Getting Acquainted #1

Greetings!

Welcome to my new blog. This is the first entry, and it's basically the background story from my healthcare blog. That blog can be found at: www.caringbridge.org/visit/danielpalmer I'll be copying a couple of things from my website in my next couple of entries, just so you can get to know me a bit. After this, that blog will remain seperate unto itself, mainly because the doctors have recently told me to "go and live life," and this blog is a new direction for me. I welcome comments, obviously, as well as questions, as I do my best to shed light upon this crazy world as I know it . . .


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I'm Brother Dan, a singer/songwriter, from Northern Nevada. I've been traveling and performing throughout the US from a young age, and began performing internationally about three years ago.

I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 2004, but was unable to find the right doctor, and was told not to worry about my condition by at least three different doctors. Through my own research I began a long-term diet regimen of organic foods, herbal remedies, and liver cleansing, while I continued to monitor my liver enzymes through periodic blood tests. Things improved markedly and it seemed as though all was well.


In May of 2009 all of that changed. I suddenly began to swell with fluid, and developed conditions known as pitting edema and ascites. I began visiting a homeopathic doctor, spent a lot of money there, and didn't get any better. I eventually entered the hospital via the emergency room. The doctors there informed me I had cirrhosis and gave me 6 to 9 months to live, then discharged me. I began being "tapped" on a regular basis, which meant they poked a needle into my abdomen and drained fluid out of me, as I ballooned from my normal 185 pounds up to 245 lbs. I had as much as 15 liters of fluid drained at a time.

During my third hospital admission, I began bleeding internally, and had to be resuscitated three different times. When I was eventually discharged, there was one doctor that held a glimmer of hope for me, and told me to contact UCSF in San Francisco. UCSF doesn't accept Nevada Medicaid (which I had finally qualified for after a four month wait), and referred me to California Pacific Medical Center, who does accept it. I was also informed of my true diagnosis, which is end-stage liver disease.

In early September I went to CPMC for a two day liver transplant evaluation, but they admitted me to their facility and I wasn't discharged for three weeks. Test after test, including a liver biopsy and finally a TIPS procedure (trans-jugular inter-hepatic portal shunt) wherein they poked a hole in my liver and inserted a mesh tube to help the blood flow, reduce the ascites (abdominal fluids), and relieve the back pressure in my blood vessels that caused the internal bleeding (esophogeal varices). The downside is that I now occasionally experience encephalopathy, which is a build-up of ammonia in the brain. It causes confusion, or "foggy brain," and in my case has put me in a coma three times between October and December of 2009. While in and of itself "E" is not life threatening, it's no fun AT ALL, for me or my caregiver, Melisa.

At this point, I'm paying close attention to my diet, tracking my intake of protein, carbs, salt, and fluid. The "E" has put me back in the hospital a couple of times (I was in a coma for three and a half days once), but the doctors, Melisa and I are working hard to find the balance that I need to remain stable. In the meantime, I'm not able to drive or work, and a liver transplant is my best hope for a return to a "normal" life. I need to be within six hours of the transplant center at any given time in case I get the call that they have a new liver for me, so my travel has been severely cut back as well.


Now living in Sacramento, I'm a couple of hours away from most of my family (athough my sister lives in Sac) and my friends. I depend upon Melisa as my caregiver 24/7, which means she hasn't worked for months and as we're on our own, we're slowly sinking financially. (Social Security Disability isn't all it's cracked up to be!) I'm depending on the goodness of people to help me stay afloat financially (donations can be made to the "Brother Dan Medical Fund" at any Bank of America branch), and I depend upon the internet to keep me in touch with the world.

You can find more info about me, purchase cd's, etc, at www.nothingbetterthanthis.com www.brotherdanpalmer.com as well as at www.myspace.com/brotherdan2  and FaceBook and view videos at www.youtube.com/brotherdanpalmer


Thanks for stopping by. Thanks for your love and support, and I hope that the New Year is better for all of us.


Brother Dan