24 Hr TV

[aide]

Ahhh the tears are flowing again! Ohno's hard at work with his figures and Edo Harumi is still running... and this blind girl is still swimming across the channel between Aomori and Hokkaido. Ganbare!

Aiba's task was so cute. I felt so moved... I probably will cry all day with this on. There's still 8 hours left. Holy crap. That's a lot of Zelda to play. XD I found the schedule but... they aren't really following the times by the looks of it since Aiba's task was supposed to be on around 11:30. I should get Nino's task and watch that while they're doing other stuff.

The gays have made their entrance! They look prettier than Arashi.

So far, they've raised 1 7442 4221 yen (= $1,744,242.21)! I don't know if that's the total, or just from the calls and online donations during telecast or if that includes everything from donation boxes at the sponsor stores and merchendise. That's still pretty impressive and there is still all day left.

Woah, Tegoshi you look super tanned. Oh, he, Becky and Daisuke (from Kakushi Toride no San Akunin with Junjun) were supposed to go treasure hunting but because of all the rain we've had in the last day, the river is flooded so they can't. :( So I guess they'll go do something else. Revenge?

4:30pm:  Watching this makes me feel... awful.  Just watching these people who have such hope for life, for themselves or their families, and living with something I can't even imagine.  I can't understand what most of these diseases are because of the kanji but just seeing some of these people... I just feel awful.  I just don't understand how the boys aren't crying their hearts out at some of this stuff.  The older guy who is co-hosting is blubbering away... well, Aiba's vow was not to cry this year and so far he's doing well. 

It makes me feel like I don't do enough.  Enough of what?  I'm not even sure what I can do.  It just seems so unfair.  I was so upset last night about something so stupid and irrelevent and what about people living with something they can't change and won't get better?  It makes me want to cry just writing this because I can't do anything.  I don't know what I would feel like if I actually knew someone in that situation. 

I should stop this now because it's just wallowing.

Comments

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

I don't really know either... but I'm feeling weepy for the 4th time today. They all have a task, there's a drama... and it seems they just go talk to and do stuff for people with disabilities. Ohno's talking to a lot of people with ... what's the PC term these days? Incurable diseases? Diabilities? Degenerative diseases? Anyway, people who love to paint. I'm watching Nino go visit a boy who's sister has 水無脳病 (which I can't find an English translation for) and wrote a song and the brother is going to sing for her... They did a dance collab with this group of dancers called Ill-Abilities... it's soooo tear-jerking, the whole thing.

Ahhh omg. You can't help but cry... "When I grow up I'm going to become a doctor because I want to cure you."

[iaoiua.livejournal.com]

Terminal illnesses? Disabilities? Degenerative diseases are more like muscle dystrophies, Parkinson's and other neural degenerative diseases X:

"無脳" seems to be anencephaly. (The Wiki article has some really scary pictures.) I would guess that "水無脳病" is hydrocephalus, as anencephaly is rather obviously not conducive with life.

I'll wait patiently for this to be subbed.

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

The only thing I could understand (since medical terms are a bit beyond me despite the amoung of ER and House I watch) is that it's "No water brain disease" which can't be very good. Yes... I didn't see last time but there is so much especially during the day that is going on, not just their tasks, that it will take a while, I think... But they keep stopping to check in with the girl swimming the channel and Edo Harumi who's running and other stars/personalities making their pledge. It really is a huge ordeal, this 24hr TV. I know we have telethons and stuff but I've never seen one, but I don't think it is this huge.

Jun's AIDS spot is really hard to watch, about HIV. It's amazing, kids whose lives are touched by disease so hard, they all want to be doctors to help others like them or their families.

[iaoiua.livejournal.com]

No water? or water no brain? Anencephaly is basically a lack of brain, which, as you can probably see, pretty much leads to death early on in life. 水無脳病 seems more like it would be "no brain" rather than "no water" from character placement - then again, I haven't watched the show nor have I studied Japanese (which was very apparent when I attempted to sing Arashi at karaoke and could only squeak out some kanji X:). Hydrocephalus, or too much fluid in the brain, leading to increased pressure on the skull and tissues, and ultimately causing damage, seems likely. It would not cause death right away, but is definitely very very bad.

Are the kids HIV-positive? Here's to hoping that they can survive to become doctors. (I don't know of any HIV-positive doctors, actually. I should look into that.) I've never met an HIV-positive child - I just can't imagine. Honestly, the breadth of Arashi's experience would put us all to shame.

I know my medical school has some exchange-type program where you can "work" at hospitals in Japan. I should consider looking into it.

[maiaide.livejournal.com]

Ahh that's true. Water-no-brain-disease. Although not sure where the water comes into it but anyway. She couldn't move on her own and her head looked abnormally large.. she couldn't speak either. It was really sad but her brother loved her sooooooo much. I'm getting teary again just thinking about it.

I think they were; they all got together and took a handful of pills, even the little ones. And then Jun went to hospital to see the really severly affected kids. One girl was 2 years old and only 4 kilos and I can't even start to describe it.

I don't know any positive people either.. but I just can't even fathom them being children.

[iaoiua.livejournal.com]

The "water" is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) which normally cushions the brain inside the skull. It protects the brain from banging around inside your head and from infection, provides proper pH, that sort of thing. It's produced by cells that live inside the spaces between the brain and skull, but when there's too much of it, it starts to squish both the brain and the skull, cutting off circulation within the brain, which leads to cell death (like what happens in a stroke or to the heart during a heart attack). Since the bones in little kids' skulls haven't fused yet, the fluid also pushes the bones apart, hence the large head.

That was probably too much detail - but now you know all about "water no brain disease"!

I once saw a patient in the ER. Upon checking his medical records, it turned out that he was positive from a test during previous ER visit, and he probably didn't even know that he was (he was medically psychotic). That's scary - to know someone is positive when they don't. I can't imagine with kids, especially since the disease is not their "fault."