The beginning, Part 1

All this BS started about a year ago when my liver function tests were elevated.  This can be caused by a variety of things, fatty liver or a blocked bile duct and many other things.  My primary care physician originally thought that it was a fatty liver...from me being fat and not eating properly.  I went on the fatty liver diet and I lost some weight, but the enzymes were still elevated.  My PC doc decided to send me to a specialist after an ultrasound showed a poofy bile duct, meaning that they suspected a blockage.  After more testing including a CAT scan and MRI, it was discovered that my bile duct was blocked with a gall stone and there were also stones in my gall bladder.  Holy crap!!  My liver doctor told me that I needed a procedure called an ERCP and I would have to stay in the hospital overnight, because this procedure can cause pancreatitis and that can be dangerous. 

So, the ERCP is, in my opinion, barbaric!  A tube is shoved down your throat while asleep and laying on your stomach.  That's because you throw up bile during this and they don't want you to choke.  My abdomen was so sore after this and I also had bruised vocal cords.  Boy was my family thrilled when they found out that I couldn't talk much for a while!  When i was in the hospital, they decided to move me to another floor at 9:30 at night.  I would have been more pissed if I wasn't on dilaudid, but afterward I was annoyed and so was my doctor.  Recovery was quick and they had begun to bug me to have a colonoscopy and gall bladder surgery.  I needed a little break, but instead I got erlichiosis, a tick borne illness.  That will be addressed in part 2.

Here's my update for the present:
I just finished another week of chemo shots.  They are sore and it's a little difficult to wear jeans and underwear.  Never fear, I am wearing underwear!  No commando here!  Thursday will be Donor Lymphocyte Infusion #3.  Hopefully this will do the trick.  My hip has been sore on and off and I look at this as a good sign.  Hips are big bones, so in my case, when they are sore, good stuff may be happening.  The good cells might be pushing out the little f'er cells and I absolutely believe that is what's happening.  I'm staying out of crowded areas, due to the flu and all the bad germs flying around.  I'm being very careful.
Please keep the prayers coming!
BTW:  The infusion nurses at Danbury Hospital are awesome!!!