Scalpeldiary

Probably the greatest fear of human beings after dead, is that of getting sick. If humans had a way, they’ll live forever,at least on earth. The body doesn’t remain the same all through the years. The wrinkles soon replaces the smooth skin, the hair lacks lustre and turns grey. The breasts or boobs involutes or for lack of better words frankly just sags. The contour of the body from the head to heels is greatly altered and a figure 8 soon increases by 3 digits and soon turns to a figure 11. There is an obsession to look ageless as the years roll by, the desire to still be able to fit a 40 year old body in a sweet sixteen jeans .The cosmetic industry has turned this passion or rather obsession into a billion dollar industry. While make up gives a temporary illusion of a perfect face and hides a few wrinkles, it cannot increase the size of a breast or hips and hence certain people are willing to risk it all for a more permanent solution. But is there anything like a perfect body? and how far are people willing to go to have it? What happens when going under the knife quickly sends the person six feet under?

According to the American board of cosmetic surgery, Plastic surgery is a specialty dedicated to the reconstruction of facial and body defects due to birth defects , trauma, burns and disease. Plastic surgery is broadly divided into two; reconstructive surgery which focuses of the former definition and cosmetic surgery which is a sub specialty that uses procedures , techniques, and principles focused on enhancing a patients appearance, improving aesthetic appeal, body symmetry and proportions. While reconstructive surgery involves procedures such as breast reconstruction(for breast cancer patients), burn repair surgeries, repair of cleft lips and palate etc. On the other hand, cosmetic surgery involves procedures such as breast enhancement, facelifts, tummy tuck, liposuction , filler treatments and about other 300 cosmetic surgeries.

Perhaps the earliest recorded plastic procedure was the repair of a broken nose as recorded in the Edwin Smith Papyrus, a transcription of Ancient Egyptian medical text which dates back between 3000 and 2500 B.C. Although I wonder why an Egyptian ancient text will be bear that name of an English man, but what do I know after all? Since then. advances in plastic surgery or rather cosmetic surgery has seen many people opt to go under the knife to have a Brazilian butt, an hour glass figure or to just have firmer and bigger boobs.

Popular culture has made it even popular with the likes of Nicki Minaj and other celebrities publicly acknowledging going under the knife. According to the American society of plastic surgeons, new statistics reveal that about 18 million people underwent cosmetic surgery and minimally invasive procedures in the United States in 2018 alone. A study conducted in the United Kingdom sought to establish the motivating factors why people opted to enhance their bodies. The study revealed that women who rated their self-esteem, life satisfaction and attractiveness as low, had fewer religious beliefs and high media exposure were likely to undergo cosmetic surgery.

There is a lot of debate about cosmetic surgery, most of which are based on moral grounds. Some hold the view that life was given and it should take a natural progression-from birth, to childhood, adulthood, aging and death. They hold the belief that no need to try and change what God has already put his paint brush on. The other extreme divide believe that a person has a right to do whatever he wants with his /her body. Afterall, the maker of a decision is the bearer of its consequences. Many may be curious to know where I stand in this issue. I do not overtly believe in either of the two extremes neither will I claim not to have a stand. The issue however with humans is that we believe the world is black and white. This is really a narrow view of the world. There are shades of different colours that exist within the prism of life and we are free to be white, grey, ash or black. If a young man at 25 is bald and having a surgery for hair replacement will make him less likely to slit his wrist, why not? If a lady from Adam has boobs the size of a peanut and wishes it to be the size of watermelons, she might as well undergo breast augmentation. The same people who will judge and make jest of her regardless of her decision. We are a hypocritical generation, quick to accuse in others what we will excuse in ourselves. However, caution must be the watch word. The Hausa have a saying that goes thus ”Garin neman kiba, a kan ramai” which means in a bid to get more, sometimes you lose more.

There a exist a maxim in medicine; ”Primum non nocere” which is Latin for ”first do no harm”. This principle guides the behavior of medical doctors all around the world. In a bid to provide better care for a patient a doctor must not cross the line and cause grave danger. Unknown to most people, not everyone that wears a ward coat or a scrub with an Asclepius pin is a qualified medical doctor. Almost on a daily basis people are murdered by people parading as doctors. A certain danger follows every surgery done on a person, which are referred to as complications. However, most times these do not happen and even when they occur, they are handled by well trained doctors.
Recently, while going through my twitter feed, a story of a certain Dr. ABZ ( name withheld) caught my attention. She had performed a breast augmentation surgery on the patient who came down with terrible complications which though not impossible but it had quackery written all over it. To make the matter worse, it was not the first time patients of the said Doctor have come out publicly via social media to share terrible news after they undergo procedures done by this doctor. Although still relatively new in Nigeria, cosmetic surgery is gaining ground and since it is rarely as complicated as bladder Cystectomy (removal of all or part of the bladder) or brain surgeries, it can be fatal as well. Most people who want to undergo the knife don’t do their own research and end up botched. Most people who know about the complications of plastic surgery did so through the American reality Tv series Botched where two renowned cosmetic surgeons try to reverse damages from previous poorly done cosmetic procedures. It will shock you what people will go through to have a slimmer nose, a bigger butt or breast. Peoples butt has been injected with cement and glue, glue for crying out loud! Florida in the United States seem to be the head quarters of all these botched surgeries or rather Butchery. The Miami beach and the rich tourists seem to have made a lot of the locals there go under the knife to have the perfect Bikini body. The irony of the whole issue is that most of these people after a botched cosmetic surgery will go the beach not in Bikinis but in long robes due to the damage caused by quacks parading as cosmetic surgeons.

In conclusion most cosmetic surgeries are termed elective-this means the person requiring the procedure will live with or without the surgery, in other words they’re optional.My candid advice especially for women or men thinking of going the under the knife is to do their homework and ensure that they choose renowned specialist in the field to avoid stories that ‘botch’ .People must learn to embrace their body. After all, we are all God’s creation and he did not make anybody ugly or less than perfect.We were all good in His eyes after the sixth day of creation. The field of cosmetic surgery is emerging in Nigeria and tighter regulations must be put in place by relevant bodies such as the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), the Federal Ministry of health and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that all cosmetic surgeries are done in line with international best practices.

Parkwat Walkyes Joshua
July 3rd, 2020.

Have you ever sat down and thought about your earliest memories?

Your first day in elementary or the first time you ever saw Santa Claus?

Have you thought about those days when you played in the sand?

Or ran under the rain,without the fear of thunder.

Those times you kept malice with your best friend and later reconciled?

Those days when we didn’t equate happiness in possessions?

And to be wise was not the same as cunning?

Those days we couldn’t tell the son of a millionaire from a peasant farmer?

Those days we had little but were so contented.

Those days we went on fruit expeditions and you could eat freely from any home?

Before we mastered pride and grew egos?

Can you recall the joy of having new Christmas clothes or shoes that glowed?

Before we leant how to judge a man’s worth by his clothes?

When we played soccer with designer shoes and didn’t care?

Do you recall how we would play hide and seek only for those two friends who always went missing?

Do you recall the times when you had to draw for your crush?

And write letters with big words which were out of context?

Those days are far gone now..
The future we desire seems bleak now.

And the past even more glorious
if I had a time machine.

I will visit the past,not to change anything,
But to experience certain things twice.

Parkwat Walkyes

May 16,2020.

She keeps running marathons from my head to my heart.
Planting landmines in a places she could easily plant flowers.
Digging up my past in unmarked graves .
Seeing the red tapes I kept secret..

She visits in my dreams
And chases after me with a dagger.
She isn’t much of a comforter.
I can’t tell if it is me or revenge she seeks.
I am left exhausted
Sitting in one place and yet like a woman in labour.

She erases moments of joy
And amplifies moments of Mara
My Tabula rasa is left empty
She signs her evil acts with her name.
Even if I forgive her,she wants her deeds remembered.

My face doesn’t tell much of the story
It is dry like the Sahara
But my heart is flooded with tears.
My bones ache but my gait appears normal.
A lover’s revenge is enough motive
My crimes are ever before me
I felled in love too deeply
the cut that awaits me in equal measure.

.Parkwat Walkyes.
08052020

We have been told not to judge a book by its cover, however I am among the judges who sit at the bench and pass verdict on movies based on their titles. A movie with a title ‘Miracle in cell no. 7’ would have received the axe if it came out five years earlier. There is nothing so special about the title only that it probably suggests a Christian theme. If you’re like me five years ago, you’d dismiss this movie at first sight. However, you’d be doing yourself a big dishonor because I can assure you that at the end of this movie you’ll be screaming “lingo lingo” or “bottles” or decide to name one of your daughters Ova.

As if judging the human by his hue was not enough, The West has long been overlooked foreign language movies. The Genevieve directed ‘Lion Heart’ suffered this trauma as well when its entry for international feature film was rejected by the Academy Awards for containing a predominantly English dialogue. If she had opted to do the movie in her Igbo dialect, they would’ve still find an excuse to dismiss it as being too ” African” or lacking “reach”. One can say he who gives the gift determines the rules. If your Film is not nominated for the Oscars then many people will neglect it and if you don’t have a Pulitzer award then your writing is not good enough. Miracle in cell NO 7 is a Korean debut that tells a gory tale of injustice and how people with mental health challenges are left at the mercy of a bias judicial system. If “Just Mercy” starring Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan made you shed tears, then I suggest you get your napkins ready because your lacrimal glands will work overtime for greater part of this movie. However, is not entirely sad as there moments when you are sure to find yourself laughing as the tears roll down your cheeks.

7 Kogustaki Mucize is a Turkish remake of the popular South Korean movie of the same title (Miracle in cell NO. 7) that tells the story of a mentally challenged father who finds himself in trouble when he strays and finds himself at a picnic. Trouble starts when a daughter of a general is found dead. Being the only person at the crime scene, he was alleged guilty before he could even have a day in court. His daughter and his mother are left devastated by this tragic turn of events.

Although mentally incapacitated he is made to sign a confession to a crime he did not commit by the powers that be. Memo played by Aras Bulut Iynemli soon finds himself far from the countryside where he tends his sheep to a prison yard with murderers and thieves. Unlike in the countryside where he enjoys conversations with his beautiful daughter Ova and his flock of sheep, he must survive assaults from prison inmates and guards alike. Ova played by Nisa Sofiya is torn apart by the absence of of her father. However, a few visits to see her father in the jail soon makes her everyone’s darling. Ova’s will to see her father outside the prison walls will see her team up with her school teacher to find the only witness at the crime scene-a dissident soldier who escapes an army draft. God forgives sin, but some to some, revenge is the only way of healing. The late daughter’s father murders the only witness to the case and for a moment hope ceases to exist. Ova will lose her grandma and will have to move in with her teacher.

The Holy book in John 15: 13 make it clear that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.

A miracle seldom happens when you expect it. At the time when Memo’s fate was to go the gallows, an unlikely friend steps up and comes to the rescue. The scheme too strange to be true will reunite Memo and Ova.
Throughout the 2hours of this Mehmet Ada Oztekin directed flick we go an emotional roller coaster ride and we reminded about how tightly the knots of family bind and unite in a world where family values are fast disappearing. It also questions the fairness of the justice system and how the signature of a person in authority can seal the fate of an ordinary man. Albeit many people doubt the existence of God, they cannot question His manifestations in the affairs of men. If you’ve never seen a man cry, this might the movie to break the iceberg behind those eyes. For some of us, it is a reminder that more foreign movies also demand the naked man in gold.

Parkwat Walkyes
April, 28th 2020

We have been told not to judge a book by its cover, however I am among the judges who sit at the bench and pass verdict on movies based on their titles. A movie with a title ‘Miracle in cell no. 7’ would have received the axe if it came out five years earlier. There is nothing so special about the title only that it probably suggests a Christian theme. If you’re like me five years ago, you’d dismiss this movie at first sight. However, you’d be doing yourself a big dishonor because I can assure you that at the end of this movie you’ll be screaming “lingo lingo” or “bottles” or decide to name one of your daughters Ova.

As if judging the human by his hue was not enough, The West has long been overlooked foreign language movies. The Genevieve directed ‘Lion Heart’ suffered this trauma as well when its entry for international feature film was rejected by the Academy Awards for containing a predominantly English dialogue. If she had opted to do the movie in her Igbo dialect, they would’ve still find an excuse to dismiss it as being too ” African” or lacking “reach”. One can say he who gives the gift determines the rules. If your Film is not nominated for the Oscars then many people will neglect it and if you don’t have a Pulitzer award then your writing is not good enough. Miracle in cell NO 7 is a Korean debut that tells a gory tale of injustice and how people with mental health challenges are left at the mercy of a bias judicial system. If “Just Mercy” starring Jamie Foxx and Michael B. Jordan made you shed tears, then I suggest you get your napkins ready because your lacrimal glands will work overtime for greater part of this movie. However, is not entirely sad as there moments when you are sure to find yourself laughing as the tears roll down your cheeks.

7 Kogustaki Mucize is a Turkish remake of the popular South Korean movie of the same title (Miracle in cell NO. 7) that tells the story of a mentally challenged father who finds himself in trouble when he strays and finds himself at a picnic. Trouble starts when a daughter of a general is found dead. Being the only person at the crime scene, he was alleged guilty before he could even have a day in court. His daughter and his mother are left devastated by this tragic turn of events.

Although mentally incapacitated he is made to sign a confession to a crime he did not commit by the powers that be. Memo played by Aras Bulut Iynemli soon finds himself far from the countryside where he tends his sheep to a prison yard with murderers and thieves. Unlike in the countryside where he enjoys conversations with his beautiful daughter Ova and his flock of sheep, he must survive assaults from prison inmates and guards alike. Ova played by Nisa Sofiya is torn apart by the absence of of her father. However, a few visits to see her father in the jail soon makes her everyone’s darling. Ova’s will to see her father outside the prison walls will see her team up with her school teacher to find the only witness at the crime scene-a dissident soldier who escapes an army draft. God forgives sin, but some to some, revenge is the only way of healing. The late daughter’s father murders the only witness to the case and for a moment hope ceases to exist. Ova will lose her grandma and will have to move in with her teacher.

The Holy book in John 15: 13 make it clear that there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.

A miracle seldom happens when you expect it. At the time when Memo’s fate was to go the gallows, an unlikely friend steps up and comes to the rescue. The scheme too strange to be true will reunite Memo and Ova.
Throughout the 2hours of this Mehmet Ada Oztekin directed flick we go an emotional roller coaster ride and we reminded about how tightly the knots of family bind and unite in a world where family values are fast disappearing. It also questions the fairness of the justice system and how the signature of a person in authority can seal the fate of an ordinary man. Albeit many people doubt the existence of God, they cannot question His manifestations in the affairs of men. If you’ve never seen a man cry, this might the movie to break the iceberg behind those eyes. For some of us, it is a reminder that more foreign movies also demand the naked man in gold.

Parkwat Walkyes
April, 28th 2020

I wished I was taught risk before I was taught savings.
I wished they brought artisans to my career day in school.
I wish they taught me history as fervent as they did current affairs.
They made us read too many fiction stories and never exposed us to biographies.
Arts class were about primary colors, I wish my teachers squeeze the opportunity to tell me I will be treated different based on the hue of my skin.
And in science class we knew so much, so much that we didn’t have any brain space to think for ourselves.
We sat and listened for hours and only had 5 minutes to ask questions.Ever wonder why people keep so much buried within them?
Shakespeare was always celebrated and yet we had Chinua?
But we kids, we needed the good grades.
We needed the A’s ,so we played it safe.
But do better for four kids as I will later do mine.
Don’t leave their education only to schools.
Don’t limit their exposure to Christ to the church alone.
Teach your boys to wash plates and teach the girls Karate if you can.
Nuture talent and don’t just let society give them careers .

My name is Parkwat Walkyes Welcome to my TEDtalk?