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Guitarist Hopes To Play Again With The Help of Bionic Hand
Dorian Cox, the 27-year-old guitarist of the indie band The Long Blondes, thought his guitar playing days were over after he suffered a stroke. He now has a glimmer of hope thanks to some neurological physiotherapy which includes a cutting-edge piece of medical technology. The SaeboFlex helps patients by supporting their wrists and helping them grasp and release objects. "It's a fantastic service, it's helping tremendously and I think it can work wonders for me and others — it's almost like a gym for my hand. I know things might never be the same again and nobody can give me a definite answer about whether I'll play guitar again but I'm getting back on track with their help," Mr. Cox said. This thing looks really cool, and I'm sure many people will benefit from it, though I can't help but wonder if they make a model that lets you shoot your fist at an enemy.
The Long Blondes are a great band, their album Someone to Drive You Home was IMHO one of the best releases of 2007. Highly recommended, especially if you love earlier indie efforts like Pulp. I hope we hear more from them.
Hey, if it doesn't work, he can always just hook up wires directly into an electric guitar.
If the "cutting-edge piece of medical technology" isnt enough to play real guitar, he could always play bass.
Like William Murderface.
This is in no way whatsoever a bionic hand. A bionic hand is a powered orthosis that has both intelligence in the form of things like feedback contol and intent recognition + integration with the nervous system in some way. This thing here is a fancy brace, basically. Nothing at all like a "bionic hand"! This is probably the worst misuse of the word "bionic" that I've ever seen.
Yes, strokes can happen spontaneously overnight. There are lots of people out there who just develop blood clots without any known medical or physiological reason and it often comes on suddenly.
Clots can lead to strokes and PE's
And you can still be in good health (medically speaking) and get a thrombosis.
GrpA
Enjoy science fiction? "Turing Evolved" - AI, Mecha, Androids and rail-gun battles. What more could you want?
Stairways are indeed tough for hemiplegics.
I guess it's God's way of saying "stop playing crappy music!" :)
Seriously, being a guitarist myself I hope it works out for him!
$> cd
$> more beer
That's a lot of BS. A friend of mine had a stroke in is 30s: he kept fit, didn't drink, didn't smoke, didn't eat too much, and you how it happened? He was taking a dump, was pushing hard with his mouth closed, and collapsed right there. The hospital doctor I talk to said the extreme change of blood pressure when someone does that is enough to burst a vessel even with the healthiest person.
Incidentally, I who drinks coffee, alcohol and smokes the cigar, never rushes my morning business anymore. I've seen the result, nosiree...
Pete Townshend can now smash guitars like nobody's mama.
Table-ized A.I.
I've seen the way some of these types of bionic body parts work by recognizing brain patterns associated with specific movements. I wonder how far off this technology is from allowing musicians to compose music on synthesizers just by thinking about the notes. People like me who are far better at composing than playing would be able to make some pretty incredible music with an ability like that. And people like Dorian Cox would have a much better shot at playing music again, because let's face it, guitar is hard enough when your hands are slightly cold, much less completely numb and paralyzed. There's only so much you can do with a bionic hand.
Or another way of looking at it: The tools we have to define good health cannot be used to rule out the possibility of a stroke at any moment.
My uncle died of an aneurysm in his skull one night. He was in his late 20's and quite healthy. They still don't know why it formed.
It may be comforting to say things like "things like strokes do not happen overnight." It lets us sleep better. However, they do actually happen over night, and genuinely healthy people die all the time. By being healthy you reduce your chances of impending death, but you don't eliminate them.
The ______ Agenda
He should plug in through a "PS3 - Brain" adapter and use a Guitar Hero axe.
There are multiple advantages to that aproach if he ever wants to change to battery or bass, or loses his vocal cords, ...
Haven't you heard?! Pachelbel's Canon is the new Stairway to Heaven. If he can play THAT I'm sure there won't be any complaints.
Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure everything I just said is completely wrong.
Bionic hand hopes to play again with the help of a guitarist.
Get back at me when he can use this hand to do more than pluck a string here and there.
...Anakin Skywalker? ^_^
Knowledge is power. Knowledge shared is power multiplied.
you learn something new everyday...
actually, i've always had a hunch that pushing really hard when you're taking a dump could be bad for you. my circulatory system isn't that great to begin with. sometimes when i stand up and stretch my arms/legs/back really hard and sit back down, i'll get really lightheaded, to the point where i actually feel like i'm going to black out--my ears will start ringing, my vision gets dim, and sometimes i even start losing my sense of balance. it feels almost like being on nitrous, except that it goes away a little bit faster (~10-15 seconds instead of 1-2 minutes), and afterwards i usually feel a little nauseous. but yea, i've abuse a lot of stimulants in the past, and i don't really exercise much these days. the last thing i need is to give myself an aneurysm trying to take a shit.
but getting back on topic, the article doesn't really give much info about what this device actually does. it seems to be more about this Long Blondes guy rather than the technology behind the glove. is it mechanical? is it electrically powered? is it like an exoskeleton strength-multiplier, or does it just create resistance to strengthen your hand?
Meh. I can't wait for the day we see a guitarist turn into a commando and rid the world of neo-nazis
Heh. You don't need a bionic hand for playing guitar.
Keith Xander has been doing it for years with one arm - and well, too!
Hell, there's even a guy who plays guitar with no arms! Granted, it's mostly Tom Petty songs, but still ;)
Just go away, you insensitive clot!
Because the drummer in Def Lepard has only got one arm.
The drummer in Def Lepard has only got one arm
The drummer in Def Lepard has only got one arm
The drummer in Def Lepard has only got one arm
Did anyone else notice that his name consist of the last names of John Dorian and Perry Cox from Scrubs? Perhaps I'm watching too much TV.
I am the lawn!
No, you just broke it in a different way.
It's true I tell you, feller at work's next door neighbour read it in the paper.
You must be new here...
Well I'll feel fortunate that a hemorrhoid is all I developed from that kind of strain. Seriously though, if you have to push that hard, it's time to evaluate your fiber intake.
Thank you.
Taking a shit was fun enough before, now I have to worry about sudden stroke death.....FUCK!
The bottom line, you shouldn't have to push. Believe it or not, changing the amount of fluids (particularly water) as well as upping your fiber intake should do the trick.
Since I've changed that much of my diet (more water and a glass or two of Konsyl, a pure fiber supplement, every day) the crap literally falls out of me and in massive quantity. At the worst, your breathing and sitting up straight while taking a bowel movement should be enough to work it out of you. Remember to breathe, the displacement of organs that results from breathing causes a massaging type of action to help move things along in your system. Any strain beyond that and there is something wrong.
I really wish there were a manual on this kind of thing, I never realized how bad some of those "common" bathroom habits were for your body. For instance, all those people that sit on the toilet while reading increase the chance of developing hemorrhoids or other blood vessel related complications due to the extended stress it puts on that part of the body.
How did someone so YOUNG end up having a stoke?!?!?
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........
A stroke? Please. We all know how it really happened...
---
Needles: Hey! The big "DC". How's it hangin', Cox?
Dorian Cox: Hey, Needles...
Needles: Nice set of wheels! Let's see what she can do! Next green light!
Dorian Cox: No thanks.
Needles: What's the matter? Chicken ?
Dorian Cox looks at Needles, and Jennifer clasps Dorian Cox's hand.
Jennifer: Dorian Cox... don't!
Dorian Cox defiantly throws his truck into gear, revving the engine.
Dorian Cox: Grab a hold of something...
One man's constant is another man's variable.
A seemingly healthy High School classmate had one at age 16. Came back a year later with a cane but was otherwise OK, other than the 1000 yard stare a young person gets when they look at mortality too early.
Are they referring to Guitar Hero or the "real" thing?
Yes, I can just see getting a new toilet with a little pamphlet on the side labeled "How to Take a Dump".
Or better: "So You've Decided to Take a Dump..."
Actually it sounds like your friend had an hemorrhage, which is not the most common type of stroke, and is typically avoidable (e.g. by avoiding such spikes in blood pressure).
120 characters isn't enough to explain it.
Or, if you are using Microsoft Toilet 2008, an animated roll of toilet paper that says "It looks like you are taking a dump. Would you like help?"
My truck is like a series of tubes.
Clots can start to form anywhere in the body and then travel. If you sit for too long in one place, it's possible to start to form a clot in your legs, and that clotted blood can then travel to the brain.
Just because you can, does not mean you should.
0xDEFEC8ED
*me ducks*
I know tobacco is bad for you, so I smoke weed with crack.