Last class

Today is the end of a very important part of my life, its my last day of class. I am ready to get out there and begin a great career as an MA. I have learned so much in the last year and a half and would like to thank all my instructors for all the new knowledge I now possess. It is nice to be done with school, but, on the other hand I know I am going to miss coming to classes. I plan to continue my education sooner than later. I'm going to miss school so much, it's wierd. This last class, English has been a tough one because theres a lot of work and at the same time I have had issues with my computer and memory cards. Right now I'm playing a serious game of catch up so this post will be short. I'd like to thank Linda Cotter, my English instructor for pushing us along to complete all these assignments and for getting my blog started. I plan to continue to use this tool to my advantage from now on, so thank you linda! This class has shown me how to set priorities and how important deadlines can be. It is time for me to finish my homework so I must bid you a farewell and I will continue to post even after my class is over. Mission accomplished!!!!

It has been a long day and I am trying to get my blog right but I still feel like I'm doing it wrong. Theres so much more I want to post. I feel like i'm running out of room. I guess i'll change it tomarrow because tomarrow I'd like to discuss another disease that is having a huge affect on my dad and our family. I'm so glad I took all the classes I did because now I have a better understanding of what, where, and when diseases like these roll. I am not too sure when the next post will be, due to the fact I have like five other essays to write. Until next time, good night!

The severity of cystic fibrosis may cause signs and symptoms to vary from one child to another. As time passes, the disease and its complications may improve or worsen. The age of onset of symptoms also may vary from child to child. For some, symptoms may appear at infancy, whereas, for other children, symptoms may not begin until after puberty or even later in life.

One of the first signs is a strong salty taste to the skin. This is the result of higher levels of salt present in the sweat. Parents of children with cystic fibrosis have mentioned tasting this saltiness when kissing their children.

Other signs and symptoms of cystic fibrosis result from complications that affect lungs, pancreas, liver, and other glandular organs.

Respiratory Problems

Continuous cough, wheezing, recurrent pneumonia and sinusitis, are some of the respiratory complications of cystic fibrosis. This is due to thick and viscous mucous, which chokes the trachea or bronchi that carry the air through the lungs. Other symptoms related to the lungs and sinuses include fatigue or nasal congestion caused by nasal polyps.

Digestive Problems

Channels that carry the enzymes produced by the pancreas to the small intestine can be blocked by thick mucous. Without these digestive enzymes, your intestine can’t absorb necessary proteins, carbohydrates, fats, oils, and minerals from your food. Among other complications, this produces oily stools that smell bad, slows down growth, makes the abdomen bigger from constipation, and causes nausea, loss of appetite, and intestinal blockage particularly in newborns in the first 24 to 48 hours after birth.

Later in Life

Symptoms that may appear later in life include recurrent swelling and tenderness of the pancreas (also known as pancreatitis), or respiratory symptoms. (Written by Abdul Wadood Mohamed and Matthew Solan
Reviewed on July 25, 2012 by George Krucik, MD)

CF

Cystic Fibrosis

Written by Abdul Wadood Mohamed and Matthew Solan
Reviewed on July 25, 2012 by George Krucik, MD

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Overview

Cystic fibrosis is a recessive genetic disorder that can lead to serious complications or even put your life at risk. It may cause severe problems in the lungs, pancreas, liver, and intestine. It is an inherited disorder, and affects cells that produce mucous, sweat, and digestive juices.
A faulty gene causes your mucous to become thicker and stickier and this clogs up glandular secretions. The damage usually affects the lungs and the pancreas, and it is a life-threatening disorder.
According to Kumar and Clark (Sixth Edition), previously people with cystic fibrosis would not live past the age of 20. However, in recent years, better methods of checking and managing complications of the disease allow patients to live into their 50s or even longer.

My Pops!

Since I must start over with my journal writings I'd like to try and recall some of the things I wrote and did not get posted. My graduation was last weekend and was an unforgettable one. It was my first time graduating from anything so I am so so proud of myself and it felt really good to give my family something to be proud of me for. It just feels so good to have accomplished something I put my mind to. I now know for sure I can do absolutely anything I put my mind to. I am so ready to continue my education and get to my final goal of being a respiratory therapist. Another great thing about my graduation was that my Dad came to my graduation and that meant alot to me since I know it was tough for him. My Dad has Stage 4 esophageal cancer and he is pretty sick. He has good days and bad, but, unfortunately the days he spent here were all bad and we did'nt get much time to spend with eachother. It did'nt help that he forgot alot of his cancer medication at home. I really wish ther was more I could do for him but he apparently does not want anyones help and that hurts me deeply. There is so much more he could be doing to help himself stay healthy. He could start by listening and actually going to his doctor appointments. He won't even talk to me about anything, he just gets angry and then I get pissed off. I think I just have to quit trying and let him do whatever I guess. It is just so hard since now I have a real understanding of the medical field and I care so much about his well being. It seems to me that he's just on a suicide mission and it really sucks that he does'nt tell me anything, I mean he tells me nothing. I still love my Dad but its hard to just do nothing. I am a pretty tough guy but I am really sensitive at heart, especially about my family.

LOST!

I'm going to start of by saying I am a bit stressed out right now because all the wonderful blog posts I attempted to post are lost to the cyber world I know little about. To top it all off I lost my notebook containing all my journal work along with other notes pertaining to my English class. This class is hard enough with this sort of thing happening. They call this class an independent study. Thats just what it is too because I feel alone and helpless here. First off all my ADHD does not allow me to learn this way. I got to be in the class and involved and getting and giving feedback to the writing we do. Writing is a long process and I thought I was a great writer until now. There are so many things that have been missing in my writing. I notice a small improvement, but, I still have no clue to what assignment I should be doing or what the assignments actually are. I need help!!! If it were up to me, I would give myself an A and call it a day. I mean they did already give me my degree on Saturday so whats the point right. With all this typing I am doing right now, this better post and not disappear like many of my past posts. I'm doing my best a trying to understand the order of this class but it is very confusing. I spent the other night doing a study guide that took me hours to write. It might not seem like it but I have worked very hard on the things I have accomplished so far. All I need now is a bit of direction and leadership from my teacher who I see for 15 minutes every thursday.

Graduation!!!!!!

I am only going to say a few words for now due to the fact I cannot find my journal. I'll begin by saying that I am so proud of myself for graduating the MA program along with a well deserved associates degree. I can't wait to continue my education and always stay on that Deans list. Congratulations Mark!!!