My Wife's Condition

Some of my followers and readers have asked about my wife's medical condition which I sometimes refer to. Today I offer a brief explanation.

Dorothy has been diagnosed with a Pheochromocytoma (I made sure I spelled it correctly so if you want to know more than I'm going to tell you here, you can Google it easily). This is a kind of tumor that acts like an extra, but unregulated adrenal gland. Before she was given medication to suppress the effects, she was prone to extreme blood pressure spiking as the Pheo would release adrenaline, forcing the blood pressure increase, and the body would then have to compensate by releasing noradrenaline. On several occasions she wound up on the floor with her hands and lips numb, and heart feeling like it was out of control. With the medication, most of the time she is able to function--she types medical transcription from home, so her office is just downstairs from our bedroom. She lacks her usual energy, and some days she doesn't feel well enough to finish her shift. We just never know from day to day how she is going to feel.

Once the Pheo is found, it can usually be removed and the patient can go on as if there was never anything wrong with them. But first you have to find it. Most of the time a Pheo is in or near the actual adrenals gland, but it can actually be almost anywhere in the torso. In Dorothy's case, though she has the symptoms of a Pheo, and blood work revealed the expected tell-tales, the tumor itself has been very hard to find. A recent total body nuclear medicine scan failed to reveal it, at least to the people who evaluated the results--someone more expert in the diagnosis of Pheos may still spot it.

So for now we're sort of in limbo. Dorothy isn't even persuaded she actually has a Pheo, but her doctor, whom we do trust, and who is in consultation with a well-respected expert, is still convinced it must be a Pheo. We just don't know when or if it will be found, and left untreated, a Pheo can be fatal.

Day by day, things aren't too bad. But the strain is always there, and any time she feels a little bit of a spell, we have to wonder if it will pass, or if it will turn into a big one. And having no date at the moment to look forward to when "something will happen" makes planning for vacations impossible.

I'll let everyone now next time any news breaks.

On another matter, I went to Costco yesterday and picked up a new computer for the kids. It cost about $700, but I think it's going to be worth it. The one that died was over four years old and the world had long since left it behind. I hope we get as many years out of this one.