OK! This is really WILD!!!

SYDNEY (AFP) - An Australian girl spontaneously switched blood groups and adopted her donor's immune system following a liver transplant in the first known case of its type, doctors treating her said Thursday.

Demi-Lee Brennan was aged nine and seriously ill with liver failure when she received the transplant, doctors at a top Sydney children's hospital told AFP.

Nine months later it was discovered that she had changed blood types and her immune system had switched over to that of the donor after stem cells from the new liver migrated to her bone marrow.

She is now a healthy 15-year-old, Michael Stormon, a hepatologist treating her, told AFP. Stormon said he had given several presentations on the case around the world and had heard of none like it.

"It is extremely unusual -- in fact we don't know of any other instance in which this happened," Stormon told AFP from the Children's Hospital.

"In effect she had had a bone marrow transplant. The majority of her immune system had also switched over to that of the donor."

An article on the case was published in Thursday's edition of the leading US medical journal The New England Journal of Medicine.

Doctors who treated Brennan say she is now only under treatment as an outpatient and are interested to know if the case could have other applications in transplant surgery, where rejection of donor organs by the recipient's immune system is a major hurdle.

Stormon said it appeared that Brennan may have been fortunate because a "sequence of serendipitous events", including a post-transplantation infection, may have given the stem cells from her donor's liver the chance to proliferate.

The task now was to establish whether the same sort of outcome could be replicated in other transplant patients, he said.

It's Been Awhile...

No, I'm not talking about the song by Staind...I mean it's been awhile since I last posted to my blog! So...without further ado...

Let's see...when I last posted, I was on my way to watch the Patriots beat the Jaguars. No, it wasn't their best game...but the Jaguars played them well, in the first half. They took Moss out of the game, which is huge, but in the end the Patriots stayed undefeated.

Last week, the Chargers entered, all hyped up, ready for the upset. And the Patriots are still undefeated. Now, that game was definitely not the Pat's best game ever. The Chargers played them defensively better than the Jaguars did, also taking Moss out of the game (although did you see that reverse that Moss ran for 14 yards? That was sweet!). Of course, now the Chargers are accusing Seymour of playing dirty. "Waaahhh...he stepped on my foot...he hit me in the back...he hit my helmet...Waaaaahhh!" Isn't this called FOOTBALL? Doesn't that stuff happen all the time? I mean, this isn't ping-pong! Who cares. They won, you lost.

Bring on the Giants. I don't imagine this will be an easy game, but I have no doubt that the Patriots will prevail. I just don't see it being a "gimme".

So one of my coworkers and I were talking at work the other day, and thinking of coming up with a list of reasons that people call 911...and our little "additions" to those reasons.

- "I'm having chest pain!" Granny...when I brought you to the Hospital 4 days ago, you were diagnosed with pneumonia. You've been coughing for a week. You've aggravated every muscle in your entire chest. Do you think maybe THAT'S WHY you're having chest pain? Oh...by the way...it was bothering you so much that you had to call me at 3am???

- "My stomach hurts!" Ummmmmm...listen...you're 17 years old, a Senior in High School, under all that peer pressure...and for the last year and a half, you've made yourself puke after every meal you've eaten. Tonight you ate Taco Bell...then yakked. Ya' Think your belly-button-ringed stomach hurts??? Oh...by the way...it was bothering you so much that you had to call me at 3am???

- "I'm not drunk!" OK...here's the deal: I know you told me you only had "2 or 3"...which in reality means, you had 9 or 13. You took out 2 mailboxes, a picket fence, Mrs. Anderson's beautiful shrubs, before you broke the telephone pole in half when you hit it head-on. I know you're not drunk...I really do...but if you come to the Hospital with me, you won't have to ride with the cops (they'll follow us and arrest you when you get discharged). Oh...by the way...did you have to be not drunk and crash your car at 3am???

- "I want to die." Uh-huh. You took a steak knife, and made these little scratches on your wrist that looks better than some of my shaving jobs. You don't want to kill yourself. You are looking for attention from your girlfriend, because she wouldn't lend you the $15,000 to pay for your gender reassignment surgery, so you said that you tried to kill yourself. Listen...next time you're SERIOUS about doing it...give me a call. I'll give you some pointers. Oh...by the way...did you have to try to nick yourself with that big bad steak knife at 3am???

- Well, I'll give you this much...you're not talking much. In all your infinite wisdom, when the sleeping couple heard you break into their house, and called 911, and you saw the Police Cruiser coming with it's blue lights flashing, you decided to run...in the dark...through yards and woods that you've never been in. How could you have known that you were running towards a 50-foot rock cliff? How could you have known that you'd run right off the cliff, and land on your head? If I was a religious man, I'd read you your last rights...because though your heart is still beating, you will not see your next Birthday. But...I just have one small question...If by some miracle of modern medicine...you should survive...next time you break into a house, could you do it during the day, and not at 3am???

- "My toe hurts!" You know what? I'll treat you like a QUEEN! I'll bundle you up so you're nice and warm...I'll talk to you, and listen to you, like a gentleman. I'll tell little jokes to make you laugh. I'll baby you, all the way to the Hospital so you can get your ingrown toe-nail looked at. I will tie up the only ambulance in your Town, so we can pamper you and bring you to the Hospital. Why am I being so nice to you??? Because it's 10am...I've checked my truck out, had my coffee and a bagel...and I am smiling with the knowledge that at 3am, you will not be calling me about your toe!

Nighty night everyone. :-)

January 12, 2008

This post comes on the very same day that I will be, in person, present to, hopefully watch the New England Patriots BEAT the Jacksonville Jaguars!

Although I really do NOT like "private EMS"...I really don't...but that's another story for another week. But in this case, it worked out for me.

The ambulance company that I work for...could NOT fill a shift on, how shall I say it...a "less than desirable" truck...7pm-7am. So...when they couldn't fill the shift, they inacted DESPERATE MEASURES! They offered 2 tickets to TONIGHT'S PATRIOTS PLAYOFF GAME!!! So...of course...being a "company man"... (ie: wanting to attend a Patriots Playoff Game!)...I picked up the shift. And we didn't do that bad...we slept from 2:30am-6:30am. How can I complain about THAT...when I'm going to get to go see the Patriots, in a PLAYOFF GAME!!! :-)

So...I'm sure some of you may be asking/wondering..."are you bringing your wife to the game with you?".

NO.

She really doesn't have much interest in football, much less Patriots Football (why did I marry her again? hehehe).

But...my Sister-In-Law, Jodi, has always wanted to go to a Patriots game...but thus far, has not been able to. So who better to bring with me, than someone who I not only consider a Friend, but someone who has always wanted to go!!! :-)

I just hope that we will be able to revel in the fact that, sitting in all the traffic, etc., that the Pats will be playing NEXT WEEKEND, and then 2 weeks later in the SuperBowl! :-)

That's all. Even though I'm going to the game tonight...I still have to work PART OF my shift on the ambulance today. SO I really should sleep a little now.

New Post, New Year

Happy New Years everyone!

Of course the Patriots will be playing their first playoff game of the year on Saturday. And of course, I'm working. If anyone has the balls to dial 911 during the game, they're going to get an earful from me! hehehe I think it's going to be a very good game. Actually, I think all 4 of this weekends games are going to be good. There are some pretty good matchups, and who's to say, there could be some interesting upsets. I think the Pat's will have their work cut out for them, as Jacksonville is a good team, and they're riding the wave right now. So we shall see. I do thing that Pats will win, of course.

We had to do a "stand-by" last weekend in the ambulance at the first annual "Polar Plunge" in the Town I work in. 10am, a bunch of people jumping into 40 degree water. I think I'd rather staple bologna to my face or something! But...of course...my partner and I, neither of who wanted to be there, tried to find the bright side: Of the 40 or 50 people who were participating, there'd be at least a portion of them that would be young, scantily-clad women! WOO HOO! This detail may start looking a little better! So...as we sat there and watched this bozo try for about 1/2 an hour to start a bonfire on the beach, it was time for the "Plunge". Sweatpants and Sweatshirts come off, and there they were! Mostly OLD, Overweight men with huge, hair guts hanging over their shorts! Where's all the hot women!?!?!?!?!?!? Then it dawned on us...what young, scantily-clad woman would be dumb enough to jump into the freezing cold water early on a Saturday morning! At that point, we hated being there again. Oh well...

Did a call at the local Gym for a person passed out. Again...it's the Gym...young, scantily-clad women! Nope. Young, skinny guy, who passed out after his workout. Grrrrrrrr. Oh well, I was going to have fun. He's lying on the floor, awake, with the Trainer standing next to him, and a couple of fellow Gym patrons gawking at him. So I walk up to him, and say, "This is EXACTLY why I don't go to the gym!" It was a good tension-breaker, and put a smile on everyone, including the patient. Well, as it turns out, he works as a massage-therapist, and by the end of the ride to the Hospital, I was offered a free massage at a later date! But did you remember that this was NOT a young, scantily-clad woman masseuse??? It was a young, scantily-clad MAN (of questionable sexual preference, not that I'm biased...I'm really not)! I can't catch a break!

More later...

No Title...just a new post.

I need to apologize for my last post being so "gloomy". I can't get through Christmas without remembering that old man, so I shared it...but I didn't mean to be so "glum" for the Holiday! It was just a very moving moment for me.

I hope everyone had a great Holiday, and have a safe and happy new year. Christmas was good here, and as far as New Years...I'm working a 48-hour shift on the ambulance, New Years Eve and New Years Day. So, I know that I'll be behaving, and can only hope that the residents of Swampscott will be behaving as well! hahaha

Patriots. Giants. Will the Giants play all of their "Starters"??? I say, they START all of their starters. By half-time...I say the Giants starters will be out. They have some "limping" players. And if by half-time, they don't think they have a chance to knock the Patriots out of their perfect season...I say Coughlin rests his players. He's on the cusp of being booted by the Giants...so if there is any coach in the NFL that has to play for their job...it's him! I say he TRIES to beat the Pat's, and if by halftime, it doesn't look good...then I say he sits his starters, so that they will be ready for the Playoffs. That's my $.02, anyway.

Have I mentioned lately how much fun it is to be a Dad to an almost 2-year old and an almost 3-year old??? hahahaha

Anyway...that's another story (or many stories) for another time.

Merry Christmas (a day late!)

I'd like to hope that everyone had a very happy and merry Christmas. But...that is not always the case.

It was not but a couple years ago...that I worked a 24-hour shift on Christmas Eve, and we were awoken at about 6:00am to respond to a house for a "man not breathing". Well...no shit, he wasn't breathing...because this 82-year-old man had hung himself from the second-floor balcony with a piece of rope...but when we got there...to "assure" the Police that he was absolutely "dead"...in the background, on his stereo, this old man had 1 song playing, looped, over and over, Con te Partiro", by Andrea Bocelli. The song is popular, we've all heard it (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qhh8MaRnzMc). I knew the song, but didn't know what it meant, or why he would have it playing, so I looked it up online. And then I cried. Basically, the song means, if I translated it correctly from Italian, "I lost my love, so I have nothing else to live for". I realized how sad this whole situation was. This old man (as I have summized), had recently lost his wife, of a long time...and this was his first Christmas without her. And he couldn't handle the whole ordeal. Being without his wife, of many years, on Christmas. It made me truly realize that the Holiday Season is not always happy for everyone.

Anyway...time for bed. Sorry to leave this hanging. I'll post soon. :-)

EARLY MORNING 12/24/07

Good morning all.

Yes, it's VERY early on Christmas Eve morning. I have to be at work in just over 6 hours (yes, I'm working a 24-hour shift on X-Mas Eve. What's up with THAT??? :-) ) But...I haven't posted in a couple of days, so here we go...

Let's talk first about the Patriots. Yes, they beat the Dolphins. And yes, I know that I was worried about this game, when the Dolphins had still not won a game. After last week, when they won, I calmed down a bit. Yes, the "Don Shula" groupies wanted nothing more than to see the Dolphins beat the Pat's...but the players themselves had won a game. Which is almost as incredible as that High School Football Team (I don't remember what team...I saw them on NFL Network earlier...who has not lost a game in 5 years!). No...I take that back. That High School team's record is MUCH MORE incredible than the Dolphin's record! But "The Tuna" will turn that team around! (hehehe)

Anyway...the question that will be talked about with every sports-writer in the Northern Hemisphere this week: Will Bellicheck "rest" his starting players in the last season game of the season, against the Giants (who may likely "rest" their players). I'll answer this right now... NO! I don't care WHAT Bellicheck, Brady, or Moss say in their post-game interview's...Mr. Bill wants to see Brady beat Manning's record, Moss beat Jerry Rice's record, the Patriots beat the Viking's season record for points scored. Talk about the biggest "*&%$#@! YOU!" that Bill could say to the world, but to break all of these records! And EACH AND EVERY ONE of these records are VERY breakable next Saturday against the Giants. And if the Giants buy into the "let's rest our starters in the last game that can't help us to win" babble, then all of those records should be "gimme's". We shall see.

OK...that's all for now. I'm tired. I need to sleep. Merry Christmas, Happy Harmonica, and all that good stuff! :-)