Thinking Hard About Beer Battered Food

This past weekend, I had to recall how much alcohol is actually in beer-battered food. I was getting ready to begin frying some fish with a person suffering from late stage liver cirrhosis, so naturally the thought popped into my head “how much alcohol will be in this?” The answer is none; the alcohol evaporates quickly as the fish is fried, leaving only the taste of the beer behind.

My second thought was that this particular individual has not had a beer in three or more years after being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis. As a recovered alcoholic, I was worried the taste would cause him to crave it again. It turned out all the taste did was cause him (and I) to stuff our faces with not only the fish, but every veggie we could get our hands on in the fridge and dip in the batter – a good ol’ fashioned beer batter fry-a-thon.

However, my early hesitation was warranted. After struggling for years with medication regimens, doctor appointments, hospital stays and more, one afternoon of fun would not be worth a setback. This was walking a thin line as far as I’m concerned, but as of now the only thing we’re craving is to go catch more fish… And when a person might not have much more time left, he deserves an afternoon at the lake.

Liver Transplant... Almost

I’m tired of getting startling phone calls in the middle of the night. Yesterday evening the house was quiet, everyone was sound asleep but me. I had just turned off the last of the lights and was walking to bed when the phone rang.

The sound echoed through the house as I stared at the relative’s number on the caller ID. I let the phone ring exactly three and one half times before I had the courage to pick it up.

“They found a new liver for him!” the voice on the other end shouted. “He’s on his way to another hospital for a transplant!”

Unbelievable. All I could say was “for real?!” Everyone in my house woke up and exchanged equal phrases of astonishment. After the call, we sat around the kitchen table and didn’t know what to say. I’m sure all our mouths were hanging open. The fact that a transplant may be a few hours away just seemed surreal. Of all the people who need new livers, I couldn’t help but wonder why all of the sudden there was one available for an old alcoholic. I’m pretty sure he was thinking the same thing himself. We would not be told who donated the liver, or the reason they didn’t need it anymore, but we are all beyond grateful that they made the choice to be a donor.

While the doctors involved were exchanging paperwork and coordinating efforts from remote locations, my relative was on his way to a metro hospital in the back of an ambulance. (He later laughed and said he got a free $10,000 ride). It was just two hours or so after receiving the news that a liver was available that he was in a new hospital beginning pre-op testing. Then he waited… and waited… and waited. Family members started to arrive to offer support and encouragement, but after the initial rush of joy that this may actually be happening, it was just a matter of hurry up and wait.

For a transplant to happen the donated organ goes through testing of its own. This is to make sure that before a team of surgeons performs the transplant they know the liver will be in the best shape possible and it will be up to the recipient’s body to accept it (with the help of anti-rejection medication). It makes a lot of sense from a practical standpoint also; you wouldn’t want a patient to go through such an extensive procedure to find out the organ was bad to begin with. Then they’d run the risk of being in worse shape than when they started and weakened from surgery.

As the whole family waited at the hospital or in their homes for updates the night wore on. It wasn’t until 7:30 am the next morning, approximately nine hours since I received the news that my phone rang once more. This time the news wasn’t so good though and the caller wasn’t too excited.

The team of doctors and surgeons made the difficult decision to abort the transplant procedure before it started. Through their testing they determined the liver was bad and the operation would not work with the organ they had. We were crushed. Every medical professional involved must have felt some sort or disappointment also – it takes so much effort and cooperation just to get a patient to a hospital and ready for surgery. It was then we found out that the whole event can happen 10 times or more until both the donated organ and recipient are a perfect match and in good enough condition to proceed.

My relative made it to the operating table, but never saw the knife – this time. We’re viewing it as transplant practice, but I’d be lying if I said none of us are upset. To be that close to a refreshed life and not receive it…

…Like winning the lottery and having it taken away nine hours later.

Reminiscing

Lately I’ve found myself saying “remember when” quite a bit. It’s almost like a self defense mechanism to try and keep thinking positive. When visiting a relative in the hospital this week, we had a conversation on the very topic. He’s an elderly patient in intensive care who began talking about his childhood and how things use to be. I remarked how it’s funny his short-term memory doesn’t work, but he can remember events that happened 80 years ago perfectly. In his case, those memories were all he needed to start smiling, even while hooked up to half a dozen machines.

I’ve often hated how easy it is to compile all the situations that are wrong into one ever-sinking feeling; which is especially true for hospital patients. For those of us outside the hospital though, sometimes just a few quiet moments are all it takes to allow your mind to start adding up all the things wrong with life. Those are the times I try to force myself to remember the “good old days” - when hopes and dreams were just a little bigger and problems were much, much smaller.

Forced recollection is actually a technique some top athletes use to help perform their best. They train their bodies to be the fastest, strongest, etc., but dialing-in the best mental state for a competition is another matter – and quite often the difference between winning and losing. Before an event, an athlete may think of a time they performed at their absolute peak… they focus on it, relive the victory, remember all the feelings associated with it… and when the starting gun sounds they are ready to kick some ass.

The same process can be used to feel more like a winner in life. When everything seems to crumble around you, try thinking of a time when life seemed wonderful; when you were happy to be alive. A first kiss, an amazing vacation, even a perfect spring day with a cool gentle breeze and some warm sunshine. For myself, I usually turn on some music to help bring back some memories. For others, there's even magazines about the years gone by, like Reminisce which covers the 20s, 30s, 40s and 50s.

In my relative’s situation in the hospital, you could just tell he was grateful to have those old-time memories to cheer him up, even while equipment beeped and chirped all around him. Maybe recalling happier times will be all you need to bring a quick smile to your face too – and we all know how hard that is sometimes.

Liver Biopsies a Thing of the Past? New Technology Released

GE Healthcare, along with the Mayo Clinic announced today the development of a revolutionary technology to screen for liver cirrhosis.

GE’s "MR-Touch" system uses low frequency sound waves to measure tissue stiffness, and display the results on a monitor; where soft to hard tissues are differentiated by bright colors (see image).

The technology has just been cleared by the FDA and is a non-invasive method to test liver tissue for hardness.

What this means is a way to test for liver disease without a biopsy should be available at more health care centers in the near future. It also allows for easier early detection of liver disease and early treatment of fibrosis of the liver.

Suddenly, the dreaded liver biopsy may be a thing of the past. You can read the GE article here.

Why are some people more prone to addictive behaviors?

It's a question many of us ask who are fortunate enough to not be addicted to destructive habits.

We hear all the time about people being addicted to sex, gambling, drugs, alcohol and more, but what exactly is behind the cravings? I read a good article today, which speaks in plain english the medical and environmental reasons many can't control which contribute to addictions.

My favorite excerpt from the piece is:

"...genes alone do not cause an addiction. Researchers like to point out that, as with other ailments linked to lifestyle - heart disease, obesity, and lung cancer, for example - genes merely load the gun, while the environment pulls the trigger."

The article concludes with mention of gene screening and pharmaceutical treatment for alcoholism, future possibilities we'll be writing about soon.

The addictive behaviors post can be found here.

Time is More than a Unit of Measurement

I’ve continued to hold onto a youthful view of time throughout my life. Time was represented by the numbers on the classroom clock that the second hand would slowly tick past; then time was how many minutes I had left to get to work before the boss would start looking for me; time was how long it would take before a red light would turn green.

Last month though, my view of time matured significantly.

The deaths of a young mother I had come to love and her baby was so unexpected, it did not carry the luxury of knowing it was going to happen (see Dirty Tractor Racing Driver Tragically Passes Away). It left friends and family in a state of shock, and caused most of us to reevaluate our lives. We just didn't have a chance to spend more time with her.

And that’s when is occurred to me- time is a luxury, not just a unit of measurement.

Time is an asset we hold; but it is an asset that trumps the value of all our other material possessions combined. Without it, what good are those materials things anyway? It is our time with family, friends and loved ones that holds true value – good times to be passed on, bad times to learn from, and everything in between. Time to feel a cool breeze or enjoy the company of others is more precious than I had ever realized.

It is this true value of time I did not have the ability to comprehend before. I now see it is much more than the ticking of a clock. Now that my my eyes are opened, I am even starting to enjoy those simple moments stuck at a red light; almost glad to be there.

What are you doing with your time?

Dirty Tractor Racing Driver Tragically Passes Away

It is with utmost sorrow we announce Jill Cillan Lowers of "Dirty Tractor Racing" has passed away along with her son. Her sudden passing in the last week of August was due to a brain aneurysm.

Mrs. Lowers was pregnant and expected to give birth just one week later.

Mrs. Lowers raced in the female category of the Greater Washington Section-Mercedes Benz Club of America autocross circuit.

Words cannot express the sadness we feel. Her care-free, happy and loving personality will be forever missed.

We extend complete and deepest sympathies to her Husband Robert; may he find a reason to live again sometime soon.