I recently found out that one of my uncles as the hereditary condition known as hemochromatosis. According to the Mayo Clinic website it is the most common hereditary condition among Caucasians. Hemochromatosis causes your body to absorb too much iron from the food you eat. The excess iron is then stored in your organs, especially the liver and heart. if left untreated the condition can be life-threatening. This condition can be treated by regularly removing blood from the body.
The reason why this condition has become of some interest to me is because it is genetic. Apparently, both my grandmother and grandfather on my father's side of the family carry the gene for this condition. They also had five boys. Since one of my uncles has recently been diagnosed with the condition there is a good chance that my father could have it as well. my father was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder approximately a year ago. I believe in my heart that my father is genuinely a good person but soon he was diagnosed with bipolar cell in life, he has had many unexplained behavioral outbursts that have caused strained relations with many of his family members. In my opinion he does not seem to me in a manic state based on recent phone conversations that I have had with him but I can't be completely certain of that. During his last manic episode he had to be hospitalized and underwent a complete psychiatric evaluation and was apparently medicated. My emotional and personal dilemma comes down to the fact that we are all adults. Meaning, that we don't have to tell each other anything about our personal lives if we do not wish to. If it were not for my physical limitations caused by cerebral palsy I would most likely be the one to moderate to that condition.
Everyone in my family understands that bipolar is a mental illness and should be treated as a sickness. However because of all the effort and emotional pain that my father has cause in the past it is hard for any of us to forget or forgive the things that he has done. All that emotional baggage makes it hard for any of us to approach him about the possibility of him having hemochromatosis. I want to be the mature responsible adult in this duration and talk to him about the hemochromatosis but I don't know what his response will be in the thought of a negative reaction makes me very apprehensive. I really don't enjoy having to have my guard up all the time around my own father.
I think I alluded to this in a previous a previous post, my life has never been easy because I have cerebral palsy and I am trying the best I can to live and function as normally as possible. Yes, my life has never been easy because of all the things I've experienced but it is also never been boring either.
The reason why this condition has become of some interest to me is because it is genetic. Apparently, both my grandmother and grandfather on my father's side of the family carry the gene for this condition. They also had five boys. Since one of my uncles has recently been diagnosed with the condition there is a good chance that my father could have it as well. my father was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder approximately a year ago. I believe in my heart that my father is genuinely a good person but soon he was diagnosed with bipolar cell in life, he has had many unexplained behavioral outbursts that have caused strained relations with many of his family members. In my opinion he does not seem to me in a manic state based on recent phone conversations that I have had with him but I can't be completely certain of that. During his last manic episode he had to be hospitalized and underwent a complete psychiatric evaluation and was apparently medicated. My emotional and personal dilemma comes down to the fact that we are all adults. Meaning, that we don't have to tell each other anything about our personal lives if we do not wish to. If it were not for my physical limitations caused by cerebral palsy I would most likely be the one to moderate to that condition.
Everyone in my family understands that bipolar is a mental illness and should be treated as a sickness. However because of all the effort and emotional pain that my father has cause in the past it is hard for any of us to forget or forgive the things that he has done. All that emotional baggage makes it hard for any of us to approach him about the possibility of him having hemochromatosis. I want to be the mature responsible adult in this duration and talk to him about the hemochromatosis but I don't know what his response will be in the thought of a negative reaction makes me very apprehensive. I really don't enjoy having to have my guard up all the time around my own father.
I think I alluded to this in a previous a previous post, my life has never been easy because I have cerebral palsy and I am trying the best I can to live and function as normally as possible. Yes, my life has never been easy because of all the things I've experienced but it is also never been boring either.
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