Ulcerative Colitis

Most of his large intestine was removed and he had to wear two colostomy bags from then on.

His weight dropped to 123 pounds.

Weak and frail, Benirschke still battled back, giving up a number of times but culling encouragement from friends and family.

He returned to the Chargers, won the NFL's Comeback Player of the Year Award and lasted another seven seasons in the NFL.

A blood drive in San Diego organized on his behalf was such a huge success that it's still going almost 20 years later, under the Chargers' auspices.

It was overwhelming to him, the support, and inspired him to keep the awareness out there.

"This can be a self-centered profession," Benirschke said.

"You get a lot of adulation and pretty soon you can think that you live by different rules, and certainly we see a lot of those athletes.

But I think a lot of the players recognize that it's really a gift, it's a privilege to play and that they can do something very positive with their platform, and you see more and more people doing that." Benirschke's most memorable moment?

Maybe it wasn't that kick after all.

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Impaired digestion and absorption due to liver or pancreatic damage, also play a role in heavy drinkers.

4) Smoking and chronic lung damage There is a clear association between smoking and reduced local immunity within the lungs.

In smokers, the mucous membranes of the lungs are damaged and inflamed, and the hair cells paralysed.

This effect of smoking leaves the lungs vulnerable to infection, including TB.

In addition to the fact that the TB bacteria are not efficiently removed after inhalation, chronic lung damage impairs the lung immunity and may increase susceptibility to TB.

This is clearly illustrated by the association between silicosis and TB in mine workers, says Marais.

But smoking has an extra sting in its tail.

“Several studies have confirmed that smokers have a worse prognosis if they do get TB,” he says.

5) Genetic susceptibility University of Stellenbosch researchers have recently linked a gene that influences interferon-gamma function to the vulnerability to develop TB.

This study was published in The Lancet in 2003.

Although none of us can change the genes that we were born with, it illustrates that all of us should do our utmost to influenc...

An attitude which many believe is his main problem but one which he is very happy with.

'Yeah, my personality is sure not easy to deal with sometimes." ''But I've stopped trying to change it and have realised that the way I am is what makes me so good in racing.'' Now let's hear what you've got to say about this story...

or anything else happening in the world of F1.

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