AKA Liver Giver Girl
April 1999 - It was mentioned to Scott, at the Duke Clinic, about a new procedure --- adult-to-adult liver transplant. At the time Duke had only performed two adult-to-child liver transplants which were very successful.
May 1999 - I was in touch with the transplant coordinators at Duke to find out what tests could be done where I live in Florida. The blood type was the only information they needed from me before they could proceed with the rest of the tests which would have to be done at Duke.
June 1999 - The transplant coordinator was a little concerned that my liver would not be large enough by just asking about my height and weight over the phone. The coordinator notified me that I would be going to the Duke Clinic and start my week of testing to see if I would be the perfect liver candidate. The tests consisted of: complete blood work, urine sample, EKG, chest x-ray, liver ultrasound, CT scan of liver, arteriogram and liver biopsy. Also had to speak to a social worker, they wanted to make sure that I was willing to do this on my own and not being pressured by family members.
August 1999 - Finally received the good news, my liver is a good match and the surgery date has been set for September 8. I went to the local blood bank and gave 1 pint of blood to be sent to Duke, just in case it would be needed.
Sep. 6 - My parents and I flew to Durham, NC too began the great transplant adventure. The following day Scott and I had to go to the Duke Clinic and met with the surgeons and to do our pre-op tests which only consisted of blood work.
Sep. 8 - Today is the BIG day. Had to be at the hospital before 7:00 a.m. Gave my mom all of my personal belongings and then changed into the beautiful hospital gown with the matching cap and onto the pre-op waiting room. The nurse inserted an IV into my arm and I spoke to the anesthesiologist and his assistant. I was then wheeled into the operating room where I was given an epidermal, which hurt, after that I don't remember anything. In the meantime Scott went into surgery about three hours later and my surgery took eight hours. The next thing I remember was being in ICU feeling really good and willing to give out any other organs that anyone wanted. I also recall Dr. Clavien telling me that my liver was larger than they expected and they were able to give Scott 60% of my liver. I was completed thrilled and excited for him.
Sep. 9 - We were moved into our regular hospital room and not feeling as good as I did in ICU. Had a lot of pain in my right shoulder, pain meds just didn't do anything.
Sep. 10-13 - Must admit I felt like crap the entire time, did not care for the staples in my stomach or the pain in my shoulder. Could not keep any of the pain meds down so needless to say I didn't eat very much food. The night before I left the hospital I forced myself, every two hours, to walk around the corridor. Oh boy was that fun :-)
Sep. 14 - Left the hospital, a day after Scott, figured I would give mom a break and let her take are of one invalid for a day before she got two. Ok maybe that wasn't the original plan. Even though I felt crappy, it was great to get out of the hospital and eat a real home cooked meal.
Sep. 15-16 - Boy, mom has her hands full with the two of us bundle of joys. :-) Scott was busy taking all of his meds. - oh yes he really enjoys it - and I had my first glance at my staples. Ok, I did turn a few shades of green and white, need I say anything more. We also went for our first walk around the block and we were a site, Scott with a bathrobe on and his overly large swollen legs and I holding my stomach afraid that it would open up and drop what liver I had left onto the ground. But we survived.
Sep. 17 - Dr. Tuttle removed my staples, oh yes another fun time but it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Later on I felt miserable and the right leg ached whenever I walked. By evening both sides of the wounds were draining a bit and I was running a fever. Luckily mom, the nurse, was there to take care of the little minor problem and after a couple of hours the fever was gone.
Sep. 18 - Felt really good, best night sleep I had in quite awhile. This was also the first morning I was able to take a shower, almost forgot how good a shower can feel. Have to use gauze to pack the two open wounds which is not the most enjoyable thing to do.
Sep. 24 - Finally able to return home.
Notes: The surgery was a lot harder on me physically then I thought it would be and it did not take the normal six weeks of recovery time - it took me eight weeks. The open wounds didn't completely close for at least eight weeks. My liver grew back to its normal size in about six weeks. And some of you may wonder if I would do it again and the answer is ------ Yes, absolutely!
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