I thought I would send out this prayer request! Phillip's in Iraq and Jessica is going through some major health problems. Please add her (and Phillip) too your prayers. Thanks and love you guys dearly!
Here is the email below.
Some of you know that Jessica has been sick off and on for the last year or more... the doc had diognosed her with hypothyroidism, and put her on medication for 8 weeks before retesting and realizing that she didn't have that disease.
A little while ago she got a kidney infection which led to some more testing with a different doc who thought she had a blood disease. They tested her for low iron in her blood, since that's very common with people who have celiac disease, but they found that she has very high levels of iron instead. Latest diognosis is that she has hemochromatosis- a disease where the blood doesn't properly dispose of the iron in the blood. Eventually the blood starts depositing the iron into organs, such as the pancreas, heart, liver. We're not sure right now if there has been any damage to her organs. At the very least, she'll need to get a pint of blood taken out once or twice a week for a year, then every 1-4 months after that and they should be able to keep it stabalized. She will go to a specialist when they can get her in- probably in a couple of weeks. The specialist will probably end up doing an endoscopy, colonoscopy, and liver biopsy.
Anyway, to add insult to injury, her poodle has been sick too and the vet can't figure out what's wrong with her. I think Jess is more concerned about Pixie than herself. For those of you who don't know Jess very well, she's very much an animal lover (she already had her cat and parakeet die since I deployed)
I just wanted to let you all know what's going on and ask that you keep Jess in your prayers. Her parents only live an hour and a half away, so they have been helping her out. I have been able to talk to her just about every day. I'll be changing out of command of B Company on Mar 5 to complete 18 months of command, then I'll be going on leave, so I should be back in the states for a couple of weeks in the middle of March. Latest assesment is that we'll only do a 12 month rotation, so I could make it back to the states by the end of May/early June.
I hope you all are doing well and I'll talk to you soon,
Phillip"
2 comments:
Dear Brother & Sister in Christ,
I am moved by your circumstances and your request for prayer for Jess. Her recent diagnosis of hemochromatosis is likely the underlying cause of many of the diseases she is facing.
The good news is that she has been diagnosed and her physicians are continuing to do the diagnostic procedures to better establish her current condition.
I want you, Jess and her first relatives to go to our website and become well acquainted with this condition and what all of them need to know. Hemochromatosis is a heriditary disorder. This means that Jess's parents are AT LEAST carriers of ONE of the two mutated genes that cause HHC. One of her parents may have both copies and thereby be at risk for the HHC too.
ALL FIRST RELATIVES, Jess's parents siblings, their children, your children, Jess's siblings ALL need to be genetically tested. THis is the medical protocol in the USA and in many places around the world. You are looking to discover whether you have both copies of a gene called C282Y or H63D.
Also, since you have a blog and a heart for others, in Christ, please feel free to spread the word about this disorder to your friends. One in 300 people in North America have this disorder and one in 9 are carriers of one of the mutated genes.
I will watch your blog with interest and your family will be on my mind and heart.
Blessings,
Bob Rogers
Executive Director
Canadian Hemochromatosis Society
www.toomuchiron.ca
brogers@toomuchiron.ca
Foods containing calcium such as cottage cheese, yogurt, carrots, etc are great for slowing down iron absorbtion.
Too much iron in the liver is worse than booze.
Drinks that have tannins work very well also. Black tea and my favorite, green tea are very helpful. Most herb teas do not contain tannins.
Hemochromatosis sufferrers should drink lots of water every day to keep the blood thin for easier phlebotomies and to keep the kidneys nice and flushed out.
For people who are diagnosed and treated early, normal life spans are possible. If left untreated, HH will lead to critical organ damage and most likely death.
You can find lots of real life tips from Pat at his blog:
Http://ironoverload.info
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