Disease

Cherise Sheffner is 16 and until last year attended Huntington Beach High School (and was part of the Academy of the Performing Arts program). But she's been home this year, unable to attend school because of an obscure, debilitating disease called dysautonomia. It started in January 2012, when Cherise started experiencing severe tunnel vision. After 10 months of testing, doctors could not pinpoint any cause and wrote the complaints off to stress. Later that year, severe stomach pains began, and in December 2012, Cherise suffered a minor stroke.

A Huntington Beach resident was recently one of three people in northwest Orange County hospitalized for endemic typhus, authorities said. All have since been released and are recovering, but county health-care officials warn that the disease is serious and people should take precautions. Authorities did not give the resident's name. Endemic typhus, the strain of the disease found in Southern California, is transmitted by fleas, who pick up the infection from cats, opossums and rodents, said county public health services spokesman Howard Sutter.

The manly exhibitors at the weekly classic car show in Garden Grove had no idea what was about to descend on them. Each man’s eyebrows raised when four incongruously well-dressed ladies armed with fliers and smiles made their way to their vehicles to tell them about their own upcoming show. Accustomed to receiving a multitude of ads every week for car parts, services and events, some of the men were dispassionate at first. But when the sorority ladies mentioned their show was all to benefit Alzheimer’s disease research, the men’s faces softened.

At least two human cases of flea-borne typhus in as many months in a section of Huntington Beach have the county urging residents to put their pets on a proven flea-control program. The infections of humans by the disease, also known as endemic or murine typhus, have been confirmed in an area roughly bounded by Garfield Avenue, Adams Avenue, Magnolia Street and Beach Boulevard, Orange County Vector Control spokesperson Michael Hearst said. The Monday after Halloween, Nanci Bartley woke up with what she thought was the flu; she was nauseated, and two of her friends also developed flu symptoms that day. Two days later, her friends were on the road to recovery.

A Huntington Beach resident was recently one of three people in northwest Orange County hospitalized for endemic typhus, authorities said. All have since been released and are recovering, but county health-care officials warn that the disease is serious and people should take precautions. Authorities did not give the resident’s name. Endemic typhus, the strain of the disease found in Southern California, is transmitted by fleas, who pick up the infection from cats, opossums and rodents, said county public health services spokesman Howard Sutter.

It's not surprising that Alzheimer's emerged as the most feared disease among adults 55 and older in the recently released "MetLife Foundation Alzheimer's Survey: What America Thinks." Across Orange County, an estimated 56,110 older adults currently have or are at risk of developing Alzheimer's disease — with that number expected to grow by 63% to 91,635 by 2020. As an average of three close family members are involved in the care of any single person with Alzheimer's, this disease will, by 2020, directly impact at least 400,000 Orange County residents.

Ellen McCarty FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- The Futagaki brothers gripped each other's shoulders in support as they thanked the 400 people who gathered Saturday at the Costa Mesa Community Center to raise more than $20,000 for their dad's in-home nursing care. "I want to thank my mom for showing me what commitment is all about," said Brent Futagaki, 23. "And my dad, for showing me the determination and will to live." For the last six years, Arnie Futagaki has battled Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.

Raising awareness was just as important as the $20,000 raised at the inaugural Walk-n-Roll put on by the Southern California Chapter of Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy on Sunday at Johnny Carson Park. More than 200 people participated in the event by finding sponsors and bringing friends and family to complete the 5-kilometer trek around the park. "In everyone's opinion it was a huge success," said Rosie Roope, the president of the Southern California chapter of the group.

Cherise Sheffner is 16 and until last year attended Huntington Beach High School (and was part of the Academy of the Performing Arts program). But she's been home this year, unable to attend school because of an obscure, debilitating disease called dysautonomia. It started in January 2012, when Cherise started experiencing severe tunnel vision. After 10 months of testing, doctors could not pinpoint any cause and wrote the complaints off to stress. Later that year, severe stomach pains began, and in December 2012, Cherise suffered a minor stroke.

The stereotype of a typical surfer surely has evolved from the days when the pot-smoking slacker Jeff Spicoli ordered a pizza delivered to Mr. Hand's history class in the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High. " We can thank people like some of those featured in this space each week, guys like the Eco-Warrior James Pribram, or surf apparel businessman Dean Quinn, or Soul Surfing School operator Chris Williams, or Surfline.com founder Sean Collins. The image of surfing, and those who surf, has changed for the better, and there was yet another example of why that has happened last Saturday at Three Arch Bay in Laguna Beach.

It had been more than 30 years since lupus began eating away at Deborah Filian's body. It stood in the way of every step she took, forcing her to stay in bed for long periods of time. But a saline warm-water pool has changed her life, she said. Almost a year ago, she started by walking back and forth one day, then lifting her arms above her head another day, reaching for her back another day. And one by one, Filian got rid of her walker then her cane. Now her doctors are reducing her medication.

A Huntington Beach pastor spent his 60th birthday Saturday walking more than 60 miles for a cause close to his heart. Executive Pastor of First Christian Church of Huntington Beach Bob Ewing decided to spend his birthday walking to raise money for Institute of Families, a nonprofit that provides counseling and support to families touched by cancer or vision-impacting diseases. The Huntington Beach resident raised more than $8,500, surpassing his $6,000 goal. "It was just a great day, very painful, but I'll get over it," he said.

A Huntington Beach pastor spent his 60th birthday Saturday walking more than 60 miles for a cause close to his heart. Bob Ewing, the executive pastor of First Christian Church of Huntington Beach, decided to spend his birthday walking to raise money for Institute of Families, a nonprofit that provides counseling and support to families touched by cancer or vision-impacting diseases. The Huntington Beach resident raised more than $8,500, surpassing his $6,000 goal. "It was just a great day. Very painful, but I'll get over it," he said.

  ORANGE COUNTY, Calif-- Young girls from Southern California who are not able to attend their proms due to their struggle with kidney disease picked their prom dresses at St. Joseph Hospital in Orangeon Saturday, January 9th, preparing themselves for the Renal Support Network (RSN) prom slated for next Saturday.  The RSN presented more than a hundred new and used dresses in a variety of sizes and colors for the girls to choose from. The dresses and accessories were donated from all over the country exclusively for the event.

The room looked like any other. The bed was neatly made with a fuzzy stuffed dog and cat waiting to cuddle on top, family photographs were stuck on a board, and toys were piled in the corner. Near the door hung a shaggy orange Tigger costume from last year brushing up against a metallic astronaut costume that was never worn. Kerrie Roque’s eyes welled up as she pointed to a neatly laid-out outfit in patriotic colors. “He was the happiest kid you could ever have, so we definitely felt lucky to have him,” Roque said.

The manly exhibitors at the weekly classic car show in Garden Grove had no idea what was about to descend on them. Each man’s eyebrows raised when four incongruously well-dressed ladies armed with fliers and smiles made their way to their vehicles to tell them about their own upcoming show. Accustomed to receiving a multitude of ads every week for car parts, services and events, some of the men were dispassionate at first. But when the sorority ladies mentioned their show was all to benefit Alzheimer’s disease research, the men’s faces softened.

Hope was in the air when local cancer survivors took the podium recently for the Huntington Beach Relay for Life organization’s kickoff party at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. “I know we had a much better turnout than we ever expected, which is a good problem to have,” said event chairwoman Victoria Alberty. Several survivors spoke movingly Friday of their experiences. Barbara Donohue told the group that in the past 31 years, she has had abdominal cancer twice, breast cancer three times and renal cancer.