But first, look at how my sweet princess has grown! She is just over 11 months and we are gearing up for her first birthday! She is slithering (getting around very quickly but not quite on her knees yet), pulling up to stand, and has four whole teeth!
Okay, back to the story! My dear hubby (DH) has a family member who needs a liver transplant and was put onto the transplant list in the spring. We were told the wait list for his blood type can be 3-4 yrs, so it's not a good scene when someone needs a liver. Along the way, we learned a lot about the liver and what it does (I had no idea!) I will dumb it down a bit because that's the only way I understand it all. The liver makes bile which helps digest food, it creates the clotting factor so that blood clots can form, it cleans toxins out of the body, and it helps you absorb many vitamins...it does other stuff too, but let me tell you, when your liver does not function properly, you get very, very sick. Very sick.
When the option was presented for family and friends to get tested, my dear hubby did so. I have always been a huge believer in organ donation and always said that if it were my sister, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It is however a very big surgery, and a very big deal. We talked a LOT about the implications of every outcome, and all of the bumps in the road that we could foresee. At the end of the day, my DH was a blood match and was sent to Toronto for two days of intensive testing. I went with him and let me tell you, they were long days with appointments scheduled so tightly that we had no time for lunch either day and my poor hubby had to fast both days so we were RAVENOUS by the end of the day!
The testing involved 15 vials of blood (in addition to the 12 they took in May), a CT scan, MRI, ultrasound, Xray, meeting with a transplant surgeon as well as a third party surgeon, meeting with the coordinator and to cap off our two days, a one hour meeting with the psychiatrist to make sure we weren't cuckoo!
We finally got word that it was a "go" and a date was set. It is Sept 12...in 5 days. We have to travel to TO for the surgery, and he will have to remain in hospital for 5-7 days (maybe more depending on complications). Little Miss will go to Grandma's house to feast on ice cream and french fries for all that time, and my son will stay...gulp...alone with the dogs at home! We have no clue as to how we will get home from TO (We're taking the train up but it's too much for him to take it back) but we'll worry about that once we know when we're coming back.
You would think this was big news, very overwhelming and stressful, and you would be right. Now let's add in some more fun stuff. My gov't subsidy for maternity leave will run out on Sept 17...yep right after the surgery. I figured we could survive for a couple of weeks with no money (that's what Visa is for, isn't it?). Then the kicker...we got a call from our amazing daycare lady a couple of weeks ago. She needs 6 weeks off starting right when Little Miss was to start daycare. I almost cried. Then I asked her why and found out she had found a lump in her breast and requires surgery. My added stress while real, took a backburner to this woman's very real health scare and I wished her only the best - I cannot imagine the fear and anxiety she is going through.
Now that that elephant is out of the closet or something like that, I feel like I can maybe blog again. I apologize if it's not super regular right now as we'll be out of town for a bit but I am excited to be back and able to share our craziness with you all!
2 comments:
hi, i just read your blog for the first time. im the siggy maker from TMP that you voted for our dream wedding. i have several tumors on my liver. im sure you know by now that your liver dose EVERYTHING for you. and yes you can get very very sick when it is not working right! the doctors say that someday i may need a transplant. long story short i wanted to thank your DH and you for doing something so big. because of people like you i have hope that i will successfully get a transplant when and if i need it. i hope your DH's recovery is short and that your dear family member also has a short recovery and a long and healthy life.
Hi and thanks for stopping by! My posts have been sporadic since the surgery - life just got super hectic. I learned a lot about liver function that I never knew before and can only imagine what you are going through. I hope your health is stable and does not worsen. I will let him know about your kind wishes - he is doing just fine and but for some tenderness at incision site, so far so good. You may be interested to know that his brother is doing very well too - his health and energy levels are steadily improving and the outlook, while cautious, is bright. Take care and I will keep the votes coming for your wedding!!!
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