Not Today

Brandy--EYES CLOSED! This has photos other than paper that social workers like to look at.  Silly girl.

This morning I had labs drawn, then an appointment with Dr. Mawaldi, the hepatologist here at Aurora St. Luke's Transplant Center in Milwaukee.  Very nice guy.  I had a feeling that I would need to have a peracentesis (fluid removal from the abdomen) since I had some swelling.  I did.  My first paracentesis on 12/12/12 drew off exactly 5 liters of fluid.  Today, they drew off 6.89 (basically 7) liters of fluid.  Three and a half gallons in just over a month.  Not good.  Basically my liver has totally stopped functioning at all.

 Drawing the fluid off my abdomen and getting an infusion of albumin.

 Seven .9 liter jars plus .45 liters in the 8th.  No head on this, since they add a

thickener so it can be incinerated and not go into the biomedical waste neverland.

While I was still on the gurney from the paracentesis, one of the transplant coordinators called to tell me that they had a liver from a local donor that was being tested for viability.  If the center ahead of me passed on the liver, it would be mine so I needed to be ready for transplant.  So stay by the phone and wait.  Initial freak out--I mean I had just seen the hepatologist, was in a gown, on a gurney!  Who would get that call?  How likely would that be.  Well, as it turns out, it wasn't to be for me today.  The other center used the liver, so I was told to stand down and wait for another call.

So it's back to waiting, more appointments next week--including another possible paracentesis.  Yay!  Another round of fun in the 50 degree procedure room . . .