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Winnipeg Free Press
13 hours ago
- Health
- Winnipeg Free Press
Chronicle of chronic pain not merely doom and gloom
Imagine making your living through writing and cartooning but enduring severe pain in your hands and arms every time you hit a letter on your keyboard or pick up a pencil. This is the personal dilemma faced by Gabrielle Drolet and described in her memoir, Look Ma, No Hands. A journalist, essayist and cartoonist based in Montreal, Drolet's written work has appeared in the New York Times, Globe and Mail, the Walrus, Vice and Teen Vogue. She also contributes cartoons to the Globe and Mail, among other publications. Drolet has won awards for her essays on disability, and holds a master of fine arts degree from the University of Guelph. An account of debilitating pain impacting someone else's life might sound like a depressing read, but much to her credit as a writer, Drolet manages to include a healthy dose of self-deprecating humour along with cute, engaging cartoons to lighten the tone of her memoir. Even when bravely sharing her darkest moments, when thoughts of suicide were looming, her honesty and strong spirit shine through. Look Ma No Hands Drolet's chronic pain began in 2021, when at age 23 she was living in Wolfville, N.S. with her girlfriend. The COVID pandemic dictated that Drolet work from home, and she admits she often sat in bed or on the couch hunched over her laptop. Her first symptom began with pain in her fingers when typing, then progressed to pain in her wrist after picking up a pencil. Then came an aching feeling in her neck and hands, sudden jolts in her elbows and a constant soreness in her forearms. Soon the pain was keeping her up at night, leaving her exhausted and in increasing discomfort. She believed physiotherapy might help; the first two she saw diagnosed her with bilateral carpal tunnel syndrome. Told to do a series of exercises and stretches and wear splints when sleeping, Drolet found no relief. After breaking up with her girlfriend and moving to Toronto, Drolet received a new diagnosis, thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) — a compression of the nerves in your chest. She blamed her prolonged sedentary lifestyle and bad ergonomics for triggering this condition. Having a name for her condition didn't help her daily pain management. Drolet started using voice-to-text technology to keep her freelance writing career afloat, but was frustrated by the lengthy process required to weed out mistakes, and how the tone of her writing seemed to change. However, she gradually became used to the writing tool. Her personal relationships suffered as well. When telling others about her chronic pain, she discovered they generally reacted in one of three ways: being overly sympathetic; doling out advice; or praising her for enduring her disability. Never sure of how to respond, Drolet found herself expressing her thanks and trying to downplay her situation. Settling into a new life in Montreal while balancing her freelance and university studies, Drolet describes how she had to reconfigure her personal outlook. She forced herself to leave her apartment and meet new people. This change helped her mentally and emotionally, and surprisingly eased her physical symptoms to some extent. She continued seeing a physiotherapist regularly to help with TOS, but a referral to a doctor and results of an MRI gave her a new diagnosis — a herniated cervical disc. When the specialist told her that he wouldn't recommend surgery for her condition, Drolet was able to accept this knowing she now has the skills she needs to live a satisfying life. Drolet's journey as told in Look Ma, No Hands is intensely personal, but resonates with anyone who has faced their own challenges — whether physical, mental or emotional. Andrea Geary is a freelance writer in Selkirk.
Montreal Gazette
17-06-2025
- Montreal Gazette
Search continues Tuesday for missing toddler Claire Bell
Quebec provincial police continued to comb areas west of Montreal early Tuesday for missing toddler Claire Bell who last seen Sunday in the LaSalle borough. Sûreté du Québec Sgt. Jean-Raphaël Drolet confirmed the operation was underway in the Montérégie region, with a focus on Coteau-du-Lac, where the three-year-old from Montreal was reported missing. Police are also looking in the Vaudreuil-Dorion area after a dead dog, believed to the Chihuahua seen with Claire, was found by police near Highway 30 Monday afternoon. The search could extend to surrounding areas, according to Drolet. As the extensive search continues by police, Drolet said public volunteers are not requested as of Tuesday morning. Claire was reported missing Sunday afternoon by her mother at a souvenir shop on St-Emmanuel Rd. in Coteau-du-Lac, about 60 kilometres southwest of Montreal. The woman told an employee she had lost the child and didn't know where she was, police said. The mother was questioned by police and appeared remotely in court overnight Monday. She is expected to appear in court Tuesday in Valleyfield. The woman posted a TikTok video hours before reporting Claire's disappearance. The Gazette has identified the mother as Rachel Todd, 34. She is seen in the short clip, posted on Sunday, holding the young girl. More information about Claire Claire is three feet tall, weighs 35 pounds, and has brown hair and brown eyes. The toddler was last seen wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with a red collar and grey pants. She had no shoes on at the time. Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call 911. Anonymous tips can also be shared via the SQ's criminal information line at 1-800-659-4264. No Amber Alert has been issued. Quebec's criteria require that police have reasonable grounds to believe a child has been abducted and is in imminent danger. This story was originally published
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
World's first sustainable battery lasts 6,000 cycles, could offer 30-year life
Ukrainian startup SorbiForce has made a major breakthrough by transforming agricultural waste into a metal-free organic battery prototype in an attempt to combat the environmental impact of conventional batteries. Apart from agricultural waste, the Arizona-based energy storage company claims they used nothing but carbon, water, and salt to develop what they say is the world's first truly sustainable battery. The team, led by material scientist Serhii Kaminskyi, SorbiForce's CEO and co-founder, came up with the idea after realizing agriculture generates up to 2.1 billion tons of waste each year. Moreover, the limited and often hazardous methods of recycling conventional batteries further highlighted the urgent need for safer, more sustainable solutions. "With the current way energy storage systems and batteries are designed, they have really big sustainability implications for the planet," Kevin Drolet, the company's CMO, says. To create the innovative battery, Kaminskyi gathered a team of experts in the late 2010s, which eventually earned them a place in the University of Arizona Center for Innovation's startup incubator. "We've really latched onto this idea that waste is value and that you can derive capital enterprise from waste," Drolet emphasizes. Following years of research, the team developed sorption batteries that use three physical processes to transfer electrons through an ultraporous carbon layer at the core, moving them from the cathode to the anode. According to the team, since both electrodes are made of carbon, the battery is totally nonflammable. "What's really interesting about our technology is that the ultraporous carbon materials actually get better as they age," the CMO explains. "The battery life could be up to 30 years as long as you can add more water." However, what's perhaps most striking is that at the end of a cell's life, as much as 95 percent of the battery can be broken down into organic materials, while the rest of the components can later be reused. Additionally, Drolet remarks that, unlike lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, which often become toxic plastic waste or pose safety hazards when recycled, SorbiForce cells pose no risk of explosion, thermal runaway or toxic leaks thanks to their metal-free chemistry and closed-loop design, even if cut in half. As the startup gears up for its initial 60 kWh to 150 kWh pilot projects slated for the second half of the year, it is currently seeking to raise USD 5 million in seed funding before the round closes. Drolet is confident the low costs and high demand will help the company expand rapidly. "Compared to lithium-ion batteries, our capex costs are much lower because the salt and materials for the battery are in massive abundance here in the United States," Drolet says. With a lifespan exceeding 6,000 cycles and the ability to stack modules, Drolet says moving from pilot projects to full-scale manufacturing is simply a matter of learning, as the demand is already there. "There's a big need to develop technologies that are non-flammable, nonexplosive and made in the U.S.," Drolet says, adding that the company plans to begin rolling out its first batteries later this year through initial sales. "If you can build something that doesn't catch on fire, that's really valuable; we can do that while building a circular economy for energy storage," he concludes.
