The Blog Begins - Background

Well at least this proves I finally learnt what a blog is. As a testament to my significant boredom with this stupid illness I am going to write about myself. Here is a little background.

I discovered back in September that I have Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis, which is a rare (few cases in 100,000) liver disorder of no known cause. I've probably had it for several years but its only just become a problem - its a degenerative disease that can sit dormant or steady for years then suddenly take a turn for the worse. Nobody knows why anyone gets it, its not genetic, its not catching, its just wierd.

Its an autoimmune condition. My poor old liver is being attacked by my immune system causing all the wee little bile ducts to become all scarred and closed. This gives me jaundice, digestive problems, weight loss, fatigue, severe itching and some abdominal pain. The cure? There isn't one, apart from complete liver transplantation. Luckily that should prove to be the end of it - it rarely comes back.

I've been scanned (CT, MRI, ultrasound) and probed and poked repeatedly in and out of hospital since mid september, and suffered a couple of nasty bouts of internal infection (known as bacterial cholangitis) leaving me nearly a stone down on my normal weight (Thats 6/7 kg to the young uns), looking yellowish round the eyes, weak and feeble and suffering in the old intestines a bit ('nuff said).

My hospital I'm being treated at is the world-reknowned liver centre at Kings College Hospital by Dr. John O'Grady, one of the senior Physicians. Thanks to my dear recently departed mother I have been lucky enough to be covered by BUPA private health insurance so I have been able to stay in the rather pleasant Guthrie Ward in the hospital where I've made quite good friends with many of the nurses who have seen a lot of me recently!

The current situation is that I'm waiting to see if I will recover enough to get back to some sort of work (I've been off working at Camden School for Girls since mid-September), and therefore able to put off the risky transplant procedure. My desperate wish is also to get back to dancing which I am missing more than I ever thought possible, as is my dear partner and friend Sharon. I'm also looking forward to get back to helping the Oxford University Dancesport Team's beginners get into competition this year, along with all my friends still up at Oxford.