Latest news with #Pohl
Business Insider
5 days ago
- Business Insider
I'd become the kind of adult my younger self would have pitied. A weeklong Arctic retreat helped me find my way back.
Stephanie Pensa, 44, was starting to lose interest in both work and everyday life. A hiking retreat in the Arctic helped her reconnect with purpose after years of feeling lost. The personal growth came through nature, and a group of strangers who weren't afraid to be vulnerable. Reading "The Alchemist" in seventh grade shifted something in my psyche. Paulo Coelho's book, about a young shepherd who follows his dream in search of treasure and discovers his true purpose along the way, had such a profound effect that it guided me for the next 20 years. It solidified my desire to travel the world and seek adventure, leading me to live in Rome and Rio de Janeiro. My dreams dictated my life decisions. Later, after a divorce and a temporarily crippling disease, I moved back to the suburban town where I grew up. I started working in my family's business, of which I'm incredibly proud, but it's not my passion and doesn't fulfill me. Over time, I lost enthusiasm for daily life. Turning 40, I realized I'd become the kind of hollow adult my younger self would've pitied. Paving the way for change Something was missing; I was missing. I was craving the outdoors. So when I came across a weeklong hiking retreat with 10 strangers in a remote archipelago in the Arctic Circle, it felt like exactly what I'd been searching for. Arctic Dreams Retreats is run by Rachel Pohl, a professional artist, and her husband, Charles Post, an ecologist. I first came across Pohl a few years ago on Instagram's Explore page. Her long, Viking-esque blonde braids set against a snowy mountain backdrop caught my eye and compelled me to click. I learned she was from Montana and had once been on track to become a professional skier, but instead, she turned her love of painting into a career. Calling herself a "slightly chaotic shield maiden," Pohl was a breath of fresh air, sharing openly about vulnerability, kindness, and joyful silliness. I was instantly captivated and she came across as someone I wanted to be friends with. The couple, now in their 30s, moved to Lofoten, Norway, three and a half years ago. After struggling to make friends, they decided to host retreats — selecting the participants themselves — to share their adopted home with others. Having hosted two retreats so far, they like to joke, "We import our friends!" Something told me that a week in Lofoten might reignite my spark — I wanted in and got started on the application, which included thoughtful questions about core values like respect for nature, adaptability, and living well with others. Being offered a spot gave me a boost of hope. Later, Pohl and Post told me they choose people they'd feel comfortable welcoming into their lives. Bonding with strangers The nine retreat participants, ranging in age from 20 to 44, came from Canada, Wales, and several US states. The group I traveled with in June happened to be all women, but the retreat is gender-inclusive and open to all. Last year's inaugural group included a husband-and-wife duo. At our first lunch, Pohl asked the group, "What are you hoping to let go of this week?" The answers revealed that we'd all come to Lofoten seeking some form of personal transformation — amid loss, uncertainty, or self-doubt. Most of us were nature-loving introverts, drawn to the retreat's focus on wellness and introspection. I was thrilled to go — but also terrified. My physical fitness was at an all-time low (I love hiking, but I'm in the worst shape of my life), and my social anxiety wasn't helping. It took a few days to shake my self-consciousness. But as the week went on, I relaxed, focused on getting to know others, and stopped fixating on how I came across. We bonded quickly while tackling steep, unforgiving trails — like one with a 1,400-foot climb in the first mile, labeled "moderate" by Norwegian standards. Even the seasoned hikers from Colorado and Washington were out of breath. Each evening, we gathered for candlelit dinners in a cozy 1930s farmhouse, sharing laughs and stories around a long table adorned with wildflowers. The meals were all plant-based and locally sourced. It was during those meals that we enjoyed a rare harmony of strangers co-existing for a week in a faraway place. Inspiration for my next steps The endless daylight, constant symphony of Arctic birds, and wildflower-covered landscapes contributed to my healing. Jagged mountains rose from the sea, framing green valleys. A turning point came on the day we went sailing. Someone misread a message I'd written in our group chat and thought I wasn't joining. She shared how sad she was when she thought I wasn't coming and how happy she was when she found out I was. I was deeply moved to know my presence mattered. On our final night, I told her how much that moment meant to me. The retreat reconnected me with my "magical" self — the part that believes in deep connection, the power of dreams, and the quiet alchemy of nature and human curiosity. Though some of the post-trip bliss has faded, something in me shifted. I keep returning to the memory of standing on a mountaintop with new friends, wrapped in wool layers under the golden Midnight Sun, feeling more present and calm than I had in years. I don't know what's next, but I'm finally open to the search again.
Daily Mail
17-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
My doctor used a dirty needle during common procedure - it left me with agonising 'suicide disease'
A former primary school teacher has been left with a rare condition dubbed 'suicide disease' after a doctor re-used a dirty needle during a common procedure. Amy Pohl, now 32, from Warwickshire, visited her GP for help with a cough that doctors suspected was a respiratory infection, and referred her to the local hospital. Ms Pohl should have made a full recovery following a course of steroids to help reduce the swelling in her airways. However, the hospital medic failed to properly insert a cannula—a thin tube inserted into the vein to administer the medication— leading to an infection. The infection was supposedly caused by a doctor incorrectly using the same needle in both her arms, without properly sterilising the skin, after numerous failed attempts to insert the tube. Ms Pohl believes this infection eventually triggered a debilitating condition that causes agonising pain in the limbs. Called complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the problem is the body's over-reaction to an injury, and can also cause the hands, feet and legs to seize up and become extremely swollen. The medics' oversight left Ms Pohl partially paralysed and in excruciating pain. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Amy Pohl (@amy_pohl) CRPS is dubbed suicide disease because of how many sufferers take their life after developing the condition. Ms Pohl said the excruciating pain she endured felt like she was being 'stabbed by a hundred shards of burning glass', as doctors scrambled for answers. Recalling the initial problem that led her to seek help in November 2017, Ms Pohl said she put her sore throat down to end of term exhaustion. But a GP eventually diagnosed croup—an infection that usually affects children, causing a distinct 'barking' cough. Croup is usually caused by a contagious virus such as parainfluenza, which is spread through contaminated air droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes. When Ms Pohl arrived at hospital, doctors performed an endoscopy—where a camera is passed up the nose and down the throat—to better visualise the harm caused by the infection. Unfortunately Ms Pohl suffered a severe allergic reaction to the anesthetising spray they had used to numb the area, which led to an admission to a high dependency unit. Not long after her admission, Ms Pohl said her doctor attempted to insert a cannula into her arm to administer medication directly into her bloodstream to treat the infection. 'The doctor only brought one cannula into the room,' Ms Pohl recalled in a YouTube video. 'He put the needle into my arm and then without cleaning the skin or the needle he tried my wrist. 'His whole mask was steaming up and my dad said to him "shouldn't you be using a new needle?" He shouted at my dad and told him to leave the room. 'Then he went over to the other arm and that's when he put it into my hand. And he tried and tried and tried. Because of all that, I developed an infection.' 'The chance of someone getting an infection if a needle is reused in their own body is really slim', she said, 'but it happens that I was that one in a million'. Ms Pohl's hand and wrist then began to swell. The pain got so bad that it would radiate up her arm and into her abdomen, stopping her from eating. Unbeknown to both her and her doctors at the time, she was experiencing the onset of CRPS. According to the NHS, the skin of the affected body part can become so sensitive that even a slight touch or change in temperature can cause intense pain. Affected areas can also become swollen, stiff or undergo fluctuating changes in colour or temperature. 'No matter how many weeks went by after the surgeries, my hand was just getting worse not better,' Ms Pohl recalled in an Instagram video. Ms Pohl eventually diagnosed with CRPS in 2018 and has since been campaigning on social media to raise better awareness for the condition, resolved to 'stop fighting [herself] and start fighting for [herself]'. The content creator, who has 3.7million followers on TikTok now makes upbeat videos about her diagnoses, in a bid to spread awareness about the dangers of re-using needles. Through an extensive physiotherapy regime, Ms Pohl now has a better range of movement in her hand and wrist, and is starting to gain back her independence. According to the NHS, while the condition is usually triggered by an injury, the resulting pain can last for years. In addition to chronic pain, CRPS can also cause a range of other symptoms including strange sensations in the affected limb—almost as if it doesn't belong to the rest of the body—joint stiffness and swelling, tremors and muscle spasms and insomnia. In some cases, it can even cause the muscles to waste away, restricting suffers range of movement until they can no longer live unassisted. The prevalence of the condition is still unclear, however it is estimated that up to 3,800 people in the UK develop CRPS each year.
Business Wire
17-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
interos.ai Launches 'itariffs' to Help Companies Identify and Act on Tariff Risks in Real Time
ARLINGTON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- the AI-powered risk intelligence company, today announced the launch of itariffs, a breakthrough offering designed to give procurement, finance and risk teams instant insight into their organization's tariff exposure across multiple tiers of suppliers. This launch arrives amid widespread trade instability, as tariffs create uncertainty and force companies to rethink long-established sourcing strategies. Built into the Resilience dashboard, itariffs delivers targeted intelligence to answer the urgent questions that business leaders face today: Where are we exposed? Which suppliers and products are most at risk? How do we act before costs spiral out of control? 'Tariffs aren't just headlines, they're disrupting critical supply chains in real ways, in real time,' said Yardley Pohl, Chief Product and Technology Officer of 'With itariffs, we are giving organizations a powerful edge: AI-driven visibility that cuts through guesswork and reveals risks buried deep across sub-tiers of suppliers. It's the difference between reacting late and responding smart, before disruptions hit.' itariffs: What It Does itariffs gives companies a faster, more focused way to uncover and act on risk. Capabilities include: Multi-tier mapping: Visualize tariff exposure across Tier 1, 2, and 3 suppliers. Drill-down exploration: Analyze tariff impact by country or product category. Prioritized supplier lists: Export ready-to-act lists for contract renegotiation, bulk ordering or supplier diversification. Risk layering: Instantly overlay tariff risk with six core risk factors (financial, ESG, cyber, restrictions, geopolitical, and catastrophic) for smarter, more holistic decision-making. This new feature empowers companies to quickly identify vulnerabilities and chart a path forward that balances near-term mitigation with long-term resilience. From Visibility to Action 'Most organizations still lack a line of sight into their sub-tier tariff exposure,' added Pohl. 'itariffs changes that, pinpointing where risk lives and empowering leaders to respond with confidence, whether they're fielding questions in the boardroom or making decisions on the ground.' Companies are already using itariffs to: Accelerate sourcing decisions across vulnerable categories Quantify tariff exposure for CFO- and CEO-level planning Avoid cost spikes by acting before tariffs cascade through supplier networks And this is just the beginning. The launch of itariffs is part of broader mission to eliminate risk from every supply chain through a next-generation predictive intelligence platform; AI-powered, built on deep industry expertise and designed to obtain deeper insights through clean rooms from both your internal data and unmatched global dataset. Why Now? According to proprietary tariff data: Global markets have already seen a $10 trillion initial wipeout since April's tariff implementation. Maritime shipments of key goods are down 28%, straining ports and supply chains across the U.S. More than 151,000 U.S. companies are now exposed to targeted, product-specific tariffs. Lead times for maritime shipments have stretched up to 10 weeks, leaving shelves emptier and customers waiting longer. With nearly 30% of U.S. holiday goods sourced from China and 90% of global trade moving by sea, the stakes for understanding tariff impact have never been higher. Future updates to itariffs will introduce cost forecasting capabilities and intelligent 'similar supplier' recommendations, enabling richer and more tailored insights for faster, smarter, actionable risk management decisions. itariffs is available today to existing customers via the Resilience dashboard. To learn more or request a demo, visit About is the AI risk intelligence company – building the most trusted and transparent supply chains in the world. Our pioneering discovery and monitoring intelligence spans the lifecycle of supply chain risk, enabling faster and more informed threat mitigation. As the world's first, and only, automated supplier intelligence platform, we continuously map and monitor extended supply chains at speed and scale to protect organizations from regulatory fines, unethical labor, cyber-attacks, and other systemic vulnerabilities. serves a variety of commercial, government, and public sector customers around the world including a host of Global Fortune 500 companies and from within the members of the Five Eyes nations. For more information, visit
The Independent
28-04-2025
- The Independent
How dream vacations became ‘like a horror movie' amidst Trump's border crackdown
Charlotte Pohl and Maria Lepère's first night in Honolulu was not how they intended. The jet-setting high school graduates from Rostock, Germany, had envisioned island-hopping across Hawaii before flying inland to California. Instead, they woke up from their 'fever dream' on a moldy mattress in a frigid, dilapidated cell, detained by authorities when they arrived at Honolulu airport and had attempted to go through U.S. customs. Pohl and Lepère's experience is one of several harrowing, high-profile accounts from tourists who have had their vacations derailed at the hands of border officials since Donald Trump 's return to the White House in January. Ever since the president promised to stage 'the largest deportation operation in American history' earlier this year, international tourism to the U.S. has plummeted amid reports of detained tourists and travelers. Total foreign visitors were down 12 percent year-on-year in March, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. That drop marked one of the steepest declines on record outside of the Covid-19 pandemic. Western European visitors experienced a 17 percent drop-off last month, spearheaded by fewer British and German visitors — 14 and 28 percent, respectively. Here are some of the tourists that did try and visit — but instead had their American dreams dashed. Charlotte Pohl, 19, and Maria Lepère, 18, from Germany Pohl, 19, and Lepère, 18, were denied entry into the U.S. on March 18 despite holding the required documentation, including the electronic visa required by most visitors. The teens said that they wanted to travel 'spontaneously,' and subsequently hadn't booked accommodation for the entirety of their five-week stint on the archipelago, Pohl told German newspaper Ostsee Zeitung. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham countered this week that the tourists were 'attempting to enter the U.S. under false pretenses,' and claimed they admitted they 'intended to work' without the appropriate visas. The travelers told the newspaper they were stripped and searched before being given prison garments to wear and locked in a double cell. After three days detained, they returned to Rostock via Tokyo, Qatar, and Frankfurt am Main. 'We had already noticed a little bit of what was going on in the U.S. But at the time, we didn't think it was happening to Germans. That was perhaps very naive,' Lepère reflected. For tourists like Pohl and Lepère, and others legally in the U.S. and subsequently removed, that so-called 'privilege' was not afforded. Rebecca Burke, 28, Wales Welsh graphic artist Rebecca Burke was detained on February 26 after she embarked on 'the trip of a lifetime' across North America. The 28-year-old from Monmouthshire was reunited with her family this month after spending 19 days in a processing center after being denied entry at the border between the U.S. and Canada over a so-called visa mix-up. Burke had been residing with host families in Portland, Oregon, whom she helped out with chores in exchange for her accomodation. As she attempted to cross into Canada, border officials informed her that her living arrangements would mean she needed a work visa, not a tourist one. She was sent back to the U.S. where American officials classed her as an illegal alien. Burke was shackled and transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Washington. She was not allowed to fly home to the U.K. despite having the funds to pay for a plane ticket. Burke was detained while attempting to leave the U.S., not entering it. As she was ushered to the plane before finally being flown back to Britain, her father told the BBC she had been taken in 'leg chains, waist chains and handcuffs' like The Silence of the Lambs serial killer, 'Hannibal Lecter.' Lucas Sielaff, 25, Germany German Lucas Sielaff spent more than two weeks at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, a prison in San Diego, California, after trying to cross the southern border from Tijuana in Mexico in February with his fiancée, Lennon Tyler, an American psychologist. The couple, who were on vacation, allegedly drove to Tijuana for medical treatment for Dr. Tyler's dog. Tyler, who was handcuffed before being released, said she was chained to a bench and had her arms twisted by border agents, she told the New York Times. Reportedly because of a language barrier, Sielaff, 25, got an answer wrong regarding where he lived as he attempted to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico. The man said he shared a cell with eight other people and shared one microwave oven with 120 people to heat his food. He was eventually allowed voluntary deportation on a flight that cost him more than $2,700. 'Sometimes I just wake up because I have nightmares of this situation and what happened,' he told The Times. 'And I just try to go for walks and calm down.' A German tattoo artist spent more than six weeks also at the Otay Mesa Detention Center after officials believed that she was trying to illegally work in the U.S. At least eight days of her time in custody were reportedly spent in solitary confinement. Jessica Brösche, 29, was on the trip with her American friend Nikita Lofving as a tourist under the ESTA visa waiver program when she attempted to cross the southern border into San Diego in late January. Brösche was traveling with tattoo equipment, leading border officers to believe that she was trying to work unlawfully in the U.S., according to The Guardian. She is said to have planned to tattoo Lofving in exchange for some clothes. 'She says it was like a horror movie,' Lofving told ABC 10 News of her friend's experience. 'They were screaming in all different rooms. After nine days, she said she went so insane that she started punching the walls and then she's got blood on her knuckles.' Travelers are now avoiding heading to the U.S. An Australian man was detained last month for eight hours in John F. Kennedy Airport after arriving in New York after a 24-hour flight from Sydney, via Hong Kong, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The traveler, who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, said he intended to board a cruise in Florida but was questioned by border officials after taking what he described as a 'very unusual route from Australia via Asia' for cheaper air fare. After having his laptop and phone searched, the man said he was deported back to Australia, thousands of dollars out of pocket after his cruise line allegedly refused to refund him. 'I feel like returning to the US under the current administration would be the equivalent of going back for your hat after escaping a devastating house fire,' he said. 'I have no wish to be burnt again.' Stories of distressing detentions, stricter border controls and the Trump administration's imperialistic rhetoric are seemingly only part of the puzzle. Tourists also appear to be repelled by consequential changes in foreign diplomacy, not least the president attempting to foment a global trade war as he aggressively attempts to pursue his America First agenda. When pressed on the 'steep drop-off' of tourism in the U.S. in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump retorted: 'It's not a big deal.' 'It is a privilege extended to those who respect our laws and values,' he added.
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Yahoo
The tourists whose dream American vacations were destroyed by Trump's border crackdown
Charlotte Pohl and Maria Lepère's first night in Honolulu was not how they intended. The jet-setting high school graduates from Rostock, Germany, had envisioned island-hopping across Hawaii before flying inland to California. Instead, they woke up from their 'fever dream' on a moldy mattress in a frigid, dilapidated cell, detained by authorities when they arrived at Honolulu airport and had attempted to go through U.S. customs. Pohl and Lepère's experience is one of several harrowing, high-profile accounts from tourists who have had their vacations derailed at the hands of border officials since Donald Trump's return to the White House in January. Ever since the president promised to stage 'the largest deportation operation in American history' earlier this year, international tourism to the U.S. has plummeted amid reports of detained tourists and travelers. Total foreign visitors were down 12 percent year-on-year in March, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce. That drop marked one of the steepest declines on record outside of the Covid-19 pandemic. Western European visitors experienced a 17 percent drop-off last month, spearheaded by fewer British and German visitors — 14 and 28 percent, respectively. Here are some of the tourists that did try and visit — but instead had their American dreams dashed. Pohl, 19, and Lepère, 18, were denied entry into the U.S. on March 18 despite holding the required documentation, including the electronic visa required by most visitors. The teens said that they wanted to travel 'spontaneously,' and subsequently hadn't booked accommodation for the entirety of their five-week stint on the archipelago, Pohl told German newspaper Ostsee Zeitung. U.S. Customs and Border Protection Assistant Commissioner Hilton Beckham countered this week that the tourists were 'attempting to enter the U.S. under false pretenses,' and claimed they admitted they 'intended to work' without the appropriate visas. The travelers told the newspaper they were stripped and searched before being given prison garments to wear and locked in a double cell. After three days detained, they returned to Rostock via Tokyo, Qatar, and Frankfurt am Main. 'We had already noticed a little bit of what was going on in the U.S. But at the time, we didn't think it was happening to Germans. That was perhaps very naive,' Lepère reflected. For tourists like Pohl and Lepère, and others legally in the U.S. and subsequently removed, that so-called 'privilege' was not afforded. Welsh graphic artist Rebecca Burke was detained on February 26 after she embarked on 'the trip of a lifetime' across North America. The 28-year-old from Monmouthshire was reunited with her family this month after spending 19 days in a processing center after being denied entry at the border between the U.S. and Canada over a so-called visa mix-up. Burke had been residing with host families in Portland, Oregon, whom she helped out with chores in exchange for her accomodation. As she attempted to cross into Canada, border officials informed her that her living arrangements would mean she needed a work visa, not a tourist one. She was sent back to the U.S. where American officials classed her as an illegal alien. Burke was shackled and transported to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma, Washington. She was not allowed to fly home to the U.K. despite having the funds to pay for a plane ticket. Burke was detained while attempting to leave the U.S., not entering it. As she was ushered to the plane before finally being flown back to Britain, her father told the BBC she had been taken in 'leg chains, waist chains and handcuffs' like The Silence of the Lambs serial killer, 'Hannibal Lecter.' German Lucas Sielaff spent more than two weeks at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, a prison in San Diego, California, after trying to cross the southern border from Tijuana in Mexico in February with his fiancée, Lennon Tyler, an American psychologist. The couple, who were on vacation, allegedly drove to Tijuana for medical treatment for Dr. Tyler's dog. Tyler, who was handcuffed before being released, said she was chained to a bench and had her arms twisted by border agents, she told the New York Times. Reportedly because of a language barrier, Sielaff, 25, got an answer wrong regarding where he lived as he attempted to re-enter the U.S. from Mexico. The man said he shared a cell with eight other people and shared one microwave oven with 120 people to heat his food. He was eventually allowed voluntary deportation on a flight that cost him more than $2,700. 'Sometimes I just wake up because I have nightmares of this situation and what happened,' he told The Times. 'And I just try to go for walks and calm down.' A German tattoo artist spent more than six weeks also at the Otay Mesa Detention Center after officials believed that she was trying to illegally work in the U.S. At least eight days of her time in custody were reportedly spent in solitary confinement. Jessica Brösche, 29, was on the trip with her American friend Nikita Lofving as a tourist under the ESTA visa waiver program when she attempted to cross the southern border into San Diego in late January. Brösche was traveling with tattoo equipment, leading border officers to believe that she was trying to work unlawfully in the U.S., according to The Guardian. She is said to have planned to tattoo Lofving in exchange for some clothes. 'She says it was like a horror movie,' Lofving told ABC 10 News of her friend's experience. 'They were screaming in all different rooms. After nine days, she said she went so insane that she started punching the walls and then she's got blood on her knuckles.' An Australian man was detained last month for eight hours in John F. Kennedy Airport after arriving in New York after a 24-hour flight from Sydney, via Hong Kong, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. The traveler, who spoke to the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, said he intended to board a cruise in Florida but was questioned by border officials after taking what he described as a 'very unusual route from Australia via Asia' for cheaper air fare. After having his laptop and phone searched, the man said he was deported back to Australia, thousands of dollars out of pocket after his cruise line allegedly refused to refund him. 'I feel like returning to the US under the current administration would be the equivalent of going back for your hat after escaping a devastating house fire,' he said. 'I have no wish to be burnt again.' Stories of distressing detentions, stricter border controls and the Trump administration's imperialistic rhetoric are seemingly only part of the puzzle. Tourists also appear to be repelled by consequential changes in foreign diplomacy, not least the president attempting to foment a global trade war as he aggressively attempts to pursue his America First agenda. When pressed on the 'steep drop-off' of tourism in the U.S. in the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump retorted: 'It's not a big deal.' Two weeks earlier, Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a Fox News op-ed that 'visiting America is not an entitlement.' 'It is a privilege extended to those who respect our laws and values,' he added.
