Day 344, Year 6: Update on Mark’s Medical Situation
Date: Monday, October 3, 2011
Weather: Beautiful Day Early, Turning Cooler and Rainy in Late Afternoon
Location: Eel Pond, Woods Hole, Massachusetts
Mark went to Mass General in Boston this afternoon to have testing done to test the functioning ability of his bladder. Unfortunately, the results were not good. For whatever reason, his bladder has completely lost its ability to contract and after today’s testing, it looks like there is no hope for it to repair itself. The bottom line is that Mark is going to have to do some sort of self-catheterization for the rest of his life. He goes back on October 24 to have a stent put in between the bladder and the urethra. If that allows him to use his abdominal muscles to help urinate, they will then do a more permanent procedure to open up that passage. If this is successful, it will at least reduce the number of times per day that he has to self-catheterize. Mark was obviously disappointed by today’s news, but he is handling it in stride. I have been amazed at his ability to adapt to a situation that some might consider catastrophic. He chooses to see the glass half full and is just grateful that there is no life-threatening issue associated with his problem.
