Simple Joys in Life: Scared

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Scared

My last final exam of the semester is tomorrow morning. It covers the following subjects (comprehensive from June 2006 through May 2007):

Phlebotomy
Urinalysis
Body Fluids
Blood Banking
Mycology
Parasitology
Microbiology
Hematology
Clinical Chemistry
Immunology
Virology

And maybe some: Management, Education, Research, Pathophysiology

250 Questions. Multiple Choice (Multiple Guess???). I think I'm going to vomit.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...: Hanf in there, sweetie! I know you will do well, and then it's all over for awhile, except the knee. Sorry about that but there are many set-backs in life. The strong survive, and you are one of them.

Love, Gram; May 03, 2007 8:25 AM
Anonymous said...: I meant "hang" instead of "hanf". Typo error. Gram; May 03, 2007 8:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Hoping that you did great on your exam!! 250 questions....that's just plain brutal.; May 03, 2007 7:28 PM
Renee said...: So, how'd you do? I'm thinking I wouldn't have done so great, because I couldn't pronounce 1/2 the words. ;^); May 04, 2007 1:43 PM

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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.

Wednesday, May 02, 2007

Scared

4 comments:

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