Manic Monday: Is Chronic Fatigue Syndrome a Type of Hibernation?

As a long-time nurse, I worked with many patients who had Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. It often coexisted with other diagnoses such as depression and fibromyalgia. The patients were usually dismissed as being "psyched out", but in working closely with many of them, I can attest that their symptoms were real, and felt the disease was not getting the attention it deserved.

the dark clouds of CFS 

Finally, there's some good research on this debilitating condition. From the University of California, San Diego, researchers have noted that CFS looks a lot like the "dauer", which is hibernation. Is CFS a human form of hibernation? If so, what is triggering it? We know that victims are often under stress, both physical and mental. They have frequently been working long hours and are chronically sleep-deprived. Many patients describe themselves as former workaholics who were stopped in their tracks by crushing fatigue. Most of my patients with CFS were women. They worked long hours outside the home, longer hours inside the home, most of it under stress, and with little appreciation of their efforts. Were their fed-up bodies signalling them to hibernate? Is our workaholic culture creating hibernation cues in some of its desperately tired members?? What do you think? At least now I don't think we'll be "blaming the victims" any more for their condition. And that means a brighter future for victims of CFS.

A brighter future?

Abstract: http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/08/24/1607571113.abstract

 Blood simple?  A new test may diagnose a mysterious illness, and also help to explain it

"These metabolite profiles, they found, differed clearly and systematically between the patients and the controls. Some 20 metabolic pathways were affected, with most patients having about 40 specific abnormalities. The biggest differences were in levels of sphingolipids, which are involved in intercellular communication, though other molecules played a role as well. These differences should give clues as to what is happening at a cellular level during CFS. More immediately, a handful of the abnormalities—eight in men and 13 in women—were enough, collectively, to diagnose with greater than 90% accuracy who had the disease."

"One crucial question that needs an answer if CFS is to be understood better is: what cellular changes are these metabolic abnormalities bringing about? Here, Dr Naviaux has already made an intriguing and slightly disturbing discovery. Similar metabolite profiles to those seen in CFS are characteristic of a state known as “dauer” that occurs in one of biology’s most-studied animals, a soil-dwelling threadworm called C. elegans (pictured). In dauer, which is reminiscent of hibernation in larger creatures, the worm puts its development on hold and enters a state of suspended animation in response to threats such as reduced food, water or oxygen levels. It can survive this way for months, though the lifespan of an active worm is mere weeks."

Let's Rebuild Part 2: What Thrived, What Tried, What Died

I realize that, though more and more people are experiencing the total or partial destruction of their habitations and gardens, it's still not the most common experience out there (Phew!). My habitation is now 90% repaired, but my outdoor garden is still a shambles. I finally got out there and did a tally of what survived and even thrived with Hurricane Matthew, what limped through, barely, and what really died. Here are some results:
The Great Survivors: The Jamaican Leaf of Life, The Mother of Millions, Rosemary, Cabbage Palms

Mother of Millions, aka the Devil's Backbone in Bloom

These plants not only survived a Cat 4 hurricane (max winds on my dune were 107mph, or 172kph), but actually managed to propagate themselves or grow robustly after the storm. Interestingly, these are all plants native to areas that experience regular cyclones (or in the case of rosemary, non-cyclonic harsh sea storms). The mother plants were bedraggled, but had babies growing all over the yard and probably beyond.

The Scruffy Stragglers:These plants lived, but were sorely tested and very unhappy with Hurricane Matthew: Aloes, Elder Tree, Frostweed, Cacti, Buttonwood Tree, Lemongrass, Goldenrod, Gynura Procumbens, Garlic and Onions, Sweet Potato, Croton, Plumeria

Plumeria, MRobb

The Plumeria in our neighborhood mostly died, but we all cut off branches and are growing the branches. This is how plumeria survives, so I'm counting it with the Scruffy Stragglers. I really thought my little Elder was dead, but it just put out new leaves this week! The Frostweed also looked completely dead, but some little plantie voice told me to keep watering, and yesterday, it also starting sprouting new leaves. Time will tell. Someday it may look good again!

Frostweed and Leaf of Life, MRobb

The Walking Dead and the Really, Really Dead: Basil, Shiso, Mint, Lithops, Pittosporum, the Mystery Vine, quite a few orchids, Sage, Anthurium

No pics here, just too sad. I did plant some new basil today, as my kitchen can't do without it! I was just starting to get a good shiso harvest, but I may try growing it inside next year, in pots.

So now that I know how everything did, I can start planning with an eye to hurricane survival, just in case we all have to do this again next season (Noooooooo!!!!).

Wishing you all some wonderful Weekend Walkabouts!

Let's Rebuild: The Inspirational Garden Art of Andy Lakey

I won't be replanting my garden until the end of hurricane season, or maybe not until February 2017. But rebuild it I will. One artist in particular has been inspiring me this dreadful October: Andy Lakey.  Interestingly, he was born in October 1959 and died in October of 2012. He was a "naive" artist, with no formal training, who had an NDE (near death experience) as an adult and began to paint angels and the spirits of all sorts of living creatures. He stated that three angels taught him to paint, and not surprisingly, he's most famous for his angel paintings, which hang even in the Vatican:

Andy Lakey, Angel of Hope, courtesy of the BBC

He said his paintings would transmit the right type of loving energy to the right person at the right time. And the stories of his paintings are quite amazing (you can look up several books about Lakey on Amazon or Abebooks if you're curious). Two of his "Brilliant Nature" series (1997) came into my hands this month. They are not as well known as his angels, but clearly, I needed the energy these little plant paintings provide. Every time I look at them, the clouds lift and I smile:

Andy Lakey, Yellow Flowers, acrylic on wood

This one is rather oddly called "Yellow Flowers", and the one with a yellow background is called, "New Flowers":

Andy Lakey, New Flowers, acrylic on wood

I most enjoy painting miniatures myself, and I really like having these in my house. I wish I could have met Andy, he seems to have been a very joyful person.

Andy Lakey

So in these little energetic works I am finding my inspiration to rebuild my shattered garden. Maybe it will even be fun!
Wishing you all a wonderful weekend walkabout!

Back to Blogging, Looking Like a Drowned Rat

We had an unexpected death in the family, then Hurricane Matthew. That's why I haven't blogged in awhile. I'm still feeling quite bedraggled and befuddled, but here I am.

We lost our longtime furry companion. Fortunately, these days more people "get it" that when our other-species companions leave, it hurts a lot. We're losing some of our human arrogance and realizing that relationships with other creatures can be strong and meaningful. That's progress!

It doesn't matter if a loved one is old or young, sick or healthy when they leave. We miss them and it hurts. One of my teachers explained that grief has 3 parts- you feel for them because they suffered and you couldn't stop the suffering, you want to know where their spirit has gone and if they are OK, and mostly, you suffer from the hole in your heart where they used to be. Takes time to work through it all and incorporate the pain into a new version of you, but it does happen:

The Day After, MRobb, 2016

So right after this happened, we had to evacuate 100 miles to escape from Major Hurricane Matthew. Packing our lives into a few small suitcases was a 12-hour marathon I call Speed Prioritizing Your Life. It was quite interesting, and I never want to do it again. I'll write more about it later, most likely.

Fortunately, Matthew took a little wobble to the east ("Wobble, Matthew, Wobble!) and we only lost part of our roof and several chunks of ceiling. Our neighborhood is a mess, but it's livable:

I am feeling very grateful to God and LaSirene for moving Matthew a little to the right...

LaSirene, MRobb, 2012

but also feeling sad and worried for those to the North who are dealing with some horrendous floods.
OK, so what about the garden, after all, this is a garden blog. Well, my indoor garden is OK, but the outside garden is basically gone:

The only thing that stayed standing was one bedraggled schefflera and the Buddha sculpture, and a few Leaf of Life plants from Jamaica:

I did, however, find horseshoe crabs in the garden, left by the storm surge and fierce winds:

Our beach lost a lot of sand it didn't really have enough of in the first place, but the sky was incredibly blue from the fresh and clean air after Matthew roared through:

After the Hurricane, MRobb, Oct2016

So my Weekend Walkabout will be in the clean, fresh air, surrounded by piles of rubble. Hmm.