Just a lil Thank YOU!!

I'm just sitting here getting my Magnificent Magnesium drip again... waiting for my tacos (tehehe) and reading my latest comments from my friends (old and new) and family and wanted to give you all a huge THANK YOU! For all of your support, love, and laughs. It really helps, more then you know! Hopefully I will be able to repay the favor some day. Love and prayers are being sent your way, and for all of us that are fighting battles... Lets keep the faith. We can do it!!

A lil more on Perez... I think I'm a boxing fan now.

Just a few more pictures...(I stole from Melissa) :)

 Photo report: Perez-Campos

Photos and report by Rocco Morales
Before an enthusiastic crowd at the open air Pico Rivera Sports Arena, NABO super featherweight titlist, Eloy Perez, proved that he is amongst the elite in his division by totally overwhelming the solid Derrick Campos. In a scheduled 8 round non-title contest, Perez used his lightning fast jab to set the tempo of the fight and keep Campos at the end of his punches. This strategy worked to perfection for as Campos only knew one direction, and that was straight forward, causing him to eat jab after jab from Perez.

Photos: Rocco Morales

Click the photo to go to the next photo

The best moment of the fight for Campos came at the end of the second round when he threw numerous punches after the bell had sounded to end the round. Other than that, however, it was all Perez.
By the fourth round, Perez had worn down Campos enough with the jab to start sitting down on his other punches and began landing his right cross nearly at will, puffing up Campos face considerably. Perez, who entered this fight with just 4 knockouts in 19 career fights, appeared to be a much more effective puncher than that statistic would indicate.
By the beginning of the fifth round, Campos looked to be a beaten fighter but, nonetheless, came out and gave it his all. Campos’ effort, however, was in vain, as Perez was just too fast and too strong. Midway through the round, the referee hovered nearby keeping a very close eye on Campos who appeared to be in major trouble.
Perez unleashed one final assault and Campos had no answer for it, leading the referee to waive off the fight, much to the chagrin of Campos, at 2:02 of the fifth round. In what would be his 29th professional fight, Campos was stopped for the first time of his career by the world class Perez.
With the victory, Perez improves to (18-0-2, 5 KOs) while Campos drops to
(20-9, 11 KOs). Perez, just 23 years old and currently ranked #3 in the world by the WBO, appears to have a very bright future.

Hepatic Encephalopathy (and a hodgepodge of stuff.)

Being that I have been M.I.A. these past few months I thought I would explain to you the reason. Yes most of it is from a symptom of my cirrhosis, Hepatic Encephalopathy... Not only has it caused me to be slightly O.C.D. (I do things over and over again, and check time repeatedly because I don't want to forget something) and now I can't even be all "Martha Stewart" with home projects because of this twitching and low attention span. hehe... I know, the things I whine about)  We have also had a few real issues, kinks, and losses to deal with. The toughest, the loss of my Papa Earl this month. He was 80 years old. Rest in peace papa!! We have also had a few financial scares (who hasn't) my husband has pretty much lost his job, but God has provided. Jason has been doing free-lance work (lets pray the company does well, and likes Jason enough to hire him.) AND (by the grace of God, and the amazing owner of Rezn8) We have been able to keep our insurance, at least for now. We have such amazing family and friends that not only have sent their prayers and good vibes, but also donations! Donations of time, Harley rides (hehe), and money from $1.00 to hundreds of dollars, and again, just when I think we cannot be any more blessed... The biggest gift anyone can give, a second chance at life, my liver sliver giver (sorry, I can't resist) Jason's cousin, Nancy. << Trust me when I say, this is HUGE, and doesn't happen often for people... Whoa, whoa, Nelly... Reign 'er in there Ricki... tehehe, this post was supposed to be about Hepatic Encephalopathy, I have found some interesting articles on conflicting research on protein restrictions (I myself have come to the conclusion... in my expert opinion that doctors mislead us by saying low protein, but what they REALLY mean to say is low animal proteins, stick with mostly vegetarian type proteins... and lots of carbs. Low protein will lead to malnourishment and no energy, trust me) ...Please correct me if you disagree. Also, I have found some interesting stuff on vitamins and BCAA's (Branch-chain amino acids), L-carnitine, rifaximin... and have come to the conclusion that Lactulose is probably not the most effective treatment for H.E., rifaximin is probably better (even though Lactulose is what I use) I also personally take Zinc which has been shown to improve HE (I think B-12 has also helped with the mental fog for me... but that is just me - could just be the extra energy of B-12.) And I really don't see any negative effects of these or even the BCAA's many recommend. I hope I am not leaving anything out... Of course the obvious, as with any toxin, the goal is to get it out of the body, so to add to it by taking any drugs whether over the counter, prescribed, or not... ANYTHING that is not absolutely necessary (and obviously alcohol will intensify the effects of HE) should be avoided! Ok, I think that is all I have to say right now about that... I know I should cite where I found all this golden information... but I'm tired, and like I said, I do not claim to be a doctor, but here is one great site that explains it much better then me, the rest you will just have to take my word for... muwahahaha. (Click here to learn more about my newest nemesis... So bad it needs no other name then H.E.) hehehehe... I'm not going to even try to blame my cheesiness on it though.

A momma's plea...Live Life then Give Life!

To anyone that can help:

My name is Ricki, I am a 29 year old wife and mother... and my two men are what I live for. Unfortunately, we have recently been hit with a few blows that has changed our entire path. In April of 2006, we were blessed with our only son, it was a complicated delivery that resulted in a total of 3 surgeries for me, including a partial hysterectomy. My health began to decline. Now, I was never what you would consider a "healthy gal", I had my appendix and gallbladder removed, a spinal tap, EEG's, EKG's, CT's, and a few tests I would rather not mention (tehehe) but the biggest is that I was born with Hepatitis C, which is the reason I am writing this letter. Last year we found out that our son was also born with the Hepatitis C virus.
There are so many preventative measures we can take, diet, vitamins, exercise to keep his little liver healthy so that he may live a long and healthy life. Over the past 15 years or so, I have learned so much about the liver, and have tried my hardest to keep the disease at bay, including 1 year of the Interferon injections. However, for me, nothing has worked and this past June we found out that my liver has began to fail. Without a liver transplant, I have between 2 and 5 years to live. This is when my eyes were opened to the shortage of organ donors in America alone. All the men, women, children waiting to start living again and many are not making it. Though I am officially on that list of over 107,000 people, I am blessed to have a living donor, my hero, Nancy. My surgery has recently been set for less then 2 months away, July 15th. and though the statistics of survival are in my favor, I must prepare for the worst and just pray for the best! There are many "what if's" involved in my case, and because of my HepC, a large chance I will need another transplant... possibly within the next 5 years after my first. I may come out of this feeling worse then I am going in, and though I have many symptoms of liver failure and pain daily,  I am still pretty confident of what to expect from day to day, so we just try to enjoy the time we have. But now, with this transplant coming up, I have to get busy. I have to have something set in place for my son... his health and all the others that are waiting for life saving transplants... My son may be on that list one day, and I don't want it to be a wait. Like I said before, we are preparing for the worst but praying for the best. I guess what I am looking for is a miracle. I want everyone to choose to LIVE life then GIVE life, I want them to be organ donors. I also need some form of awareness program, training for doctors, something so that people learn to be their own advocates with their health and doctors learn to treat and prevent liver damage, especially with children - before any damage is done.
I am not worried about what may happen to me (and I am trying my hardest to instill this into my whole family) I haven't been brought this far to fail now, but if my body does... I don't want my family to grieve. We will all see each other again one day. I want my son to know that I tried my hardest to stay on this earth for him and that I helped to make a difference.

Please help me to spread the message that this life is a gift, and to pass it on. So many are suffering and dying and each person can help to change that. One person can save so many lives. I need to know especially that the doctors treating our children learn to detect and properly treat liver problems; but if damage can not be stopped and they do need a transplant, may there be no waiting list so that they can bounce quickly back into living life.

Thank you,

Ricki Albertoni
Recycle Yourself - Recycle Life - Recycle Hope!
Flickr Photos - Ricki's journey

The Ticking Clock

Well, I have been a little sad these last few days... I know, I know, "Ricki... sad, noooo" Well I have been, and when I get sad I always go back to writing. Actually, when I am really happy I write poetry too.... but I was sitting here right now listening to David Gray and The Counting Crows (my peppy music lol) and felt a little inspired.... don't worry, it's just a poem. Bet ya didn't know that I am a published poet...

The Ticking Clock

Time to her has no meaning,

For it went to fast, and is quickly leaving.

Each grain of sand is slipping through her fingers

And soon, it will be only memories that linger.

Tick Tock
.......Tick tock
The time speeds on,
The monotone ticking of each second gone.

So she tries hard to drown it out,

She laughs, cries, screams, and shouts.

But nothing works - it can't be stopped,

Nothing can stop the ticking clock. 

by: me... hehehe 2010

Just a Valentine for you.

Roses are Red,
As red as this heart for YOU
But don't send me one back...
Only LIVERS will do!

Ahahaha.... I crack myself up! (That's an original "Ricki" poem)Sorry, I had written it as my facebook status today, but thought it was so clever that I would share it with you. So seriously, Celebrate your loved ones today. I'm celebrating you!! I really, really am.

♥ ~*~ ♥ ~*~ ♥ HAPPY SAPPY DAY EVERYONE ♥ ~*~ ♥ ~*~ ♥

Larry's story

Click on Larry above to name my new Liver and view important liver news.... There is also a link to the right hand side.

Bored anyone???

So.......what do you guys think of the new layout?
Tried to make it a little more navigator-able (<-- my blog - my made up words)
Jason said he might work on a lil' something special for the Title border and I'm checkin' on fixin these strange yellow butterflies, but I like it.
Just for grins and giggles, lets see if the comments work by leaving one, huh? hehe...