Simple Joys in Life: One Down, Three to Go

Monday, July 31, 2006

One Down, Three to Go

Finals week is here...finally. I'm so ready for my two week break! I took one final this morning, am waiting to do my competency for Urinalysis now. I'll take one final tomorrow morning and one on Thursday morning.

Nothing else is really going on! We're all fine. Anthony will have a doctor appointment and lab work before his surgery on August 17th.

Pictures of Anthony at the Balloon Festival this coming weekend will be posted! We saw six balloons floating over our house on Saturday, and Anthony said, "I wanna balloon!" I'm thinking that could be a little expensive. :)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...: We will be waiting for the final grades on that report card - know your hard work will bring rewards. Good luck and study hard.; August 01, 2006 1:13 PM
Anonymous said...: "competency for Urinalysis"...um, yeah...sounds like a fun time....; August 01, 2006 1:15 PM

Post a Comment

About Biliary Atresia

Biliary atresia is a progressive inflammatory process that begins very soon after birth. In the most common form, called extrahepatic biliary atresia, the delicate ducts outside the liver are affected first. White blood cells invade the ducts, which become damaged and may whither or completely disappear. Bile is trapped inside the liver and rapidly causes damage and scarring to the liver cells. Further scarring of the liver tissue may result in cirrhosis.

On average, there is one case of biliary atresia out of every 15,000 live births. Females are affected slightly more often than males. In the United States, approximately 300 new cases are diagnosed each year.

The cause of biliary atresia is unknown. Auto-immune mechanisms may be partly responsible for the progressive process that takes place. Recent research suggests that a viral infection in susceptible infants could result in biliary atresia. About 10% of cases have other associated congenital defects in the heart, blood vessels, intestine, or spleen.

Although the cause is uncertain, it is known that biliary atresia affects only newborns; it is not hereditary; it is not contagious; and it is not preventable.

A surgical procedure called the Kasai (hepatoportoenterostomy) can be performed in hopes of saving the liver. With the Kasai, the liver is connected directly to the small intestine, circumventing the gall bladder. The Kasai is usually successful in 1/3 of cases, while the other 2/3 result in the need for a liver transplant. Anthony's team of doctors were unable to diagnose Anthony with biliary atresia, and the Kasai was never performed. We learned after his transplant that the Kasai would never have worked, and we would have traveled the same road to transplant.

Monday, July 31, 2006

One Down, Three to Go

2 comments:

Simple Joys in Life

My Two Men

Followers

Blog Archive

Blogs I Read

Sign up to be an Organ Donor!

40 Reasons to Donate Life

My Flickr Photos

About Biliary Atresia

How Many People Love This Site???