We have my niece's first birthday, the Sochi Winter Olympics, the World Cup, and the 100th anniversary of the first ever teenage selfie (pictured) coming later this year, but we begin 2014 with a Chinese farmer who sawed off his diseased leg because he could not afford hospital treatment bills; this has shone a spotlight on gaps in the People's Republic's health care system. Zheng Yanliang, who is from Hebei province in north China, developed an infection in his leg roughly two years ago and the blood circulation to it began to fail. That made the problem worse and gangrene set in. By the time he went to the doctor, Mr Zheng was told he would need an operation and could lose his leg. It was then that Mr Zheng realised he was in big trouble. "I asked how much it would cost to do this operation," he said. "The doctor said an operation on one leg would cost more than 300,000 yuan and it would cost more than a million yuan if I had operations on both legs. I can't afford it. I only had 20,000 yuan." Without enough money to pay for treatment or surgery, Mr Zheng felt he had no choice but to return to his home in Dongzang village in Qingyuan county, where he endured months of extreme pain. "I lay in bed for more than three months. My leg turned black. The skin and the flesh were all black," he said. "There were maggots in the flesh. I could see the bone in my right leg. I felt sick when I saw it." Finally, Mr Zheng could not bear to suffer any more and decided to take drastic action. "I told my wife that I would saw it off. She wasn't happy about it. We had an argument and she went out," he said. "I found a hacksaw under the bed and a small knife, and I just sawed it off. It took about 20 minutes. I was sweating like a pig." Mr Zheng remained conscious throughout, biting on a stick wrapped in a towel to try to alleviate the immense pain. The DIY surgery, which Mr Zheng performed in April 2012, has only recently been reported in the Chinese media. It has prompted a debate about the inequalities in China's health care system, especially for low-income families. Many ordinary Chinese people have been so moved by Mr Zheng's story that they have donated more than 300,000 yuan to his cause. He has also been offered free medical treatment - at least for now. But Mr Zheng is worried about the future. I would be too in his situation. But enough about that because research suggests that a daily dose of vitamin E could help people with dementia. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease on high doses of vitamin E had a slower rate of decline than those given a dummy pill. They were able to carry out everyday tasks for longer and needed less help from carers, but the Alzheimer's Society said the dosage was very high and might not be safe.
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1 January 2014
New year starts with the chop
We have my niece's first birthday, the Sochi Winter Olympics, the World Cup, and the 100th anniversary of the first ever teenage selfie (pictured) coming later this year, but we begin 2014 with a Chinese farmer who sawed off his diseased leg because he could not afford hospital treatment bills; this has shone a spotlight on gaps in the People's Republic's health care system. Zheng Yanliang, who is from Hebei province in north China, developed an infection in his leg roughly two years ago and the blood circulation to it began to fail. That made the problem worse and gangrene set in. By the time he went to the doctor, Mr Zheng was told he would need an operation and could lose his leg. It was then that Mr Zheng realised he was in big trouble. "I asked how much it would cost to do this operation," he said. "The doctor said an operation on one leg would cost more than 300,000 yuan and it would cost more than a million yuan if I had operations on both legs. I can't afford it. I only had 20,000 yuan." Without enough money to pay for treatment or surgery, Mr Zheng felt he had no choice but to return to his home in Dongzang village in Qingyuan county, where he endured months of extreme pain. "I lay in bed for more than three months. My leg turned black. The skin and the flesh were all black," he said. "There were maggots in the flesh. I could see the bone in my right leg. I felt sick when I saw it." Finally, Mr Zheng could not bear to suffer any more and decided to take drastic action. "I told my wife that I would saw it off. She wasn't happy about it. We had an argument and she went out," he said. "I found a hacksaw under the bed and a small knife, and I just sawed it off. It took about 20 minutes. I was sweating like a pig." Mr Zheng remained conscious throughout, biting on a stick wrapped in a towel to try to alleviate the immense pain. The DIY surgery, which Mr Zheng performed in April 2012, has only recently been reported in the Chinese media. It has prompted a debate about the inequalities in China's health care system, especially for low-income families. Many ordinary Chinese people have been so moved by Mr Zheng's story that they have donated more than 300,000 yuan to his cause. He has also been offered free medical treatment - at least for now. But Mr Zheng is worried about the future. I would be too in his situation. But enough about that because research suggests that a daily dose of vitamin E could help people with dementia. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found people with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease on high doses of vitamin E had a slower rate of decline than those given a dummy pill. They were able to carry out everyday tasks for longer and needed less help from carers, but the Alzheimer's Society said the dosage was very high and might not be safe.
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