1st blog post of 2025

 Just here to confirm that I made it safely into 2025 and survived at least one whole day, and on-track to complete my 2nd day of the year alive!

When I have time and energy, I'll definitely be writing more posts to feed your mind!

Final 2024 blog post (health updates, etc)

 Usually, at the end of the year, I write a blog post reflecting on the whole year, also write blog posts on the "notable deaths of ______" , or a commentary on the world events, music, sports, etc for the year.

Sadly, due to my ongoing health issues, I don't really have the time or energy to do all that this year!  But I'll definitely write about my current health issues on this blog posts.

Here are my previous blog posts documenting my recent health issues 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/10/my-experience-with-jaundice-and.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/10/coming-home-from-hospital-and-road-to.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/more-health-drama-in-late-october.html 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/nausea-drama-for-early-november.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/wish-me-luck-this-black-friday.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/12/continuing-on-my-recent-health-issues.html

That last link was published on December 17. So now's the time to pick up where I left off.

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In the first 2 weeks of December, the daily vomiting was intense and frequent.

For the 2 weeks after, the vomiting has become less intense and less frequent. But still daily.

Well, on Friday 12/27/2024, I had another scheduled hospital visit.  Again at Pali Momi Medical Center, where I had 3 previous procedures using ERCP and EUS methods. Those methods used tubes down my esophagus to get down to my stomach, pancreas and other nearby organs.

As mentioned in previous posts, in November, I had a fluid mass (called a pseudocyst) growing outside my pancreas and was pushing against my stomach, which caused much of my vomiting.

On 11/29/2024, the doctors started draining the pseudocyst by attaching stents from that to my stomach. On 12/12/2024, the doctors that said that the pseudocyst is draining into my stomach.  the stuff coming out from the pseudocyst is being drained into my stomach and that stuff being drained out was now contributing to my vomiting.

So far the 12/27/2024 procedure, they noted that the pseudocyst had shrunk significantly. Very small to the point of near-nonexistence. But there's another problem. One of the stents that the doctors previously attached was too close to the stomach's exit, making it hard for the stomach to drain down, and therefore have to drain upward (vomit). So that stent got removed. The other stent got replaced. 

Also during the procedure, the doctors found a fungus infection. So I have to take daily meds for that. 

After the procedure, Dr Small (who was in charge of the team) felt it was safe enough for me to go home the same day.

Though lucky thing I had the folding cane in my bag just in case, because I was still too disoriented to walk without it. The hospital staff did have me ride the wheelchair to my dad's car, where he took me to Kaiser Moanalua Hospital to use their pharmacy to get my anti-fungus meds. (note: Kaiser Permanente doesn't cover meds bought at Pali Momi, so that's why I had to ride to Kaiser Moanalua Hospital to get my meds). I had to use my cane while walking to my pharmacy!  I survived :)

That evening, I was able to finish one Ensure protein shake without vomiting afterwards. A win!

The next day (12/28/2024) was also a no vomit day.  Still with just one liquid diet!

12/29 ..... just one vomit, that's it!

12/30 .... I had a soup, went smoothly. Just when I thought it was safe to get a 2nd liquid meal (an Ensure protein drink), I ended up vomiting half-hour later.

12/31  ..... today, so far, no vomit (cross my fingers).

So little wins here and there.

But still, HUGE GIGANTIC CHALLENGES exist!

After all these weeks of nausea, I experienced significant weight loss.

On 09/26/2024, I weighed in at 224 pounds.

On 12/27/2024, it was down to 160 pounds.

An extreme drop in such a short time. 

And because the decreased appetite and extreme nausea were making it hard for me to eat like usual, that means my body has been deprived of much-needed nutrients. 

So that means a loss of strength, stamina, energy.

Lots of fatigue!

Takes longer to do tasks!

Need longer breaks between tasks!

I've been basically homebound for weeks!

I only leave my home when it's time to go hospital, and I need a ride with my dad to do so! 

I've become a shell of my former self!

My mind is still intact enough to write this blog post, as well as to continue to read the newspaper, emails, articles, and more! 

But it's going to take a while for my body to recover!  

To develop an appetite again without worrying about more vomiting.

To have enough energy to do things without getting tired easily.

To be able to work again. To be able to really live again!

So that's what I want to address when I have my next appointment with a doctor later this week. 

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So now that I'm finished writing about my health issues, I'll just leave this blog post with a list of what I feel are the greatest songs released in 2024.

Beyonce - "Texas Hold Em"

Olivia Rodrigo - "So American"

Ariana Grande - "The Boy is Mine"

Iron & Wine w/ Fiona Apple  -"All in Good Time"

Lady Gaga w/Bruno Mars - "Die with a Smile"

Tinashe - "Nasty"

Billie Eilish - "Birds of a Feather"

Billie Eilish - "Lunch"

Sabrina Carpenter - "Espresso"

Sabrina Carpenter - "Please Please Please"

Sabrina Carpenter  - "Bad Chem"

Charli XCX w/ Lorde - "Girl, So Confusing"

Charli XCX w/ Billie Eilish - "Guess"

Chappel Roan - "Good Luck Babe"

Tommy Richman - "Million Dollar Baby"

Tommy Richman - "Devil is a Lie"

Tyla w/ Gunna & Skillibeng "Jump" 

Megan Thee Stallion w/Yuki Chiba "Mamushi"

Megan Thee Stallion - "Otaku Hot Girl"

Megan Thee Stallion w/ RM " Neva Play"

The Baseball Project - "Oh Oh Ohtani"

Zico w/Jennie - "Spot"

Snoop Dogg w/Jhene Aiko - "Gorgeous"

Eminem "Houdini - abracadabra"

Djo - "End of Beginning"

Taimane - "Gotta Get It"

and of course, the star of the year.......Kendrick Lamar

with "They Not Like Us" (sorry Drake, it's over)

and also "Squabble Up" (which sampled Debbie Deb's 80's classic "When I Hear Music")  

Merry Christmas

The last 3 months were the roughest ones due to health problems (pancreatitis, decreased appetite, daily nausea, significant weight loss, increased fatigue, etc ). Add to that, the thoughts on mortality. But even through all that madness, my Christmas spirit still shine! I express to you all a Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad and Mele Kalikimaka!
 

continuing on my recent health issues

 My previous blog posts on this 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/10/my-experience-with-jaundice-and.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/10/coming-home-from-hospital-and-road-to.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/more-health-drama-in-late-october.html 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/nausea-drama-for-early-november.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/wish-me-luck-this-black-friday.html

and the most recent one  (published December 10, 2024) 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/12/black-friday-in-hospital-and-early.html

In that one, I mentioned about increased vomiting and decreased appetite 

Well on the following day (that would be December 11, 2024),  my dad paid a brief visit to my apartment. He later told my mom he noted significant weight loss.  My mom called me urgently and told me to call my GI doctors and let them know what's going on. 

First, I called the Kaiser GI  team and left them a message. 

I also called Dr Small (who did the 10/24/2024 and 11/29/2024 at Pali Momi) and left a voicemail. 

The Kaiser's GI team called back and asked for information about my current medical condition.

Around the same time, Dr Small called and say "hey, come to the hospital tomorrow morning for another procedure"

So on the following day (12/12/2024), my dad drove me to Pali Momi Medical Center.  At first, it was vitals and IV's from the nurses. Then Dr Small told me he'll be checking the pseudocyst near the pancreas and the stents that were previously placed from the pseudocyst to my stomach.  For that procedure, i was put to sleep.

After I woke up from the procedure, I was notified that the pseudocyst near my pancreas was still draining into my stomach, and the stuff being drained out was contributing to my vomiting. 

I originally assumed I would remain at the hospital overnight, but the doctors felt it was safe enough for me to go home the same day. 

Dr Small  encouraged me to continue with the liquid diet and to also add protein drinks to the liquid diet.  So my parents bought me the Ensure drinks and the Glucerna (this one turned out to be no bueno), plus the Pedialyte (for electrolytes, better than Gatorade and their imitators).

In the following days, there was less vomiting. The problem is ....... there's still vomiting.  Just less intense (except for the day I tired the Glucerna drinks  ......... never again).

I still eat my liquid diet in the morning (some days, soups & broths, other days, protein drinks) but I can only consume a limited amount, and even then, some of the contents get vomited out in the afternoon and evening.  So I can't even eat a 2nd liquid meal when I'm vomiting. 

And already, the damage has already been done. I've experienced significant weight loss (from 224 to 178 pounds) and I've become a shell of my former self.

 I take a longer time to do simple tasks. I take longer breaks between tasks.

Now, I already have another procedure scheduled for 12/27/2024 and I'm supposed to get another CT scan (to get an updated view of my pseudocyst and the rest of my GI system) sometime between now and then. 

But when I look at the mirror, it feels like I'm coming face-to-face with mortality.  With my significant weight loss and the look on my eyes, it feels like life could be coming to an end soon.  It feels a mix of sadness and peace when I think about it. 

Now, some of you are reacting "don't talk like that, you got some more living to do".  

Don't get me wrong, I would like to do some more of that living. Going back to work and interacting with the students! Ride bikes! Take walks around the community. Help the Friends of the Library of Hawaii!  Organize more of my stuff at home! Release new music for Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior! 

But at the same time, we are not eternal beings. We have a life that begins and ends. (I'll leave the debate on reincarnation to the spiritual experts) 

And with my declining health condition, I got to be realistic and

•  acknowledge that I can't live forever. 
•  acknowledge that death could possibly be near and it's better to be at peace with it than to pretend life is an eternal party that never ends

Hopefully, medical professionals will do what they can to end my constant nausea nightmare and help me to the road to recovery

The Jam for the Virtual Slow Ride (instrumental track)

It is time for "The Jam for the Virtual Slow Ride".

The perfect instrumental track if you're playing a virtual game where you're slowly riding & cruising down on your motorbike (or any other vehicle). 

Relaxing and adventurous at the same time.

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Some of my long-time fans might be somewhat familiar with the track. 

This track was originally released in 2016 under a different name ("Jam with the Apr Stab") as the debut instrumental track from digital musician Pablo the Mad Tiger Warrior!

It is now retitled and re-released to more accurately match the mood of the track.

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[note: Back in the old days, my track titles usually included the Magix Music Maker sound settings used in the track (ie "jam guitar", "arp stab") and I was too lazy to make changes before releasing them to the public! But as time went, I made for damn sure the track has a great title before releasing them] 

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Now you may be asking, how can I experience  "The Jam for the Virtual Slow Ride"?

Well, we can start with the video right here

view it onYouTube at  https://youtu.be/OuyZ8Fa6_aI

And you can download the track via Bandcamp for $1  at

https://pablothemadtigerwarrior.bandcamp.com/track/the-jam-for-the-virtual-slow-ride

You can also  download the track via iTunes at

https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-jam-for-the-virtual-slow-ride-single/1782261450

You can also listen to it on Spotify at

https://open.spotify.com/album/2XrTqGdGQHIM4HccIuhBcO?si=FkbSmCVSQVWsvGZQthkyxg

The song will soon be on other platforms as well!

Spread the word, share the track however you can, so the world can experience "The Jam for the Virtual Slow Ride" 

Black Friday in the hospital (and early December with nausea)

  This past Black Friday (11/29/2024), there were no shopping adventures for me.

It was all about the hospital that day. 

It was a continuation of all the health issues I've been dealing with the past few months.

My previous blog posts on this 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/10/my-experience-with-jaundice-and.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/10/coming-home-from-hospital-and-road-to.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/more-health-drama-in-late-october.html 

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/nausea-drama-for-early-november.html

https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/wish-me-luck-this-black-friday.html

For Black Friday, the procedure was to be done at Pali Momi, the same facility as the 10/24/2024 procedure. 

The doctor's original plan was to do another ERCP procedure where they'll do yet another biopsy of  what's left the blockage that was cleared on my pancreas. Plus, check on the stent that was placed between my liver & pancreas.

But that was changed.  I mentioned to that doctor  (Dr Small) that on 11/04/2024 (at a different hospital - Kaiser Moanalua Hospital), they did a CT scan where they found a fluid mass (a pseduocyst) near my pancreas. At that point, the Kaiser doctor's decided to hold off on draining the pseudocyst. 

The Kaiser doctors were supposedly in communication with Dr Small about my G.I.  (gastrointestinal) issues, but apparently something got lost in the communication.  They work for different organizations. 

Well anyways, when I mentioned that issue on  the Black Friday appointment, I thought Dr Small knew. Well, he didn't. He said he had he known about it earlier, he would've intervened earlier. 

So it was a change of plans for Black Friday. It was now to focus on the draining the pseudoscyst via a stent to my stomach.

The original plan to do a biopsy would have to wait.

The pseudocyst wasn't going to be drained overnight. It is to be a slow process where the liquid was drained by stent to my stomach. 

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Here's what I posted hours after the procedure on social media

Pablo Wegesend

November 29 at 4:39 PM  · Aiea  · 

My Black Friday was at the hospital going through yet another procedure, this time attempting getting a fluid mass (near my pancreas) drained via a stent to my stomach. This fluid mass contributed to my nausea this whole month. Depending on how well the results go, things could improve or I could be back here again. wish me luck!

— at Pali Momi Medical Center.

After the procedure, I was feeling some side pain, but it was nowhere the level of pain my pancreas felt after the 10/24/2024 procedure. 

I did stay overnight so the medical professionals can check on my status. 

While I was feeling some level of nausea, no vomit came during my time in the hospital. Just some continuous burping.

=================

However, after coming home from the hospital, it was a different story.

Starting in December 1st, it became daily bouts of constant nausea.  Days of heavy vomiting.   Some days it was mini-vomits, but then there were heavy vomits that came out. 

It was just like early November, as I noted on https://pablowegesend.blogspot.com/2024/11/nausea-drama-for-early-november.html

However on Nov 25-30, I still felt nauseated but never actually vomited on those days. Just lots of burping.

But starting December 1st, whatever felt held in finally came out.

And it's now daily.  Usually not so bad in the morning, but the volume goes up in the afternoon and evening.

On December 3rd, I called the doctor's office. The receptionist, then the nurse asked some questions. By the afternoon, the nurse called back and noted the doctor suggested going to the emergency room. My dad drove me to the hospital, where I got IV treatments and a CT scan. The CT scan noted the pseudocyst is draining as scheduled. 

But where is all that liquid that was in my pseudocyst go? Apparently not into my intestine, because I'm not experiencing diarrhea and I'm not urinating more than usual (despite having to take meds for bladder control).  If it's not going down, then it's going up.  Up my esophagus and vomiting out. 

Meanwhile, my appetite has decreased and I'm on a liquid diet.  Since I don't vomit much in the morning, that's I when I eat, and even then my body can only take in a limited amount. 

But having a 2nd meal? When my vomiting gets more intense in the afternoon and night? Forget about it! 

I lost lot of weight, and also a lot of energy.  I've become a shell of my former self.  I take a longer time to do simple tasks. I take longer breaks between tasks.

But however, whenever I go to the hospital, it's always "your heart rate is good, your blood pressure is good, you seem very alert".  OK!

At that point, I'll be back to the hospital soon to figure out my next step. 

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PS: Someone wrote this to me on Facebook 

I’d be very careful sharing any sort of medical stuff online. You never know what might happen.

I responded with this: 

I have a different perspective. If people only share the good times on Facebook, it gives others the impression that their problems are unique to them because "everyone else on Facebook is having a good time". People have been sharing their medical issues in news stories long before social media existed. I rather be honest about what's going on with me, than hiding out of fear of what others think

Wish me luck this Black Friday

 No, I'm NOT going on a massive shopping spree.

I'll be at a hospital going through yet another medical procedure. 

An ERCP procedure where they'll do yet another biopsy of  what's left the blockage that was cleared on my pancreas. Plus, check on the stent that was placed between my liver & pancreas.

And what I really hope will be solved : the fluid mass that's pushing against my stomach and contributing to this month-long nausea!

Wish me luck