uhh

All is the same...delivering food to Jen and basically crossing my fingers that it stays good and gets better.

The vascular surgeon will be looking at her arm in the next few days to pronounce judgement on her fistula. One step closer to getting her to UCSF.

Fowl

Even chickens suffer from 'snack attack'.

Jen called me up at work today asking if I would pick up some popcorn chicken for her from KFC. Of course I will! That's a very good sign, so good that I will not even mention the horrible-ness-es? of the fast food industry. I'll just post a link here instead. (I'm even more fun at parties!) Fast food...what exactly are you putting in your body?

Good eating!

P.S. Think you're having a bad day? Feeling increasingly confused? Imagine what this chicken was thinking.

Dogs are the masters of all that smells

Photo: Master Doga instructs new pupils in the way of 'Hypoglycemia'.

So Jen had a nurse introduce her to 2 diabetic patients that have dogs that can 'sniff out' an episode of hypoglycemia. She recommends that we look into getting Jen a 'Diabetic Dog' as a helper when she goes home. I'm all for it, and I'm sure Bjorb the cat will love having another gigantic hair-shedding companion.

These dogs are mostly 'rejects' from blind guide-dog schools. The reasons they were rejected are minor, usually if a dog shows reluctance to enter elevators, or walk in water. The dogs are then trained to recognize the subtle smell that is associated with hypoglycemic episodes. When these dogs detect one of these episodes, they alert the owner by gently tugging on a necklace that the person wears, and also licking the face. The dogs are not ready for service until they dosplay at least a 90% accuracy rating. The organization that started this is down the road from us, Dogs For Diabetics.

I contacted them and they are willing to help, but won't be able to start until Jen is released from the hospital. I think it'll be a great thing, great companionship and a great alert system in one!

Evasive nothingness

Photo: Wee little octopus make big human go 'awwww'.

Jen is still sick at the moment, but is on tube feedings. I can't wait until they get her to UCSF.

I am pushing to get her glucose monitor covered by insurance. I am also trying to collect data for Social Security...who seems to have no clue how to get information on their own.

Another update

Unfortunately it seems that Kaiser and Health Net will not cover a continous glucose monitor as it "...has not been demonstrated to improve the condition of diabetic patients." Like it'll hurt?

I have Jen's doctor working on an appeal to both companies. It's a long shot, but you never know.

Jen is still sick...and has refused tube feeding for the past 48 hours...


UPDATE APRIL 7: Jen is back on her feeding tube as of yesterday...

Status

Unfortuately Jen is sick again, and has been for thepast 2 days. She is feeling somewhat hopeless, I'm trying to keep up her spirits by reminding her of all the positive developments that have happened over the past couple of months.

In other news, there is a possibility that her glucose monitor may be covered by my insurance. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Great news

So the trend is continuing to be positive, Jen's latest Echocardiogram show that the fungal infection is no longer there. How fricking awesome is that? A lot I tell you, a lot of, erm...awesome. ness. full.

UPDATE:

It turns out the latest theory is that it wasn't fungal but just a clot. Strange, and they are surprised that it just went away the way it did, though she's been on Warfarin and/or Lovenox for over a year now. I think it was due to the soothing magic of this man.

Links that caught my eye

OK, one of the best videos I've EVER seen here, featuring the "Keepon" dancing robot seen below...




OK, I need at least 10 of these.

DOOMSDAY FEARS SPARK LAWSUIT - The experiment I work with at the moment is being called the 'doomsday device, based on bad science of course and now is being sued!

Parents Pick Prayer Over Docs; Girl Dies - This just pisses me off.

An UPdate for a change

So Jen received some great news today, UCSF thinks that she is the 'perfect candidate' for the stomach pacer surgery. So now, FINALLY, we have some plan of action that doesn't extend so far beyond the horizon of 'at some point'.

They also informed us that a gastroectomy is a very bad option and should not be considered unless absolutely necessary. So...good thing we waited.

So, it goes like this. They will wait until Jen's fistula is working properly, and then they will remove the original dialysis port in her chest. Hopefully they will remove the fungal infection at that point if it is attached to the catheter line. After that, she will be transfered to UCSF for the pacer surgery. Following that, she should be able to come home.

Home? What's that??

Update

Photo
Jen is doing OK, same as usual. I'm working to see if we can get her the Minimed pump still, it appears as though it is not covered by insurance. I found out that there is another full-time glucose monitor, the Dexcom.

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Wow these posts get shorter and shorter don't they? Sorry about that.