Zamboni

Most of us... at least those who are vaguely familiar with hockey... know what a Zamboni is. It's that big, funky machine that cleans the ice at hockey rinks. Probably named after an Italian. And famous across Canada and probably the world.

Today, though, I heard about another Zamboni, Paolo Zamboni, an Italian doctor who has possibly discovered the cause/cure of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). There was a short article on the CTV news website and a link to a W5 show that was airing tonight. Apparently Zamboni has found that without exception, MS patients have a narrowing or constriction of the veins in the neck or chest that drain blood from the brain. With the constrictions, blood can back up into the brain, allowing iron deposits to form. Excess iron in the brain is not a good thing and the result can be immune problems, inflammation, etc. Using tiny balloons, Zamboni and his team have openned up the narrowed veins and... voila... the MS patients see a marked improvement, to the point where 73% no longer experience MS symptoms!! International doctors are sceptical (of course), but other studies are being conducted to test Zamboni's hypothesis.

As I was watching this show... I thought... W5 is going to get an award for it... and Zamboni is going to get some major medical prize... The implications are huge and it's all because he took a look at the problem from a different angle and with a different incentive. His wife had had MS for 10 years and he was determined to find a cure, despite his own neurological disease. Love... and looking at things from a different perspective. Who knows what you can accomplish if you start to see thing without all of our preconceived notions... Who knows what might come... A cure for MS... A cure for Cancer?? A cure for war and prejudice??