Jaundice-personal connection

#2
For my personal Connection I've chosen Jaundice.

It usually starts by your liver. Your liver breaks down old red blood cells (hemolysis) and releases large amounts of bilirubin (a yellow pigment released when red blood cells are broken down). A normal amount of bilirubin would leave the body as stool but excess of this in the blood is what causes Jaundice. Jaundice causes your skin and the whites of your eyes to turn yellowish. This can occur newborns or premature babies but it should go away for them within a few days or there is treatments to cure it. When Jaundice occurs in adults it could be an indication of liver or gall bladder disease.
In my connection they have Jaundice because of liver failure. Liver failure can be caused from several things. For example; drinking alcohol is very hard on your liver and too much of that can cause failure. The person I know with Jaundice is very close to me and it's a scary thing to see. In her case her liver is failing because her body has been overtaken by cancer. Cancer is in her liver and it's already began to fail. Getting used to yellow eyes instead of pretty whites is hard as its a physical sign and reminder that her body is slowly shutting down.
I would recommend replacing your cigarettes and alcoholic bevergaes for an apple and a bike ride. You may not realize how important it is to keep your body healthy untill you've seen results you don't want to see.

http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_condition_info_details.asp?disease_id=170&channel_id=9&relation_id=10860