European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 02, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse A John Thompson whose ordeal a year ago made him a National celebrity has regained partial use of is arms. Dreaming of what might have been Bojoh Macdonald associated press writer n his dreams John Thompson s arms still work and he enjoys simple things like opening doors for himself and writing letters. And sometimes he wakes up from his dreams and for a moment at least forgets that he has Only limited use of his reattached arms. I be gotten up some mornings and gone to grab for something and say of wait. I can t do that anymore " Thompson says with a slight laugh. It s kind of strange a year ago Thompson then 16, lost both arms below the shoulder when they got snarled in a piece of farm equipment. Alone on his family s farm near Hurdsfield in Central North Dakota he staggered 400 feet to his House used his Mouth to open doors and punched out a Call for help with a Pencil clenched in his Teeth. Later that Day doctors reattached both arms during an eight hour operation. Since then he has had several operations and hundreds of hours of physical therapy and has regained mobility in his elbows and wrists and has some movement and feeling in his fingers. Thompson also has started College and is trying to become just another student. He no longer wears splints on his arms and can do most daily tasks using specially adapted equipment. Doctors have been amazed at his recovery but Thompson says it has t been easy. Hmm tuesday february 1, 1993 b i have these dreams a lot where i m scratching my ear or i m opening my car door by myself he said from his dorm room at the University of Mary in Bismarck where he is a freshman. Jus simple Little things like that that i had forgotten about. I like those or. Allen Van Beek the Minneapolis plastic surgeon who reattached Thompson s arms Hopes the dreams will come True. Thompson s Mother Karen still has a hard time dealing with what the Accident has done to her son. My dreams Are More nightmares than anything she snid. I still can t help but think i m going to Wake up one Day and this All is going to be just a bad dream. " despite his Progress and his , mrs. Thompson Sain her son still has problems. I think he is still struggling with the whole aspect the whole realization that he wants a career As a Singer. The stars and stripes he did lose use of his arms. There s still a lot of uncertainty about what the future holds she said. Thompson said he thinks often about where he might be now or what he would be do Iii if the Accident never happened. I guess some Good things have come out of this said Thompson who once planned to become a flight attendant. Now he s working to fulfil a lifelong dream of being a Singer. He studies voice at the University on a scholarship he received after the Accident and a Minneapolis recording studio has offered to Cut a demonstration record for him. Still Thompson would rather have his arms. People have told me they wish they were me because i have lots of Money and everybody knows me he said scornfully. If you want to live like this for a while i d gladly Trade places with you. Sure i have Money but Money does t do anything for following the Accident Well wishers from around the world donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help pay Thompson s expenses. One thing Thompson seems to have completely regained is his sense of humor. He can laugh now at some of his struggles of the past year including the fight to gain weight. While hospitalized Thompson dropped from 145 pounds to 100 pounds. He has gained Back some but is nowhere near the Ideal weight for his 6-foot Frame. There s a running joke on Campus. Everybody says i Don t have a butt he said. That s one place i guess i want to put the weight Back health notes genetic links to depression people who Are related to someone with clinical depression Are twice As Likely As the relatives of non depressed people to develop depression or substance abuse. A Federal study of 67 adopters is among the strongest studies showing depression and substance abuse can be inherited says researcher Loring j. Ingraham Motho National Institute of mental health. Among depressed adopters 5 percent of biological relatives also had depression 4 percent had substance abuse disorder. Only 2 percent of non depressed adopters had depressed relatives. Help for morning sickness pregnant women reported a significant drop in severity of morning sickness when they wore special wristbands that make use of the ancient chinese Art of acupressure a study says. More than 60 percent of the women said their nausea and vomiting were reduced or eliminated by the bands which pressed on a Point just above the wrist. When the women wore Placebo wristbands that did not press on the Point Only about 30 percent said their nausea and vomiting lessened showing the effect of the working bands was not just psychological. The study was reported in the november " Issue of the journal obstetrics and gynaecology by drs. D. De Aloysio and p. Pena Chioni of the obstetrics and by ecology department at Bologna University in Italy. The device an elastic Bracelet marketed under the name sea band is manufactured in England and the United states where it s sold primarily in pharmacies. The British based sea band International inc. Plans to apply to the . Food and drug administration for permission to advertise the band fas Relief for nausea after surgery according to Boston based marketing director Leonard Nihan. Disposable Lens Alert people who Wear disposable Contact lenses Are More Likely to develop Eye ulcers than wearers of non disposable soft lenses a Johns Hopkins University study found. Compared with users of daily Wear soft lenses the most common Type worn in the United states disposable soft Lens users had a 14-times greater risk of developing a Type of Eye ulcer called ulcerative keratitis. Wearers Don t property take care of disposables and Don t pay attention to recommended limits on wearing times the researchers said. 17
