It is 9:30 and Cory is being prepped for his fistula surgery. It's Valentines Day and what better way to share our love than in an operating room. His nurse, is no joke. She recalls Cory's first visit and all she kept saying is "I am so sorry, you are too young for this." Here are a few things I would like for you to understand about Cory's illness. He has hypertension - the definition of hypertension by the American Heart Association states as follows: "Hypertension is the term used to describe high blood pressure.
Blood pressure is a measurement of the force against the walls of your arteries as your heart pumps blood through your body.
Blood pressure readings are usually given as two numbers -- for example, 120 over 80 (written as 120/80 mmHg). One or both of these numbers can be too high.
The top number is called the systolic blood pressure, and the bottom number is called the diastolic blood pressure.
Normal blood pressure is when your blood pressure is lower than 120/80 mmHg most of the time.
High blood pressure (hypertension) is when your blood pressure is 140/90 mmHg or above most of the time.
If your blood pressure numbers are 120/80 or higher, but below 140/90, it is called pre-hypertension.
If you have pre-hypertension, you are more likely to develop high blood pressure.
If you have heart or kidney problems, or if you had a stroke, your doctor may want your blood pressure to be even lower than that of people who do not have these conditions."
Not only does Cory have hypertension he also suffers from renal failure. Here is the definition of that:
"Renal failure or kidney failure (formerly called renal insufficiency) describes a medical condition in which the kidneys fail to adequately filter toxins and waste products from the blood. The two forms are acute (acute kidney injury) and chronic (chronic kidney disease); a number of other diseases or health problems may cause either form of renal failure to occur.
Renal failure is described as a decrease in glomerular filtration rate. Biochemically, renal failure is typically detected by an elevated serum creatinine level. Problems frequently encountered in kidney malfunction include abnormal fluid levels in the body, deranged acid levels, abnormal levels of potassium, calcium, phosphate, and (in the longer term) anemia as well as delayed healing in broken bones. Depending on the cause, hematuria (blood loss in the urine) and proteinuria (protein loss in the urine) may occur. Long-term kidney problems have significant repercussions on other diseases, such as cardiovascular disease."
So let's sum up the importance of both of these issues.
Simple as this....Cory is at high risk for heart attack and stroke. Everyday that he wakes up - there is a chance he could suffer from a heart attack or a stroke - due to his high blood pressure. This is why he will as of today check his BP three times a day and voice to his nephrologist his urgency to bring it down. By now it should be lower - the nurse scared the shit out of both of us to be quite honest with you - here was her example.
* a 28 year old African American man walks into the ER, he explains to the nurse that he doesn't know what is wrong he can just feel that something isn't right. He then tells the nurse he hasn't urinated in three days, which is the first signs of hypertension and renal failure. She quickly takes his BP and finds that the bottom number (diastolic pressure which is also the lower of the two numbers, measures the pressure in the arteries between heartbeats (when the heart muscle is resting between beats and refilling with blood) is 127, a normal diastolic pressure should be no higher than 80. After being admitted he quickly was "coded" which means rushed upstairs because his heart was failing - he died an hour later.
I tell you this just as she did to us this morning because even if Cory is on dialysis and we continue to feed him correctly and exercise regularly his heart rate is still high. To give you an example Cory's diastolic number is only 10-15mm lower than that of the 28 year old man that died. He is so incredibly lucky to be here it is 100% a miracle. He now has the power to be in charge of his destiny, taking his BP three times a day, calling his pharmacist to check when his meds should be peaking so that he knows what he should be feeling and experiencing and in turn relaying that to his nephrologist. The best way the nurse put it was that he is a recipe - sometimes you have to add or subtract to get it just right and that is what we are experiencing at this point.
I would also ask a favor from each one of you reading this and following along with Cory's journey. Go get your god damn blood pressure checked. You keep asking what you can do for Cory? Do that. Walgreens is having a healthy heart month of awareness where you can go in to the pharmacy and not only get your blood pressure checked for free but learn about your blood pressure and what it means to your life and well being. Many of you reading this have kids and wives and husbands. You owe it to them to be healthy and stay on top of your health. Not to mention African Americans are so susceptible to this disease and many others just because of your genes and sadly also a lack of health care.
I cannot stress to you enough the importance of health education. We all want to be healthy and happy and live long prosperous lives and that starts with educating yourself on your body and where you stand. If you have insurance, what the hell are you waiting for? If you don't, I would strongly take the first steps to look into getting some or continue to survey your health personally and if you feel something is off, trust your body and have it checked out.
I am going to look into working with schools or colleges and hopefully being able to speak about it and be an advocate for everyone. It is so necessary.
Please stay turned for another update.
Please take all of this information and tough love from me in stride. I am only doing it because I love all of you. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask and you can also sign up on the American Heart Association website for updates on hypertension at heart.org
Stay educated.
Tessa
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