American Friends of Magen David Adom provides support to the MDA (the Israeli version of the Red Cross.)

PizzaIDF does something directly for the troops of the IDF: delivers pizza to troops on the ground. I remember times in Korea, after a month or two on the DMZ, when I'd have cheerfully killed (OK, OK, maybe just maimed) for a hot slice of pizza and a cold Coke.

You can also specify pizza delivery to a family in Sderot, which has been on the receiving end of the Hamas rocket attacks.

Now, follow those links and give until it hurts.

OK, that's not terribly accurate. I went up to Duke yesterday for an MRI.

This was the first MRI I've had in about 18 months, the first since my surgery last year. It was also the first time I was subjected to a non-open MRI machine. I felt like a torpedo... and I have a better understanding why some people freak out when in the machine.

Note to self: have shoulders narrowed; they're just too dang wide for an MRI.

I came out of the MRI with a pounding headache. As expected, the process had screwed up the settings on my shunt, which is magnetically programmable. This was expected, so one of my neurosurgeon's residents was on hand to reprogram the shunt, which is — surprise, surprise — done with a special electromagnetic tool applied to the top of my head. It turns out that the MRI had reset the shunt valve to a flow rate approximately 700% of normal.

That would explain that headache. The other headaches I've been having for the last month or so, not so much.

With the MRI out of the way, I can now be scheduled for plasmapheresis.

Faster, please.

Gabriel Malor, at Ace of Spades HQ

That pretty much sums up Christmas with Mycah, Packet, and Kismet.

Mycah celebrated Boxing Day in style in 2005. Not so much, this year.

Long holiday weekend or not, the Modulator's Friday Ark is afloat.

Carnival of the Cats #250 will be hosted at the Cat Blogosphere, which you are reading every day already, right?

Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child.

While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
     "Glory to God in the highest,
      And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased."

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us."

So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart.

The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

The answer is: not soon, God willing.

I saw my regular doc for a checkup last week, during which he came to the conclusion that I should see my neurologist sooner, much sooner, rather than later at my scheduled followup in February.

So today I got up at the crack of dawn* and trekked to the neurologist. I went through the ritual examination — the reflexes, strength and sense of touch in my legs have all degraded — and then underwent a hastily-scheduled Taser test before being parked in the office to await a verdict... or at least, a suggestion of what ought to happen next.

The neurologist asked if I'd had a plain old spinal tap done at any point — not the several-day functionality test, but one where the fluid collected was sent out for lab testing. I reassured him that yes, it had been done. Boy oh boy, had it ever. He then called the hospital where it had been done and had the results immediately faxed over.

You'd think they could do that sort of thing via email. I guess not.

After reviewing those lab results (from a year and a half ago, remember) and pondering for a minute or so, he sat up in his chair and asked me how difficult it might be for me to spend a few days in the hospital.

Oh, no. Not again.

After recovering from my apoplectic fit, I let him know it would be just a tad difficult.

He mulled this over a bit, then got down to brass tacks, to wit: the shunt is almost certainly doing its job, but he wants me to have another MRI of my head to make sure that the ventricles are in fact not expanding again.

OK, I can do that. No need to park me in a hospital overnight, much less for a couple of days.

Closing in on the previously mentioned Mysterious Undiagnosed Second Condition, he then brought up a word I'd heard before: "autoimmune."

For that, there's treatment he thinks I should do: plasmapheresis. Basically, it's the same sort of thing as dialysis, the difference being that instead of removing waste products on behalf of the kidneys, they're removing antibodies.

Yikes.

As the doctor described it, the process takes a couple of hours a day, every other day. He said they can do the entire blood supply in five visits to whatever place does the procedure. Of course, since they're scrubbing the entire blood supply, I'll have to have a catheter installed in my neck for the duration. Egads.

After the plasmapheresis, gamma globulin treatment is the next step.

I am once again convinced I'm going to have a disease named after me.

* Relatively speaking, of course. I got up at 9am for an 11:30 appointment.

As soon as I stop bouncing off the walls, that is.

I don't know how I could have let this happen. I am sorely tempted to find out what Diet Coke tastes like after having been run through a Mr. Coffee.

Tomorrow is grocery day... but I may have to go to the store tonight if I expect to be functional tomorrow.

[After watching the video at the link above, you can read what was bleeped at the Daily Gut.]

I do love the Red Eye. It almost makes being on the second shift worthwhile.