In My Shoes: Yay Yahoo Amen and Thank You God

Monday, March 3, 2008

Yay Yahoo Amen and Thank You God

Not to hold everyone in suspense, the test went really well and they found NO PULMONARY HYPERTENSION OR HOLE IN HER HEART!! Once and for all these issues are put to rest. So the problem is the AVMS. I called the liver doctor less than 10 minutes after I got the results and he was very excited. He is going to start running the rest of the tests we need to go back for transplant evaluation. He still doesn't know if she can get any extra exemption points but we will cross one bridge at a time. Today was a good day, very good day. We are all smiling big smiles. Fiona was a champ and truly a hero today. She did that test as well as anyone and didn't complain once. The roller coaster slowed down enough for us to enjoy a breath of fresh air! We aren't off of it but can relax today.

Peggy

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Biliary Atresia

Biliary atresia is a condition in which the ducts that carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine are not normal. These ducts can be injured, blocked, or missing. When the ducts that carry bile out of the liver are closed, bile backs up and damages liver tissue. In time the liver can develop scarring or cirrhosis. The gallbladder may also be abnormal or missing. The cause of Biliary Atresia is unknown. It occurs in one infant in every 15,000 live births. It is a serious disease which requires immediate surgical and medical treatment.

Arteriovenous Malformations AVMS

I have been diagnosed with AVMS in my lungs do to my liver disease. These have caused me to have 2 lung bleeds which were very scary. I still have more AVMS and they are causing me breathing problems. Below is an explanation of what the AVMs are and a picture of what is happening in my lungs.

Arteries and veins are part of the human cardiovascular system. Normally, the arteries in the vascular system carry oxygen-rich blood at a relatively high pressure. Structurally, arteries divide and sub-divide repeatedly, eventually forming a sponge-like capillary bed. Blood moves through the capillaries, giving up oxygen and taking up waste products from the surrounding cells. Capillaries successively join together, one upon the other, to form the veins that carry blood away at a relatively low pressure. The heart acts to pump blood from the low pressure veins to the high pressure arteries.
If the capillary bed is thought of as a sponge, then an AVM is the rough equivalent of jamming a tangle of flexible soda straws from artery to vein through that sponge. On arteriogram films AVM formation often resemble a tangle of spaghetti noodles. This tangle of blood vessels forms a relatively direct connection between high pressure arteries and low pressure veins.
The result is a collection of blood vessels with abnormal connections and no capillaries. This collection, often called a nidus, can be extremely fragile and prone to bleeding.