I went to the dentist today and was reminded how much I now have to consider my transplant when doing any of the regular life things. I guess it's not so much my transplant as the medication I'm taking because of the transplant. Much like how I now am suppose to wear sunscreen all the time as I'm super susceptible to get skin cancer.
Apparently now I'm suppose to get antibiotics whenever I go to the dentist as the cleaning can cause my gums to bleed which could lead to infections. Thankfully the dentist was able to give me some but she would've preferred to have had a order from the transplant doctors. Considering this was at the dental office in the cancer hospital, I can't imagine many of the dentists in NS being prepared.
The good news is that I got a passing grade from the dentist and hygienist. I was a bit worried I might have a cavity seeing as my oral care was less than stellar while hospitalized.
Monday, 20 April 2015
Friday, 17 April 2015
Ground Squirrels
Since I've been talking about how long it's taking for my muscle to redevelop and how much effort it's been, I was super interested when I heard on CBC's Quirks and Quarks about a study looking at muscle atrophy (degeneration of muscles).
The scientists studied muscle atrophy in ground squirrels (officially in the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, aka striped gopher, aka squinney) and tried to figure out how they can hibernate all winter in their underground burrows but be healthy in the spring. Pre-surgery, I had never considered how animals hibernate for the winter without losing all their muscle mass. Now it's an amazing capability that I wish I could have acquired for those few months.
How hibernation works for these ground squirrels is that they have a regular summer running around the prairies eating as much as possible and trying not to get flattened by cars. But during the winter, they hibernate in their burrows, living off their body fat, with a low body temperature. Every two weeks, they re-warm to normal temperature for a day before starting another two week cycle. In the spring, they pop out of the burrow, skinny but still healthy and with muscles.
So the scientists decided to put the squirrels through a MRI to see how their muscles develop over the winter without food. They found that the muscle mass decreases during the first part of winter but that during the last two months, the size of the muscles increase even while the body mass declines.
They haven't looked into which protein is responsible for the activation of the muscle growth but think it may have something to do with the liver as that is the only muscle that does not grow in the late-winter. The squirrel has to be using resources from somewhere to keep the muscles strong so the follow-up studies will try to find the source.
They hope that if the protein is found, it can be applied to help people who need it. Anyone from those with long hospitalizations to the elderly who are not as mobile to astronauts whose muscles decline from lack of resistance.
Of course, this research is at the most preliminary stage possible so no one is going to be getting any muscle growth proteins just yet but it's a great start. It's one thing to know that muscle loss sucks but to go through it is a very different matter. I thought I was prepared but it was a huge shock when I woke up after 5 days and didn't have the strength to lift my head or raise my arms. Considering I'm still recovering from losing all my muscles and not being able to talk for a month, anything that could've helped would have been a huge relief.
If you want the study better explained, you can listen to it here.
The scientists studied muscle atrophy in ground squirrels (officially in the thirteen-lined ground squirrel, aka striped gopher, aka squinney) and tried to figure out how they can hibernate all winter in their underground burrows but be healthy in the spring. Pre-surgery, I had never considered how animals hibernate for the winter without losing all their muscle mass. Now it's an amazing capability that I wish I could have acquired for those few months.
How hibernation works for these ground squirrels is that they have a regular summer running around the prairies eating as much as possible and trying not to get flattened by cars. But during the winter, they hibernate in their burrows, living off their body fat, with a low body temperature. Every two weeks, they re-warm to normal temperature for a day before starting another two week cycle. In the spring, they pop out of the burrow, skinny but still healthy and with muscles.
So the scientists decided to put the squirrels through a MRI to see how their muscles develop over the winter without food. They found that the muscle mass decreases during the first part of winter but that during the last two months, the size of the muscles increase even while the body mass declines.
They haven't looked into which protein is responsible for the activation of the muscle growth but think it may have something to do with the liver as that is the only muscle that does not grow in the late-winter. The squirrel has to be using resources from somewhere to keep the muscles strong so the follow-up studies will try to find the source.
They hope that if the protein is found, it can be applied to help people who need it. Anyone from those with long hospitalizations to the elderly who are not as mobile to astronauts whose muscles decline from lack of resistance.
Of course, this research is at the most preliminary stage possible so no one is going to be getting any muscle growth proteins just yet but it's a great start. It's one thing to know that muscle loss sucks but to go through it is a very different matter. I thought I was prepared but it was a huge shock when I woke up after 5 days and didn't have the strength to lift my head or raise my arms. Considering I'm still recovering from losing all my muscles and not being able to talk for a month, anything that could've helped would have been a huge relief.
If you want the study better explained, you can listen to it here.
Thursday, 16 April 2015
Good-bye oxygen!
One thing I think I forgot to mention is that I no longer have oxygen in the house. Yay! After the last bronchoscopy, the doctor said it was time for me to cancel my home oxygen. They always recommend to keep the service for at least the first three months post-surgery as it's possible that some people will be discharged with oxygen or need it after certain procedures like bronchoscopys. I've been given oxygen during all of my broncs but my oxygen saturation has always recovered after a few hours. I think between the sedative and the inhaled freezing stuff, my lungs go into shock.
But since those are mostly behind me (I hope), I was given a discontinue prescription, called Vital Aire, and they sent someone to pick up the equipment that had been gathering dust the last three months. Another thing gone!
The condo has no storage so it was also nice for it to all be out of here as it opened up a bit more room in the entryway.
But since those are mostly behind me (I hope), I was given a discontinue prescription, called Vital Aire, and they sent someone to pick up the equipment that had been gathering dust the last three months. Another thing gone!
The condo has no storage so it was also nice for it to all be out of here as it opened up a bit more room in the entryway.
Pottery class
I had my second pottery class last night and I'm pleased to report that the vase did not crack at the top. It did slightly at the bottom though so I guess it will be a decorative vase.
I spent all evening on the wheel and learned how to make a closed pot. It involves bringing the clay up as you would for a mug but then coaxing it together at the top so there ends up being a hollow shape. I sliced off part of the top which, in theory, will turn into a perfect fitting cover for the base. It was a lot of fun to try and I managed three successful ones. My back was killing me by the end of the night though, I think next week I'll have to give my back a break and glaze stuff.
I'll also try to remember to take pictures to make this update more interesting.
I spent all evening on the wheel and learned how to make a closed pot. It involves bringing the clay up as you would for a mug but then coaxing it together at the top so there ends up being a hollow shape. I sliced off part of the top which, in theory, will turn into a perfect fitting cover for the base. It was a lot of fun to try and I managed three successful ones. My back was killing me by the end of the night though, I think next week I'll have to give my back a break and glaze stuff.
I'll also try to remember to take pictures to make this update more interesting.
Wednesday, 15 April 2015
Cooking: Pizza-inspired spaghetti squash.
When Mom and Dad were up over Easter, they brought with them a giant spaghetti squash for us to enjoy. I must admit, I had never before had spaghetti squash but it was delicious. We tried to make a 'pizza' from it as instructed from some recipe online but it turned out to be more like a quiche as the egg didn't mix together and it never turned crisp. Regardless, it was delicious and I have now bought more spaghetti squash to feast upon.
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| Monster of a squash! |
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| Baked for an hour. |
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| All the yummy bits were scooped out. |
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| We mixed the squash with a egg, oil, mozza cheese, salt, and pepper and spread it on a tinfoil-lined cookie sheet and baked for 15 minutes. The recipe said to flip it to make an even crispiness, so we flipped it with much difficulty but seeing as it never crisped up, it wasn't worth the struggle. |
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| Topped it with green pepper, feta cheese, tomatoes, and chicken. |
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| Baked again for 15 minutes and yum! |
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