Search

Olympian's life "a living nightmare" after simple self-check out mistake

A former Olympian has spoken about how her life was ruined after she accidentally failed to scan to items at a self-checkout machine in Walmart. Canadian athlete Meaggan Pettipiece, 48, was arrested on March 28 in Indiana for theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance. The charges have since been dropped, but Pettipiece lost her prestigious job as the head coach of the Valparaiso University softball team as a result and says her career and reputation have been ruined. The ordeal began when the self-checkout machine at Walmart reportedly failed to scan the asparagus and ham that Pettipiece intended to purchase. Walmart security saw that she failed to scan the items — worth a total of $67 — prompting them to call the police despite her having paid $167 for her other groceries. Pettipiece was arrested and when police searched her they found three disposable vapes in her purse, along with two unopened blister packs containing anti-nausea medication Zofran. The former athlete said the vapes did not contain any nicotine or THC, and the anti-nausea pills belonged to an assistant coach who had asked her to keep them in her purse during a softball game, days before her arrest. “We both forgot about them,” Pettipiece told the National Post. The outlet reported that earlier this month, her lawyer submitted an application for dismissal that included her account of the incident, proof of her assistant’s prescription, and character reference letters. After reading the application, her charges were dropped by justice officials on September 19, but the damage caused by the incident "changed everything". “It is bittersweet,” she told National Post. “I’m happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed. The sad part is the damage it did to my career. It has changed everything in my life.” Pettipiece resigned as head coach of the softball team shortly after the Walmart incident. "It's been five months, a living nightmare. I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it's been really difficult." Along with the damage to her career, Pettipiece said the effect on her reputation has been equally heartbreaking. “The softball community is a tight-knit group and it (the news) went through like wildfire,” she said. “You really do learn who the people are that really believe in you and trust you and are truly a friend for you." The former athlete is now living in Ohio with her family, and though the charges against her have been dismissed she is worried the damage "can't be reversed". “The tough thing is, how do you get out to people that you are innocent? And this damage was done for something so ridiculous,” Pettipiece told the outlet. “I’m not sure of the future. For now, I’m going to stay at home and focus on my kids. I’d like to figure out which direction I’m going to go in.” Image: Valparaiso University Athletics/ ZikG / Shutterstock.com

Legal

"Worst nightmare": Teen dies one day after flu diagnosis

William Jones was complaining of a sore throat and cough last month and when his mum called the doctor, they were told that it was most likely the flu. However, the following morning when Rebecca Rollason went to check on her 16-year-old son, he was found unresponsive in his bed in their Wellington home. "We ask ourselves how what started as a sore throat, snotty nose and a cough on Tuesday to no longer with us three days later," the grieving mum told the NZ Herald. "No one understands, we don't know what happened... it feels like the worst nightmare that we cannot wake from." Rollason explained that her family have to "wait for results" in hopes of understanding what happened and how the teenager, who was barely sick, passed away so suddenly. "We just don’t understand how this can happen to a boy who was barely ever sick and was very healthy," she said. "It is an incredibly hard and devastating time for us." A family friend has helped set up a <a href="https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/rebecca-lost-her-son-william-last-friday" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fundraising page</a> to help relieve the financial pressure on her and William's two brothers while they grieve. "It is every parents worst nightmare and a shocking tragedy to lose a healthy child from a sudden and brief illness," a statement from the fundraising page read. "The money will help the family with funeral costs and ease Financial burden while they grieve and come to terms with Williams passing." On July 1 they shared an update on the fundraising page, saying: "Rebecca and family would like all to know that are incredibly grateful for all the support and kindness." Image: Givealittle

Caring

"It’s a nightmare": Star golfer's cause of death revealed

Two-time PGA Tour winner Grayson Murray has died at the age of 30. Golf officials announced his death on Sunday morning, with PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan releasing a statement. “We were devastated to learn — and are heartbroken to share — that PGA Tour player Grayson Murray passed away this morning,” Monahan said. “I am at a loss for words. The PGA Tour is a family, and when you lose a member of your family, you are never the same" Murray's parents later confirmed that their son took his own life, just one day after he withdrew from the second round of the Charles Schwab Challenge - a PGA Tour event - due to illness. “We have spent the last 24 hours trying to come to terms with the fact that our son is gone,” his parents, Eric and Terry Murray said in a statement. “It’s surreal that we not only have to admit it to ourselves, but that we also have to acknowledge it to the world. It’s a nightmare.” "We have so many questions that have no answers. But one. Was Grayson loved? The answer is yes. By us, his brother Cameron, his sister Erica, all of his extended family, by his friends, by his fellow players and — it seems — by many of you who are reading this. He was loved and he will be missed. “Life wasn't always easy for Grayson, and although he took his own life, we know he rests peacefully now.” They have also asked for privacy and for people to honour Murray by being kind to one another. Murray has previously been open about his battle with depression and alcoholism, according to The NY Post. He talked about turning the corner in his life and being eight months sober, after winning the Sony Open in Honolulu in January. “It's not easy,” Murray said immediately after winning. "I wanted to give up a lot of times. Give up on myself. Give up on the game of golf. Give up on life, at times.” Murray tied for 43rd last week in the PGA Championship, which earned him a spot in the US Open next month at Pinehurst No.2 in North Carolina. The PGA Tour commissioner said he spoke with Murray's parents about halting play, but they insisted the golf tournament to continue. “We mourn Grayson and pray for comfort for his loved ones. I reached out to Grayson’s parents to offer our deepest condolences, and during that conversation, they asked that we continue with tournament play. They were adamant that Grayson would want us to do so," he said. Monahan flew to Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday to be with players, and many of them wore black-and-red pins on their caps - the colours of the Carolina Hurricanes, Grayson's favourite NHL team - to honour the golfer. Image: Daniel Lea/Csm/ Shutterstock Editorial

Caring

The science of dreams and nightmares – what is going on in our brains while we’re sleeping?

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/drew-dawson-13517">Drew Dawson</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Last night you probably slept for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352721816301292">seven to eight hours</a>. About one or two of these was likely in deep sleep, especially if you’re young or physically active. That’s because <a href="http://apsychoserver.psych.arizona.edu/jjbareprints/psyc501a/readings/Carskadon%20Dement%202011.pdf">sleep changes with age</a> and <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/apm/2017/1364387/">exercise</a> affects brain activity. About three or four hours will have been spent in light sleep. For the remaining time, you were likely in rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. While this is not the only time your brain is potentially dreaming – we also dream during other sleep stages – it is the time your brain activity is most likely to be recalled and reported when you’re awake. That’s usually because either really weird thoughts or feelings wake you up or because the last hour of sleep is nearly all <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Elizaveta-Solomonova/publication/320356182_Dream_Recall_and_Content_in_Different_Stages_of_Sleep_and_Time-of-Night_Effect/links/5a707bdb0f7e9ba2e1cade56/Dream-Recall-and-Content-in-Different-Stages-of-Sleep-and-Time-of-Night-Effect.pdf">REM sleep</a>. When dreams or your alarm wake you, you’re likely coming out of dream sleep and your dream often lingers into the first few minutes of being awake. In this case you remember it. If they’re strange or interesting dreams, you might tell someone else about them, which may further <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00426-022-01722-7">encode</a> the dream memory. Dreams and nightmares are mysterious and we’re still learning about them. They keep our brains ticking over. They wash the thoughts from the day’s events at a molecular level. They might even help us imagine what’s possible during our waking hours. <h2>What do scientists know about REM sleep and dreaming?</h2> It’s really hard to study dreaming because people are asleep and we can’t observe what’s going on. Brain imaging has indicated certain <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1087079216300673#sec3">patterns of brain activity</a> are associated with dreaming (and with certain sleep stages where dreams are more likely to occur). But such studies ultimately rely on self-reports of the dream experience. Anything we spend so much time doing probably serves multiple ends. At the basic physiological level (indicated by <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810021001409">brain activity, sleep behaviour and studies of conciousness</a>), all mammals dream – even the platypus and echidna probably experience something similar to dreaming (provided they are at the <a href="https://www.wired.com/2014/07/the-creature-feature-10-fun-facts-about-the-echidna/#:%7E:text=It%20was%20long%20thought%20that,re%20at%20the%20right%20temperature.">right temperature</a>). Their brain activity and sleep stages align to some degree with human <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053810021001409#b0630">REM sleep</a>. Less evolved species do not. Some <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468867319301993#sec0030">jellyfish</a> – who do not have a brain – do experience what could physiologically be characterised as sleep (shown by their posture, quietness, lack of responsiveness and rapid “waking” when prompted). But they do not experience the same physiological and behavioural elements that resemble REM dream sleep. In humans, REM sleep is thought to occur cyclically every 90 to 120 minutes across the night. It prevents us from sleeping too deeply and being <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4972941/">vulnerable to attack</a>. Some scientists think we dream in order to stop our brains and bodies from getting too cold. Our core body temperature is typically <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laneur/article/PIIS1474-4422(22)00210-1/fulltext">higher while dreaming</a>. It is typically easier to <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.2147/NSS.S188911">wake from dreaming</a> if we need to respond to external cues or dangers. The brain activity in REM sleep kicks our brain into gear for a bit. It’s like a periscope into a more conscious state, observing what’s going on at the surface, then going back down if all is well. Some evidence suggests “fever dreams” are far less common than we might expect. We actually experience <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00053/full">far less REM sleep</a> when we have a fever – though the dreams we do have tend to be <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3830719/">darker in tone and more unusual</a>. Spending less time in REM sleep when we’re feverish might happen because we are far less capable of regulating our body temperature in this stage of sleep. To protect us, our brain tries to regulate our temperature by “skipping” this sleep stage. We tend to have fewer dreams when the weather is hot <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/23744731.2020.1756664">for the same reason</a>. <h2>A deep-cleaning system for the brain</h2> REM sleep is important for ensuring our brain is working as it should, as indicated by studies using <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)31329-5.pdf">electoencephalography</a>, which measures brain activity. In the same way deep sleep helps the body restore its physical capacity, dream sleep “<a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(17)31329-5.pdf">back-flushes</a>” our neural circuits. At the molecular level, the chemicals that underpin our thinking are bent out of shape by the day’s cognitive activity. Deep sleep is when those chemicals are returned to their unused shape. The brain is “<a href="https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1241224">washed</a>” with cerebrospinal fluid, controlled by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/on-your-back-side-face-down-mice-show-how-we-sleep-may-trigger-or-protect-our-brain-from-diseases-like-als-181954">glymphatic system</a>. At the next level, dream sleep “tidies up” our recent memories and feelings. During <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC534695/">REM sleep</a>, our brains consolidate procedural memories (of how to do tasks) and emotions. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC534695/">Non-REM sleep</a>, where we typically expect fewer dreams, is important for the consolidation of episodic memories (events from your life). As our night’s sleep progresses, we produce more cortisol - the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2005-01907-021">stress hormone</a>. It is thought the amount of cortisol present can impact the type of memories we are consolidating and potentially the types of dreams we have. This means the dreams we have later in the night may be <a href="https://learnmem.cshlp.org/content/11/6/671.full.pdf">more fragmented or bizarre</a>. Both kinds of sleep help <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jb-Eichenlaub/publication/313545620_Daily_Life_Experiences_in_Dreams_and_Sleep-Dependent_Memory_Consolidation/links/5c532b0ba6fdccd6b5d76270/Daily-Life-Experiences-in-Dreams-and-Sleep-Dependent-Memory-Consolidation.pdf?ref=nepopularna.org">consolidate</a> the useful brain activity of the day. The brain also discards less important information. <h2>Random thoughts, rearranged feelings</h2> This filing and discarding of the day’s activities is going on while we are sleeping. That’s why we often dream about things that happen <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0264574">during the day</a>. Sometimes when we’re rearranging the thoughts and feelings to go in the “<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3921176/">bin</a>” during sleep, our level of consciousness allows us to experience awareness. Random thoughts and feelings end up all jumbled together in weird and wonderful ways. Our awareness of this process may explain the bizarre nature of some of our dreams. Our daytime experiences can also fuel nightmares or anxiety-filled dreams after a <a href="https://www.sleepfoundation.org/dreams/how-trauma-can-affect-dreams">traumatic event</a>. Some dreams appear to <a href="https://rai.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/j.1467-9655.2010.01668.x">foretell the future or carry potent symbolism</a>. In many societies dreams are believed to be a window into an <a href="https://digitalcommons.ciis.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1050&context=ijts-transpersonalstudies">alternate reality</a> where we can envisage what is possible. <h2>What does it all mean?</h2> Our scientific understanding of the thermoregulatory, molecular and basic neural aspects of dreaming sleep is <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2716">good</a>. But the psychological and spiritual aspects of dreaming remain largely hidden. Perhaps our brains are wired to try and make sense of things. Human societies have always interpreted the random – birds wheeling, tea leaves and the planets – and looked for <a href="https://brill.com/display/book/edcoll/9789047407966/B9789047407966-s003.xml">meaning</a>. Nearly every human society has regarded dreams as more than just random neural firing. And the history of science tells us some things once thought to be magic can later be understood and harnessed – for better or worse.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/210901/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/drew-dawson-13517">Drew Dawson</a>, Director, Appleton Institute, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/madeline-sprajcer-1315489">Madeline Sprajcer</a>, Lecturer in Psychology, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/cquniversity-australia-2140">CQUniversity Australia</a> Image credits: Shutterstock This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-dreams-and-nightmares-what-is-going-on-in-our-brains-while-were-sleeping-210901">original article</a>.

Mind

Home and Away star’s holiday health nightmare

Former Home and Away star Sophie Dillman - who played Ziggy on the soap for six years - has opened up about her ongoing fight with endometriosis, and her experience with the condition on holiday. Sophie had been travelling through Europe with her partner-in-life-and-screen Patrick O’Connor after the pair had parted ways with Home and Away, and while the once-in-a-lifetime trip had been a positive experience for the most part, Sophie’s endometriosis chose to rear its painful head while the couple were in Greece. In a column penned for Yahoo Lifestyle, Sophie shared that while she dreamed of having the time of their lives there, she was also on her period, and was in such pain that she couldn’t want - or even eat - properly, and her new holiday clothes were out of the question as her stomach was “so swollen”. She went on to explain that she suffers from endometriosis, “a disease that affects 1 in 9 women and people assigned female at birth. It is a condition where tissue, similar to the lining of your uterus, grows outside the uterus causing pain and/or infertility.” As she put it, the condition is “f***ing awful”, and has impacted all areas of her life: “physically, mentally, emotionally, my relationships, work and NOW IT HAS COME FOR ME ON HOLIDAY.” Sophie’s symptoms tend to occur during her period and ovulation, and range from dull and sharp pains - through her abdomen, lower back, and legs - to nausea, fatigue, and swelling in her torso. And while Sophie had been nursing her pain and waiting for relief to kick in, she’d taken the opportunity to consider “some tips to make the most of the situation”, for while there was no solution to the problem, there was always the benefit of some advice for her fellow fighters. Sophie’s first tip was to travel prepared with the likes of “painkillers, pads, and birth control supplies” as irregular periods and bad luck can make for a terrible combination. She also suggested travelling with “loose flowy clothing”, to ensure an outfit that always fits. Additionally, she recommended taking a pillow along “to restaurants or on trips” to avoid a flare-up from sitting on hard surfaces. “Don’t overdo it” came next, as rest is crucial when battling endometriosis symptoms. “I understand the temptation to do 20,000 steps a day and soak up every second of the place,” she confessed, “but either you slow yourself down or the pain will stop you instead.” And last but certainly not least, Sophie encouraged others not to be too hard on themselves. “You can’t control everything and punishing yourself will only make things worse,” she said. “Listen to your body.” Images: Instagram

Body

“A lesson learned”: Uni student lands herself in an overdue book nightmare

A university graduate student received the shock of her academic career when an email arrived in her inbox to inform her she owed her school’s library a whopping $11,900 in overdue book fines. Hannah took to TikTok to share her story, posting a snippet of the horror email, and the news that her library account had amassed a debt of “$11,9000 owed for 119 lost books”. The books had been declared lost, though Hannah was quick to note that she was “still using” each of them, and had every intention of returning them once she was finished with her studies. To drive home the fact that the books were not missing, and instead safely in her scholarly possession, Hannah panned around the various piles of tomes stacked around her home, with a caption reading “the books aren’t lost, I’m just hoarding them until I finish my dissertation.” The email itself explained the books were marked as lost in the library’s system if they exceeded 30 days overdue, and that there was a flat rate of $100 per book in such instances. And according to the library, it was up to each patron to renew their books, and that Hannah “received overdue notices on the following dates prompting you to renew your library books before they are declared lost.” As she explained to The Daily Dot, she had checked out her collection three years prior while she’d been preparing for exams, and confirmed that she had received four reminders to either renew or return the books, but she’d put it off each time. “Then I got the automatic email,” she added, “saying all of the books were marked as lost and my account was charged $100 per book.” Hannah’s woe drew a mixed response from her audience, with some surprised that her library had even let her withdraw that many books in the first place, others unable to wrap their heads around the fact she could have let her situation get so bad, and many quick to defend the librarian, who they declared had only been doing her job. “My library only lets me check out 5 books at a time,” one wrote. “That’s why keeping library books past their due date is considered stealing,” another said, to which Hannah responded to promise her lesson had been learned. “Only 30 days over due??? Damn give a lil more time,” said one, with Hannah informing them that she’d had the books for years by that point. It wasn’t all bad for the budding scholar though, with Hannah explaining in another comment that “it was hunky dory”, as the library had waived her fees as soon as she’d responded to them, and that she’d been allowed to keep all 119 for an additional year. And, as she told another follower, “I’ve never replied to an email faster.” Images: TikTok

Books

Cruise passenger left without a single change of clothes in a lost luggage nightmare

When Australian grandmother Cheryl Stuchbery and her husband, John, set sail with Royal Caribbean cruises from Sydney to New Zealand, they thought they were embarking on their dream holiday. But some dreams are destined to turn into nightmares, as Cheryl soon learned, when it was revealed that staff aboard the cruise liner had lost her suitcase. For the next 11 days, Cheryl was left without so much as a change of clothes, forced to wear the same outfit time and time again. John helped as much as he could, offering his own underwear so that his wife wasn’t entirely going without. Speaking to Australia’s A Current Affair, Cheryl admitted that the entire experience had left her “very depressed. I was in tears a lot at the time.” “Cheryl ended up wearing my knickers,” John explained, adding that it only made sense, because his clothes had actually been available. "I've put a pair on, but the only thing is, I couldn't fill out the little pouch in the front," Cheryl added. When the staff were unable to locate her bag on the second day of the trip, they offered to wash her one outfit for her. Every morning, they would drop by, collect her things, and take them off to wash and dry. While this ensured Cheryl had clean clothes to wear each day, it also meant she started them with three hours sitting in her cabin and waiting. “They [would] give Cheryl a t-shirt and a dressing gown,” John explained, “so for the first sort of three hours each day, we're sitting in the room waiting for the clothes to come back.” In the time since, Cheryl has tried to find humour in the whole situation, though she certainly hadn’t even been able to consider it at the time. It wasn’t the first time the couple had set out on a cruise, it was just the first that their belongings hadn’t made it along with them. “They did say it was very unusual for a suitcase not to turn up at all,” Cheryl noted. “For quite a bit of time we felt that it had been stolen because they'd searched the ship," John said. And, in timing that came as no help to the cruising couple, Cheryl’s bag turned up the very day after they’d arrived back in Sydney. To make matters even worse, it had been onboard the whole time. As John put it, “it had been on [the] boat all the time and they say, 'well, that's okay, you've got your case back'.” Royal Caribbean have since issued a statement in apology, writing that they “sincerely apologise for misplacing Mr and Mrs Stuchbery's luggage. During their cruise, Mr and Mrs Stuchbery were provided with complimentary express laundry, an onboard credit to assist with purchasing incidental items, and specialty dining. “The luggage was located on return to Sydney and Mr and Mrs Stuchbery have been offered additional compensation and documentation to support a claim via their travel insurance.” But it hasn’t done anything to help the sour taste of the whole ordeal left in the Stuchbery’s mouths, with Cheryl declaring that she still “feel[s] very angry.” Images: A Current Affair / Nine

Cruising

“The stuff of nightmares”: Baked to imperfection

Some people are destined for the kitchen, while others may be better suited to a career in comedy, if these cake decorating disasters are anything to go by. Even armed with a visual guide and the world’s best intentions, some bakers are just in for a wild time - and thanks to some good-natured social media posts, we can all enjoy the colourful consequences right along with them. Lucy was one such baker to face a betrayal from her cake. Posting to the Facebook page Woolies/Coles Mudcake Hacks, she shared her experience trying to follow professional baker Tegan ‘Tigga’ Maccormack’s Bluey birthday cake tutorial. Needless to say, their end results weren’t exactly mirror images. "Enjoy this absolute abomination - it looked easy on TikTok," Lucy wrote, attaching a picture of her hilarious creation. Fellow Facebook users loved her attempt, with some even trying to make Lucy feel better. One informed her that although it was nothing like the inspiration picture, it was “very cute”. “OMG I genuinely love it!” another declared. “It made me smile, thank you for sharing.” Meanwhile, one mum wrote that her seven-year-old encouraged Lucy to “keep trying!”, before stating that “it looks so bad she should probably eat the whole thing.” On Reddit, someone had another unfortunate cake story to share - though this time they weren’t the baker responsible, simply the customer who got something they certainly hadn’t paid for. “The ice cream cake we ordered vs what we received,” they wrote, sharing the image of two monkey cakes. One, the ‘expectation’ image, was a smoothly iced monkey head. The second, the ‘received’ product, was at least discernible as a monkey, even if the ‘smooth’ icing job left a lot to be desired. “This was an ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins," it was explained. “They usually come out exactly as pictured online, but this time was truly spectacular." And while many thought this particular approach to replicating the vision was hilarious, most were of the opinion that this had not actually been a failure, but instead an improvement. According to the majority in the comments, “frosting tastes much better than fondant” anyway. Another Reddit user referenced a tweet they’d seen of another cake disaster, this time of a Minnie Mouse cake that someone had purchased for their niece, and the nightmare they’d gotten in return. “I saw that it was posted in Arabic on Twitter, and it was pretty funny,” the Reddit user said, “so I just wanted to share it with a wider audience!" “The cake's shininess is the stuff of nightmares,” was all one had to say about it. “I would not have paid for that abomination,” another said. Thankfully for the individual who had dealt with the cake firsthand, they were able to return it for a full refund. "The cake was for my sister for her birthday," they told TODAY. "In the beginning, it was a horrible shock for us, but after I posted the picture on Twitter, I was laughing because of people's reactions." Images: Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, Shutterstock

Food & Wine

“Just heartbreaking”: Woman’s dream win turned nightmare

Amelia Conway has opened up about her heartbreak after her dream car was snatched away from her in the middle of the night. The 22-year-old from Victoria received the $100,000 4WD when she was named the winner of a Hello Lifestyle Australia online charity raffle. Amelia had purchased $120 worth of tickets in the draw, and was delighted when she was announced as the proud new owner of the modified Widebody Y62 Nissan Patrol. Supposedly, all associated on-road costs were also included in her prize. Amelia lives in Colac, Victoria, and had to be flown to Queensland by Hello Lifestyle Australia to claim her vehicle. Flights weren’t in order for the return trip, with the excited pair driving Amelia’s new car all the way back home to Victoria. However, Amelia’s good time was destined to come to an abrupt end. Upon trying to transfer the car into her name, and to register it in her home state as necessary, she discovered that the vehicle was still under finance. It had been one of Amelia’s friends who suggested that she look into the “too good to be true” win, and do a Personal Property Securities Register check. “I thought maybe they had paid it out,” Amelia said of learning the vehicle had money owing, “and it's taken a little while to clear, but that wasn't the case.” February 1 marked the beginning of Amelia’s nightmare, with someone showing up at her home to repossess the car. “Randomly, without me knowing anything, at 8pm last night a guy showed up to repossess the car,” Amelia said of the incident in a Facebook post. In the time to follow, Amelia attempted to get in touch with Hello Lifestyle Australia to find out more about what was going on with the vehicle’s transfer, and to get clarification on the payment of all on-road costs. But those attempts were met with silence for the unfortunate 22 year old. Victoria Police also confirmed that they are investigating Amelia’s case, but faced a difficult time ahead, with Hello Lifestyle Australia’s website and social media accounts having been shut down. “The patrol is gone and I am trying to gather information through other people that have won anything through Hello Lifestyle Australia to take it a lot further,” she said of her ordeal, adding, “it’s not fair on myself or anyone else that has won anything through this company. It’s just heartbreaking.” However, in a delightful twist to Amelia’s tale, Car Hub Australia took it upon themselves to get involved and to “right others’ wrong”. After searching the country high and low for a new Nissan Patrol - a vehicle in high demand with waiting lists measuring in months - before finally locating one on the New South Wales south coast. The team then made their way from Western Australia to Wollongong, before driving the car all the way to Amelia at home in Victoria. And all the company had to say of their good deed was that they “know there’s a lot of companies out there that don’t do the right thing. “We hold ourselves to a higher standard.” Despite the eventual happy ending to Amelia’s woes, it appears that she was not the first victim of Hello Lifestyle Australia’s “raffles”. Aaron Edmundson, a father from Perth, claims that he had to spend over $7,000 on a car that he also “won” from them. While the company apparently claimed that they would cover all related costs, this wasn’t the case, with Aaron eventually selling the car. Images: Seven News / Facebook

Legal

Sounds great: Scientists are manipulating dreams to prevent nightmares

It’s estimated that at any given time, around 4% of adults suffer <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/one-side-of-your-brain-might-be-giving-you-nightmares/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">chronic nightmares</a> but researchers in Switzerland have a new approach which will be music to the ears of night-terror-sufferers. Basing their study on the relationship between the types of <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/biology/nightmares-and-night-terrors-in-kids-when-do-they-stop-being-normal/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">emotions experienced in dreams</a> and our emotional well-being, researchers have investigated how to help people by manipulating emotions in their dreams. Traditional methods to help chronic nightmare patients involves ‘imagery rehearsal therapy’, during which they are coached to rehearse the dream scenario during the day and redirect it towards a more positive ending. A <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11818-021-00320-w" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">2021 study</a> of 28 participants showed 3 in 5 patients benefitted from this approach, however, it doesn’t work for everyone. <div class="newsletter-box"> <div id="wpcf7-f6-p220659-o1" class="wpcf7" dir="ltr" lang="en-US" role="form"> </div> </div> In a <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)01477-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">study from Geneva University</a>, over a two-week period, researchers asked a group of 18 patients to create an association between the positively redirected version of their dream and a sound during an imagination exercise. The patients then wore wireless headbands during night which would play the specific sound during the REM (Rapid Eye Movement) stage of sleep – when <a href="https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/nightmare-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353515" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nightmares typically occur</a>. When compared to 18 patients who undertook only the image rehearsal therapy, those who received the combined rehearsal and sound therapy had fewer nightmares. This trend continued even after three months post-intervention, with those receiving combination therapy also reporting experiencing more positive emotions such as ‘joy’ in their dreams. “We were positively surprised by how well the participants respected and tolerated the study procedures, for example performing imagery rehearsal therapy every day and wearing the sleep headband during the night,” says Lampros Perogamvros, senior author of the study and a psychiatrist at the Sleep Laboratory of the Geneva University Hospitals and the University of Geneva. “We observed a fast decrease of nightmares, together with dreams becoming emotionally more positive. For us, researchers and clinicians, these findings are very promising both for the study of emotional processing during sleep and for the development of new therapies.” <img id="cosmos-post-tracker" style="opacity: 0; height: 1px!important; width: 1px!important; border: 0!important; position: absolute!important; z-index: -1!important;" src="https://syndication.cosmosmagazine.com/?id=220659&title=Sounds+great%3A+Scientists+are+manipulating+dreams+to+prevent+nightmares" width="1" height="1" /> <div id="contributors"> <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/health/sounds-great-preventing-nightmares/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">This article</a> was originally published on Cosmos Magazine and was written by Clare Kenyon. Image: Getty Images </div>

Mind

Dream home turns into nightmare for scam victims

A Queensland couple who thought they had snapped up the home of their dreams have been left devastated after they lost almost $40,000 to a “cunning” email scammer instead. When Mitch Wilson and Penny Davies received an email from what appeared to be their real estate agent’s email address, they believed they were following their agent’s advice to then transfer the deposit for their house into a bank account. “It plays over and over in my head all of the time,” Ms Davies said. “We got an email from the real estate agent we had been dealing with, from their email account, saying in light of the contract please pay money to this account,” Mr Wilson told 9News. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/08/receipts.jpg" alt="" width="1280" height="720" /> The couple lost nearly $40,000 after receiving the fraudulent email (left), realising their costly mistake while messaging the actual real estate agent (right). Images: 9News After transferring the $39,000 sum, they thought nothing of it until the agent contacted them several days later asking where the funds were. “We went back and forth, we exchanged screenshots and emails from their side and ours, and what was obvious is the money didn’t go where it was supposed to go which was their account,” Mr Wilson said. “(It) ended up in some fraudster‘s account and then offshore to a crypto account.” But, the couple aren’t the only victims of this kind of scam, which police refer to as an email compromise scam. The scammers infiltrate an email account and use it to send emails to victims - making it difficult to identify that they are being scammed. Constance Hall, a mummy blogger, told news.com.au she felt “stupid” after losing thousands of dollars to the scam after she transferred money via a link sent from the real estate agency that managed the rental property she believed she was paying a deposit for. When she contacted the bank, she was told that the chance of recovering the funds was minimal as she had authorised the transaction, and that she should report it to the police. In the end, only $7.57 was recovered. “To have it all stolen in an instant … felt unbelievably unfair,” she said. Ian Wells, of Queensland Police’s Cyber Crime Group, told 9News: “These people with these skills, they‘re very cunning, they’re very calculated.” Police are advising home buyers to contact the business before paying invoices online to confirm bank account numbers, as the hackers change the bank accounts in invoices sent by business owners before forwarding the altered invoices to unsuspecting customers. Victims are also urged to contact their bank as soon as possible to report the fraudulent transaction. As for businesses impacted by the scams, the Australian Cyber Security Centre advises that they report the incident at <a href="https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://www.cyber.gov.au/acsc/report</a>, alert other employees and clients, and report the breach to their email service provider. Image: 9News

Real Estate

Check before you fly: Woman warns others after tiny passport detail causes nightmare

An Aussie woman has issued a warning to fellow travellers after a tiny detail on her passport stopped her from moving to New Zealand and made for an upsetting and expensive experience. Lindsey Gray planned to relocate from Sydney in March with her partner and one-year-old son, who are already New Zealand citizens. After months of waiting for a travel permit, Ms Gray was finally allowed to move - but she only made it to Sydney’s international airport before the problems started. Immigration officials noticed that a couple of pages in Ms Gray’s passport had some minor damage that prevented her from boarding the plane. Speaking to <a href="https://au.news.yahoo.com/tiny-passport-detail-sees-family-denied-from-overseas-move-081850947.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Yahoo News</a>, Ms Gray said her young toddler must have found her passport and chewed the edges at some point during the chaos of moving country. “When [New Zealand immigration officials] saw the nibble on my passport, they were 100 percent unimpressed,” she told the outlet. “They told me it could have been tampered with and therefore I would not be allowed to travel.” She explained that since New Zealand borders were closed at the time, her passport had to be checked over by an immigration official “rather than just scanned by the Qantas staff”, and that’s when the damage was noticed. After rushing to secure an emergency appointment to obtain a new passport - costing a hefty $533 - and undergoing more Covid testing, Ms Gray and her family were able to book new flights and fly out the next day. <img src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/2022/04/nz21.jpg" alt="" width="512" height="431" /> Lindsey Gray, her partner Matt, and her son Douglas successfully made the move to New Zealand. Image: Yahoo News The Aussie mum praised Qantas staff and the passport office staff for their compassion while helping with her case, but said the experience was still incredibly upsetting. “We had our house on the market and all our possessions already shipped to New Zealand and therefore we were effectively homeless in Australia,” she told Yahoo News. Ms Gray also joked that as a result of the experience, “my puffy, distressed, cry-face is now my passport image for the next 10 years”. “The story is immortalised and commemorated in this way,” she added. She warned other “out-of-practice travellers” to take care of their passports to avoid having the same experience as her. “Please don’t get the photo page of your passport damaged in any way, people,” she said. “Big lesson for out-of-practice travellers here - check that puppy for damage before flying.” Image: Yahoo News

Travel Trouble

Tenant “living in hell” with nightmare landlord’s restrictions

A woman claims she was “living in hell” under the regime of a strict landlord just days into her tenancy. The woman, named Mel, says her landlady imposed several unreasonable restrictions two days after she moved in, which involved restricting her access to parts of the house to short windows. Mel paid $1,090 (£595) a month to live in the two-storey South London home, and said that everything started out great in her new home when she moved in. Speaking with <a href="https://www.mylondon.news/news/south-london-news/south-london-woman-living-hell-23205354">MyLondon</a>, Mel said her landlady Sheena Shepherd presented her with a set of rules for the home within the first week of her tenancy, stipulating that she would only have access to the kitchen between 9am to 11am and 12pm to 2pm as Shepherd would be running PT sessions from home. If she needed to use the kitchen outside of these hours, she needed to cross reference Shepherd's demanding schedule. The lounge room was also off limits, with access only allowed to reach the kitchen. Mel also wouldn't be able to use the front door to the property between 9am and 5:30pm and was only permitted to work from home in her bedroom. Mel also told MyLondon that she was to "only come down the stairs once a day" in order to avoid disturbing Shepherd while she worked in the lounge, and was banned from having deliveries sent to the house as the doorbell was deemed "too distracting". Elsewhere in the house, Mel claims wardrobes were full of her landlady's "personal stuff," leaving her to keep her own belongings in the loft or shed. The relationship between the two quickly deteriorated, as Shepherd told Mel over WhatsApp, "You pay for a ROOM. If you want full access to the half, pay half the bills too. When you can pay £1,000 you can have equal say! Have some respect and not be so bloody entitled." Despite only having a three-month rental contract, Shepherd continuously tried to get Mel to leave early, but to no avail. The conflict eventually culminated in Shepherd having a party in the residence, where one of her guests verbally abused Mel in the kitchen with the police being called as a result. Tired of the abuse and restrictions at the hands of her landlady, Mel left the home and moved into a hotel, which she asked Shepherd to cover the costs of. The pair are now involved in legal proceedings over what happened during Mel’s tenancy. Image credits: Getty Images / MyLondon

Real Estate

Fireman encounters worst nightmare at fatal crash

When Welsh fireman Adrian Smith responded to an emergency call on Sunday, he encountered every emergency worker’s worst nightmare. Mr Smith attended the scene of a triple-car pile-up to find his 21-year-old daughter Ella’s body being pulled from the wreckage. Ella had been driving home from the beach at Broad Haven in Pembrokeshire when the accident occurred, <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/15282074/fireman-horrific-crash-discovered-beautiful-daughter-dead/">The Sun reports</a>. Her 47-year-old father was on duty nearby when he was called out to the three-car crash, discovering that a car had smashed into the passenger side of the car Ella was in. The driver, along with a man and woman in another car, suffered serious injuries, but Ella died at the scene. “It must have been a complete nightmare for Adrian to find his own daughter was the victim,” a family friend said. “Ella was a lovely girl, they are a lovely family - everyone is in shock and totally devastated.” Hours after the accident, Mr Smith broke the news of his daughter’s passing by sharing a picture of him and her dancing together at a party when she was a little girl. “We are utterly devastated at losing our beloved Ella,” the family wrote in a statement released by local police. “She was a much-loved and caring daughter, sister and granddaughter. “She was a beautiful girl who will be missed by all.” Tributes flooded in for the young victim, who worked at a bakery. A friend described her as a “gorgeous person” while another said she was “the kindest soul you could ever meet”. “I loved every minute of speaking to you Ella, you never failed to make me laugh,” another friend said. Police have asked for any other drivers at the scene to share any dashcam footage from the incident, in an effort to find out more about the cause of the crash. Image: Facebook

Caring

Mother’s worst nightmare realised

When Liz Willcox put baby Jasmyn down to sleep one night in 2017, there were no signs to suggest that it would be the last time she would see her baby alive. But the next morning, the mother-of-three woke to find her worst nightmare realised. The little girl had died in the night, at only five months and one week old. “I looked at the baby monitor and saw how still she was,” she told 7NEWS.com.au. “I just started grabbing her and she was cold and lifeless,” the mother continued. “I alerted my husband Ben, we called an ambulance and he started performing CPR. “But I just shut down.” The coroner determined Jasmyn was an “an extremely healthy baby” and there was “no reason for her death”. That’s when Liz found out about SIDS. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome - or SIDS - is the sudden, unexpected death of a child younger than one year old while they sleep. Though the exact cause is unknown, Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney Rita Machaalani says a baby dies suddenly every second day in Australia. “No one can comprehend how a healthy baby put to sleep can be found dead the next morning,” she said. “A ‘stigma’ usually surrounds the parent that they must have done something, but that’s far from the truth.” Often, she says, a coroner will list the baby’s death as “undetermined”, which means that more children might be dying from the syndrome than officially reported. After Jasmyn’s passing, Liz was contacted by a charity group called River’s Gift. The group was established in 2011 by Alex Hamilton and Karl Waddell after their son, River, died in his sleep at only 128 days old. Liz can only hope other parents who face the same experience can get help quickly. “You’ll love to get a hold of them earlier. There needs to be something to get charities in touch with them earlier,” she said. “I think for us, you never want to plan your child’s funeral. It starts here.” She and Ben are now preparing a legacy in honour of Jasmyn called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/unitingforjasmyn/">Uniting for Jasmyn</a>. The couple also held a gala in conjunction with River’s Gift in 2019. The second gala, postponed from last year due to COVID, will be held this year on July 10, almost four years to the say since Jasmyn passed away in Eaton’s Hill.

Caring

Mother falsely accused of bringing COVID-19 to China says it's like living in a nightmare

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> Maatje Benassi has had her life turned upside down after conspiracy theorists falsely placed her at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, saying that she brought the disease to China. These false claims are spreading like wildfire on YouTube every day, racking up hundreds of thousands of views and have been embraced by Chinese Communist Party media. Maatje, her husband Ben and her two children have never been tested positive for coronavirus or experienced symptoms but are now subjects of discussion on Chinese social media. The family’s home address has been posted online and they had to shut down their social media accounts as their inboxes were overflowing with messages from believers of the conspiracy. "It's like waking up from a bad dream going into a nightmare day after day," Maatje told <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/index.html" target="_blank">CNN Business</a> in an exclusive interview. Maatje works as a civilian employee at the US Army's Fort Belvoir in Virginia and her husband Ben is a civilian employee with the Air Force at the Pentagon. Despite the couple working for the US Government, Maatje believes it's too much. "I want everybody to stop harassing me, because this is cyberbullying to me and it's gone way out of hand," Maajte said while fighting back tears. The baseless claims initially began after Maatje participated in October 2019 in the Military World Games and was hosted by Wuhan, where the coronavirus outbreak began. While hundreds of US athletes took part in the games, Maatje Benassi was plucked out of the group and named as the reason why COVID-19 hit the city. The claims have gained more traction due to George Webb, who’s a prolific American misinformation peddler. Webb, 59, regularly streams hours of misinformation on YouTube and has amassed more than 27 million views. Webb considers himself an “investigative reporter” instead of a conspiracy theorist, but Maatje’s husband Ben said that it’s “hard to hold Webb accountable”. "Law enforcement will tell you that there's nothing that we can do about it because we have free speech in this country,” Ben explained. “Then they say, 'Go talk to a civil attorney,' so we did. We talked to an attorney. You quickly realize that for folks like us, it's just too expensive to litigate something like this. We get no recourse from law enforcement. We get no recourse from the courts." Unfortunately for the Benassi family, the “damage is done”. "I know it [will] never be the same. Every time you're going to Google my name, it will pop up as patient zero," said Maatje sadly. Photo credits: <a rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/27/tech/coronavirus-conspiracy-theory/index.html" target="_blank">Heather Fulbright / CNN</a> </div> </div> </div>

Legal

When laser surgery turns into a nightmare

It will soon be a year since Jessica Starr, a popular weatherperson on Detroit TV, took her own life. Her husband said she did so because of complications related to <a href="https://www.today.com/health/smile-surgery-husband-meteorologist-who-took-her-own-life-speaks-t151062">her recent laser refractive surgery</a>. Such complications are not as rare as people think. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/11/well/lasik-complications-vision.html">The New York Times</a> warned in 2018 of the potential effects on some patients. More recently, and closer to home, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/lasik-md-patients-allege-nerve-damage-file-class-action-lawsuit-1.4697069">a class-action lawsuit was filed across the country</a> against Québéc-based company Lasik MD. It is accused of failing to properly warn its clients of the risks associated with vision correction surgery. Does this mean that the dream of getting rid of glasses while still improving vision should be forgotten? Improved technology Refractive laser surgery aims to change the profile of the cornea, the front and clear part of the eye, to correct common vision problems: nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism. The idea is to eliminate the need for glasses. Introduced in 1983 in Germany, the first North American procedure <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=kugler+wang+laser+applied+optics">was performed in 1985</a>. Since then, millions have been done. At that time, laser surgery was an advantageous alternative to <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2686058">a more imprecise technique, radial keratotomy </a>(KR). The first laser technologies led to better, more stable, and more predictable results, but they were also associated <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31819355">with a number of complications</a>: intense pain during the procedure and in the days that followed, off-centre treatment leading to the perception of halos and glare, under- or over-correction requiring the need for retouching or a return to wearing glasses, permanent corneal fog or delayed healing of the corneal surface with increased potential for infection. In order to improve this profile, and especially the patient’s comfort, a technique called LASIK (laser in situ keratomileusis) was developed in the 1990s. This time, the laser is applied once a flap of tissue, generated by incising the cornea with a small planer equipped with a blade, is lifted. The flap is then replaced without the need for sutures. Complications remain All surgery carries risks. Serious incidents after <a href="https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/protegez-vous-fevrier-2016---la-chirurgie-des-yeux-au-laser-sous-enquete-565633031.html">LASIK occur in only 0.1 per cent of cases</a>. But various complications affect between 10 and 30 per cent of patients undergoing surgery, compared to 7.7 per cent <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777802/">after cataract surgery</a>. While the majority of complications are minor and do not result in permanent consequences, a number of patients experience chronic, severe post-operative pain and/or visual problems, to the point where Morris Waxler, a former Food and Drug Administration expert, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lasik-eye-surgery-retired-fda-adviser-says-procedure-should-be-taken-off-market/">is calling for a recall and suspension of its use pending further safety investigations</a>. Regarding LASIK, <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/medical-procedures/laser-eye-surgery.html">Health Canada lists several potentially serious effects</a> that must be taken into account. A nightmare case Following laser surgery, the cornea is traumatized and must recover to restore normal function. In the case of LASIK, the cornea is cut at the level of the sensory nerves. These nerves protect the eye but also provide the feedback (biofeedback) necessary for the production of new tears. In the absence of this feedback, the eye dries out and its surface can deteriorate. In the majority of cases, the cut nerves will return to normal function within four to six months. But for a number of patients, the episode turns into a nightmare. Karen (not her real name) is one such patient I recently met. As a young, dynamic executive, she had opted for surgery for practical (work, sports activities) and esthetic reasons. Attracted by promotions and a tempting price, she went to a laser centre and was quickly examined by the staff. Even more quickly, she was given an appointment for surgery — the next day! Without thinking too much, she proceeded. In the days and weeks that followed, her eyes began to hurt more and more —intense pain that felt like knives in her eyes, redness and sensitivity to light requiring her to wear sunglasses even indoors. She had difficulty sleeping. The staff at the centre tried to reassure her, saying it would be temporary, that she is the only one to whom this happened, and that it would heal by itself. Weeks went by, without improvement. She asked to see the surgeon again. The surgeon told her that her eye was healed and that nothing more could be done for her. His tone and attitude left Karen in great despair. She had feelings of rejection, of denial of what she was experiencing, of incomprehension. The situation affected her work. She began to consult other professionals, always being told that her eyes were perfect. No one seemed to understand. A puzzling condition Karen actually suffers from neuropathy. It is a disorder of the peripheral nerves that causes symptoms but is not associated with any visible pathology. Following LASIK, the nerves in the cornea remain permanently damaged, like bare electrical wires, or they regenerate but make poor connections. In either case, the nerves send a constant signal of pain to the brain. After a few weeks/months, the pain becomes internalized (like pain emanating from a phantom limb) and the brain is therefore involved in making the symptoms chronic. Because no one really understands this condition, patients are dismissed and depression sets in as the condition worsens. The lack of understanding of this case stems from the fact that it is a new field in ocular medicine that is poorly documented in the scientific literature. Treatments are complex and time-consuming. It is, in fact, necessary to create new normal nerve connections while breaking the bad ones, using medication such as cortisone, drops of autologous serum and dressing lenses made of amniotic membrane, etc. The internalized stimulation must also be addressed, using oral medication prescribed by a specialized pain clinic. Antidepressants may also be helpful, but they usually have the effect of increasing dryness of the eyes, which is counterproductive. Psychotherapy is essential, with a professional trained in the treatment of chronic pain. Cannabis oil could help, in theory, but <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29513392">this approach is controversial</a>. Karen lost her job due to frequent absenteeism and loss of productivity. Her treatments are expensive and are eating into her savings. The financial stress increases as the months go by and the light at the end of the tunnel is not always clear. The situation put great pressure on her marriage and her spouse has found it difficult to cope with the circumstances. <h2>What to know before deciding to have surgery</h2> To avoid an outcome like Karen’s, certain precautions can be taken. First of all, it’s best to avoid making decisions on a whim. Get information from your own eye-care professional, the one who has known your eyes for a long time. Then, get at least two opinions — in different centres — before proceeding, and assess those interactions and the level of trust you feel. Certain risk factors can reduce the effectiveness of the procedure. For example, many patients opt for surgery because they become intolerant to contact lenses, with uncomfortable and dry eyes at the end of the day. If this is the case, it is because the eye is already prone to dryness and surgery will only increase it. It is therefore necessary to consult your optometrist in order to treat this dryness before the operation, and wait until the surface of the eye is ready for surgery. Patients with chronic inflammatory diseases should avoid refractive surgery. These diseases include fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. Similarly, people with diabetes or severe and chronic migraines <a href="https://www.aafp.org/afp/2017/0515/p637.html">are considered poor candidates</a>. Finally, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22081153">people with obsessive-compulsive disorders should also abstain</a>. For example, they may have the reflex to rub their eyes violently, which can dislodge the tissue flap. Patients with severe myopia (>8D) as well as patients with large pupils (black part of the eye larger than five millimetres) are prone to the continuous perception of halos and glare after surgery. After the operation Once the operation has been performed, it’s important to ensure adequate professional followup. Demand to see an optometrist or ophthalmologist at every opportunity. Assistance personnel, even properly trained, are not legally authorized to diagnose your condition (saying that everything is fine is a diagnosis in itself). It’s also important to never neglect regular eye health checkups. A severely near-sighted person, even after surgery, is still at risk of having a torn retina. Laser surgery is performed successfully in more than 95 per cent of cases. To avoid chronic problems, it is important to be well assessed and well informed. You only have two eyes and they are not replaceable. So take every precaution to ensure laser surgery is safe for you.<img style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important;" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130518/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" /> <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/langis-michaud-647069">Langis Michaud</a>, Professeur Titulaire. École d'optométrie. Expertise en santé oculaire et usage des lentilles cornéennes spécialisées, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/universite-de-montreal-1743">Université de Montréal</a> This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-laser-surgery-turns-into-a-nightmare-the-toll-can-be-enormous-130518">original article</a>.

Body

Scarred for life: henna tattoo turns young boy's Bali holiday into nightmare

A mother has sent out a warning to those who get henna in Bali: Don’t. Despite being warned of what to do and what not to do in Bali, henna had managed to escape the “do not” list. It was only after a woman’s son got a henna tattoo on their last day in Bali, but it turned red, itchy, raised and sore a week after returning home. “My 10 year old son got what we thought was a ‘henna tattoo’ on our last day in Bali and it wasn’t until a week later, after we’d returned home, that it started turning red, itchy, raised and sore. It wasn’t henna!” she explained to <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/warnings/bali-henna-tattoo-leaves-boy-scarred-for-life/news-story/350899ccdd929314b20f9c52da8a566e" target="_blank">news.com.au</a>. It gets worse, as the family has no idea what the dye was mixed with. “We believe it was black hair dye mixed with … God knows what, as apparently it’s cheaper to purchase and mix with chemicals. It may have been mixed with petrol or kerosene we’ve since learned. After a course of prednisolone and cortisone it isn’t itchy and red anymore, but my son will probably have scars for years to come. It has upset her son so much that the family are considering a plastic surgeon to undo the damage left by the tattoo. <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3vnCcBgg4G/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B3vnCcBgg4G/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">Do NOT get a henna tattoo in Bali! This photo may be alarming to some, but I hope it may spread the word about the dangers of henna tattoos that many tourists sign up for, blissfully unaware that this seemingly natural henna product, is quite possibly hair dye mixed with harsh chemicals like petrol. Sadly, this is my dear friends son, who I just happened to run into at the doctors last week. Her son may be scarred for life and his Mum can only say ‘if only I knew!’. Her full story will be on my travel website @journeystocome soon, but for now, trust me avoid the henna tattoos. #bali #hennatattoo #travelwarning</a> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/catrionarowntree/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Catriona Rowntree</a> (@catrionarowntree) on Oct 17, 2019 at 8:08pm PDT </div> </blockquote> “To the point that we are now consulting a plastic surgeon. Please, be very cautious when considering a henna tattoo, especially for your children.” They’re not the only ones to have an adverse reaction to henna in Bali. “Back in the 90’s I had one done on my ankle....my ankle swelled up like a balloon!!!” one person shared. Another said that the same thing had happened to their husband. “This happened to my husband... terrible experience for him. It’s will get worse before it gets better I am sorry to say. It won’t scar for life - use bio oil when it stops blistering and weeping. My husband has no scar.” Others said that it could take a while for the damage to heal. “It took 6 months for my son’s arm to heal from a bad Bali tattoo,” one person explained.

Travel Trouble

Walking nightmare: Invasive fish that moves and breathes on land

US wildlife officials have warned the public to kill an invasive fish species that can survive on land upon contact. The warning came after an angler caught the northern snakehead fish this month in a pond in Gwinnett County, the first time the species was found in Georgia waters. “Thanks to the quick report by an angler, our staff was able to investigate and confirm the presence of this species in this water body,” said Matt Thomas, chief of fisheries for the Wildlife Resources Division. “We are now taking steps to determine if they have spread from this water body and, hopefully, keep it from spreading to other Georgia waters.” Snakeheads are native to Asia. They are long, thin, have a dark brown blotchy appearance and can grow up to a metre in length. They can also breathe air and survive and move on land for <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/snakehead-fish-survive-on-land/">a few days</a>. The fish is considered invasive in the state as it affects native species by competing for food and habitat. Georgia’s Department of Natural Resources urged fishers and anglers who catch snakeheads in the area to kill it immediately, take pictures of the fish and make note of the location they were caught in, such as the waterbody, landmarks or GPS coordinates.

Travel Trouble

Snake Island: The real-life destination straight out of your nightmares

Snake Island is an island that’s about 33 kilometres off the coast of Brazil. It’s near Sao Paulo, and it’s so dangerous that humans are forbidden to go there. Not that you’d want to. The Island is full to the brim with venomous snakes. They’re known as golden lancehead vipers, with venom so strong it can melt flesh. Up to 4,000 of the golden lancehead vipers live on this island, which humans fled a century ago. Brazilian authorities only give permission to a few scientists to visit the island each year, and there’s a naval patrol around the island to ensure no one else gets too close. However, that hasn’t stopped 60 Minutes reporter Tara Brown from heading to the island. Brown said she’s excited about adventure. She told <a href="https://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-advice/travellers-stories/snake-island-is-a-reallife-land-of-deadly-vipers-straight-out-of-your-nightmares/news-story/97ec26a62e40ae0ee6a9af62044d0d33">news.com.au:</a> “I’m always excited about adventure and new destinations and this was sold as a pretty exciting one, and a unique opportunity to see a special habitat that’s highly protected,” Brown explained. “Then I was told there were 4000 of some of the world’s most deadly snakes on the island. “When we’re speaking to local fisherman, they told us, ‘That’s not a good idea, you don’t want to go there’. There are legends about a whole family being killed there, and of pirates burying treasure on the island and the snakes being put there to protect the treasure. “The fishermen said they never went there, or they would die.” <blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en-gb"> Snake Island is home to 4,000 of the world’s most dangerous snakes. Their deadly venom can melt human flesh – but could also be the source of the world’s next wonder drug. Full story: <a href="https://t.co/JOA1aCAllq">https://t.co/JOA1aCAllq</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/60Mins?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#60Mins</a> <a href="https://t.co/mfYswb8w0e">pic.twitter.com/mfYswb8w0e</a> — 60 Minutes Australia (@60Mins) <a href="https://twitter.com/60Mins/status/1110466421966790656?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">26 March 2019</a></blockquote> There is said to be between one and five golden lanceheads per square metre on Snake Island. Brown encountered a few on her journey into the rainforest. She joined the scientists who are allowed to head onto the island. “To my mind, there could be a snake anywhere and you’re always on high alert, and a big part of me was saying, ‘Oh no, please don’t let there be a snake there’,” Brown said of the journey. As the snakes have been cut off from the mainland, they’ve had to evolve to survive. Brown explained: “They’re different to their mainland cousins in that they’re five times more venomous and they are among the top 10 most poisonous snakes in the world,” she said. “They hunt and eat birds. Not the local birds, who have become too smart for them, but larger migratory birds, boobies, who come by on their migration. And the snakes’ venom has become more potent because their prey is bigger. “It’s an incredibly interesting evolutionary experiment for scientists to observe. This is a laboratory in the wild, if you like. You see evolution at play.” The scientists are interested in the venom of the golden lancehead viper, as it allows scientists to track the wellbeing of the snakes as well as help develop life saving medication. “There’s a blood pressure medication (captopril) which was developed 40 years ago from the venom of lancehead vipers, which is an incredibly popular and widely used medicine today,” Brown said. “While snakes are not naturally loveable to me, that doesn’t mean I don’t admire their resilience and how they respond to their environment,” she said. “We’re seeing nature at play and there’s a wonderment to that. And they are quite beautiful — from a distance.” Would you head to Snake Island? Let us know in the comments.

Travel Trouble

Over 60

News

Shop

Catalogues

Travel

Health

Lifestyle

Finance

Entertainment

Property

Information

Keep up to date

Search

Olympian's life "a living nightmare" after simple self-check out mistake

"Worst nightmare": Teen dies one day after flu diagnosis

"It’s a nightmare": Star golfer's cause of death revealed

The science of dreams and nightmares – what is going on in our brains while we’re sleeping?

Home and Away star’s holiday health nightmare

“A lesson learned”: Uni student lands herself in an overdue book nightmare

Cruise passenger left without a single change of clothes in a lost luggage nightmare

“The stuff of nightmares”: Baked to imperfection

“Just heartbreaking”: Woman’s dream win turned nightmare

Sounds great: Scientists are manipulating dreams to prevent nightmares

Dream home turns into nightmare for scam victims

Check before you fly: Woman warns others after tiny passport detail causes nightmare

Tenant “living in hell” with nightmare landlord’s restrictions

Fireman encounters worst nightmare at fatal crash

Mother’s worst nightmare realised

Mother falsely accused of bringing COVID-19 to China says it's like living in a nightmare

When laser surgery turns into a nightmare

Scarred for life: henna tattoo turns young boy's Bali holiday into nightmare

Walking nightmare: Invasive fish that moves and breathes on land

Snake Island: The real-life destination straight out of your nightmares