Thursday, March 25, 2010

Poppy Gail has arrived!

Our wonderful daughter has finally arrived.  She was born this past Sunday, Mar 21, 2010 at 7:42pm weighing 7lb 5oz.

Here's the pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/jc.bloomfield.pics/PoppyGailBloomfield#

Mommy and baby are both very healthy.  And the miracle-man (Brian) couldn't be more thrilled.

I'm so so soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo glad my dad is here to see his first grandchild.  Frig - was it ever worth it.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Reality Check

Yikes - its been a while since I last posted.  Not gonna lie - I've been avoiding posting because... well.... this blog has become a reminder to me of a harsh reality I've got to live with.  I suppose we all have to live with it, but it feels more real in my case.  My dad's time on earth is limited.  He won't always be here.  We've known from day one that a transplant would only prolong his life by 15-20 years.  I feel like posting here is digging up the past a bit... picking at an old scab...

Things have been going great for dad.  He's in amazing spirits.  He's up and around.  He's having a difficult time putting on weight.... he really wants to beef up.

He had his one year assessment in February.  That appointment was a difficult one.  Word is that dad's Hep-C (the disease that damaged my dad's liver in the first place) is pretty agressive and has already put my dad's new liver in stage 1 cirrhosis.  The damage is VERY mild.  And stage 2 can last years.  Stage 3-4-5 become a bit scary.  Given the rate of cirrhosis, my dad has 5-15 years before his new liver fails.

However - there's a second option.  They could treat my dad with a very intense dose of medicine that has the potential to CURE his Hep-C.  This is a medication my dad has tried in the past (with his own liver) and it did not work.  Also, the quality of life on this medication is greatly diminished.  Furthermore, it's likely that if the drug doesn't work, my dad life expectancy will drop my 5-9 years.

The last I talked to my parents about this was last month.  Mom said, 'we'll need to discuss this as a family in a few months'.  In a few months, the doctors will test my dad's liver again to confirm that the Hep-C is as aggressive as they fear.

Balls.

K - Enough of that.  Can't handle it right now.  So glad dad is better.  I'd rather just go on living life as it were before, cherishing every moment I have with dad.

On a lighter note...

My wife is going to pop ANY moment now.  The newest Bloomfield is on HER way!   And we can't wait to share our moments with you guys.  I'll try to keep this blog as up-to-date as I can over the coming weeks with the baby coming.  Hoping I can post to the blog from the blackberry.

Also - I was watching some talk show a few days ago.  U.S. talk show.  There was a dude in the crowd who needed  a DOUBLE lung transplant.  He was trying to raise money for the transplant.  Get this - he needs $1 MILLION DOLLARS before he can even get on the transplant list!  Isn't that insane?  Dude needs to move to Canada.  But seeing as that is not likely, be generous - http://www.newlungsforchuck.com.  Do it in honor of your dad who could just as easily be in Chuck or Brian's position.

Not sure how I feel about our health care in Canada... on one hand, my dad's alive.  On the other, he was on his death bed.  Could it have been done faster?  Its really hard for me to rag on the health care system when, for the most part, it seemed to work out for us.

Pray for the safe, healthy arrival of our baby girl.