terrorism work.

JWA representatives talk to more than 2,000 students annually to promote awareness of abuse and highlight the warning signs. Education co-ordinator Laura Lehmann said it ran sessions at schools including JCoSS, Hasmonean, Immanuel and King Solomon. “We have had mothers call us after a student has heard a session and told her what we do.”

The charity is looking to work with the Union of Jewish Students to run sessions at Jewish societies such as Oxford, Cambridge, Birmingham and Leeds, as well as at the London universities. She has already held a session at Bristol University.

She said that students in relationships should be aware of warning signs — “if he’s checking your phone or not letting you see your friends”.

Sharon Berger 'doing well' after bone marrow transplant

Anna Sheinman — Fri, 10 May 2013 11:13:00 +0100

Critically ill grandmother Sharon Berger has received a bone marrow transplant, in the culmination of a four month campaign to find her a donor.

Following the transplant on Thursday, her son Jonni Berger said “all is going well so far”.

Ms Berger, 61, from Harrow, suffers from a malfunction of the bone marrow in producing cells. She has been in hospital since December 2012 and following a lengthy campaign by family and friends to find a bone marrow match, a donor was found last week.

Jonni Berger said: “I think it's likely she will get slightly worse before getting better and it may be several weeks before we know whether it has been successful or not. We are all hoping it will be.”

Find it hard to hear in the cinema? Forget deaf aids — try these glasses

Zoe Winograd — Fri, 10 May 2013 09:30:43 +0100

An inventor has developed a system which will allow deaf people to enjoy visits to the cinema without having to watch special screenings for the hard-of-hearing.

Jack Ezra, 56, has built the prototype for glasses that would enable deaf film-goers to read sub-titles during any movie. The sub-titles, displayed on a separate screen, would be invisible to those not wearing the glasses.

The former JFS student said: “The deaf seem to be left out of everything and this would allow them to go to the movies whenever they like.”

The former teacher, who now runs his own 3D technology company, is seeking the £135,000 funding he needs to produce and market his invention.

He said: “This would change the film industry, bringing in a whole market of people who have been forgotten about.”

You need travel vaccines

Cathy Forman — Thu, 09 May 2013 14:11:00 +0100

If your teenager is planning somewhere exotic for their gap year, don’t forget to sort out the travel vaccines sooner rather than later. It is always worth consulting a travel clinic to ensure they have the right protection before travelling particularly for those heading to developed countries.

According to the World Health Organisation people are at risk of rabies in 85 countries worldwide, encompassing most parts of the African and Asian continents, as well as many parts of South America. Rabies is transmitted to humans from animal bites, most commonly dogs in these countries. The vaccination course takes a month to complete before travel and comprises three injections. It is generally a very well tolerated vaccine with mild, if any, side effects.

Typhoid is contracted from dirty water and contaminated food: the majority of cases in returning travellers in the UK who have travelled to India, Pakistan or Bangladesh. The risks to travellers vary but anyone who visits an area with sub-standard living conditions or poor sanitation is at most risk particularly travellers to the Indian sub-continent. The risk of typhoid is very much reduced if you are able to access clean water and hygienically prepared food. The vaccination for typhoid can be given two weeks before travel and can also be given as a combination vaccine with hepatitis A.

Yellow fever occurs in the tropical parts of Africa and South America with more than 1,500 cases a year in these areas. It is an illness carried by infected mosquitoes in these areas so as well as having the vaccination, travellers need to try to prevent mosquito bites as well. Yellow fever vaccination is given in specially approved travel centres and a certificate is issued which is essential to be presented at immigration in many countries, if you have arrived from a yellow fever area. The vaccine is given more than 10 days before travel and is a one-off vaccination which lasts 10 years.

Finally, have a look at the teenager’s vaccine records for tetanus protection. If they have not had a booster in the past 10 years it is worth getting one in case they cannot access medical care quickly when travelling. The tetanus vaccine given for protection in the UK confers immunity for travel and most teenagers should have had a booster.

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Leaders promote vaccination after 41 cases of measles reported

Anna Sheinman — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:49:19 +0100

Strictly Orthodox rabbis met a senior Hackney public health official on Thursday to discuss the rising number of measles cases in the community.

Statistics released by Public Health England (PHE) this week record 41 cases of measles within the capital’s strictly Orthodox population since the beginning of the year.

A PHE spokesperson said the cases were predominantly in Hackney and Haringey, the boroughs covering Stamford Hill and South Tottenham, with a few in Barnet. Low vaccination rates were to blame.

Thursday’s meeting was between Union of Orthodox Hebrew Congregation ministers and the deputy director of public health for the City and Hackney, Jose Figueroa.

It was organised by leading Orthodox community figure Rabbi Avraham Pinter, who is urging senior rabbis “to strongly endorse the MMR to their communities. We are taking it very seriously.”

Rabbi Pinter attributed a combination of factors to the MMR vaccine being taken up by an estimated 70 to 80 per cent of the community — a 90 per cent take-up is considered necessary to prevent an outbreak.

“First, the perception that measles is a ‘healthy illness’. It’s not seen as a great danger to health. What people don’t realise is that for most people it’s nothing, but you might get a person who is pregnant or elderly. We need to do that education.”

He further cited the now discredited autism scare over vaccinations and practical problems particularly relevant to the strictly Orthodox. “When you’ve got a large family, waiting times in surgeries is an issue.

“There has been tremendous coverage of encouragement in the Charedi press but it has been soft encouragement. That’s why I’m going down the line of asking the rabbis,” Rabbi Pinter added.

Dementia care takes a trip down memory lane

Barry Toberman — Mon, 06 May 2013 10:46:05 +0100

Reminiscence work is an integral part of the programme at Jewish Care’s Sam Beckman day centre in Hendon for people with dementia. Now through the latest technology, centre members Miriam Gould and Dorit Nass can draw upon a lifetime of memories wherever they are.

The women are among the first to be involved in a project to produce digital life stories with the support of relatives and centre staff. The life stories — largely pictorial histories from childhood to recent times — are converted into coffee table albums which the subjects can peruse at home, sparking reminiscence, making them more communicative and enhancing their sense of well-being.

Jewish Care disability and dementia manager Padraic Garrett said the programme was being rolled out across nine homes and three day centres operated by the charity. Although life story work was not new, the My Life programme featured computers designed specifically for those with dementia.

Two staff members had taken a Department of Health instructional programme and had in turn trained a further 18 employees. Early indications were of benefits for clients and staff alike.

“People with dementia cannot store more recent memories. More distant memories they can store for longer. These stories tend to go back generations and they can also be interesting social history. From a staff point of view, it helps them understand more about a person’s life.”

Retaining a sense of identity was hugely important for those with dementia, Mr Garrett stressed.

Browsing his mother’s story book at the Beckman centre, Mrs Nass’s son, Harold, said the book was left out prominently at home. She often leafed through it — “I know because she never puts it back in the same place” — and he had noticed a difference in her demeanour. “When she looks at the book, her personality changes dramatically. She gets very emotional when she remembers a picture but it also has a calming effect. Before she wasn’t doing much in the evenings. Now she is more animated. And if my friends come round, they’ll look at the book.”

When selecting the photos, he had found it difficult to strike the right balance in depicting the life of his mother, who is almost 89 and came to Britain on the Kindertransport. The final selection runs from her starting school to family gatherings and celebrations. “My barmitzvah photos were the most relevant because they spanned the generations of family.”

Mrs Gould’s daughter, Susan Jacobs, said her 96-year-old mother had “always spoken about things from her past.

“This is a very good prompt. I leave it in the lounge and she’s always picking it up. She’ll remark about a picture. And the great-grandkids love it because it tells them stories.”

With the death and funeral of Margaret Thatcher in the news, a topical inclusion among the family photos and mementoes was a photo of the late prime minister with Mrs Gould at her bowls club.

“And she is definitely not curtseying,” Ms Jacobs insisted.

Looking on, Sam Beckman deputy manager Katarzyna Lekarska gives a demonstration of the wider aspect of the system, allowing users to play games or listen to music.
Ms Lekarska enjoyed working on the story books and had found that it made the subjects more assertive — “and it gives us more insight into their lives”.

Community is ‘divided and can’t fund itself’

Simon Rocker — Thu, 02 May 2013 17:00:13 +0100

Jewish organisations need to attract a wider donor base, support innovation and encourage greater cross-communal collaboration, a new report recommends.

It also says that synagogue buildings could be used more widely for social and cultural purposes.

The report was commissioned by the Jewish Leadership Council as part of its “community vitality” project to guide policy-makers and philanthropists on future investment.

Produced by Dr Keith Kahn-Harris, co-author of a book on contemporary British Jewry, it was based on conversations with 140 communal activists in 14 focus groups across the country.

On the positive side, the UK Jewish community is “in many ways a vital one” with “an extraordinary range of services” on offer, Dr Kahn Harris says in a draft of the report.

But there is concern about whether the current level of activity is financially viable without a larger network of contributors.

One participant in the focus groups said: “The reality is that the community can’t fund itself any longer. Every part of the community is short of funding, and the reason for that is not because the community’s poor, this community is far wealthier than it ever has been. There are individuals who have amassed great wealth, but the amount of Jewish giving or giving to Jewish causes has declined dramatically.”

Also apparent is a strong dislike of communal conflict and division, making it often “stressful and frustrating” to work within the Jewish community.

“What I don’t like about the community is that we are so fractionalised and there is so little respect between people who are perceived as belonging to different groups,” one activist said.

Instead, organisational clashes should be better managed and dialogue promoted between different sections of British Jewry — including with the Charedi community.

The JLC’s community chest and other funding bodies should restrict grants to groups who can show evidence of “joint working” and “cross-communal collaboration”, the report recommends.

It also calls for more funding to be available to “innovative new projects”, although some participants were sceptical about central organisations being involved.

In most eyes, synagogues remain a “backbone of Jewish community”, although some only “reluctantly” acknowledge their central role.

But there is a belief that they could be “more vital places” if they were to open their doors to youth movements and other groups to run activities. “There’s no reason why synagogues have to be boring old horrible places,” one participant said.

Some activists feel that greater vitality is not a question of more money. “For things that really concern us, money is not a limiting factor, it’s personnel,” one said. Another believed there had been “an under-investment in people, programmes and content” compared with buildings.

JLC chief executive Jeremy Newmark said that the report was “the first stage in opening up a conversation across the community as to how we can work together to improve engagement and vitality across the Jewish landscape”.

American sociologist Professor Steven Cohen has been already been asked by the JLC to investigate how to take further the ideas on extending synagogue use.

Pregnant? Keep moving!

Thu, 02 May 2013 16:15:40 +0100

Pregnancy brings about significant physical changes that affect how your body functions over nine months and beyond. Generally, unless medical limitations indicate otherwise, women are encouraged to continue with or start an exercise programme and to keep moving. Common pregnancy symptoms including back pain, nausea, excessive weight gain and varicose veins can be prevented or reduced with exercise.

If unused to exercising, it is recommended you start with 15 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic exercise three times a week, gradually increasing to 30 minutes, four times a week.

Sports to avoid include skiing, kick-boxing, ice-skating, horse-riding and outdoor cycling to protect from falls, abdominal stress and other potential injuries. Instead, consider Pilates and yoga or the slightly more vigorous walking or dancing. Swimming is a good choice as being in water relieves joint pressure and helps support increasing baby weight.

Seasoned exerciser or not, it’s important not to overheat, so intense activity should be avoided and a moderate programme adopted, shown to make the placenta more effective in transporting blood, nutrients and oxygen to the foetus. At around 16 weeks, exercises where you lie on your back should be stopped as there is a risk of reducing the flow of blood back to the heart.

The pregnancy hormone, relaxin, allows the pelvis to expand gently enabling the abdominal and pelvic floor muscles to stretch in anticipation of labour. Pelvic floor muscles help support the increasing weight of the baby and performing pelvic floor exercises can even prevent stress incontinence.

It’s important to maintain a well-balanced and nutrient rich diet and pregnancy alone requires an additional 200-300 calories a day and more when exercising. Eat regularly throughout the day, specifically have a light snack approximately two hours prior to training and drink water before, during and after exercise.

Every pregnancy is individual so it’s best to seek the advice of a trainer with an ante- and postnatal qualification. Do listen to your body and if you experience any unusual symptoms, stop exercising and consult your doctor.

Always consult your doctor before starting an exercise programme.
@laurelfittips www.laurelalper.co.uk