Hard post to write

I've not posted much this year, having been taken by ambulance to the university hospital down in NC 6 times in 8 months (Feb 1-Oct 3) and then time at home to recuperate. 

My liver disease has finally become worse, after a long 'remission', and recently my doctors have diagnosed the beginnings of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) from high ammonia levels. My liver has quit making enough enzymes to fully digest proteins, and the undigested proteins in the intestines cause ammonia build-up. The ammonia affects the brain.

My plan is to move to Asheville, NC in the spring where good health care isn't a 2-1/2 hour trip each way (I'm going 1-2X a month now), and where there is excellent hospice when I finally need it. I lived in Asheville for years and still have many friends there, so I'll have support and a sense of community. Asheville is very alive, and has half a dozen natural foods grocery stores. The closest ones to me now are 125+ miles away.

I'll have to find shared quarters, and store a lot of stuff I don't sell here first, as the COL in Asheville is high, but the medical trade-off is worth it. Besides I have LOTS of stored foods and hopefully will find a place with room somewhere for my 2 full freezers.

If lucky I may have more than a year... a lot depends on a new med that's $1,000/month. I don't have the med yet as no local pharmacies stock it, but it IS now on order. The med I have to reduce ammonia is disgusting as it causes very abrupt diarrhea, but my ammonia level is slowly coming down. Maybe not enough soon enough, only Time will tell.

I WILL post from time to time, esp. in the dead of winter when I can't do much else except sort and pack (and that gets old quickly, not to mention it's tiring( but it won't be consistent. I have very little energy now and I'm losing weight.

Sorry I've been AWOL. I had a heart attack 10 days ago and have been in the hospital until last night, and I'm recovering slowly but nicely. The good news is that my cholesterol is low (154 down from nearly 400 several years ago, thanks to diet), and a heart cath showed no blockages.

I'm on bed rest for 2 weeks, and no driving until then. I probably won't post much in the next 2 weeks as my energy level is rather low.

But, I'll be back!

Health Update

Just got back home from a long day at the medical facilities of Wake Forest Medical School in Winston-Salem, NC. The dermatologist I saw found more pre-cancerous skin places that I hadn't discovered (or that I thought were just "age spots"), and he did CryoSurgery on several. They take 2-4 weeks to heal so I'll look very diseased with open sores in a few days.

The other news is that my hearing is faltering, no surprise there. The hearing exam results were pretty much as I expected: moderate hearing loss and getting worse, but nearly equal in both ears which surprised me. I thought one ear was worse than the other. They recommend digital hearing aids (they DO NOT sell them), and apparently my test showed more volume helps in most of the tonal ranges. Medicare won't pay for hearing aids, and my sis and I cannot, even between us. If I still lived in NC, there are some programs through Wake Forest Medical School for help, but Virginia doesn't offer much help except for kids with hearing loss.

Good programmable digital hearing aids seem to run in the $5,000 and up range, and I don't know if that's for just one, or a pair.

The Virginia Rep for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (who is getting me the CapTel telephone shown above) is supposed to send me some information about Virginia and National programs for possible financial assistance for hearing aids. Doesn't look too promising, though.

I go back to Wake Forest next Wednesday to have a CT scan w/contrast for the aneurysm, the lesion on my left kidney, and the growth on my pancreas, followed by a consultation with the vascular surgeon. It will be another long day.

Please bear with me as I struggle through health issues until I can get back to regular posting!

Feeling a Tad Better, and 2013 Garden

For those friends concerned about my health, I think I'm finally starting to improve. It's been 3-1/2 weeks since the GI bleed was repaired. I'm down from 3 to 2 long naps per day (plus a somewhat decent night's sleep despite bathroom calls), and the naps are getting a little shorter.

I won't know if my red and white blood cell counts and hematocrit have actually improved until I go back to Wake Forest Baptist Hospital 2 weeks from Monday and they do more blood work. I really hope the counts have increased, not just because of low energy, but also because my body sure doesn't like the iron supplements! (I tolerate the other meds fairly well.)

I've lost 27 pounds (a lot of which was fluid build-up), and some of my appetite is returning. My energy is slower in returning, and my mind plans too many small projects that are still only fantasy. I still get distracted easily, and lose my train of thought between breaths, but overall I'm focusing better than I was 3 weeks ago.

In the last month I have planned and re-planned my 2013 garden several times over, and ordered or traded for a bunch of seeds in addition to the heirloom seeds I saved from last year. I will probably do a smaller garden since there's a good possibility I may need surgical repair on this aneurysm before the garden is in full swing.

I still need to order leek starts, and a friend will be sharing cipollini onion starts with me in April. I want to pickle some cipollinis in balsamic vinegar since I've fallen in love with them, and they are SO expensive on the grocery store's olive bar.

I am certain the Belgian endive I had growing in the dark root cellar over this winter is probably history, due to a month of neglect. I'm afraid to even go out there to check on them. I did learn a lot from the experience and will do it again.

Hope Springs Eternal.