Lemonade Part 4

Good news! Cathy's step-dad is out of ICU and is scheduled to be transferred to a Rehabilitation Hospital tomorrow. He walked about 25 feet today with a very little assistance. Cathy's mother is doing much better also and is more alert and aware and is 3X . She actually asked for her bills and payed some and wrote checks on her own. Hopefully this will be a better weekend then last.
Also, one more week of CWDS testing.

Lemonade Part 3

Just got back from the hospitals. Cathy's Step-dad is doing so much better. They removed him from the respirator today and he is responding well. They also removed the drainage tube and put a new bandage on. He is communicating with and recognizes family, moving all his extremities and understands what is happening. It is still to early to tell but it doesn't seem like there is any permanent damage or lose but time will tell. Cathy's mother is also responding well and today was the first day in which she was very coherent and more herself then she has been weeks, she actually asked for her checkbook and bills and payed some of the bills. Although as the day wore on she started to sundown and became more confused. All-in-all the family is very happy with today and is looking forward.

Lemonade Part 2

Cathy's Step-dad had to have emergency brain surgery today. Around 7:00 this morning we got a call from the ICU and the Surgeon advised us the bleeding in his brain was pushing on his brain more and he had to operate "now" so we had to give permission over the phone and then head to the hospital at full speed. If you know where I live then you will be impressed that I did 95 on Rt 88 into Wheeling. I didn't know I could take turns at 70 (I really love my Mustang). We waited for what seemed forever and at 12:00 the Surgeon came in and advised us he was happy with the surgery and he will keep Cathy's Step-dad sedated and on the respirator until at least tomorrow. When we went back to see him he looked better and his color was much better then when we took him to the ER, the drainage tube coming out of his brain was a little disconcerting though. Thanks for letting me vent I needed it.

Life and Lemonade

I've always liked the saying (When life gives you lemons, make lemonade) The last 2 days have been a tree full of lemons. I not feeling well (as per the last few posts) and yesterday around 3:30 Cathy and I get a call and her Step-dad has disappeared no one can find him and the last anyone saw him he was pulling out of his driveway at 1:00. Some of you may be saying, can't I guy loose himself for a couple hours. Not really when it this family. He has been acting rather strange lately and he had a bad fall about a week and a half back and hit his head hard. He is a very stubborn older gentleman and he refused to go to the ER to get his head checked out. The last couple of days he has been slurring his words and seemed rather confused. Anyway back to the story. Yesterday he disappeared. Cathy finally gets hold of him and he informs us he is on Rt 7 North on the side of the road, apparently he ran out of gas. So Cathy and I grab a gas can and head up Rt 7 looking for him. When we found him he could barely walk he was staggering and he was not making any sense. We asked him where he was going and he said he just came from visiting Cathy's mom at the hospital and was going home. The problem with this story is he was 15 miles out of his way and heading away from his house with his dog in the car with him. The battery was completely dead and I couldn't even get the gas cap open due to the battery being dead and could not put gas in the car. We convinced him to go with us and take him home because he refused to be taken to the hospital. When we got to his house I got the neighbors and the four of us "convinced" him to go to the hospital. Well, the short of it is, he is now in ICU with a large area of bleeding on his brain with the Neurosurgeon talking about drilling into his brain to drain the excess fluid. Now we have him in one hospital and Cathy's mom in another and no time to think.
The moral of the story is, please go to the hospital when something happens and don't put off till tomorrow what can be done today.

Illness part 3

Well, another day and I thought I was getting better. I went to the pharmacy and when I got back I was so tired I could barely walk. All I did was drive there and back. I'll find out tomorrow what the results of the culture are and if I have strep (oh boy, something to look forward to.) I'm taking it day to day. I have a hockey game to go to on Sunday with some friends and I hope I'm well enough to go.

Illness part 2

I went to the Urgent Care place in Harrisburg today because I was not feeling any better and Cathy was worried. I have to say the Urgent Care place was amazing. I didn't wait more then 10 minutes from walking in the door to the nurse taking my temperature and getting all the relevant info and 5 minutes later I was talking to the Doctor. I have never been to an ER where I didn't wait at least a half hour usually longer. The Doctor actually took his time with me and spent 15 to 20 minutes talking to me about my condition, about work, and about life in general. The Doctor thinks I may have Strep and he advised me not to go to work until he gets the results back from a culture he took so I had to call off work for the rest of the week and drive back home from Harrisburg cause work would not pay for me top stay at the hotel if I wasn't working, plus I wanted to be home with Cathy and Billy. So, I have to call the Urgent Care on Friday for the results of the culture and find out what the Doctor wants me to do.

Illness

I'm not feeling well today. I went to work and had to leave by 11:00am because I was feeling so bad. I got back to my hotel room and slept for 2 hours. I felt a little better when I woke up but I still think I'm fevered. I have a sore throat and some sniffles. I'm not really congested but I feel worn out and listless. In my esteemed medical opinion I think I have the "crud."

Mafia Wars

I apologize for not blogging lately. I've been in Harrisburg for 2 weeks so far and the connection at the hotel is less the ideal. Also, I have to blame my good friend Greg for introducing me to Mafia Wars. Mafia Wars is an online game through Facebook that is very addictive and a lot of fun to play. The last 2 nights I have been engrossed in the game and I'm only here now because I have to wait for my character to build his strength and money up so I can play some more.

Nano Tech

Yesterday I posted about an article on nanotechnology being used to treat cancer. The article was in BBC Online at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7935592.stm
This is one of the web sites I visit daily since they have the some of the best world news and reporters.

Nano Tech

Saw an article today where scientist have successfully treated hard to treat cancer using nano technology to deliver the drugs straight to the tumor and avoided harming nearby healthy tissue and organs. Apparently this was done in mice and the article stated the treatment is probably 2 years away before human trials.
Between this and President Obama allowing stem cell research the future is looking much brighter.

Hemophilia 101

When I tell people I have hemophilia I get one of several different reactions. The fist is a blank stare because they have no idea what hemophilia is, which is okay since it is a rare disorder and is very rarely taught or discussed. The second is a look of horror and I can see the thinking flash through their head. OMG he has HIV then they go the extra step and I can see it in their eyes, OMG he has AIDS, then the last step, he's going to infect me, they take a step back and then make an excuse to leave. A third reaction is "aren't you afraid of bleeding to death?" Again it's an honest reaction like the first reaction especially considering some PSA's that have talked about hemophilia being a bleeding Disorder and then menacingly showing a drawer full of knives. And I can guarantee at least 1 in 4 people will say, "Is that why you have a beard, you can't shave." These are the 3 reaction I get most often but there are dozens of others ranging from absolute curiosity, which I prefer since I love to educate people on hemophilia, to people telling me I don't have hemophilia. Seriously, people who don't know me or my medical history, including some doctors, have told me I don't have hemophilia, that I didn't know what I was talking about. There was one Physician Assistant who insisted I didn't have hemophilia and I didn't know what I was talking about since he just took his boards and he knew all about hemophilia. This happened when I was 38 and had been teaching about hemophilia for over 20 years and he was a PA fresh out of college who was an assistant for a Urologist, so obviously he knew more then me.
To be continued ......

Stem Cell Research

President Obama has stated that he will sign an executive order reversing the Bush administrations ban on stem cell research. It's about time our government allows scientist to do real research. This research has great potential to treat many disabling conditions and diseases especially spinal cord injuries.

Back Home

What a beautiful day :0)

I drove home from Harrisburg today and it was very pleasant. I've done this drive many times but today was one of the best with perfect weather and little traffic. I have to return Sunday afternoon and I hope the drive is similar to today's. It is nice to be home to see and be with Cathy even if it is for only two days. My puppies greeted me at the gate with barks, whines and wagging tails. Billy hasn't been off me since I got home.

Feeling Wanted

It's good to know you are wanted and feel like you are needed. I got 4 calls today from people at work. They wanted to say hi, bring me up to date, and to ask my opinion on one topic or another. I've been gone less then a week and people miss me (I feel soooo loved). WOW, that sounds (and I hate this saying, but it is appropriate) so gay. My wife would say "you're such a girl." I finally have a routine after my first week on the road. After I get home from work, I relax for about a half hour then I go to the fitness center at the hotel and do the treadmill for a half hour, then I either get dressed and go out for food or order food at the hotel restaurant and wait in the lounge for my food and have a soda and snack food, then back to my room to read the paper and eat, then a shower and relax the rest of the night. I have such an exciting life ;0)
I get to go home tomorrow, at least for a couple of days then back to Harrisburg on Sunday.

Update

Sorry, I've been gone for awhile. I'm in Harrisburg for work and I'm terribly bored. Work has me testing a new update for out computer system. This system, CWDS, does not do what is needed. It makes work harder and more then doubles our workload. They have me testing stuff and I have to fail about 50% of the scenarios because someone forgot a process or step or even worse, what the scenario calls for doesn't even exist in the system. I believe someone got very rich on the back of the PA taxpayers and did not deliver a workable system.

I'll try to be more diligent on my blogging.