Liver Disease Facts Part 3

It is time for another installment of Liver Disease Facts. Remember that October is Liver Disease Awareness Month. And also remember that I am totally borrowing these facts from Shawnee.

1. About 15,000 children are hospitalized every year with pediatric liver diseases or disorders. How sad is that?? Nobody would accuse the kiddos of having liver disease because of alcohol. Just saying.

2. More than 15,000 patients are currently registered on the liver transplant waiting list of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), while only about 4,500 cadaver donor livers become available for transplantation each year. That is a seriously scary statistic. It seems so simple, just be an organ donor.

3. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFL) and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis (NASH), obesity-related chronic liver disease, may affect as many as one in every four adults over the age of 18. Thin people or of average build can also get fatty liver. In fact, people can develop fatty liver even if they do not experience any health conditions such as obesity or diabetes. See, "Nonalcoholic".

4. Drugs can cause liver disease in several ways. Some drugs are directly injurious to the liver; others are transformed by the liver into chemicals that can be injurious to the liver directly or indirectly. (This may seem strange in light of the liver's important role in transforming toxic chemicals into nontoxic chemicals, but it happens.) There are three types of liver toxicity; dose-dependent toxicity, idiosyncratic toxicity, and drug allergy. The most important examples of dose-dependent toxicity are: Tylenol (acetaminophen), statins (cholesterol reducers), Niacin, Amiodarone (Cordarone), Methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Trexall), many antibiotics, NSAIDs, and even some vitamins and herbs. This is exactly why it is so difficult to treat all of Rick's conditions. Since his liver is already damaged that rules out the use of so many drugs that could potentially help with the other diseases. But we of course do not want to risk damaging the liver any more, or speed up the liver failure process.


So are you bored yet? It is so important to me to get the word out that liver disease can affect anyone. Young or old. Healthy or maybe not so healthy.

Until next time,
Jaime

Soccer Saturday

Thank goodness for warmer weather. It was a very pleasant day for soccer today. Sam's team won 6-2. She played out during the first half and goalie during the second half. She was close to scoring a goal. It can be so frustrating to watch sometimes. But I really enjoy cheering her on.


Until next time,
Jaime

Daisy Scouts/Soccer Saturday

Tonight was Megan's second Daisy Girl Scout meeting. It was the first time she wore her Daisy vest. She was super excited to wear her vest and go to another meeting. We (and by "we" I mean "me") made name necklaces. And she was able to recite the Girl Scout Promise so she has earned her first official badge. It will be the center to the Daisy petals. I am so proud of her.

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Sam had a good game this past Saturday. She played goalie for the entire game. Although her team didn't win she was able to make some really great saves. And she is getting really good at her drop kick.

I have really bad at taking pictures lately. This was the first game I took pictures. She scored a goal two weeks ago. I missed the game because I was at a band competition with Rick. My Mom said that Sam was so happy. Apparently she had a HUGE smile on her face. I am really proud of how she is blossoming as a soccer player this season.

I will take some more pictures at her next game and hopefully Soccer Saturday will actually post on Saturday.

Until next time,

Jaime

Liver Disease Facts Part 2

Here is some more liver disease facts, courtesy of my friend Shawnee because she is awesome and has been putting together some great facts. Sorry for stealing your facts Shawnee, hope it is okay.

1. Liver disease often develops undetected over years, without obvious symptoms. Many people are diagnosed with liver disease after abnormalities are detected during routine blood tests. This is how Rick was diagnosed with PSC. His doctor was very concerned because his liver levels were WAY above normal.

2. Hepatitis C is the number one reason for liver transplantation in the US.

3. The liver is the only organ that can regenerate itself. I think that is actually really cool. I mean imagine such a vital organ being able to regrow and function as if nothing had ever happened to it. It is really amazing.

4. PSC (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis) is a disease that damages and blocks bile ducts inside and outside the liver. Bile is a liquid made in the liver. Bile ducts are tubes that carry bile out of the liver to the gallbladder and small intestine. In the intestine, bile helps break down fat in food. In PSC, inflammation of the bile ducts leads to scar formation and narrowing of the ducts over time. As scarring increases, the ducts become blocked. As a result, bile builds up in the liver and damages liver cells. Eventually, scar tissue can spread throughout the liver, causing cirrhosis and liver failure. This is the liver disease that Rick has.

5. Cirrhosis is a disease of the liver in which there is a loss or a damage of liver cells, leading to the irreversible scarring of the liver. Due to the scarring of the tissues, the flow of blood through the liver is not smooth and hinders the critical functions of the organ.

The liver is certainly a complicated organ. Without a normally functioning liver the entire body can suffer. There are so many side effects and complications that come with having liver disease.

I will write about how PSC has damaged Rick's liver in an upcoming post. So stay tuned.

Until next time,
Jaime

BRRRRRRR

Where did Fall go? When did Winter arrive? Why can't it be Summer all the time? Okay I know, enough with the questions. But seriously, what happened to Fall. Two weeks ago it was in the 80's. Now we are breaking record low temperatures. It has been in the 20's at night, with daytime highs in the 30's-40's. It is 20 degrees below normal. There could be snow flurries tonight. OMG!!

I want Summer back!! I hate being cold. And I am always cold in the winter. I hate the cold weather. I think that I was meant to live in a warm climate. After the crazy winter we had last year I could go a looooooong time without seeing snow again.

This is NOT good soccer playing/watching weather. I was a soccer mom popsicle on Saturday (pictures from Soccer Saturday coming soon). And the girls were little soccer star popsicles. It was soooooooo cold. I really don't want to sit on the sidelines bundled up so much that it is hard to even watch the game.

Okay, no more complaining. I am done. But if you live somewhere warm please soak up some sun for me.

Until next time,
Jaime

A Prayer Request

I have a prayer request tonight. Rick is sick. Really sick actually. Luckily it is not the Swine Flu. But he does have a severe case of bronchitis and strep throat. He is on some serious antibiotics. However, with his immune system so weak it is going to be a tough battle to get over this.

It is this exact reason that I hate it when people use my stuff at work and then joke when they find out that they got me sick. I am not a germ freak. But I am very careful and try to stay healthy so that Rick doesn't get sick. But to find out that someone thought it was kinda funny that I got sick after they used my phone and computer just is not cool!!

I am asking for prayers tonight for Rick. Please pray with me that he will kick this quick and get back to himself. He is miserable, and looks just awful. I would hate for this to cause a snowball effect with all his other diseases.

So please keep him in your thoughts. I would really appreciate it.

Until next time,
Jaime

Liver Disease Facts Part 1

I said that I would randomly post some liver disease facts during the month of October. So here is the first installment.

1. Thirty million Americans - one in every 10 - are or have been affected by a liver, biliary or gallbladder disease. One in every 10, 10%, wow! In our house the number is 1 in every 2 people if you count my gallbladder disease.

2. There are more than 100 types of liver disease, but hepatitis A, B, and C are the most common. Can you name Rick's liver disease?

3. The liver filters over a liter of blood each minute, removing toxins such as air pollutants, pesticides, cigarette smoke, environmental chemicals, alcohol, and prescription and non-prescription drugs. EVERYTHING you ingest, by consumption or inhalation, even products you put on your skin, pass through your liver. Seriously people, EVERYTHING!!

Please take care of your liver. You never know when someone might need part of it.

Until next time,
Jaime