Transplant Month 9

Not much going on from a transplant perspective. I feel so good, that sometimes I have to remind myself that I’ve even had one! I have labs and appointments on February 16.

I was doing so well exercising prior to December, but then I was sick for a few weeks, and between that and the weather, I haven’t been walking. Today, I started again, as I feel a difference not walking. Other than slippery or snowy conditions, I plan on walking every day.

I mentioned a little girl in a previous post, who is a patient in our clinic, who recently received a kidney transplant. The local paper did a feature story on her (not available online) a week or so ago. She is 6 years old and received a kidney from a relative (aunt?). She has Nephrophtisis. I don’t know a whole lot about this disease, but the article said that she would drink anything in sight (which is a symptom of the disease called polydipsia). She is reportedly doing great at this point. Prior to that, she was on peritoneal dialysis for a few months. (all information is from the newspaper).

In other news, surgeons have performed what is thought to be the first kidney harvest of a donor’s kidney through her vagina. Sounds rough, but the pain is more than likely a lot less, and recovery time a lot quicker.

I no longer blog at MyKidney; Krissi  has (or will shortly) take down the site. I can understand; a lot of the noteworthy posting is BEFORE and immediately after transplant. After that, you feel so much better and life from a medical perspective becomes fortunately boring.

On the home front, Jackie just went back to grad school. She already has a M.S. in Elementary Ed, and is going back now for Special Ed certification.  Her classes are Monday and Tuesday nights, which makes for a long day, in addition to the work she has such as reading, papers, etc. She was doubly busy these past 2 weekends, because a teacher where she works is out sick, and Jackie is filling in for him. Since the other teacher didn’t have anything done, she’s had to do lesson plans, establish a structured routine (it’s a middle school emotional support classroom), etc.

As for me, I’m still working weekends in the same home. There is another child that Brian’s family has that is in similar condition (trach, CPAP, feeding tube, numerous meds,etc). I did have a weekend off last month, but am working all this month. I’ll have to take a weekend or 2 off next month. I also have a vacation from my full time job in April.
In the meantime, I’ll be working so that the government will have enough to fund $100,000 worth of doorbells for a housing program in Mississippi.

For those of you who like Celtic Rock, check out some of the MP3’s of Stand Easy (with John Allan McLean). I now have all of his albums; awesome stuff!

Until next time….

Medical Article Scan for August 2008

I know; it’s September. Better late than never…

Anemia of Chronic Disease: An Adaptive Response?  The authors argue that anemia may be beneficial to patients with inflammatory disease, and advocate restraint in treating mild to moderate forms of anemia. This may be proven someday, as they are now finding that too much injected erythropoietin (Procrit, Epogen, etc) can have adverse effects if used to bring hemoglobin up past 12.

CMV Infections Affect More Than Just Patients With Compromised Immune Systems – researchers have discovered that Cytomegalovirus, which is particularly dangerous to those with suppressed immune systems, can also be reactivated in those with normal

Want A Reason To Love Your Lower Belly Fat?….     Fat in the lower abdomen and thighs is rich in adult stem cells.  Maybe they can set up a plan for those having gastric bypass to donate their extra fat after weight loss to cover the cost of cosmetic surgery?

Does Too Much Sun Cause Melanoma? You’ll notice in the past that I’ve had articles on Vitamin D. This article reports that sun can cause the more “benign” skin cancers, but not melanoma, and that we must strike a balance between the need to protect the skin from cancer and the need to get Vitamin D.

Long Term Weight Loss… – study of women which shows that in order to maintain a 10% weight loss, there needed to be 5 days a week of 55 minutes of exercise. On the bright side, small changes throughout the day can be partially substituted, such as moving around more, less TV, etc.

Total Calories More Important Than Dietary Fat In Diabetes Risk – decreased risk of diabetes is linked to weight loss, and not to specific nutrient content. There are other conclusions in this study, such as consumption of soft drinks was associated to unhealthy behaviors and consumption of fruit juices to healthy behaviors “to some extent”.

Stem Cell Scientist Predicts Health Revolution – immature adult stem cells are predicted to be as important a revolution in the 21st century as antibiotics were in the 20th century.

World’s First Transplant of Both Arms – Last month, a surgery team in Germany transplanted bilateral arms onto a 54 year old farmer who lost his in an accident. The 2 things of interest are the actual procedure and what was involved, as well as the hurdles afterwards, such as immunosuppression and the lack of a blood test to catch rejection.

Positive Thinking May Protect Against Breast Cancer – Yet another study affirming feelings of happiness and optimism as providing a “protective role” against disease (in this case, breast cancer).