A reality check...

On Monday, February 14th I got a reality check of my new life. I felt great, got my labs done, went to breakfast, attended support group, delivered brownies to my nurses and was ready to go to my last clinic visit. I was expecting to be freed from the restriction of staying in San Francisco but instead I had a reality check. My labs from that morning showed my liver enzyme levels doubled in the wrong direction. The Dr ordered an ultrasound for that afternoon and a liver biopsy for Wednesday and he thought I may be having another episode of rejection.

During the ultrasound, the tech said he saw my hepatic artery pumping blood rather than having a steady flow. I made the mistake of Googling to find more information about the hepatic artery which put me into a panic when I read that it could result in the need for a second liver transplant. I was a ball of stress all night and all of Tuesday morning. On Tuesday I was on the phone getting a pep talk from my friend Joann ( also my boss) when my transplant nurse called and told me I needed to be admitted back into the hospital. After a shower and packing the essentials, I checked into the hospital at 1:30. I must be a VIP since I somehow lucked out and scored a private room with a great view.

Dr. Davern ( the god of hepatology) came and saw me and explained that he was concerned my artery was narrowing so he ordered a CT scan for that night and a biopsy for Wednesday morning. The CT scan required dye to be shot through my arteries to watch the blood flow. The CT scan made me feel crazy hot and gave the sensation that I peed my pants. The biopsy was done in my stomach with a needle and was much less painful than the previous biopsies done through my neck. The waiting game began as we waited for the results.

At about 5pm on Wednesday I got some good news. The results showed no rejection and after reviewing the CT scan with the surgeons they felt my artery needed to be watched but could be treated with aspirin. It will require follow up ultrasounds and they may need to fix it if it gets worse but overall the liver was doing good. They explained the biopsy showed some residual trauma from being removed from the transplant and that was the cause of the elevated counts.

I was released today and was told I can go back home to Roseville on Saturday!!!!! This extra hospital stay gave me a reality check on a few things:

• Being readmitted doesn't mean I am going to die or need a new liver. It just means they can get tests and results faster.
• Even though I feel great, I need to be ready for continued bumps in the road.
• Never Google before talking to the Dr's.
• Don't lose faith. Remain positive and let the Dr's worry and just do what they tell me.