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

Thankful

I know this is late and probably should have come before Thanksgiving but I just wanted to say thanks to some people and let people know how I have been blessed in my life.

I haven't always looked on the hand that I was dealt with a smile. To be completely honest, for most of my sickness I held an anger inside as to why this had to happen to me. I rarely let that anger show on the outside, and would respond to questions and live life as "PC" as possible. I was angry with God for a period of time (short-lived though) because "this life" was not in my life plan! Things like this happened to other people, not to me!

Today, I look at my life, past, present, and future with a smile. I can see God's hand through everything that I went through. I didn't give Him enough credit in the middle of the battle. At the time I was diagnosed, I was not doing the things that were pleasing to Christ, to my family, to my body, or to my testimony. I do not believe that God gave me PSC because of the way that I was living, but I do know now that it was my ticket out of that life. I only see that in retrospect and there are moments ( I may sound crazy for saying this) where I am thankful for going through the hardships of a terminal liver disease and transplantation.

(I just realized I don't know where I am going with this post, but bear with me.)

I can see where going through the things that I did have brought me closer to God, to my family, to my real self. I don't know what might have happened with my life had things not gone the way that they have, and I really don't care to know. I feel like it may have led to more heartache and more destruction.

Through PSC and my transplant I have met many wonderful and loving people (some only over the web) and those people have brought some great advice, compassion, and encouragement. I have been able to make some old relationships stronger and some new relationships unforgettable. Without the transplant, I would have never met some of these wonderful people and never had the opportunity to make some old relationships worth holding on to.

I am not saying that my life is easy. There are still days that I get down and whine about my situation, but I thank God everyday for the people I have talked to who have helped me. Some things people have done, some things people have said have touched me and helped me more than they will ever know. I hope that in some way that I have made a fraction of the impact that you have made on my life.

I have a wonderful family who have been beside me through this entire chapter of my life. I have great parents and an awesome brother who I know would be beside me no matter what happened. I have friends who have always been there for me to call when I am down with a ready hand to pick me up.

What I am trying to say is that I am blessed beyond words. I thank God everyday for the people who have been a part of my life, allowed me to be a part of their life, had a kind word or deed, and given me a shoulder to cry on. If you are reading this blog and wondering if I am talking about you, I AM!!

Please become an organ donor! A special and direct thank you goes out to my donor family! Without their compassion, I would not be here today able to thank everyone else for this amazing life Jesus has blessed me with. There is not a day that goes by that this family does not cross my mind! I hope one day to meet you and thank you personally for the gift that I was given.

I love all of you!

National Donor Sabbath Month

I haven't been able to be on here too much lately. I have been busy as well as trying to spend less time online. Hopefully soon I will have more to blog about. For now, dont forget that......

National Donor Sabbath Month is in November. This is the month that is set aside with in the organ donation community to encourage people of faith to become organ donors. It is also a time of prayer for those who have donated, will donate, organ recipients, and those that are waiting for a life saving organ transplant.

Don't forget to sign a organ donor card and share your wishes with your family!

October is Liver Awareness Month

I am a little bit late in getting this posted, but along with Breast Cancer Awareness Month, it is also Liver Awareness Month. Your liver is one of the most important organs in your body and it is important that you take care of it for as long as you use it. For all of my organ donor friends out there, try to think ahead and about the person who might be using it when you are finished with it.

This is also a great month (not that there is a bad one) to think about and discuss organ donation with your family. It is important that you not only sign an organ donation card but you share your thoughts and wishes with your family so they can donate your organs if something (God forbid) happen to you. It is the greatest gift that you can give, other than loving everyone you meet while YOU are here!

Back to Liver Awareness Month, the article below was pulled from CNN.com, and tells some of the wonderful things that your liver does for your body!

Your liver: An owner's guide

From MayoClinic.com Special to CNN.com

The liver is one of your body's largest and most important organs. Located just under your rib cage on the right side of your abdomen, it's about the size of a football, weighs 3 to 4 pounds and performs more than 500 vital functions. Without it, you couldn't absorb food, remove toxic substances from your body or stay alive.

Your liver is incredibly resilient. It can remain functional after losing 80 percent to 90 percent of its cells to disease. It can completely regenerate itself in a few weeks even if much of it has been removed during surgery.

But it's not indestructible. Toxins such as alcohol and drugs, and viruses such as hepatitis B and C can cause permanent liver damage. With advanced liver disease (cirrhosis), healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue and your liver is no longer able to repair itself, gradually losing function and eventually failing. Although early-stage liver disease is more treatable now than in the past, cirrhosis is usually only curable with a liver transplant.

Your liver: A brief anatomy lesson

A healthy liver is cone-shaped, with a smooth, rubbery texture. Its color is dark reddish-brown because at any given moment it holds a pint of blood. It's divided into lobes: a large right lobe and smaller left lobe that tapers toward a tip. Unlike most other organs in your body, your liver has a dual blood supply. Most of its blood comes from the portal vein, which carries nutrients and toxins from your digestive system. The rest comes from the hepatic artery, which supplies oxygen-rich blood from your heart.

Everything you eat, drink, breathe and absorb through your skin eventually reaches your liver. Its 300 billion cells control a process called metabolism, in which your liver breaks down nutrients into usable byproducts. These byproducts are delivered to the rest of your body by your bloodstream. Your liver also metabolizes toxins into byproducts that can be safely eliminated. Some of these byproducts are routed into your bloodstream and carried to your kidneys, which filter them so that they can be excreted in urine. Others are carried away by bile, a yellow or greenish fluid produced by your liver. These byproducts flow through bile ducts to your gallbladder and intestines so that they can be excreted in feces.

What your liver does

Although separating nutrients from waste is one of your liver's most important functions, it's not the only one. Your liver is also a storage depot for sugar (glucose), which is released when you need energy. And it's a chemical factory, producing many substances that perform vital tasks in your body. Some substances produced by the liver include:

• Albumin, a protein that regulates the exchange of water between blood and tissues
• Bile, a fluid that carries away waste and digests fat in the small intestine
• Cholesterol, a substance needed by every cell in the body
• Clotting factors, which help stop bleeding
• Globin, part of the oxygen-carrying hemoglobin in blood
• Immune factors, which protect against infection

How to protect your liver

Excessive alcohol consumption over many years is the leading cause of liver disease. Too much alcohol can make a normal liver swell with fat, causing a condition called fatty liver. If the fat becomes inflamed, it can lead to either alcoholic hepatitis, which causes serious but often reversible liver damage, or cirrhosis, which causes irreversible liver damage. Because of extensive scarring, a cirrhotic liver shrinks to a fraction of its former size.

Here are the most important things you can do to protect your liver:

• Drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. Over many years, more than one drink a day for women and more than two drinks a day for men may be enough to lead to cirrhosis. Illegal drugs, especially cocaine, also can cause liver disease.
• Don't mix other drugs with alcohol. Acetaminophen (Tylenol, others) can be toxic to the liver even if you drink in moderation.
• Get vaccinated against hepatitis B. If you're at increased risk of contracting hepatitis or if you've already been infected with any form of the hepatitis virus, talk to your doctor about getting the hepatitis B vaccine.
• Use medications wisely. Only use prescription and nonprescription drugs when you need them and take only the recommended doses. Talk to your doctor before mixing herbs or prescription or nonprescription drugs.
• Beware of certain supplements. Herbal supplements that can be toxic to the liver include kava, comfrey, chaparral, jin bu huan, kombucha tea, pennyroyal and skullcap. Also avoid high doses of vitamins A, D, E and K.
• Avoid contact with other people's blood and body fluids. Hepatitis viruses can be spread by accidental needle sticks, improper cleanup of blood or body fluids and sharing intravenous needles. It's also possible to become infected by sharing razor blades or toothbrushes or by having unsafe sex.
• Be careful with aerosol sprays. When you use an aerosol cleaner, make sure the room is ventilated, or wear a mask. Take similar protective measures when spraying insecticides, fungicides, paint and other toxic chemicals.
• Watch what gets on your skin. When using insecticides and other toxic chemicals, cover your skin with gloves, long sleeves, a hat and a mask.
• Don't eat too many fatty foods. Your liver makes all the cholesterol your body needs. Eating a well-balanced, nourishing diet will help your liver do its job properly. A regular exercise program will help keep your liver healthy, too.
• Watch your weight. Even if you don't drink alcohol, obesity can cause a condition called nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, which may include fatty liver, hepatitis and cirrhosis.
• See your doctor if you develop any signs or symptoms of liver disease. These include yellow discoloration of the skin or eyes, abdominal swelling or severe abdominal pain, prolonged itching of the skin, very dark urine or pale stools, the passage of bloody or tar-like stools, chronic fatigue, nausea and loss of appetite.

Looking ahead

In the future, liver disease treatments may include genetic therapy, as well as new vaccines and antiviral drugs to prevent and treat hepatitis C and other hepatitis viruses that cause permanent liver damage. Researchers are also working to develop an artificial liver that performs the liver's filtering functions, just as dialysis filters blood in people with kidney failure.

For now, though, the best way to control liver disease is to keep it from starting. By being careful with alcohol, drugs and chemicals, you can ensure that your liver lasts a lifetime.

February 25, 2005

© 1998-2007 Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research (MFMER). All rights reserved. A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. "Mayo," "Mayo Clinic," "MayoClinic.com," "Mayo Clinic Health Information," "Reliable information for a healthier life" and the triple-shield Mayo logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Terms of Use.

Thanks for reading and thinking about your liver during Liver Awareness Month. I don't mean to take anything away from Breast Cancer Awareness because they are important as well! Just all this breast talk makes your liver a little lonely and just a smidgen jealous. So think about the little guy tucked just under your ribcage, he works day in and day out to keep you feeling GOOD!!

Long Day

The Remicade infusion went well yesterday. It sure did take a long time though. I left work about 11 AM and got back home about 8PM. It shouldn't have taken that long but people decided to take their time checking me in which left me in the waiting room for over an hour. Then when I finally did leave the hospital, it was Rush Hour! That left me sitting in traffic for a long time, which was no fun.

On the positive side though, I feel better today than I did yesterday. Hopefully I will continue to get better, even if it does cost me most of a day!

Second Treatment

I go back to Emory today for my second Remicade treatment. The first one went off without a hitch and I have heard that after the second treatment you really start to notice a difference in how you feel. I really hope this is true. I feel like a million bucks after the first treatment, so I am excited about the second treatment.

Wish me luck and say a prayer that things will continue on this current path. It is exciting to continue to improve and feel more and more healthy!

I have learned....

I got this in an email the other day and didn't want to lose it so I figured I would post it here. I figured it was a good read as well for those of us who have been given a second chance at life and for those who have been given a second chance with a loved one. These little quips are from Andy Rooney.

I've learned....
That the best classroom in the world is at the feet of an elderly person.

I've learned....
That when you're in love, it shows.

I've learned....
That just one person saying to me, "You've made my day!" makes my day.

I've learned....
That having a child fall asleep in your arms is one of the most peaceful feelings in the world.

I've learned....
That being kind is more important than being right.

I've learned....
That you should never say no to a gift from a child.

I've learned....
That I can always pray for someone when I don't have the strength to help him in some other way.

I've learned....
That no matter how serious your life requires you to be, everyone needs a friend to act goofy with.

I've learned....
That sometimes all a person needs is a hand to hold and a heart to understand.

I've learned....
That simple walks with my father around the block on summer nights when I was a child did wonders for me as an adult.

I've learned....
That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.

I've learned....
That we should be glad God doesn't give us everything we ask for.

I've learned....
That money doesn't buy class.

I've learned....
That it's those small daily happenings that make life so spectacular.

I've learned...
That under everyone's hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.

I've learned....
That the Lord didn't do it all in one day. What makes me think I can?

I've learned....
That to ignore the facts does not change the facts.

I've learned....
That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.

I've learned....
That love, not time, heals all wounds.

I've learned....
That the easiest way for me to grow as a person is to surround myself with people smarter than I am.

I've learned....
That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with a smile.

I've learned....
That there's nothing sweeter than sleeping with your babies and feeling their breath on your cheeks.

I've learned....
That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.

I've learned....
That life is tough, but I'm tougher.

I've learned....
That opportunities are never lost; someone will take the ones you miss.

I've learned....
That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere.

I've learned....
That I wish I could have told my Dad that I love him one more time before he passed away.

I've learned....
That one should keep his words both soft and tender, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.

I've learned....
That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.

I've learned....
That I can't choose how I feel, but I can choose what I do about it.

I've learned....
That when your newly born grandchild holds your little finger in his little fist, that you're hooked for life.

I've learned....
That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

I've learned ...
That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.

I've learned....
That the less time I have to work with, the more things I get done.

Brad Paisley, SC, and Stomp

I have had one busy weekend! I had a lot of fun in the process but now I am pooped! On Thursday, I was given the opportunity to go see Brad Paisley, Rodney Atkins, and Taylor Swift in concert. We all had so much fun at the concert acting like fools and enjoying life.

On Saturday, I went with my church to visit a children's home in South Carolina that we help support. My brother and I drove to Greenville that morning, helped unload supplies, played with the kids for a bit, then drove back. Saturday was then capped off with a win by my Georgia Bulldogs over Alabama.

Today, I was given the opportunity to go see Stomp Out Loud! in Atlanta! The performance was awesome! It was more than I expected. There was a comedy piece to the production which kept me entertained. I think that today was the last day that the performance was in Atlanta, but if you get a chance to go see it in your town I highly recommend it! It was only my second trip to the Fox Theater in Atlanta so the venue was as nice as the production.

As scattered as this post was, so was my weekend! I had so much fun though and I wouldn't trade the experiences for anything!

Weighing the Risk-Living Donation

I found an article on Yahoo! about living donors and the risk they assume when they decide to donate to either a stranger or a loved one. We had discussed this as a family and my family was prepared to give up their health to keep me alive if needed. We talked about it with our transplant team when I was being evaluated for placement on the transplant list. The doctors told us that living donation was an option, but with my situation I was an almost perfect candidate for a cadaveric transplant. Luckily, no one in my family even had to undergo the testing process, let alone, making the final decision about whether the risk should be taken. Not every family is as blessed as we were and many have to make that decision. For the medical community, it is a catch-22 in that they are breaking the Hippocratic Oath by making a healthy person sick to save the life of a terminal patient. Many of these patients never return to their former health. There is even a moderate risk of death in being a living donor. I encourage you to read the article. I am not sure about copyright laws so I have placed some links to the story.