In My Shoes: EARTHQUAKE and more waiting

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

EARTHQUAKE and more waiting

California Earthquake Drill

Ok we are about 15 miles from the epicenter. It shook hard but no damage. Fiona didn't know what to do so ran down the hall where MJ was standing in the door frame. I guess she found a frame to stand in.....I was at lunch with 2 teachers I work with because they were moving our offices today. The two teachers were running out of the restaurant but let me tell you it wasn't worth leaving my lunch. It was only an earthquake. It did shake for quite a few seconds and the lights and signs were swinging. Been a while since we had one of these bigger ones. All is fine.

On the medical front, they are still trying to get Fiona's MRAs schedule. Right now her appointment is on the 13th but they are trying to get it sooner. There are appointments available but they are reserved for inpatients. So we wait. UCLA said they will not present her until all the tests results are in so we may have to wait until the end of August............

Shake and Bake
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.