Thanks for dropping by. I've been missing you! Been here at home since October 2nd.
Well ... where do I begin? I was born .. um .. I was diagnosed with PBC while in the hospital for a life threatening episode of Atrial Fibrillation ("A-FIB", as it's called. More about AFIB later.)
Please Note: If I ramble .. blame in on "fuzzy brain syndrome" .. a consequence of having PBC.
What's PBC? Oh! PBC is a form of autoimmune hepatitis (non-contagious). Affects the bile ducts of the liver. Basically, a type of chronic liver disease. My PBC was diagnosed via a liver biopsy (it hurt). I am a rare case -- men usually do not get this disease. It is also NOT caused by alcohol or drugs ... it's auto immune. A worse case scenario: even if I need a liver transplant and it's successful, the disease can return because my body is attacking the organ, not an external force. :-/
Check out : http://PBCers.org/whatis.htm for some detailed information about the disease.
Anyway, most important : the purpose of my blog will be to keep everyone informed on how I am doing and to share information about the disease. Keep sending me good "vibes".
Oh, a lot of you have been asking : when will Robert be coming back to work? I don't honestly know when I can return .. a lot will depend on results of tests that are coming up on October 19. Keep checking in .. I will keep you posted. I appreciate your concern.These past two weeks have been real rough : starting with internal bleeding beginning on September 30 for 4 days, then profound fatigue, itching, bruising, headaches, memory loss, foot cramps, depression, joint aches and pains, stomach cramps, nausea, violent vomiting of bile, jaundiced ... PLUS a number of A-FIB episodes including an INR level of 3.9 (not good! Mine should be 2.0-3.0. The average person is 1.0).
I have appointments scheduled: October 15, 19 and 25 plus November 19 and 27. The hard part now is getting to them ... since driving is becoming difficult as well as risky.
So, until I post again .. enjoy this video I posted at :
A couple of friends of mine (Tim and Robert) made this little video a few years back. And in memory of them I want to share it with you.
;->
Feel free to comment or email Robert at:
4 comments:
Thank you for this terrific blog! I'm sure a number of people will find it useful, and not just those suffering from PBC. I think your blog will
Great blog Robert! I love your new hair cut, but I hate your new bruises! >:( eek! Thanks for sharing this information, keeping posted, and letting us all know more about the disease from a personal stand point. I loved the video too!!
Thanks for sharing all of this information with us, Robbie! I hope you will continue to keep us all informed of how you are doing and with what is happening!
Your blog keeps getting better and better! Your older articles are not as good as newer ones you have a lot more creativity and originality now keep it up!
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