Sandra Woods, Montréal 🍁

Honoured to attend today’s NDHQ ceremony: LGen Mike Wright announced Indigenous beaded poppies are now approved for wear by all CAF members. Grateful to buy a handmade poppy from my colleague LCol Catherine Askew (Moose Cree First Nation), a CAF chaplain.

In US, proposed changes to Medicare coverage could end access to anesthetic blocks, or “peripheral nerve block” procedures for #ChronicPain 💥
#bioethics #healthcare
www.statnews.com/2025/10/31/m...

A joke photo of a skeleton painting a portrait of another skeleton

Wishing you a Happy Halloween! 🎃
Vous souhaitant une bonne Halloween! 🎃

"better-than-expected sales growth in its third quarter, driven by strong customer demand at the Canadian coffee chain and its international franchises" 🇨🇦

Good luck to you both! 🍀

Masking at health-care facilities mandatory starting Monday, says NLHS | CBC News Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services is bringing back a masking requirement in clinical areas in hospitals and health-care facilities in a bid to cut down on the spread of respiratory infections.

Masking at health-care facilities mandatory starting Monday, says NLHS #Newfoundland #Labrador

Health authority says it's an attempt to curb spread of respiratory illnesses

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.

Welcome to the new age of the workforce, where you ask a team to "brainstorm" ideas on a specific in-house issue and get blank stares 🤣

A painting of the front and side of an old stone house from the 1800s, with 6 gables on the front and 3 on the side. There are ominous grey clouds in the sky, echoed by the curving grey driveway leading to the home on a slight rise.

Happy that this "haunted house" painting of a nearby historic home has found a new home in time for #Halloween!
~ Watercolour on cotton-paper

The WIASC was mentioned in a European art magazine - The Art of Watercolour, published in France!
~~~~~~
Un mention du CAAOI dans une revue d'art européene - The Art of Watercolour, publiée en France !

A poster with the logo of the McGill University Health Centre at the top, with a photo at the bottom of a middle-aged man sitting on a yoga mat, looking at a laptop computer while stretching. There's a detailed description of the Research Project, available on Redcap (a research platform) through this link: https://redcap.link/ai8g92pb

Have chronic low back (lumbar) pain? 😖
In Montréal? 🍁
Want to exercise, hopefully without making your back pain worse? 💥
The Mtl Gen Hospital & McGill Uni are researching a 12-week online exercise program 🎯
I'm not involved in this research, but think it's a great idea!

A watercolour painting of a beautiful blue jay, perched on a branch

My watercolour painting isn't finished yet, but hopefully it's good luck for the @torontobluejays.bsky.social - from Montréal 🍁

How does chronic pain impact an artist’s style and craft? Check out this conversation between @napainschool.bsky.social Patient Partner @sandrawoodsmtl.bsky.social and Science Communicator @shirinshs.bsky.social discussing the creation of #ArtDespitePain bit.ly/4onsZMW #PRF #NAPS2025

2/2 "The market competition, managed care, and “corporate efficiency” that economists prescribed as the cure for health care inflation instead accelerated it, with corporations’ takeover of health care at the heart of the costly bloat."

The U.S. experiment with profit-driven health care has failed “The market competition, managed care, and ‘corporate efficiency’ that economists prescribed as the cure for health care inflation instead accelerated it.”

In US #healthcare, "the real culprits are huge profits for health care investors, a gigantic bureaucracy deployed to extract those profits, and health services skewed to what’s profitable rather than what’s needed...
1/2
#bioethics
www.statnews.com/2025/10/21/h...

"There is no silver bullet #chronicpain medication, pretty much for anything," he says,
"It's often like, 'oh, I got a little benefit here and a little there,' you're kind of piecing together the puzzle."
Via @npr.org

Cannabis blunts back pain in 2 new studies Millions of Americans use weed to treat chronic pain, but there's little high quality research on whether it works. New findings suggest it can be effective for low back pain, on par with opioids.

"Currently there's only one cannabis-derived medication with FDA approval... and it doesn't contain any THC"
But experts "say THC seems to be one of the "primary" compounds responsible for cutting down pain and improving sleep"
#chronicpain #bioethics
1/2
www.npr.org/sections/sho...

It's the final week of the inaugural #art show at the new Viva Vida Gallery in Vaudreuil, just outside of Montréal! 🎨
Two of my more experimental #watercolour paintings were juried into this exhibition;
. a Tree frog contemplating its reflection in a pond 🐸
. "Tulip or Wineglass"🌷🍷
#ArtDespitePain

For Canadian #veterans & active #military personnel living with #ChronicPain, there's still time to participate in this fully-Canadian research study 🇨🇦
Help improve the lives of others, as they transition to civilian #healthcare for pain treatment - or can't find appropriate care! 🩺

A watercolour painting of an apple and three leaves by www.SandraWoods.art

Happy Thanksgiving! 🍁

[watercolour painting, with ground-mineral pigments; www.SandraWoods.art]

#NAPainSchool Interviews📰 Check out our interview with
@sandrawoodsmtl.bsky.social, patient partner and artist, courtesy of NAPS Science Communicator
@shirinshs.bsky.social from @mcgill.ca

👉 northamericanpainschool.com/journeying-t...

STAT Mini Crossword STAT MINI As a part of STAT's 10-year anniversary, we’ve launched a limited-edition crossword — the STAT Mini! With a new puzzle posted every Monday, join

Going back to do the ones I missed, with my first coffee of the day ☕️ 🧩
= I solved the @statnews.com Mini Crossword in 45 seconds; Sept 15 edition ⏱️
Can you beat my time? 🎯 www.statnews.com/stat-mini-cr... #STATMini

Week 2 of "The Great Canadian Art Show" = Another chance to vote for my 2 paintings... or any that you like! 🗳
Click the link & choose a participating artist from the drop-down list (red box, after text) - or browse the entire show & vote for what touches you.
artistsincanada.com/art-show/the...

STAT Mini Crossword STAT MINI As a part of STAT's 10-year anniversary, we’ve launched a limited-edition crossword — the STAT Mini! With a new puzzle posted every Monday, join

I solved the STAT Mini Crossword on #healthcare in 1 min and 56 seconds ⏱️
Can you beat my time? 😉
There's even an #art question 🎨
#ArtDespitePain #ChronicPain
www.statnews.com/stat-mini-cr... #STATMini

Ever wondered how a #watercolour #painting in progress looks? 🖌
The large unpainted echinacea or coneflower, most obvious in the 3rd photo, will be the focal point of this mostly circular 12" x 12" composition ... so I'll paint it last, after I've finished all the background 🎨
#ArtDespitePain

Two of my #chronicpain paintings in "Great Canadian Art Show" as part of my #ArtDespitePain initiative 🎨
🎯 Page 16, for the Ws! 🎯
People's Choice Award ⤵️
Vote online, once/week, to Oct 31!
- Choose 3 artworks/week & VOTE
- Images reshuffled Sunday = VOTE again!
artistsincanada.com/art-show/the...

Jane Goodall, chimpanzee expert and animal rights campaigner, dies age 91 - follow live The campaigner, a

The world's lights are a bit dimmer today...
Rest in eternal peace, #JaneGoodall ✨️
www.bbc.com/news/live/c9...

Autoimmune responses found in ALS, pointing to a new way to view the deadly disease Researchers have found that ALS patients have autoimmune responses, a finding with the potential to reshape how scientists think of the devastating and complex neurologic disorder.

Researchers have found that ALS patients have autoimmune responses, a finding with the potential to reshape how scientists think of the devastating and complex neurologic disorder. www.statnews.com/2025/10/01/a...

We're both wearing orange today because #EveryChildMatters & for #TruthAndReconciliation
This t-shirt design is Gitxsan Hand by artist Michelle Stoney

A screenshot of Darren Markland's Twitter profile

My deepest condolences to all who knew Edmonton's "canoeing & cycling doctor", Darren Markland @drdagly.bsky.social 🧭
We never met, but connected pre-pandemic over bioethics & healthcare policy - then stayed connected for canoeing, coffee, cycling, & nature scenes 🛶🚲☕️🏞
www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...