{"id":756,"date":"2013-10-02T16:05:01","date_gmt":"2013-10-02T15:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/?page_id=756"},"modified":"2013-10-02T16:28:05","modified_gmt":"2013-10-02T15:28:05","slug":"september-2013","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/?page_id=756","title":{"rendered":"September 2013"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Tuesday 24<sup>th<\/sup> September 2013<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Check out the link below to a two page feature in newspaper the Sunday Post. It\u2019s a shocking account about CJD and how families are bullied not to speak out.<\/p>\n<p>These mums and dads who had to watch their son or daughter die of vCJD, human BSE were warned not to go to the press or even tell their neighbours that their son or daughter had vCJD.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-632\" alt=\"andrew nanny\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/andrew-nanny-300x239.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"239\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/andrew-nanny-300x239.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/andrew-nanny-375x300.jpg 375w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/andrew-nanny.jpg 994w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Since I returned from Italy I have also been interviewed for the Bill Padley show on RadioTalk Europe the largest English speaking radio station in Spain. It has over 500,000 listeners. The presenter Bill was very warm and talked at length about my book and asked me a great deal about my experiences nursing my son Andrew through his last horrific days. It was a very moving interview and at times I struggled not to cry, especially when I extract from the book where Andrew looked at me and said \u2018you will make me better mum.\u2019 With this blog is a photo of Andrew aged 10 taken with his grandmother.<\/p>\n<p>Time doesn\u2019t heal but I have been overwhelmed with the kindness and positive response to my book, each and every one sold is a louder voice for Andrew and all victims of vCJD. It\u2019s also a step closer to the resolution we as families so need, justice and those responsible for BSE and its lethal human pathogen vCJD brought to account.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"blocked::http:\/\/www.sundaypost.com\/news-views\/uk\/cjd-killed-our-son-now-he-s-not-even-a-statistic-1.133595\" href=\"http:\/\/www.sundaypost.com\/news-views\/uk\/cjd-killed-our-son-now-he-s-not-even-a-statistic-1.133595\">http:\/\/www.sundaypost.com\/news-views\/uk\/cjd-killed-our-son-now-he-s-not-even-a-statistic-1.133595<\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>Monday 23<sup>rd<\/sup> September 2013<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<p>I have just returned from Italy, where I met families affected by the human form of mad cow disease, vCJD.<\/p>\n<p>Italian Mother Maria Luisa Ventriglia lost her son Gian Luca aged 32 in 2009, the family live in Caserta just outside of Naples.\u00a0 She has written an account of her son\u2019s death called Nero su Banco (black and white) and I would urge everyone in Italy to read her shocking account.<\/p>\n<p>The Gianluca foundation held an event in Naples in which Maria\u2019s book and mine were showcased. Extracts in Italian from my book, who killed my son? were read out whilst accompanied by a solo violinist. I found it incredibly moving and my welcome from families and the Italian people was amazing.<\/p>\n<p>During my stay in Italy I was able to listen to families accounts of nursing their loved one through vCJD and hear how they too have experienced cover-up and lies surrounding BSE and the human form vCJD. It would appear across the world governments are hiding the true number of people who have and are dying of human BSE. Once again big business and making money for the agriculture and pharmaceutical corporations are paramount. The UK at the height of BSE exported cattle, animal feed and food sourced from UK BSE infected herds.<\/p>\n<p>There have been many cases of vCJD in Italy but families continue to remain isolated as they are informed \u2018your son\/daughter is the only one to develop vCJD\u2019. These sinister tactics are also used constantly by officials from the UK department of Health and Westminister to isolate families and individuals affected by human BSE.<\/p>\n<p>I will continue to challenge, travel and meet families and gather evidence and information.<strong> Justice for all vicitms of vCJD. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Wednesday 18th September\u00a02013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>NUJ National Union of Journalists Magazine\u00a0<span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Garamond; font-size: medium;\"><a title=\"blocked::http:\/\/www.nuj.org.uk\/news\/who-killed-my-son\/\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nuj.org.uk\/news\/who-killed-my-son\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.nuj.org.uk\/news\/who-killed-my-son\/<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h1><b><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: xx-large;\">Who killed my son?<\/span><\/b><\/h1>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">18 September 2013<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">NUJ member Christine Lord watched her journalist son Andrew Black die of vCJD \u2013 the human strain of so-called \u2018Mad Cow Disease\u2019 \u2013 at the age of 24.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">She promised him on his death bed that she would find out how and why he had become infected and who was to blame. The result is a book which outlines her subsequent campaign justice4andy.com, which she argues uncovers a shocking degree of institutional corruption, incompetence and deceit.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-734\" alt=\"chris downing st\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/chris-downing-st-276x300.jpg\" width=\"276\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/chris-downing-st-276x300.jpg 276w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/chris-downing-st.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 276px) 100vw, 276px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">Throughout the 1980s, top-ranking politicians continually told the public that British beef was 100 per cent safe, she said. She claimed:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">&#8220;They were more interested in protecting the profits of the British beef industry than the safety of the British people.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">At an event at Headland House, NUJ headquarters to launch the book, \u201cbefore and after\u201d photographs showed how, in a matter of months, vCJD reduced a fit and good-looking 20-year-old to a bald, pale, skeletal invalid who looked closer to 70. There is no cure for vCJD.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">The meeting also revealed the political and medical establishment\u2019s mistreatment of victims\u2019 families.\u00a0 Christine claims there is a pervasive ignorance within the NHS about vCJD, and coroners are reluctant to name the disease on death certificates. For this reason, Rose Smith, whose son Billy was repeatedly misdiagnosed before succumbing to vCJD, described the official UK death toll (176 people since 1990) as not worth the paper it\u2019s written on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">Christine said relatives are often warned not to speak to the press about their experiences and that she received dozens of anonymous threats while researching the book.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">Shirley Warne, who lost her ultra-fit son Chris in 1997, attended the 2000 BSE inquiry. Christine believes key evidence was concealed and witnesses were put under pressure to toe the government line. At the end of the inquiry, government scientists celebrated in a less-than-sensitive manner: they cracked open bottles of champagne right in front of Shirley and other grieving relatives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">Christine told the meeting that her book, which is available on Amazon, may be the breakthrough the campaign needs, as previously the media has dismissed vCJD as an old story. She said:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\">&#8220;In reality the issue is still very relevant. New cases are being reported, some in people who only started living in the UK after the official ban on meat and bone meal feed in 1996. Thus BSE still exists in the UK. In 2011, the Health Protection Agency UK announced that at least 60,000 people could be incubating vCJD. That should worry us all.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: small;\">\u00a0<\/span><strong>Friday 13<sup>th<\/sup> September 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Within two days of my book,\u2019 Who killed my son?\u2019 being launched my e-book was named number one best seller on Amazon. My real life story using my diaries about Andrew, his life, horrific death due to human BSE and my fight for answers even toppled Phillipa Gregory off her top number one spot. My e book ranked 33<sup>rd<\/sup> out of all UK titles, unheard of from a first time author. Here is a photo of me and Andew December 1984,, when he was just 15 months old, 25 miles away in west sussex cows were dying of BSE.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-739\" alt=\"andrew mum snow aged 2 years\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-mum-snow-aged-2-years1-240x300.jpg\" width=\"240\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-mum-snow-aged-2-years1-240x300.jpg 240w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-mum-snow-aged-2-years1-821x1024.jpg 821w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-mum-snow-aged-2-years1.jpg 1389w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 240px) 100vw, 240px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Please continue to buy my book as each copy downloaded creates a louder voice for Andrew and all victims of cjd. Purchases all help to keep my campaign on track and support families and victims of CJD across the UK and globe.<\/p>\n<p>Here is also\u00a0 a photo of me filming\u00a0at Pitsham Farm, West Sussex, UK. Where in December 1984 the first cows were offically recorded with BSE by government scientists which was kept secret from the public for many years. Andrew was just 15 months old.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-738\" alt=\"OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/cattle-piitsham-farm1-300x224.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"224\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/cattle-piitsham-farm1-300x224.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/cattle-piitsham-farm1-1024x766.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/cattle-piitsham-farm1-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Below is a link to the book and also some of the huge press coverage as the media and public became more and more shocked about the revelations and names I expose in \u2018Who killed my son?\u2019 I appeared on BBC1 flagship morning news programme Breakfast and was interviewed by presenter Roger Johnston, this has generated huge amounts of emails including from new families affected by vCJD and people at the heart of the BSE scandal coming forward to help me with my inquiries.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=who+killed+my+son+by+Christine+LORD\">http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=who+killed+my+son+by+Christine+LORD<\/a>+<\/p>\n<p>h<a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2413564\/Who-killed-son-Mothers-year-battle-truth-mad-cow-disease-24-year-olds-deathbed-plea-justice.html\" target=\"_blank\">ttp:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2413564\/Who-killed-son-Mothers-year-battle-truth-mad-cow-disease-24-year-olds-deathbed-plea-justice.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/real-life-stories\/mad-cow-disease-cover-up-mum-2254529\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/real-life-stories\/mad-cow-disease-cover-up-mum-2254529<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/meridian\/story\/2013-09-06\/mother-claims-mad-cow-cover-up\/\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.itv.com\/news\/meridian\/story\/2013-09-06\/mother-claims-mad-cow-cover-up\/<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.portsmouth.co.uk\/news\/health\/local-health\/book-s-claims-over-mad-cow-disease-cover-up-1-5468050\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.portsmouth.co.uk\/news\/health\/local-health\/book-s-claims-over-mad-cow-disease-cover-up-1-5468050<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Tuesday 10th September\u00a02013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My book, who killed my son? Has gone mega and was named number one best seller on Amazon e-book. My real life story ranked 33<sup>rd<\/sup> out of over 650,000 e-book titles in the UK. Thank you so much for your support, every book sold makes my late son Andrew\u2019s voice louder and supports all victims of vCJD and their family\u2019s quest for justice.<\/p>\n<p>I appeared on BBC1 Breakfast TV on Sunday and have been interviewed by numerous TV Radio and newspapers, below are just some of the links.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-734\" alt=\"chris downing st\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/chris-downing-st-276x300.jpg\" width=\"276\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/chris-downing-st-276x300.jpg 276w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/chris-downing-st.jpg 336w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 276px) 100vw, 276px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>With this blog is a photo of me handing in one of my many petitions and letters to the Prime Minister David Cameron, who has repeatedly refused to meet with me and families affected by vCJD. My book exposes those responsible for BSE and its human pathogen vCJD and why my son should never have died. Why won\u2019t Mr. Cameron meet with me and hear my story and acknowledge the cover-ups that took place during the 1980s and1990s when Conservative PMs Margaret Thatcher and John Major were in power? My investigations are backed with eye witness accounts, facts, secret documents and thorough research. Yet there continues to be a resounding silence from Westminster and the cabinet. This mother will not be silenced! She will keep uncovering and revealing the cankered core within Whitehall and its individuals who unleashed a deadly toxin BSE onto a public that were then duped into eating BSE infected material for over a decade.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2413564\/Who-killed-son-Mothers-year-battle-truth-mad-cow-disease-24-year-olds-deathbed-plea-justice.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2413564\/Who-killed-son-Mothers-year-battle-truth-mad-cow-disease-24-year-olds-deathbed-plea-justice.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/real-life-stories\/mad-cow-disease-cover-up-mum-2254529\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/real-life-stories\/mad-cow-disease-cover-up-mum-2254529<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday September 6th 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My book is featured in a two page article in the Daily Mirror today, see link below. I have been interviewed by the media across the UK and also international press. My book, Who killed my son? is\u00a0now available on amazon to download as I wanted as many people as possible to read the book, Too long victims and their families have been intimidated and silenced by the British Government its now time for all those exposed to BSE to have a loud and clear voice. Justice for andy and all victims of human BSE.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/real-life-stories\/mad-cow-disease-cover-up-mum-2254529\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: small;\">http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/news\/real-life-stories\/mad-cow-disease-cover-up-mum-2254529#comments<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: small;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: small;\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff; font-size: small;\">http:\/\/www.mirror.co.uk<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Thursday 5th September<\/strong> <strong>2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Great reviews for my book &#8216;Who killed my son?&#8217; on amazon, see link below each book bought\u00a0 becomes\u00a0 a louder voice for my\u00a0 latre son Andrew and all vicitms of vCJD. Thank you all for your ongoing support.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: medium;\"><a title=\"blocked::http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias=aps&amp;field-keywords=who+killed+my+son+by+Christine+LORD\" href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=who+killed+my+son+by+Christine+LORD\">http:\/\/www.amazon.co.uk\/s\/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&amp;field-keywords=who+killed+my+son+by+Christine+LORD<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Monday 2nd September 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>If Andrew had lived he would have celebrated his 30<sup>th<\/sup> birthday today, I would have arranged a special meal and he would have been surrounded by his family, friends and dear colleagues.<\/p>\n<p>I gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby Andrew grew into a strong teenager and totally healthy young man with the world at his feet, and a wonderful future ahead.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-724\" alt=\"andrew aged 22\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-aged-22-300x225.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-aged-22-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-aged-22-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-aged-22-400x300.jpg 400w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-aged-22.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Instead my son lies in the ground dead at 24 years of age due to the human form of mad cow disease.<\/p>\n<p>The gift I am able to give my son is my ongoing fight for the truth and justice for all victims of vCJD. Another is my book, called \u2018Who killed my son? published this month,\u00a0 my book is a lasting tribute to an honourable young man who never had the chance to mature or grow older. \u2018Who killed my son? Is the book the British Government did not want the public to read, they have tried to silence me and my investigations over the last five years.<\/p>\n<p>Today I will make my way to the cemetery place flowers on Andrew\u2019s grave and then release balloons in his memory. Andrew on his death bed asked me;<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Find out who did this to me mum and expose them\u2019 and always thinking of others \u2018this must never happen to anyone else again.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-522\" alt=\"Emma and Andrew aged 7\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Emma-and-Andrew-aged-7-300x205.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Emma-and-Andrew-aged-7-300x205.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Emma-and-Andrew-aged-7-439x300.jpg 439w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/Emma-and-Andrew-aged-7.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>I continue to honour those promises I made to my beloved only son as he died, there is no sell by date to a mother\u2019s love. I miss you so much Andrew\u2026\u2026and have and continue to shed a river of tears for all those years you should have lived and enjoyed. My beloved boy, you died far too soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018What will survive of us is love\u2019 (Phillip Larkin, English Poet)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Friday 23<sup>rd<\/sup> August 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Yet another young life is being destroyed by human BSE, Ritchii Kara from Brighton aged just 28 years old has been diagnosed with vCJD.<\/p>\n<p>What a brave young guy to talk to the press about his condition. How many more innocent lives will be lost, my forthcoming book exposes the truth behind the BSE scandal and how it should never have existed in humans.<\/p>\n<p>My thoughts are with Ritchii, his loving parents and his\u00a0wonderful supportive friends.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/health\/article-2400770\/Vegetarian-28-given-just-months-live-diagnosed-Mad-Cow-Disease-caught-stopped-eating-meat-years-ago.html\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/health\/article-2400770\/Vegetarian-28-given-just-months-live-diagnosed-Mad-Cow-Disease-caught-stopped-eating-meat-years-ago.html<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ritchii Kara, Vegetarian Has Months To Live After &#8216;Mad Cow&#8217; Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease Diagnosis<\/p>\n<p>Huffington Post UK | By Sara C Nelson Posted: 23\/08\/2013 12:32 BST | Updated: 23\/08\/2013 12:48 BST<\/p>\n<p>Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, Mad Cow Disease, UK NEWS, UK News A 28-year-old vegetarian has just months to live after being diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD) \u2013 otherwise known as &#8216;Mad Cow disease&#8217;.<\/p>\n<p>Ritchii Kara, who stopped eating meat five years ago, had been experiencing headaches and loss of balance for four years, which doctors had put down to stress.<\/p>\n<p>But in 2012 he was confirmed as suffering from variant CJD and given 14 months to live.<\/p>\n<p>Ritchii Kara stopped eating meat five years ago but has just months to live after being diagnosed with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease<\/p>\n<p>Kara told The Argus: \u201cMy memory\u2019s bad and so is my coordination and sometimes I can\u2019t see. I get hallucinations sometimes, which is part the disease and part the medication.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kara had to give up work as a barman at Brighton\u2019s Queen\u2019s Arms pub because he was losing his balance and memory, but still occasionally performs there as a drag act.<\/p>\n<p>And now the pub is holding a charity event on 31 August to raise funds for further research into the disease.<\/p>\n<p>Pub manager Kevin Calladine told Huffington Post UK: \u201cRitchii wanted to do the event to raise awareness of the disease.<\/p>\n<p>CJD is thought to have passed to humans through beef products infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was very upset for him. It\u2019s sad and it\u2019s emotional but I try very hard to keep it real for him. I treat him like I always have and I know he finds a bit of solace in that. \u201c<br \/>\nKara adds: \u201cIt\u2019s harder for my parents because I think they feel quite powerless. They said to me, \u2018Oh we want to you to move home and to look after you\u2019, but I\u2019m just not ready to stop everything yet.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think if you\u2019re just going to sit about and be sad, what\u2019s the point in going on anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The disease is caused by an abnormal protein called prion, which contaminates the nervous system, causing irreversible brain damage.<\/p>\n<p>It is believed to have been passed to humans through beef products infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the Brain Research Trust explains.<\/p>\n<p>Variant CJD, which as in Kara&#8217;s case mostly affects people in their mid twenties, appears linked to BSE, though CJD can also occur naturally in humans.<\/p>\n<p>The disease has been linked to the deaths of nearly 200 people in Great Britain who consumed meat from infected animals in the late 1980s. Since the link between variant CJD and BSE was discovered in 1996 there have been strict controls to prevent meat from infected cattle from entering the food chain.<\/p>\n<p>There is no treatment for the disease, which is always fatal. It is characterised by loss of memory, balance and coordination, slurred speech, visual problems and blindness, abnormal jerking movements and progressive deterioration of immobility, the NHS states.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/2013\/08\/23\/ritchii-kara-vegetarian-mad-cow-creutzfeldt-jakob-disease_n_3803416.html?utm_hp_ref=uk&amp;just_reloaded=1\" target=\"_blank\">http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.co.uk\/2013\/08\/23\/ritchii-kara-vegetarian-mad-cow-creutzfeldt-jakob-disease_n_3803416.html?utm_hp_ref=uk&amp;just_reloaded=1<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Saturday 3<sup>rd<\/sup> August 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As I write this on a lovely summer day with England&#8217;s\u00a0countryside in full bloom another family is struggling to come to terms with their loved one dying of\u00a0vCJD.<\/p>\n<p>Yet another UK resident has become a victim of\u00a0BSE, their traumatised family trying to understand how the human form of Mad Cow Disease continues to maim and kill people in August\u00a02013. It is\u00a0 twenty nine years since\u00a0 the first\u00a0 UK cow was officially recorded with BSE at Pitsham Farm West Sussex UK\u00a0(December 1984).\u00a0BSE in humans can have between ten and forty year\u2019s incubation periods. Latest research suggests that up to 60,000 of us in the UK may carry the lethal disease, vCJD.<\/p>\n<p>Vegetarians and strict Hindus who cannot eat any part of the cow due to their religious faith have succumbed to vCJD. BSE infected material from cattle flooded the human food and medicine chain, from contact lens solution, to HRT, vaccines, baby food, school meals, soups, pies and patties, all of these and more were produced using bovine material from UK BSE infected\u00a0 herds during the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n<p>My prayers and thoughts are with this latest victim and their family, colleagues and friends. Food and medicines should be safe and never kill. Yet the UK government allowed BSE infected material from UK cattle to feed and medicate our nation for nearly fourteen years (1983-1997), as well as exporting this toxic material globally.<\/p>\n<p>How many more innocent lives will be lost in the coming years?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tuesday July 23<sup>rd<\/sup> 2013<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here is a wonderful comment sent in from a young woman studying veterinary medicine in South Africa. (See below) Zoonotic diseases are transmissible infections between animals and humans.<\/p>\n<p>Andrew\u2019s BBC1 documentary and the campaign continues to inspire, educate and challenge. His memory held dear by me and the millions of people who have watched and been moved by the documentaries and website. Together we form a strong and impenetrable alliance; together we will expose the truth behind Mad Cow Disease and get justice for my son and all victims of human BSE, and the millions of us expose to the lethal pathogen vCJD.<\/p>\n<p><i>Hi Christine<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>I am a veterinary student in South Africa.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Today during our Public Health lecture on zoonotic diseases we watched your documentary about Andrew. The whole class was silenced by your story. It had a really big impact as one student looked at another and said a silent prayer of thanks for the privilege of a healthy life as a 24year old.<\/p>\n<p><i>We have not been affected by BSE and CJD as you have in the UK but have studied it both from a veterinary and human health perspective as many of us will go on to practice or have some experience abroad.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>I feel the veterinary industry has great potential to make a difference to this cause. Your story has inspired us all to be more active in the prevention and treatment of this disease. Thank you<\/p>\n<p><i>Kind regards<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>Karen van der Walt<\/i><\/p>\n<p><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n<p><strong>Monday 15<sup>th<\/sup> July 2013\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Below is a link and extract from a feature in June\u2019s edition of the magazine called \u2018What the Doctors don\u2019t tell you? Titled BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS: \u2018UK Blood banks may be contaminated by deadly vCJD from blood donated by silent carriers of the disease.\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-616\" alt=\"andrew nove 2007\" src=\"http:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-nove-2007.jpg\" width=\"600\" height=\"450\" srcset=\"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-nove-2007.jpg 600w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-nove-2007-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/andrew-nove-2007-400x300.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The feature exposes the fact that the human form of Mad Cow Disease continues to be a threat to millions across the UK and global community. Tens of thousands of us may well be silent carriers and donated blood is not screened for vCJD.<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"blocked::http:\/\/edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk\/Launch.aspx?EID=f8662ac7-40d7-4501-b88c-623027ef51d4\" href=\"http:\/\/edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk\/Launch.aspx?EID=f8662ac7-40d7-4501-b88c-623027ef51d4\">http:\/\/edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk\/Launch.aspx?EID=f8662ac7-40d7-4501-b88c-623027ef51d4<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Extract from the article:<\/p>\n<p><b>A cover-up?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><em>Christine, a freelance journalist, has become convinced there is a massivecover-up at the heart of the mad cow or BSE (bovine spongiformencephalopathy) scandal, with government officials allowingcontaminated meat into the human food chain. She says she has receivedthreatening phone calls, including the ultimatum to take down hercampaigning website, while government agents who have tried to help her have suddenly been gagged by the Official Secrets Act. \u201cI\u2019m not worried. What more can anyone do to me? I\u2019ve lost my son, and he asked me just before he died to find out why this had been allowed to happen to him,\u201d she says.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tuesday 24th September 2013 Check out the link below to a two page feature in newspaper the Sunday Post. It\u2019s a shocking account about CJD and how families are bullied not to speak out. These mums and dads who had to watch their son or daughter die of vCJD, human BSE were warned not to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"parent":493,"menu_order":7,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-756","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/756","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=756"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/756\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":773,"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/756\/revisions\/773"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/493"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/justiceforandy.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=756"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}