Liver Biopsy and Degenerative Disc Disease

Last Thursday I got a call from Mom. She was being sent to Strong Memorial Hospital to meet with a Dr Friday at 3pm. Seems her living functions have been going nowhere but up for some time.

I left here at 7am Friday to drive up and meet my brother in Syracuse where I would take her the rest of the way.

To make a long story short. The Dr. suspected she had drug induced autoimmune hepetitis. Her liver functions had been going up since her last knee replacement. He was going to put her on a steroid which is the only treatment and do a liver biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. I checked with the nurse and her liver functions were 1500-1700. Normal range is under 45.

I thought she might be admitted so I brought enough clothes for d extra days and figured I would get a hotel room if I needed to be up there. In any case I had to come back Sunday as I had my own Dr. appt on Monday...which scheduled me for more titanium implants on the 27th of the month.

Mom had her biopsy and was released yesterday. I left here at 7am and made it up to the hospital by 11 or so. We had to wait a little for the paperwork to be done and then it was off to Syracuse where my brother would take her the rest of the way to Watertown. I made it home about 6pm after picking up dinner.....just about 520 miles for the day.

It looks like she will be fine. She had been taken off most of her meds and even before the steriods her liver functions had already started to come down...to about 1000.

As for myself, surgery is scheduled for the 27 of February at Williamsport and I should be discharged the next day. The Dr will remove one disc on my neck and replace it with a titanium piece and then fuse C-5 C-6/7. I think that is how it will go.

Maybe now I can set off those airport alarms.

If You Eat Meat You Won't Want To Watch This

I am not a zealot by any means and it is my sincerest hope that these images do not represent the industry as a whole. I am not a member of PETA, never have been and will not be in the future. There are things in life which you just have to label as just plain wrong and certainly unnecessary.

Degenerative Disc Disease

This image is mine taken the first week of January. Looks like I have put off having this surgery long enough.

I started having symptoms again in December. I would have episodes where I would have allot of intense numbness in my left arm. A couple of years ago I had somewhat similar symptoms on my right. The symptoms this time come and go whether I am sitting or standing. Putting it off any longer could mean that I lose motor function in the arm. My physical therapist says that I have more weakness in my right arm when compared to the left so although I have not had any problems with the right in the past 1.5 years or so, damage was still being done.

I have two more days of therapy and then I see my Neurosurgeon again on 2/16 and will tell him to go ahead and schedule the surgery.

What he said he will do is most likely go in from the back of the neck and fuse three vertebrae (I think C4-6) with a plate. That should alleviate some of the compression that you can see from the photo, but may take months to get results.

On another note. I had my one year follow up for my left knee replacement....all is looking great there.

I am starting to think I should have signed up for some kind of surgical rewards program.