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You may e-mail me at bluelightningjeep@earthlink.net and I will do my best to reply. My medical bills are expensive, so if you feel like you would like to help in other ways, please consider donating to my transplant fund. Any and all support, prayer, and care is appreciated! National Transplant Assistance Fund for Carissa May 4, 2008- OK OK so, I know it's been a while, but you can quit yelling now because I am back with an update! I've been too busy with G-PACT and Facebooking :) April was a pretty rough month for me, although a lot of good things happened too. Physically, I have been battling extreme fatigue, and nausea, joint, muscle, bone, and abdominal pain. I have also been experiencing some neuropathy symptoms and am undergoing testing for the cause of that. While at an appointment with my PCP for the burning hands, feet, and cramping, she also heard a heart murmur. I do have a history of heart murmur and have been diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse in the past. I am scheduled for an echocardiogram on Wednesday, 05/07 to rule out mitral valve regurgitation. In addition, I have been developing random rashes over my liver, right side, back, and chest which cannot be explained, along with excessive itching all over my body. My GI doctor checked my nutrition status, liver function, CBC (because of the fatigue), and did testing for a multitude of conditions I could develop as a result of my Prograf (FK) anti-rejection medication. He also did additional bloodwork, and wants to do another endoscopy/biopsy soon because many of my symptoms point to the recurrence of my gastroparesis. They may also be due to a bezoar (ball of fiber blocking stomach), adhesions, unusual anatomy, surgical changes, or other things. Since it has been going on for a while and has affected my ability to eat significantly, he has decided it is time to investigate. On April 1, I was driving to my Tues. night Bible study and a car ran a stop sign and I hit him. The other driver's car was totaled, and my Jeep would have been totaled if not for the friend who fought on my behalf! Blue Lightning was towed to a local body shop owned by a friend of a friend, and he would not allow the insurance company to total the Jeep. He said that Blue did not deserve to be totaled, told the insurance adjustor how much I loved that Jeep, showed him a pic of a miniature version of Blue he painted for me years ago (built by a friend), and then the insurance adjustor agreed to not total Blue and they sat down and negotiated. The auto body shop owner lowered HIS price in order to spare Blue, and in the end, I did not owe him a penny! It is amazing how God works these things out. No one was seriously injured in the accident, although I have been suffering from whiplash and am now going to PT for my back and neck. As long as I am going for whiplash, I decided to go for everything else too...strengthening my whole body. My spine is slightly curved, and one hip is higher than the other due to mild scoliosis from osteoporosis, so it causes me a great deal of pain on my left side and makes me walk and stand lopsided! The PT is going to work with me on that and hopefully we will be able to resolve a number of my pain issues by the end of my treatment. On a good note, I am not required to return to Pittsburgh until I feel the need. It's been nice to spend the last 7 weeks or so at home! Hopefully, my docs at Hershey Med can figure out these other problems and keep me from having to return to Pittsburgh for a while still. I am still passionate about every aspect of my volunteer work at LCBC Harrisburg in kidMin. I love what we are doing, and really enjoy getting to hang with the kids every week. Oh yeah, the adults aren't that bad either! :) I attend a Life Group from the church every other Sunday evening, and have enjoyed getting to know other singles in a small setting. I'm glad the weather is warming up because it does affect my pain levels and overall health, and I am hoping the gas prices drop some so I can spend some time with Blue Lightning having fun! G-PACT is doing well. We have re-established our relationship with Medtronic and have a huge awareness day event planned for the end of August at a Mets vs. Astros game. We are also working towards sponsoring a conference at the end of August in NYC. The interest is great among medical professionals and patients, but it all depends on funding. Please pray that recent grant proposals and future connections will bring in enough funds to pull off both events. We are in need of approximately $100,000 and are pursuing a variety of sponsors in our effort to raise the necessary funds. If you would like to help in any way with sponsorship or fundraising, please let me know! If you would like to see videos about my history with GP, learn more about the condition, and how that led to the formation of G-PACT, check out G-PACT's site at www.g-pact.org/awareness.htm. Dr. Ken Koch, one of top motility doctors in the country, is also featured.
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Life on a Feeding Tube |
