Saturday 29 May 2010

obspleen photography

I'm doing a lot better. Feeling better, eating better and getting some strength back. It's still going to be a little while before "i'm back", but I'm on the road. 

OK ... let's talk about this spleen the hospital removed then. I am still not in the mood for writing very much, so this blog will be perfect, as a picture paints a thousand words.

Linked at the bottom of this spleen are two images.

WARNING, WARNING ... FLAILING ARMS ... 

These images are graphic. They are of a very large, cancerous internal organ remove from the body. Do not click the links if you are squeamish or upset by such images.

Right, before we begin, some points ...

1. The hospital took a series of photos of my spleen on removal. I had to sign permission for the them to be used in medical references etc. According to the consultant who got me to sign, this is very rare nowadays, as most things have been tagged already. The snapshots below where taken on my Blackberry from the originals - photos of photos, as it were. I am allowed to request originals.

2. The weight of the spleen is, apparently, 8.4 KG. (1.3 stone!) This is ridiculous - the weight of carrying twins! - and I refused to believe it at first - but three people in the hospital have confirmed this. The matter it is made up from (dead cells, dead blood etc), is very dense. It also explains why I went from just over 12 stone (despite have no muscle) to under 11 stone.

3. OK, finally ... "A normal Spleen is about 12 cm long, 7 cm wide, and 250 cm3. It is shaped like a largish fist" ... so, clench your fist, take a look and then take a these two pictures.


image 1
image 2


8 comments:

Anonymous said...

My goodness, how on earth did that even fit inside you? It actually looks a little like a big heart! Im pleased your feeling a little better xx

X4 Group said...

That is ridiculous. Almost 10% of your bodily weight attributed to one lump of......stuff. Thank christ that is out. Here's to the road of recovery and planning some nice stuff to do later in the year / next year - starting with another trip to Old Trafford...! G

SB said...

Holy SHIT!

Simon said...

When my little girl was born, she was "a good weight".

She was 4kg.

'Nuff said.

RC said...

shitting hell!!!

Anonymous said...

You, my lovely chicken, have laid one fat egg.
Congrats on finally getting rid of the horrible thing. Who needs a spleen anyway. Jo xxxx

Anonymous said...

I read something tonight that disturbed me in a way that moved me, yet did not yet strike me as relevant if that makes sense? Until I saw the photos of the spleen itself, looked at them for a while, and then it came together for me. Sometimes I feel cursed, as a thinker.

I'd like to say here tonight, I am deeply saddened at the passing of
Gary Coleman.

Not because he was a tremendously talented actor, but because he was a
subject of abuse by his obviously racially intermixed parents.

In the Gary Coleman will, section 203.4, he clearly specified a level
of unsatisfaction with said parents and expresses his displeasure at
the fact that they exploited him for their own financial gain as his
expense. He also expressed, five sections down, an endearing love for
what he called a "tooth-to-cock-job from a red-headed hen", which many
believe to be a loving reference to his wife Shannon, who will inherit
his fortune of four hundred and thirty five dollars and a bag of
famous amos cookies.

Anonymous said...

I read something tonight that disturbed me in a way that moved me, yet did not yet strike me as relevant if that makes sense? Until I saw the photos of the spleen itself, looked at them for a while, and then it came together for me. Sometimes I feel cursed, as a thinker.

I'd like to say here tonight, I am deeply saddened at the passing of
Gary Coleman.

Not because he was a tremendously talented actor, but because he was a
subject of abuse by his obviously racially intermixed parents.

In the Gary Coleman will, section 203.4, he clearly specified a level
of unsatisfaction with said parents and expresses his displeasure at
the fact that they exploited him for their own financial gain as his
expense. He also expressed, five sections down, an endearing love for
what he called a "tooth-to-cock-job from a red-headed hen", which many
believe to be a loving reference to his wife Shannon, who will inherit
his fortune of four hundred and thirty five dollars and a bag of
famous amos cookies.