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On the next episode of House, MD...

9/23/2014

Today I am annoyed. There are a number of things contributing to this overall level of annoyance but, if one specific thing weren’t annoying me, those other things probably would not be annoying to me at all. I am annoyed because I just found out I have to take more medication and go to more doctors because, for some unknown reason, my ASO titer has begun to skyrocket. With a titer of 873, I am almost back to where I was when I was diagnosed with Rheumatic Fever back in 2011. I have been following my treatment, watching my diet, exercising regularly and trying to keep my stress levels in check. My back hasn’t been an issue in months and I am feeling less tired. But…. I have been getting regular debilitating headaches and I’ve been mildly dizzy for months. So, the frustrating part is, I am focusing on my health but it doesn’t seem to get any better.

My health scare in April was a bit of an exception. I contracted a tick-borne illness from a foreign country and it baffled doctors as to how to diagnose it. Then there was the added issue of how they should deal with it and its friends (They knew for sure I got Rickettsia but ticks often pass along multiple diseases in transmission and they suspected I might have gotten Lyme disease with it. Multiple doctors later, they determined it was just the Rickettsia). I thought the headaches and the dizziness had something to do with this debacle. But, maybe, it actually has something to do with my other debacle. And who knows if any of this is even correlated. But it would be a strange coincidence if all these things – foreign diseases, vertigo and a climbing ASO – just happened to show up all at the same time.

So, did getting sick from a tick allow the strep to pep? Or is it Rickettsia-aftermath that is causing me headaches and dizziness? Or is it the Rheumatic Fever and the Rickettsia really was taken care of? Or, the, in my opinion even scarier option, are these menacing bugs inside me building a tolerance to the bicillin rendering my treatment virtually useless? Only time (and lots more doctors’ appointments) will tell!

Have you ever watched the show House, M.D.? I could have been a patient on that show….

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Throwback Third Thursday - September 2014

9/18/2014

FOOTBALL IS HERE!!!! Throwback Third Thursday (#tbtt) this month is in honor of just that, thinking back to one of the most epic endings to a football game I have ever experienced - the 2003 Apple Cup! Everything below was taken from the "Go Huskies" photo page on the first website I created, kayteland.tripod.com.

who won???

WASHINGTON!!!!!

Go Dawgs

OK. . .so the game started out as a dud but leave it to UW to come back in the last 5 minutes of the fourth quarter to create the most intense "game" of the season. There was so much excitement you couldn't see straight. It was a great end to a crappy season. Way to go out with a bang boys!

Yeah there were moments when we just wanted to pull Cody off the field because a 5 yr old girl would have played better than him, but he has his moments and that's just the way he plays the game and we love the kid and will miss him anyways.

Coach Keith Gilbertson agrees with officials, signaling a first down for the Huskies after they recovered a fumble in the second quarter (they did something good early in the game ... we knew there was hope).

Step 1: WSU quarterback Josh Swogger throws the ball as he is dragged down by Roc Alexander.
Step 2: Marquis Cooper intercepts and goes for a touchdown with 14 seconds remaining in the game.

REGGIE! REGGIE! REGGIE!
Catching one of seven passes for 59 yards, giving him 30 career receptions against WSU

True freshman Corey Williams catches the game-winning touchdown with 1:10 left over WSU's Erik Coleman. Said Coleman: "I felt I had an interception. I felt the ball go by my fingertips."

With seconds remaining in the game the security guards and campus police lined the track as the loud speaker warned all spectators that no one is allowed on the field after the game ... YEAH RIGHT! As soon as the time ran out and the team rushed the field, so did the entire student section of the stands. Everyone wanted their chance to rejoice our amazing victory with the team! Some fans tried to tear down the goal posts after we rallied for a 27-19 victory over the eighth-ranked Cougars, beating them for the 6th time in a row!!! APPLE CUP GOES TO UDUB ...

Not Quite Ready?

9/3/2014

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This story has been floating around the interwebs for the past week or two and I understand why it keeps being re-posted on social media.... its seemingly hilarious!

Ai Hin, a 6 year old panda at the Chengdu Giant Panda Breeding Research Center, the same place some of our San Diego pandas now call home, is said to have faked a pregnancy to get special treatment, including more food, air conditioning and increased attention. Chengdu reported Ai Hin was showing signs of pregnancy in the form of reduced appetite, less mobility and a surge of progestational hormone. But, it could be possible she was pregnant but reabsorbed the fetus. Surges in hormones are hard to fake and it is fairly common for pandas to lose a pregnancy, reabsorbing the fetus so it appears as if there was no pregnancy at all. Reabsorption could happen because there is a fetal defect or death, the mother has a disease which affects her ability to properly care of the fetus, there is a hormonal disruption, or environmental conditions are not conducive to caring for the baby. At the San Diego Zoo, they have seen this phenomenon with the use of thermal imaging and ultra sound. Bai Yun was suspected to be carrying twins on more than one occasion but has only ever given birth to one cub. This kind of fetal reabsorption is called "prenatal litter pruning". The mechanism isn't exactly known but could be an adaptive result of pandas not being able to care for more than one cub in natural, wild conditions.

Who knows. Maybe Panda McLiar Pants wasn't lying after all but her body decided this just wasn't the time. She's only 6 and has never been a mother. Maybe she just wasn't ready yet!!

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