testing 2

Saturday, 04 July, 2009

Date: July 14, 2007
Place, Wellington, New Zealand

A husband and wife died when their car collided with a train at a level crossing in the Rangitikei region, but a five-year-old child in the back seat escaped with minor injuries.

The collision happened at about 7.45am on the Ohingaiti rail crossing on State Highway 1, 34km southwest of Taihape, Sergeant Peter Wood of Marton police said.

A northbound car collided with a goods train that was travelling south.

A man, aged 39, and his 35-year-old wife died at the scene. They were in the front seats of the car. The third occupant, a five-year-old child, was taken to Wanganui Hospital with minor injuries.

Police were investigating the cause of the accident.

The crossing has lights and bells but no barrier arms.

Mr Wood said preliminary inquiries indicated all crossing warning devices were activated at the time of the collision and that "sun strike" may have been a contributing factor.

Saturday, 04 July, 2009

Date: 30 June 2009
Place: Yemen

A five-year-old child was plucked alive from the sea off the Indian Ocean archipelago of Comoros after an Airbus A310-300 crashed with 153 people on board on Tuesday, officials said.

"A doctor from the military hospital aboard one of the rescue boats called the Mitsamiouli hospital to tell them a child had been rescued alive," Halidi Ahmed Abdou, a doctor at a medical centre opened for survivors, told Reuters.

Hadji Madi Ali, director of the international airport in Moroni, told national radio the child was five years old. He said five bodies had also been found.

Thursday, 02 July, 2009

September 2008, The then 2 year old Oluchi Nwaubani fell into a swimming pool in London. At that time of year the water was freezing cold. By the time she was rescued she had been under water for at least 18 minutes.

Serious and extensive brain damage normally sets in after just 5 minutes without oxygen. Paramedics were unable to start Oluchi breathing again. A medvac helicopter rushed her to the Royal London hospital where doctors gave her a 2% of surviving.

“For days we were thinking is she going to live or is she going to die. Doctors were telling us she was never going to pull through. They said that if she had not started breathing again in six hours she would probably not survive.

Six hours went by and when the doctors discussed turning off the machine we asked them to hold on. Three days later my daughter suddenly started breathing again. The doctors said she would never pass urine again because her kidney failed. But she is passing urine normally now. They said she would not be able to talk anymore, she would not walk again - she would be a vegetable. But she is walking, she is eating normally and she is able to say what she wants.

The doctors said that the amount of time she spent in the water meant she would never recover but when I asked her to say ‘hello’ to the doctor she tried to speak. And then I asked her to wave goodbye and she moved her hand.

Staff were calling her a miracle baby. Her doctor said he couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed. She seems to have defied doctors at every stage.

It was hard to explain to her sisters that she was alive because they had seen her die at the pool. It has been a difficult time for us but the support we received from friends and family has helped us make it through.” – Junior Nwaubani, Oluchi’s father.

Doctors now believe her survival was due to a combination of the diving reflex, which slows down the body’s metabolism and need for oxygen, and the very cold temperature of the water which would have protected the brain from more extensive damage. “It was really almost a miracle that this child has a normal recovery.

Some young children, particularly babies, have a special reflex that they had when they were in utero called the diving reflex. It essentially slows the body’s metabolism down to almost nothing, so they almost need no oxygen for the brain cells to survive.” – Dr. Vinay Nadkarni, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

To Toya, her mother, the details matter a lot less. “She shouldn’t be here, but she is. There’s still room for recovery. She’s still on a road to recovery. I’ve said it’s not a miracle instantly, it’s a miracle over time.” – Toya Nwaubani

Thursday, 02 July, 2009

Every year one in 10 twins is diagnosed with twin-to-twin transmission syndrome; a rare and often deadly condition where twins share one and the same placenta.

Saturday, 27 June, 2009

Date: 13 June, 2009 Place: Tyler, Texas A Tyler boy escaped but his parents died after their vehicle came in contact with downed power lines and caught fire during storms.

The Texas Department of Public Safety identified the victims Friday as 39-year-old Jose Gumecindo Gonzalez and his wife, 36-year-old Patricia Rodriguez Gonzalez.

DPS says their pickup was westbound north of Tyler on Wednesday night when the vehicle drove over power lines apparently knocked down during the thunderstorms. DPS says the two adults were electrocuted when they exited the burning vehicle.

Family friend Hector Garza says the couple's 15-year-old son, Louis, safely got out. Garza says the man and woman also jumped from the truck, but she apparently landed on a power line and her husband died trying to free her.

Saturday 27 June, 2009

Date: 25 May, 2009
Place: LAUPAHOEHOE, Hawaii

A child survived falling over a 100-foot embankment, fire crews said.Rescue crews lifted the 9-year-old boy from the bottom of Kaula Gulch in Laupahoehoe at about noon Monday.A witness said the boy went over a railing and fell about 12 feet before grabbing onto a tree.

The boy’s father lost his wallet while trying to get the boy out and the boy tried to grab the wallet, causing him to slip and fall another 80 feet.

Firefighters said the boy was transferred to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening.