Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World | The Health Care Blog

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

The recipient of the world's first complete double arm transplant scratched his head and back and beamed at his doctors Wednesday, saying he was on the path to independence a year after the pioneering operation.

Farmer Karl Merk, who lost his arms just below the shoulder in a 2002 combine harvester accident, demonstrated the progress he has made by scratching the back of his head with his right hand and squeezing rubber discs at a press conference near his home in southern Germany.

In July 2008 he underwent a 15-hour surgery at the Munich University Clinic by a team of 40 doctors, nurses and anesthesiologists.

His doctors originally thought it would take up to two years before the nerves in his arm would regrow sufficiently to permit movement, but the 55-year-old has made more progress than expected through an intensive program of physiotherapy and electric stimulation.

"My biggest dream is just that my fingers will keep improving, that I can pick things up and just be self-reliant again," he told reporters.

Wearing a black short-sleeved shirt that clearly showed where the arms were connected, Merk demonstrated how he can wave them without the aid of the numerous braces and bandages he needed after surgery.

Merk and his doctors said they hope his story will serve as an inspiration for others who might need such a surgery, but have hesitated to go forward.

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Karl Merk - Double Arm Transplant In The World

Festival of Scrambled Eggs Celebrated In Bosnia | Scrambled Eggs Recipe

Scrambled Eggs Recipe

A man cooks scrambled eggs during celebrations of Cimburijada or "Festival of Scrambled Eggs", in a city park near Bosna River, in the central Bosnian town of Zenica March 21, 2011. People celebrate Cimburijada by gathering by the river, preparing scrambled eggs and sharing breakfast with friends and visitors of their city as a traditional way of marking the first day of spring every year.

Scrambled Eggs

Scrambled Eggs

Lamborghini Owner Hires Sledgehammer Gang To Destroy Car Pictures 2011

An angry Lamborghini owner hired a team of men with sledgehammers to destroy the super car after dealers allegedly failed to repair it.

The Lamborghini Gallardo L140 luxury sports car had recurring problems after the owner purchased it in China last October.

But the owner claims that, instead of fixing the problem, the dealer made it worse, damaging the bumper and chassis while it was in their care.

He claims to have taken his complaints to the head of Lamborghini and to Volkswagen, which owns the marque, but without success.

So the Chinese entrepreneur decided to pummel his pride and joy on World Consumer Rights Day by hiring a group of workers, giving them sledgehammers and letting them do the rest.

The extreme display attracted a large crowd in Qingdao, eastern China's Shandong province.

The Gallardo costs £140,000 in the UK but more than three times as much in China where it would have cost the owner a staggering £465,000.

Lamborghini Cars 2011

Lamborghini Cars 2011

Baby Born With Heart Outside Body | Miracle Babies Born Alive Pictures

Baby Born With Heart Outside Body | Miracle Babies Born Alive Story And Pictures

Doctors in China are battling to save a baby born with his heart growing on the outside of his body.

Two-month-old Xin Xin has only a thin membrane covering his heart which can be clearly seen beating outside his stomach.

His parents brought him to Xin Qiao Hospital, in Chongqing, and surgeons are now working out how best to treat him.

Doctor Zhang Yuping, vice director of hospital's paediatrics department, said: "It's a very rare case. His heart is so exposed that the slightest knock or contact could be fatal."

The little boy's parents are migrant workers in Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, who rushed back home to seek medical help after their baby was born.

"We didn't believe it when doctors told us the black patch on our son's belly was his heart until we saw it beating," said the father, Luo Rongyun.

Surgeons have come up with a number of different ideas for how best to treat Xin Xin but each has been discarded over fears he might not survive.

They now plan to wait until he is three months old when most of his organs will have developed more and he should be strong enough for surgery.

Top 10 Funniest Holiday Complaints Are Revealed | Cheap Holidays Packages

Funniest Holiday Complaints Are Revealed | Cheap Holidays Packages

The sand's too hot and the women look too good in bikinis are just two of the odd complaints made by holiday-makers it's been revealed.

Customer services at an online travel agency have taken a look at some of more bizarre complaints they received in 2010 and produced a top 10 of the silliest.

1 - On arrival to the airport in the UK, when asked to present their passports, some ladies found themselves in a sticky situation as they claimed they were not reminded to bring their passports and thought that they didn't need them.

2 - On a trip to the Canary Islands, a lady who took her family of four on holiday put in a complaint about their beach experience. She claimed that, due to the warm weather, the sand was too hot and her children could not walk down to the sea for a swim.
3 - A man who went to the Costa del Sol complained that there was too much food to eat from the buffet in his all-inclusive hotel. As a result, he put on 'at least 5lbs' during his trip, which he wasn't too pleased about.

4 - Another male tourist, this time on holiday in Majorca, claimed that the number of bikini-clad women on the beach caused a fall-out between him and his wife, as he was caught ogling them 'on more than one occasion.'

5 - A couple who had spent two weeks in Marmaris, Turkey, said that their holiday had been a disappointment because there were 'too many English people around' and the main reason they went to Turkey in the first place was to experience somewhere 'more exotic.'

6 - One man said he was unhappy about the fact that he had not been able to fully enjoy his holiday to Portugal. His hotel bed was 'too comfy' meaning that he overslept on more than one occasion when he would have 'preferred to be up early and making the most of it.'

7 - A group of young adults who had travelled to Ayia Napa in Cyprus claimed that the 24 hour reception in their hotel made them feel like they were being 'judged' for returning back to their room late, despite the resort being renowned for partying and late nights.

8 - A man who had been to Tenerife complained that the Prada sunglasses he had purchased from a street seller for £4.50 were fakes.

9 - Another male holidaymaker claimed his fear of heights had prevented him from enjoying his flight to Mauritius.

10 - Finally, a man who had been with his wife to Bulgaria said that the couple in the room next door had been loud in their lovemaking, which subsequently made him feel 'pressured' into initiating sex with his own wife.

Chris Brown, of sunshine.co.uk, said: "We are more than happy to deal with any issues that arise, but we regret that we cannot be held responsible for the temperature of the sand, weight gain as a result of the amount of tasty food on offer or the number of fellow English tourists in the vicinity."