How long will it last?

How do I know if I am getting better?

How do I know when I need to rest?

 These are just some of the questions you ask yourself while experiencing Glandular Fever.

Doctors and books will give you some indication as to what you can expect, but I believe nothing is as good as hearing from others who have gone through the same.  One of the hardest things about this illness is that no one can tell you exactly what to expect. While everyone’s experience will differ, I believe by sharing our story we can at least help prepare and support those going through it now.

 What you may expect PHYSICALLY

Here I am not just talking about the initial stage of sore throat, fever and swollen glands. I am talking about what to expect afterwards. (Don’t get me wrong; this first bit is hard too – I needed morphine, anti-inflammatories and a few days in the hospital). But once this stage passes, the real challenge begins.

 One of the most interesting things I found was the various different types of tiredness. I know – ‘types of tiredness’, what on earth do you mean?! Before experiencing Glandular Fever, I did not know so many different types of tiredness existed!There is the really really deep tiredness that feels like every bone and every cell in your body is just exhausted. Then there was the headache-y tiredness which is more like a warning that you are pushing yourself and need to back off. Or, worst of all, when you feel so tired all you want to do is sleep, but you can’t sleep, so you are stuck in horrible limbo for hours.

 Glandular Fever quite often also affects the spleen or liver. Mine was my liver. Who knew that liver’s could hurt? I sure didn’t! The pain was hardly bearable at the start, but then later it only hurt when I was starting to get tired – a handy little sign from my body to slow down!

 Now, 5 months later, I am feeling much better – I only need short naps during the day and feel almost like my old energetic self when I am awake. Something that really helped me feel physically better is when I started feeling mentally and emotionally better.

 Please visit the section of “What you can expect mentally and emotionally” for more.

Everyone’s experience will vary. I would love to hear about yours!

Especially if you have or have had Chronic Fatigue or Fibromyalgia – these are obviously much harder to deal with and a different experience again.

 Please, help others by sharing your story!

In general chant specific mantras only when needed. Special mantras can be done all the time. Mantras mentioned below are organ-specific mantras.

Chant the five mantras together. This set of mantras improves thyroid also, which is responsible for all organs and stimulates all organs. 

Om Hraam Namaha

This is good for heart. It can handle any heart problem. The heart vibrates exactly with this mantra. For BP do the Heart Mudra and chant this Mudra.

Om Hraim Namaha

Pronounce Hraim like crime. It works on our Kidneys and Urinary bladder.

Om Hreem Namaha

This stimulates the lungs. Therefore, this mantra is good for any lung problems. It reduces fever. For fever with cold, chant Om Hreem Namaha and Om Hraim Namaha.

If there is any problem with Ragu planet (if this planet is not in a favourable position) in horoscope keep Arugampul, which reduces ill effects of Ragu.

Om Hroom Namaha

This mantra takes care of Liver, Gall Bladder, Pancreas (secretes digestive enzymes), Spleen, Small Intestine and thus works for all digestive organs.  This mantra heals Jaundice and provides us with vital essence. After too much eating chant the Chinese mantra ‘EE Joe’.

Om Hraum Namaha

This mantra heals Constipation and gas problems, and takes care of Large intestine, which eliminates wastage elements.

There is a room inside a waterfall, no questions are inside any dying bubbles, charisma chromes into the bulb of wicked spleen, double side mania sick with the echo lame. A pinch of sound sliced in a violent validations. Sucking the thumb in the sweetness of saliva tempted to grow another sky. Forced water makes to feel the chilled touch of day time ghosts. The picture of pirates burnt to lock the neck of rhythm.

I’m about to be sacked, to most that would cause them to panic and worry, to me, that is nothing short of a relief, I’m finally going to be free from the shackles of despair that THAT company give to me, the handcuffs are off and no longer would I be restrained in my hours as a writer or my subject matter. In fact (as they would be the one terminating the contract)  I can spill the beans on what they “do” (or more precisely fail to do) and before that I’m happy to explain the Llyods sham. Hey Paul and co, google me, it’s about time. For the few folk I get on with at work, I’m really sorry if anything that comes out over the next 4 weeks costs you your job but you’ll all agree you’re treat like crap.

Firstly let me just vent my frustration at Krystal Stapleton-Chetwynde, who will have googled her own name and found this, I think your a “fucktard” so lacking in general common sense that it’s not a wonder you are a human being that fail as a person. You may think you are whatever but sadly, as you lack brain cells, no one cares, a prime example of the Paris Hilton Syndrome “I look pretty thus I must be important”, no you are a fool who I must say also count as a hypocrite. You want to know why I suck at my job? Because you sucked at yours, plain and simple, you got me to the state where I didn’t give a crap and made it obvious. If anyone is sadly unfortunate enough to work with this idiot, feel free to ask her simple questions, her English will expose her lack of comprehension, so who’s cock has she been sucking to be given such a high ranking job?

EDITTED

EDITTED

So whats funny? Well basically after being given a backwards lecture on how the calls are all meant to be coming through by miss “retard” (AKA Krystal) EDITTED

On other news (AKA boxing news), I’m soon to become a full time freelance boxing writer, (see above for more details on the following), I’m about to lose my “job” which means I can finally write about boxing full time, something I’ve wanted to do for the last 3 or so years). Of course knowing I’ll never be a millionaire means I’ll work bloody hard to get this line of work to the standard of which I can live on, I’m currently 30-40 days from being a completely free agent in the writing world. I’ll be working full-time freelance until I get a better offer, though on moral ground I refuse to write for the local news group who refused to even respond to my efforts to get in touch. Cumbrian News, you lot really are as bad as the “current” employer, shame you lack quality overall though.

EDITTED

So what am I going to be doing?
Well finally I’m going to have the  to be a full time boxing writer, I’m expecting to live off my writing earnings, maybe tightly at first but with in  8 month tops I expect to be on double my currently “salary” (or “celery” as Krystal my have told us) and working a full time position that I enjoy. Whether the scum bags believe it or not I don’t like 10 hours (including travel) days and I don’t like having my holiday forms IGNORED, if thats the sort of company I “worked” for then sack my now you useless bastards.

Starting with the midweek fights this week I’m going to be trying to keep up to date on all “western” fights, which meant Green v Jones, Ornelas v Hopkins, Prescott v Mitchell, Kahn v Salita and Williams v Martinez Card. If I can manage them next week and onwards then I deserve credit.

Cheerio folk.
Cheers everyone.

So, on Thursday, I did the ultimate evil cycling nasty to motorists.  I stayed in the lane I was supposed to be in while going up a hill, rather than go in to the little gap between the white line painted along the edge of the road, and the kerb.  I can’t believe that I did something so inconsiderate to the motorists.  I should have done the decent thing and cycled in the narrow strip, with its debris and gratings.  After all, I can’t see any of the obstacles, or the kerb at the side, when the traffic coming the other way is shining its headlights in my face.  And what I can’t see can’t hurt me!  To be fair, the oncoming traffic couldn’t not shine the headlights in my face.  They had to come over the brow of the hill (well bridge) and the only way they could have done anything about their lights was by turing them off, so they are absolved of any guilt.  My anger is at the people going the same way as me.  Yes, I am slower than a car but squeezing past me and beeping isn’t going to make me any faster (it sometimes makes me slower though!).  The only way I could not be in their way is by not being on the actual carriageway, which I’m sure means that they are trying to force me off the road!  The kid on the scooter was particularly annoying though, it there hadn’t been a headwind he’d never have got past me!  Top ranking b@5t4&d though is EN04 GRU, after passing me he got stuck in a queue behind a car turning right, and so positioned himself so far to the left that there would be no room for me to pass him if I caught up.  He must have a really unsatisfying life.

On Friday I didn’t (couldn’t) get the plate of the b@5t4&d who, at the north side of Horningsea, decided that since he’d just left the built up area of the village would put his full beam on RIGHT IN MY FACE.  W@n%^r!

(Courtesy of www.smallvilleph.com)

7 AM. Finished eating breakfast. Decide to check Secure Exam score. Find out I passed. Thank goodness.

***

9 AM: Doctoring Skills. This week we’re learning how to do an abdominal exam. In the introductory lecture, Dr. Rubin asks whether anyone’s had various conditions. Lots of classmates have had heartburn. Only one of us has had their appendix removed. Dr. Rubin asks her why she had it taken out. “I got into a car accident in Spain,” she tells us. (Nothing major). “The hospital took it out without telling me. They wanted to take out my spleen too, but my Mom wouldn’t let them.” (Thank goodness.)

 We break to meet with our SPs. We’re also doing a male genital exam, which is a tad awkward, but goes over well. The SPs are very gracious and helpful. 

As part of it, we have to put our finger up the inguinal canal in the thigh to check for hernias. “Be careful not to go too fast, ” our SP cautions. “If you go too far, I’ll have inguinal pain for two weeks.”

Thankfully, we didn’t.  

***

Wednesdays are nice because I get done around 11 AM. There is an embryology lecture later on that day, but aside from a secure exam review, that’s about it. So I get lots of time to study. I hang out with one of the Histology TAs during lunch during her office hours. Later, I grab a classroom and study. (I like to draw diagrams on the whiteboard or pretend-teach the lecture notes.)

One of my classmates stops in and tells me a fascinating story. Turns out on his flight back to Burlington at the end of Thanksgiving break, he met a woman who had an ear infection that had affected her tensor tympani muscle.

This muscle is responsible for dampening vibrations in the ear when you’re exposed to a really loud sound. Otherwise, you’ll hear them as, well, really loud sounds. Apparently hers couldn’t do its job effectively as a result of the infection, so her hearing was very sensitive. She couldn’t even eat food without hearing her jaws chewing as a painfully loud noise.

But this also gave her the ability to hear noises that were very far away. “She could hear the neighbors talking in the house next door!” he told me. “It’s like having a superpower!”

Now I know how superhearing works. I need to check if The Science of Superman says anything about control of the tensor tympani muscle.

Josh Pothen (UVM’s Meager Med Student)

Donate $1 to The Meager Med Student!

I am tiring and frankly really bored with wearing these bloody, tight, horrible, brown anti-embolism stockings for my dvt. Especially with the weather we’ve been having lately. Why couldn’t I get my DVT in winter? Instead I got it just before the mercury hit 40 degrees (that’s Celsius NOT Fahrenheit for anyone reading this from the Northern Hemisphere!)

They look appalling with shorts and sandals and while I’m no fashion plate nor of a size that could ever dream of being one (in fact there are a couple of size 10s struggling to get out of me right now!) I still don’t like to look too daggy, especially when shopping “in town”. And I think that yesterday I may have been mistaken for a German Tourist in my Birkenstock sandalen mit socken. Except that I was wearing Ecco sandals and my toes were sticking out from my stockings, and got sunburnt!!

I caught the ferry into town to return some clothes I had bought from David Jones just before my last hospital admission. I find it difficult to try clothes on in stores because you need to be contortionist in those changerooms and the likelihood is that I’d dislocate a hip and fall under the door wearing nothing more than my underwear (remember I have a couple of size 10s inside me!) and get stuck halfway and need to be rescued by a teenager wearing heels and a micromini. No thanks! Instead I buy, try at home and keep what fits and return the rest. It’s a bloody miracle if anything does fit me (see above and below!). Bloody prednisone and a need (no not a want, really it’s a need) for high fat snacks!  And not a modicum of will power do I currently possess!

The weather was perfect yesterday so on the way home when it didn’t matter if my hair got messed up or I got drenched, I parked my mobility scooter on the front (the bow?? is that what it’s called?)  of the river cat / ferry and enjoyed the heat of the afternoon on my skin (except for where my stockings covered my legs but not my toes(!!) ) and the occasional gentle cooling spray of water from the river, and the fresh germ-free air! It was just divine. I love Sydney. Love it.

Sorry to inflict the above on you, just felt like a chat! I know you are really just here to find out the status of my platelets, am I right?

Well here you go… enjoy as much as I did.

On Tuesday my platelets were 112. And so I went home and continued my 40mg Clexane injections for my DVT.

 Today  (Friday 27th November – would’ve been my Dad’s 77th birthday today)  – DAY 18 – post Octagam / IVIG infusion and my platelets are at a record high of 89.

Last time I made it to DAY 18, my platelets were 26 and I had an infusion. This time I don’t have to go back to the hospital until next Tuesday.

May not get a spleenectomy this year after all. Woo hoo.

God is that the time? Cheese and wine o’clock!

Until next time.

Cheers…hic…hic…Nicx

From the give people the benefit of the doubt because you can always overreact later category, Kentucky Census Worker Officially Committed Suicide, The Left Completely Pwnd – He was truly committed to his cause, killing himself to make conservatives look bad. 

—

Richard Dawkins’ karma runs over his dogma.  Also see some other inconsistencies about his new anti-religion ads.

The two children chosen to front Richard Dawkins’s latest assault on God could not look more free of the misery he associates with religious baggage. With the slogan “Please don’t label me. Let me grow up and choose for myself”, the youngsters with broad grins seem to be the perfect advertisement for the new atheism being promoted by Professor Dawkins and the British Humanist Association.

Except that they are about as far from atheism as it is possible to be. The Times can reveal that Charlotte, 8, and Ollie, 7, are from one of the country’s most devout Christian families.

He said: “It is quite funny, because obviously they were searching for images of children that looked happy and free. They happened to choose children who are Christian. It is ironic. The humanists obviously did not know the background of these children.”

He said that the children’s Christianity had shone through. “Obviously there is something in their faces which is different. So they judged that they were happy and free without knowing that they are Christians. That is quite a compliment. I reckon it shows we have brought up our children in a good way and that they are happy.”

Hat tip: Confessions of a Recovering Pharisee (one of the best blog titles ever!)

—

Lots o’ apologetics Podcasts – load up your iPod!

—

What a missed opportunity!  A character in the latest episode of House had to have 16 spleens removed and they didn’t use the best surplus spleen joke ever: “Well, he’s got some ex-spleening to do.”  I would have let them use it for free!

I

Enfim te vejo! – enfim posso,

Curvado a teus pés, dizer-te,

Que não cessei de querer-te,

Pesar de quanto sofri.

Muito penei! Cruas ânsias,

Dos teus olhos afastado,

Houveram-me acabrunhado

A não lembrar-me de ti!

II

Dum mundo a outro impelido,

Derramei os meus lamentos

Nas surdas asas dos ventos,

Do mar na crespa cerviz!

Baldão, ludíbrio da sorte

Em terra estranha, entre gente,

Que alheios males não sente,

Nem se condói do infeliz!

III

Louco, aflito, a saciar-me

D’agravar minha ferida,

Tomou-me tédio da vida,

Passos da morte senti;

Mas quase no passo extremo,

No último arcar da esperança,

Tu me vieste à lembrança:

Quis viver mais e vivi!

IV

Vivi; pois Deus me guardava

Para este lugar e hora!

Depois de tanto, senhora,

Ver-te e falar-te outra vez;

Rever-me em teu rosto amigo,

Pensar em quanto hei perdido,

E este pranto dolorido

Deixar correr a teus pés.

V

Mas que tens? Não me conheces?

De mim afastas teu rosto?

Pois tanto pôde o desgosto

Transformar o rosto meu?

Sei a aflição quanto pode,

Sei quanto ela desfigura,

E eu não vivi na ventura…

Olha-me bem, que sou eu!

VI

Nenhuma voz me diriges!…

Julgas-te acaso ofendida?

Deste-me amor, e a vida

Que me darias – bem sei;

Mas lembrem-te aqueles feros

Corações, que se meteram

Entre nós; e se venceram,

Mal sabes quanto lutei!

VII

Oh! se lutei!… mas devera

Expor-te em pública praça,

Como um alvo à populaça,

Um alvo aos dictérios seus!

Devera, podia acaso

Tal sacrifício aceitar-te

Para no cabo pagar-te,

Meus dias unindo aos teus?

VIII

Devera, sim; mas pensava,

Que de mim t’esquecerias,

Que, sem mim, alegres dias

T’esperavam; e em favor

De minhas preces, contava

Que o bom Deus me aceitaria

O meu quinhão de alegria

Pelo teu, quinhão de dor!

IX

Que me enganei, ora o vejo;

Nadam-te os olhos em pranto,

Arfa-te o peito, e no entanto

Nem me podes encarar;

Erro foi, mas não foi crime,

Não te esqueci, eu to juro:

Sacrifiquei meu futuro,

Vida e glória por te amar!

X

Tudo, tudo; e na miséria

Dum martírio prolongado,

Lento, cruel, disfarçado,

Que eu nem a ti confiei;

“Ela é feliz (me dizia)

“Seu descanso é obra minha.”

Negou-me a sorte mesquinha…

Perdoa, que me enganei!

XI

Tantos encantos me tinham,

Tanta ilusão me afagava

De noite, quando acordava,

De dia em sonhos talvez!

Tudo isso agora onde pára?

Onde a ilusão dos meus sonhos?

Tantos projetos risonhos,

Tudo esse engano desfez!

XII

Enganei-me!… — Horrendo caos

Nessas palavras se encerra,

Quando do engano, quem erra.

Não pode voltar atrás!

Amarga irrisão! reflete:

Quando eu gozar-te pudera,

Mártir quis ser, cuidei qu’era…

E um louco fui, nada mais!

XIII

Louco, julguei adornar-me

Com palmas d’alta virtude!

Que tinha eu bronco e rude

C’o que se chama ideal?

O meu eras tu, não outro;

Stava em deixar minha vida

Correr por ti conduzida,

Pura, na ausência do mal.

XIV

Pensar eu que o teu destino

Ligado ao meu, outro fora,

Pensar que te vejo agora,

Por culpa minha, infeliz;

Pensar que a tua ventura

Deus ab eterno a fizera,

No meu caminho a pusera…

E eu! eu fui que a não quis!

XV

És doutro agora, e pr’a sempre!

Eu a mísero desterro

Volto, chorando o meu erro,

Quase descrendo dos céus!

Dói-te de mim, pois me encontras

Em tanta miséria posto,

Que a expressão deste desgosto

Será um crime ante Deus!

XVI

Dói-te de mim, que t’imploro

Perdão, a teus pés curvado;

Perdão!… de não ter ousado

Viver contente e feliz!

Perdão da minha miséria,

Da dor que me rala o peito,

E se do mal que te hei feito,

Também do mal que me fiz!

XVII

Adeus qu’eu parto, senhora;

Negou-me o fado inimigo

Passar a vida contigo,

Ter sepultura entre os meus;

Negou-me nesta hora extrema,

Por extrema despedida,

Ouvir-te a voz comovida

Soluçar um breve Adeus!

XVIII

Lerás porém algum dia

Meus versos d’alma arrancados,

D’amargo pranto banhados,

Com sangue escritos; – e então

Confio que te comovas,

Que a minha dor te apiade

Que chores, não de saudade,

Nem de amor, — de compaixão.

Comment démolir une première impression aux yeux de son tout nouveau proprio à son nouveau logement ?

Simple :

Emménagez et foutez le bordel dans le logement que vous n’aurez pas le temps/l’argent pour vous acheter des meubles, le laissant ainsi suspicieusement vide.

Assurez-vous que les rideaux de fortune, donc les draps que vous avez scotchés à votre fenêtre, décollent à tout moment, exposant le spectacle de vous biens éparpillés aux quatre vents dans ladite pièce, et ce aux yeux de tout le quartier, vive les rez-de-chaussées.

Mais surtout, souriez, ce n’est pas tout les jours qu’on a un bizarroïde qui s’installe dans votre logement, offrez donc votre plus beau sourire aux gens du quartier, et au proprio qui vient chercher son chèque de loyer  en constatant avec horreur que vous n’avez même pas de cintres pour accrocher vos manteaux dans votre placard négligemment laissé ouvert.

Ah oui, et les dons sont acceptés.

According to one of the Haematologists I am a star.

My haematolgist, Jenny has told the surgeon to put my spleenectomy on hold (for now).

Today (day 11 post Octagam IVIG infusion) my platelets are 143 – the highest they have ever been at this stage post infusion.

If it’s decided that I need my spleen removed it will have to be either in the next couple of weeks (so it’s not too close to Christmas) or after I get back from Noosa. But I may not need it after all?!

Wait and see.

Back to hospital on Tuesday.

Having 40mgs Clexane daily from today. This is a lower dose just in case my platelets drop significantly over the weekend.

The rollercoaster ride continues…

Too hot to write anything else need a swim…

A few people have found my blog by googling “Jonathan Cainer” and “Moran recliners”.

Think I might mention both of these loves of my life more often.

Never know a publisher looking for a comfy chair to read manuscripts might pop by or alternatively someone looking for a good horoscope like:

You will happen upon some interesting reading which will make a lot of money and create fame for you and the writer. But especially for the writer.

www.hasmyhaloslipped.com

My blood pressure was down today – 138/87 – low for me when I arrive at HACU. Not as low as it used to be or as low as I’d like it but lower. So that was a good start.

Cannula Queen got my blood first time. Excellent.

Then my platelet count came back = 205.

No one believed it could be true so they tested it again (why do they not ever test it when it’s low!?!?!). So I sat and waited and it was true.

My platelets today are 205. They have not been that high through this whole ITP thing. And they have never gone up at this point post infusion. (Day 7).

There could be a number of reasons for this:

1. I’ve given up aspartame (particularly Pepsi Max)
2. I have started drinking Mona Vie – a juice / tonic which has Acai berry and load of other fruits in it – I think I might become a distributor if it is the reason, so if you want to buy it send me an email.
3. Dapsone may be working
4. Mabthera may be working
5. My Haematolgist sent a letter to the surgeon (and saw his secretary) who is supposed to be removing my spleen – this caused me to stop attention seeking and get those platelets up up up!

It’s exciting to be that high, I go back again on friday for another test. Hopefully I will still be up.

EVERYTHING CROSSED!!

Prednisone is now down to 17.5mgs

Clexane 80mgs once a day

Bactrim – Breakfast and dinner on Mondays and Thursdays

Slow K – two breakfast and dinner

Nexium – one 40mgs at night

Dapsone – 100mgs daily

Folic Acid – 5mgs daily

Paracetamol – PRN (per required need)

C’est tout!

Nic(ole)x

I’ve given up Pepsi Max – cold turkey.

I read of 4 (yes just 4 but I could be number 5, if it’s true) of people who had low platelets and stopped having aspartame. Their platelets went back to normal. When they tested it by having gum or diet drinks they went down again.

I have been known to drink up to 4 cans of Pepsi Max a day (with freshly squeezed lime juice in it). So it is worth a try. and at this point I’ll try anything.

If the Dapsone or Mabthera haven’t kicked in fully in a couple of weeks I am having a spleenectomy. I believe that prior to that they will do a bone marrow biopsy (through the sternum if I can’t get into a good position for the biopsy from my lumbar area.) Nice.

I had a cold last week but still went to the Hunter but only for one night. It was great fun and I am pleased that I made the effort. Wyndham Estate winery is beautiful and Bjorn Again were their usual fABBAuolos selves. The only negative was that you couldn’t BYO and the wine selection was from the lower end of the market and if I am going to drink I do like to have something fabulous. $25 for Trilogy and other Wyndham Estate bins was a bit steep. However I would’ve paid through the nose for something better.

Bjorn Again in the Hunter Valley

Ben and Soph LOVE ABBA

We tasted Tintilla’s range of wines and bought a few cases. I was really impressed with the vineyard – it is beautiful. The area where you can taste the wines – sitting at a table either inside or out on the verandah – was delightful and some of their oils and olives were divine.

The wines were really impressive. I would recommend you all go next time you are in the Hunter.

www.tintilla.com.au

Scarborough was also its usual impressive self, serving cheese while you taste the wines. Everyone went along to try them out but I had a nap at the house instead.

www.scarboroughwine.com.au

No, I’m not talking about your alimentary canal.

When your doctor (or Doctor Mom) checks to see if your “glands” are swollen, it is your lymph nodes that are being checked—and they are not glands.

The lymph nodes, located throughout your body, are part of a lymphatics circulatory system which runs in parallel and in collaboration with your venous blood system, as distinct from your arterial blood system.
∙

Venous Circulatory System∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙∙Lymphatics Circulatory System

[Please click on the images to see the detail more clearly]

So what do these lymph nodes have to do with the maladies I cite at the top of this page? They are protecting and defending your body by sensing, attacking, immobilizing, killing, and flushing the remains of the bad critters that have invaded your otherwise pristine flesh. When thus engaged in dealing with the alien invaders, the lymph nodes ramp up their activities and become swollen with lymphatic fluid which contains the disease-eating organisms of your body—the macrophages (literally, big eaters) and other defensive cells.

But, when the lymphatics system doesn’t work properly, bad things can happen—the sewer backs up. The result is a swelling of various tissues, a condition most commonly called lymphodema. There are other names for more serious problems associated with the dysfunction of the lymphatics system..

A macrophage attacking infectious organisms

I was reminded of all this, having remembered about “lymph” only vaguely from my biology classes in high school, by my friend Helena Janlöv-Remnerud. Helena is a trained nurse, entrepreneur, teacher and authority in lymphodema therapy. Because we have a mutual friend in the USA, we met several years ago and found we had interests in common.

What is lymphodema? And why does a person with this condition need therapy? So glad you asked.

The simplest way to describe lymphodema (or, more scientifically, lymphodoema) is an abnormal swelling of the limbs and other parts of the body. The most extreme example of this condition outside of a hospital will be the person whose legs seem like those of an elephant, hence the term elephantiasis, used in unusually serious cases where parasitic worms have invaded the lymphatics system, a disease usually found in the tropics.

Most commonly in the temperate zones, lymphodema is the result of acute trauma to the body, including deep surgical operations such as for cancer, and due to the effects other diseases such as diabetes.

Helena has had, for a number of years, her own lymphodema clinic in central Stockholm and is currently preparing for a move to a larger, multi-specialty clinic near a major medical center just north of the city center: Olivia Rehabilitering (click on “Lymfödemrehab” to see Helena’s clinic).

Your body’s immune system organs

I attended an open house for the clinic which will open for business in early 2010, and received a guided tour and lecture on the subject of Helena’s expertise. She likes to use the metaphor of a sewer system to describe the lymphatics system. This analogy appeals to me, my having been trained in public health and perceiving the hidden sewer systems of our cities and towns as the platform upon which we are able to successfully build our civilization. Think of the great water and sewer works built by the Ancient Romans.

In helping this layman understand her metaphor, Helena told me:

The lymphatic fluid takes all the waste products away from your tissues. As it moves toward its final destination in the blood stream, it passes through the analysis stations of the lymph nodes where bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms are detected. An alarm goes off in the lymph nodes that signals the production of warriors to attack them. The residue will be taken care of by the cleansing processes of the bloodstream: the liver, the kidneys and the spleen. All the output of the lymphatic system is poured into the venous blood system at two large veins under your collar bones, the subclavian veins. As the blood passes through the kidneys some waste products are done away with through bladder and the urine. When the blood passes through the liver other waste (like toxins) are discarded of through the bowel. The spleen mainly takes care of old erythrocytes (red blood cells); it also part of the immune system.

Helena recently delivered a paper to Svenska Ödemförbundet (Swedish Edema Association) on lymphoedema assessment and management in an Australian clinic she visited, which you can read in English, here.

Another question you might ask is: how can the lymph fluids circulate if there is no “heart” attached to the system? There is peristaltic action in the lymph vessels, but another vital method is through the movement of your body, especially the legs. This is one reason why walking is so important for your health—to keep the lymphatics flowing and flushing out the poisons and infectious residue from your body.

What I hope to leave you with is an appreciation for a seldom mentioned system of your body that deserves equal billing with your blood system.

Ask your doctor about it.

My spleen and I waited an hour in a very cold waiting room full of old people for a nurse at the doctor’s office to put us in a room, where she took my blood pressure and pulse. A half hour later, the surgeon came in and felt around on my ribs for a minute and then left to look at the CD of my Canadian cat scan.

I was not on any illegal drugs, as the title of this post might lead you to believe. The squiggly is, I think, a coil the doctor in Canada threaded in to stop some bleeding.

“Wow, you were really lucky,” she explained, with a raised eyebrow and playful half smile as if to say, “I’m a nerd and looking at this stuff makes me feel like an eighteen-year-old boy watching porn. She went on to explain that the part of my spleen that broke  was the part where all the blood vessels come in. Not only did I somehow avoid getting a blood transfusion, but there was hardly any blood in my abdomen and I didn’t lose my spleen. Lucky.

That’s not really what I wanted to hear. I don’t want to know that I almost lost an entire organ, that I had a very serious accident and that my spleen, to which I’ve become rather attached as of late, almost died. No, what I wanted to hear was “Yeah, you’re fine. This was never any big deal. Get out of here and don’t ever come back.” Or, better yet, “This was all a nightmare and you’re going to wake up now.”

The doctor said there’s a very, very minor chance of a delayed rupture or my spleen dying around this time, but I would have felt severe pain, dizziness, and had a lot of noticeable swelling. She said most of her spleen patients are drunk on a ladder or roof when they fall and injure themselves and then go back and do the same thing again.

It would also be “cool,” she said with another half-grin, to get another CT just to see what it looks like–to see how much of my spleen died, or maybe even if the whole thing is now gone. All of which seems way more medically significant than simply being a fun thing to look at.

I have lost like 10 pounds from the four days of liquids at the hospital and a month of inactivity so I asked, very nicely, if I could please exercise again. She hesitated. “Oh, Jesus, now if something happens to you it’s going to be my fault. Yes, you can run, play tennis, lift weights…just be careful,” noting that if I fell and hit my midsection–like by the same sort of misfortune that brought me to where I am now–well, that’d be bad news.

So I guess my spleen and I are going to have to be content to sit tight for a little while longer, although my labs look good and (if my spleen is still alive) it’s likely fine. We’ve really bonded through this ordeal, and are now enjoying a cup of coffee while the remains of Tropical Storm Ida blow through Madisonville.

Quando entrei no palco, ao lado de Rémy, para apresentar essa noite do Station Brésil lembrei da ciranda e do mangue beat de Pernambuco. Somos antropofágicos por natureza. Por isso é muito bom assistir um encontro onde os artistas se entregam à proposta da mistura. A francesa Jeanne Cherhal tem sido minha preferida nessas noites de Station Brésil. Pros brasileiros a brincadeira já faz parte, é comum a integração e existe até, ouso dizer, uma facilidade em correr atrás da nota, aceitar um desafio.
No caso de Jeanne me impressionou a dedicação e a vontade de fazer direito com tão pouco tempo de ensaio. Com a Banda de Pífanos em João Pessoa ela já tinha arrasado e em Recife ela teve a sorte de encontrar Fernanda Takai que também leva a sério esse tipo de oportunidade. Elas fizeram juntas duas músicas. A primeira foi Berimbau, da leva Baden/Vinicius, bastante conhecida na França. A segunda, já no show de Jeanne, foi em francês, com Fernanda tirando de letra um repertório apresentado a ela naquele mesmo dia. Que orgulho!!

Outro bom momento foi o encontro de Mariana Aydar com Spleen. Eles fizeram juntos uma música da francesa Camille, que já esteve algumas vezes no Brasil e tem fãs e parceiros por aqui. Duas energias bem diferentes no mesmo palco e deu certo! Spleen faz um som mais visceral, hip hop, funk, masculino. E Mariana é aquela doçura que a gente conhece.
Foi a primeira vez que ela se apresentou em Recife e o público a recebeu muito bem! Cantaram junto e alto todas as canções que ela fez: “Zé do Caroço”, “Deixa o Verão”, “Peixes”, foi lindo de ver! A banda foi montada com Duani nas percussões, bateria, cavaquinho e a luxuosa participação de Webster Santos e Paulinho Lepetit.

Fecharam a noite dois bardos: Zeca Baleiro e Louis Bertignac que acabaram fazendo Beatles no momento da jam. O público adorou.
Pra saber mais, ver as fotos oficiais e a cobertura em francês do meu colega Rémy, acesse o site:
http://www.stationbresil.com.br/