Missing you all

I have been thinking about the blog a lot lately.  Why I stopped posting.  Why I haven't written.  What direction should the blog take now that I have had my transplant.

I feel totally guilty to my readers that I didn't take you through the transplant experience with me when it was happening.  I mean, after all, isn't that what we were ALL waiting for?????  Then I go and leave you hanging.  In reality of course I was fighting for my life and hanging on by a thread and for quite a while that was all I could concentrate on...  But then of course I *should have* picked it up and filled in the blanks and I think that is where I got stumped...  Being a bit of a perfectionist I couldn't figure out if I should go back to the day of transplant or if I should just pick it up in real time or a combo of both and HOW to do that?

So, I did nothing.  As you can plainly see.

I have been encouraged by many people who are still coming and thanking me for my blog, you know who you are and THANK YOU, also people I help face to face here in So Cal.  Some that have passed away.  Their spouses have told me that if their loved one who was now gone could say anything to me it would be to keep on sharing and helping....so here I am.

I don't know where I am going to take the blog but I promise you this.  I am going to keep it going.  It will stay Liver, Transplant, Cirrhosis, Organ Donation related. 

It will have bits and pieces of Nancy thrown in and also other people going through some of the same challenges that we all do who go through this scary, terrifying, painful, confusing, soul searching, often magical journey  of living with a life threatening, decompensating liver disease and the miracle of transplant.

So there you go!

Clean up surgery

I wrote to you yesterday while in a holding pattern... I saw one of my surgeons, Dr Franco, on Tuesday for my bi-weekly appointment and blood work and he decided it was time for the catheter to come out....Not that the collective *we* didn't want to take it out earlier.....say, while I was in the hospital for a week?????

Well, that was the week that I had the liver biopsy and my pretty appendage, i.e. hematoma appeared refocusing all the efforts of that stay on what to do about the hematoma, had the bleeding stopped? and what about that clogged bile duct??????

They couldn't have cared less that the catheter that I no longer needed was still coming out of my chest. Let alone keeping me from a full shower that I so greatly desire.....Not having had one since the morning of my transplant...(I do bathe, but it consists of hair washing in the sink followed by a hand shower or bath avoiding the upper torso... OR, dressing myself properly with a bra and all....forcing me to wear baggy, boob hiding tops....(you girls know what I mean).

The photo of the catheter I had Joe take after a bath one day so you could see what I had been talking about. It was always wrapped up and covered with clean bandages....because it is an open line directly to my arteries we had to be extremely careful to keep it clean, dry and covered at all times because of a chance of infection. An infection in my blood stream .....well, wouldn't have been any fun...

Anyway, on Tuesday we scheduled the catheter removal to be done under anesthesia.... I guess he thought I had gone through enough and didn't make me go through the removal under a local and some sleepy time anesthesia which doesn't work to well on me..and at the same time clean out the hematoma.

I got to the hospital at 9:30am.....courtesy of Mary, THANK YOU AGAIN, MARY....and I finally went into the OR at about 3pm for less than an hour while Dr Franco cleaned me up and I was home that evening...

I go back tomorrow for a recheck and some more blood work... I will share that with you tomorrow...hopefully my bilirubin is continuing to drop. it was 2.3 yesterday. My yellow is continuing to clear up...and I will have more energy as it clears up.

By the way, I had my 2 month liverversary on the 16th!

And I do promise to start posting with pics about the actual transplant experience...I was going through some photos tonight...

This visit is over....

Sorry that I didn't write yesterday...I was a little down in the dumps as they had told me that I might have to have surgery to clean out the hematoma and stop the bleeding that they thought was still happening. My hemoglobin had dropped so they gave me a couple of units of blood and wanted to wait one more night to see what happened. It looks better but is still very uncomfortable and somewhat painful.

Today they gave me my walking papers..so, I am in the process of getting out of here!

Oh, and we were 2 miles from the earthquake center last night of a 4.5 in San Bernardino.... That was fun!

I have been working a bit from here and am ready to get back to life.... On the 16th it will be 2 months! Oh, and between the heaviest I weighed in here with all the fluid and now I have lost 70# !!! Yes, that is right SEVENTY POUNDS IN 4 WEEKS..... It is quite an amazing diet plan..

And I should be able to drive soon!

Thanks for all your support and notes while I was in here.....They really made me smile and kept me going! We are going to have an 80* weekend here in So Cal so I am off to enjoy it....and the haagendaz bar my nurse, Carl, brought me last night!

Please partcipate in the Poll on the left.

I would like your opinion on the photo's I post... If you already made one under comments...Thank You... and could you vote again in the polls?

Erin, I want to talk to you about your cool new Blog Layout! If you want to see it go to http://thedunkles.blogspot.com

Also, I did have the ERCP this afternoon and awoke with no idea what had happened! YEAH! They did insert a stint which will have to be changed every 3 months until they decide I no longer need it but now my bile can pass through easily which should only help my other organs.

I will talk to the Dr's in the morning to get a full report.

Nite, nite,
Nancy

Day 6, here I sit...

On Friday I thought I was coming in for a lab and Dr appt....Then maybe an overnight stay....6 days later I am still here. You can't say they aren't cautious with me and my new liver.... Which is a very good thing. I really am growing quite fond of it and would like to stay together for a long time to come!

Do I talk to my liver? Yes, I do. I have had conversations with it since the beginning....Asking it to please stick around for awhile. I promise it I will take good care of it and take it some lovely places.

I want it to grow old with me...I also pray for and thank the donor and the donor family each morning and night. More on this later....

On to today's update...

Yesterday they decided NOT to do the ERCP as I would have to lie on my abdomen for 30 min and they were afraid that there could be more bleeding in the hematoma area. So they did a MRCP.

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography

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MRCP image of two stones in the distal common bile duct.

Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) is a medical imaging technique which uses magnetic resonance imaging to visualise the biliary and pancreatic ducts in a non-invasive manner. This procedure can be used to determine if gallstones are lodged in any of the ducts surrounding the gallbladder.

MRCP is a less invasive alternative to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) in the diagnosis of biliary and pancreatic duct disorders. However, while ERCP can be both diagnostic and therapeutic, MRCP is purely diagnostic; direct intervention is not possible with MRCP. An important advantage of MRCP is that cross-sectional images can be obtained, displaying not only the ductal system but also surrounding parenchyma; this allows direct visualisation of pancreatic neoplasms and other diseases.

So, they took me down to the MRI machine...Somehow in all my pretransplant stuff I missed this machine... 45 minutes in a hot tube....wow... I made it and today got the results that along with the biopsy it does look like my bilary duct has strictures causing the bile to not process well.

So I am off to the ERCP today so they can clear it up.

They originally wanted to do the ERCP so they could diagnose and treat it at one time...My bleeding and lovely hematoma made them rethink that.

So, at 3pm today I get to go lay on that ugly purple thing...

I debated over putting the photo on..I don't want to gross you out..What do you think????

Photo's or no photos? Remember I am getting ready to post about transplant? (no, I don't have any actual photo's of surgery! LOL....Send me some comments!

Talk to you tomorrow....

While I was sleeping...............

After they figured out I was having problems with my bile ducts draining and I prepared to have them do the lovely proceedure the next day this popped up while I was sleeping!

I rolled over on my right side for about an hour and woke up with the swelling to the left....felt like a big mango shoved under my skin....Then over the night it changed to the photo on the right. They did an ultrasound and it is only a hematoma. There had been bleeding of the vessels under the skin and this was the result.

It was so full and there was/is so much pressure that it has been extremely painful which hydromorphone (Dilaudid), took care of.....

I feel better today and will go get my ERCP today.... I have to spend 30 minutes on my stomach which should be interesting!

Have a great day everyone!

Ok, they have come to a conclusion

The conclusion they came to was that it isn't rejection but a bilarary duct stricture.

I don't have a gallbladder anymore as they take it with my liver and they don't transplant the new liver with a gallbladder and if you read below you will see all about the bile ducts and how they work....Mine appear to need a little help draining and so they are going to go in endoscopically (down my throat) and into my pancreas to have a look, and probably put in a stint so the bile can drain properly.

The biopsy showed this and also my rising bilirubin...up to 5.4 today...from 4.4 yesterday.

INTRODUCTION — An endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) is an examination of the gallbladder, pancreas, liver, and the ducts (tubes) that drain these organs (show figure 1). Small ducts from the gallbladder and pancreas flow into a larger duct that drains bile from the liver (common bile duct). The common bile duct drains into the small intestine through an opening called an ampulla.

An endoscopist (a doctor who has special training in the use of endoscopes) will examine the gallbladder, pancreas, and these ducts, looking for blockages, irregularity in the tissue or disruptions in the flow of bile/pancreatic fluid, spasm of the ducts, stones, or tumors.

Some patients are admitted to the hospital afterward, depending upon the reason for ERCP or because a treatment was done during the procedure that requires overnight observation in the hospital.

THE PROCEDURE — ERCPs are performed in a room that contains x-ray equipment. The patient will lie on an x-ray table during the examination. The ERCP will be performed while the patient lies on their side or stomach.

Although patients worry about discomfort from the examination, most tolerate it well and feel fine afterwards. Medications will be administered through the intravenous line. A plastic mouth guard is placed between the teeth to prevent damage to the teeth and scope.

The ERCP scope is a flexible tube, approximately the size of a finger. It contains a lens and a light source that allows the endoscopist to view images on a monitor where it is magnified many times so the endoscopist can see small changes in the tissues. The ERCP scope also contains channels that allow the endoscopist to take biopsies and introduce or withdraw fluid, air and instruments.

The patient will be asked to swallow the tube; many patients do not remember this after the medications have taken effect. Many people sleep during the test; others are relaxed and generally not aware of the examination.

The scope in inserted through the mouth, and air is introduced to open up the esophagus, stomach, and intestine so the scope can be passed through those structures and to allow the endoscopist to see. When the scope reaches the duodenum, the first portion of the small intestine, the endoscopist will locate the ampulla, the opening into the ducts that drain the biliary system. A small cannula (tube) will be placed into the ampulla and, dye (a special contrast material that allows visualization of tissues by x-ray) will be injected through the cannula.

Patients may experience a mild discomfort as air distends the tissue. This is not harmful and belching may relieve the sensation. The endoscope does not interfere with breathing. Taking slow, deep breaths during the procedure may help a patient to relax.

The length of the examination varies, but it generally takes at least one hour.

For more information go here....

While this is not fun....it is better than rejection. As you may remember I PERSONALLY HATE THE ENDOSCOPY PART because the meds don't knock me out and I gag the whole time...BUT, I am peeing...and my creatinine is down and all this seems minor to what I have already been through.....so it will happen tomorrow.... Then watch my bilirubin #'s go down.....!!!!!

What is Rejection?

Liver Transplant Complications: Rejection

The most serious complication that may occur after transplant is rejection of the liver. The body's immune system fights against all foreign matter, such as bacteria. This defence system may recognize tissue transplanted from someone else as 'foreign' and act to combat this 'foreign invader.' In most cases, rejection can be controlled if treated promptly. That's why it's important to contact your transplant team or doctor immediately if you experience any rejection symptoms.

I found this on a really good site from Cincinnati University Hospital.... What Are The Symptoms Of Rejection? While you are in the hospital, the transplant team will be monitoring your liver function tests daily to watch for infection. If you reject your liver during this time, you may not have any noticeable symptoms because rejection was diagnosed early through your blood test results. After you leave the hospital, your blood tests will be monitored less frequently. If rejection occurs, you may experience some mild symptoms, although some patients may not notice any problems. Here is a list of signs and symptoms that may indicate liver rejection: - Fever greater than 101° - Fatigue or excess sleepiness - "Crankiness" - Headache - Abdominal swelling, tenderness, or pain - Decreased appetite - Jaundice (yellow skin or eyes) - Dark (brown) urine - Itching None of these symptoms are specific for rejection; but they are important enough that when they occur, you should call the liver transplant coordinator at 513-584-9999. How is Rejection Treated? Rejection does not mean you will lose your liver, but it is very important to begin treatment as soon as possible to avoid further complications. Rejections can usually be treated successfully with medication. Rejection is usually treated by increasing the doses of your anti-rejection medications or by adding or combining different anti-rejection medications. Your transplant team may want to perform a liver biopsy to confirm that your symptoms are caused by rejection before they make any changes to your medications. You may be prescribed an increased dose of prednisone/ prednisolone daily or given solumedrol, the IV form, or prednisone. Sometimes another anti-rejection medicine, such as mycophenolate mofetil, sirolimus, or azathioprine may be added. When your liver recovers, your doses of these additional anti-rejection medications may be decreased or discontinued. The level of your primary anti-rejection medication, usually tacrolimus or cyclosporine, may be reduced. Your transplant team's goal is to have the lowest amount of immunosupression possible so that you do not reject your liver, have good liver function, and have minimal risk of infection and other side effects. Will I Always Have To Be Concerned About Rejecting My Liver? The risk of rejection decreases over time, but can occur at any time. Taking good care of yourself, taking your medications as prescribed and having your blood tests done regularly will help decrease your risk of rejection. Good communication with your transplant team and following your care routine are key factors for a successful outcome after transplant. Rejection can be successfully treated due to advances in immunosuppression and combinations of anti-rejection medications.

How Do I Know I'm Rejecting My Liver? Any injury to the liver can cause the release of normal liver proteins, or enzymes, into the bloodstream. An injury could be caused by rejecting, infection, or drug toxicities. Measuring these enzymes, called the liver function tests (LFT's), regularly and watching the pattern of the results can help your doctor decide what is happening to your liver. What is a Liver Biopsy? Although liver function tests and your symptoms help diagnos rejection, a liver biopsy confirms that the liver is being rejected. A small piece of liver tissue is examined under a microscope for signs of rejection. Biopsies are usually done as outpatient procedures at the hospital. The actual biopsy only takes a few seconds. The piece of liver tissue looks like a small piece of string. It is placed into a special solution, and then taken to the pathology lab to be processed and viewed under the microscope. Your biopsy results may be ready later that day, or you may be asked to return to the clinic to discuss your biopsy results or any treatment that may be necessary. Following a liver biopsy, you will need to lay on your right side for at least one hour, and you must rest in bed for four to six hours. Your nurse will take your vital signs every 15-30 minutes during this time to watch for high heart rate or respatory rate and a low blood pressure.

Just as I was going to start the story......

I started not feeling so well. Not sick, really.....Just not well... A little nauseous, itchy, head aches, fatigue like before, loss of appetite.... I was peeing alot but worried about my liver and what the blood work would show on Friday. When I came in for my appt.......Good news first? My creatine....(kidney function #'s) were MUCH better! from an all time high of 6 something to 2.7 last week to 1.6 last friday.... .8-1.2 is normal..... BUT,

my ALT and AST had tripled since last week. Not a good sign. The wonderful Dr's held a pow wow and decided that I needed to stay and run some tests to find out exactly what was going on.

So far I have had an ultrasound of my liver to look at the arteries, portal veins, etc. and they are clear.... They have run all kinds of blood cultures, urinalysis, and stool. Today they did a biopsy of my liver. We will know the results tomorrow and I am having some kind of MRI type scan to look at my bilinary duct.

These are what the Dr's are looking for:

1. rejection.....see below

2. an infection

3. bile duct constriction

So, I wait...... We will know more tomorrow......

2008 was quite a year!

I am certainly looking forward to a New Year of my new liver and I getting to know each other settling in so we can have years of fun and a long, healthy life together.....


Thank you all for listening to my ramblings, fears, stressing, obsessing and triumphs as I struggled through one amazing year of my life.

Thank you for all the support, cheering me on and most of all listening to me.

I have learned so much, so very much. From my family, friends, (online and off), my cruise buddies, my support group, my Dr's and health care providers and other cirrhosis patients and caregivers.

I KNOW there is a reason that I was chosen, if you will, to have this disease, to live with it, to deal with it, to learn about it and to come out the other side with a successful transplant, to learn how to live with all the things that come with that.

I have learned a lot about myself, about compassion of others, whatever they are dealing with, about patience with people and life in general. I have learned to take responsibility and take charge of the things you can, learn as much as you can, ask lots of questions, sort out the answers, do what you can and then enjoy everything you can while you wait..... because in reality you don't know what could be just around the corner.

Enjoy the warmth of the sun, the way your dogs run through snow when they live in the desert, Enjoy watching people open up about things they aren't really proud of and leave them feeling that you care about them even more for sharing because we don't judge them for past mistakes. We all have them. Watching your son struggle to become a man and your husband take care of you in a way he never thought he would have to, and smiling the whole way..........

No matter what my health brings in the future......good or not so good, I will handle it as best I know how and continue to try and reach others about the facts about what liver disease can mean to their lives and how to avoid it if it involves making a choice. Particularly to women who drink.........How I wish I had listened earlier when I had a choice before cirrhosis set in. Although I accept the journey I have been on, it certainly isn't one I wish for anyone....... A few vodka tonics less or skipped that bottle of wine...............well, I might not be telling the story I have been telling you all year or will be sharing with you shortly...

I will always support and share with fellow liver patients who are living with cirrhosis and have all the questions that I had about what is next??????

and finally I will fight for a better way for this country to deal with organ donation and allocation so there are enough organs available for people that need them. Be it a Liver, a Kidney, Lungs, Heart, Tissues for Burn Victims and Corneas so people can have sight. There are several options that are good ideas and it will take a lot to change the current M.O. But there has to be a better way.....Until then PLEASE Don't take your organs with you, HEAVEN KNOWS WE NEED THEM HERE.... and make sure that after you sign up, you tell your loved ones of your wishes.


In Fact........This is part of a document that you should read.....I had read these facts before but it hit me harder how lucky I was to get ONE of these organs....The odds were totally against me and everyone else waiting.....

A national crisis exists because of the critical demand for organ donations that is currently needed for over 100,000 gravely ill individuals on the national waiting list. While that number grows daily, a person on that list, or one who was removed because he/she was too sick dies every hour. In addition, over 2.5 million Americans die annually, but only a total of 14,400 living and deceased persons donated organs last year. ( From UNOS Facts 2008 )

Then when it crossed my mind more than once that I could be waiting for a kidney soon as well. Let's just say I wasn't very excited at the prospect. Here is a link to the entire Assembly Bill, The Organ Donation Enhancement Act.

I expect, hope and pray that the years to come will be wonderful for all of us! There is a lot to do, a lot of fun to have, love to share and people to share it with....

Stay Healthy and Don't forget to LOVE YOUR LIVER !!!!!

The Kidneys join the Team !!!!

After my visit to the Doctors last Friday and the Dr's said let's try it with no dialysis I have been peeing up a storm. When they said it will start as a little bit, gain momentum, then they will just open up....Well, gotta trust the Dr's experience with things... They were right. (Thank God)

Here are a couple of pics on my first few days of dialysis while in the hospital. They would come to my bedside which makes it convenient and comfy for me.....Just make sure you do everything you need to do in the bathroom and get good and comfy for awhile because there were times I couldn't sit up or get out of bed for 6 hours. This has gone on 3 times a week for about a month even though we graduated to going to the dialysis center and sit in a room full of people, machines, and dialysis nurses.

At this point the catheter for the dialysis is in my neck and yes, the tubes of blood (my blood.....yikes) is warm, very weird concept and feeling.......but you get very cold during dialysis.......

So, long story short....No dialysis for now...I will get the final word on Friday after I get some blood work done and see the surgeon.....

I haven't felt very well all day today...nauseous, tired, just not right over all...but tomorrow is a new day.

My wonderful friend Kim is here keeping me company and cooking some wonderful things for us this week.......THANK YOU, KIM.....she flew down from the Bay Area the day after Christmas and will spend New Years with us as well.....

Next week I plan on going back and posting on the transplant....my views, feelings, some pics, (yikes) from what I remember.....

Good Night for now...

Enough of silly holiday movies.......on with the medical drama

Back to the Urology report.....Bet you didn't think we would be talking about that here....but thank you for rooting for the kidneys here..........

Tues, I peed 700 mls even with dialysis...
Wed, I peed 800 mls....
and CHRISTMAS DAY I crossed the line and peed 1100 mls !!!!!!

All this while maintaining the same weight....and drinking a bit more....which means I am not storing it..... My body is processing it and my kidneys are on their way back.... Oh, and my creatinine is down from 3.1 last week to 2.7 today. Also, my Bilirubin was a bit further down today too.

So, I call LLU today....You have to LOVE unit 4100 who allows you to call them on the unit when something changes and get direction and help right away...They told me to come in and do some labs and when we got there and walked into the unit. My hepatologist was there, my surgeon was there, the nephroligist I saw in the hospital was there along with all the nurses, coordinators, and wonderful others.....

Now, they weren't there to see ME, they all just happened to be there rounding, etc and caring for the in house patients. But, they did all make time for me, cheer me on, change some appt's to earlier and decided that I should skip dialysis until they see me again....

So, until Tuesday I will keep monitoring my weight, fluid intake and out cross my fingers and thank Santa (and a few others)..... I personally think God just thought I needed to experience some of what the kidney patients go through.....and know that I certainly didn't want to live like that or head down another transplant path. I certainly have much more understanding and compassion for people living with kidney failure.

Funny how a few months ago I was complaining about having to find a potty off every exit while on Lasix to this..... :-)

I also want to point out.....not for myself but for other patients and caregivers.....The Dr's only took me off dialysis for now, etc....which I wanted them to do to force my kidneys to work because I kept good records of what was happening at home...measured everything, kept copies of my recent blood work, etc....Marched down there the day after Christmas for a 2 hour drive, etc.....You are your own best advocate....Do more than you have to....

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I am here....a bit later than promised but we made it to Christmas and feel very blessed and happy to say that.


Thank you all for being patient with me. We passed the 1 month mark last week. This Sunday will be 6 weeks since the big day... I am feeling really good. Getting stronger and making progress every day! It is all about the little things... I can now get up and around with no help at all. A little slow and I don't know quite how far I can walk without taking a break but I now can go to the kitchen and make my own food...., bend over, get myself dressed, take a shower or bath from the chest down, wash my own hair in the sink.....(I have to keep the dialysis catheter in my chest dry), etc, etc.

Last week we had snow which closed the only pass between us and Loma Linda and the dialysis unit. That required some reorganizing as did the fact that Mary had to make an emergency trip to Arkansas as her brother in law passed away. So, Joe and I were on our own and because he works up the street now and things sort of shut down up here we did fine. My dialysis unit helped me arrange for a couple of temporary visits to a local dialysis place and we bundled up and enjoyed the snow. We are at 3,000 ft here in the high desert so we love the snow when we get it as it only happens about one day a year. This one lasted a couple of days and was absolutely beautiful...............................................

We also had our annual Transplant Support Group Christmas Party......Which is a big deal at LLU for us...I didn't think I would go initially as I wasn't walking and still being a month after transplant , I am highly immunosuppressed. but everything aligned...... the snow stopped and the pass was clear. I had been up and walking around without assistance and felt good, so Joe took me down to the party for a bit. It was so good to see everyone !!!! The photo's are of me hugging Judith, my pre-transplant coordinator and of Dr. Mendler and myself...

My liver is doing well, we need the numbers to come down a bit more.....My kidneys seem to be kicking in.....I am peeing more....yesterday I peed 700ml's, up from dribbles in the hospital. 1000 ml's is our magic number so I am trying.....hard to do when I still can't drink to much...

Joey will be here tonight and through the weekend for Christmas. We are having a nice quiet Christmas with a turkey dinner courtesy of Marie Callendars.....(well, and our CC.....LOL) I was going to attempt a simple meal with the help of Joe and Mary but with 2 non cooking caregivers in the kitchen with me trying to direct them just reeked of trouble and kitchen fighting so I decided to let Marie to the cooking and we can do the reheating......I would much rather have a peaceful day.... I did put up a Christmas tree in my bedroom area....old fashioned, family ornaments and all...I am feeling very nostalgic this year...

My love and thanks to you all for your support, notes, e-mail or otherwise, calls, prayers during this time... If I haven't responded to you personally yet, I will......but know that everyone brings a big smile to my face and heart when I get it.....

Merry Christmas and may we all have a wonderful year full of health and love of the people around us....

Nancy

Back in the hospital

Today my day started at 5am with a quick breakfast. Then down to LLU for blood work a appt with my surgeon then off to 5 hours of dialysis. In the midst of my day my Dr's decided that I could use some blood as my hemoglobin is low due to my kidneys not making the bed blood cells they should. So I am in for some juice and a sleep over.



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recovery

Just a quick update..... I have been home technically since last Sat night but have spent almost every day at Loma Linda either having appt's with my surgeons, blood work or having dialysis. Today is an at home day. I am having someone come over and cut my hair today....It needs some help badly...

I am very tired when I am not trying to get all this stuff done. I am having a huge problem with mobility due to carrying so much extra fluid and am on 1 ltr per 24 hours liquid restriction which includes all liquid. It isn't much but it is coming off slowly. They took 4.5 liters off yesterday...Each dialysis is 4 hours in the chair plus a 2 hour commute and 30 min getting me hooked up. I mainly sleep during the sessions so far...My liver appt's are 2x a week at 7am for a blood draw which means we are up at 5am. on the road by 6...I have to travel with my feet up.

Monday I had too use a wheel chair to get in and yesterday I was able to use a walker....I can walk around the house with no walker.

My liver values are good...my alt and ast are 28 and 32......NORMAL! my bili is still high at 6.7, my creat is 4.5 but my hemoglobin is low...they are treating me for that after each dialysis.

I still can't pee...................Dr's say 95% of the time the kidneys come back...it's just a matter of when......

I am going to go sit on a lovely potty chair in my shower now so I can clean up and get my hair cut....

I want to go back and start at the beginning with you all but for now.....I think I will just write about what is happening day to day.....