Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Good news

Just a quick update. My husband is home from the hospital. There was no surgery, heart attack, tumor, hemorrhage, or (new) blood clots, all of which I've gone through before with him. Still, being my husband, he can't just have a simple diagnosis. It turns out that he has a rare blood disorder called polycythemia. His bone marrow produces too much hemoglobin, so his blood is sludgy with iron, doesn't circulate well, and leaves deposits of iron in veins throughout his body, further blocking circulation.

The treatment for this rare condition is one of the oldest medical procedures known to man, practiced by the ancient Greeks and Aztecs - bloodletting! They call it phlebotomy now, and use tidy syringes and tubing and bags. But it's still basically the same thing people did for hundreds of years to rid the body of its "bad humors" - letting gravity drain blood out of a person's arm.

And this simple procedure could, possibly, completely resolve all the health problems that have been plaguing him for years. So I'm very happy. Also very worn out. Thanks for all your kind messages and good wishes.

19 comments:

Willym said...

Elizabeth I was so relieved when I read this first thing this morning; I'm sure not as relieved as you, hubby and the rest of the clan.

Who would have thought - blood letting. Does this mean your going to have to start a leach farm at home? Now that will be something to blog about.

Big hugs to you all.

Much love

more cowbell said...

Whew! I'm so glad to hear everyone's home, with a clear diagnosis that doesn't involve surgeries or further worrying! And wow, how interesting. I'd have imagined blood thinners before blood letting. Well, at least there were no leeches involved ... I actually half-thought you were going to write that, blech!

Hugs and relief!

Doralong said...

I imagine you are all relieved to have a clear cut diagnosis! I'm happy to hear he's home and recovering. If they do put him on blood thinners, shoot me an email, I have some stuff that might help you guys in managing that.

Now, go get some rest Missy!

Silly Monkey said...

Who'd imagine bloodletting in this day and age? It'll be terrific if that clears everything up. How did they discover this disease? Through a blood test?

janey jay said...

Whew and hooray!

Having a diagnosis is many times more than half the battle. Although I'm in the "first thought: leeches!" club as well. Glad to know modern medicine has progressed in this area.

Thanks for the update and I hope this finds you having gotten some well-deserved rest.

D-Man said...

Well, at least the barber doesn't do the blood-letting anymore...

Try to get some rest, my dear.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO,

D-Man

Miss Janey said...

YaY! Glad to hear all is well, or on its way. Thank goodness no leeches are involoved, eh?

yellowdoggranny said...

wow.that's the best and weirdest news I ever heard...
hmm, wonder if it would be cheaper with leaches..does your insurance cover leaches?...glad all is well..js

Anonymous said...

Great and excellent news!
I too assumed leeches would be involved in this story. I wonder how many of his problems really will go away from this treatment? It's all connected ya know.

mumbliss said...

Dear ones,
Such very good news. I hope you can rest this weekend and enjoy each other. What a relief. Hugs to all that will accept them, and love to all the little hurt parts. HOOORAYY HOOORAY YIPPPEEE and twirl twirl twirl

jason said...

I'm very glad...

and very intrigued too.
Bleeding?! Everything old is new again.

M. Knoester said...

leeches, bleeding, it's all coming back!

I'm very happy to hear this might be a cure for all those problems, though.

sageweb said...

Oh I am so happy that he is okay. The whole bloodletting thing sounds creepy good. Glad to hear all is almost well, I've been thinking about you guys.

Deanna Dahlsad said...

Excellent! Hugs to all :)

Marketing Whore said...

Best wishes to you and yours :)

evilganome said...

I turn my back for 5 minutes..... Sorry, I haven't been able to keep up on my blog reading for a while.

I'm happy to hear that all of this has worked out so well. Scary!

No barbers? No leeches? Do they at least wear medieval garb during the procedure?

Susan said...

Well, at least you know what you're dealing with. Yikes, I almost thought you were going to have to bring in the leeches.

Best wishes for a speedy, letting recovery!

Jef said...

Where are the leeches when you need them?

Thombeau said...

Sigh of relief!