The new normal. This is a phrase that people keep using over the past year. I suppose it could mean different things to different people. But, one thing is definitely for sure. As a general rule, normal is anything but…. normal.
With everything that has gone on in the past 14 months globally, my new normal started a little before that. For Thanksgiving 2019, we took the kids to Disney World. While there, I started feeling… abnormal. Without going into the whole thing, something was definitly wrong. When we got home, I tried some self medicative steps. By the time I realized that they weren’t working, it was almost January.
As the year switched and insurance balances reset, I started on a rapid course working with doctors, specialists, and specialized specialist. By the end of February, I learned that I had a very rare vascular condition that affected my liver called Budd-Chiari Syndrome (BCS).
Not much later after the diagnosis, I had a surgical procedure that allowed the blood to bypassed my liver. Initially, I felt a lot better. But over the course of the year, I realized I had a lot of new symptoms: brain fog, trouble focusing, erratic ability to sleep, severe headaches, loss of appetite and even weight gain.
After a year of enduring this, a couple of months ago, my doctor said the time has come to pursue the final treatment option – a liver transplant. For many people reading this, it is most likely your first time learning these things about me. In many ways, like my father, I have been intrinsically private about my health conditions.
So what has changed? Well, I think there are a few reasons. First, I need to have a way to cope with what I am going through. Hopefully this site will allow that to happen. Second, I want to control my own narrative. And I definitely don’t want to provide content for a major social network. I realize that this will mean a lower number of people will read this, but those who want to know, will find me. Third, I want to have a place that I can spread awareness of causes that are important. And finally, I am providing this information for people who generally want to be aware of what is going on.
I am going to make an effort to post content regularly. I hope that you will be of interest to you.
