Lost without your TV remote? How about if you lose this!

Poststructural Pub
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From the BBC UK Service

January, 2005, 02:30 GMT

Thieves take brain remote control

The gadget switches off a device in Rita Carlisle’s brain
A medical device which allows a woman to sleep by switching off an implant in her brain has been stolen.
Rita Carlisle, 53, from Knaphill, Surrey, suffers from a condition called essential tremor.

The stolen remote control gadget sends out pulses to calm the condition and can be switched off so she can rest.

Ms Carlisle, who now struggles to sleep, was carrying the device and £600 cash in a handbag which was stolen in Farnborough, Hants, on 23 December.

Christmas ‘ruined’

She said: "I’m extremely tired, I’m getting three to four hours’ sleep a night, I can’t turn the machine off.

"I had my second operation on 13 December and it was my first outing after leaving hospital.

"I just wish the people who stole the machine would give it back.

“They have totally ruined Christmas and the New Year. There was £600 in my bag as well so they have had a good Christmas out of me.”

Ms Carlisle says she is hopeful, but not certain, that the hospital caring for her - the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in central London - will be able to replace the device.

Police appeal

It was inside a grey and black canvas pouch, about the size of a pencil case.

The box, made by Medtronic, had four grey buttons and two blue buttons on it and has the serial number 7436.

Hampshire Police appealed for the thief to let them know where it is.

A spokesman said: “It would be of little use to anyone else.”

The handbag was stolen at Asda supermarket in Farnborough.


MarkB

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It’s probably in some garbage can by now.

What is “essential tremor”? Is it essentially a tremor? Is it an necessary tremor?

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essential, that is one of those weird words in the medical world…

here’s the translation of essential tremor into real english:

a tremor to which we have no idea why it’s there.
another word, synonym to essential is idiopathic.
really means: we haven’t got a clue.
:smiley:

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Amar: That’s one of the reasons that we call it “practicing medicine.”

All the Best, Tom

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Thanks Amar. It was essential that I understood.

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So I guess that hangovers don’t count as essential tremors, since an idiot got in the path of to many brews the night before :smiley:

MarkB

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Darn, I guess there is no excuse the. I would imagine that instead of idiopathic, the type you are talking about are classified as idiotpathic?

Tom

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perhaps more like pathetic idiot. :smiley:

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Medtronic is the company that I worked for before moving to Idaho. They are a great, upstanding company. I cannot make any promises, but I believe that if they hear about this situation they will provide her a new controller. That is just how they do business as far as I can tell.

Mark, if you will send me the direct link to that article I will forward it to my old boss and see if he can get it to the right hands.

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I thought this thread was about some new device that turns off TVs in public places. Its $19 and I read an account in the newspaper by a reporter who was still in the giddy phase of silencing waiting rooms etc etc. Sorry about the poor lady though.

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Wow, I bet many of us could do with a button to press to send us to sleep. :smiley:

I wonder how she arranged to wake up again? :confused:

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I have forwarded this story to my last boss at Medtronic and requested that he get it to someone that might be able to help.