Ugh! I did it again. 1 week turns to 2 and so on and so fourth. It's not like I didn't have anything to post about. In fact, I probably had too much. I find myself wondering, where do I start and how much do I share. I'm really not sure where that fine line is but here it goes. Advanced warning, I am probably going to over share, but I think for myself I need to articulate how my journey has and continues to change and hopefully evolve in and out of the Kwoon.
We first need to go back a few years. Just before Christmas in 2022, I suffered a back injury. Not sure what had happened specifically, but I developed pain and a kind of tearing discomfort with numbness to my lower left back. It took about 6 months to identify that I had tore a core erector muscle in my back. My instructions at that time from treatment provider was "keep the area active but not too active". Despite navigating this very ambiguous direction, I continued to struggle with pain and discomfort, which at times was debilitating. This was quite frustrating over the past few years to the point where I even questioned the appropriateness of me participating in Kung Fu. It has almost been 2 years and I am still in regular pain but it is slowly getting better.
Now in a different storyline of Mike's life, in the summer of 2022 while Jackie and I were living in Calgary, Simon and I went to donate blood. I ended up getting poked several times as my hemoglobin was borderline low. The third time was the charm and I was able to donate. At this point time was truly a blur, but at some later date when I went to donate blood with the I Ho Chuan team in Stony Plain, my hemoglobin was so low they deferred me from giving blood for 6 months. Around that same time, I noticed (In all actuality, it was probably Jackie) that I was bruising a lot more and was experiencing greater fatigue than normal. Needless to say, I followed with my family doctor and was diagnosed with pancytopenia as the counts for my red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets were all abnormally low and were continuing to drop. This past summer has been busy with numerous visits to several specialists, many tests, procedures and lots of blood work.
So it turns out that my bone marrow is good and not the culprit. In the words of my hematologist (who coincidentally was Jackie's as well), it is rare for lightning to strike the same family but better safe than sorry. However, we did find out that my liver is the culprit. I have been diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver. We have been unable to ascertain as to why as I do not have any of the classic history for cirrhosis, but I do have a family history of non alcohol cirrhosis. Although, this wasn't the most ideal news to get, I now have answers. My hepatologist even attributed my muscular issues to my liver condition. As my liver is scarred, it cannot not store glycogen like it should. When my body needs energy and I have nothing stored (or accessible) it robs the muscles of glycogen causing muscle atrophy.
If you are still with me, thanks for slogging through this long winded catch up. Okay, that's it for the over sharing, believe it or not, that was a summary.
So, for those that have made it this far, there are probably some questions.
- Is cirrhosis reversible or treatable?
- It is NOT reversible. Treatment is focused on preventing further damage. If the damage is significant enough, the only definitive treatment is a transplant.
- Do I need a transplant?
- Not at this time. Although the damage to my liver is fairly extensive, my body is still compensating well.
- What am I doing to prevent further damage?
- The best action is proper diet, weight loss and exercise. So...Kung Fu.
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