Clinic Visit Today

The month of December is shaping up to be a crazy one. This is a month full of doctor's visits trying to get as much in as I can before the first of the year and a new deductible.

I had a procedure on Monday to see how the Remicade is working and to check for dreaded cancer cells. That is such a scary word, even when you know that everything is okay. The doctor took a whole bunch of biopsies (another scary word, because it leads back to the C word) and I should know by Friday the results of those. According to the doctor, everything looked much better on Monday than it did a couple of months ago. That is always good news, even when you are high on Demerol and Versed!

I am going back today for a checkup at the transplant clinic. I am feeling good and don't expect there to be any real problems, but it is always scary cause you never know. I absolutely loathe hospitals and will do what I can to stay out. Once I am in I am doing everything I can to get out as quickly as possible.

Anyways, I am looking forward to Christmas and being with family and friends. Most of my shopping is finished (not that I have a lot) and now I just get to watch others stress over it. It's nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the holidays. Oh, I still have Mom's gift which is always the hardest. That will probably be another Christmas Eve rush, but I like to keep it a little exciting!

Amazing Transplant Story

Mom brought home an article last night from a local paper that told of a rare liver transplant. This form of liver transplantation attaches a part of a healthy liver to a diseased liver. The healthy cells take over the diseased cells and eventually makes the entire liver healthy. As far as I could tell this procedure has only been attempted on children up to this point in only one hospital. The amazing thing about this transplant is that there is eventually no need for these recipients to be on lifelong immunosuppressant drugs. As we in the transplant community know, the longterm effects of the immunosuppressant drugs can be as scary as the disease we suffered from before transplant. Lowered immune system, high risk of cancer, rejection, and a possibility of kidney disease, among other things are some of the things that we face. I have heard it said that transplantation is like trading a terminal disease for a manageable one. There are days that it feels just like that too. I am forever grateful for my transplant and the chance that I have been given to live a full life, but to imagine a life without the immunosuppressants is awesome! I hope that this procedure ends up working for these few people to push research. Sounds promising!

In the meantime, don't forget to become an organ donor. There are a lot of people out there who are needing an organ transplant to live just a little while longer. Share your wish to become an organ donor with your family. If you want more information, go to the Donate Life website!

Link to article on Yahoo! ---> Rare liver transplant offers hope