So in celebration of the day, I thought I’d share some of my favorite posts with you…

Nine Christmas Gifts for the Hypochondriac in Your Life was the second post I wrote for Healthbolt and it was probably the most fun. Exploring all the interesting and fun gifts you could buy for the ‘hypochondriac’ was a blast. After all, how could a person resist fluffy giant microbes and internal organs.

And then there was Doing the Hasselhoff and Pumpkin Positive, an examination of entertaining and information medical slang.

On a more serious note, I wrote about how the CDC says Morgellons is a mystery disease worth investigating, found 5 Smoking Gadgets That Might Help You Quit Smoking, discussed needle phobia in No Needles Please…I’m Belonephobic, and looked at some fascinating historic facts about Marijuana.

There was also human interest stories with the Ice Man, the Blue Man, the Tree Man, and the Upside Down Man.

Plus the unique, the intriguing, and the bizarre with Can You Do This With Your Body, Dermatographia as Body Art, Blood-Sucking Beauty, What’s That in Your Head,  A Visit to the Anatomical Theatre, and Russian Spa builds a monument to the enema.

There were some health tips such as Humming my way to clearer sinuses, Do the Hara Hachi Bu, Zip Your Migraine Away With Magnets, and Are You Tired of Being Tired.

But of all 300 plus posts over this past year, Remembering Randy Pausch is the one I consider the most important. What he said in The Last Lecture will stick with me always…

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After a surgery removing 13 (13!) pound of warts from his body (that’s approximately 95% of what he had), Dede is home again with his family in time to celebrate the Islamic fasting month. The removal took 9 operations.

While he is not, nor never will be, 100% cured, Dede’s quality of life has drastically improved. The same hands that were once so gnarled with tree-like growths now allow him to eat by himself, write, and even dial a cell phone.

Caused by a severe Human Papilloma Virus infection, the warts might regrow, but the condition is no longer life-threatening. After the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday in October, Dede will undergo still more surgery to trim additional warts from his palms and the back of his hands.

We’re happy to hear of Dede’s progress and certainly wish him all the best.

For the entire story, plus stunning video, check out MSNBC.com Health

For more of Healthbolt’s coverage of the Tree Man, check here and here.

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ABC News has an amazing slide show of medical abnormalities and medical miracles. We’ve featured a few here at Healthbolt, like Tree Man, the two-faced baby, and the world’s largest and shortest men, but there are many, many more. Warning, though: viewer discretion is definitely advised, especially if you don’t want to get knee-deep in discussions of “why does that happen?” with the kids.

Staggering visuals that’ll make you feel blessed, indeed…

Post from: Healthbolt

Now let’s be clear that we are in no way, no how poking any kind of fun at these poor people. But it’s just amazing to see the different ways the body can betray itself, is it not? Of course it is.

So next up in our Weird Deformity Breakdown is Jingle Luis, a 15-year-old girl from the Philippines who was born with feet clubbed so badly they twist backwards and upside down (see a photo slideshow at MSN.com)

Today, Jingle had surgery to begin correction on her feet at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. And while clubfoot occurs in about one in 1,000 births, treatment usually begins before the condition gets anywhere near as far as Jingle’s.

The problem? Jingle also suffers from spina bifida (a birth defect that involves the incomplete development of the spinal cord or its coverings), leading her early physicians to believe she may not live long; therefore no treatment for her clubbed feet was ever given.

As for now, Jingle’s US surgeon says, “It’s like putting together an Erector Set,” and anticipates it taking a month to rotate the feet a few degrees at a time. And when all is said and done, what does Jingle hope to do? Wear high heels, of course. Good girl!

We sure wish Jingle all the best, but we also wonder:

What is the strangest deformity you’ve ever seen or heard of? Any idea how that patient is doing now? We’d love to hear from you and maybe even see what we can dig up on the deformities you share. Leave us a comment and let us know.

Post from: Healthbolt