So we talked to the GI specialist this morning and he agreed that Mom's symptoms appeared to be the same issue of a plugged sphincter at the end of her bile duct. The MRI/x-rays showed no stones, just a distended tube that backs up into her liver and pancreas making unwelcome congestion and pain. The plan was to go back in with the tube and put a stretchy balloon to open up the presumed scar tissue. Well, it turns out that the sphincter muscle in fact was not completely cut the first time this was done 3 years ago, so all he had to to was tweak that a little more, then everything started draining again just fine. She is doing well tonight and we hope to be out and about tommorrow, though going slowly.
I spent my time reading an excellent history about the Great Spanish Flu epidemic of 1918 and listening with one ear to swine flu reports on the news. So far, no remote comparison to the stories. The book has a long introduction about the state of medical study and the development of medical research at the turn of the century. Suffice it to say my profession at one hundred years ago was tragically primative and poorly regulated. We have come a long way to the place my daughter now stands.
love, dad
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3 comments:
Thank goodness Mom is doing well. Do you guys have to go back in to see the doc tomorrow?
If you are interested in the flu, Pitt's Epidemiology Dept and WHO have put together lecture about it here:
http://www.pitt.edu/~super1/lecture/lec34601/index.htm
It is pretty technical- the summary for those who don't have the patience- it is still the flu. So anything you might do to fend that off would be fine- on the off chance you came in contact with it.
Hurrah!
Glad everything went through okay. Will you be taking phone calls from kids in the nearby future, or is mom just going to hang out in 'bed rest' mode?
We should have some public family discussion about the flu. Between Dad's experience, Sandlin's education and my...um...boundless skepticism (?) I'll be it would be pretty entertaining.
-N
I will grant you that the media is hyping this whole thing into probably a lot more worry is necessary. Really, go buy bulk pork- I guarantee it is on sale. This flu is not currently any special different then other flu s in terms of mortality rates and symptoms, but it is 'novel' enough to our immune systems to spread readily.
What the swine flu story really is - to me- is a great example of public health officials doing their job. They monitored the virus, to determine that something is new. This is the end of flu season- it is hard for influenza to be spread during summer months. BUT, this same virus will re-emerge in the fall (possibly more virulent), and since it has already had time to track itself all over the continent, all of North America needs to be prepared. And by prepared I mean, put it in the flu shot for next year- NBD.
Notable, the WHO definition doesn't appear to define a pandemic as disease that kills a lot of people, just something that spreads to a lot of people. Keep that in mind when the VP suggests you should avoid confined spaces. The Phases of pandemic are meant to be guildelines for community and health officials for how to organize- not who to bury. http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/phase/en/index.html
Does anyone want to hear about how we get new flu strains and why the 're-emerge' ?
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