Dr. Rilo

I guess I will leave this shirt at home
when I go to the UMC in Tucson:-)

I am not sure if I have mentioned or posted about Dr. Rilo yet so I needed to update the blog! Dr. Rilo is my new doctor at the UMC Medical Center in Tucson. It is the medical teaching hospital associated with the University of Arizona, my rivals as an ASU alum:-) That is okay though, as Dr. Rilo will most likely be saving my life here in a few months and I may even wear a UofA shirt once this happens! Upon researching, I found out that the UMC had one of the best facilities for treating chronic pancreatitis. Dr. Rilo worked at the University of Cincinnati for many years before coming to Arizona. In Cincinnati, he was able to take out the pancreas, isolate the cells inside that pancreas that produce insulin, take those cells and inject them into your liver, and make you possibly not a diabetic! Wow, and yes this was a Grey's Anatomy episode, really it was;-) This is a 14 hour procedure with a grueling recovery but many who have had this done say they never regretted it even with their surgical pain. I had a 3 hour consult with Dr. Rilo last week prior to my new news. He then put a continuous glucose monitor on my side. It was a catheter that takes my blood sugar every 5 minutes. He also made me prink my finger 4 times a day to check blood sugar before eating. I then sent him the monitor and the results so he could get an idea of what type of islet yield he would be able to get from my pancreas. This is also to make sure I have not developed the start of diabetes. I can't wait to see what those results are as well. Again, praying for a high function and a great yield.

Anyways, as far as Dr. Kahn and Dr. Rilo, both from the UMC, they were wonderful! I met them both and they stayed and answered all of our questions. Dr. Rilo knew my medical records like they were his own! He had done his homework. My medical records are the size of many many leather bound books (ha, humor is good)! He knew everything about them. He felt something was not adding up. He asked me how much I had to drink the night before the first attack. I told him 3 drinks. This was the honest to God truth. He said there was no way three drinks caused this. He said there was some part of the puzzle missing here and he was right. At that time we did not know it was hereditary. Now we do, and once I called him he said it made so much more sense. I emailed Dr. Rilo and within 10 minutes he called me. I missed his call so he left his personal cell phone number on my voicemail. I talked to him on speaker with Dr. Kahn too. He assured me the surgery can still be done on me even with this finding. He also assured me that the risk of the cells developing into cancer in my liver would be much smaller than them developing into cancer in my pancreas. I was relieved a little.

I go back to the UofA on Dec. 21st. I will be there for three days having an extensive amount of testing done. I pray it goes well so that I will be allowed to have the surgery. As long as everything else is healthy and all the options have been eliminated, I will get approved. I must have this surgery now. Before, I was on the fence as they say. I thought I would do it, but maybe later. Now, I know I have to do it and I have to do it as soon as possible. I need this organ out of me before anything else happens with it (and you know what I mean without saying it, yikes!). So again, friends and family, I need prayers. I know there are so many worse things that can happen. I feel like this is the worst sometimes, but I remember those who are not here anymore to fight their battle and I am reminded to keep fighting!

If you or anyone you know are suffering from pancreatic cancer, chronic pancreatitis, or any other pancreatic issue please please please call the UMC, Tucson. Ask for Dr. Rilo or his receptionist Renee. I am telling you he could be the man that saves your life too! He is a brilliant man with a lifetime of dedication to this organ and he knows it better than any doctor in the three states I have gone to for help! He was truly brought into my life by God and I know he can try to help you too.

http://www.pancreatitiscenter.com/