Comments for thrulines http://thrulines.wordpress.com a digest of student literary journalism Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:55:41 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on Boy Wonder by k http://thrulines.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/boy-wonder/#comment-10 k Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:55:41 +0000 http://thrulines.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/boy-wonder/#comment-10 There are also more options for the treatment of pffd; rotationplasty, lengthening, shoe lifts, and no intervention at all. The severity of pffd varies, from bilateral to unilateral and also from a very slight shortening of the femur to complete absence. Also, the pelvis is not deformed, it is the femoral head and the socket in which it fits that may be underdeveloped. Your energies were definitely present yet focused on describing an appealing fiction that has little to do with the reality of the condition. I understand the inclination to make this sort of error; the condition itself impacts the emotions of the one viewing one afflicted with it, but your role is not to be the typical viewer, subject to knee-jerk reactions or to anecdotal evidence. (You, as a grad student, are likely well versed on the need to muster sufficient evidence in researching a story, much as a scientist must follow a prescribed methodology to advance a certain view.) Oftentimes, the person afflicted with pffd knows less about the condition than you might think, spending their time living rather than musing about its possible causes. If you want the straight story, unaccompanied by journalistically appealing but unfounded rationales, consult the many medical journals on this subject. Even I, as a very well informed mother of a child with pffd, would hesitate to give my layperson's assessment, given the wide-ranging research on the subject and the vast expertise necessary to specifically diagnose someone afflicted. There are also more options for the treatment of pffd; rotationplasty, lengthening, shoe lifts, and no intervention at all. The severity of pffd varies, from bilateral to unilateral and also from a very slight shortening of the femur to complete absence. Also, the pelvis is not deformed, it is the femoral head and the socket in which it fits that may be underdeveloped. Your energies were definitely present yet focused on describing an appealing fiction that has little to do with the reality of the condition. I understand the inclination to make this sort of error; the condition itself impacts the emotions of the one viewing one afflicted with it, but your role is not to be the typical viewer, subject to knee-jerk reactions or to anecdotal evidence. (You, as a grad student, are likely well versed on the need to muster sufficient evidence in researching a story, much as a scientist must follow a prescribed methodology to advance a certain view.)

Oftentimes, the person afflicted with pffd knows less about the condition than you might think, spending their time living rather than musing about its possible causes. If you want the straight story, unaccompanied by journalistically appealing but unfounded rationales, consult the many medical journals on this subject. Even I, as a very well informed mother of a child with pffd, would hesitate to give my layperson’s assessment, given the wide-ranging research on the subject and the vast expertise necessary to specifically diagnose someone afflicted.

]]> Comment on Boy Wonder by k http://thrulines.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/boy-wonder/#comment-9 k Tue, 18 Sep 2007 03:27:28 +0000 http://thrulines.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/boy-wonder/#comment-9 Hello, I am a mother of a one year old baby with pffd. Your article is inspiring yet not well researched. I assure you that my son was born with this condition not due to any "outside toxin" and I've never had a "viral infectiion". A simple google search will tell you that this condition is very rare and causes are unknown. A deeper search will tell you that the condition could possibly occur due to something as slight as a temperature or vascular fluxuation during cell division at the specific area,(although this has not been proven). I think that when reporting on such a personal subject research should be done and the researcher should site perfesionals who are educated on the subject. It is important the public to be properly educated on such matters, take it from a mother who had no more than an occational tylonol during her entire pregnancy. respecfully, Kathy Hello, I am a mother of a one year old baby with pffd. Your article is inspiring yet not well researched. I assure you that my son was born with this condition not due to any “outside toxin” and I’ve never had a “viral infectiion”. A simple google search will tell you that this condition is very rare and causes are unknown. A deeper search will tell you that the condition could possibly occur due to something as slight as a temperature or vascular fluxuation during cell division at the specific area,(although this has not been proven). I think that when reporting on such a personal subject research should be done and the researcher should site perfesionals who are educated on the subject. It is important the public to be properly educated on such matters, take it from a mother who had no more than an occational tylonol during her entire pregnancy.
respecfully, Kathy

]]> Comment on Nature by Numbers by Dianne Bailey http://thrulines.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/nature-by-numbers/#comment-5 Dianne Bailey Sat, 26 May 2007 02:42:04 +0000 http://thrulines.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/nature-by-numbers/#comment-5 I thought this was a wonderful article. Made the research very real and relevant, and written so you felt like you were with Lisa and seeing things through her eyes! I thought this was a wonderful article. Made the research very real and relevant, and written so you felt like you were with Lisa and seeing things through her eyes!

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