Our second book, FURTHER ALONG, got off the starting line with a burst of online sales, thanks to all of you. I have recouped about half of our original expense in publishing, although I haven’t been happy with some of the minor errors not caught by the professional editors. For this I apologize, and am getting the books going to the shelves improved with these minor errors fixed. It is hard to write and see everything that is mistyped in such a long document. The pros should catch things but with all books errors occur. I am reminded it is the content and the message you want to get out that matters most. Being there to help fellow patients and their caregivers, to lift and encourage, is my aim.
The PEG or G Tube, needs to be moved. As you know, the last one ruptured injuring my stomach where the tube enters this vital area. It was replaced, helping some, but ultimately needed a surgeon to actually move it to a fresh, healthy location. My feeding tube is long-term due to swallowing difficulties resulting from faulty brain signal confusion, coupled with vocal cord closure on inhalation. Breathing and swallowing difficulty together cause a need to have a stomach feeding tube. Do I miss food? Absolutely!
I have surgery scheduled to go in and excise the tissue that is damaged at the old site (removal of a small portion of my stomach), and relocating a new feeding tube where it will have a much better chance of avoiding further injury and/or infection. Infection is the main culprit of degenerative brain disease demise. Infection with multiple system atrophy can occur in the stomach, lungs, and bladder, among other locations. Also, the ventilator at night helps to avoid respiratory failure during sleep.
Thanks for keeping up with my sporadic postings and for all the support in promoting my book. Happy Holidays! Dan
